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Well, you can turn with me in 
your Bibles to Acts chapter 2. Acts chapter 2, we're going to 
consider a passage we've looked at before, but I think it sort 
of caps off a series of sermons we have gone through recently. 
We've looked at the truths regarding the church, the head of the church, 
the identity of the church, the worship of the church, the regular 
principle of worship, and the Christian Sabbath. And so what 
we find in terms of a response to Peter's preaching on the day 
of Pentecost describes for us, and interestingly is prescriptive 
for us, in terms of what churches today ought to look like. So 
I'll just pick up in verse 22, but then our focus will be on 
verses 41 to 47, but just to set it in its larger context. Men of Israel, hear these words. Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested 
by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs, which God did through 
him in your midst, as you yourselves also know. Him, being delivered 
by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have 
taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death. 
Whom God raised up, having loose the pains of death, because it 
was not possible that he should be held by it. For David says 
concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for 
he is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken. Therefore 
my heart rejoiced and my tongue was glad. Moreover, my flesh 
also will rest in hope, for you will not leave my soul in Hades, 
nor will you allow your Holy One to see corruption. You have 
made known to me the ways of life. You will make me full of 
joy in your presence. Men and brethren, let me speak 
freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and 
buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Therefore, being 
a prophet and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him 
that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, he would 
raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, He, foreseeing this, 
spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul 
was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption. This 
Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses. Therefore, 
being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from 
the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this 
which you now see and hear. For David did not ascend into 
the heavens, but he says himself, the Lord said to my Lord, sit 
at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool. 
Therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly that 
God has made this Jesus whom you crucified, both Lord and 
Christ. Now, when they heard this, they 
were caught to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of 
the apostles, men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter 
said to them, Repent, and let every one of you be baptized 
in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins. And you 
shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise 
is to you and to your children and to all who are afar off, 
as many as the Lord our God will call. And with many other words 
he testified and exhorted them, saying, Be saved from this perverse 
generation. Then those who gladly received 
his word were baptized, and that day about 3,000 souls were added 
to them, and they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and 
fellowship, in the breaking of bread and in prayers. Then fear 
came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through 
the apostles. Now all who believed were together 
and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and 
goods, and divided them among all as anyone had need. So continuing 
daily with one accord in the temple and breaking bread from 
house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity 
of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And 
the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved. Amen. Well, let us pray. Our 
Father, we thank You for Your Word. We thank You for not only 
this example of apostolic preaching of the cross, but also the response 
of the people of God, who have known the power of the Holy Spirit, 
who have confessed faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. It is good 
for us to see the early church in practice, and to see the application 
of the various things we've been considering over the last couple 
of months. God, help us to imitate this 
and help us to be faithful in the manner in which you call 
us unto in terms of the local church. We ask again for the 
presence and the power of the Holy Spirit. We ask again for 
cleansing through that precious blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. 
And we pray in his most blessed name. Amen. Well, as we look 
at this particular passage, we ought to understand that this 
is descriptive. It describes what is happening 
in the first century church. There are things in the book 
of Acts that are descriptive that are not necessarily prescriptive 
for us. In other words, the signs and 
wonders that are done through the apostles. There are no longer 
apostles. So those sorts of signs and wonders, 
the tongue speaking, the prophesying, those things are no longer for 
us. It's described in the book of 
Acts, but it's not prescribed for our present conduct. But 
in terms of this response to the apostles' preaching, it is 
a description. It describes for us what happened. 
But in terms of the rest of the New Testament, we see that it's 
prescriptive. This is how the church ought 
to look. The church ought not to be identifiable with the biggest 
band, and the best guitarist, and the most sort of concert-like 
approach. The worship of God in this New 
Covenant era is very simple in nature, and it's spoken too often 
in the New Testament Scriptures. So I want to look first at the 
power of the gospel in verse 41, and then secondly at the 
practice of the church in verses 42 to 47. Verses 42 to 47 and 
the practice of the church doesn't make any sense when it's ripped 
out of the context of the power of the gospel. So we'll look 
at that first. Notice the reception of the word 
in verse 41a. Then those who gladly received 
his word were baptized. The glad reception of the word 
of God is seen in three particulars in the context. Notice in the 
first place, Faith. Verse 44 says, now all who believed 
were together. So one of the things that describes 
the reception of the gospel or the power of the gospel received 
is the faith of persons received by God's grace to believe the 
gospel itself. Secondly, there's repentance. 
