00:00:00 – 00:00:10
Clint Loveall
Hey, everybody. Thanks for joining us. Thanks for finishing out the week with us as we finish out Chapter 2 in the Book of Acts. One of my favorite little sections here,

00:00:12 – 00:00:13
Clint Loveall
this

00:00:15 – 00:03:10
Clint Loveall
is personal opinion, but one of the wonderful things about the Book of Acts is it gives us these little snapshots of how the early church did life together. And it doesn't break it down a great deal. They're just kind of scattered in through the rest of the stuff, but as a person who hangs out in church a lot, and as a person who thinks about what the church is and should be a lot, I find these kind of passages fascinating. So jumping in here verse 37, we'll kind of read that, we'll talk it through quickly, and then we have another little piece we'll add after that. So now, when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and they said to Peter and the other apostles, brothers, what should we do? Peter said, to them repent, be baptized, every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promises for you and your children, for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord or God calls to himself. And he testified with many other arguments and exhorted them saying, save yourself from this corrupt generation. So those who welcomed his message were baptized. And that day, about 3,000 persons were added. They devoted themselves to the Apostle's teaching and fellowship and to the breaking of bread and their prayers. So Peter, we saw yesterday, Peter has made this impassioned speech. He has proclaimed the gospel. He has proclaimed Christ. And now in response, there is this wave of interest. The response that comes is how do we have a part? of this? What do we need to do to be involved, to be included, to be covered by these things Jesus has done, and we get what becomes a pretty standard formula, believe, and be baptized. And what's interesting here, Michael, is that Peter says, so that your sins may be forgiven. And I think this is where modern Christians expect some reference to go to heaven. But that is not in the deep concern for the early church. The faith is to guide them in this life, and they will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. That's not to say that Peter doesn't look forward to a life beyond this life. That's part of the teaching of the early church as well. But what Peter sees as the ultimate benefit of faith is this reconciliation with God and the receiving of God's spirit through Jesus Christ. And I think that is a little surprising maybe to modern

00:03:10 – 00:06:19
Michael Gewecke
readers. I think that maybe even the part that's come before has been surprising and maybe we've missed it until we get to this point. And so I'll be really brief here, but now when they heard this, I just want to remind you, the this that we're talking about here is the last two sessions, the last two lessons. So if you miss those, skip back and see them. But But just an overview, they're the story of Jesus. They're how Jesus was prophesied and foreseen even in the Old Testament stories of David and David's role and how Jesus fits into that. Clint, I just think it's really significant that the message that Peter proclaims first is Jesus Christ, is his identity. And modern Christians, we, I think, are tempted to believe that when we share the gospel, that what we're sharing is sort of the moral voice of the gospel, that if you were to receive Christ, this is what it should do for or to you, and maybe both, right, that you will live your life in a different way, you'll behave in this certain way, you'll speak this way. We have in mind the shape that a Christian life should take, and we would say, repent and be like that shape. But that's not at all what Peter is referencing here. Belief is in a person, Jesus Christ, and what God has done in and through him, destroyed death and raised him to eternity. And because of that, then we are told, repent, be baptized, each and every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, so that your sins might be forgiven. and you will receive that gift of the Holy Spirit. Note, the gift that the apostles received in that upper room is not a gift that is intended to be only for them. It's a gift for everyone that believes, who repents, who comes into the circle. Why? Because they also then become witnesses. And I think what you're seeing is the seed was planted. It's germinating and it's growing. And it's an amazing moment in the church's life to see that when Jesus, Christ is at the center, the growth itself will follow. And then repent, which that means to do a 180. It means to turn around. It means to have a change of direction. So your life is changed through baptism and the gift of this spirit in such a way that we can see here even later that you might be distinct from the corrupt generation, from those that have not received that message. Make no mistake about this has a direct impact on the way that you live. But Clint, I think, we might miss the power of this. Jesus Christ proclaimed, the repentance, the infilling, the transformation. This is what the early church is seeing is that first generation, that first moment of proclamation generates this kind of witness and then this kind of movement. And we're going to see that continue throughout this book. This is not a one-time occurrence. This is a model of what happens when Jesus Christ is proclaimed and

