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2. Finishing up Acts chapter 2, 
today we have seen the outpouring of the Holy Spirit according 
to verses 1 to 4, which manifested itself in the speaking of other 
languages, and the persons were able to hear the wonderful works 
of God communicated to them in those languages. Some, however, 
mocked and said that the apostles, the disciples, were filled with 
new or sweet wine. So Peter stands up, taking that 
as his occasion, and he says that this is what was spoken 
by the prophet Joel. And then in verse 22, he sets 
forth the glory of Jesus Christ in his life, his death, and his 
resurrection. And on the heels of this, Peter 
doesn't simply want to inform their understanding, but he calls 
them to repent. And then in verses 40, or rather 
41 and following, we see their response to Peter's sermon. Last time, we looked at verses 
41 and 42. Our focus this morning will be 
verses 43 to 47, but I'll begin reading in verse 36. Now, when 
they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter 
and the rest of the apostles, men and brethren, what shall 
we do? And 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 safe 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. The Lord added to 
the church daily those who were being saved. Amen. Let us pray. Father, we thank you for the 
written word, and we pray now for the ministry of the Holy 
Spirit. We acknowledge that you are God Most High, Father, Son, 
and Spirit, that you are from everlasting to everlasting, a 
God who is to be feared and glorified, worshiped and loved. The God 
who has in mercy opened our hearts and given us the graces of faith 
and repentance, caused us to see the glory and the sufficiency 
and the excellency of Jesus Christ as the one in whom alone there 
is forgiveness. And our Father, we give all praise 
to you for that. We pray that others would know 
this grace, that others would see Christ as altogether lovely 
and chief among 10,000, that Christ, by the power of the Holy 
Spirit, as He works in and through the Word of God today, would 
set forth Jesus to sinners, and that they, by grace, would come 
believing on Him. We ask that you would forgive 
us now for our sins and our transgressions. We pray again for the illumination 
and the power of the Holy Spirit in our minds and hearts. And 
we ask this through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. Well, as we look 
at this particular section, the response to Peter's sermon, as 
I said, it's verses 41 to 47. And we broke it up this way. 
First, the power of the gospel is seen in verse 41, and then 
the practice of the church is seen in verses 42 to 47. Notice 
the power of the gospel in verse 41, that those who gladly received 
his word. We need to understand that it's 
the Word, reception of the Word, faith in the Word, faith in the 
One revealed in the Word, namely Christ and His true humanity, 
His life of obedience to the Father, His death in the place 
of sinners, and His resurrection the third day. We don't enter 
into this saving relationship based on or because of baptism. Baptism is a consequence of that. Those who gladly received his 
word were baptized. Remember, we saw the consistency 
of this narrative with reference to the Great Commission in Matthew 
28. Jesus says, go make disciples of all the nations, baptize those 
disciples made, and then teach them to observe all things that 
I have commanded you. The way of acceptance by God, 
or the way rather to God, is not through the waters of baptism 
or through the supper. Now, those things are absolutely, 
positively important, and we see they are necessary consequences 
of those who believe the gospel. The way to God is through the 
Son. The way of appropriating the 
benefits of the Son is to believe, to look unto Him. to gladly receive 
his word in the language employed here by Luke in Acts 2.41. Then those who gladly received 
his word were baptized. And that day, about 3,000 souls 
were added to them, not because of their ingenuity, not because 
of the apostolic ministry, but because of the power of God. 
That is uppermost, and that is paramount, and that is foremost 
in this section. Remember verse 39, the promises 
to you and to your children. and to all who are far off, as 
many as the Lord our God will call." Here in verse 41, they 
were added. It's a passive thing. God added 
them. We'll see it again in verse 47. 
And the Lord added to their number. It is Christ. It is the power 
of God. It is the majesty and the excellency 
and the supremacy of God that is conspicuous in this section. Now let's look at the practice 
of the church in verses 42 to 47. We already recognized or 
saw their steadfastness. This means they continued. This 
means they persevered. This means they didn't just do 
it once and then call it a day. One of the things that is absolutely 
crucial with reference to church life is this idea of steadfastness. It is perseverance. It's typical, 
and it's easy rather, to be a fair-weather fan. We only go to church when 
we feel like it. Well, brethren, we go to church 
because God commands it. We go to church because it's 
a legitimate expression of a conquered soul to go into the public place 
and worship God Almighty. We don't live our lives based 
on what we feel like. Rather, we continue steadfastly 
in the Apostles' Doctrine, in fellowship, in the breaking of 
bread, and in prayers. We continue steadfastly in those 
things whether or not we feel like it. This is a feeling-oriented 
generation in which we live. If I don't feel like doing something, 
I'm not going to do it. I much more respect generations 
previous to us who did what was right because they were supposed 
to. What happened to that? I'm doing what I'm supposed to 
do. We always want accolades for doing what we're supposed 
to do. No, it's what you're supposed to do. That's why it's called 
doing what you're supposed to do. That's something missing 
today. They continued steadfastly, not 
based on whim, not based on experience, not based on feeling, not based 
on what they had for dinner the previous night, or if they had 
gotten enough sleep the previous night, but they continued steadfastly 
in the Apostles' Doctrine because the Word of God is important. 
They continued steadfastly in fellowship because mutual edification 
of the saints is important. They continued steadfastly in 
the breaking of bread vis-a-vis the Lord's Supper because remembering 
our Lord's death and corporately testifying through bread and 
wine is absolutely crucial. And they continued steadfastly 
in prayer. Because they understood that 
this is a spiritual activity to try to turn the world upside 
down for Jesus Christ. We don't have weapons that are 
carnal. We don't have guns. We don't 
have swords. We don't have knives with which to advance the kingdom 
of Jesus. We have the word of God in prayer. 