Verse 38, Peter says, repent and let every one of you be baptized 
for the remission of sins. So a glad reception of the word 
involves faith and repentance. And then as a fruit of that, 
or as a result of that, there is obedience. They gladly receive 
the word and then they are baptized in obedience to Peter's instruction. The receivers of the word by 
faith are called to obey the command of Christ and submit 
to water baptism. As John Gill notes, baptism precedes 
and is intimately connected with church membership. It is that 
sort of initiatory rite. The Lord's Supper is to be engaged 
in in practice until the coming of our blessed Savior. But in 
terms of baptism, it's not baptism unto salvation. It is baptism 
because you have been saved by grace through faith in our Lord 
Jesus Christ. So the glad reception of the 
word looks like that. Faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, 
repentance unto God, and an obedient desire to do what Christ calls 
us to. Again, make sure you understand 
that obedient desire is not the reason for which we're accepted 
in the beloved. We're received freely by God's 
grace. Justification is by faith alone. It's attended by repentance, 
but it certainly issues forth in obedience. So the power of 
the gospel, the glory of the message of Christ crucified and 
risen, that is precisely what Peter preaches beginning in verse 
22. He preaches the true humanity 
of our blessed Savior. He preaches the death of our 
blessed Savior. Not ultimately at the hands of 
men, that is certainly instrumental, but this was according to the 
plan and purpose of God. Notice in verse 23, Him being 
delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you 
have taken by lawless hands, have crucified and put to death. 
So the true humanity of Jesus, including the sufferings of our 
blessed Lord, the death at Calvary, but then the resurrection from 
the dead, and the triumphant exaltation, is that message which 
you, if you are not saved this morning, desperately need to 
hear. You not only need to hear that 
message, but you need to believe that message. Because apart from 
that message, there is no hope, there is no help, there is no 
heaven to come. I would suggest that if you ask 
ten people, probably eight to nine of them would say, oh yes, 
I'm on my way to heaven. And then if you ask the follow-up 
question as to why, they would say something along the line 
as, I'm a pretty good guy, I haven't done anything really bad. They're 
thinking in terms of a works approach to the God of heaven 
and earth. They don't understand that in Adam, all die. That the 
problem isn't simply a few bad habits on the part of sinners, 
but it is total depravity and total inability. So for a sinner 
to enter into the very heaven of God, he must first, by grace, 
believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. If you have not believed that 
message today, you are hell-bound. The Lord God Most High calls 
all men everywhere to repent. And as Peter says in Acts chapter 
4 at verse 12, nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no 
other name under heaven given among men by which we must be 
saved. If you resolve today to never 
sin again, you'll make it for about a second at the most. If you did happen to be successful 
and never sin again, you've still got a mountain of sins that need 
to be dealt with. The glory of the Christian message, 
the glory of the Christian gospel, is that when we hear the message 
of Christ and Him crucified and resurrected, when we by grace 
look to Him, we live, and what live means is that we are forgiven 
of our sins. What live means is that we receive 
the righteousness of Jesus Christ, so that when we stand before 
God, we're clothed in the righteousness of another, what Luther called 
an alien righteousness. In fact, with reference to Luther, 
he made this observation concerning this great exchange or this transaction 
where our sins are heaped upon the Savior, and where the Savior's 
righteousness is heaped upon us. He says, the rich, noble, 
pious bridegroom Christ takes this poor, despised, wicked little 
whore in marriage, redeems her of all evil, and adorns her with 
all his goods. That, my brothers and sisters, 
that, my dear friend, is the gospel of our salvation. It's good news because it's about 
forgiveness. It's good news because it's about 
a righteousness that avails with God. And in this instance, when 
they heard this statement, and they heard as well, Peter prosecute 
the truth, that it was their hands instrumentally that had 
cut off the very Messiah of God, they were cut to the heart, they 
cry out, Men and brethren, what must we do to be saved? So they 
are right, understanding their sin, having been convicted of 
it, and then Peter dutifully points them to the Savior, upon 
whom they believe, and they enter into everlasting life. That is 
why we meet as a church. That is why we send missionaries. That is why we evangelize. That is why we tell people the 
good news in Jesus Christ. Some suggest that us meeting 
today is a rejection of that second great commandment. We're 
not only to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, 
mind, and strength, but we're to love our neighbor as ourself. 
