Fearlessly Courageous
Desk of Dennis Piller
8 30 2024
Some say the Christianity of the Book of Acts is not normal or for Today.
Let’s talk.
The book of Acts shows what it was like to experience God in the first-century Church. Every chapter except chapter 17, the Christians experience, direct supernatural communication from God.
Luke taught us that neither they, nor the early church could do without God speaking to them in many diverse ways. Why should this surprise us? Isn’t this what Jesus said would happen when he sent the Holy Spirit? He promised his disciples that the Holy Spirit would teach them all things, remind them of his words, testify about him, guide them with all truth, and show them things to come. John 16:13
But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have told you. John 14:26
Wow, teaching, reminding, testifying, guiding, and showing, are all NORMAL functions of the Holy Spirit according to Jesus. An example would be when the Holy Spirit came upon Peter as He explained to the crowd, that the wind, the fire, and tongues in the upper room are what Joel prophesied long before.
Joel 2: 28-32
Some tried to dismiss the testimony of Acts by calling it a transitional book. But transition to what?
A better form of Christianity? Where is this better form? The transition Jesus predicted was to an age of revelation by an omniscient spirit (knows everything) who would surprise God’s people by teaching, reminding, testifying, guiding, and showing.
And that’s just what the Holy Spirit did in the first-century Church.
However, the experience of some Christians today leads them to conclude that the Christianity of Acts is not a normal Christian experience and not for today
I disagree!
OK, for a moment, let’s conclude that the Book of Acts represents abnormal Christianity… We could say that the Apostle Paul’s passionate devotion to Jesus was abnormal. How many people have you met who could truthfully say with the apostle Paul, 1 Corinthians 9:23. “I can do all things for the sake of the gospel” or Philippians 1: 21 “for me to live is Christ”. I too have found this kind of passion to be abnormal in the church today. But wouldn’t we be better off to choose the abnormal in this case?
Acts represent abnormal Christianity when compared with the present state of the church, wouldn’t we be better off to choose the abnormal experience of Acts? Isn’t it a biblical principle to be content with our experience of God, but always want more of his presence, more of his voice… more of his power? To be content means to become Laodicea, lukewarm and complacent. And Luke warm believers are in danger of losing the conscious presence of God. Revelation 3:14–22. Wouldn’t it be safer to assume that the normal Christian experience is depicted in the book of Acts rather than in the Western church today? Then, if for some reason or other, we don’t attain the goal, at least we can’t be charged with not trying, with settling for less than what God is willing to give.
If we say, the book of Acts represents an abnormal state of Christianity, we may be unwittingly guilty of judging scripture. When we say it is NOT normal, we are comparing the experience of the New Testament church in the Book of Acts to something else which we regard as normal. Is this “something else” another scriptural history of another New Testament church? NO, the Book of Acts is the only inspired account we have of the church’s history. None of the histories of the church written since Acts have the same divine authority or truth. Because its ultimate author is God, the Book of Acts is a perfect witness to the kind of life the early church experienced. It is also a witness meant to teach us today, about life in God.
It could easily be that we’re not experiencing these things. It may be that our experiences of God are abnormal, rather than the experience of the New Testament Christian.
Look, even the apostles were forced to live with ambiguity and endure the silence of God. Sometimes God let an apostle die an untimely death as in the case of James, while on another occasion, he sent an angel to deliver Peter from execution. There will be times when the word of God was rare there were not many visions 1 Sam, 3: 1 If all things are possible for him who believes, and Acts shows us some of these possibilities, shouldn’t we make the Christianity of Acts our goal? Better yet, why should we assume that represents the Apex of the Christian experience? What if the Lord of history really has saved his best wine for the last days? Wouldn’t you like to drink?
I have seen a number of things reported in apostolic times. And I know credible witnesses who have experienced much more than I have. I believe ACTs does represent normal Christianity.
And anything less, really is less.
I believe the very same thing could happen to you if you gave God a chance to speak to you as he did to those in Acts. I read that it only takes the faith of a mustard seed.
- Rend your heart
and not your garments.
Return to the Lord your God,
for he is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and abounding in love,
and he relents from sending calamity. Joel 2:13denn
Excerpts taken from Surprised by the Voice of God by Jack Deere Pg 60 to 63
