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Luke tells us in Acts 2:42 that the early church was distinguished by 4 things. The were devoted to:
** The apostles' teaching,
** Fellowship with one another,
** "Breaking of bread," and
** Prayer.
It is just as important today for us to be devoted to the Word of God as it
was in the 1st century. Chuck Colson says: "When the people of God, united in His name, proclaim the Word of God, they can turn their world upside down." The
early church definitely turned their world upside down! But, they were not only devoted to the Word, but also to fellowship with one another. Authentic Biblical fellowship
assumes and requires face-to-face communication, whether in New Testament times or in today's Internet era.
Why are relationships so important? Apart from God
Himself, there will only be two things in eternity: God's Word and God's people, living in relationship with Him. This reality alone should serve as a wake-up call
to all of us. We should be striving to have God-honoring relationships in our lives. I know people who are looking forward to Heaven to "get away from certain
people" (often in our own churches). What they forget is that many of those people they are longing to escape from will be with them for eternity!
Luke's
reference to "the fellowship" implies that there was something distinctive in the gatherings of the early believers. One of those distinctives is found in Acts
4:32: "All the believers were one in heart and mind." The whole congregation was united to one another in their allegiance to Jesus.
What about you? Are
you striving to have God-honoring relationships? Are you diligently striving to be of one heart and mind with other Christians?
Continued tomorrow. . .
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