The best way we express love to our neighbor is to preach 
the gospel to them, to tell them the truth that God is holy, and 
they are not, but God has provided a way of remedy in the person 
and in the word of our Lord Jesus. similar to what we find in the 
next chapter. A certain man lame from his mother's 
womb, in chapter three, was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate 
of the temple, which is called beautiful, to ask alms from those 
who entered the temple. And then he asks Peter specifically, 
Peter and John, for money. And then verse six, then Peter 
said, silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have, I give 
you. In the name of Jesus Christ of 
Nazareth, rise up and walk. I may not have a great immune 
system to pass on to everybody. I may not be able to get you 
a vaccine. I may not be able to engage in 
that manner of health in terms of the physicality. But what 
I have, I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ, 
look unto Him and be saved. So the power of the gospel is 
seen in its reception. It's not by works, it's not by 
accomplishment, it's not by merit, it's by God's grace. They believe, 
they repent, and as a fruit, they then obey God. But as well, 
notice the growth of the church in 41B. It says, then those who 
gladly received his word were baptized. And that day, about 
3,000 souls were added to them. Now, the verb that they were 
added is what's called a passive voice. That means it wasn't them 
that added themselves. It wasn't the apostles that added 
them. It wasn't a Billy Graham crusade 
where everybody was invited to the front to make their decision, 
to sign their card, to raise their hand. Perhaps you've been 
in those churches at the very end where it's, you know, every 
head bowed and every eye closed. Just shoot up your hand a little 
bit if you want to get saved. What's with the secrecy? We're 
in the Church of Jesus Christ our Lord. Why do we have to have 
our heads bowed and our eyes closed? Isn't this something 
that people have got rejoice over? Heaven rejoices over one 
sinner who repents. I like to think that the Church 
of Jesus Christ would certainly rejoice over one sinner who repents 
as well. But that is man-centered. That 
is a man-word technique, I think, more designed to manipulate and 
to emotionally appeal to people than to preach the truth as it 
is in Jesus. It was God that added them to 
the church. It wasn't the preaching of Peter 
as the ultimate cause. It was certainly instrumental. 
It is through the preaching of the gospel that God is pleased 
to save sinners. But this addition of 3,000 souls 
underscores the sovereignty of God Most High. Look back to verse 
39, a passage that is not a paedo-baptist passage. Verse 39 says, the promises 
to you and to your children and to all who are far off, the modification 
is necessary at the end. As many as the Lord our God will 
call. It's about sovereign grace. It's 
about election. It's about predestination. The 
preacher doesn't make Christians. Christians don't make themselves 
Christians. God does it through the power 
of his own grace. He opens the heart. He grants 
them the ability to receive the truth. He grants them the twin 
braces of faith and repentance so that they willingly and happily 
come to Jesus Christ. And then, as a fruit, their obedience 
is seen in the waters of baptism. It really is a glorious statement 
concerning the power at work when the people of God gather 
together for the preaching of His Word. Now, let's look secondly 
at the practice of the church. The practice of the church. We 
see the practice described in verses 42 to 47a, and then we 
see the power involved in verse 47b. Lots of things to consider 
here. By that, I don't mean you're 
going to be here all afternoon. In the first place, notice the 
steadfastness of the church. Verse 42, and they continued 
steadfastly. This wasn't hit and miss. This 
wasn't occasional. They didn't just do this when 
they were overwhelmed with a religious feeling, but rather it got into 
their bones. It got into their DNA. This is 
what the people of God do. This is what those chosen by 
God, placed in Christ, redeemed by the Savior, empowered and 
enabled by the Holy Spirit, they do this. struggle, they may have 
issues from time to time, there may be ebb and flow, but they 
continue steadfastly in the gifts that God has given to the church. 
Now this particular participle, they continued steadfastly, governs 
the next four things. And the word means to persist 
in something, to hold fast to, to continue in, or to persevere 
in something. So they continued steadfastly, 
and now there's four items that they continue steadfastly in. Four things that mark the practice 
of the early church. Four things that ought to mark 
the practice of the church today. And the first one is obvious, 
it is stated clearly. They continued steadfastly in 
the apostles' doctrine. In other words, it was the preaching 
of Peter on the day of Pentecost that became the normal practice 
for the church of the Lord Jesus. They had witnessed the outpouring 
of the Holy Spirit in a special and powerful way. They had heard 
people speaking in tongues. They had heard the reality of 
what had been spoken by the prophet Joel come to pass in their own 
gathering together. But when it comes to continuing 
steadfastly, certainly they would have been steadfast with reference 
to the signs and wonders that the apostles engaged in, but 
they continued steadfastly in that doctrine, in that teaching, 
in that instruction, they knew that they needed the Word of 
God Almighty. And Scripture, specifically the 
New Testament and the Old Testament as well, but we're dealing with 
the New Covenant Church, we have several instances of the emphasis 
upon the preaching of the Word. John Calvin makes the observation, 
neither doth he name all manner of doctrine but the doctrine 
of the apostles, that is, that which the Son of God hath delivered 
by their hands. Therefore, wheresoever the pure 
voice of the gospel doth sound, where men continue in the profession 
thereof, where they exercise themselves in hearing the same 
ordinarily that they may profit, without all doubt there is the 
church. In other words, it is fundamental 
to church life that there be an emphasis on the preaching 
of the gospel. Turn over to Romans chapter 10. Romans chapter 10. A couple of 
passages to underscore this truth that we ought to be continuing 
steadfastly in the Apostles' doctrine. Romans 10 verse 14, 
how then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? 
