All Things in Common

Introduction

As I was preparing for business meeting and preaching this evening, I was reminded of the unity that exists in the body of Christ and how Scripture talks about this type of unity in multiple places! Think about unity for a moment. Lots of people in our world talk about unity and how we need to come together around a specific cause or thing or idea. There are times where this seems to work. Every 4 years athletes from countries all around the world gather to compete in something called the Olympics. We all have our favorite sports to watch in the Olympics: soccer, basketball, baseball, swimming, gymnastics, track, and everything else in between - the Olympics has it all! As one who ran track and enjoys watching track in the Olympics, I love watching the relay races and the teamwork between the athletes. Instead of running 100m or 200m for themselves, these world class athletes are working as a unit. What do these runners in a relay race pass from person to person? A baton. In a perfect situation, they run their leg and they have a word to signal their teammate to reach back their hand and the baton gets passed without any complication. However, we live in a fallen world and sometimes batons get dropped. In the Olympic games whenever this happens you see the devastation on the faces of these runners as they trained for years and years to get to this point only to drop the baton when the lights were shining the brightest.

Maybe you’ve never ran a race in your life - much less a relay race in track and field, but we all know the feeling of dropping the baton. We have moments in life where we mess up whenever people are depending upon us. We have times in life where we fall short of the mark. We’ve all dropped the baton - thankfully we haven’t had half the world watching us do it on TV!

Think about this team of runners and the unity that they have. They have a common goal: To win 1st place and get the gold medal. Consider for a moment the unity that exists within the church: We believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. In track, especially in the Olympics, you want a certain type of person on your relay team. You might be really funny, nice, kind, smart, or knowledgeable but if you’re not really fast, you’re not going to have a spot on that team! In the Church, though, things are different. Some of us are fast, others are slow. Some of us are old, others are young. Some are male, others are female. We are diverse - we are different! Yet, we are also united by faith in Jesus. This should bring about a deep unity within our lives and within our congregation.

However, just like the baton can be dropped in track, unity can be broken in the body. The New Testament speaks to the importance of unity often

Ephesians 4:3 CSB

3 making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

In the early church, just as in the church today, there were many reasons to be divided. The people were diverse, they had different religious backgrounds, socio-economic statuses, cultural practices, and political beliefs. Yet, we read in the book of Acts that the early church laid aside those differences and put the Gospel above all. The challenge before us in the 21st century is simply this: Keep our eyes on Jesus! Let’s read in Acts 4 about how keeping our eyes on Jesus allows us to be unified as a body.

Acts 4:32–37 CSB

32 Now the entire group of those who believed were of one heart and mind, and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but instead they held everything in common. 33 With great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was on all of them. 34 For there was not a needy person among them because all those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the proceeds of what was sold, 35 and laid them at the apostles’ feet. This was then distributed to each person as any had need. 36 Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus by birth, the one the apostles called Barnabas (which is translated Son of Encouragement), 37 sold a field he owned, brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

Christians Are United by Faith in Christ (32-33)

Again, we see unity in our world in many different areas. We see this in relationships, the workplace, families, and nations. We see corporations talk a good talk about being a cohesive team and being unified behind a common cause. We see people do the same thing in our nation and rally behind an idea. How is Christian unity different from other forms of unity?

Look at our opening verse: The entire group of those who believed. What was the unifying factor in the early church? All of these people believed in Jesus Christ! They trusted in Jesus to provide. They relied on His power. Whenever you and I place our total trust in Jesus Christ, everything in our life changes. We know this because the Bible tells us that before Jesus we were walking in darkness as children under wrath. We thought and acted differently than we do today because we indulged in the desires of our flesh and heart. What changed? Jesus changed our lives! He opened our eyes. Jesus Christ creates unity. Isn’t this good news? You and I don’t make unity - we don’t create it - Jesus does that! We are simply called to maintain it as we keep our focus and trust in Him. Aren’t you thankful that Jesus Christ can melt even the hardest and coldest of hearts?

