Signs of Grace in a Church
Acts: The Mission of God • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
The most famous rose garden in the world is the International Rose Test Garden in Portland, OR.
Hundreds of thousands people attend each year.
It is massive. It looks like something out of Willy Wonka or Alice in Wonderland.
If you or I walked up to a rose and we had to judge the health of it, we might just look at the color or the edges of the petals.
However, you could stare at it for hours and not really know if the rose is healthy and alive, unless you know what you are looking for.
You might think a rose is alive and beautiful, but it is actually dying.
You might think a rose is ugly and immature, but in truth, it is just about to bloom in all its brilliance.
But the people who know rose bushes, know what to look for.
Disease resistance, pest resistance, vigor, the quality of the bloom—these are all signs of life and health.
A dolt like me, who can’t grow a Chia Pet, would walk up and go, “I don’t see it growing. I can’t tell if it’s healthy.”
But someone with insight could help me see the signs of growth.
They could explain to me that plant growth takes place over time—not in an instant.
Similarly, we might ask ourselves, “Is our church growing?”
We might ask whether or not there are signs of life and health that would indicate healthy growth is taking place—even if it is not all obvious to the observing eye.
Another way of saying this—or a more biblical way of posing the question—would be to ask: Is God’s grace at work in our church?
Because at the end of the day—that is what a church must have or they will do nothing.
He is the Vine. We are the Branches.
He is the Head. We are the Body.
He is the King. We are the citizens.
If we do not have His grace at work in our midst, then we have nothing.
Seasons of numerical growth come and go.
Seasons of new and exciting ministry comes and goes.
Seasons of transition and change come and go.
But you will not find a healthy and growing church that is severed from God’s grace.
There might be a lot of people there.
There could be a show.
It doesn’t necessarily mean God’s grace is or is not at work.
There could be very few people there.
There could be a faithful remnant holding on and by worldly standards, it doesn’t look very successful.
It doesn’t necessarily mean God’s grace is or is not at work.
We must return to the Word, which is our life and authority, to understand what it means for God’s grace to be at work in a church.
And this morning in Acts 4, we get a picture of a church that is living in the sweet garden of the grace of Christ—obeying Jesus and enjoying the fruit that His grace is producing in them.
CONTEXT
CONTEXT
Just a reminder of where we left off last week.
Peter and John were arrested and put on trial for healing and preaching in the name of Christ.
They are released and told not to preach any longer.
Last week, we saw the theologically rich prayer of the church that is born out of the Word of God.
Now, we see God answering their prayers and the Gospel continuing to go forward.
And we see the light of the Gospel blazing in their church as the grace of Jesus works in them.
As we move through the text, I want to give you three major evidences that God’s grace is at work in a church that we see in this text.
There will be:
Unparalleled Unity (v. 32)
Gospel Generosity (v. 32, 34-37)
Powerful Proclamation (v. 33)
Certainly we could say there are more evidences than that, but for today—we just deal with what we see in this passage.
And they are three signs that so crucial and important for every church that it is prudent for us to focus on them.
Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
THE KEY TO THE PASSAGE
THE KEY TO THE PASSAGE
The key to the passage that we must highlight to start is this remarkable statement by Luke in verse 33:
“And great grace was upon them all.”
This is what I was talking about as we began this morning.
This is no less than what we should desire.
This is what every church should desire.
For the grace of God to be upon them.
The grace of God—the charis of God—is His favor.
It belongs to the church by the blood of Christ and by no other merit.
The individuals of the church are saved by grace as they repent of sin and trust in Christ.
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Those individuals come together to form a church that exists by grace.
who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began,
Indeed, the testimony of the whole church echoes John 1:16
For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.
Grace upon grace. This is what God has given to us in Christ.
So if a church is living and active.
If there are believers there who are obeying the Lord in love—there should be evidences of grace.
For there is no life apart from the grace of God.
Every church should be desperate to see signs of God’s grace and favor upon them.
UNPARALLELED UNITY (v. 32)
UNPARALLELED UNITY (v. 32)
So with that in mind, we look at this passage and see if there are clues that have led Luke to this conclusion that the great grace of God is upon the early church.
And the first one is found in verse 32.
“Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul...”
SIGN OF GRACE #1: Unparalleled Unity (v. 32)
SIGN OF GRACE #1: Unparalleled Unity (v. 32)
The church is unified.
The language that Luke uses is “one heart and soul.”
In other words—it is as if they are one person.
They do not live and move and breathe as a community of individuals.
They live and move and breathe as a Christ-honoring unit.
Though there are thousands of them at this point in the full number, they are one body.