And how shall they believe we have in him of whom in the new 
King James? It's better rendered this way. 
And how shall they believe him whom they have not heard? In 
other words, when the gospel is preached properly, exegetically 
sound, consistent with what scripture teaches, it is Christ as prophet 
speaking to the church. That's what the text emphasizes. How shall they believe him whom 
they have not heard? And how shall they hear without 
a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? 
As it is written, how beautiful are the feet of those who preach 
the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things. 
But they have not all obeyed the gospel, for Isaiah says, 
Lord, who has believed our report? So then faith comes by hearing, 
and hearing by the word of God. So when gospel preaching is conducted 
properly, it is, as it were, the prophet Christ speaking by 
his spirit to the church of the Lord Jesus. Turn over to 1 Corinthians 
chapter 1. 1 Corinthians chapter 1. Verse 18, for the message of 
the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing. But to us 
who are being saved, it is the power of God. For it is written, 
I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and bring to nothing 
the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? Where is the 
scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made 
foolish the wisdom of this world? For since in the wisdom of God, 
the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God 
through the foolishness of the message preached to save those 
who believe. See, in the first place, you 
learn from this that not all men like preaching. It was foolishness 
as far as Paul was concerned with reference to the Jew and 
with reference to the Gentile. The Jews considered a stumbling 
block to hear of a crucified Messiah. The Greeks were seeking 
after signs, or the Jews were seeking signs. The Greeks were 
seeking after wisdom. But Christ is both wisdom and 
power of God. So we learn in the first place 
that not all men love preaching. We learn in the second place 
that God does love preaching, because in the wisdom of God, 
it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save 
those who believe. And that doesn't just mean those 
who get saved, but it's those who are saved and even those 
who are perishing, because in the message declared, God is 
glorified. And then the final text, just 
a sampling here, 2 Timothy 4. 2 Timothy 4. We've seen this. I alluded to it last hour. I just want to underscore this 
point. Verse 2. Preach the word. Be ready in 
season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort with 
all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they 
will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires. 
Because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves 
teachers. And they will turn their ears away from the truth 
and be turned aside to fables. But you be watchful in all things, 
endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, and fulfill 
your ministry." So back to Acts chapter 2, they continue steadfastly 
in the apostles' doctrine. That is crucial in terms of the 
practice of the church. Now certainly, you can hear sermons 
online. Certainly, you can Zoom this 
particular meeting. Certainly, you can engage in 
what we used to do, listening to cassette tapes. Now you just 
live stream everything. Certainly, there is the transferal 
of information. But I'm sort of old school when 
it comes to the act of preaching. I think Pastor Albert N. Martin 
is right. There is a threefold connection 
that obtains during the act of preaching. The Spirit of God 
comes upon the man and then the man declares the truth. You don't 
have the wherewithal or the freedom or the liberty to hit pause. 
You don't have the freedom or the liberty or the wherewithal 
to say, well, I don't like this. This is making me uncomfortable. 
Now, I've done this for a few years and I've had people get 
up and walk out. I don't think our dear brother 
Gabriel was doing that. I think he was going to the bathroom. 
But I think in the past we've had people that didn't like what 
they were hearing, so they got up and left. But that's a lot 
more difficult than hitting stop on your computer. The presence 
of God among the people of God in the interaction of the preaching 
of God's Word is something that is lost with reference to an 
internet connection. Martin Lloyd-Jones was against 
taping sermons. Now, there's a great trust of 
taped sermons that Martin Lloyd-Jones did, but it was for this very 
reason. And he cited the example of Whitefield. Somebody said, you know, I read 
George Whitefield's sermon, and it was good, but wow, it wasn't 
like I've read about his preaching. And the response was, you can't 
put the Holy Spirit on paper. Something happens during the 
act of preaching that doesn't always happen when you tune in 
online. That doesn't happen when I'm 
out walking the dog and I have my ear pods or whatever they're 
called, things stuck in my head. There's something different about 
the presence of the preacher under the power of the Spirit 
presenting gospel truth to people. Something is lost in the exchange. I've said it before and I'll 
say it again. If this was 20 years ago, there wouldn't be 
the opportunity for live streaming. This is simply not an argument 
to shut our churches down. Brethren, we see in the emphasis 
in this passage, a togetherness among the people of God, a charitableness 
among the people of God. Things that certainly can happen 
vis-a-vis Zoom, but they don't like they do in person. I have 
never had that encounter where I'm talking to somebody and one 
of us just pauses because the internet connection is poor. 
