Restoring New Testament...Living- Acts 2:42-47

It struck me several weeks ago that when descriptions of the early church occur in the book of Acts, very little is said about how they worshiped. But a lot is said about what they were like. 

This passage in Acts 2 is one of those occasions. In fact, it seems to serve as a general description of the church for the first several years. And what Luke felt compelled to write about was not their worship style or the different aspects of their worship. He simply wrote about what the church looked like and how they behaved...especially toward each other.

Now before you either get upset with me or start shouting "amen" depending on which way you lean, don't think for a minute that I am trying to say that how we worship does not matter to God. I'm not trying to make one iota of a point for or against the importance of "worship styles," orders of service, or anything else that is typically debated amongst brethren rather heatedly at times. What I am trying to point to is the fact that those arguments are curiously silent in the book of Acts. I won't go so far as to say that the arguments are not important...but I do think it's important to note that they cannot be the most important discussion we have!

Stop to think about how Luke describes the church:

• They were devoted to hearing, learning, and applying the message from God.
• They were devoted to sharing their lives together which had to include being together.
• They were devoted to breaking bread together. That could refer to the Lord's Supper specifically or it could refer to just a common meal. I tend to think it was a reference to both and that the two were hard to distinguish in the early church (See 1 Cor. 11:17-34).
• They were devoted to prayer.

That's the general summation of the church. The next few verses illustrate what those devotions looked like on a daily basis.

• The power of God was displayed by signs and wonders
• They counted each other as family to the point that they were sharing their possessions with each other freely to ensure everyone had enough. Why? Because they were family...and that's what families do.
• They got together as often as they possibly could both in the formal setting of the temple where they were meeting at the time, and in their homes in smaller groups. I think it is safe to infer from this passage that they were not meeting together out of a sense of obligation and "punching the time clock." They were meeting together because they were sharing the most exciting thing that had ever happened to them. They had been forgiven of their sins and were now promised life eternal in Christ! They were all adopted as children of the King and couldn't wait to see their brothers and sisters and daydream and praise God for the inheritance that would be theirs one day!
• Because of how the church behaved toward each other and behaved toward others...because of the way they represented their Father and their King, "the Lord added to their numbers daily those who were being saved."

 What an exciting time to be a member of the Lord's church! I'm sure it was at least somewhat more complicated than it seems on the surface, but when I look at this passage I can't help but think about how simple it seemed! Luke doesn't record growth strategies or evangelistic methods. He doesn't talk about training seminars or highly structured educational programs. He simply shines light on the church being the church!

I may be borrowing at least part of this phrase, but I don't know who I'm borrowing it from. But I think it is safe to say that when God's people are acting like God's people, more people will be added to God's people!

I am convinced that God's people argue about outreach programs, evangelistic methods, worship styles, and everything else under the sun because we are all trying to find the right balance of being welcoming to outsiders while at the same time being true to the teachings of the New Testament and the example of the early church and how they worshiped. But what if our focus is all wrong!?

Would anyone ever try to push "innovative worship" if our worship were already spirit-filled and "awe-inspiring" not because of the ambiance, but because of the people gathered all worshiping "in spirit and in truth!?"

Would anyone ever stew about how uninteresting the Bible class teacher is or isn't if the students learning the Bible were all serious about applying the principles of love and self-sacrifice that are as plain to understand as the words on the page?

Would anyone ever worry about the numbers if we were so known for our love for each other and for the lost that we had "favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding daily to [our] number those who [are] being saved?"

Let's be true to our best understanding of how the first century church worshiped. But let's be honest about the fact that if we are not first and foremost true to how the first-century church lived then it makes no difference what our worship looks like in the first place!

Scripture is plain that the most doctrinally sound worship possible will not reach the ears of God if the hearts of the worshipers are not first right with God and in tune with His heart for the world. (See James 1:27, Micah 6:6-8, Isaiah 1:10-20, Matthew 5:23-24, 1 John 4:19-21, Hebrews 13:15-16, etc.)

May we always be a people that is striving to restore and purify New Testament worship. But may we be a people that first strives to restore New Testament living so that our worship will be true.