In Acts 2 (see vv. 14-40), following the events at Pentecost, Peter preached a great sermon. At the end Peter gave this invitation: Acts 2:38, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
You know what happened? Look at verse 41. Acts 2:41, Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
Seven months ago I asked what we would do if 3000 people were added to our church membership in one day. We would probably say, “Praise the Lord!” We would be overjoyed.
In fact, it would be disastrous. Where would we put them? Would you give up your place? The fact is our entire church building is not large enough to hold 3000 people.
Let’s think about today an alive and active church. A church that will attract people to it like a light attracts moths. The first church in Jerusalem was alive and exciting and people were coming and hearing the message that Jesus saves.
The people were excited about their faith. They came together as a church to tell their world that what Jesus did for them.
Acts 2:42 – 47, 42They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
We can learn much from these early Christians.
Verse 42, They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching… Devoted is a very powerful word. In the Greek it is translated that these new Christians were persevering in learning what the apostles were teaching.
They were strongly committed to learn about Jesus and then learn some more about Him. You could also use the word “passionate” here. They were passionate in learning.
Listen! The foundation of the church is Jesus Christ—not you, not me, not the deacons, not anyone other than Jesus. Three thousand people were saved that day because they heard about and believed in Jesus Christ.
But they wanted to learn more. Their appetites were not satisfied. They wanted to—no, they had to—learn more about this Jesus of Nazareth, this Christ who removed the guilt of their sins, this one who so radically changed their lives.
The word “they” here is talking about those 3000 people who came into the church that day. They are the ones who devoted themselves to the apostles teaching. What did the Apostles teach?
They taught all that the Old Testament Scriptures revealed about the coming Messiah. They taught how Jesus was the perfect fulfillment of all the prophecies. They shared their first-hand experiences and knowledge. They taught how the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had glorified Jesus.
They told the 3000 that they had put Jesus to death on the cross (v. 36). Again in Acts 3:15, Peter pointed to a crowd of people and said, You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this.
Peter could have been pointing at us because our sins put Jesus on the cross. The apostles made sure that the 3000 knew the power of God raised Jesus back to life and it was the same power that saved each of them.
Yes, this first church made sure to preach and teach about the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, who died for our sins. They also taught about forgiveness and repentance and faith in Jesus Christ for eternal salvation (see Acts 2:38 above). Isn’t this what the church is to be about?
These 3000 people didn’t understand all the doctrines of Scripture. But they knew that they had been separated from a holy and just God because of their sins. They knew that they would have been separated from Him for all eternity if they had not believed in Jesus Christ.
We, too, are people to whom something indescribably and everlastingly wonderful has happened. Through our faith in Christ God has made us His people.
Like the 3000 we have been saved by the precious blood of Jesus Christ.
Like those 3000 people we come from all walks of life. For the most part they were Jews. But some were religious and most were not. Some were wealthy, most were poor. Some were educated, most were not schooled. But all of them needed Jesus.
And they all had to be taught about the Christian life and how to live a God-pleasing life. The apostles didn’t lead them to Christ and then forget about them. They provided training and Bible study.
The only difference between then and now is that their teaching and training went on every single day (v. 46). These new believers wanted it. You did not hear them complain about giving some time to the church.
They desperately wanted and needed to learn more and more about their faith. They were devoted to learning. Every born-again Child of God should want to learn more and more about Jesus, and how to live for Him and live a surrendered life to Him.
We often think of fellowship as pie and coffee with other believers. That’s just a small part. The real essence of fellowship is “belonging;” belonging to others who share the same beliefs, cares and concerns as you do. Verse 44 makes it very clear:
Acts 2:44, All the believers were together and had everything in common. This is what fellowship is; this is the true definition of the word.
You are mistaken if you think the Christian life is just your own private affair. If you have been born again into God’s family, not only has He become your Father but every other Christian believer in the world, whatever his or her denomination or nation, has become your brother or sister in Christ.
All, together, they had genuine feelings of love for each other. They didn’t hesitate to minister and meet the needs of one another. The guy who picks up the trash every week was there with the president of the local bank. The black guy and white guy were there.
It didn’t matter, they had real Christian love for one another, and they were prepared to meet each other’s needs and help one another out as needed. There was an out flowing of love that was contagious.
They were together and united in a common purpose. They knew what they were there for, and what their purpose was in the world.
They worshipped together, they prayed together, and ate together. They took care of one another, but they didn’t restrict themselves to their own needs.
They didn’t forget those around them. They didn’t neglect their purpose in the world. Their fellowship was also expressed outwardly. Look at verse 45 and then 47.
Acts 2:45, Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. The word ‘anyone’ here means both those in the community of faith and those out of it.
Acts 2:47, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
Do you note what verse 47 says: enjoying the favor of all the people…. How in the world can that happen? This is amazing! More often than not the church is in conflict with the world.
But, you see, they not only ministered to each other, but they ministered to their community. They gave to anyone as he had need. Our Child Safety Fair is one of the ways we touch our community. We’re exploring others. Some of you help at the Rescue Mission. These are the ways we touch our community.
Their compassion and generosity were known throughout the Jerusalem area. And that made this next though easier.
You’ve heard the expression, “People don’t care what you know until they know that you care.” The church in Jerusalem discovered the key to reaching people with the Gospel of Jesus.
Minister to them. Meet their needs. Show them that you care. Their lives were living testimonies of their faith. They were living the life of Christ. There is no better way to reach people than to simply be the Gospel, the Good News. In other words, be a Christian.
But let me add this about evangelism. Sometimes we make it too difficult. We come up with these elaborate plans and systems, different kinds of witnessing programs, and then, next year, we have to implement new ones.
But look again at the last part of verse 47. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. Why did the Lord add? Because of their faithfulness—their devotion to learning; their devotion to fellowship, and to evangelism.
You and I cannot save anyone. Only God in Jesus Christ saves people. When we are faithful to being Christ’s people, others become interested in Christian things.
And God is works through our faithfulness. This verse can be broken into four parts.
The Lord was adding to their number because of their faithfulness in devoting themselves to the apostles teaching, and their devotion to fellowship, and their devotion to living a life for Christ.
Now, let’s think about this and Del Norte Baptist Church. Go back to ‘devoted’ in verse 42. Maybe another way of saying it is, “They were gung-ho for Jesus. They were gung-ho for their church.”
It is hard to stop a church when it is gung-ho for Jesus. When we are absolutely committed and devoted to learning God’s word, for Bible study and the preaching of the Word, and for letting others know what we have, God is going to bless.
When the love in our fellowship is so real and tangible that it spills out into our community, and when our Christian lives are lived every day for Jesus, then God is going to add to our number. God always responds to faithfulness.
The only way that unchurched and non-Christian people can know anything about God is from you and me. The world takes its notions of God, most of all, from the people who say that they belong to God’s family.
The only time they hear the words “Jesus Christ” is as a expletive deleted—a cuss word. They read you and me much more than they read the Bible.
The early Christians had this great desire to learn more and more about Christ and Christianity.
Those early Christians wanted to be taught how to live a good Christian life. Today we think the church is interfering when we try to share what the Bible says about your marriages, your children, your friendships, your jobs, and so on.
Those early Christians wanted to know everything. They eagerly shared the Gospel with others because they earned the right by caring for others. They were faithful, and God added to their number day by day.
Devotion is a powerful word. The early Christians have shown us what it means to be devoted to Christ and His church. Devotion to Christ should be a daily characteristic of every believer. Let’s make devotion to Jesus our goal and our personal life-style. Devotion to Christ should be a distinguishing characteristic of our church.