Or where it gets glitchy and we don't see their faces the 
way we think we should. And to be quite candid, we've 
been at this for more than a year. When we live zoomed or zoomed 
our Wednesday night meetings, I thought the whole church would 
be online. I thought we'd see everybody 
up there. Just didn't happen. I'm not whining, I'm not grumbling, 
I'm not complaining, but I am suggesting that when it comes 
time to actually going to the house of the Lord, there is a 
requirement in terms of fidelity that's not as easy to abide by 
when you're all on your own and you can just hit stop. For my 
own part, brethren, people send me sermons or they send me lectures 
and I'm often tempted and I often succumb to checking Twitter while 
I'm listening to those things. That shouldn't be an option! 
If anybody's listening now, flipping between us and Facebook, stop 
it! That is not giving due attention 
to the proclamation of God's Holy Word. See, this isn't just 
a self-help group. This isn't just therapeutic deism. This isn't just this idea that 
we come in exchange. No, if we believe the Bible and 
we believe what Paul says there in Romans 10, then we believe 
we're hearing from Christ and we should want to be present 
to hear from Christ. Notice the second thing they 
continue steadfastly in, fellowship. Fellowship, again, internet fellowship. I've made friends on the internet, 
and I love those people, and that's great. But there's something 
lost in the distance. There's something lost with a 
bad internet connection. Am I the only one who has bad 
internet? Am I the only one that has these 
pauses or has these times where the thing scrambles up and it 
locks up? There is that need for fellowship 
that the people of God have with one another. And in the context, 
if you look at verse 45, it says, they sold their possessions and 
goods and divided them among all as anyone had need. The primary 
emphasis is likely seen in the charity given. by one to another. John Calvin describes this fellowship 
this way, mutual society and fellowship unto alms and unto 
other duties of brotherly fellowship. So they continued steadfastly 
in the apostles doctrine. They continued steadfastly in 
fellowship. Notice thirdly, they continued 
steadfastly in the breaking of bread, most likely a reference 
to the Lord's Supper. If you drop down for just a moment 
to verse 46, it says, so continuing daily with one accord in the 
temple and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their 
food with gladness and simplicity of heart. That was probably shared 
meals together, verse 46. That was probably sitting down, 
having a nice dinner or a nice lunch, talking about the things 
of God, and then going on our way. But in verse 42, what is 
in view in light of the fact that it is between the terms 
of doctrine, fellowship, and prayers, it is likely a reference 
to the Lord's Supper. And that is something, again, 
that must be done in person. It must be done with one another, 
gathering together to eat this bread, to drink this cup, and 
to proclaim the Lord's death until He comes. Acts 20, verse 
7, in Troas, they broke bread together. 1 Corinthians chapter 
10 and 11, the theology of the Lord's Supper. There is this 
meal that the Christian church observes that is called the Lord's 
Table or the Lord's Supper that is set apart. It is a time for 
spiritual nourishment and refreshment, and it is a time for the people 
of God to encourage one another and to bring glory and honor 
and praise unto their God. And then notice, fourthly, they 
continued steadfastly in prayers. So verse 42, they continued steadfastly 
in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship in the breaking of 
bread and in prayers. Turn over to 1 Timothy 2. 1 Timothy 
2, beginning in verse 1. Therefore, I exhort first of 
all, this is the first order of business for the Apostle Paul. 
He's going to deal with women in the worship of God. He's going 
to deal with men in terms of elders and deacons. He's going 
to tell us that he writes these things so that we know how we 
ought to conduct ourselves in the house of God. The first order 
of business is found in verse 1 of chapter 2. Therefore I exhort 
first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving 
of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in 
authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness 
and reverence. So it ought not to surprise us 
on that day of Pentecost, when the Spirit of God comes upon 
the preacher and the hearer, when they believe, when they 
repent, and when that issues forth in baptism in terms of 
obedience, not unto salvation, but as a result of salvation, 
they continue in these four things. And prayer is certainly on the 
docket. And that is something that the 
church needs to be about. Before Timothy is to think about 
what men in the church he's supposed to set apart as elders and deacons, 
though he needs to do that, what is the first order of business 
for the Apostle Paul is prayer. Prayer is crucial. The church 
doesn't go forward without the prayers of the people of God. 
