"This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:11-12)
For some time now, but especially over the past few months, I've been challenged by God to see that this faith we proclaim and this Savior we trust and adore are not new things that God called out of nothingness, but they are rather lost things that He has graciously brought back to our minds and hearts. Part of this challenge has been to read (and re-read) the Old Testament with a Christ-centered, Christ-expectant heart. Another part is to read the New Testament, not as corrective to the Old Testament, but as an expansion, a clarification and (dare I say it?) a fulfillment of what God was saying and doing and promising.
That's where Acts 4 comes into play. As I read it this morning I saw a few key connections between the Old Testament and New. On top of that, I also saw some great examples how we can take this unified story and plan of God out to a lost and dying world.
Everything Starts and Ends with the Gospel
Much could be said about the contents of the first 12 verses, including the fact that preaching the gospel will annoy religious people. But as I read these verses today, what struck me was the simple transparency of the early church's gospel witness. Their master plan was to speak to people (v1) and do good deeds in Christ name (v9, in reference to Acts 3) They also had the willingness (and the power) to testify to gospel realities (vv10-12). How often to I get lost in trying to fit the right words in the right situation instead of just talking about gospel realities. D.A. Carson calls this "gosipping the gospel". And, as Peter says later, "in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect" (1 Pet 3:15)
It should be noted that the conflict here and in most of the first half and the last quarter of Acts is a conflict between two views of God's connection with His people. Either its exclusive and limited by the whole Jewish system, thus Jesus is in fact a heretic, or it is expansive and unlimited through a salvation by grace through faith. Peter makes it clear which claim he believes is true.
The Gospel is a Synthetic Part of our Lives
Nothing seems more difficult for me to remember than the truth that the gospel is not something "out there", but it is "right here" and it touches every aspect of my life. Verses 13-22 bear this out, but verse 13 hammers the point home. The disciples were not the cream of anyone's crop and so people were that much more amazed by the effectiveness of their preaching and ministry. And, people recognized that they had been with Jesus.
Pause a minute to consider the implications of that verse. How could someone tell whether Peter or John or any of the others had been with Jesus? The cool t-shirts? A specific hair style? Their accent? The shekinah glory? Perhaps its because there's an internal recognition system in each of us, broken by the fall, that still resonates when the truth of God and his redemption is proclaimed. This is what our lives, our daily, mundane, ordinary lives are to be like.
On top of this, the disciples had a mantra that should really be placarded over each of our lives. "We must obey God rather than men." This again demonstrates the connection the disciples see with the faith that came before them. They don't see themselves as abandoning Judaism as much as fulfilling it.
God Entranced Prayers yield God Entranced Results
As any of my good friends would know, I have a very healthy respect for the height and breadth and depth of prayer. I certainly would be the last person to deny that God honors the simple, here and now requests of His children. That is the straightforward conclusion of the second half of the Lord's prayer and the teaching of Mt 6:25-34 and Mt 7:7-11. Yet, so many of the prayers within the Bible transcend this "me centered", "temporal centered" perspective. The prayer in verses 24-30 is no different. The disciples give glory to God and ascribe to Him the sovereignty over all the events leading to and through Jesus' crucifixion. Then they don't seek relief, nor do they abandon themselves to the nebulous "will of God". Instead they pray in the hard direction they knew they were called to. And of course the ask for God to continue bring glory to Christ. The results are a direct manifestation of the Spirit and an unashamed proclamation of the gospel.
Our Lives and the Church should begin to look like the New Heavens and the New Earth.
This is not a statement of post-millennial eschatology. Rather, it is simply the observation that in verses 32-37. The people individually and the church collectively were doing something so counter cultural and so against human nature that we simply want to discard these verses. However, if we are really growing in grace, shouldn't this sort of "real-world", radical generosity be a mark of our lives? Isn't this extravagant blessing of others be a mark of people who have been with Jesus? I know there are dozens (maybe hundreds) of "real-world" reasons for us to be cautious of how we give our money and resources. But this doesn't mean hoard them or waste them. Instead it should mean prayerfully, wisely lay them at Jesus' feet and distribute to all who have needs.
It is interesting that the one highlighted for his self-sacrificial generosity is Barnabas, a Levite. The Levites were dependent on other's generosity for their own needs, so here is one who has nothing of his own giving to others who had even less. He is thus pointing to and fulfilling the enduring call of the people of God to love their neighbors as themselves (Lev 19:18, see also Lev 19:9-10)
The bottom-line? We always need to be growing up and growing in to our salvation. There is always more Jesus will ask of us, but He will give us today our daily bread (manna, anyone?). What we should not do is either despair, thinking the bar is too high and we can never achieve it or ignore, thinking this is only for the "elite" Christians who read Puritans and write blogs. The call of Acts 4 is for us all. May the Spirit apply it to your heart today in way that brings glory to Christ and brings you closer to One who sits on the throne.
To God Alone be the Glory
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