We see this in the early church as they held all things in common with one another. Think about how rare this would be. If you have 250 people in a local church, how many hearts and minds will you have? You’ll have 250. How many different opinions and hot takes will you have? You’ll have at least 250! By the time Acts 4 rolls around, scholars estimate they had roughly 10,000 followers in the church. That’s a whole lot of different opinions and minds, yet we read that they were of one heart and mind. This blows our minds because we rarely get 10 people to unanimously agree on something! Can you imagine getting 10,000 to all agree?

Whenever you love Jesus - you love others, especially His bride, the Church! Even though we have different ideas and thoughts, our faith in Christ unites us together. Scripture reminds us of this truth and how love for others must dominate our lives as Christians.

1 Peter 4:8 CSB

8 Above all, maintain constant love for one another, since love covers a multitude of sins.

Understand what’s going on in the early church: They believe in Jesus - therefore, they are united with one another because their priorities are in proper order. Because they are united in Jesus, they hold all things in common. Does this mean that there aren’t differences of opinion or various backgrounds? No, there are! But, because they love Jesus, they share with one another and were able to serve as witnesses for Jesus Christ even though they had differences.

Even the best of friends will disagree. Even the best of friends won’t share the same mind. Some of you have great friends who are not Christians. Some of you have great friends who disagree with you strongly on some things. Christlike friendship is unique in our world. It doesn’t mean that you’ll always feel the same way, but through the Holy Spirit, you can be of the same mind as the believers in Acts 4 experienced. Christian friendship is deeper than earthly friendship. Christian community is deeper than earthly community. Christian fellowship is deeper than family fellowship. How? Because through Jesus, you have been adopted into an eternal family and you have more in common with your fellow believers than you do friends who reject Christ.

Psalm 133:1 CSB

1 How delightfully good when brothers live together in harmony!

So, are we living together in harmony? The early church was diverse. They were composed of Jews from every nation under heaven as Acts 2 shares with us. They didn’t think, act, look, or smell the same - yet they were united. There is a temptation for us today to worship with people who do think, act, look, and smell the same as us yet we don’t live in harmony with them. Why is this a temptation? 3 ideas

We don’t truly have faith in Jesus

There are some who come to church out of a sense of obligation/tradition. I come because my grandmother/grandfather came and my parents dragged me, therefore I come to church because it’s what my family does. It’s an hour a week - nothing more. Friends, that’s not what it looks like to have saving faith in Jesus. It’s something that changes every cell in our body. It’s something that changes us forever! Some don’t have unity with other Christians because they don’t truly have faith in Jesus.

We think we’re always right

Pride is at the root of most of our sin. In the Garden of Eden, the serpent tempted Eve by saying that if she ate from the fruit she would be just like God. Many in our world today think they’re already just like God and know more than even He does. They always know best. They always have the right answer. For this person, whenever things don’t go their way, there is no unity. There is no harmony because they’re always right.

We misunderstand our purpose

Most of our problems with unity in the church come from this point. Most genuine Christians willingly acknowledge that we’re not perfect and that we don’t always know best. Most Christians are willing to say that there are times where we are absolutely wrong! Yet, there are times where we harm the unity in the body simply because we forget our purpose. We might think that a secondary thing is really a primary thing and we die on the wrong hill. We might fight with someone else because of a traditional preference rather than a Gospel priority. We might not always agree with preferences and ideas, but unity can and must remain as we keep our eyes on Jesus and remember our purpose to glorify God, share the Gospel, and make Disciples!

Christians Share with Others (34-35)

One of the sad developments in recent years is the amount of people around the world who live in poverty. One study 3 years ago noted that nearly half of the world’s population lives on less than $5.50/day. The rich have much and they are getting richer, while the poor continue, somehow, to get poorer and have less. Certainly we don’t have the perfect explanation or solution to this, however we do see something very clear in the book of Acts and throughout the early church: Christians take care of those with needs.