And the corporate prayer meeting is essential as well. to call 
upon the name of our God and to come boldly to the throne 
of grace. So back to Acts chapter 2, we 
see the steadfastness of the church, verse 42a. We see, secondly, 
the practice of the church, verse 42b. Notice, thirdly, the effect 
upon every soul at verse 43. Verse 43 tells us, then fear 
came upon every soul and many wonders and signs were done through 
the apostles. The presence of God produced 
the fear of God upon every soul. That's what happens. Our God 
is holy. Our God is glorious. Our God 
is majestic. We don't come into contact with 
Him and not have fear, and not have reverence, and not have 
that reverential awe in the presence of such a great King. That is 
symptomatic of the people of God, who know the presence and 
the power of the Spirit of God, and who know Jesus Christ as 
Lord and Savior. The fear of God is a most blessed 
thing. Psalm 89, 7 tells us, God is 
greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be held 
in reverence by all those around Him. I think at times we have 
brought God down to our level. Ever since He made us in His 
image, we have been dutifully trying to remake Him in our image. And as a result, we have relegated 
Him as to the level of friend, the status of, you know, big 
buddy, and things like that. No, we need to fear in the presence 
of God Almighty, and that's what takes over the soul of those 
who have been bought with a price. Calvin says, Luke's meaning was 
this, that there appeared such power of God in the church that 
the people, for the most part, had not one word to say. And then, of course, the presence 
of God is manifested, notice, by the many wonders and signs 
were done through the apostles. I've said this before, it bears 
repetition. We are a church that believes 
in what's called cessationism. or non-continuationism. We don't 
believe that those charismatic gifts, the supernatural, revelatory 
gifts continue. They serve their purpose for 
a time. Now that the New Testament canon 
is complete, we don't look for tongue-speaking, we don't look 
for prophesying, but rather we continue steadfastly in the Apostles' 
doctrine. These signs and wonders were 
done through the apostles to confirm that they were God's 
men, speaking God's word, giving God's revelation. And once they 
had finished that canon, those gifts, tongue speaking and prophesying, 
are no longer extant in the church of our Lord Jesus Christ. This 
is the theology of signs and wonders in the Bible. Moses did 
signs and wonders, the prophets did signs and wonders, Jesus 
did signs and wonders, and the apostles did signs and wonders. Not only are the signs and wonders 
to be taken into consideration, but what was being accompanied 
by the signs and wonders. Moses gave the revelation of 
God. The prophets gave the revelation 
of God. The Son, who is in the bosom 
of the Father, has given us the declaration concerning God. Revelation. The apostles gave us revelation. So those signs and wonders were 
confirmatory. They authenticated. They validated. And they said that what these 
men are speaking is, in fact, the Word of God. Once the New 
Testament canon is complete, there's no more longing for tongue-speaking 
and prophesying on the part of God's people. And then notice, 
fourthly, the brotherly love manifested in the church in verses 
44 to 45. Their love was seen in togetherness. Now, all who believed were together. It's a beautiful thing. All who 
believed were together. The ones who repented and the 
ones who are baptized are here called believers, and the beauty 
of believers, having been brought together, is that they kind of 
like one another. They love each other, they want 
to be around each other, and they seek to encourage one another 
and to exhort one another daily while it is called today, lest 
we be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. as Hebrews 3 tells us. So there is this togetherness 
and that togetherness is manifested in their charitableness toward 
one another. So verse 44, now all who believed 
were together and had all things in common and sold their possessions 
and goods and divided them among all as anyone had need. Now just a few practical observations 
at this point. In the first place, this isn't 
communism. OK? Don't make that mistake. 
Well, there it is. Everybody has the same. This 
is not state coerced. It wasn't the government who 
said, thou must get rid of all your stuff and give the proceeds 
to everyone else. As well, this charity was not 
mandated by the church. It's an outflow of the redeemed 
person. It is an outflow of those saved 
by grace. It is a manifestation of God's 
grace in our lives that we be charitable, that we be large-hearted, 
that we be liberal toward one another. But it was not mandated 
by the church. Turn over to Acts 5 for just 
a moment. Acts 5.1, but a certain man named 
Ananias with Sapphira, his wife, sold a possession, and he kept 
back part of the proceeds, his wife also being aware of it, 
and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles' feet. 
But Peter said, Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to 
lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the 
land for yourself? Now listen to the apostle, the representative 
of Christ's church. While it remained, was it not 
your own? See, it's not mandated. This 
was voluntary on the part of the people of God to sell their 
stuff and give the proceeds to those in need. It wasn't mandated 
by the apostolic church. While it remained, was it not 
your own? And after it was sold, was it 
not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing 
in your heart? You have not lied to men, but to God. The issue 
in Acts 5 with Ananias and Sapphira is lying to God, the Holy Spirit. It's not the fact that they kept 
back part of it for themselves. Peter says they had that right 
and that obligation should they choose to invoke it or should 
choose to keep it for themselves. J. A. Alexander says there is 
nothing said of a compulsory renunciation of all individual 
property, either as a divine institution or a voluntary self-denial. Our confession of faith speaks 
to this end as well. Nevertheless, their communion 
one with another as saints does not take away or infringe the 
title or propriety which each man has in his goods and possessions. In other words, you can't be 
coerced by the civil state or by the church elders to sell 
everything you have and give it to the poor. The blood-bought 
children of God will tithe They will give, they will be charitable, 
they will want to live in light of that second great commandment 
and manifest love to their fellows. But it's not because they have 
a gun to their head or a ticket book in front of their face. 