This is the design of God for His Son’s church, which is His body.
For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.
Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.
This is what the Son of God prayed for before His death.
“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.
The Son of God prayed this for you. For us. For our church.
That we would have a unity that reflects the unity of the Father and the Son.
And this is the supernatural work of God’s Spirit.
For the Spirit has united us to the Father in our salvation.
We are adopted into God’s family.
For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”
So then, the church is a community of people who all call Abba, Father.
A community who have all received the Spirit of Adoption.
A community united to the Godhead and united to one another.
Dwelling in Christ as our Head, an in us as members of His body, the Spirit unites us to one another, to Christ, and God as our Father in heaven.
Joel Beeke
So with that in mind, while we may see examples of amazing unity in the world, due to God’s common grace toward humanity, you will not see the unity of Acts 4:32.
This is an unparalleled unity.
A unity that is provided for the church by God Himself.
A unity gifted to the church by the Spirit of God.
A great treasure to be maintained.
APPLICATION
APPLICATION
But is it unity at all costs? That is an important question worth asking in 2023 when we are see Christians dis-fellowship with one another on public stages over:
Sexual ethics
Who God calls to preach in the pulpit
There are some costs that the Bible expects us to pay when it comes to the high price of unity.
We should be ready to pay for unity with our selflessness.
Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Are you ready to give up your agenda for the sake of the church’s unity?
Are you ready to put yourself last and others first?
We should be ready to pay for unity with our forgiveness.
Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
There is nothing that anyone in this church can do to you that even holds a candle to the offense you have stacked up before God.
If He has forgiven you, you must forgive.
We should be ready to pay for our unity by giving up our liberties.
There are some things that the Bible does not forbid you to do, but if you were to do it in front of your brother or sister in Christ, it would cause them to stumble.
They would either sin by judging you OR
by engaging in the behavior with you, which could be a problem, because while it is not sinful for you, it could be for their conscience
“All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up. Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor.
We should be ready to pay for our unity by giving up divisiveness.
So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.
We should be ready to pay for our unity with patience.
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,
These are not small prices. They should be, in light of the grace that is upon us.
But the reality is that we are still be sanctified and we have to go to war with our flesh to the the sort of people who make sacrifice in order to maintain the unity of the Spirit.
And the daily war of crucifying the flesh is hard—for the sake of our own holiness, as well as the church’s.
And yet, we should be ready to pay these prices, knowing that Jesus prayed that our unity would be the way the world would He has been sent by the Father.
That they may all be one…so that the world may believe that You have sent me. (John 17:21)
But that does not mean that we are willing to pay anything for unity.
Doctrinal standards and biblical truth are never currency used to pay for unity.
We don’t pragmatically adjust our interpretation of God’s Word for the sake of the culture.
In fact, nothing should convince us of changing our interpretation of God’s Word, except God’s Word.
For example, if I change my beliefs on the end times, I want it to be because of what I see in the Scriptures and not because of what I see on the news or in a man-made book.
Cursed be that unity for which the Word of God is put at stake.
Martin Luther
And in this, Luther is right.
The early church had unparalleled unity because of their doctrinal standards.
We have seen Peter, as the leader of the church, consistently point to Scripture as he stands to speak before men.
He and the other apostles are teaching the church.
We have seen Peter and John explain that Christ is the only way to heaven
We have seen the church praying prayers born from God’s Word
We have seen the church with a big view of God, as the One who declares the end from the beginning
They are biblical people. They are theological people. They are doctrinal people.
So their unparalleled unity does not come from sacrificing doctrinal standards.
Instead, their close following to the apostle’s teaching and their Gospel belief has unified them.
And it has taught them to forgive, to bear in love, and to be selfless.
There is a lot that has changed at Seaford over the years and there is a lot that will still change.
That is the nature of living and ministering.
But we will never change the eternal Gospel.
Instead, our resolve in believing it together will be what makes us one.
Wherever you find a church that is unified in good biblical doctrine and the practice of it, you are finding a church showing signs of God’s grace at work in their midst.
GOSPEL GENEROSITY (v. 32, 34-37)
GOSPEL GENEROSITY (v. 32, 34-37)
Let’s keep going by looking at the rest of verse 32.
…and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common.
This is our second sign of God’s grace at work in the Jerusalem church:
SIGN OF GRACE #2: Gospel Generosity (v. 32, 34-37)
SIGN OF GRACE #2: Gospel Generosity (v. 32, 34-37)
What is described in verse 32 is elaborated on in verses 34-37.
We get details on the sort of generous action that the Gospel is producing in this community.
There is no one among them who is in need (v. 34)
This is because people did not count their belongings to be their own.