00:06:19 – 00:08:56
Clint Loveall
then received. There's a wonderful encapsulation here. First of all, they are convicted, and then there is repentance, the turning from one's sin, the turning to Christ away from self, and then there is a life led by the Holy Spirit, which distinguishes one from the world around that person. So creates in that person a differentness, a spirit unlike that of the world. And that is, I think if you read through the rest of the New Testament, it is all fleshing out one or another of those parts of this little formula here. What does it mean to repent? What does it mean to be ingrained in the church, ingrained in Christ? What does it mean to grow in Christ by the power of Holy Spirit? And what does it mean to be set apart, consecrated, made holy, and therefore different than the world around one, which is not those things, which is not of God, which is not Christian, which is not focused on the kingdom of Christ. And there is this amazing moment, Michael, where we don't know what the total audience is, but this is a shocking number that as Peter makes this speech, as he preaches this message, as he proclaims this truth, 3,000 people respond that are added to their number. That is, that's a phenomenal thing to imagine that right off the bat in this first instance of proclamation, there is such interest. And again, we saw in the gifts of Pentecost, tongues of fire and sound of wind. And now that message, that proclamation of Christ begins to catch on, just almost like a fire spreading through a field. Very quickly, their numbers go from a handful of people, maybe 120 or so, I think, was mentioned, to now some 3,000 who will maybe take this message back to their own places if they're no longer in Jerusalem. And we begin to see the fulfillment of that thing we've spoken about before. You will be my witnesses to the end of the earth. And what a giant step in that direction here right off the bat. This

00:08:56 – 00:10:56
Michael Gewecke
last verse, I think, is really key, and I think it's worth taking some time with. They devoted themselves to the Apostles' teaching and fellowship to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And Clint, I think inherent in this is the fact that from the very beginning there has been an interpretive work. There has been a not just reading the scripture, but in this case, going to the apostles for them to expound, for them to explain, for them to offer insight as to what those scriptures mean. It's an important part of the Christian tradition that it's not just that we take the things at face value, but that we encounter them in the midst of a lived community. The people who saw Jesus are the one who teach. They're the ones who help explain. And then it continues on. It's not just that you sit and you listen. It's also that there's a responsibility for fellowship, breaking a bread, a kind of communal effort of being together. Jesus, of course, himself gave this meal to the disciples in that upper room. They are now giving the meal to those who are following Jesus in their midst. And then, of course, the idea of prayer of being connected, that these are things that live even today. I had a professor in undergrad once asked the question and said, if one of the first 12 disciples walked into your church, would they know it was a church? And I think it's a fascinating question because in the modern world, we do have churches that, you know, don't have a lot of Christian symbols. They don't have a lot of Christian connections in them, the way that they're designed. I think that this is the kind of work of the people of God. They would know we were Christians because they would see us doing this today. This remains a part of the life of a Christian and the work of learning, of growing in the faith, of fellowship in together, of taking bread, of praying for and with one another, that this is what it means, this is what it meant then, and this is still what it means now.

00:10:57 – 00:13:58
Clint Loveall
I think this isn't language they would have used then, but if we were comfortable saying it, we would say, or I think I could say of this passage, these 3,000 or so don't simply become Christian. They become committed. They become devoted to a life of growing in Christ. What does that involve? It involves learning. It involves community. It involves worship, breaking of bread, and it involves prayer, that they began to nurture with discipline and regularity all these various aspects of the Christian life so that they could not only come to Christ, but growing Christ. And I think that is an important word for modern Christians, because, yes, responding to the gospel and claiming Christ is a wonderful thing. But But it's a beginning thing, and there are more things after that. There is a life that that points us toward, and a path that that puts us on. And here we see already these people are committed to walking that. And very quickly, we'll see where that took some of them. As we jump back into the text, verse 43, awe came upon everyone because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles. All who believed were together, and they had all things in common. They would sell possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all as any had need. Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home, and they ate food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all people, and day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved. I have to say, I have to say on the front end, Michael, this is one of my favorite passages in the book of Acts. I think this is incredible snapshot, an incredible compliment to the early church, that such was the nature of their commitment and their love for one another, that they lived together, that they did life together, that if someone had needs, someone else would sacrifice of their own possessions to give. And the words here, that they were generous with their hearts, they would share. They ate food with gladness, they broke bread in homes, they spent much time together. This is an incredible painting of a group of people being changed and being made one in Christ, a transformative picture of this early group called the church. And one of my absolute favorites, and I think a high bar for the church to continue to seek to live up to.