And then we have this statement from Matthew Poole, Christ's 
gospel does not destroy the law and the eighth commandment is 
still in force, even for the people of God. And then fifthly 
and finally, under the practice of the church, notice the ongoing 
conduct of the church in verses 46 to 47a. They had a public conduct. Verse 46, so continuing daily 
with one accord in the temple. So the people of God met together 
daily with one another in the temple in order to continue steadfastly 
in the apostles' doctrine, fellowship, breaking of bread, and in prayers. 
In other words, church worship demanded their attention, and 
they were all too happy to give it. And then in terms of their 
private conduct, they hung out with one another. And breaking 
bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness 
and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all 
the people. So it was a blessed reality for 
the Church of Jesus Christ to undergo both a togetherness and 
a charitableness. They were not infringed upon 
by the civil state, at least up to this point. Now, things 
would definitely take a turn for the worse in terms of the 
Roman Empire, but for now, at the inception of the power of 
the Holy Spirit, as he comes upon the Church of Christ on 
this day of Pentecost, this is what church life looked like 
in the first century. And it's a most encouraging thing 
for the people of God and one that we ought to pursue. And 
then the power involved in verse 47, it always underscores God's 
place in all of this. And the Lord added to the church 
daily those who were being saved. So when it comes down to it, 
Peter's preaching is instrumental. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing 
by the Word of God. But it's the power of God unto 
salvation. It is the power of God to change 
the heart. It is the grace of God that furnishes 
sinners with faith and repentance so that they may, in fact, close 
with our Lord Jesus. Paul highlights this in 1 Corinthians 
3.6. He says, I planted, Apollos watered, 
but God gave the increase. This is similar and analogous 
to Proverbs 21.31. The horse is prepared for the 
day of battle, but deliverance is of the Lord. Again, Matthew 
Poole says, not Peter's sermons, no, nor the miracles of fiery 
cloven tongues and the rushing mighty wind could have converted 
any. but that which was signified 
there." In other words, the powerful operation of the Spirit of God 
in their hearts. So the passage ends on that high 
note in terms of God's sovereignty as the efficient cause for addition 
to the church. And in conclusion, just a few 
thoughts. First, the description. There ought to be proper practice. 
See, this is what we're supposed to do, the Apostles' Doctrine, 
fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayers. Notice that that's 
what we're supposed to do. That necessarily excludes a whole 
lot of stuff that the church does that they're not supposed 
to do. We're not to intrude upon the 
worship of God with strange fire. We're not supposed to add number 
five and number six and number seven and number eight and whatever 
it is that we long to see in the public worship of the living 
God. No, the practice of the church must imitate the practice 
of the church here. in these areas, as well the presence 
of the fear of God. I have a brother, a friend, that 
when he came to our church in Southern California, he said, 
this was the first church I ever walked into where there was the 
fear of God. And this brother, I thought that 
was a great thing. I wasn't a pastor there. I was 
a brother in the church there. But I remember this guy, that 
was his testimony. I knew this was the church for 
us because people feared God in this place. Again, the fear 
of God, as the Bible presents it, isn't the hide under the 
piano type of fear. It's reverential awe. It is the 
soul of godliness, as John Murray taught. It is that reality that 
God is God and we are not. And the legitimate response from 
the creature in light of that is to fear Him, is to treat Him 
with that reverence and that dignity that is consistent with 
His being. As well, you have the togetherness 
and the charitableness of the people of God in verses 44 to 
45. And again, this isn't suggesting 
that we'll all be perfect at this. No, there's remaining corruption, 
not only at the individual level, there's remaining corruption 
in terms of church life as well. But the idea is, is that we seek 
by grace to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus 
so that we will be faithful in the execution of Christian duty. 
the gladness and the singleness of the heart of the people of 
God, and the praising of God by the people of God. That is 
a great description and one that churches today should aspire 
to. Secondly, in terms of the practice 
of the church, these four things. Now there's others that the New 
Testament enjoins upon us, singing Psalms and hymns and spiritual 
songs and making melody in our hearts to the Lord, giving. Obviously, 
this isn't an exhaustive list of what the regulative principle 
of worship entails, but it is a suggestive list. And I think 
I've shared with you recently, Belgic Confession, Article 29. 