And so therefore, they prayed. They continued steadfastly in 
these activities because they had been conquered by sovereign 
grace. They had continued steadfastly 
in these activities because those conquered by sovereign grace 
continue steadfastly in these activities. It is natural, just 
as the baby starts to breathe when he's out of the womb, so 
does the Christian pray. So does the Christian want to 
be around other Christians? So does the Christian show up 
at church when the church is open? That's what believers do, 
brethren, and that is manifested and demonstrated here in Acts 
2. Now notice, thirdly, we've seen 
the steadfastness, we've seen the practice, Note, thirdly, 
the effect upon every soul, according to verse 43. It says, then fear 
came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through 
the apostles. Now this is a bit ambiguous. 
Who's the every soul? Well, certainly it includes the 
believers, because when we come into contact with the living 
and true God, levity and joking and jocularity isn't the order 
of the day. But rather, when we come into 
contact with the living and the true God, we say with the prophet 
Isaiah, Woe is me, for I am undone. We are like that publican who 
couldn't even look up into heaven, but he beat his breast and prayed, 
God be merciful to me, the sinner. So fear came upon every soul 
connected to the work of Christ to be sure. But I think it also 
includes those who weren't saved, necessarily. Those who had not 
believed the gospel. And I think what we ought to 
infer from this is that the presence of God promotes the fear of God. Whether you're saved or not. 
Maybe this is one of the reasons why the world doesn't take the 
church seriously. Because there's no presence of 
God. Because we look like the world. 
Because their concerts have become our concerts. Their entertainment 
has become our entertainment. The house of God is no longer 
a place of fear and trembling and joy, but a place of lattes, 
a place of casualness, a place of conversational chatting instead 
of declarative preaching. We have become like the world, 
generally speaking. A generation ago, Martin Lloyd-Jones 
observed that the world laughs at the church, because she's 
not doing what she's supposed to do. The world shouldn't be 
laughing at the church. The world should either A, hate 
the church, or B, at least stand off from the church, because 
God is in her midst, and there is the fear of God that is pervasive. 
Let that sink into you. And fear came upon every soul. That is a beautiful testimony 
to the presence of God Most High. You want to know that you know 
the nearness of God? You're going to fear God. I mean, 
isn't this the case? Isn't this what happens? Is it 
that we run into the presence of God and we treat him like 
a fellow? We run into the presence of God 
and we treat him as an equal? Those conquered by the blood 
of Jesus Christ have their orientation reworked. They no longer treat 
God as a fellow. They no longer treat God on equal 
status, but they see God as God, not, you know, essentially. but 
they understand something true of God, and it promotes the fear 
of God in their hearts. This is what's taking place, 
and it's no doubt connected to the supernatural phenomena that 
had been in operation on this day of Pentecost. What did they 
witness? They had witnessed the presence of God through the manifestation 
of the Holy Spirit. They had witnessed the presence 
of God through the preaching of the Apostle Peter as he sets 
forth the supremacy of Jesus Christ. They had witnessed the 
presence of God, according to verse 43b, through the wonders 
and signs that were done by the Apostles. In other words, God 
was pervasively in the midst of his church, and not only did 
his church fear as a result, but the onlookers feared as a 
result. It's like getting close to something 
that is dangerous. You feel fear as a result. When you get close to something, 
and I suggest God in this regard is dangerous to the people who 
are not believers, but they feared God. Notice what the psalmist 
said in Psalm 89, 7. He said, God is greatly to be 
feared in the assembly of the saints and to be held in reverence 
by all those around him. The church, or rather the world, 
is laughing at us. It's probably because there's 
no fear of God before our eyes. If the world sees in us the same 
thing it sees in itself, there is no fear of God in us. You see, brethren, we are to 
be markedly different. We are to be those who conduct 
themselves as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. And a believer 
in the Lord Jesus Christ fears God. Now, there's a whole host 
of reasons why we ought to fear God, but fundamentally, it was 
grace that taught our hearts to fear. That didn't develop 
with John Newton in his hymn, Amazing Grace. God, through the 
prophet Jeremiah, in Jeremiah 32, speaking about new covenant 
realities, God the Lord says, I will put my fear into their 
hearts. In other words, when we fear 
God properly, it's because God has given us grace. This is the 
legitimate response of the people of God to the God of the people. Then fear came upon every soul. And then notice the presence 
of God continues to be manifested through the many wonders and 
signs, but note the instrumentality of these wonders and signs. They 
were done through the apostles. Now, not to develop an overly 
long or overly detailed argument, but since the apostles are gone, 
we ought not to be looking for these wonders and signs. That's 
not to say God can't do wonders and signs. That's not to say 
God isn't sovereign. That's not to say God doesn't 
have the power to work miracles in our midst. But it is to suggest 
that we ought not to put any hope or any confidence in any 
sort of sign and wonder worker that has a ministry ink. Send in your checks and get your 
signs and wonders. Do what I say and you will get 
the very power of God. It's to prostitute the very idea 
of the gifts of God Most High. Brethren, these signs and wonders 
function for a particular reason. It's to authenticate that the 
man speaking for God is the man speaking for God. Signs and wonders 
accompany those eras in biblical history where God is revealing 
himself to his people. Signs and wonders, as many as 
there are in scripture, are connected with Moses, connected with the 
prophets, connected with Jesus, and connected with the apostles. 
Do you know why that is? So that God can confirm and authenticate 
that Moses, the prophets, Jesus, and the apostles are his men. So that when they speak his word, 
you need to listen. That's the purpose for wonders 
and signs. It's not to dazzle the masses. 
It's not to make money for the church. It is rather to manifest 
for the hearers that the man speaking is in fact the man of 
God. Now that the apostolic ministry has ceased, now that the canon 
of scripture is closed, now that God no longer communicates to 
the church in some direct sort of a way, he's given us the scripture. Therefore, our search ought not 
to be for these extraordinary gifts, but for the power of God 
and the preaching of the gospel to save sinners. You see, our 
charismatic friends or Pentecostals will say, you have such low views 
of God. He can't heal. He can't do this. 
He can't do that. Again, the argument isn't that 
he can't. The argument is that he doesn't 
through the likes of Benny Hinn. He does it through apostles. 
And the power of God in saving a sinner is every bit as extraordinary 
as the power of God in healing a blind man. Right? Isn't this the point in the paralytic? 
