Acts 2:42-47. The Marks of a Healthy Church
‘In Search of Excellence’ is a book written by Tom Peters and Robert H. Waterman, Jr.. The book explores the art and science of management used by several 1980s companies. When first published in 1982, it sold 3 million copies in its first four years, and was the most widely held monograph in the United States from 1989 to 2006. On characteristic of the successful companies stands out clearly – they all did the basics well.
When churches are analysed in a similar way, those that achieve their goals are also ones that do the basics well. We must each keep looking at our core values and check that we are doing these well. It is good to keep checking the vital signs of the body, just as a doctor does.
In our passage today we can see what the apostolic church thought important. Presumably they were taught this by Jesus himself as, although they had no experience of running a church, got it exactly right. They emphasised several features of a healthy church,
Devoted members
Learning from God together
Sharing and working together
Sacraments together
Praying together
Caring for each other
Evangelising together
Inspiring leadership
Vibrant churches are active in all these areas.
Devoted members
It was because people were devoted to the Lord Jesus so that they were forgiven their sins and could experience the power of God to live a Christ-centred life, that they committed themselves to God’s church.
“They devoted themselves . . .” Acts 2:42
Learning from God together
One feature of these new Christians was their devotion to Christ. They had stepped out publicly to demonstrate their allegiance to the Lord Jesus, although this would have very real risks. They were clear that commitment to Christ meant commitment! Local churches must foster this same understanding.
I was asked to lead a mid-week mission in a local Roman Catholic church which had many members. After the first talk a middle -aged Irish lady came up to thank me and added,
“I don’t know why everybody isn’t a |Christian.”
To this I wholeheartedly agreed, but then she added,
“After all, all he wants is one hour a week!”
I felt deflated, had I made nothing clear? At least, by the sixth week there were one hundred and thirty present for the final evening.
We read that the three thousand ‘devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching’ (Acts 2:42). This must have involved a big commitment.
“Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts.” Acts 2:46
Most of this teaching would have to have been in the Court of the Gentiles, the large colonnaded outer court. The apostles now spoke with the authority of the risen Jesus. When Peter began his sermon he said,
“Listen carefully to what I say.” Acts 2:14
When he gets to the meat of the talk he again says,
“Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs which god did among you through him, as you yourselves know.” Acts 2:22
Jesus was his authority and it was Jesus who made passing on this message the priority. What a tragedy it is that some people are now trying to redefine mission as doing anything that God would approve of, such as giving healthcare, digging wells and providing food banks. Please don’t misunderstand me. These are all good things and should be the product of a church that shares the teaching about Jesus and the forgiveness from out sin that the death of Jesus has made possible. However mission always has been and must remain the proclamation of the message about Jesus. It is all very well to have hospitals and wells and food banks but these can never put people right with God. People must hear the message that Jesus is the incarnation of God and be told that they must follow him if they are to be given eternal salvation. Peter and John were on trial after healing a paralytic outside the temple in Jerusalem.
“They (the Jewish authorities) were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.”
Teaching was clearly the apostles priority. They then bravely told the Sanhedrin,
“Salvation is found in no-one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12
It is eternal salvation that is at stake if we do not share the news about Jesus with them. Preaching is increasingly being criticised today, whether from the pulpit or simply sharing the gospel with others, yet it is only by using words that the gospel can be understood. Some have suggested that St Francis of Assisi said, ‘Preach the gospel and use words if necessary.’ It is now known that he never said this, in fact he was an ardent preacher and a great advocate of people being told the Bible’s message.
Preaching is not a man sharing his ideas about something, it is not a salesman recommending his product to people. Preaching should be the proclamation of God’s message to people and should therefore be given with God’s authority. Peter did not stand up and appeal to the needs people have. He didn’t say,
“If you feel lonely, I have a word for you”
“If you feel guilty, I have a word for you’
‘If you are anxious I have the answer for you”
No, his message is that God has entered his world as Jesus the Christ and because he is God all people must bow before him and beg for his forgiveness of their sin. All other benefits are secondary. Everyone must listen to Jesus because of who he is. The gospel doesn’t start with us and our needs, it starts with the historical truth about Jesus, his death and resurrection.
