Acts 2:37

Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.

The church was born not by the methods of men, but by the Spirit of God through the preaching of repentance.

A Realistic Look at the Early Church

We looked rather speedily through chapter 2 of Acts last week, and we began this study a few weeks ago after going through Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John over the last several years. The book of Acts will probably take us a while—perhaps the Lord will come while we're still in it. But as we step into a new year, this book is important for us, because God is doing some neat things in our church, and Acts shows us the beginning of the church. It's good to consider how the church got started and what it did when it was young.

There's a misconception that the early church was perfect—that if we could just get back to it, everything would be okay. That's false. As you read through Acts, you find the early church had problems just as the church today does. Very early there was a problem because some people were not being ministered to—there's always a group saying, "Where's the ministry to us?" There was greed, as we'll see with Ananias and Sapphira, who not only were greedy but lied to the Holy Spirit. There was persecution, and there were people departing from the faith. People look back with rose-colored glasses, but the heart and flesh of man were still present. What was different is that the Holy Spirit was doing a great work then, and He is still doing a great work today.

"I Will Build My Church"

Although this book is called the Acts of the Apostles, it should rather be called the Acts of the Holy Spirit, for it is His work. First and foremost, man did not start the church. Back in Matthew 16, at Caesarea Philippi, Jesus asked, "Who do men say that I am?" Peter, stirred by God the Father, answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus said, "Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father which is in heaven... and upon this rock I will build my church."

The Catholic Church believes Peter is that rock, which is why St. Peter's Basilica is said to be built on his tomb. But the Greek word Petros means "little pebble," and the word Jesus uses for "rock" is different. The rock is the statement, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." And notice: "I will build my church." It is God's work, God's building, God's creation. It is the Spirit of God working in and through the lives of men and women that builds the church, and only the Spirit can sustain it.

That is why the church has stood for 2,000 years through persecution and through people who tried to destroy it—because it is not a work of men but a work of God. Gamaliel will say as much in Acts 5: if this is the work of man, it will fall apart; but if it is of God, you'll be fighting against God. Everyone who has sought to destroy the church has been destroyed, because it's a losing battle to fight against God. Read Genesis 32, where Jacob wrestled with God. Some say Jacob prevailed—but he limped the rest of his life and God changed his name. God conquered him. Every knee will bow, and it is much better to bow now than later.

When Man Tries to Build It

Every time man steps in to build and sustain the church, it begins to look more like man than like God. Paul asked the Galatians, "Having begun in the Spirit, are you now made perfect by the flesh?" The church began in the Spirit, but when men try to tweak and change it, it takes on the characteristics of the world. There's really no way to improve upon what God did. He spoke creation into existence, and every time man tries to make it better, he ruins it.

So what exactly is the church? Is it this building at 1675 Seven Oaks Road? No. The Greek word ekklesia means "the gathering"—a gathering of like-minded people with a common purpose, goal, and mission. We are the body of Christ, the gathering of God, assembled to be encouraged, equipped, and to worship the God who created the church. If you gather together and worship Jesus as God, you are part of the church.

There are many churches, split into denominations and sects, some with strange doctrines. But if we can agree on that essential statement—"You are the Christ, the Son of the living God"—we can have koinonia, fellowship. Some groups call themselves churches of Christ, such as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but they do not believe He is the Christ, the Son of the living God as the Bible declares it—nor do the Jehovah's Witnesses or other cults. In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity. I fellowship with people from Lutheran and Episcopal churches who have different views on worship or eschatology, but if we agree that Jesus is the Christ who alone atones for our sins, we are part of the body together.

How the Spirit Started the Church

How did the Holy Spirit bring men and women into this gathering? It began as He stirred Peter to stand and preach. The Spirit had filled Peter and the 120 in the upper room, and they spoke the wonderful works of God in other tongues. People gathered, amazed; others mocked, saying they were drunk with new wine. Peter stood and said, "We are not drunk as you suppose," and preached from Joel 2.

