Introduction
We celebrated Pentecost last week. What effect does Pentecost have on the church? To answer that question, we will spend 5 weeks looking at what our Scripture reading from Acts 2 tells us about the Spirit-filled church.
Today, we find out that a Spirit-filled church is a learning church. Or, to use the words of our text, we have to say that a Spirit-filled church devotes herself to the teaching of the apostles. One might say that on Pentecost the Holy Spirit opened a school in Jerusalem; its teachers were the apostles whom Jesus had appointed; and there were 3,000+ students in the kindergarten!
I The Apostles' Teaching
A There can be no doubt that the Apostles devoted themselves to preaching and teaching. I think of the time the Sanhedrin warned Peter and John not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, "We cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard" (Acts 4:20). And then they prayed, "Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness" (Acts 4:29). God must have answered this prayer because later we are told,
(Acts 4:33) With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all.
I also think of the time the first deacons were appointed. The apostles found themselves too busy looking after the needs of the widows. As a consequence they were neglecting the ministry of the word of God. Therefore the deacons were made responsible for looking after the needy so the apostles could give their attention to prayer and the ministry of the word (Acts 6:2-4).
B What did the apostles preach and teach? What was the content of their message? What did they say to the people? In one word, they preached the Gospel. And the Gospel, of course, focuses on Jesus Christ. The apostles talked and taught about Jesus. In his Pentecost day sermon Peter said, "Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth ..." (Acts 2:22). As Peter demonstrates, it is impossible to preach the Gospel without proclaiming Christ.
I spent some time this past week looking over the apostolic sermons that we find in Acts. We can distinguish four elements in these Gospel messages. First, the Gospel events. At the center of the apostles' proclamation was the death and resurrection of the Lord. Second, the Gospel witnesses. The apostles appealed to two witnesses: the Old Testament Scriptures fulfilled by Christ and their own eyewitness experiences. Third, the Gospel promises. The apostles proclaimed the promise of forgiveness (to wipe out the past) and the gift of the Spirit (to make us new people). Fourth, the Gospel demand or response. The apostles proclaimed that the Gospel of Jesus demands a response of repentance and faith (cf Stott, The Spirit, The Church, And The World, p. 80-81).
Here, then, is the fourfold Gospel message of the apostles: two events (Christ's death and resurrection), attested by two witnesses (the prophets and the apostles), two promises (forgiveness and the Spirit), and two responses (repentance and faith).
In their teaching and preaching the apostles present us with an example to follow. For the church, like the apostles, must proclaim Christ. The church, like the apostles, must proclaim the fullness of the Gospel message.
In the town of Delburne, Alberta, there is an old water tower, built in 1926. Now standing empty, the building has been bought by two men who want to turn it into a dining and cocktail lounge. Plans call for a bar to be built on the second floor.
Something similar has already happened in various communities: that which was originally designed to provide the water of life has been "converted" or changed into something bad. For instance, schools were once thought of as sources of moral and spiritual benefit; but in most of our big cities they now are fountains of agnosticism and atheism. Even churches, built to convey to men and women the water of life, are now the providers of everything but the Gospel. There's bingo, and there are dances, and there are clubs and fellowship, and there are programs and concerts. But they no longer function as proclaimers of the Gospel. Or, consider this:
Topic: Apostasy
Subtopic:
Index: 1235-1236
Date: 5/1987.2
Title: Church of God Grill
Charles Paul Conn tells of the time when he lived in Atlanta. He noticed in the Yellow Pages, in the listing of restaurants, an entry for a place called Church of God Grill. The peculiar name aroused his curiosity and he dialed the number. A man answered with a cheery, "Hello! Church of God Grill!" He asked how the restaurant had been given such an unusual name, and the man at the other end said: "Well, we had a little mission down here, and we started selling chicken dinners after church on Sunday to help pay the bills. Well, people liked the chicken, and we did such a good business, that eventually we cut back on the church service. After a while we just closed down the church altogether and kept on serving the chicken dinners. We kept the name we started with, and that's Church of God Grill."
If the church doesn't preach and teach Christ she is nothing but a social club. If she doesn't preach and teach the Gospel she is nothing but a worthless parasite sucking money, and time, and resources from the community.
The apostles, then, devoted themselves to teaching and preaching the Christ of the Gospels.
II The Church's Devotion
A Our Scripture reading tells us that a Spirit-filled church devotes herself to the apostles' teaching. Let's first look at what this does not mean. This does not mean that the new Spirit-filled converts were enjoying a mystical experience which led them to despise the mind or reject theology. A Spirit-filled church is not anti-intellectual, anti-learning, anti-education. In fact, anti-intellectualism and the fullness of the Spirit are incompatible. Yet, many preachers and churches today think of doctrine and theology as undesirable and impractical.
A major Christian magazine recently published an article by a well-known charismatic speaker. He mused for a full page about the futility of both preaching and listening to sermons that go beyond mere entertainment. His conclusion? People don't remember what you say anyway, so most preaching is a waste of time. "I'm going to try to do better next year," he writes; "that means wasting less time preparing long sermons and spending much more time preparing short ones. People, I've discovered, will forgive even poor theology as long as they get out before noon."
