Common Christian Community
Common Christian Community
Acts 4:32-5:11
Mark Dever has had more impact on my philosophy of ministry and my view of the local church than anyone else. His book, 9marks of a Healthy Church, transformed my understanding of the centrality of the local church in fulfilling the Great Commission. Mark was not only an author, but he was my pastor. Ellen and I became members of Capitol Hill Baptist Church in 2005. We visited on a Wednesday night and Mark came up, shook my hand after the service and asked me out to lunch the next day. At the time, I had no idea the impact Mark Dever and Capitol Hill Baptist Church would have one my life. They did not merely introduce me to the concepts of a healthy church, but they helped experience a community who loved Jesus, his word, and one another. Mark Dever is an abnormally gifted man with an incredible mind, a pastor’s heart, and an insatiable desire to strengthen the local church. Mark Dever is a modern-day Reformer who has followed in the long line of spiritual giants like Calvin, Luther, and Zwingli to address the failings of the church in the hopes to bring in a Reformation.
John Calvin along with the magisterial reformers defined a true church where the word of God is rightly preached, the sacraments were rightly administered and where church discipline was rightly practiced. Calvin and Luther were not only influenced by their decision from the Bible but in reaction to the contemporary situation. They did not see the Catholic church rightly preaching the word of God for it focused on salvation with faith and works. The sacraments expanded beyond the scope of the New Testament placing extra-biblical demand on the church. Church discipline was replaced with indulgences allowing church members to purchase opportunities to indulge their flesh with sin rather than pursue holiness. The reformers looked at the church in their day and saw a disconnect with the Scriptures so they said a true church is where the word is rightly preached, the sacraments is rightly administered, and where church discipline is rightly practiced.
Today is the 504 years since Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door in Wittenberg sparking the Protestant Reformation. One of the slogans of the Reformation became, “ecclesia reformata, semper reformanda secundum verbi Dei, '' or “the church is Reformed and always being reformed according to the Word of God.” As Calvin defined the church in Reformation in response to Catholic Church, Mark Dever wrote his, “9marks of a Healthy Church” highlighting what was lacking in the evangelical church of our day. The book is not trying to introduce new ideas, but to reclaim biblical ones. Expository Preaching, Biblical Theology, and a biblical understanding of the gospel and evangelism and membership, church discipline and church polity were areas in the contemporary evangelical church needing to be reformed to the Word of God.
Mark Dever founded 9Marks ministry to equip church leaders with a biblical vision and practical resources for building healthy churches to the glory of God. And yet Mark Dever’s ministry cannot be explained with Capitol Hill Baptist Church. Mark is one pastor among a plurality of pastors and he is one member of the body of believers striving to love Christ and reach the lost. 9marks and his impact would not exist if Capitol Hill Baptist Church did not display and adorn the gospel to the community. One day an unbelieving neighbor came to Mark Dever and gave him $100,000 and told him to use this to help do what has happened to the church. The man, even though he did not believe in Christ, saw such a transformation in the church and its impact on the local community that he was willing to invest in $100,000 to see it replicated across the country. What did he see as he lived next to the church? What did I see when I became a member over 15 years ago? We saw a compelling community who loved Jesus, sacrificed for one another, and proclaimed the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ as the ultimate and only hope for the salvation of our sins. We saw a true church. We saw a Spirit-filled community of saints with one heart and one soul striving for God’s glory. What I saw there, I have seen here at Park Baptist Church. And my hope and prayer is that our church will always be reforming to the Word of God as we assemble each and every week to sit under and submit ourselves to God’s Word to live God’s Way for God’s glory. To that end, let us aspire to be a church community that reflects the church in its earliest days of existence.