And Belgic Confession, Article 29, does what just about everybody 
in the Reformed world did back then. Every Puritan, every creed, 
every confession highlighted the marks of the church. And 
in my estimation, Belgic Confession 29 expresses it well. The church 
engages in the pure preaching of the gospel. It makes use of 
the pure administration of the sacraments as Christ instituted 
them. It practices church discipline for correcting faults. Those 
are the marks of the church preaching sacraments and discipline, not 
puppets and ponies and programs, not pastors repelling with their 
headgear on to be superhero guy. It's not that foolishness that 
we so often witness. It is preaching sacraments and 
discipline. The article goes on to say, in 
short, it governs itself according to the pure word of God, rejecting 
all things contrary to it, and holding Jesus Christ as the only 
head. By these marks, one can be assured 
of recognizing the true church. There's another article in that 
Belgic Confession that I want to rehearse as well. It's number 
28. You'll forgive me. Our confessional stream is under 
the Westminster Confession. We hold to the Second London 
Confession of Faith. Second London is dependent upon 
Westminster and Savoy. Westminster is the Presbyterian 
document. Savoy is the Independence or 
the Congregationalist. I have a great deal of respect 
for the three forms of unity, the Heidelberg Catechism, the 
Canons of Dort, and the Belgic Confession. I'm just not as familiar 
with those as I am with that other stream. And so it has been 
pointed out to me recently by one of the brothers I'm in alliance 
with, who has the Belgic as one of his confessional standards. 
He pointed this out to a couple of us. Belgic Confession number 
28. So 29, you've got the marks of 
the church. 28, you have something that I 
don't think we like to ponder a lot. It's called the obligations 
of church members. Oh, you mean I have to actually 
do something as a member? Yeah, you do. There's some responsibility 
you bear as a blood-bought child of God Most High when you were 
brought into the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's a bit 
of a lengthy statement, but I hope that you'll listen. It says, 
we believe that since this holy assembly and congregation is 
the gathering of those who are saved and there is no salvation 
apart from it, I don't want to go down that rabbit trail. That's 
a big issue. Is there any salvation outside 
the church? And somebody has an Uncle Larry 
that read the Bible on his own and God saved him. I'm not here 
to debate whether God saved Uncle Larry or not reading the Bible 
on his own. The idea going back in the history of the church 
is that salvation is tied to the life of the church. I actually 
think Uncle Larry can get saved reading his Bible on his own. 
But I think the normative way is that God is pleased through 
the foolishness of the message preached vis-a-vis 1 Corinthians 
121 to save those who believe. So back to the statement here, 
because I know that jars people. It sounds papist almost. and 
that there is no salvation apart from it. They say, no one ought 
to withdraw from it, content to be by himself, regardless 
of his status or condition. But all people are obliged to 
join and unite with it, keeping the unity of the church by submitting 
to its instruction and discipline, by bending their necks under 
the yoke of Jesus Christ, and by serving to build up one another 
according to the gifts God has given them as members of each 
other in the same body. And to preserve this unity more 
effectively, it is the duty of all believers, according to God's 
word, to separate themselves from those who do not belong 
to the church in order to join this assembly wherever God has 
established it. And I think peculiarly relative 
for our situation is the following words. even if civil authorities 
and royal decrees forbid and death and physical punishment 
result. And so all who withdraw from 
the church or do not join it act contrary to God's ordinance." 
And I realized there's a lot of difference of opinion relative 
to this virus. And I don't want to make any 
hard and fast rules because I'm not a scientist. I'm not a doctor. 
I'm not a virologist. I'm not an epidemiologist. I'm 
also not the lord of the conscience. But normatively, in terms of 
life in general, we ought not to despise the church. We ought 
to cherish her. We ought to love her. We ought 
to appreciate her as the apple of God's eye. because it is the 
church of God which He, Christ, purchased with His own blood. So we ought to support her, we 
ought to pray for her, we ought to attend her services, and we 
ought to support her work in this world that we find ourselves 
in. for the propagation of the glorious 
gospel of free and sovereign grace, for disciple-making and 
for planting other churches, so that we can duplicate and 
replicate and see throughout the world image-bearers reflecting 
the glory of Jesus Christ who saved them, continuing steadfastly 
in the Apostles' doctrine, in fellowship, in breaking of bread, 
and in prayers. Let us pray. Our Father, we thank 
you for your word, and we thank you for this description of the 
church in the first century. God, help us to pursue such things 
and help us to see the beauty of the simplicity involved in 
new covenant worship. We don't see the sacrifice, and 
we don't see the incense, and we don't see the the pomp and 
the show that we see in that first covenant. New covenant 
worship is spirit-led, it's spirit-driven, and these things are for the 
benefit of those blood-bought children of God Almighty. Help 
us as a church to go forward in the fear of the Lord and in 
that comfort of the Holy Spirit that mark the two churches of 
Judea in Acts chapter 9. And may we seek by your grace 
to bring glory and honor and praise unto you, and we ask through 
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. We'll close with a brief 
time of meditation.