Preached at St Mary the Virgin, Little Burstead, 7 April 2024
Based on http://3cephas-notes.blogspot.com/2007/08/four-challenges-from-acts-432-37.html
Reading Acts 4:32-35
Prayer
Introduction
Today we are going to look at the situation that the first Christians found themselves in and how they dealt with it. Then, we will look at four challenges that the passage throws up for us.
Background
This passage is part of the introduction to the story of Ananias and Sapphira which follows in Acts 5. A story of financial impropriety in 1st century Israel. If you've never read it – do so after lunch today.
A lot has happened since the resurrection, and here we are past Pentecost.
The story so far ...
Back in Acts 2, the church was born on the day of Pentecost, or more accurately the Jewish celebration Shavuot, or the Day of First fruits (Numbers 28:26). On that day Peter preached to the crowd, who had come from all over the known world. About 3000 of them accepted Peter's message that day, and joined the new Jewish sect – because that's all it is, until we get to Acts 11. Now many of them were just visiting for the celebrations and would have to return to their country of origin, but there would be quite a few who stayed on – because they had no pressing need to return and wanted to hear more of what Peter had to say. By the time we get to 2:42 we hear that the believers “devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”.
In that same section we read “All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.” which is very similar to the passage we are looking at today.
Everything in Common twice
I think this is mentioned twice, in relatively quick succession, by Luke, because the idea of communal living and resource sharing is so important to them. In Deuteronomy 15:4 we read:
However,
there need be no poor people among you, for in the land the Lord your
God is giving you to possess as your inheritance, he will richly
bless you,
They are blessed as a community, so this style of living makes the claim that the whole community are, the real inheritors of God’s blessing, not just some of the individuals.
Acts 3, 4
Then in Acts 3 there is the healing of a lame man, and another sermon from Peter, after which he and John get arrested. Even so, the number of MEN grew to about five thousand at the start of Acts 4. Peter and John get the chance to tell the Sanhedrin that it is impossible for them to stop talking about Jesus, and are let off with a stern warning. The disciples pray some more, their building is shaken and they continue their witness about Jesus.
The baby church was beginning to grow, and so was the opposition to it. First century Jerusalem was not a peaceful place to live, it was under occupation by a foreign enemy, its political and religious leaders were weak, indecisive, and ineffective. It was a dangerous place to be, but also an exciting place to be.
Four Challenges
As I read through this passage, I found four challenges, we are going to take a look at them now, they will help us to understand what God was doing with His church, and how the peoples responses in Acts can challenge the way we do things now.
1 Claiming Ownership
First challenge – Everything is shared.
“No-one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had”. The first thing to note here is that they had very little compared to us. It is sometimes easier to give up things when you don't have much in the first place. The Jews had a principle of hospitality, so would always be prepared to share with a stranger.
Tanzanian Hospitality
When I was in Tanzania, staying in the village of Chibelela, we were the guests of the pastor and his family. There were occasions when we were treated to a lavish meal, and ate with the men of the family, the women served us and went outside. I wondered what they ate. The leftovers?, or perhaps even less. There seemed no limit to their hospitality.
Share and share alike
When I was a child and was fighting with my sister over something, my Mum would always say “share and share alike”. A good principle, but there were some of my sister's things I didn't want to share, and it was a demand based on sharing out of joint riches – I was never arguing about something that would affect my survival.
We, in our sophisticated, so called, advanced society, have lost some of the basics of human community. What would it take for us to be able to say that we did not claim ownership of our goods? To answer that question we must first address the last challenge.
2 Use of capital
The second challenge is how we use our capital.
Joseph A.K.A Barnabus was a Cypriot, a member of the Jewish family of Levi from the dispersion. As a Levite, he was associated with the priesthood. We do not know for sure that he was living in Jerusalem permanently, but it seems likely that he had been there for some time. It is possible that the field he sold may even have been in Cyprus.
Christian communism
The sharing of everything was not so literal that Barnabus allowed others to determine that his field should be sold. This passage is often seen as a kind of Christian communism. That is not the case. Communism is based on compulsion – you have no choice but to give up your wealth, your property, your belongings – for the good of everyone. That is most definitely not happening here. Barnabus is responding to God, and the needs of God's people. The sale of a field is the sale of an asset that allows you to make money. The field is used to grow food, or raise cattle, without it there will be a reduction in income, but the capital raised will keep God's people from becoming needy – starving in this case. This is sacrificial giving – Barnabus will be worse off from now on – his income has been reduced.
