This past weekend Matt
Williams introduced a new series entitled “Generous and Obedient” in which he
referenced Acts Chapter 2 while discussing the issue of commitment to the local
church. Committing to the church is both
spiritual and disciplinary, and like any deep relationship, it requires
definition and clarity to reach a healthy state. Therefore, we must ask what God’s definition
of commitment to the church is, not look for our own.
Acts 2 begins on the Day of
Pentecost, which occurred 50 days after the Passion Fest and held tremendous
meaning for believers at this time. The believers
were gathered together in one place when the Holy Spirit descended upon, dwelt
in, and moved through them so that they were able to communicate the Gospel in
languages they had never spoken before.
Those in the surrounding area who heard them speaking came to the house;
they were astounded to hear the Galilee
natives speaking in their own languages from far off locations.
As several onlookers tried to
denounce the supernatural event occurring before their eyes, Peter began to
preach to the crowd, telling them that if they truly knew God they should
recognize this event as His doing. As he
begins to share the Gospel, it is evident to the crowd, just as it is today, that
the Good News doesn’t actually sound good.
It begins with bad news, that our sin is separating us from God, and fosters
tension as we realize we must humble ourselves to be made right with God.
It is our sin, functionally,
that keeps us from God. Even for
believers it is a continual process to turn from our sin and turn to God.
In verse 38, Peter explains
to those gathered that the greatest need they have is forgiveness for their
sins and they must turn to God. Two
thousand years later, the same is true for us.
However, loving God is most often not the hard part for the majority of
people; the hard part is hating the sin in our lives. We cling to it and allow it to be our
security blanket so that we would rather allow it to consume us than strip
ourselves of it. “It is our sin,
functionally, that keeps us from God.
Even for believers it is a continual process to turn from our sin and
turn to God.”
We struggle because we are
broken and have been since the fall in the Garden of Eden. Churches are imperfect because they are made
up of imperfect people, and leaders must struggle with the task of figuring
things out as they go. Yet, the Bible is
both descriptive and prescriptive; we can read about the past to apply the same
principles to our own lives, as well as learn what to do.
Verses 39-41 tell us of
Gentiles gathering to worship the Lord.
Three thousand were saved and added to the church in one day because God
moved. In the following verses we see a
“deep abiding affection” between the members of the church as they devoted themselves to the teaching and
fellowship. The question we must ask
ourselves in response to this passage is “How are we doing?” This kind of deep and authentic commitment is
what God wants us to be a part of here. We
must evaluate the state of our hearts to determine if we are truly being
disciples or just attending on Sunday.
Are we going to church, or are we being the church?
Money is a litmus test for
our love.
In verse 44 we see the
members of the body giving up their earthly possessions for one another. They are forfeiting their money. Though it is often easy to put up a façade
for those around us and fake our devotion with studying or singing or praising,
we cannot fake our devotion with our money.
“Money is a litmus test for our love.”
We are told to be both generous and obedient with all that we have been
entrusted with, including our resources.
Joy and generosity are intertwined and connected on the most basic
level.
Often, we each try to
personalize our relationship with God.
Yet, Jesus did not come to save His people and leave them in
isolation. In Acts, you could not be a
believer outside the church; it was a mark of disciple to be a part of that
community. Here, people “were not on the
fringe, they were moving to the center” to grow in faith and be on mission for
Jesus. The same is true for us
today. The Scriptures do not teach us
that church is simply a place to go.
There is no vision for not being involved. We must not allow our hearts to be divided so
that we are focusing more on our own lives than Jesus’ life or His body.
What have you made bigger in
your life than the church? What would
God do in your soul right now?