This reminds me of a new church that took out a full page advertizement in the paper. The heading at the top: Ten Things We will Never Do. In the list were things like: We will never get you home after the opening kick-off. We will never ask for your wallet. We will never make you join the church. We will never ask you to attend a class. Notice the trend: anti-intellectual, anti-theological, anti-learning, anti-commitment.
Our Scripture reading tells us that a Spirit-filled church devotes herself to the apostles' teaching. This does not mean that the church opposes the reading and studying of religious books and magazines. This does not mean that the church ever adopts a know-it-all attitude – because in this life and on this earth we can only know in part and prophesy in part (1 Cor 13:9). This does not mean that the church discards all human teachers and professors as being unnecessary.
B Our Scripture reading tells us that a Spirit-filled church devotes herself to the apostles' teaching. The Greek word for "devote" means "to be loyal to someone; to diligently occupy oneself with something." This word is used of Simon Magus who followed Philip everywhere like a puppy-dog follows its master (Acts 8:13); Simon, we would say, was devoted to Philip. This word is used of a soldier who faithfully obeys his commander (Acts 10:7). This word is used of Paul who "devoted himself exclusively to preaching" (Acts 18:5). Elsewhere in the New Testament we read that the apostles – with the women – devoted themselves to prayer (Acts 1:14; cf 1 Cor 7:5). And, Paul tells young Timothy to devote himself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching, and to teaching (1 Tim 4:13).
Our Scripture reading tells us that a Spirit-filled church devotes herself to the apostles' teaching. This means that those early Christians sat at the apostles' feet, hungry to receive instruction, and they persevered in it. This was no 10 week or 2 year course they participated in; rather, it was something lifelong. Also, it wasn't only the young but the middle aged and the elderly too who received instruction.
Our Scripture reading tells us that a Spirit-filled church devotes herself to the apostles' teaching. They heard the Word, they studied the Word, they memorized the Word, they read the Word, they meditated upon the Word.
Our Scripture reading tells us that a Spirit-filled church devotes herself to the apostles' teaching. This means that they believed the Word, they defended it, and they obeyed it (Acts 11:23; 14:22; Col 1:23; 2 Tim 3:14; Heb 10:39). They did not shrink back from the Word. They did not deny the Word. They continued or remained in what they had been taught and learned.
C Our Scripture reading tells us that a Spirit-filled church devotes herself to the apostles' teaching. This means she does not follow the footsteps of the church in Galatia. About this church Paul can write:
(Gal 1:6) I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel -- which is really no gospel at all.
The church of Galatia put aside the Gospel of salvation by grace through faith; in its place they put a Gospel of works. We can only believe that this church did not devote herself to the apostles' teachings. A Spirit-filled church, on the other hand, is devoted to that teaching and does not slip from the Gospel message. Or, consider what was published by Redbook magazine back in August of 1961. The publishers hired one of the top pollsters in the nation to survey a full representation of our seminaries which are supposedly preparing men for Christian service in the Protestant churches. Here are some of the results – compare them carefully with what the Bible says about apostasy:
Of the ministers in training, 56 percent rejected the virgin birth of Jesus Christ, 71 percent rejected that there was life after death. 54 percent rejected the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ. 98 percent rejected that there would be a personal return of Jesus Christ to this earth.
I can't help but think that those seminarians and their professors did not devote themselves to the apostles' teachings. For if they had, they would have believed in the virgin birth, the resurrection, and the return of the Lord.
D Our Scripture reading tells us that a Spirit-filled church devotes herself to the apostles' teaching. So what does that mean for us today in the Trinity Christian Reformed Church?
*If we, as Spirit-filled people, devote ourselves to the apostles' teachings then we insist that the pastors behind this pulpit preach the Gospel.
*If we, as Spirit-filled people, devote ourselves to the apostles' teachings then we eagerly come to hear the Word of God. Along this line, I have to confess that I can't understand why everyone of our members do not come to the second service. Don't forget, a Spirit-filled church is hungry to receive instruction.
*If we, as Spirit-filled people, devote ourselves to the apostles' teachings then we get involved in Bible Study.
*If we, as Spirit-filled people, devote ourselves to the apostles' teaching then we never neglect family and personal devotions.
*If we, as Spirit-filled people, devote ourselves to the apostles' teaching then we read not just secular but Christian magazines and books too.
Topic: Devotional Life
Subtopic:
Index: 1002-1005
Date:
Title: Cruise Control
A couple of decades ago a newly retired couple cashed in their stocks and bonds to purchase one of the finest motor homes available on the market. One of the great features back then was the cruise control. As they were traveling up the West Coast, the husband became tired and asked his wife to drive while he went in the back to take a nap. As she was driving she put the camper on cruise control and it worked perfectly. After an hour of straight highway driving she got up to go to the bathroom. She thought cruise control was the same as automatic pilot, she told the Highway Patrol after the accident. The motor home was totaled in the accident, but neither partner was hurt.
This is not only a true story, but it is also an illustration of many Christians who have put their lives on cruise control and are not in worship, prayer, or Bible study.
Conclusion
A Spirit-filled church, my brothers and sisters, is eager to receive the apostles' instruction. A Spirit-filled church is anxious to believe and obey what Jesus and His apostles taught.