Common Community (Acts 4:32; 34-37)
Luke provides summary statements throughout the book of Acts to give the reader a window into the life of the early church. Luke repeats himself for emphasis. He writes in Acts 2:44-5, “And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.” And we come to Acts 4:32 and we see Luke writing something very similar. Quick catch up for those who are new to us, Jesus has ascended to heaven, the Holy Spirit descends on the Day of Pentecosts, Peter preaches Christ from the Old Testament, many repent and believe, he goes to the temple to pray and heals a man born lame, preaches Christ again from the Old Testament, is arrested, released and gathers with the church to thank and praise God. And it seems after Luke shares the healing of the lame man and the response, he pauses to remind us of the daily or common life of the church. Listen to Acts 4:32–37,
[32] Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. [33] And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. [34] There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold [35] and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. [36] Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, [37] sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
Let me make some quick applications. First, we see in Acts 2 and in Acts 4, this is speaking of “those who believed.” The church is established on faith in the good news of Jesus Christ's death and resurrection. A true church will be filled with believers. A church should have a regenerate-church membership or a community of born-again Christians because who you see in this passage is impossible without the regeneration of the Holy Spirit.
Second, we see faith changes everything. Faith changes who we view our money and possessions for it changes our god. Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” Spirit-filled believers have experienced a heart change and thus a change in how they understand and view their money and possessions. We become citizens of a new kingdom and a new King so we want our money and possessions to serve that kingdom and that King. Our possessions primarily do not belong to us, but are given to steward for God’s purposes. God owns everything. He gives us money, homes, and cars to be used for his glory. The early church were not holding on to their possessions but were giving them freely as any had need.
Thirdly, they had everything in common. They were of one heart and mind. The early church was united in Christ. They did not view themselves primarily as individuals but as part of a collective whole. Common is the Greek word koina which is where we get koinonia or fellowship. True fellowship involves mutual sharing with one another.
Fourthly, people’s needs were met. This implies that needs were shared. Needs cannot be met unless they are shared. And to share your needs is to demonstrate humility and your dependence on God and his people. Needs also cannot be met unless others supply their possessions and resources. Needs to be shared and supplied.
Beloved, we must aspire to be a church that shares and supplies for one another. We must have enough humility and trust in God and his people to share our needs. Our needs may be financial, they may be emotional or relational, or they may be spiritual. We all have needs. We must share those needs with each other. And we must work to supply those needs. God has given us one another. Every believer in Christ has gifts to be used to strengthen the body. We have been equipped by the Spirit to supply each other’s needs.
The church laid the proceeds at the apostles' feet as a sign of respect for their leadership and so they could wisely distribute the resources. Joseph, who was called Barnabas (son of encouragement) exemplified their common faith in their common Lord by selling a field and giving the proceeds for God’s glory. What an example! Barnabas was moved by the Holy Spirit to sell what he had to give to others. In Acts we are seeing a fulfillment of the New Covenant when the Holy Spirit will be written on our hearts. God commands his people in Deuteronomy 15:7–11,
[7] “If among you, one of your brothers should become poor, in any of your towns within your land that the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother, [8] but you shall open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be. [9] Take care lest there be an unworthy thought in your heart and you say, ‘The seventh year, the year of release is near,’ and your eye look grudgingly on your poor brother, and you give him nothing, and he cry to the LORD against you, and you be guilty of sin. [10] You shall give to him freely, and your heart shall not be grudging when you give to him, because for this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake. [11] For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, ‘You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.’
And we see the fulfillment of those commands not in Israel but in the church. The new community of the Spirit lives out the law not begrudgingly but joyfully and cheerfully sharing their resource with a wide open hand.
How do you hold your possessions…with an open or a closed hand? Is your home, your cars, your paycheck….mine (closed hand) or does it belong to God (open hand)? We will be always tempted to close our fists around the things the Lord has given us, but we must keep them with an open hand for we want to be sons of encouragement and not discouragement.
I am grateful we have many sons and daughters of encouragement in our congregation. Men and women who want to supply for those in need. Let me encourage you to share your needs. You can always ask the deacons and/or elders if there are needs you can help meet. You can always give to the benevolence fund which helps specifically meet needs as they arise. We have four of our ladies getting ready to go to the mission field and have needs. Maybe one practical way you can respond to this text is joining the monthly support team of Jennifer, Hayley, Casey or Addie? Maybe even some of you would consider leaving your home to the church in your will so it could be used to house missionaries and future pastors. Maybe God is calling you to downsize your home so you can give more or to add a room so you can house an intern or future ministry residents?