They held everything in common (v. 32)
That doesn’t mean that they all refused to own property and handed everything over to the church.
It means they considered what they owned to belong to King Jesus and if any of the citizens of His kingdom were in need, they would meet that need.
If they had land or houses, they would sell those things in order to meet the physical needs of their brothers and sisters.
This is not the first time Luke has recorded this sort of brotherly love among the saints in Jerusalem.
And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.
As I mentioned when I was teaching Acts 2—some have twisted the Scriptures to suggest that communism or socialism is being taught by the Bible here.
But it isn’t.
This is not being done at gunpoint.
This is not about a system of government.
Instead, what Luke is telling us about in Acts 2 and 4 are freewill, cheerful, generous offerings to the Lord for the sake of glorifying Him in the local church.
And that is what marks New Testament tithes and offerings.
We don’t get a number in the New Testament.
Instead, we get directives on the heart that must be behind our gifts to the Lord.
The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
Cheerful. Not forced.
Generous and not sparing.
And it is a giving that rooted in what Gospel truth of what God did for us in giving us His Son.
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.
By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?
The early church took this sort of giving seriously. And in being faithful to it, they are actually fulfilling the Old Testament ideal.
But there will be no poor among you; for the Lord will bless you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance to possess—
This verse comes from a portion of Deuteronomy that speaks of how debts in Israel will be forgiven in the Sabbath years.
So that means, every seven years, Israel should let the land rest and forgive all debts.
This is something they failed to do and it is part of the reason that discipline came down upon them from God.
But the biblical ideal in the Sabbath year is that all of Israel lets the land rest, forgives one another’s debts and everyone has what they need.
In Acts 4, Christ has come.
He has fulfilled the Old Covenant and ushered in the era of the New Covenant.
And evidence of that is that the Old Testament ideal is being realized in the church.
Before, Israel, the nation that God speaks to like a child, failed. They worked tirelessly, did not let the land rest and people were left in debt and in need.
But Christ, the true Son has lived a perfect life and died and rose again to defeat sin and death.
He has fulfilled the Law and now, enables His church to actually bring that biblical ideal from Deuteronomy 15:4 to pass
God’s people have been saved and rescued.
The Law has been written on their hearts
They have the Spirit dwelling in them, empowering them in their new nature to obey the Lord
And as they do, they meet the needs of their family—God’s children.
They are out of debt. Christ has paid it in full.
And they are previewing the coming Kingdom by showing the world a community with no need.
Luke tells us that there is one man in particular who was known for his Gospel-motivated generosity. His name is Barnabas.
We will get to know him better later on in the narrative of Acts. He becomes a leader in the church who has a reputation for being a good man.
for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord.
Barnabas is such a good man that his original name, Joseph, has been replaced with Barnabas, a name that means “Son of Encouragement.”
He is from Cyprus. He is a Levite.
And he appears to be a wealthy landowner, who stood out as an example of holding all things in common and meeting the needs of the body.
In a couple of weeks, we will see that he stands in contrast to Ananias and Sapphira who lie to the Holy Spirit and to the Apostles and are dishonest in their giving.
Unlike them, Barnabas maintains his integrity as he responds to God with worshipful giving.
MINI-APPLICATION
MINI-APPLICATION
It is a sign of God’s grace at work in a church that people are “sons of encouragement.”
It is an evidence of God’s favor upon a people when there are an abundance of Barnabas’ who are meeting the needs of the brothers and sisters around them.
In order for us to be this way, we need the rule that Kevin DeYoung gives to the church:
If you are rich in something, be generous with it.
Kevin DeYoung
And that is it.
We need to etch this rule upon our hearts and minds and let it govern how we steward what God has given us.
It might be my money
It might be the house you live in
It could be the skills God has blessed us with
It could be the time that we have
It could be our friendship
These are all commodities.
These are all gifts and blessings that God has uniquely tailored for each of our lives.
We all have different amounts of each.
Some of you are rich in money and poor in time.
You would gladly trade some of that money for more time.
Some of you are rich in time and friendship, but you don’t have a lot of wiggle room in the bank account.
You can give in ways others can’t.
But the bottom line is that if we are going to be like Barnabas and the other early believers who were meeting the biblical ideal in Jerusalem, then we must respond to the Gospel by being generous with the things we are rich in.
God has held nothing back in blessing you in His wonderful Son, Jesus Christ.
He has shared everything with you in Christ.
Therefore, share everything with each other.
This is the physical evidence of a people who are of one heart and soul.
