What does your church do on a regular basis? According to the New Testament, there are four things that each local church should be doing on a continual basis — four things that will enable it to effectively fulfill all of our responsibilities before the Lord.
“And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.” (Acts 2:42, KJV)
When the early church launched at Pentecost, the writer of Acts (Luke) tells us that it was faithfully committed to these four things on a regular and continual basis:
- the apostles’ doctrine
- fellowship
- breaking of bread
- prayers
But wait!? What about the Great Commission? What about giving to the poor and needy? What about singing? What about–?
Hang on. Hang on.
Yes, the early church was committed to evangelism, worship, and service. And we see those things at its launch. In fact, we see them right in Acts 2. Let’s look at Acts 2 so we see the whole picture:
Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation. Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. And all that believed were together, and had all things common; And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.
Acts 2:37-47, KJV
Whew! That’s a lot. Let’s break it down…
37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?
Heard what? What’s the “this” that Luke is talking about the people hearing — and who are the people? Well, of course, we need to look at the rest of Acts 2. When we do that, we see that Peter has just finished preaching the famous sermon at Pentecost in Jerusalem. The people are responding to that sermon. At Peter’s words, they (the people in the crowd) were “pricked in their heart” and asked what they should do.
38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Peter calls on the people to “repent.” And to do so “in the name of Jesus Christ.” This is crucial. We’re not called to repent in our own identity or based on our own agenda. Rather, we’re called to give our lives to Christ — and to make Him our identity.
Repentance refers to a redirection or change in both mind and in purpose. As the MacArthur Study Bible explains: “Genuine repentance knows that the evil of sin must be forsaken and the person and work of Christ totally and singularly embraced.”
Peter then calls on people to be baptized. This echoes the Great Commission, which Jesus had given His disciples just days before at His ascension. Jesus told His disciples:
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
Matthew 28:18-20, KJV
Though Acts 2 is notably the first time that an apostle publicly called on people to be baptized, Peter is simply obeying what Jesus told him and the others to do back in Matthew 28. He’s teaching the people about Christ and then, upon their repentance, telling them to demonstrate their commitment by getting baptized.
39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.
Peter is making clear that the promise of God’s grace and His offer of salvation is not only for them (the Jewish people), but is also to those “afar off” (in other words, the Gentiles).
40 And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.
Luke tells us that Peter continued to “testify and exhort” with “many other words,” but simply summarizes those additional comments with one key statement: “Save yourselves from this untoward generation.” The New King James Version translates that as “perverse generation.” Jesus had earlier referred to that same generation as “crooked.”
In other words, though at least nominally (and, in some cases, seriously) “religious,” the people of Jesus’ and Peter’s day had perverted or twisted the ways of the Lord.
41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.
Talk about an “altar call”! The response to Peter’s sermon and invitation was breathtaking! Three thousand people accepted Christ, were baptized, and were added to the nascent church.
42 And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
We’ll come back to this verse. Let it simply be noted for now that verse 42 tells us what the early church did on a “steadfast” (modern English spelling as opposed to the KJV spelling of “stedfast”) basis. According to Luke, the early church persevered in these four things on a regular, continual basis.
43 And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles.
In response to the gospel, the growth of the church, and the obvious work of divine power via the “wonders and signs,” the people of Jerusalem were seized with a newfound wonder, awe, and reverence for God.
44 And all that believed were together, and had all things common;
The church drew together as a family. They didn’t move into a commune, but they held their possessions with an open hand — in “common” — just as a healthy family would.
45 And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.
Of course, there were people in the church (and, by implication, outside the church) who didn’t have any “possessions and goods.” There were people suffering in dire poverty. What about them? Well, the members of the early church sold what they had — and then they gave of the profits to those who were in need.
Was this “communism”? Well, it was not communism in a political or philosophical sense. The early church was not driven to do this because they read Karl Marx (who, of course, wasn’t even alive then and, when he was, was quite hostile to Christianity). No, they did so at the leading of the Holy Spirit. And…
This was not a policy implemented by the Roman Empire. This had nothing to do with the civil government. This was something the church did.
And it was voluntary.
46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,
Luke uses again the word “continually” to differentiate regular, enduring actions from single or uncommon episodes. And here he repeats and elaborates upon what he said in Acts 2:42. The early church continued “daily with one accord.” This is an emphasis on fellowship and unity. What’s more, they practiced “breaking bread from house to house” and they had their meals “with gladness and singleness of heart.”
Note that Luke refers to the “temple,” which might give 21st century Christian readers some pause or confusion. It shouldn’t. The temple was the center of worship in Jerusalem. I can say more about this in a future blog post. This is already getting long.
47 Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.
This verse is a continuation of the previous verse. Verse 46 and the first part of verse 47 are one sentence. And therefore, “praising God” was something that the early church did on a regular basis.
It should also be observed that the early church had “favour with all the people.” Why? No doubt their generosity to the poor and needy had much to do with that.
In the preceding passage, we see the early church did the following:
- They taught and proclaimed Jesus
- They called on people to repent
- They baptized those who gave their hearts to Jesus
- They welcomed new believers into their church family
- They exhorted people to follow Christ in their lives and not get caught up in the “crooked,” “untoward,” or “perverse” culture in which they lived
- They committed themselves to learning “the apostles’ doctrine”
- They regularly engaged in fellowship – including meals together
- They practiced the “breaking of bread” together (more on this in a future article)
- They persisted in prayer
- They held their goods and possessions in common
- They sacrificed of themselves to give to those in need
- They were in “one accord”
- They worshipped and praised God
- They continued to grow and multiply
Sounds like a healthy church, doesn’t it? Sounds like what the church is supposed to be all about?
But…
In order for the church to do all the above, in order for it to fulfill its mission and purpose, it needs (to use a modern metaphor) fuel in the tank. It needs (using another metaphor) an engine to run on. And that’s where Acts 2:42 comes in.
Some of the above things don’t happen on a daily basis. You only need to accept Christ once in your life. Likewise, you only need to get baptized when you accept Christ. You don’t always have to always give up goods or possessions – or completely renounce the ownership of anything and everything. While God still works wonders, we don’t see the same amount of “wonders and signs” today as were seen in the days of the apostles. And you don’t get the opportunity to preach to large crowds all the time.
But…
Luke tells us in Acts 2:42 that there are four things which we, as Christians, should be doing on a regular, “steadfast,” basis in our local churches:
- We should be continually learning and teaching Bible-based doctrine
- We should be in regular fellowship
- We should practice the “breaking of bread”
- We should always be in prayer
If we don’t do those four things on a regular basis, we will not have the strength or wherewithal to do the other stuff.
Our praise-and-worship, for example, won’t be proper if we don’t know doctrine and if we aren’t in prayer and fellowship. (Although, I would of course argue that praise-and-worship should be a part of our fellowship and prayer). And our generous giving won’t be properly applied if we’re not doing so from a foundation of love and truth.
The four things in Acts 2:42 are the four cylinders of the church’s engine.
If we neglect any of them, we will start having engine trouble – and that will lead to church trouble. And we will impede our ability to fully follow Christ and advance His kingdom.
In future articles, I’ll go into more detail on each one. For this post, I simply wanted to offer an overview of the passage and the importance of making sure we are truly committed to these four activities.
So, how is your church doing on these four things? And how committed are you to your local church?
God bless you!