But then he turned it and directed it personally. In verse 22 he said Jesus was approved of God by miracles, signs, and wonders, "whom you have taken by wicked hands, and have crucified." This is not how you win friends and influence people—unless you are directed by the Holy Spirit. If man were scripting this, he would have said, "I know you're having a bad day in Jerusalem, but I know someone who can make your life better." Instead, God, speaking through a man, says, "You are wicked. By wicked hands you crucified Him." That is how the Holy Spirit works and how He builds His church.

Cut to the Heart

God uses His Word, through the mouth of a man directed by the Spirit, to the heart of a man readied by the Spirit, and convicts him of sin, righteousness, and judgment. The Holy Spirit always brings people to a place of decision. Moses did this in Deuteronomy when he proclaimed the law, the blessings, and the curses, then said, "I have set before you this day life and death, blessing and cursing—choose life." Peter does the same: "You crucified Him, and He has a Father who is not very happy. What will you do?"

And they were cut to the heart. No man can do that. I might engage your thinking or challenge your views, but only the Holy Spirit can cut to the heart. Yet God has given me a tool to be part of that work—His Word, which is living and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword, dividing asunder, a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. As we speak forth the Word, God uses it to cut people to the heart. So they cried, "What shall we do?" And Peter said, "Repent."

The Word Man Would Cut From the Script

Repent—another word man would never put in the script, because it offends. Metanoeō means a change of mind that produces a change of direction. It's a course correction, which means you've recognized you're going the wrong way. Now, I won't ask the ladies, but guys—have you ever been lost? We don't get lost; we go on adventures. We always know where we are. But to repent is to admit you're going the wrong direction and turn.

When the translators rendered metanoeō as "repentance," it wasn't the best choice, because in English "repentance" implies penance—doing something, injuring yourself, crying. But repentance isn't merely tears. Esau cried bitterly yet found no place for repentance (Hebrews 12); he was a profane man who never turned. Repentance is a course correction.

It is the central element of both Old and New Testament preaching. You cannot read the prophets without finding God calling His people to turn. It was the first word of John the Baptist: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matthew 3:2). John came as a messenger, baptizing until he saw the Spirit descend and abide upon the Messiah, so I imagine he baptized people, came up, and said, "Nope, not the one. Next." It was the first word of Jesus in Matthew 4:17. In Luke 24, Jesus told His disciples that repentance should be preached among all nations.

It was the first word of Peter to the Jews here in Acts 2, and again in Acts 3:19. When Peter returned from Cornelius's house, the church glorified God, saying, "Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life" (Acts 11:18). And when Paul stood before King Agrippa in Acts 26:19–20, he said he was not disobedient to the heavenly vision but showed first at Damascus, then at Jerusalem, then to the Gentiles, that they should "repent and turn to God." Repentance was the revelation God gave Paul to preach.

The Birth of the Church-Growth Industry

Repentance is the first word of the gospel, and it was the prime message of every evangelist until about the last 75 to 100 years. But in that span, the church, especially in America, decided the word "repent" doesn't win friends—it tells people they're sinners, and people don't like that. In a desire to be palatable, many quietly dropped the "R word."

And ever since, the church has drifted. God builds His church through the preaching of repentance; deny that, and it's left to man to build it. That's why there are now countless conferences, books, CDs, and courses on church growth—a relatively new phenomenon of the last fifty years. The church needed these seminars because it stopped growing when it stopped preaching the message God gave it. Barna research says about 3,000 churches close their doors each year in America. So now success is gauged by size: a "successful" pastor has a thousand, ten thousand, or like Joel Osteen, twenty-nine thousand meeting in a stadium. According to man, a good church is a big church, and he who dies with the most people wins.

But notice Acts 2:40, which runs completely against the church-growth model: "And with many other words did he testify and exhort." Peter's message was long. The seminars say keep it to twenty or thirty minutes, no more than three points, because modern man has a short attention span—a real problem for me, since my messages have forty-five or fifty points. One old Puritan got up and said, "Since my morning message had thirty-three points, tonight's message will be completely pointless."