When the crowd heard what Peter had to say about Jesus, who he is, what he did and where he is now they felt convicted of their sin. The gospel is that because of Jesus the penalty for our sin has been paid for us by a substitute. The delete key can be pressed on the file that shows our thoughts and actions. There is a new life for those who turn away from their sin, accept the rule of Jesus and are willing to let the world know of their new allegiance. This is the message we have to share, not how to be better dads or some other social benefit.
John Calvin, the great reformation leader said about preaching,
“God deigns to consecrate the mouths and tongues of men to his service, making his own voice heard in them. Whenever God is pleased to bless their labour, he makes their doctrine efficacious by the power of the Spirit and the voice, which is itself mortal, is made an instrument to communicate eternal life.”
God can use any kind of voice to communicate this message. It is not dependant on the personality of an extrovert preacher, or his gifts, it is the power inherent in the word of God. When a preacher says, ‘Listen!’, ask yourself, ‘\Are they telling me about Jesus?”
Richard Baxter was an Anglican minister in Kidderminster who understood that his job was to share God’s message and he was passionate about this, with amazing results. He said to a group of fellow Anglican clergy,
“It is no small matter to stand up in the face of the congregation and to deliver a message of salvation or condemnation from the living God in the name of the Redeemer. It is no easy matter to speak so plain that the ignorant may understand us and so seriously that the deadest heart may feel us and so convincingly that those who contradict us may be silenced.”
A preacher or person who understands the authority of the message who has great power. Peter focussed on the death and resurrection of Jesus to deal with our sin and leaves people with the idea that something must be done if they are to avoid falling into the hands of an angry God. Instead of fleeing from him they must kneel before him and ask for his forgiveness, knowing that he is a God of grace and love.
“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching . . .” Acts 2:42
How this needs to be stressed today. The authority behind God’s church is the authority of God’s word. When Martin Luther was on trial at the Diet of Worms this was his defence, saying,
“Here I stand, I can do no other.”
Whenever a church or denomination shifts from the authority of God’s word it will eventually lose authority and people will drift away. No matter how strong the threats made by the clergy or church establishments, these will be seen to be the threats of men. However entertaining a church is, if obedience to what God says is not central, then people will discover that the world entertains better. Community is very important but, if that is the focus, many men in particular will find the community of the sports club or social centre to be more to their taste.
Sharing and working together
This Biblical concept is very important. People need to know they belong. The Greek word for fellowship is koinonia, which is based on the word koinos, meaning ‘common’. This is the basis of our word ‘community’. People care for each other and share what God has given them.
A shop or company may have the title ‘J. Smith and partner’. The word partner has this same meaning as koinonia. So it is with the church, all Christians are in business together, with a common goal, to honour the God who has saved them and empowered them to live in obedience to him. Every Christian must see themselves as partners with others to glorify God by what they do and say.
It is this community with a common goal that makes the church attractive. Our fellowship with other Christians reflects the fellowship we have with God himself. Paul wrote that this fellowship is the result of being taught God’s word,
“We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.” 1 John 1:3
When a person becomes a Christian they become a member of this fellowship. They is no such thing as a solitary Christian. John wrote,
“Whoever loves God must love his brother.” 1 John 4:21
A family enjoys and makes a priority of doing things together, even when the activities are not to each individual’s liking. So it is with a church, we make it a priority to spend time with other members. We are now the family of God.
This means that we must have a concern for others in God’s church who are less skilled or privileged to ourselves. In the young church at Corinth, the privileged had a terndancy to stick together and look after themselves. God’s word says that such thinking is wrong,
“ . . . there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honoured, every part rejoices with it.” 1 Corinthians 12:25-26
It is inevitable that in a church, as in any family, frictions will develop. Friction has been defined as:
“Heat generated by one or more bodies rubbing up against each other whilst moving in different directions.”