I do not know how God will ask you to fulfill this text, but I hope and pray we will always be a congregation who desires to be of one heart and one soul and having everything in common for when we are living this out we display the glory of God in Christ. We want to display an empty-tomb affection for one another. We do not want our love and our community to make sense without the resurrection. We want people to come into our community and see our diversity in age, education, ethnicity and economics and ask how is this possible? And we all collectively point to Jesus Christ and the work done by the Spirit of God. The healthy, Spirit-filled local church is the best apologetic of our age. People may deny our doctrine but they cannot deny our community. So we have to work hard for unity in the bond of peace. We have to strive to have peace with all as far as it depends on us. We have to lean into one another. We have to share our needs and supply the needs of others for this is common Christianity.
And we have a common faith in an uncommon God. Our faith is common for we all have the same faith in the same Lord. It is an extraordinary, miraculous faith for it is only given by Christ. If we want to have a Common Christian community we must have a Christ-Centered Community.
Christ-Centered-Community (Acts 4:33)
The aim of the community was not so everyone would look at their faith but in order for them to see the object of their faith. The miraculous change in the hearts of the people to form a new people wrought by the Spirit of Christ was to give testimony of the resurrected. A community born-again by the Holy Spirit testifies to the empty tomb. Acts 4:33,
“And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all.”
Great power and great grace. This is a Christ-centered community. Our communal life together has a purpose. A purpose to make Jesus Christ known.
If you are not a follower of Jesus Christ, let me explain what the testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus meant. The Bible teaches that God is the Creator and Sustainer of life. He is the intelligent designer and the mastermind behind the world we see. And when we look at the world we see complexity and congruency in the natural world, but we also see chaos. The world was created good, but man rebelled against God's good creation. They sinned and brought chaos and death into the world. Their sin caused a break in the world and a separation from God. If you have experienced guilt, shame, regret, anger, lust, greed, deception, you understand sin. And deep down you probably even know you deserve a consequence for it. The Bible says the consequence for sin is death. Now, the reason we are gathered here today and willing to sell possessions and give to those in need is because even when we were sinners God loved us sending Jesus to die for us. Jesus is the eternal Son of God. He became a human born from a virgin by the Holy Spirit. He lived a perfect life. He never sinned. And yet, it was the will of the Lord to crush him. God sent Jesus to the cross and Jesus willingly went to the cross. He died for all who would repent of their and trust in Christ. Jesus spoke of this during his earthly life to his disciples. They saw him die, but three days later they saw him rise from the dead. Death could not hold him.
Notice that the text says, “the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.” We believe when Jesus was raised from the dead he was publicly declared to the world that he was the Messiah and the only hope for salvation. It was God telling the world, if you want a resurrection, you have to believe in Jesus. So we gather here week after week to learn about Jesus and share life together because we believe he is the Lord. He is our master, our king, our teacher and the ruler of our lives. We would encourage you to consider Jesus’ life and death on the cross and his resurrection and the implications of what it means for you and for salvation.
Beloved, let me drive the point home. Our lives together as a body and our testimony about the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead are linked. If we believe Jesus was raised from the dead, we will live differently. Even in our name, the church, the ecclesia, means called out ones. We are called out of the world to live in hope of the resurrection in the world to come. Our citizenship is in heaven. We no longer belong to this world. We are born again with a new Spirit longing for a new country whose founder and builder is God. Which is why we can live with open hands for we know we can take nothing with us but can send it ahead. Remember the words of the Lord Jesus,
Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
We are so often a material people living in a material world, but because of the resurrection we are a spiritual people living for a spiritual world. We are called out of this material world and longing for another. I reminded of the great hymn of faith,
I'm kind of homesick for a country
Where i've never been before
No sad goodbyes there be spoken
For time won't matter anymore
I'm looking now across the river
Where my faith is gonna end in sight
There's just a few more days to labor
And then i'll take my heavenly flight
Beulah Land, i'm longing for you
And some day on thee i'll stand
Where my home shall be eternal
Beulah Land -- Sweet Beulah Land
And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all.
