Why do you suppose that we are studying the Book of Acts?
It’s not in order to carve another notch on our the handle of our gun.
And we are not studying Acts in order to fill our minds with quaint or useless facts.
As Baptists we are trying pattern our lives after the example that we have in the Word of God.
In some ways, the Lord Jesus didn’t start a bunch of different churches, even if they had been all Baptist in doctrine and practice.
Christ started one church.
“I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
He was talking about all the individual congregations which would eventually derive their existence from the church that He established in Jerusalem.
It is incumbent upon us to know how it operated and to imitate it as best we can.
This is the 50th message in our study so far.
To the best of my knowledge every outline that I have used has been “an original.”
In my notes, here, I put the words “an original” in quotations marks,
Who have preached through the Book of Acts.
But I can tell you that I am not aware of any of those messages, and these outlines have come out of my heart and mind.
In regard to the message tonight, this verse divides so easily and so obviously, that probably every book of sermon outlines on Acts will have at least one message that sounds like this one.
Let’s think about four things:
The Work, the Subject, the Place and the Time.
But many of those messages dealt with theological details and their application.
For example, we’ve looked at glossolalia and the accusation of public drunkenness.
Unlike those messages, this verse and this sermon paint a very broad picture of that church.
Acts 5:42 is not an incidental detail, but rather the basic theme and work of the church.
This was what it was created to do.
This was and continues to be the sum and substance of the Lord’s churches.
And certainly at the very center of this work were the Apostles.
But those same church-servants were also preachers whenever possible.
The first of the deacons in Acts 6:5 was eventually called “Philip the Evangelist.”
This was the work of the entire church, and every member to some degree was involved.
This is the way that should be in all of the Lord’s churches.
That does not mean that everyone is called or gifted to be a preacher.
According to Biblical definition, to preach is to publically announce, to declare, to proclaim and herald.
It was first on the list of exhortations to young Timothy was to “preach the Word.”
Philip preached Christ to the people of Samaria; and he preached Jesus to the Ethiopian
Paul told that Corinthians that he was sent to be preacher to them.
And he implored them to help him “to preach the gospel in the regions beyond.”
To the Colossians he said of Christ, “Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.”
And why all this talk about preaching?
“The preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.”
Peter publically and boldly stood and heralded the name and work of the Lord Jesus.
And on the Day of Pentecost the result was 3,000 souls surrendered to Christ.
And after the healing of the lame man in the gate of the temple, Peter preached once again, and this time over 5,000 souls came to Christ.
God has promised to bless, what the world calls “the foolishness of preaching.”
The Lord has never promised to greatly use Christian drama, or gospel cantatas, or Christian fiction.
I am not saying that the Lord can’t use these things or that He doesn’t from time to time.
But the Bible declares God’s approval and blessing on only two things; teaching and preaching,
Just outside of Calgary, Alberta there is a Baptist preacher who was once a member of the church that I pastored there.
I have mentioned him before, because when it comes to this subject, I can’t get him out of my mind.
He had a family of girls, whom he didn’t very often bring to Sunday School.
He’d exhort me to “preach the word; to be instant in season and out of season.”
He said that he wanted to be “reproved, rebuked, and exhorted.”
If he is still in the ministry, I hope that he has changed his mind about this.
Shame on the father who doesn’t see that he and his children are taking advantage of every opportunity to hear the word of God, whether preached or simply taught.
Teaching is that part of the ministry in which the Word of God, or more particularly the Lord Jesus, is patiently and carefully revealed.
It may lack some of the same dynamics that are contained in preaching,
It is often the foundation upon which the preaching of the Word is built.
When a boxer goes into the ring against an opponent, he has to carry with him a number of techniques.
For example, if he never punches the body, he’ll likely never get to punch the other man’s nose.
And unless he punches with his left hand, then he’ll probably never land his right.
Teaching and preaching are the left and right punches of the Bible church.
You might say that we are to teach and preach Jesus’ deity, humanity and personality.
We are to teach and preach “Jesus.”
I have tried in the past to make it a point never to call our Saviour simply “Jesus.”
And secondly, because quite often the Bible writers and preachers simply denote Him as “Jesus.”
He is the LORD JESUS CHRIST, the Son of God, the Messiah, the Saviour.
He had a mother just as Patriarch Joseph did, and he had jealous brothers just as Joseph did.
He was tempted in all points, as we are, but he didn’t give in to those temptations.
“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh.”
But He must be taught.
On the hand, it is very easy to PREACH Jesus, “the Christ.”
This means that He is “the anoint one.”
To understand the Christ properly, one much see that He is prophet, priest and king; each office of which commenced with an anointing.
And each of those terms take us into unfathomable depths of thought and revelation.
They can, and probably will be taught and preached throughout eternity.
Together, “Jesus Christ,” is the Saviour.
“Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is none other name under heaven, given among men whereby we must be saved.”
A person might study and learn music until he is an expert in theory, the history of music and the actual making of music with a dozen different instruments.
It’s not that there won’t be music in Heaven, but I imagine that it will be of a celestial variety unique to Heaven itself.
They taught and preached Jesus Christ in the Temple.
As we have seen, the Apostles liked to speak to the crowds that gathered in Solomon’s Porch.
Huge crowds could gather under that canopy
And with the roof above it, the acoustics might have been pretty good.
It was there that the apostles had preached on several occasions,
And it was there that they had been arrested.
I’m sure that they had both preaching and teaching “services” there.
This might simply be saying that the church and the apostles had public gatherings of some sort.
But this could very well be saying that they met regularly in Solomon’s Porch for public services.
One commentator said that they met every morning & every evening at the time of the daily sacrifice.
In that way, it would be equivalent to the regular services of Calvary Independent Baptist Church.
I’m sure that they had more public services than we have, and maybe that says something about us.
But they did have public services.
The question that this verse doesn’t answer is whether this is to be confined to the homes of the Christians or not.
If it’s speaking of the same thing as Acts 2:46 then it’s talking about the homes of the saints.
Did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart.”
I was talking to our Missionary Tim Parrow last week, and he was talking about one of his services.
In fact this other man lives in open immorality.
He invited her in, but instead of asking her to sit in the service with him, they went into his bedroom while the Bible was being taught not more than 20 feet away.
Bro. Parrow said that it was a very uncomfortable situation, and he doesn’t plan on having services in other people’s homes again.
Together the words “temple” and “every house” indicate that the church had both public and private preaching and teaching services.
The word “daily” means exactly what you’d expect it to mean.
But I think that we can say that it means approximately the same thing as “constantly.”
With that many members and that many qualified teachers and preachers, I think that it is probable that they could have had multiple and multiplied services.
Would that be difficult to manage? Probably.
Would it be evil or wrong? Absolutely not.
It appears to me that the saints in Jerusalem in those early months took their Christianity very seriously.
By that I mean that their jobs, recreations and educations became secondary.
I think that they were probably doing something WITH the church or FOR the church every day.
They were changing their schedules, maybe skipping meals in order to spend time with the Apostles and other teachers.
It appears that they couldn’t get enough of the things of the Lord.
If Acts 5:42 was given to us to show us something about that first church,
What do you suppose is supposed to be the norm – frequent or infrequent meetings?
What do you suppose that John or Philip might say if they had an opportunity to spend a month with us?
Compared to the early church, don’t the Lord’s churches of the last days appear to be Laodicean?
“And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;
So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.