2013 Acts #11: an exposition of Acts 6:1-7. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday morning, July 28, 2013.
Intro:
On the one hand you have this vibrant, growing, dynamic, “dangerous” church. Things are happening in that church that you simply would not believe! People are being saved daily. The worship is alive – you never know what might happen in a service. On the other hand you have a church that is murmuring. Unrest is felt throughout the congregation. Negative, critical, biting comments are being made about the leadership, accusations abound, it is said there is favoritism – it’s a mess. Now honestly, which of those churches are you going to join? Which one do you want to be a part of? Here’s the problem – it’s the same church!
We often idealize the early church. We think of the early church as being “pure.” We think that the early church, before it achieved a level of success, is the model we are to strive for. What we tend to forget is the church is made up of people and people, since the fall, been rotten! The church is the bride of Christ. The church will, one day, be presented to Christ as a bride without spot or blemish, but that will be because of the work of Christ and our transformation as we enter into the eternal state. In the mean time the church is a mixture of beauty and blemish. At times the church shines in radiant demonstration of the life of Christ and at other times the church reveals the perversion of human nature. Tares grow along side the wheat. The dragnet has brought in both good and bad fish. John Piper says, “The dragnet has swept a lot of debris into the church.” The visible church here on earth is a mixed body. Made up of both true and false disciples. Beyond that, those who have genuinely been born again are in the process of being sanctified. We are being made holy but we are not there yet. The result is that the church is at times loving, gracious, faithful and glorious; and at times the church is self-centered, self-obsessed and critical. The old adage is true – “If you find a perfect church don’t join it. You’ll ruin it!” How are we, as the church, to navigate these troubled waters? For some insight we turn to Acts chapter 6.
Text: Acts 6:1-7
Dr. Luke the faithful traveling companion of the apostle Paul set out to write a two-volume work on the life and ministry of the Lord Jesus. His first volume was a “Gospel.” A selective history with a purpose to demonstrate to his friend Theophilus that Jesus was in fact the Messiah. The book of Acts is volume two in which he tells of the continuing work of Jesus through his body the church. One of the purposes of Acts is to tell the story of the remarkable growth of the church in the years after Jesus left the earth and sent his Spirit to empower his people.
- Acts 2:42 – “So those who received the word were baptized and there were added that day about 3,000 souls.”
- Acts 2:47 – “And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.”
- Acts 4:4 – “Many of those who heard the word believed; and the number of the men came to about 5,000.”
- Acts 5:14 – “More than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women.”
- Acts 9:31 – “So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was built up; and walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit it was multiplied.”
- Acts 13:49 – “And the word of the Lord spread throughout all the region.”
- Acts 16:5 – “So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they increased in numbers daily.”
It is an amazing story full of supernatural vigor but the church was not pure. Consider the deception of Ananias and Sapphira in chapter 5. Or the power-hungry Simon the magician in chapter 8. The doctrinally confused Apollos in chapter 18, professing Christians in Ephesus who for some time concealed their black magic (19). We often say, “Oh if we could just return to the book of Acts…” we’re there! Our text deals with another problem within the early church. A struggle that threatened the very life of the church.
This text serves to remind us that:
Thesis: To be a vibrant, living church in the “real” world demands compassion, honesty and a God-driven focus.
There are three things I want us to note in this text.
- The vibrant, living church willingly acknowledges that conflict is inevitable. (6:1)
- The vibrant, living church prayerful seeks to resolve the conflict while remaining focused on and committed to a Kingdom agenda. (6:2-5)
- The vibrant, living church emerges from conflict with a renewed passion and commitment. (6:7)
Conclusion:
Conflict is inevitable but we must face that conflict with honesty and compassion, not loosing sight of our ultimate goal. We must remain focus on and committed to a Kingdom agenda. The result will be that we emerge from the struggle with a renewed passion and commitment.