Feuds are everywhere within churches as people fall out with others. The reason is that we are still sinners. We know the good we ought to do, but don’t do it, and the bad we don’t want to so, that we do. Christians are rough uncut diamonds. Someone has described the problem of building a church like trying to build a box with bent bananas! Just as a skeletal joint needs synovial fluid to keep it lubricated, so churches need the offices of many peacemakers to keep the body of the church moving without too much creaking. Isn’t this why Jesus said,
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.” Matthew 5:9
Sin may no longer reign but it definitely does remain. Most people leave churches because of these frictions. Those who are church hoppers need to discover why they are so prone to leave a body of Christians – is it the doctrine or is there a problem with people?
How should a church treat those who are disruptive, either in their doctrines or behaviour. Paul was clear that it is a poor church that is weak and does not act against such individuals:
“ . . . so that by following them (God’s instructions) you may fight the good fight, holding onto faith and a good conscience. Some have rejected these and so have shipwrecked their faith. Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme.” 1 Timothy 1:18-20
Any person who seriously rejects the teaching and practice of the apostles as revealed in Scripture is a danger to others in the church community and therefore wise leaders will ensure they have no place there until they change. Yet how the Father welcomed home the prodigal son when he repented of his independent ways. Firm action is needed in families with wayward children – they will have to leave the company of the family and go to their rooms or onto the naughty step, until they learn to behave. So churches must not tolerate disruption. The difficulty is that churches rightly want to be thought of as nice, tolerant places so they tend to tolerate friction and division. Charles Colson, became a Christian shortly before going to prison for being President Nixon’s hatchet man in the Watergate scandal. He has advised against such weakness,
“No-one should expect to join a church which, after all, involves a free decision, and then refuse to accept its authority. For failing to attend a few meetings one can be thrown out of the Rotary club, for failing to maintain a particular dress code one can be dismissed from most private clubs, for failing to perform the right community service one can be thrown out of the junior league (an American ladies social support organisation), but when the church imposes discipline, denying the benefits of membership to those who flaunt its standards, it is charged with everything short of fascism. But shouldn’t the church have the same right to set its standards as the Rotary Club? People who don’t like it should go elsewhere. We weaken the church when we fail to maintain its discipline.”
Great wisdom is needed here as discipline can be used to drive the unconvinced away!
Sacraments together
“. . . to the breaking of bread . . .” Acts 2:42
Many families and institutions insist that at certain times the family must come together to celebrate their unity and purpose. This is what Jesus asked of his church. Just as the Jews had an annual Passover meal to remember their deliverance from slavery in Egypt, so christians eat together to remember how Jesus delivered us from sin. Such meals are meant to be a wonderful celebratory meal.
Some churches have unfortunately used the communion as a political weapon and insist that unless people attend and receive the mass, which they teach is a repeat of the sacrifice of Christ that the church offers them, they cannot be forgiven. This gives the church great power as people are afraid not to comply. The difficulty is that such churches can then become the authority that gives people salvation instead of emphasising that salvation comes only from the relationship with Christ as my Lord and Saviour. In such churches it is all to easy for people to feel safe because they have attended mass and fulfilled the obligations the church makes but have not understood that salvation is only to be found in a personal submission to Christ. This way of thinking is encouraged by the Roman Catholic doctrine of ‘transubstantiation’ where it is taught that after the words of blessing by the priest the bread and wine literally turn into the body and blood of Christ. The priest will then elevate the host and people will worship these elements. The sacraments can then be reserved for people to worship later. Only by feeding on these elements can people be saved. The Roman Catholic church refers to John chapter 6 to justify this doctrine where Jesus said,
“I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live for ever. This bread is my flesh, which I give for the life of the world.” John 6:51
However John 6 is very clear that what God wants all people to find eternal life and to do this we need to to acknowledge the rule of Jesus in our lives,
“Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. . . . The work of God is this; to believe in the one he has sent.” John 6:27-29
Jesus is clear that when he talks about feeding on the bread of life, he means to enter into a personal relationship with him and nothing less.
