ARE YOU A HEALTHY CHURCH

Acts 2 verses 42-47

The book of Acts was written by Luke for a man named Theophilus. Acts is really volume 2 of Luke's gospel. In the book of Acts Luke continues the theme of his gospel that Jesus is the universal Saviour. Thus the theme of the book of Acts can be expressed as: The Word of Jesus progressed from Jerusalem to Rome and the New Israel, the Christian church, grew. Acts features Peter prominently at the beginning and then later concentrates on Paul. There are many references in Acts to the work of the Holy Spirit and the historical account of the missionary work of the early church. Acts is primarily a history book, it is not primarily a book of theology. Luke gathers information together, and it is not always chronologically related. If you Luke at chapter 1 verse 4 we find the purpose of the book. So that is the context of the book of Acts.

Acts 2 v42-47 - the immediate context is that the disciples have been filled with the Holy Spirit and they have spoken in other languages (which the crowds understood) and Peter has preached the gospel to those gathered around them. The result is that 3000 were added to the church that day. Luke then concludes this part of his book with a summary statement of the state of the embryonic church - verses 42-47. It is this summary which gives us the checklist for a healthy church.

Verse 42 - here is the list to check if you are a healthy church, which means checking yourself.

'Devoted to the apostles teaching...' they were a learning church. The word which Luke uses for 'devoted' here speaks of a steadfast single minded fidelity to a certain course of action. This was their settled heart, mind and will - to follow the teaching of the apostles. The teaching of the apostles was considered authoritative because it was the message about Jesus of Nazareth proclaimed by accredited apostles. It undoubtedly included a compilation of the words of Jesus (20.35), some account of his earthly ministry, passion and resurrection (2.22-24), and a declaration of what all this meant for man's redemption (1 Corinthians 15.3-5). In other NT epistles we read of the 'Christian tradition' which could be passed on to others - I Cor.11.2, 1 Thess.2.13, 2 thess. 2.15 and 3.6. Therefore submission to the teaching of the Apostles was a sign of a healthy church - for us that means submission to the authority of the NT is a sign of a healthy church today. The early church did not dispose of the need for human teachers of the Word of God. They had a whole hearted, whole mind and whole life steadfast faithfulness to obeying the teaching of the Apostles. It was not mere verbal consent or intellectual consent - it was consent by a life lived according to the teaching of the Apostles whatever the cost. Could this be said of your church? Of you?

'the fellowship'- they were also devoted to the fellowship of believers. This implies that there was something very distinctive about their gathering together as believers. There must have been some discernable external identity that meant the disciples, the 3000 and those added to the church daily were known by. They had a common identity in Christ. They were a loving church in fellowship one with another.

There are some of you who claim to be followers of Christ and will attend church for a few weeks and then will not attend for a few weeks and your devotion to your fellowship is weak. To be honest with you if it was your place of employment you would probably be sacked for poor attendance. I take no pleasure in saying that to you but if you are going to be a healthy church then some of you here need to seriously examine your commitment to your fellowship. The sign of a healthy church is one were the believers (there is the key word - the believers) are devoted to fellowship with one another. 'The breaking of bread' - many NT scholars have debated what this meant. Some have argued that it was a type of fellowship meal like the 'Haburah' meal of the Pharisees. It is generally agreed that it was meal which demonstrated mutual love and respect, recalled their earlier association with Jesus and was a paschal remembrance of the crucifixion of Christ. This meal expressed their joy of communion with the risen Christ and of fellowship with one another.

For many churches the 'breaking of bread' is expressed in the sharing of Holy Communion together. In coming to these communion rails we, together, are saying that in Christ alone do we find salvation. May I remind you that the sign of the peace is not an insignificant act in your service but is a reminder that we should be in fellowship with one another and an opportunity to correct any defects before we come to the table. Please remember that.

'Prayer' - both formal and informal prayer. Prayer was central to the life of Christ. He often modelled it to his disciples. We often read in the gospels of Jesus praying both in private and in public. I have always been struck by the fact that the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray. They could have asked about all sorts of things from him but it was prayer that they wanted teaching about. How seriously do you take prayer? How healthy is the prayer life of your congregation? So prayer is on the checklist for a healthy church.

Verse 43 - The result of all of these is seen here. 'Everyone' - not just the believers but the whole community was filled with awe. The phrase which Luke uses 'to be filled with awe' speaks of something which was ongoing and not just a momentary reaction. It is the same with the wonders and miraculous signs - they were not just a temporary phenomena but something which was ongoing in the life of the early church and apostles, as you can see if you read on through Acts. So the people held the early church in awe because of their lives and because of the wonders and miraculous signs.

Verses 44-45 the early church expressed itself in communal living and sharing with those in need within their community. Please note this was a voluntary thing and not compulsory - because if you read on into Acts 5 you realise that people within the church still owned property and land. So this is not a compulsory requirement of all but the principle is important - that we should share out of our own wealth with those in need and that within a church fellowship we are to care, practically, for one another. Again Luke uses the imperfect tense to show that this was an ongoing pattern of behaviour involving both real estate and personal possessions. So let me ask you again - in light of this are you a healthy church? Yes we help the social services each month. Yes we help one another. But could we do more? Are our eyes and hearts open to the needs of others? Just something to think about.

Verses 46-47 - the early church followed the tradition of their Jewish heritage of meeting in the Temple and in their homes to share fellowship. They did this daily - now we understand the context of this period - Pentecost had just happened and they expected the immediate return of Christ. None of the apostles or believers have yet left Jerusalem and so meeting together daily was possible. When they started to move from Jerusalem to Judea, Samaria and the ends of the earth such a practice became less and less possible. Yet the principle again is important and the manner in which they met is key - with glad and sincere hearts, praising God. Ask yourself is that the attitude of your heart when you come to meet in fellowship here - a glad and sincere heart, praising God? A healthy church - a healthy heart?

Look at how this summary ends. They enjoyed the favour of all the people (which will soon change as persecution comes upon the church) and God added, daily, to their numbers those who were being saved. So a healthy church is one where people are coming to saving faith in Christ - are we a healthy church then?

Let me conclude by asking you this question: Has God changed? Has God changed?

If God has not changed, and He has not, and His church once existed that exhibited all these characteristics, that lived in this way and that daily saw people coming to faith in Christ - let me ask you a second question: Can such a church exist again? Can such a church exist again? Or more importantly: Do you want your church to be such a church? Because only you can make it so. Are we a healthy church? Only you can answer if you, as part of this body, are healthy, spiritually healthy.

Amen.