Part 3 of 13

Acts 2:42

'And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.'

We have already looked at how the early church continued in one accord with prayer and supplication and how they were filled with the Holy Ghost. The next thing we will look at is actually a list of several things which the Word of God says the disciples continued steadfastly in. This means that they never wavered from doing those things because they knew they were right to do.

We also need to continue in the things mentioned here as well as other things of God. I have seen too many people who at one time were doing a work for God but now would not lift a finger to help the church or to do something for God. Preachers who use to preach the Gospel but have since got out of the ministry, church members who use to be faithful each week to work a ministry but now would not darken the door of a church if their life depended on it. They did not continue steadfastly in the things of God and they are now reaping the consequences of that decision.

1. They continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine.

The apostles' doctrine here meant simply the apostles' teaching. Believers at this time did not have a complete Bible to which they could turn to for instruction. At this time God was still using the apostles to write the New Testament. They had to rely on what the apostles were teaching them. Today we have the complete Word of God in the King James Bible and this is the doctrine we need to continue steadfastly in. We need to never waver from the doctrines, principles, and standards found within the Word of God.

If the Bible teaches it, whether through direct statement or through implication, then that ought to settle it for us. Sadly, many Christians would rather debate the Bible and attempt to correct it using man's wisdom. They have stepped away from following what the Word of God says. So many Christians have compromised on the Word of God and it shows in their life and their relationship with God.

2. They continued steadfastly in fellowship.

The second thing we see them continuing in is fellowship. When we look at the first church we do not see a group of believers who happen to meet two to three times a week. Instead we see the picture of a close-knit family. The early church had a closeness about them that can only come through the shared bond in Christ. The Bible tells how the believers sold many of their possessions and had all things in common. We also see in Acts 2:46 how they met together daily - which we will talk about more at a later time. This is sadly different than most churches today.

The majority of people today who claim to be Christian do not even attend the regular services faithfully let alone engage in any kind of fellowship. They come into church, go straight to their seat, and never make an effort to interact with the rest of God's people. Granted some people may be shy, but they should eventually reach a point where they begin to open up at the House of God. The large majority of these people, however, refuse to interact with God's people because they have more in common with the world.

Fellowship with like-minded believers is a necessity in this world which we live in. The majority of us have to interact and deal with the world on a daily basis. Fellowshipping with other believers can give us much needed encouragement. It also acts as a check and balance for us helping us to remain pure and unspotted from the world. If we do not fellowship with other believers then we will wind up fellowshipping with the world drawing us away from Christ.

3. They continued steadfastly in breaking of bread.

This can refer to two different things depending upon the context it is used in. It can either refer to simply the matter of eating or it can refer to the partaking of the Lord's Supper. The first instance would go along with our previous point of continuing in fellowship so we will deal with the second instance of the Lord's Supper. The Lord's Supper is one of only two ordinances given to the Church by Christ. We are to do this as a memorial for what Christ did for us on the cross. While there is no command on how often to do it we are still commanded to do it. It would do every Christian a world of good to keep in the fore front of their mind the sacrifice Christ gave of Himself on the cross.

Many people who attend church, however, do not want to be reminded of the cross and what it represents. They love to hear about the baby in a manger, but they do not want to worry about the cross. More than likely because it convicts them and reminds them of I Corinthians 6:19-20 where Paul said that we have been bought with a price and that because of this we are not our own. If we would continue steadfastly in remembering what Christ did on the cross then we could see the world turned upside down once again.

4. They continued steadfastly in prayers.

We talked a good deal about prayer in the first part of this series, but prayer is one of those things you can never preach too much on. One reason of that is because people do not do enough of it. Praying a quick prayer over a meal will never bring about any kind of spiritual growth in a person's life. If anything it will do more harm than good because it will become vain and repetitious after a time (Matthew 6:7). We need to realize just how important a Christian's prayer life is. Even our Lord and Saviour while on this earth had a prayer life with the Father. We read of several times where Christ went alone to pray to God. No one has ever done anything great for God without having a prayer life with the Father.

To turn this world upside down for the cause of Christ we first need to be in one accord with prayer and supplication, we need to be filled with the Holy Ghost, and we need to continue steadfastly in doctrine, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayers.

In Christ,

PreacherE