“I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. But as I have told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe.” John 6:35-36
“. . . whoever comes to me I will never drive away.” John 6:37
“For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.” John 6:40
“I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life. I am the bread of life.” John 6:47
It is highly significant that John is the one gospel writer to omit the communion service in his account of the last supper, instead he emphasises the teaching Jesus gave his disciples. That neither Jesus or John intended people to understand that feeding on Christ referred to the communion service is clear because this ritual completely from his account. What a tragedy it is for people to be taught that because they have accepted the creeds and rituals of a church, baptism and conformation, and are taking communion regularly that they are safe for eternity. Without a personal commitment to Christ there is no salvation, that is what belief means. It is much more than a cerebral assent, it involves a complete change in direction, a continual repentance, living with Christ for ever after. The Bible teaches,
“He became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.” Hebrews 5:9
Jesus used sacraments to remind us of the fundamentals of the faith. Baptism enacts that we are associating ourselves with Jesus Christ who died and rose again. As we go under the water our sins are symbolically washed away. It is not the act of baptism that removes our sin, it is faith in Jesus Christ. We rise from the water to live a new life with Jesus as our Lord. Without that intention to obey and live for Christ the rituals achieve nothing.
Receiving communion has been ordered by the Lord Jesus when he ‘Christianised’ the Passover feast. That occurred once a year but how often churches have communion services is not a doctrine of Scripture. What is important is that communion should be a time of rededication to the Lord Jesus whose crucifixion was the ultimate sacrifice that, once for all time, did away with the need for any more sacrifices to try to please or propitiate God. This is another reason why the doctrine of the mass undermines the teaching of Scripture. Jesus is not literally present in transubstantiated bread and wine, we cannot worship these elements. We use the sacraments to remember together our Lord Jesus. Luke makes it clear that the sacraments are meant to remind us of the Lord Jesus; at the first communion service in the upper room Jesus said,
“This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” Luke 22:19
It is not receiving the communion, given by a specially ordained priest, that saves us, it is a gift given to those who have an obeying faith in the Lord Jesus.
However, involvement with other local Christians in remembering who the Lord Jesus is and what he has won for us by going to the cross, and corporately expressing our longing to work together for him is an essential aspect of being a Christian.
It is significant that the same phrase, ‘the breaking of bread’ is repeated four verses later where the social element is emphasised:
“They brake bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favour of all the people.” Acts 2:46-47
Prayer
Jesus recognised the importance of discussing all the decisions he made with his Father in heaven. He spent a night in prayer before finally selecting his twelve disciples. The great victorian preacher C.H.Spurgeon called the corporate prayer meeting the ‘powerhouse of the church’. The disciples clearly taught these new Christians how they should involve the Lord in all they are doing. Much prayer is a quick arrow prayer, ‘Lord, do you want me to do this’, ‘How can I talk with this person about you?’ Other prayer is more systematic, praying for those people and activities that you long for God to influence or help. More is achieved by prayer than we can ever know before eternity. Where Christians are not praying, little happens.
Caring for each other
The love for others in this young church was very practical:
“Selling their possessions and good, they gave to everyone as he had need.” Acts 2:46
How attractive such a loving community is. In their society there were no social services. National health service, police service, fire brigade or income support schemes. The church immediately set to work to care for their members and some sold off their possessions to meet this need. It is this love for God’s people that others around see. Jesus stressed the importance of this practical love for his people:
“I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brethren of mine, you did for me.” Matthew 25:40
The church needs to care for its members. In Acts 6 we read that although the church leaders recognised that their priority had to be ‘the ministry of the word’ (Acts 6:2), nevertheless they appointed seven who would concern themselves with the dasily distribution of food. It is striking however that two of them at least (Stephen and Philip) could not stop sharing the gospel with people.
Evangelising together
The book of Acts is concerned about the growth of the church as the message about Jesus is spread by ordinary men and women assisted by the teaching of church leaders. It has rightly been described as the Acts of the Holy Spirit, it is he who drives the church to witness with the founding of many new churches. God’s church is a church of mission. What a disaster it is when Christians are not talking about Jesus, it is as if he doesn’t mean much to them.
John Stott, the great Bible expositor said,
“No self centred, self contained church absorbed in its own parochial affairs can claim to be filled with the Spirit! The Holy Spirit is a missionary Spirit so a spirit-filled church is a missionary church.”