The men couldn't get into the house for the press because of 
the multitudes that were listening to Jesus, so they peel away the 
roof and they lower that paralyzed man down. And Jesus' first word 
of testimony to him, or his first statement, is, son, your sins 
are forgiven you. I mean, that throws everybody 
in an uproar, the Pharisees and the scribes. Who does this man 
think he is? Only God alone can forgive sins. 
So Jesus asks the simple question, which is easier to say? Son, 
your sins are forgiven? Or take up your mat and walk? 
Well, it's easier to say both of them, really. But it really 
becomes difficult if you tell somebody to take up their bed 
and walk, and they don't. It's a bit of an embarrassment. 
If I tell you, you can throw away your glasses and you'll 
see perfectly fine. That's pretty easy to verify 
whether or not it's the case. If you're a paralyzed man and 
I say, get rid of your bed or take it up and walk, it's easy 
to validate that. So Jesus says, but that you may 
know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins. 
He says to the paralytic, take up your bed and walk. See, today, 
many would say, wow, isn't that great, he healed a paralyzed 
man. No, it's great, he forgave a sinful man. The raising up 
a paralyzed man was the exhibit, the confirmation, the evidence 
that the Son of Man has power to forgive sins. See, I would 
suggest the Charismatics and the Pentecostals in their search 
for tongues are shooting way too low. We're looking for the 
resurrection of the dead. We're looking for dead sinners 
sitting under the preaching of the word to be made alive through 
the power of Jesus Christ our Lord, through the working of 
the Holy Spirit. That is glorious. That is magnificent. And that is wondrous. Never forget 
the signs and wonders accompany various epochs in biblical history 
concerned with the revelation of God's word. Now notice, we 
move from the effect upon every soul to the brotherly love of 
the church. Verses 44 and 45. Their love 
was seen first of all in togetherness. Not to sound like a hippie song 
from the 60s, but togetherness is something that should characterize 
the people of God. We should like each other. We 
should want to be around each other. We should actually mean 
it when we sing Psalm 122. I was glad when they said unto 
me, let us go to the house of the Lord. Not, oh, I can't stand 
going there because I have to see those people. No, there is 
a togetherness that is manifested in the people of God. Notice 
in verse 44. Now, all who believed were together. They liked each 
other. No, probably wasn't perfect. It probably wasn't seamless. 
It probably wasn't without hindrance and it wasn't without effort. 
But nevertheless, they were together. So it's a good thing. The people 
of God like togetherness. The people of God like each other. The people of God love each other. 
And the people of God want to share time with each other. That's 
just the simple teaching of our text. Notice their love was seen 
in charitableness. Charitableness. They were not 
only kind in terms of their disposition, they were not only loving in 
terms of their sort of relationship, but they were charitable. In 
other words, they put feet on there Their love. Notice in 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, 
unfortunately, this is a passage that gets abused. The idea of 
Christian communism. What seems to me fundamentally 
lacking in any assertion of any type of communism is a failure 
to reckon with total depravity. In other words, if man wasn't 
totally depraved, they could all live in a commune perfectly 
fine. But man is totally depraved. The pigs will always ascend. 
All animals are created equal except the pigs. They're just 
a little bit better. It's an Orwellian reference to 
anybody who's missing that from animal farm. Start out equality, 
they start out all the same. But as time goes on, their commandments 
shrink, and the one that declares the equality of all has been 
replaced by the equality of most with the ascendancy of the pigs. 
See, there's a fundamental problem in communism, and it's a failure 
to reckon with the sinfulness of man. Man doesn't get along 
well together. Man will always try to abuse 
his fellow man. And I'm saying man, not all men. 
There's some exceptions. Praise God. But for the most 
part, to try to construct an economic theory with sinful human 
beings is an experiment in folly. But saying that, as I have, let's 
go back to the text. Christian communism, it's not 
taught. But just a couple of observations 
here. This charity that they exercise was not coerced by the 
state. It wasn't the Roman Empire that 
made them do this, so certainly we can't extrapolate from Christian 
communism to sort of a state communism. We don't want that. That's not the prerogative of 
the state. That's not what they're supposed to do, to coerce us 
to be nice to each other. God loves a cheerful giver. Even 
he himself doesn't coerce us. That's the second thing we have 
to appreciate. This isn't state-coerced sort of communism or state-coerced 
charity, but secondly, it's not ecclesiastical. coerced charity. It's not mandated charity by 
the church. Turn to just one text in Acts 
chapter 5. You say, Butler, why are you 
doing this? Because it's important. Calvin, 
highlighting certain Anabaptist sects that promoted a communistic 
version of economics among the societies, called them fanatical 
spirits. And I don't think he was being 
fanatical in that assessment. But notice in 5.4, well, let's 
get 5.1, get the whole section before us. 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 to 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 note verse four, while it remained, 
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. Peter acknowledges that it was under the control of Ananias. It wasn't sacrificed to the state, 
certainly, and it wasn't sacrificed to the collective good. What's 
going on in Acts chapter 2 is voluntary compassion. It's not 
state-mandated, it's not ecclesiastically mandated, but rather it is voluntary 
compassion. So telling us what it's not, 
not advocating we are communists, not suggesting that we ought 
to be communists. These are either sort of state 
or societally or Christian, ecclesiastically. But the emphasis is there that 
they did show kindness to one another. They didn't just talk 
about it. they actually demonstrated it. 
They coughed up, they ponied up their dough, they felt the 
needs of their brethren and they ministered unto them. Notice, 
now all who believed were together and had all things in common 
and sold their possessions and goods and divided or distributed 
them among all. But notice even this, as anyone 
had need, the end game wasn't to sort of balance everybody 
out, it was to find those who had need and to bring them up. 
God's never promised, societally or ecclesiastically, that everybody's 
gonna be the same. I mean, the greatest anti-communist 
in the face of the earth has been Jesus. What does he say? The poor you will always have 
with you. Now, that's Jesus. What's he saying? He's not saying 
it's great to be poor. He's not saying, you know, let's 
make people poor. Let's squash people's dream. 