POWERFUL PROCLAMATION (v. 33)
POWERFUL PROCLAMATION (v. 33)
So those are our first two evidences:
Unparalleled Unity
Gospel Generosity
And now...
SIGN OF GRACE #3: Powerful Proclamation (v. 33)
SIGN OF GRACE #3: Powerful Proclamation (v. 33)
Communities who are filled with people who have surrendered everything to Jesus proclaim the Gospel.
The two go hand-in-hand.
When the Gospel transforms to the point of internally loving one another...
It won’t be long until the Christian heart breaks for lost who are groping for hope in the external world outside of the church.
Christian community that loves one another will overflow to family and friends and neighbors in the lost world.
After all, Jesus told us the way the light of the Gospel works.
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.
A church that has God’s grace working in it will proclaim the Gospel of the Kingdom.
They will proclaim it with boldness.
They will give testimony to the reality that Jesus is alive and resurrected and one day, He will come again.
And as that church proclaims, if it is truly a proclamation that is wrought by God’s grace, then it will be a witness in great power.
Not because of the humans doing the talking, the Spirit who is empowering their testimony.
After all, it has been clear from the start of Acts that the power for the witness would be the Spirit.
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
It is a verse we have referred back to so many times already in our Acts study that you should have it memorized by now!
You will likely have many more opportunities.
And that is because it is key to the entire book of Acts.
It is the roadmap—not just for how the Gospel will progress through the nations, but who will bring power to its preaching—it’s the Holy Spirit.
MINI-APPLICATION
MINI-APPLICATION
Here is the thing about evangelism, friends:
We just need to go do it.
We should all have at least one person we are actively trying to share the Gospel with. At least.
We can come up with a thousand excuses about this.
You might not want to do it because it makes you feel uncomfortable to broach the subject or disagree with someone.
You might not choose to do it because you are scared of the rejection that could come along with it.
You might not like to do it because it is easier to just mind your business.
But John Stott is right when he says that none of that matters.
In the last resort, we engage in evangelism today not because we want to, or because we choose to, or because we like to, but because we have been told to.
John Stott
Even if you don’t want to, choose to, or like to—you’ve been told to.
SBC—if there is an area where we need more obedience, I do believe it is being more evangelistic outside of these walls.
I don’t say that to shame us.
We do well with unity.
We do well with holding things in common.
So let’s invite people into this. Let’s show them the Kingdom and tell them of the King.
I will give you two action points on this:
First of all, if you want to be a better evangelist, then spend more time praying like an evangelist.
You should be praying for God’s name to be exalted by missions and evangelism throughout the nations
You should be praying for lost people in your life, asking God for their salvation
You should be praying for opportunities to share your faith each day
Get boldly specific in your prayers on this
Ask God to give you big glowing signs that you should share your faith.
Ask Him to bring people to your front door
(brush up on your Mormon/JW apologetics if you are going to pray that prayer!)
Ask Him to even have other people bring it up with you!
You should be praying for the words to say when you share your faith
Praying regularly about evangelism will keep you aware of the mission
It keeps it on your radar, the same way your own well-being, which you probably pray for often, is on your radar.
CONCLUSION
CONCLUSION
As the band comes...
How are our roses doing at Seaford?
Are they in bloom?
Is there life in the stems?
Oh is there ever!
I see it in the unity of the church body.
I felt it at our May Member’s Meeting when we spent the hour in which we were voting on thousands of dollars being allocated for different purposes, we did not argue once.
And yet, we laughed and spoke freely and took the Lord’s Supper together.
There were times the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace felt so strong and it was so humbling, I wanted to crawl under the table.
I see the generosity of our church body.
You will move heaven and earth for each other.
Money, time, talent—you will lay it down for your brother and sister.
Church—heaven will tell the stories of the secret acts of goodness the people of this church perform for one another.
As the pastor I see a lot of the generosity firsthand, but so much of it is done in secret, because those of you doing it are holding out for a reward in heaven.
Nonetheless—it is there.
But I long to see a more persistent proclamation.
I don’t just want us to proclaim at events, but for evangelism to be a part of our daily lives.
I don’t just want us to proclaim in the church halls, but on the streets of our neighborhoods.
I don’t just want us to invite our neighbors to the Midweek supper table, but to our own supper tables with a heart of hospitality.
And the great hope is that we would have the joy of the baptismal waters being stirred more and more as the souls of the unconverted are saved.
Not for our own sake, but for the glory of Christ.
But take heart, Seaford.
While we beg God for the grace to be more obedient and to be powerful proclaimers, know that His grace is indeed at work.
The signs of it are all around.
And He will bring this work to its completion on the day of Christ Jesus.