Acts 2: 44 And
all that believed were together, and had all things common;
45 And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every
man had need.46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,
47 Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.
And a long lost portion of Scripture in this chapter was
recently found. It reads:
48 And the believers went to Rome to borrow money for a
wonderful building. And when it opened they invited the unbelieving Centurion
to cut the ribbon.
49 The people elected a pastor and paid him handsomely.
And after they had selected a handful of men and women for a praise team they handed
out parchments around Jerusalem which invited people to come experience their
wonderful worship experience.50 The elders asked the people what they wanted in a gathering and then they gave it to them. The pastor become known for his rants against the Roman Emperor. After a while the believers realized the unbelievers who came were uninterested in prayer and so they replaced prayer with announcements and greeting time. But to their credit there were a few perfunctory prayers which were short and sounded amazingly like last week’s prayer. Everyone was happy indeed.
51 In a few short years the gatherings registered with Rome and nestled into the culture with no real difference to say nothing of any influence. In fact Rome invited their pastor to give the invocation for the next Caesar. The church became a political force with which to be reckoned.
Of course these
verses are my own, but I hope we can see just how far the western church has strayed
from the Biblical model. This is sad and tragic and I believe also has
necessitates the Spirit’s withdrawal since there seems no appetite for
repentance. And now the church no longer hungers for the Bread of God sent down from
heaven. It seeks chills and thrills and entertainment and organization and
politics and everything the world desires as well. Let me offer this:
Jn.6: 32 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto
you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the
true bread from heaven.
33 For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life
unto the world.34 Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread.
35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.
This is one of many portions of Scripture which reveal with clarity that
Jesus confessed openly that He was God and was sent from Heaven. Of this there
can be no argument. And that is why we must reject and confront all cults which
teach otherwise. And be advised, this is no game of semantics. He who denies
that Jesus was God in the flesh and was eternal is an antichrist. When it comes
to this we are not to be timid or merciful. We are to stand for Christ and
rebuke those who teach otherwise.
But the Roman Church has taken these wonderful and sacred truths and
turned them into a self serving ceremony. This teaching from the lips of our
Lord brings forth the life giving essence of Himself. He alone gives life and
life eternal. But make no mistake He also gives life upon this earth. We who
have been changed by His power know that we just do not just await heaven to
experience his power and presence. No, we are continually being changed into
His image and just knowing Him makes life in the here and now an experience of
unspeakable value.
In the Jewish everyday life bread was the common sustenance which
sustains life. But when Jesus called Himself the Bread of Life many who had
followed Him with some interest turned away. And here is where the evil one has
adopted a more effective and sophisticated method of deception. Instead of
people walking away from Jesus they can retreat to a tepid and soothing
presentation of Jesus that accommodates the flesh and endorses a lifestyle
which cannot be reconciled with the teachings of Jesus. This phenomenon is
sweeping the western version of what is called the “church”.
But actually the word “church” is translated “the called out ones” in the
Greek. But we have taken the word Church and stripped it of it power and made
it refer to a building or a place or a denomination. But if you are a part of
God’s church you have been called out from among the world and you have been
called to follow Him who makes all things new. It is no building. It is no
denomination. It is no set of doctrines. The true church is the assembly of
born again believers who have responded to the Spirit’s call and through the
Spirit’s power of regeneration have been made new creatures who follow Jesus.
The Hebrew language employs many literary devices in order to drive home
truths. Jesus told about plucking out your eye or cutting off your leg. But
that is hyperbole used to make a serious point. And when Jesus speaks about
eating His flesh and drinking His blood He is making a profound spiritual truth
by the use of horrific and even offensive word pictures. In the end, the
western church has rejected the Roman Church’s interpretation but they have
created their own dull and impassive interpretation. One of the lessons to be
learned here is that it is not enough to reject certain heresies if we create
our own benign, inoffensive, and painless manifestations of the Word’s and
teachings of Jesus.
The reality is that if the western church was actually confronted with
the words of Jesus without cultural and manmade dilutions it would be offended
just as were the people in John chapter six. The very fact that millions of
church members can go back and forth every Sunday and not feel a tinge of
conviction about the life they are living in direct disobedience to the
teachings of Jesus openly reveals the self serving and powerless essence of
that religious practice.
But here is a pertinent and penetrating question which should follow the
verses in John chapter six. What does it mean to eat the Bread come down from
heaven? How many church members have even considered such a question?
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