He's not saying that. But as a matter of fact, within 
this world's history, the poor you will always have. So what's 
the answer? The blood-bought children of 
God seek to alleviate, as they're able, their brethren in need. Not because they're compelled, 
not because they'll be excommunicated. For remember, in 2 Corinthians, 
God loves a cheerful giver. You know, brethren, we ought 
to see the beauty and the joy in being able to help one another 
with the good gifts that God gives us. J.A. Alexander said, 
there is nothing sad of a compulsory renunciation of all individual 
property. Matthew Poole says, Christ's 
gospel does not destroy the law, and the eighth commandment is 
still in force. The eighth commandment protects, of course, private 
property. And then, of course, our London Confession of Faith 
in chapter 27 of the Fellowship of the Saints, which emphasizes 
and presses the duty and responsibility for the people of God to be benevolent, 
to be generous, to be charitable, to give up of their own resources 
to alleviate the suffering of others, nevertheless include 
this, because it's absolutely crucial. The confession goes 
on to say, 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. Now you might 
say, why belabor that point? Because if we maintain that it's 
absolutely essential, we are adding to the gospel! You must 
believe and you must give 100% of your check. You must believe 
and you must sell your property and give it to the poor. You 
must believe and you must enable yourselves or divest yourself 
of all worldly goods and give it to others. See, brethren, 
the Christian church should, the Christian church cheerfully 
does, the Christian church engages, but never at the expense of the 
eighth word. Another thing that gets my goat, 
brethren, is that when we talk about, say, political theory 
and the way that government mismanages finance, we're told, oh, but 
there's other fish to fry, ethical issues. Isn't the Eighth Commandment 
ethical? The way that a government, both 
societally or civilly and ecclesiastically and privately, isn't the way 
that we deal with our funds ethical? The government is stealing from 
us? Isn't that ethical? If the church is stealing from 
us, isn't that ethical? Yes, we affirm and preach against 
abortion vis-a-vis the sixth word. Yes, we affirm and preach 
against the doctrine or the sin of sodomy vis-a-vis the seventh 
commandment. But it's equally ethical to preach 
against sin of theft, citing the eighth word. Well, my issue 
is more, we ought to be about every issue. We ought to seek 
by the grace of God to prosecute every law of God. Not picking 
and not choosing. It's important that we remember 
that we exercise charity because we're blood bots. Gary North 
makes this observation. He says, what people do with 
their money testifies strongly to what they believe. What people 
do with their money testifies strongly to what they believe. He's also the guy, and some will 
say, why are you quoting him? Because he's written a lot of 
good things. He's also the guy who says, at 
least for America, Americans want their religion, but they 
want it cheap. Maybe the same thing could be 
said about Canadians. But I like what he says with 
reference to this statement in his commentary here on Acts. 
What people do with their money testifies strongly to what they 
believe. Now, back in the day, we all 
had those things. They used to call them check 
registers. You remember that? You'd write the date. You'd write 
the check number. And then you'd write the payee. 
And then you'd write the amount. And then you'd keep a tally of 
all the. That's all online now, right? But either way, we can 
see where our money goes, can't we? Either way, we know where 
that do-re-mi ends up. And I think what North says is 
right. Where people spend their money strongly testifies as to 
what they believe. And that's what we need to take 
away from this. This is definitely not a communistic 
sort of passage. I hope that I've blasted that 
out of anybody's mind or thought. But it's certainly a passage 
that exhorts us to charity. Kindness, love, togetherness, 
and charitableness. Again, not wanting to sound like 
a 60s hippie song. Togetherness and charitableness. 
Now, let's look at, finally, in terms of the practice of the 
church. Steadfastness, practice specifically, affect upon every 
soul, brotherly love of the church, 44 and 45. Now, notice fifthly, 
and finally, with reference to the practice of the church, the 
ongoing conduct of the church. In verses 46 to 47a. Verses 46 to 47a. And the first 
is their public conduct. Their public conduct. Notice 
in verse 46. So continuing daily with one 
accord in the temple. The temple is public. The temple 
probably infers or implies that they're meeting there together 
as the corporate people of God to worship God. This is what 
they did. This is what they were about. They did it daily. Again, I think 
I mentioned that sort of meant a statement that people say, 
you know, two weeks ago when we looked at this passage, well, 
you know, the early church, they gather together every single 
day. And all we do is have, you know, three or four meetings 
a week. Again, my promise stands. When we have to meet in here 
for the 9.30 to 10.30 hour on Sunday, when we have to meet 
in here on the Wednesday night Bible study hour, and we do that 
for a month, we'll look at more meetings. We'll look at adding 
more meetings. My promise to you, hopefully 
my fellow elder and my deacons all agree, they were like this 
and we're not. We have a tough time showing 
up on a Sunday morning and an evening. We're one of the few 
churches left that have an evening service. I think it's only the 
reformed churches that have an evening service. Why is that? It used to be commonplace for 
all churches to have a morning and evening service. Well, Pastor 
Butler, there's no text that says thou must meet morning and 
evening. Okay, you got me. But for the 
history of the church, In terms of an application of the Sabbath 
command, it was seen as most helpful to have a morning and 
evening service. How do we explain the loss of 
the evening service? I think there's a couple of ways 
to do it. First, lazy. Second, just unconcerned. Third, just don't care. Or fourth, maybe it's because 
we are not doing what God says. Again, Romans 17, morning, evening, 
gotta be there for that. Doctrine of the Lord's day. It's 
the Lord's day, brethren. It's not the Lord's morning. 
