Friday, August 16, 2019

The Church Then and The Church Now

The following is an excerpt from my writings on the Book of Acts. While it summarizes Acts, it also draws a contrast between the Church then and the Church now. The excerpt is from the summary of the book and discusses a few of the main themes of the book.


If we look back on the Book of Acts, the main character we see throughout Luke’s writing is not Paul, not Peter or any other human. The main character is the Holy Spirit. Jesus told His disciples in John 14:15-17 that He would ask God the Father to send the Holy Spirit to them. Again, in Acts 1:8, Jesus tells them the Holy Spirit would come upon them. On Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came upon them and empowered them to tell the world about Jesus. The Church was born and the believers in Jesus had the Holy Spirit within them. From  Peter's sermon on Pentecost to Paul’s message to the Jews in Acts 28, the Holy Spirit was at the center of everything that happened in Acts.


It was the Holy Spirit who sent Paul and Barnabas out to minister to the Gentiles. The disciples in Antioch were praying but it was the Holy Spirit who gave the command. Paul knew he was sent by the Holy Spirit. In his writings, he gives the credit to his calling to the Holy Spirit or Jesus. He never says he was called by men or sent by men. As to how the Spirit’s presence was obvious even to non-believers, when John and Peter stood before the Council in Acts 4 they were amazed at their boldness and how they articulated their defense. Referring to them as uneducated Galileans, the Council could tell there was something different about these men. It was the presence of the Holy Spirit in their lives.

As Paul moved from place to place on his missionary journeys, it was the Holy Spirit who guided him. You recall in Chapter 16, his attempt to go one way and the Holy Spirit directing him to Macedonia. Paul even received a vision to confirm this direction. It was the Holy Spirit in Paul who performed the healings when among the Gentiles.  Yes, it is the Holy Spirit who is the main character in the Book of Acts.


Scripture tells us that God never changes. So, why do some Christians today believe the Holy Spirit worked differently in the early Church than He does today? I don’t believe He does. But I do believe men have dipped their fingers into God’s business and have muddied the waters when it comes to how Jesus wants to operate His Church. The Holy Spirit, today, is the forgotten person of the Godhead. Many Christians never even consider Him as God but without Him in our lives, we would be lost and unable to function as servants for God. For an idea of what that would be like, just take a good look at the Old Testament writings.


There is another important point I need to mention concerning the Book of Acts. When the Church was born on that Pentecost Sunday and believers began to worship Jesus as their savior, there was no wavering. The early Christians didn’t straddle the line between the world and the Church. Their undivided devotion and worship of Jesus was immovable. When persecution came, they didn’t surrender and give in to the attacks, they persevered and stood strong, even while suffering physical abuse or being chased from the comforts of their homes. They left Jerusalem and took the gospel elsewhere as Phillip did in Samaria.


They had a strong commitment to Jesus and trusted in Him to see them through these trails. They were prayer warriors; they prayed all the time and it wasn’t just something they felt obligated to do as part of their faith. They prayed together, had Bible studies together and ate together. They didn’t cling to material possessions and actually donated property and other items as a means to support the Church. Their lives had truly changed and nothing could deter their love for Jesus and their worship of Him. They realized what it truly meant to be saved. They had been freed from the requirements of a legal system which they could never completely obey. They fully understood who Jesus was, as the Messiah they had been waiting for.


They lived their lives completely and totally for Jesus. They didn’t dabble in the things of this world. Today, the Church has submerged itself in the agendas of this world such as politics and social justice as a form of gospel. William McDonald has this to say concerning this item.


Did they engage in politics or seek to remedy the social evils of the day? Their outlook was that all the ills and abuses in the world arise from man’s sinful nature. In order to remedy the evils, one must get at the cause. Political and social reforms treat the symptoms without affecting the disease itself. Only the gospel can get at the heart of the matter, changing man’s evil nature. And so, they were not distracted by second best remedies. They preached the gospel in season, out of season. Everywhere the gospel went, the festering sores were eliminated or reduced.[1]



Can you imagine the Church conducting God’s business this way today? They knew they were in this world and never tried to distance themselves from it but they didn’t dabble with the things of this world. They were ready in an instant to reach the world with the gospel. I think that Christians today engage with the world, with worldly things. Please don’t misunderstand what I’m saying. We all have to go to work and we work with people who are not Christians. We should be friends with them, to an extent, and that being we don’t cross the line from our Christianity into their worldly activities. If they invite you to go to an establishment, which promotes a more sinful lifestyle, after work or to some other worldly activity which could be a distraction to your faith, you have to say no. But we must continue to tell them about Jesus.


You’re not being a prude and your faith in Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, should tell you those are not the type of activities you need to be involved in. Most Christians, serious God serving Christians, do not need to be told this but some are a little weaker in their faith and might be easier deceived. They need a mature Christian to come by their side and help them. A lot of Christians today don’t understand the distraction which the early Church might have faced. There are always distractions; ever since the serpent deceived Eve in the garden, there have been distractions.


So, the Book of Acts allows us to see and know that the early Church was all about being committed to Jesus and spreading the gospel to the world. By means of the working of the Holy Spirit, they traveled many miles on foot and suffered physically to tell others about the gospel. They risked their lives and were ready to die for Jesus while they did His work. Can we say we see that in the Church today as a general attitude? No, not even close. Today’s churches worry and squabble over Gay marriage, which political candidate to support, get out to vote campaigns, supporting worldly social justice programs and every other type of worldly agenda you can think of. Instead of concentrating on sound Bible teaching and preaching, they concern themselves with entertaining and striving to make people feel good about themselves.


I could go on and on about the many false teachers and teachings in organizations which call themselves church. But then I would have to write another book. I simply want to draw a contrast between the early Church and their approach to their worship of Jesus and that of today. And, it’s not even close. The early Church understood the dangers of being a Christian. They understood the dangers of preaching the gospel. They didn’t hesitate to stand in a marketplace and share the gospel message with others. Just go back and read about the many times Paul was attacked and how he was beaten and left to die.


I know there are parts of the world today where all this is happening and persecution is very strong against Christians. When I say these things, I am not referring to them, they get it and they understand. It’s to the Church in the U.S. that I say these things. Consider the practices of the early Church in their worship of Jesus. I’m not saying we need to sell everything we own and all live together; it’s our attitudes as Christians and our approach to Jesus which needs to be looked at. Can we live as the Christians in the early Church did? I think the Book of Acts is a great guideline for us to follow when it comes to doing Church and how to worship Jesus.















[1] Believer’s Bible Commentary, William McDonald, p. 1666