I have been very critical of certain Roman Catholic doctrines but the final words of the Tridentine mass have much truth, if only people could understand Latin! Its final words are:
“Ette missa est!” which literally means ‘Be sent out’
In other words, ‘Go out now into the world to live for and speak for the Lord Jesus’. How many churches need to hear this message again. We meet together to be encouraged to go out into God’s world to live for him evangelistically.
The early church grew very rapidly as the message about Jesus was told:
Acts 1:15 – 120 people were praying
Acts 2:42 – 3,120 people learning
Acts 4:4 – ‘Many who heard the message believed and the number of men grew to about 5,000’
Acts 5:14 – ‘More and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number.’
The emphasis is that it is God who does the work of regeneration, it is he who makes us want to be forgiven our sin and to become Christ’s representatives. We share the message about Jesus, we sow the seed, but only God can make it grow.
Someone once said to me,
“I know you are trying hard to save me, but you haven’t done it yet.”
I replied,
“No, I never will either. I have never saved anyone! The only way to be saved is to ask the Lord Jesus to forgive you and change your heart.”
If we saved people, can you imaging what the converts would be like!
Our job is to keep sowing the seed of the message about Jesus. Why do Christians do this? Paul explains this in his second letter to the Corinthians:
a. Judgment “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ that each one may receive what is due to him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men.” 2 Corinthians 5:10-11
b. Love for Christ “For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all . . . He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.” 2 Corinthians 5:14
c. Commissioned “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through hrist and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.” 2 Corinthians 5:18
“He has committed to us the message of reconciliation.” 2 Corinthians 5:19
d. Ambassadors Just as our sovereign appoints ambassadors to represent her, so the Lord Jesus has appointed us to be his representatives on his earth:
“We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.” 2 Corinthians 5:20
Our message should always be the same as that of Jesus, Peter and Paul and this was,
“We implore you, on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Corinthians 5:20-21
The church’s mission has never changed. It is is tell as many people as possible how they can be forgiven their sin, that separates them from God, and be empowered to become righteous like our Lord. Paul could write:
“Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone to win as many as possible.” 1 Corinthians 9:19
How we need to see our world a God sees it, as people dying without a knowledge of the Saviour.
“When he (Jesus) saw the crowds he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” Matthew 9:36
Jesus went on to tell his disciples what they can do about this:
“Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” Matthew 7:37-38
The disciples themselves became the answer to their prayers.
What we need today is people with a vision of what God can do through them What a joy it was to hear of a Christian who has been talking to a friend and has been asked if they could join us in studying the Bible.
Inspiring Leaders
Peter and Paul were such men. People boldly stood up and proclaimed the gospel in front of thousands of people. They both had their problems but they were clear about their mission and were not only inspiring themselves by their zeal, energy and ideas but inspired others. No organisation or church will prosper without such leadership. Churches must never underestimate the effect their leaders have on a church. Indecisive weak leadership results in indecisive weak churches.
Howard Schultz was the man behind Starbucks. This organisation has had an incredible growth and this was largely attributed to him. His vision was that people should refer to coffee as Starbucks. He foresaw the day when people would walk the streets of Chicago carrying his cups with his symbol on them. He tried hard to get people to invest $4 million to start his company. One physician recognised his leadership potential and invested $100 thousand. When the company went public on Wall Street those shares were worth $10 million! When Howard Schultz went to see some bankers about investing in his ideas and he told them:
“Starbucks was attempting to accomplish something more ambitious than just grow a successful public enterprise, we had a mission to educate consumers everywhere about fine coffee. We had a vision to create an atmosphere in our stores that drew people and gave them a sense of wonder and romance in the midst of their harried lives. We had an idealistic dream that our company could be far more than the paradyme defined by corporate America in the past. We had a vision. We had a dream.”
Didn’t Jesus have such a mission, and didn’t he inspire his people to work hard to achieve this?
The church still needs inspiring teachers like Jesus, Peter and Paul who set an example to others in the church. The level of commitment and purpose in a church as in any organisation seldom exceeds that of the leaders. What a reminder this is to all of us who are teaching in churches, home-groups, schools or Sunday schools!
BVP