So I would suggest when they continue daily with one accord 
in the temple, we ought to observe from this a commitment to the 
things of God. And then note their private conduct, 
their private conduct. And breaking bread from house 
to house. Now earlier we saw in verse 42, 
there's a reference to breaking of bread. There in verse 42, 
I argue that it's the Lord's table, because it's in connection 
with preaching, apostolic doctrine. It's in connection with fellowship, 
probably these acts of charity they're engaged in, and it's 
connected to prayer. Here I'll argue that it's them 
eating together, them having meals together. I think the final 
clause makes that evident. Notice in verse 46, in breaking 
bread from house to house, they ate their food. I don't think 
the emphasis here is on sort of the corporate gathering together 
with reference to the Lord's table, but again, a further extension 
of the fact that they like to be with each other, a fact that 
they like one another's company. They love to break bread with 
one another in each people's houses. You know, they spent 
time together. So publicly, they went to the 
temple and they continued in that. They had unified public 
worship. In private, they got together 
for mutual edification. They got into each other's homes, 
they broke bread from house to house, and then notice, they 
ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising 
God and having favor with all the people. They continually 
praised God. They shared meals together with 
gladness and simplicity of heart. I love that language. The King 
James has singleness of heart. The NASB has sincerity of heart. The idea is, is that they were 
simple. Not simple tens, but simple. Now, I'm gonna press this in 
a few moments when we get to application, but I'm just gonna 
put a thought in your head right now. And as I said, we'll pursue 
it a little bit more in just a few minutes. Notice the ordinariness 
of the church in her conduct. the ordinariness of the church 
in her conduct. Now, there's an extraordinariness 
in chapter 2. The Spirit comes and the disciples 
speak in other language. That's extraordinary to be sure. But when Luke comes to describe 
their response to the gospel, they gladly received the word, 
they were baptized, they were added by the Lord to the church, 
they continued steadfastly in the four things that Luke has 
mentioned, fear came upon every soul, they manifested their love 
for one another in togetherness and in charitableness, and then 
as he describes their ongoing conduct in terms of public life 
and private life, it's very ordinary. Notice what he does not say. 
They organized into a militia of sorts, and they marched against 
Caesar's palace. They didn't do that. They went 
to the temple to worship. When it came to their private 
meetings, what did they do? They ate burritos together. They 
had tacos. They talked to the Lord. They 
did it with simplicity of heart. They did it with gladness. They 
praised God. There's an ordinariness about 
Acts 2 that I think, again, our charismatic and Pentecostal friends 
miss. I don't think the prescriptive 
part of Acts 2 is seek the gift of tongues. The prescriptive 
part of Acts 2 is continue steadfastly in the things they did. And watch 
as the fear of God comes upon every soul. Manifest togetherness 
and charitableness one to another. And when you go to the temple, 
Worship, praise, glorify. When you get together with one 
another, engage in mutual edification. See, I think this description 
in this section is prescriptive for the church. This is what 
we should look like. Again, not every day has to be 
a day of worship. They're free to do that. I would 
suggest the same thing. Persons are free to go ahead 
and institute as many times of worship as they want. But it's 
Sabbath worship that is mandated. It's Sabbath worship that is 
absolutely commanded. It is Sabbath worship that is 
non-negotiable. As well, if people want to try 
to get together and live in such a way that they share and have 
all things in common, I'd simply point you to history. I can't 
think of one example where it ever worked out well. I know 
that doesn't always play in the minds of people. Well, it'll 
be different for us. OK. OK. Try, I guess. But it's never gone well when 
a group of people want to do that sort of a thing. Anyways, 
so back to our text. They continually praised God 
and they had favor with all the people. Now here I take it as 
those outside the church again. Notice in verse 47, praising 
God and having favor with all the people. Of course they'd 
have favor with one another. It'd be superfluous to say that 
we all loved each other, because hopefully we do. But they had 
favor with all the people. In other words, the onlookers, 
the outsiders, the non-church people, the non-believers. They 
had favor with them. How do we explain that with reference 
to our understanding of God's Word? Again, Alexander says, 
the Jews collectively, no doubt with individual exceptions, favored 
them. This state of public feeling is remarkable and seems to be 
recorded on account of the unhappy and inexplicable change which 
afterwards took place. But as yet, they enjoyed popular 
as well as divine favor. At this particular juncture, 
they were received favorably. See, as I said earlier, the church 
should in some ways hate, or the world rather, should hate 
the church if the church is doing what she's supposed to do. But 
let them never hate us because we're hateable. Never let them 
hate us for just cause. Never let them hate us because 
we're weird. I mean, they'll always perceive 
us weird to some degree, but I think Peter speaks to this. 
In fact, you can turn to 1 Peter 4. 1 Peter chapter 4. This is basically a theology 
of suffering, a theology of suffering. What Peter says is you need to 
expect it. So contrary to the sorts of Christianity we hear, 
you know, peddled in our day, Oh yeah, you're never going to 
have any troubles in the Christian life. It's just going to be great. No, you can expect tribulation, 
verse 12. You are to exult in it, according 
to verses 13 and 14. That means rejoice in it. Rejoice 
that you're counted worthy to suffer shame for the name of 
Christ. But then note thirdly, he says, you need to evaluate 
its cause. At verse 15, he says, but let 
none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a 
busybody in other people's matters. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, 
let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter. 
So, you know, there are times where maybe at work you're suffering 
or persecuted, not because you're so godly, but because you're 
so annoying. Peter tells you to evaluate the 
cause upon which you are suffering. Oh, you know, nobody in my family 
likes me because I'm so holy. Well, that could be it. Or you 
may be a thief or a murderer, in which cause you should suffer, 
according to Peter. Evaluate its cause. The same 
thing is true there in Acts 2.47. They had favor with all the people. 
This tells us that what they were engaged in was correct. 
It was right. This continuing steadfast in 
these four things, this pervasive fear of God coming upon every 
soul, this togetherness and charitableness, this emphasis on public worship, 
this emphasis on private and mutual edification of one another. It's that which promotes in the 
outsiders a favorable view of what the insiders are doing. 
It's when we're odd ducks, it's when we're weird, it's when we're 
strange, it's when we commit sin, or we commit crime, or we 
do things that are untoward. Matthew Poole says the goodness, 
meekness, and patience of the apostles and the rest of the 
believers did wonderfully prevail to beget a good opinion of them. 
That's beautiful, isn't it? Again, we're not courting the 
good opinion of the world. At the same time, we don't want 
to court their hatred and their enmity and animosity unless it's 
for the cross, unless it's for those things that we're supposed 
to be persecuted for. Does everybody get that? I feel 
like I'm just kind of speaking out in the ether here. I think that's an important point. 
