Acts (Part 19) - Acts 2:44-45

---

 

Acts (Part 19) - Acts 2:44-45 1. Acts 2:44 – And all that believed were together, and had all things common; A. And all that believed i. The members of the church in Jerusalem were simply referred to them “that believed.” ii. Church members are referred to as believers in the Bible (Act 16:4-5 c/w Act 21:25; 1Th 1:1 c/w 1Th 2:10; 1Ti 4:12; 1Ti 5:16). iii. The reason for this is because those who believe will obey the gospel and be baptized and added to a church (Act 2:41; Act 8:12; Act 18:8). B. were together, i. Those that believed the gospel and were baptized were together. ii. They did not make a profession of faith, get baptized, and then go on their merry way never to be seen again. iii. Church members assemble together (Act 1:4; Act 4:31; Act 20:7-8; Heb 10:25), and spend time together (Psa 119:63; Mal 3:16). C. and had all things common; i. In the early days of the church in Jerusalem, the members practiced communal living. ii. They did not consider their possessions to be their own, but they collectively possessed them (Act 4:32). iii. There are some important things to remember/consider regarding this. a. This arrangement was not commanded by God to the saints in Jerusalem. b. The apostles nowhere in the New Testament commanded Christians or churches to live communally. c. The system was voluntary. (i) Those who sold possessions, houses, or land did so voluntarily (Act 2:45; Act 4:34-37). (ii) After they sold a possession, the money was still theirs until they decided to give some or all of it to the apostles to distribute to others in need (Act 5:4). d. There is no record of any other churches in the New Testament practicing this system of communal living. e. In fact, other churches were instructed to have their members lay by themselves in store in order to have funds to give for a collection for the poor saints in Jerusalem (1Co 16:1-2). (i) This shows that Christians in other churches had personal property which was under their own control and could be used as they saw fit. (ii) This also shows that the communal system in the Jerusalem church was apparently not successful because they in particular were in need when a dearth struck the world (Act 11:27-30; Rom 15:26). 2. Acts 2:45 – And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. A. And sold their possessions and goods, i. There are some things to consider regarding this account. a. This was not a commandment, but a historical account. b. Christians are not commanded to sell all their possessions and give away all their money. (i) Paul instructed wealthy Christians to be “ready to distribute, willing to communicate” (1Ti 6:17-19). 1. They were not commanded to give it all away. 2. God gives us things to enjoy (1Ti 6:17). 3. We should be ready and willing to help those in need with what God has blessed us with, but we are not forbidden to enjoy some of it for ourselves as well. (ii) Christians are supposed to provide for themselves and their families (1Ti 5:4, 8, 16). 1. They could not do so if they sold all their possessions and gave all their money to the poor. 2. There is nothing wrong with a Christian selling some of his possessions and goods and giving the money to those in need as long as he has enough to take care of the needs of himself and his family. c. Jesus instructed people to sell their goods and give to the poor, but it was not a universal commandment. (i) The rich young ruler was commanded to sell all that he had and give to the poor (Mar 10:21). 1. Jesus required this of him for a specific reason. 2. He was self-righteous, thinking that he had kept all of God’s commandments (Mar 10:17-20). 3. Jesus was demonstrating to him that his money had become his idol and required him to forsake it to follow Him (Mar 10:22). 4. Jesus did not tell other people to do likewise when they desired to follow Him. (ii) Jesus taught men to sell their possessions and give alms to the poor (Luk 12:33). 1. This would be applicable to those who had more possessions than they needed to meet their basic needs, but apparently had not money to help those truly in need. a. This was spoken to those who would lay up treasures on earth and not in heaven (Mat 6:19-21). b. In which case, a man should sell something to help another in need, which would be laying up treasure in heaven. 2. Consider a similar situation.  a. Jesus taught the disciples that if they had not a sword, they were to sell their garment and buy one (Luk 22:36). b. They would only need to sell their garment if they did not have the money to buy a sword. c. This means they had an extra garment to sell, which means that they had not already sold all their possessions to give to the poor. d. Some of them already had swords (Luk 22:38), which means that they had not already sold them to give to the poor. d. Not all of the disciples sold all of their possessions. (i) Some of them had houses that the brethren met and ate in (Act 2:46). (ii) Other Christians had houses that churches met in (1Co 16:19; Col 4:15; Phm 1:2). B. and parted them to all men, i. This one of the many instances in the Bible where the words “all men” refer to all men in a particular context, not to the entire human race. ii. The Christians in Jerusalem obviously did not part their possessions, goods, and money to the Eskimos, Mayans, Incas, Australian Aborigines, and the Japanese. iii. They gave their possessions to all men in the Jerusalem Church who had need. C. as every man had need. i. Distribution was voluntarily made to those who were in need, not to those who were lazy and would not work (2Th 3:10). ii. Christians are under obligation to give to those in genuine need (food, clothing, shelter, necessary medical care, etc.) (Deut 15:7-8; Rom 12:13; Eph 4:28; Jam 2:15-16; 1Jo 3:17).