The Church Militant Acts 11:19-26
The early church in Jerusalem faced great persecution after the martyrdom of Stephen. The Jewish hierarchy ostracised anyone who acknowledged Jesus to be their Lord from the Jewish community. Friends would shun them, they couldn’t work or buy in the shops. There was no option but to emigrate. Most travelled north into Phoenicia, others sailed to Cyprus and some went further north to Antioch, the third largest Roman city. Would this be the end of the followers of ‘The Way’?
They spoke out
Little has been more striking in western society than the rapid move away from the sexual ethics taught throughout the Bible; promiscuity and homosexual acts are publicly encouraged, in spite of the damage they cause. The effective method of LGBT and its affiliates has been to encourage their advocates to speak out publicly. Speaking out was exactly what the early Christians did. Wherever they went they shared the news about Jesus but at first they were careful who they talked with.
“ . . . telling the message only to Jews.” Acts 11:20
Public confession of a person’s commitment to following Christ is one of the first requirements. After Peter finished his first sermon at Pentecost he was asked what his hearers, convicted of the sin of rejecting Jesus should do. His reply referred to both a personal and a public act,
“Repent and be baptised, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.” Acts 2:38
A public baptism in the presence of the Jewish authorities just seven weeks after they had had Jesus crucified could not have been easy, yet three thousand people offered themselves.
Paul also emphasised the necessity of speaking out. Personal faith is important but it is not enough for salvation! He quotes Deuteronomy 30:14 where Moses taught what God’s people must do after turning back to the Lord. Paul wrote
“But what does it say? ‘The word is near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart’, that is the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.” Acts 10:8-10
The early church clearly did speak out, although at first it was just to their own people..
A greater work
Then something very significant happened. We are told,
“Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus.” Acts 11:20
What induced this change of mind? It could be that they realised that God always intended that his people should be a blessing to all nations. Abraham had been told,
“I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you . . . and all people on earth will be blessed through you.” Genesis 12:2-3
“ . . . and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed because you obeyed me.” Genesis 22:18
Jesus himself had said
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit . . .” Matthew 28:18-19
There have been those who think that this commission is just for the clergy or church leaders but Jesus continued to emphasise that this commission was for all subsequent believers,
“ . . . and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” Matthew 28:20
After his resurrection Jesus continued to teach his followers what their life’s work was to be,
“ . . . you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8
It seems that, in spite of this teaching, the early church at first limited their mission to fellow Jews.
In Peter’s second sermon he did remind his Jewish hearers in Jerusalem what God had said,
“He said to Abraham, ‘Through your offspring all people on earth will be blessed.’” Acts 3:25
Later God reinforced this message when he gave Peter a vision of unclean animals coming down from heaven on a sheet and this was repeated for emphasis three times. Peter was told three times,
“Get up Peter, kill and eat.” Ac ts 10:13
At first Peter understood this is terms of overturning Jewish dietary restrictions but as he was pondering the meaning of the visions, God told him that he was about to be visited by three men and he should not hesitate to go with them. He went downstairs and there were three Gentiles who told Peter about a vision that their master, Cornelius a Roman centurion, had just had. The new guests said,
“A holy angel had told him to have you come to his house so that he could hear what you have to say.” Acts 10:22
Peter then did something that was extraordinary for a Jew to do,
“Then Peter invited the men into the house to be his guests.” Acts 10:23
The traditional antipathy between Jews and Gentiles was being overcome.
Isn’t there also another lesson for us today? The most effective way to advance God’s kingdom is to invite non-Christians into our homes and relax, perhaps over a meal, and chat with them. ‘Hospitality’ is a doctrine strongly encouraged in the New Testament, the word occurring eight times. Those who are most effective at winning people for Christ are almost always those who invite people into their homes. In the New Testament, Jesus practiced hospitality and he received it. He ate with sinners and tax collectors. Accepting their hospitality was not just about sharing a meal, it was a way of identifying with them and making them a part of his community—a point the Pharisees both understood and reviled.
No church today will be effective at winning people for Christ if its church members are not enthusiastically talking to non-Christian people and inviting them into our homes and to bring them to where they can learn about Jesus. Speaking biblically, hospitality is treating strangers and friends alike. It is welcoming one another into our homes and lives. Hospitality is a sacred duty.
The story does not stop there. Peter took six men with him and they walked the thirty three miles from Joppa to Caesarea and there they broke Jewish law by entering the home of Cornelius to be greeted by a house full of people waiting to hear the gospel. Peter had by now understood the meaning of the vision he had had,
“You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with a Gentile or visit him. But God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean.” Acts 10:28
Peter went on to explain that he had come to understand that the gospel is for all people, not just Jews.