There are numerous examples of churches doing things to assist those who are in need - contrary to what some atheists lobby against Christians. We see examples of churches raising funds to help those affected by tornadoes like the ones that hit the Midwest on Friday/Saturday. We see examples of churches coming together to fund food pantries and clothing ministries. We see examples of churches pooling resources to help schools provide supplies for students.

These are not rare instances in the history of the church. This is the norm. In the ancient world, the church was the way that widows, orphans, and the poorest of poor were ministered to and fed. Consider the early church here in our text, verse 34 says that there was not a needy person among them. Does this mean that every single Christian was a millionaire because God blessed them financially like Pastor Joel from Houston talks about? No. They didn’t have needs because other people sold land and laid it at the feet of the apostles. There were rich and there were poor in the early church but did only the rich people give? No. Verse 32 shares this with us, “no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own.” Everyone held everything in common all the time. This wasn’t just one or two very wealthy and generous people, this was 10,000 people who were all generous, regardless of their wealth!

This wasn’t something where Christians were commanded to sell off their land and give it to the church - this was voluntary. It is also something that Christ challenges of His church

Luke 12:32–33 CSB

32 Don’t be afraid, little flock, because your Father delights to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Make money-bags for yourselves that won’t grow old, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.

This is an extraordinary example of giving - this is not the norm for people today, but the normative, important, and applicable part for us to understand is simply that we are to share with others. To quote Tony Merida, “When God’s grace is at work, people get generous.”

Are you a generous person? Christian generosity doesn’t always make sense because it’s different than the world’s generosity. Sure, we don’t have the large excesses that some people might, but we have more than enough. Take the story of the widows mite for example

Luke 21:1–4 CSB

1 He looked up and saw the rich dropping their offerings into the temple treasury. 2 He also saw a poor widow dropping in two tiny coins. 3 “Truly I tell you,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all of them. 4 For all these people have put in gifts out of their surplus, but she out of her poverty has put in all she had to live on.”

Friends, we are called to give and to help those with needs. This isn’t a bad thing. It shouldn’t be looked at as something we have to do, it is a joy that we get to do. Giving is an act of worship. We have been given grace from our King and He has given to us far more than we deserve, and one of the ways that we go about serving Him is with our possessions. We give back. We give 3 key things as Christians: Our time, talents, and resources.

This is the pattern laid out before us by the early church and it is something that we continue to do today!

Conclusion

Luke concludes Acts 4 by giving an example of a generous saint names Joseph who we know better as Barnabas. Barnabas appears 23 times in the book of Acts and is a dedicated follower of Jesus Christ. Do you know what the name Barnabas means? Son of encouragement. We know this man by his nickname rather than his actual name because his life was full of encouragement toward other Christians.

Think about the legacy that you’ll leave behind one day. Unless Jesus returns all of us will pass away. In 3-4 generations people won’t remember what sport you played. They won’t remember how much money you made. They won’t remember the trips to the lake you made… They’ll remember the legacy you pass down. Will that be one of faith in Jesus? Would people say that you’re a faithful follower of Jesus?

William Carey, the father of modern missions, once said, “Expect great things from God, attempt great things for God.”

Unity isn’t something to be taken lightly. We can’t coast and go with the flow. No, we’re called to follow our God wherever He leads. We look to Him. We believe in Him. He unites us. We come together in worship and give what we have and pray that He uses it to share the Gospel, help others, and expand the Kingdom in ways that we can’t even imagine!

We expect great things from God, but we also accept our responsibility as Christians. Our responsibility is to keep the unity in this church. To share the Gospel. To live a life that glorifies our God. To make disciples. As we conclude 2021, ask yourself if you’re up for that lofty challenge in 2022. Are you ready to step up and attempt great things for God for His glory and for the benefit of lost souls in Salem, Missouri, and throughout the entire world?

Choose joy - friends - and let’s watch God use us as we seek to make much of Him!