The Message of Christ

So those who accepted his message were baptized, and that day about 3,000 people were added to them. And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to the prayers. - Acts 2:41-42

In Luke's account of early church expansion, I believe there is an intended pattern that the Holy Spirit wants us to grasp. Immediately after Pentecost and the miraculous events that accompanied that event:

• Peter preached the message of Christ, then ...

• Some heard, heeded, and believed the message of Christ (obviously also receiving the Holy Spirit), then ...

• Those who believed the message of Christ were immersed as a public testimony of their belief, then ...

• They were added to the 120 who had already believed the message of Christ, then ...

• They devoted themselves to: the study of the Apostles' teaching (God's truth), the covenant relationship created by the unity of the Spirit, the breaking of bread (Lord's Supper), and prayer.

In a sentence, proclamation should precede reception followed by affirmation and addition leading to application, interconnection, recollection, and supplication.

I would never suggest that this is an exhaustive (even limited) list of church activity as it applies to the modern church, but I firmly hold to the truth that we must at least adhere to this foundation or run the risk of becoming irrelevant to Christ in our attempts at somehow remaining relevant to man. Be warned. Churches have been known to die long before their congregants and while we should always be doing all that we can, in our "doing" may we at least do what matters most, and that begins with the message of Christ.

The Christian that is bound by his own horizon, the church that lives simply for itself, is bound to die a spiritual death and sink into stagnancy and corruption. We never can thank God enough for giving us not only a whole Gospel to believe, but a whole world to give it to. - A. B. Simpson