Consecrated Community (Acts 5:1-11)
The church is a Spirit-filled community but it is not a perfect community. We aspire to be a set apart community, but sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is to master us. And it comes in all shapes and sizes. The beginning of chapter 5 has a conjunction connecting the end of chapter 4 showing us it is meant to be one unit. The theme is the same, the selling of property, but instead of encouragement, we see a warning. Acts 5:1–11 says,
[1] But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, [2] and with his wife’s knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles’ feet. [3] But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? [4] While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but to God.” [5] When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard of it. [6] The young men rose and wrapped him up and carried him out and buried him.
[7] After an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. [8] And Peter said to her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for so much.” And she said, “Yes, for so much.” [9] But Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.” [10] Immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. When the young men came in they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. [11] And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things.
God will not be mocked. He knows the heart.
Ananias and Sapphira did not have to give all their proceeds of the sale of their property to the people of God. R.C. Sproul notes,
their sin was not in holding back some of the funds but in the pretense, the hypocrisy. They lied to the church. They lied to God. They lied to the Holy Spirit. They pretended that they were giving the full amount when they were not. Giving gifts to God is sacred business, and to taint a gift to the Lord by concealing it in the package of a lie is a kind of blasphemy against the sanctity of God.
They lied against God and the fellowship. Peter asks in verse 3-4,
“Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but to God.”
Peter links this action with Satan, the father of lies, the accuser. He lured and tempted Ananias to lie to the Spirit and the fellowship. He wanted the recognition of the community more than the approval of God. Or another way of saying it, he feared man’s opinion more than he feared God.
Beloved, are you tempted to do the same? Are you tempted to lie to God and to the fellowship so others may think better of you? God knows and God wants you to confess your sins because he is faithful and just to forgive your sins and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness. When we don’t confess our sins, we are not fully believing we have an Advocate before the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous who stands for us. When we do confess we are saying, I am a sinner, rightly accused for my sin, but I believe my sin has been dealt with in the cross. My hope is not in my reputation or the opinion of others but in Christ. Beloved, God is righteous and we are not, but in the gospel we have the righteousness of Christ. We have Christ! We do not need to hide for we have Christ standing with us. If God is for us, who can be against us? If God is for us, it does not matter who is against us?
Ananias lied and died. Sapphira lied and died. Will you lie and die? Will you follow the prince of the power of the air? Will you be filled with Satan or the Spirit? God acted in a profound way to keep the purity of the church because the purity of the church could not be threatened as she began to witness in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. God is patient towards sinners, but he will not be mocked. He knows our hearts. Let us strive to live with a clean conscience before God and man.
I believe the surrounding community saw the power of God in the generosity of the church and the discipline of the church. I believe both moved people to worship the Lord and see his power in salvation and in judgment. There are four “greats” in the passage. Great power and great grace in Acts 4:33 and two great fears in Acts 5:4; 11. I am reminded when Lucy asked the Beaver in the Chronicles of Narnia, if Aslan was safe, to which the Beaver replied, “Safe? Who said anything about safe? Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King.” Beloved, God is good and safe for those who fear him, but good and full of fury towards those who stand against him.
Beloved, it is easier to talk about the Barnabas’s but we also have to talk about Ananias’ as well. Both are in the Scriptures for our edification. And if we are honest with our own hearts, it is more natural to us to be like Ananias than Barnabas. And yet, we have been filled not by Satan but by the Spirit of Almighty. We have been born again in the power of the resurrection. We have been given empty tomb affection for Christ and his church.
Over 504 years ago, Martin Luther ignited the Protestant Reformation. Over 20 years ago, Mark Dever helped ignite an Evangelical Reformation. The church must always be reforming to the Word of God. Reformation doesn’t start in history books, but in our hearts. What reformation does God need to do in your heart today? What reformation does God need to do in our church today?
All great spiritual reformation begins when we honor Christ as Lord in our hearts and living as witnesses of the resurrection as we labor for his glory day in and day out, assembling Sunday after Sunday to hear the Word of God and to share and supply our needs with one another so that the world may know the great power and the great grace of Jesus Christ our great Savior.