Yet verse 41 says, "They that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls." He preached repentance, he went past thirty minutes, and they gladly received his word. Three thousand were added in one day—an increase any church-growth expert would envy, yet achieved without their methods.

What the Early Church Did

Once you bring people in, how do you keep them? The church-growth people have answers, but look at verse 42: "They continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers." The seminars say you need exciting programs and a one-stop shop. I read a newspaper article years ago: one church became the first in the nation to have a McDonald's franchise on its grounds, housed in a $7 million learning center with a basketball court, aerobics studio, computer center, arcade, banquet hall, and sixty classrooms—a hit with the 10,000-member church. Temple of the Holy Spirit—have a Big Mac, then hit the aerobics class.

What did the early church do? They were continuously and steadfastly devoted to the study, preaching, and teaching of God's Word. "Don't give them doctrine," they say. "We're postmodern; we don't do propositional theology." But the early church was devoted to doctrine because they recognized it is God's Word that transforms people. Jesus prayed, "Sanctify them by your truth; your word is truth." God has exalted His Word above His name.

They continued in fellowship—koinonia—united as one, so that when one suffered, all suffered. They continued in the breaking of bread, communion, because Jesus said, "As often as you do this you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes." And they continued in prayer—simply talking to God. (If you share that next time you're called for jury duty, they won't select you; just say, "I talk to God, and He talks to me," and watch how fast they excuse you.) As we step into 2009, we will do the same thing the church did 2,000 years ago.

Reverence, Generosity, and Contentment

Verse 43: "And fear came upon every soul." That fear is reverence—they revered God. There's been a lack of reverence for God in the church, perhaps because He hasn't been given His proper place through the reading, study, and preaching of His Word, and because men haven't recognized there is a day of wrath coming. All men ought to repent. As repentance was preached, reverence came, and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles.

"And all that believed were together, and had all things common; and sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need." A sign of becoming a child of God is taking on the characteristics of God, who is first and foremost a Giver (John 3:16). These believers saw one another's needs and met them. This is a great thing, though it can be polluted, as we'll see in Acts 5.

Verse 46: "Continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart." They were content. Contrast that with what the modern American church often esteems—greed. To say, "Give to God and He'll give more to you," is the most greedy thing imaginable. That's not why these people gave. They were content—"I have everything I need; that man over there doesn't; I can take care of that." They didn't give to get. The church-growth movement teaches greed and gluttony as good things—take all you can, hoard it—while condemning smoking and drinking. The Bible does not.

These believers met as one large body in the temple and also from house to house. Some today say the only true church is the small home fellowship; one of my favorite writers insists Jesus is only found in the house church, and I wrote to tell him that's not what the early church did. Others neglect small fellowships entirely because of their big buildings. The early church did both. And notice the result: "The Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved." It doesn't say Peter or James added to the church. God adds to His church when His church does what it was intended to do.

A New Year, a Simple Pattern

As we move into 2009, my desire is that we see more meeting from house to house. We have about six home fellowships now; I'd love to have twenty by the end of the year—gathering as one on Sunday and breaking bread together throughout the week, content with what we have. I'm not looking for us to be a church of 10,000; I don't care about that. I'm looking for us to grow in Christ, and we only do that by doing the things God intended. Who knows—after this message we might be a church of fifty. But God was doing the work in His church then by His Spirit, and He still does today.

I have good friends who pastor very large churches where God is doing awesome things, because they let God build it and didn't try to manufacture it. Some big-name pastors and seminaries studied Calvary Chapel and said, "We don't understand how they've grown—they're not doing anything special, they just teach the Word." Yes—simply teaching the Word of God. A major university studied Calvary Chapel in the late 1970s and found a key factor: it gave the ministry back to the people. Since about the fourth century, ministry became something only the schooled and trained did as a lifelong profession. But we say, "I can't do this; I'm told to equip the saints for the work of the ministry." This is the church—you are the church—and as the work was given back to the people, men stood up and said, "I believe the Lord wants me to plant a church."