When you suffer, evaluate its cause. It could be your godly. Could be, maybe not. And this 
is what we have to reckon with. And I realize that's a tough 
pill to swallow. I mean, after all, we all want 
to suffer because we're godly. But we don't always suffer because 
we're godly. We sometimes suffer because we're 
not godly. And I'm sorry if that hurts you 
or offends, but that's truth that we need to take in and reckon 
with and deal with. I'm the only one who's ever had, 
I've had to do this. Why is this happening? I'm just 
so holy in this. No, typically that's not why. 
Because I made some major missteps, or I did something foolish, or 
I did something that was dishonoring to God, and I'm getting, you 
know, chastised for it. We've got to deal faithfully, 
honestly. But in this instance, they had 
favor with all. So there's the practice of the 
church. No, finally, the power involved in 47b. The Lord added 
to the church daily those who were being saved. The Lord added 
to the church daily those who were being saved. It's a beautiful 
statement, isn't it? It's God who adds to the church. 
It's God who is sovereign over these things. Specifically, the 
second person of the Trinity, Christ, in his mediatorial office, 
is the Lord here who adds to the church. It is Christ who 
builds his church, according to Matthew 16. It is Christ who 
has the ability to plunder the kingdom of darkness and to transfer 
sinners into the kingdom of the Son of God's love. It is Christ 
who builds. It is Christ who sustains. It 
is Christ who defends. It is Christ who protects. And 
here, specifically, Luke tells us this Jesus, whom they had 
crucified, is now adding them even to the church. It's a beautiful 
thing. Paul highlights this in 1 Corinthians 3.6. He says, I 
planted a polis, watered, but God gave the increase. It's always 
seemed to me that verse, 1 Corinthians 3.6, is the New Testament version 
of Proverbs 21.31. The horse is prepared for the 
day of battle, but victory is from Yahweh. Isn't that beautiful? If you were in the Old Covenant, 
and you were getting ready to march into battle, and you prepared 
that horse, and you went out there to fight the Hittites, 
or the Hivites, or the Perizzites, or the Jebusites, and you came 
back victoriously, you knew it wasn't because you prepared that 
horse. Although you better prepare that horse, but victory is from 
Yahweh. It's the same thing with reference 
to gospel ministry. One waters, another sows, or 
one sows, another waters. It's God who gives the increase. 
That's why on Sunday morning you pray to God. God, send the 
Spirit. God, bless the preaching of the 
Word. God, open ears, open hearts, cause sinners to receive the 
truth. And God, Lord, Jesus Christ specifically, add to our number 
such as should be saved. It's a beautiful and a wonderful 
and a glorious thing that we find here in this book of Acts. 
Again, Matthew Poole says, not Peter's sermons, nor the miracles 
of fiery cloven tongues and the rushing mighty wind could have 
converted any, but that which was signified there, namely, 
the powerful operation of the Spirit of God in their hearts. Brethren, in conclusion, we see 
the description of the Church. I just want to run it together 
once more. The proper practice of the Church, doctrine, fellowship, 
Lord's Supper, prayer. I think this is where the Reformers 
got the marks of the Church. The marks of the Church are preaching, 
sacraments, and discipline. Belgic Confession 29 highlights 
that, and I think they're on the right track. As well, what 
2nd London highlights that Deuteronomy 12, 32 tells us and 1st Timothy 
3, 15 tells us is what's called the regulative principle of worship. 
This is the stuff we're supposed to do. Notice what's not mentioned. They had puppet shows. They had 
ponies. They had rides in the parking lot. They had an ice 
cream truck right there in the foyer so everybody could refresh 
themselves during a long... No! The task of the Christian 
church when it comes to corporate worship is to read the Word, 
preach the Word, pray the Word, sing the Word, and see the Word. 
Christian worship is Word-based. This is God's prohibition against 
the idol-making tendency. You saw no form on Horeb. You didn't see some personage 
on that mount. You heard His voice. You don't 
take a tool and carve for yourself an image. That's prohibited. 1232 in Deuteronomy says, we're 
not supposed to add or take away from the word. 1 Timothy 3.15, 
I write these things. Why? So that you may know how 
you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, the church 
of the living God, which is the pillar and ground of the truth. 
Timothy, I'm not suggesting these things for more sort of benefit 
for you. I'm telling you there's a divine 
oughtness in how you ought to worship or conduct yourself in 
the house of God. Again, I think the description 
in chapter 2 of the Holy Spirit in terms of tongue speaking is 
not prescribed for us. That's not what we are to seek. 
But the description in terms of the practice of the Church 
is prescribed. This is what we should be about. 
These are the things we ought to be cultivating. This approach 
to God, wherein He defines the approach to God. Beautiful argument, 
isn't it? God commanded Moses how to build 
the tabernacle. He didn't command Moses, you 
know, where to put Moses' couch in his own house. Yahweh loves 
the gates of Zion more than all the dwelling places of Jacob, 
and he regulates the conduct of God's people in corporate 
worship such that they do what he says they're supposed to do. And that's one of those other 
things. It's just so simple. I don't know how we messed it 
up. If I said to my son, I want you to take this cup, I want 
you to put it under the water, and I want you to rub it with 
a sponge, and then I want you to put it over here so that it 
would be clean. If I went upstairs and I came back down and he was 
building a card house, I would say, what happened? There was 
nothing about building a card house. It was pretty simple instruction, 
dish, water, set. What have we missed? Preach, 
pray, sing sacraments. What have we missed? How do we 
have ponies? How do we have pastors rappelling 
down? How do we have concerts in the name of public worship 
or ballet? How do we have flag waving in 
the front of a corporate worship service? How did this happen? 
Cup, water, sit. Not build card houses. Preach, 
pray, sing, discipline, baptism, Lord's Supper. Pretty easy, isn't 
it? We ask the question, God, what 
do you want us to do when we gather together for public worship? 
