Daily Thoughts from Acts: Our Most Powerful Defense of the Faith (Acts 4:32-37)

Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.  (Acts 4:32-37 ESV)

The pull on the human heart for a utopian society, for the perfect community, has resulted in several attempts at constructing such communities.  In our American history we have seen quite a few utopian communities come together on the basis of varying underlying philosophies and principles, but all striving to achieve the security of harmonious relationships and economic development.  Wikipedia chronicles some 30 such communities begun in the 1800’s and 10 in the 1900’s, only 5 of which from the 1900’s are still in existence.

We might rightly see the original community of Babylon (Babel) mentioned in Genesis 11 as a similar experiment.  The goal was to somehow stay together, make a name for themselves, so as not to be “dispersed over the face of the whole earth,” a prospect that seemed threatening to them and their security.  We would also be right to see each of these attempts as a restoration of what was lost in Eden and a longing for what God will one day restore when His kingdom is re-established on earth.

This early church, however, was striving to create a utopia.  They were simply living out the love of God for each other that was birthed in their hearts by the message of Jesus and the presence of his Spirit among them.  The character of the new believers and the evidence of God’s presence among them was demonstrated by their voluntarily selling property if they had it to make sure no one among them had a need.  This, in turn,  fueled their evangelistic efforts as it gave evidence of Jesus being the resurrected Messiah.

“Great grace was upon them all” and this no doubt aided in their presentation of the gospel, as people could see a taste of kingdom living in the church.  Church unity and love, as Jesus predicted, is the most powerful apologetic or defense of Christianity there is (John 13:35).  Factions, schisms, in-fighting, hypocrisy and political control have always made the task of evangelizing the world more difficult.  They have been a negative endorsement of Jesus’ character and have alienated countless millions from Christians and our message.

The newly formed church in Jerusalem gave a compelling argument for Jesus by their readiness to care for their own.  One exemplary man in particular, Barnabas, is singled out as demonstrating this generosity.  He will be contrasted with a couple in the next chapter.  Believers care for one another as fellow members of Christ’s body, as heirs together of the promise of life in Jesus.  Such love and care results in taking care of one another.  It is not just words but deeds.  If the church is to ever see the Great Commission fulfilled it will come as we learn to love one another the way Jesus loves each of us.  It must be our baseline apologetic.

A recent survey among 100 converts from Islam who had come to a national conference for Christians from Muslim backgrounds showed that, for 85% of the respondents, a major factor that drew them to Christ was the love of Christians.  60% of those who said this was a major factor said it was the exclusive factor that drew them to Christ.