“I now realise how true it is that God does not show favouritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right. You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, telling the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.” Acts 10:35-36
The message of salvation through faith in Jesus was no different, but now it was being understood that God loves all people and longs that they also should be able to enter his kingdom.
The Lord’s support
Luke adds another comment about why these young Christians were so successful in persuading people to acknowledge Jesus,
“The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.” Acts 11:21
This is no empty phrase. If anyone is to become a Christian for life, a supernatural work of God is needed. Clever techniques and great oratory may draw the crowds but a lifelong change in direction is a much deeper work.
If individual Christians are not asking their Lord to use them for his glory then is it surprising that little happens? Moses had told God’s people that when they become stablished in Israel they must still seek the glory of their Lord.
“But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and all your soul.” Deuteronomy 4:29
At the end of Moses’ life he sang a song that demonstrated what really mattered to him.
“Let my teaching fall like rain and my words descend like dew. . . . I will proclaim the name of the LORD. Oh praise the greatness of our God! He is the rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just.” Deuteronomy 32:4
Unfortunately God’s people did not follow their leaders example,
“You deserted the Rock who fathered you; you forgot the God who gave you birth. The Lord saw this and rejected them because he was angered by his sons and daughters.” Deuteronomy 32:18-19
Could it be that the main problem for the atrophy of so many British churches, that God is no longer blessing their work because they have lost their first love, much as the affluent church in Ephesus had.
“Yet I have this against you: You have lost your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.” Revelation 2:4-5
There is no church in Ephesus now! Only 2% of the total population of England are regular worshippers in Anglican churches, even though 12 per cent claim to be its members. This had been the faith of the majority of people a century ago. Roman Catholics, in comparison, have slightly fewer members at 8% of the English population, but they are twice as likely to attend services (41% versus 21%). In his article for the Financial Times on the Church of England’s “fight to survive”, broadcaster Jeremy Paxman observed there are more members of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds than there are regular churchgoers in the UK. What is more difficult to determine is what proportion of these people, claiming an affiliation with a church, are actively living for Christ.
The enthusiasm of the Christians to speak about Jesus, backed by the work of the Holy Spirit in convicting people of their need for forgiveness by God, is God’s chosen way for his kingdom to grow.
Further help needed
It was undoubtedly the example and leadership of Barnabus that helped bring this about. He had been sent by the leaders in Jerusalem to teach these new Christians.
“When he arrived and saw the evidence of the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. He was a good man, full of the holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.” Acts 11:23-24
Barnabus realised that he also needed help to lead this church and he personally travelled to Tarsus to recruit Saul, the previous persecutor of the church, who had become a Christian. Barnabus seems to be an encouraging pastor/teacher. Indeed the name, Barnabus, was a nickname meaning ‘Son of Encouragement’. He was a Levite who had lived and owned property on Cyprus before joining the early church (Acts 4:36)
Paul, in contrast was a determined evangelist. How often most effective church growth occurs when churches have evangelists in their leadership. Roger Carswell, himself an evangelist, has commented that in his experience churches grow faster when they employ an evangelist instead of other roles. This is probably why Barnabus head-hunted Saul to join him in the ministry for Christ. He recognised the need for his determination and gifting. Paul was later the spearhead that helped to spread the gospel throughout the Roman world, even though he also eventually paid a high price for doing so.
Church history shines with other examples of Christian leaders who have witnessed to and then helped to train up future Christian leaders. Thank God for men such as the young Cambridge undergraduate Thomas Bilney who won his lecturer Latimer for Christ and then helped to train him for his future, very effective ministry- by inviting him to join his Bible Study Group. He also greatly helped Cranmer, Ridley and Tyndale when they also joined the White Horse public house Bible Study Group. They were all killed by being burnt at the stake for boldly proclaiming the apostolic faith but they had ignited a passion for the gospel in England and from there it spread to the rest of the world.
Evangelists are people who fearlessly proclaim the gospel to others and Paul was such a man. How we need more such people in this country. Their message is Jesus Christ and the need that all people have for him. These early ‘Followers of the Way’ in Antioch clearly understood and they taught ‘Jesus Christ is Lord’ so they were nicknamed ‘The Christians’! What a wonderful title, even if it was first used in a derisory way. There are two hundred and fifty-six names given in the Bible for the Lord Jesus Christ. It is likely that this is because He is everything we need and beyond all that any one name could express.
BVP
July 2022