He answers it. He doesn't leave us, you know, 
well, I just don't know. I just can't imagine. What should we do? Is anybody 
at a loss for what we should do? It's pretty simple. Cup, 
water, sit. Not card houses, not ponies, 
not puppets, not, you know, ice cream trucks in the middle of 
the service, not, you know, gimmicks and hocksters and guys that are, 
you know, that are cheerleaders rather than preachers of God's 
Holy Word. What happened to us here? As 
well. They had, or they knew, the presence 
of God, which promoted the fear of God. They engaged in togetherness 
and charitableness. They engaged in gladness and 
singleness of heart. And they were praising God, and 
they were received favorably by the outsiders. Again, that 
will change. That has changed. It's not always 
the case that God-fearing, Christ-exalting, biblical churches have favor 
among them all. But at this early place, in terms 
of redemptive history, the unbelieving Jews saw what was going on and 
said, wow, there's something going on there. They're not this 
band of renegades or mavericks. They had a favorable opinion 
of them. As well, I mentioned the ordinariness of the church. 
This text, again, it doesn't say everything that the New Testament 
will say in terms of church and worship, but I think in broad 
strokes, it highlights for us a good strategy of church life 
in terms of our public life and in terms of our private life. 
Publicly, we meet together for worship. It's another one of 
those things, cup, water, sit. How did we get on all these other 
things that we're doing? Individual Christians, as individual 
Christians, can do just about anything, as long as it's not 
sin, as long as it's not unlawful. The church as church is defined. 
The church as church has a specific mission. The church as church 
has a particular delimited calling, and she must abide by that. And 
I would suggest that's what we see here continuing daily with 
one accord in the temple. They gathered together for worship. 
They didn't miss the corporate place. They didn't neglect the 
means. They utilize those things that 
God had given to them for His glory and for their well-being. You know, so many of these substitutes 
and so many of these additions and so many of these supplements 
seem to imply, or suggest rather, that God doesn't know what's 
best for His people. God, we know that puppets and 
ponies and programs, they really get people going. They really 
make us feel at one with who we are as God's people. Well, 
then God would have determined that puppets, ponies, and programs 
would have their place in his churches, but he didn't. I guess 
my point is we're not smarter than God. Cup, water, sit. Can you imagine the kid saying, well, 
you know, Dad, I have a much better way of washing this. I 
mean, I've just thought through this, and there's this chemical, 
and there's this process. Cup, water, sit. I don't want 
you to be innovative. I don't want you to be creative. 
I don't want you to think on your own two feet here. I want 
you to obey me." Maybe all parent different, but that's kind of 
how we operated in our house. We didn't like a lot of back 
chat in terms of, well, there's a better way to do that. What? You just do what you're supposed 
to do. And yet when it comes to the 
church, which is the house of God, the church of the living 
God, the pillar and the ground of the truth, we're all saying, 
but God, you know, we have a better way. No, we don't. God's ways 
are tried. God's ways are proven. Even more 
importantly, God's ways are, dare I say it, commanded. And this is what we glean from 
this section. The private meetings of the people of God were for 
mutual edification. Again, it's not telling us a 
whole host of other things, but this much we can surmise. They 
broke bread from house to house. They ate their food with gladness 
and simplicity of heart. The ordinariness of this, it 
just amazes me. We live amongst a generation 
where it's all extraordinary is what Christians should be 
aspiring to. Radical Christianity, burning 
yourself out for Jesus Christianity, being the wokest Christian out 
there Christianity. Far more of the Bible is committed 
to ordinary Christianity. For every one Paul, there's what, 
millions, billions of non-Pauls? For every one Calvin in the life 
of the church, there's how many millions or billions of non-Calvins? For every Luther, you get the 
logic? You know where most of us find 
our lot in life? It's in the ordinary, and in 
the normal, and in the routine, and in the regular. And that 
is perfectly acceptable. You can continue daily with one 
accord in the temple, break bread from house to house, eat your 
food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having 
favor with all the people, and know that God is pleased with 
you. I think that's very important. We get this idea that I've got 
to be Amy Carmichael if I'm a girl or a woman. I've got to be Paul 
if I'm a guy. Why can't you just be who you're 
supposed to be? I thankfully met a young Christian 
man, or talked to, I didn't meet him, but he didn't know what 
woke meant. If you don't know what woke meant, that's okay, 
but he didn't know that. But I know for a fact this young 
man knows what hard work is, and I know for a fact that he 
knows what tending to a wife is, and I know for a fact that 
he knows what tending to his kids are, and I know for a fact 
that he's got a good ecclesiastical ethic. But he's not woke. That's 
the watchword of today. That's what you have to be. Hashtag 
woke if you're to be any kind of a Christian. No, hashtag faithful, 
normal, ordinary. Let me turn you to a text that 
I don't think gets much play today. 1 Thessalonians 4. 1 Thessalonians 
4. Yeah, the latter half of the 
chapter certainly does, but there's this little place in verses 9 
to 11. I'm sorry, 9 to 12. Thankfully, there has been some 
response to that, you know, that non-ordinary, that extraordinary, 
that burn-yourself-out, that radical Christianity. Michael 
Hortons wrote, written a book, Ordinary. The ordinariness of 
Christianity. Again, something, a concept that 
was accepted for 20 centuries. People knew they weren't John 
Calvin, and they knew they probably would never be John Calvin. So 
they hoed their fields. People that knew they weren't 
C.H. Spurgeon, so they fixed plumbing. That's as noble if 
we get the context or concepts in our heart and mind. Notice 
in 1 Corinthians, I'm sorry, Thessalonians 4, 9. But concerning 
brotherly love, you have no need that I should write to you, for 
you yourselves are taught by God to love one another. And 
indeed you do so toward all the brethren who are in all Macedonia. 
But we urge you brethren that you increase more and more now 
notice verse 11 that you also aspire to lead a quiet life To 
mind your own business and to work with your own hands as we 
what it's we commanded you Be normal be ordinary be regular 
but be faithful at it That's the point And then notice verse 
12, that you may walk properly toward those who are outside 
and that you may lack nothing. Or how about this? Who of us 
have ever said, I wanna know what the will of God for my life 
is? I really want to know what the will of God for my life is. 