In 1965 there was one Calvary Chapel of 25 people in Costa Mesa. In 2008 there are about 1,600 Calvary Chapels—100 added last year, 17 last month—because God is growing His church as ministry is given back to unlearned and untrained men. I never went to seminary; I went one semester of Bible college and quit. People ask what school I went to: Orange Glen High School—go Patriots. Unlearned and untrained, but they had been with Jesus, as we'll see in Acts 4, and God grew His church.

God does not gauge a church's strength by its numbers—man does. We call a church successful if it reaches "mega" status, about 3,000 people, with a mega budget and mega headaches. Bob Coy, pastor of Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale—about 17,000 members—said at a pastor's conference that people always ask, "How's your church?" but never how his marriage or family is. Then he said, "If you really want my church, you can have it—and the $40,000-a-month air conditioning bill." I'd never thought of that; I only thought of the 17,000 in the seats. Our perception is so often skewed.

"Silver and Gold Have I None"

Some have viewed ministry as an opportunity to make money, but jump ahead into chapter 3. At the Beautiful Gate, Peter said to the lame man, "Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk." He took him by the right hand, lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. If the church is a work of man, that doesn't happen. But if it is God's work, working in and through His people, these things do happen.

The man leaped up, walked, and entered the temple "walking, and leaping, and praising God." Oh, that Escondido would see us walking worthy of our calling and praising the God who called us. The people who knew him as the beggar at the gate were filled with wonder and amazement. I've met many new people coming to our church who heard from a friend, "The Lord's doing something at my church." I can't tell you how exciting that is to hear. May this whole town be filled with wonder as they see what has happened to us in coming to know the King of Kings, Jesus the Christ of Nazareth.

Repent and Be Converted

The people ran together to Peter and John at Solomon's porch. Peter saw the opportunity and said, "Why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk?" Peter recognized it was nothing he or John had done. "The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate... and killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead." Then he said, "His name through faith in his name hath made this man strong." Is that your testimony today? His name, through faith in His name, has made you who you are.

Peter said they did it through ignorance, as did their rulers, but that what God foretold by all His prophets—that Christ should suffer—He had fulfilled. Then verse 19: "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord." He cited Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15): "A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you... him shall ye hear in all things." And, "Every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people." That's something a modern church doesn't want to mention—every person who refuses to hear the preaching of Jesus, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand," shall be destroyed. "Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities."

A Remnant That Still Cries "Repent"

What a powerful message—the message of repentance, the message the Holy Spirit stirred the church to speak. It was the first word of John the Baptist, the first word of Jesus, the word He commanded His disciples in Luke 24:47, the word Peter spoke on Pentecost, at the ninth hour, and at Cornelius's house, and the word Paul spoke at Thessalonica, Philippi, Corinth, Ephesus, and Athens. It was the word Spurgeon, Whitefield, Wesley, Moody, and Billy Graham used. Yet the church has said it won't work, and so the church is in the predicament it's in today.

But not every church. There remains a remnant—praise the Lord—that still says, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Repent and be converted, and times of refreshing will come from the presence of the Lord." Your sins are blotted out by the blood of Jesus Christ, for without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins. He who knew no sin became sin for us, that we could be part of His church—the gathering He builds and sustains by His Spirit. "Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord." May we be part of that church.

Closing Prayer

Father, I thank You for this book, the book of Acts, without which the New Testament would make little sense. I ask that You would continue to transform our thinking, our minds, and our lives as we study through Your work, that You would sanctify us completely and wholly, making us ready to stand before You as a church, as a bride without spot or blemish, on that day when You come. We look forward to Your coming, but until then, cause us to be an effective church, moving forward in the power of Your Spirit—not by our might, but by Your power. We are not sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves; our sufficiency is of You. You make us able ministers of the new covenant—not of the letter, which kills, but of the Spirit, which gives life. Pour out Your Spirit abundantly today, we pray, in the precious name of Jesus. Amen.