What do we have that we could sell if the need arose?
I don't own a field. I doubt that many of us do. What is the modern equivalent? Perhaps a shop, a factory or an office. I don't own any of those either. So what have I got that I could use to raise capital? Well, I do have some investments. They don't provide any real income, some insurance policies, a few shares, an ISA. If the circumstances required, they could certainly be cashed in and the money provided for the needy.
What do you have?
3 Where does your giving go?
The third challenge is “Where does your giving go?”
This is not about how much you give.
“Each of us should give
what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under
compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”
2 Cor 9:7.
From time to time, it’s a good idea to review your giving, to ensure that it's at the level that you are happy with. You may decide to change it, or you may have to make adjustments to keep it at the same level!
My question is where do you put the money that you set aside to give? I've heard all sorts of ideas as to exactly what counts towards giving to God.
Some people will tell you that giving to Greenpeace counts towards their giving to God. Yes, we are supposed to look after the environment, but Really? What connection has Greenpeace got with the church of God?
Others will tell you that Amnesty International counts towards their giving to God. Well, I can see the justice connection, but what has Amnesty International got to do with the Christian Church. Some will tell you that Christian Aid counts towards their giving to God? Well, maybe it does, but let's have a look at this passage. When Barnabus sold his field, he put the money at the disciple's feet. That may be literal, or it may be symbolic, whichever it is, Barnabus brought his money, and gave up all control over how it was used when he put at the disciples feet.
How much?
The Jews had a religious tax of 10% which defined how much they should give, some Christians have a similar system. The tax was known as a tithe. Malachi 3:10 “Bring the whole tithe into the store house”. Which means that the tithe was to be given to the temple for the use of its officials. God is consistent in his approach between the old and the New Testament. However much you decide to give to God, must be given in total to God, to those He has appointed to use as He directs.
Now don't let that stop you giving to Greenpeace, Amnesty International, Christian Aid, or any other organisation. Don't let me stop you from starting to give to any of these organisations. Just please don't tell God that you're giving it to Him. Which brings us back to the story of Ananias and Sapphira.
4 Testifying to the resurrection
The fourth challenge, may, possibly be the greatest challenge for us all.
What was the priority of the very first believers? [Straw Poll]
Church?
Worship?
Preaching?
Eschatology?
Prophecy?
Writing a bible – so that posterity would be able to follow in their footsteps?
or something different?
NO – they are just about one man – a new type of man – the resurrected Jesus WHO IS coming back.
Peter and John have already told the Sanhedrin – the Jewish supreme council, that they cannot stop talking about Jesus. Every time Peter speaks, he mentions the resurrection.
Acts 2:32 “God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact.”
Acts 3:15 To the onlookers at the healing of the lame man, “You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this.”
Acts 4:10 to the Sanhedrin
“It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified
but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you
healed.”
How often do we tell people who don't know, that God has raised Jesus from the dead?
Consequence & Grace
There is a consequence for the willingness of the disciples to talk to everyone they meet about Jesus. “Much grace was upon them all”. It is the grace of God that has allowed the few to share what they have, to not claim ownership of their belongings. It is the grace of God that has allowed them to meet the challenges to turn what riches they have into capital, and provide support for the poor – the needy – amongst them. It is the grace of God that allows them to trust the disciples implicitly, to bring what they have and to trust that the disciple will distribute it wisely.
Conclusion
The baby church was growing under God's care, already they had 5000 plus members. The people involved were filled with the Holy Spirit, and had God's grace to help them overcome the unique problems that they faced. The miracles that Jesus started are continuing, and it can only be a matter of time before all these changed people start to have a dramatic effect on their society. Here we see the enormous excitement that a work of God brings – huge crowds, dramatic miracles, run-ins with earthly authorities. It’s a great story, and we know that our God was in control of everything that happened, but there were also great sacrifices.
Whenever God is at work, there are things to do, things to learn, and blessings to be received. There is much to make us think about how we live our lives in this passage, so I leave you with the four challenges:
Claiming ownership – how ready are we to share ALL that we have with others when the NEED arises?
Use of capital – What do we have that we could sell to support an urgent NEED in the Christian community?
Where does our giving go? - Is everything that we have promised to give to God brought into the church, or are we keeping control of the funds by directing them to certain organisations?
Testifying to the resurrection – How often do we explain the central basis of our faith to those who don't understand.
Amen.
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