That typically means, and, you know, if I may translate, who 
am I going to marry, where am I going to go to school, am I 
going to make a lot of money this year, what kind of a job 
should I pursue? It's not sort of the broad strokes, 
it's this individual, you know, sort of like God's going to print 
out this scan that gives you all your details and hand it 
to you so you can pattern your life according to it. What is 
the will of God for my life? Well, interestingly, Paul tells 
you. Go back to 1 Thessalonians 4, 3. For this is the will of 
God, your sanctification, that you should abstain from sexual 
immorality. That much I know to be the will 
of God for you. And then notice in 1 Thessalonians 
5, 16. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and everything give 
thanks. Why? For this is the will of 
God in Christ Jesus for you. Now, typically as a pastor, and 
you rehearse this, or as a brother, and you rehearse this when somebody 
has this huge, you know, what is the will of God for me? You 
tell them that, and they say, oh yeah, I know, but who am I 
gonna marry? Where am I gonna go to school? Just do what God 
says here. Do the will of God. Ordinarily. Normally. Routinely. Accept the 
fact, ladies, you're probably not gonna be Amy Carmichael. 
Accept the fact, brothers, you're probably not gonna be the Apostle 
Paul. That's okay. Be faithful where 
God has you. Be diligent where God has you. 
continue in the temple in terms of worship, of course, church 
is what I mean now, and continue to mutually edify your brothers 
and sisters in Jesus Christ. Well, those are thoughts that 
I think suggest themselves in a survey of this particular passage. 
But the lasting thought I want to leave with everybody is, as 
I mentioned earlier, the entrance into the church. The church is 
described in terms of her practice, the church is described in terms 
of her sort of ordinariness, and I would suggest the church 
is described in terms of the practice of miraculous gifts. 
It's when the apostles are there as the agents of these miraculous 
gifts. But as well, in a larger sort 
of situation or context, it's describing how one enters the 
church. Again, it's not through baptism. 
It's not through just showing up. It's not through just placing 
yourself on a pew on a Sunday morning at 11 o'clock in a given 
local expression of a church. The way of entrance into the 
church, by the grace of God, is shown us in verse 41. Those 
who gladly received his word were baptized. In the language 
of verse 38, after they are cut to the heart, after they are 
convicted of sin, what does Peter say to them? Repent and let every 
one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the 
remission of sins. The way into the church is by 
grace through faith in Jesus Christ. That's the means by which 
persons enter in, and it's a blessed and a wonderful and a glorious 
thing. As well, it is in response, that gladly receiving that Word, 
primarily is that Word of verses 22 to 36. The Word concerning 
Jesus in His true humanity, His life, His earthly ministry, a 
man that Peter will tell us later in Acts 10, went around doing, 
went about doing good. This Lord Jesus Christ who took 
on our humanity, who assumed our humanity for us men and for 
our salvation. This Christ who ultimately was 
delivered up according to the plan and purpose of God. Nevertheless, 
these sinners were guilty and they were responsible. They were 
the lawless hands that were enacting what had been determined. And 
then as well, Christ was buried, Christ was raised the third day, 
and Christ ascended on high. And so the glad reception of 
God's word means specifically with reference to Jesus. That's 
what our confession says. It speaks about saving faith, 
believing whatever the Bible says. But the principal acts 
of saving faith have respect to Jesus. That's what you need 
to hear this morning. That's what you need to believe 
this morning. That's the word you gladly receive. And when 
you do, by the grace of God, believe that word, you'll be 
baptized, you're part of the church, you come to the supper, 
and you seek by the grace of God to be faithful, to be that 
first Thessalonians 4 9 through 12, kind of a guy or girl who 
does what they're supposed to do for the glory of God. It's 
a beautiful and it's a wonderful thing. God doesn't shake the 
pillars to plant his church. God saves a bunch of sinners 
that would probably never hang out in any other context, brings 
them together, and causes them to do the things he says to do. 
It's a beautiful thing, isn't it? He didn't send men out with 
machine guns to make the kingdom of God. He didn't send men out 
with tanks. He didn't send them out with 
F-16s or B-2 bombers. He didn't do this by force. He did it through cracked pots, 
preaching the gospel, the treasure of the gospel, under the power 
of the Holy Spirit, who saves sinners. Those sinners are banded 
together, and those sinners redeemed by grace are seeking to persevere 
and honor the Lord together. I think what we have in Acts 
2, in terms of the description, ought to be prescriptive. It 
ought to be something that all of us as church members, as the 
people of God, jealously, jealously court. Well, let us pray. Our 
Father, we thank you for your Word. We thank you for this snapshot 
of the early church. And I pray that you would help 
us as your people to engage our souls in the kinds of things 
that we see in this passage, in this steadfast commitment 
to the marks of the church. As well, may we see and know 
the presence of God that promotes that fear of God. And as well, 
may we exercise togetherness and charitableness and May we 
engage in public worship and private mutual edification of 
brothers and sisters. We ask that you would have mercy 
upon any and all that do not believe the gospel. May today 
be the day when they gladly receive that word, and may they want 
to be baptized and identified publicly with the triune God. 
We ask that you would go with us now, and we pray through Jesus 
Christ our Lord. Amen. Well, you can turn in your 
Trinity hymnal to hymn number seven, Hymn number seven will 
stand as we sing together concerning the glory of God from Psalm 72 
in hymn number seven. ♪ And blessed be his glorious name 
to all eternity ♪ ♪ The whole earth let his glory hear ♪ ♪ Amen, so let it be ♪ ♪ Amen, 
so let it be ♪ The Lord bless you and keep you 
the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you 
The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. 
Amen Father, we ask that you would go with us now. We pray 
that you would bless this day, encourage our hearts, strengthen 
us with might in the inner man. Give us grace to return tonight 
to worship you in spirit and in truth, and go with your people 
now. Watch over each and every one, 
and may we know that peace that does surpass all understanding. 
And we pray these things through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. 
Please be seated.