Preached: 18 July 2021 at St. John's, Billericay
In Jerusalem
There was quite a buzz in Jerusalem in those days. A group was meeting every day at the eastern edge of the outer court of the temple, a place known as Solomon’s Colonade. They would talk and pray together, and every day there seemed to be more of them.
Anyone who went into the temple – and that was just about everyone - would easily spot them when they were together in there increasingly large huddle. Not only were there numbers increasing but there was something different about them.
The leaders
Their leaders were twelve young men. Their teachings were different, they talked about a prophet who had recently been put to death. Everything they said centred around His teachings. Some of those who were with them had known the prophet and followed Him a little, but now what they were seeing and what they were involved in was moving to another level. Occasionally they would heal people, just as the prophet had, and news of this spread around fast. So more people came to see what was happening.
Miracles & Sustenance
It wasn’t just the miracles though, all those who met together each day seemed happy, and eager to meet up. Their poor were taken care of – they had cloths and enough food to live - none of them was in need like so many others around Jerusalem at that time.
Awe
All-in-all the group was a bit frightening in some ways, they seemed to have a power and a love of life that most did not possess.
Casual Observer
What the casual observer might have missed was they way the group conducted itself outside the temple. They shared everything they had, not claiming their goods and possessions as their own. This alone would have help support those who had nothing, but even more than that they would also sell possessions to support those in need.
Luke’s Introduction
These few verses are Luke’s introduction to how the church of Christ operated in the first days after Pentecost.
No Group Name
They didn’t have a name for themselves at this stage. They are simply described as ‘those who are being saved’ (v47). It’s not until we start to hear about Saul in chapter 9 that Luke tells us they were called ‘followers of the Way’. This name is used throughout Acts. The name ‘Christians’ does not appear until Acts 11.
Anyway, not having a name for the group does not means that they are invisible to the authorities. In the next chapter or two we start to see that the way they lived has consequences, and although it found favour with the people, it did not find favour with the temple leadership – who tried in particular to stop the preaching and teaching in the name of Jesus that Peter and John were doing.
This introduction does not describe some sort of short lived golden age for the church, rather it set out the principals for how the church should operate. Theologians call these principals the four marks of the church.
I’m going to look at each of these now, so we can see how we measure up against them.
Four marks of the church
The four marks of the church in this passage are:
the apostles teaching
the common life of the believers
the breaking of bread
the prayers
The apostles teaching
The believers – ‘those who were being saved’, could listen to the stories of Jesus, and all he did and what happened to Him - his crucifixion and resurrection from the apostles, all of whom were first hand witnesses. They would also have the benefit of the interpretations that Jesus provided. The apostles were simply following Jesus’s command in Mt 28:20 to “teach them to obey everything I have commanded you”.
These teachings were soon written down and passed from congregation to congregation, they eventually made up the Bible we have today.
Teaching, and what we now like to call ‘life long learning’ is vital to the church. Without it how do we know what the Lord requires of us? Without it we could easily accept the prevailing consensus of beliefs and lose the truths passed down to us from Jesus, via the apostles.
Understood for the age
The recorded teachings of the apostles are now nearly 2000 years old. Over that time the use of language has changed, the way society understands things has changed. One small example of this is the word ‘Men’. That word could once be used to describe the whole human race, but that usage had changed in my life time, so that now, if we don’t want to exclude women a different word is required, such as people. So our scripture translations have to be up to date, so that those who read it do not misunderstand what they are hearing.
How do we hear the Apostles Teaching
How often do we hear the Apostles teaching? Perhaps that’s the wrong question. Our engagements with scripture come in various forms. There is the weekly sermon. OK for sparking ideas may be, but it doesn’t allow much real interaction, so probably not high on the list when it comes to teaching value.
There’s small group studies, that usually take place in peoples homes. These provide a better opportunity to properly engage with scripture but it is very dependant on the material that is being used. In my experience there are some very good study guides, and also some pretty poor ones.
Then there’s the daily readings and reflections, again in my experience there are some very good ones and some not so good ones.
So we have the opportunities, but do we have the desire? The new believers devoted themselves to the apostles teaching – that means it was something they were not prepared to miss. How often do we give up an opportunity to learn from scripture? Where does bible study and application of learning fit in our priorities?
The common life of the believers
“All the believers were together and had everything in common”
What does this really mean, and how do we interpret it in a society that is packed with very personal possessions?
My first reaction to this verse was “that sounds like communism”. It does, but in the political system the common life is forced on the people and as a result people generally respond badly, specially when they see others benefit more than they are themselves. This is not communism, because here the Holy Spirit inspires the common life. The common life occurs because each person sees the others as more important than themselves, so is not prepared to see their brothers and sisters in need and will do whatever it takes to make sure that doesn’t happen.
Land
In Acts we hear of people selling land to support the needy. In the Jewish system land was part of the birth right, and was owned and passed down through the generations, so the sale of land is a significant sacrifice.
Collections
In the Paul's letters and later in Acts we read of one congregation having a collection for another that is suffering or in need. (2 Corinthians 8, Acts 20) So the common life spreads beyond the immediate group of believers.
Today
In our world we need certain personal possessions to function in modern society. But these gadgets should not define us, and should still be available to support those in need.
Questions
How many of our possessions are exclusively ours? How many are available to others in need?
The breaking of bread
It is difficult to tell whether the ‘the breaking of bread’ refers to simply a common meal, or whether it refers to a specific Eucharistic celebration. The phrase seems to be used interchangeably.
Either way the fellowship of believers seems to be based around eating together.
A service of Holy Communion, where we share bread and wine together (when we are allowed to) can seem as though the only person we are really communing with is our Lord. That’s partly caused by the structure of the service and the need to maintain good order. It’s at refreshments afterwards – perhaps a bring and share meal – that we commune with the others who are attending the service.
This, of course, is a falsely split view, because God is as present in the first as he is in the second, as are all the people.
Questions
How often do we join together for meals with other believers? How often do we celebrate Holy communion? What opportunities are we missing?
The prayers
The prayers during their meetings in the temple courts and in their houses, may have been traditional Jewish prayers that were said regularly in the temple or by Jewish families, or they may have been prayers created for the occasion, or just prayers that were required at that time. In the context of these verses they are always prayers said together with the believers. There is no record here of individual private prayer, that doesn’t mean it didn’t happen of course.
Questions
How often do we meet for prayer? How well attended are our prayer meetings? How can we improve the attendance at prayer meetings?
Conclusion
The Holy Spirit has created a new type of family, the family of believers. The family consists entirely of adopted children, those who are being saved. The believers in the family are called to be closer than a biological family, and to support each other in ways that biological families rarely do. Everything that is possessed by a member of the family belongs to the family, and yet, we see from this passage that the individual owner still has control over their possessions. In that respect the family that God has created is not like the so-called families of any number of sects that have developed over the years. When you join the family of those who are being saved you do not have to hand over the deeds to your land, or your car keys or you mobile phone pin code.
Yet the Holy Spirit obliges you to use them for the good of the whole family.
The common interests that bind this family together are the love of the apostles teaching, fellowship, particularly meals together, the breaking of bread – the celebration of Jesus’s death and resurrection, and time together talking to The Father – (prayer).
As we’ve looked at each of the four marks of the church, I’ve posed a question or two for your consideration. My final questions are “What have you heard today that can build up the life of the believers, we who are being saved?”
and
“How might that be applied?”
If we start to look more like the apostles and the believers with them we will soon find that the Lord will add to our number those who are being saved.
Amen
No comments:
Post a Comment