00:13:59 – 00:16:43
Michael Gewecke
So one might fixate on this initial language, awe came upon everyone because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles. Acts will go on and describe some miraculous things. But clean, anyone who's been in church long enough would be able to affirm that what is being described here is miracle enough, that people are bound together in this kind of way, that they are sharing life, that they're sharing resource, that they are embedding themselves, not just in the temple, which, by the way, they came to Jerusalem so that they could be in the temple, right? That they have made that migration from wherever that they were so that they could come to celebrate this meal, this Pentecost time. And yet here, they're now celebrating it in a new way. They're now part of a new community. And I think it would be really easy for Christians to read a book like Acts and think that it's just about people who heard a thing and then the religion started. For these folks, they came expecting one thing and then they became part of a new community. There are no single Christians in this telling of the book of Acts. There's not someone who came and had their heart warmed and then they went and they did something by themselves. They became part of a family. They became part of a new community. They may still have gone to temple, but now what that temple meant was completely reshaped. And the life that they spent together represented the new values that they were reoriented around. And in this case, they shared these things in common. They distributed to those that had need. This is Jesus stuff, Clint. This is, we see those who were the lost in the least, and this is the church now becoming the hands and feet to those lost and those least. And this is not an accidental telling. Luke has made it clear from the beginning of his gospel. Jesus cares about everyone in the community from the highest to the lowest. And here, Luke, as he tells the story in the beginning, the church wants us to be clear that the church is continuing the thing that Jesus always did. This isn't made up. This isn't something that was fabricated, that this is the church living Christ's way in this new community. And I think that this is an incredible text, which, by the way, has along in the story, the history of both being read in helpful ways and probably less helpful ways. And if we can focus on the context that surrounds it, I think it has a lot to encourage and challenge us in. Well, that's, I would say

00:16:43 – 00:19:23
Clint Loveall
two things to that end, Michael. I think this text is descriptive of the church, not proscriptive. In other words, I don't read this to say this is everything a church should do, that churches should have people selling property. But as it describes the spirit of generosity and compassionate care for one another, that is what the church should do. It may look differently in different contexts, in different settings. So I don't think this is a recipe so much as you have to do this. in this way to be church, I think it's simply describing what happens when a group of people who love Jesus come together and let that love shape their community as well. And when they do that, and this is maybe my favorite part of the passage, the last verse, day by day, the Lord added to their number, those who were being saved. This kind of community is attractive. This kind of community is of interest to people. It brings people in because as people are met with joy and generosity and care and love and people acting in these ways toward one another, as people are met with joyful hearts and people who genuinely are interested in their lives as well, the church can't help but grow. There is something so inviative. about what is being described here, that a church that can do this, I think isn't going to have to worry too much about an outreach program. And the last thing I would say about this text, I love that Luke says, those who were being saved. Because as it becomes described in the book of Acts, salvation, we sometimes think of as this one-time moment where we get our membership card. And I don't think that's a helpful. way to think about it. Now, theologically, there might be something to be said for that, but practically speaking, we get up every day and we live out our salvation, and we do that with one another in the context of being the body of Christ together. And every day, people are coming in and their number is added to those, not who were, quote unquote, saved, but those who are in the process of living out that salvation. I think that is a beautiful phrase. in a wonderful way for Luke to

00:19:23 – 00:20:11
Michael Gewecke
describe it. I think it really helps us understand what is said in verse 38 so that your sins may be forgiven and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, because when we move forward, Clint, we do sometimes think that salvation is about the sins part, and it certainly is, but look at everything that comes after the sins part. That is an essential doorway, but going through that doorway opens a whole new and expansive life. And I think that what we see here in the text is that life described in a short jewel. I mean, this is just scripture for a moment peeling back the beating heart of a vibrant Christian community. And when you see that, it is winsome and it is beautiful because it reflects Christ.

00:20:11 – 00:20:37
Clint Loveall
And if you've had the good fortune to interact with that kind of community, if you've experience that there really isn't anything else like it. I mean, it is life-giving. It is attractive. It is faith-building. It is not easy. It is not simple. It is unfortunately not

00:20:39 – 00:20:49
Clint Loveall
commonplace, but it is exceptional when it happens. And if you've been fortunate enough to be in a place where that happens, I think it's very recognizable. We would love to

00:20:49 – 00:21:00
Michael Gewecke
pitch a tent here and camp here, but Axe is going to keep on going. So we're glad to have you here with us this week. We look forward to continuing on next week until we do. Be blessed. Thanks, everybody.