Returning To Our Roots

“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, Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.” - Acts 2:46-47

When my father was living, he spent a great deal of time looking into his genealogy. He traced back his ancestry several generations. I must confess that I don't share his passion in this, although I see the value of it.

Sometimes we need to get back to our roots. We need to return to a prior age and relive those days. Often when I watch the Andy Griffith Show, I long to return to such simple days. I don't know whether those days actually existed or not, but it would be nice to have such peaceable times.

I can't help but think that the Church needs to get back to her roots. Looking back to the early days of the Church, it is easy to see that things were much simpler and exciting then than it is today. Of course, the early Church faced intense persecution. This was a major theme that we can't overlook. Still, I believe that there are simple things we need to return to.

As we read about the beginning of the Church in Acts 2, we find believers enjoying fellowship in a strong, yet loving way. Note four things we see in verses 46 and 47.

1. THERE WAS UNITY

First of all, believers were in agreement. They dwelt in harmony. They had a unity of purpose. Verse 46 says, “And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple.” The enemy seeks to sever the fellowship of believers. The devil knows that a unified church is a difficult foe for him to fight. In John 17, Jesus prayed that His followers would be in unity. We see the fulfillment of this in Acts 2.

While some believers are actively involved in dividing churches, much more are hindering the church by their continual absence. Either way, churches lack the harmony that Jesus desires.

2. THERE WAS COMMUNION

Secondly, believers had close communion with each other. This goes deeper than outward unity. This is a binding together of hearts. The Bible says that believers, “...breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart.” They enjoyed their fellowship. Church was a meaningful place for them because of the fellowship. Today, too many people have dropped out of a church fellowship and have become “lone rangers.” Loving fellowship deepens the Christian walk for believers.

3. THERE WAS PRAISE

Next, the early Church continually praised God. The Bible says that Christians were, “Praising God, and having favour with all the people.” Sadly, most churches are more like concert halls rather than places of praise. It is not enough for a choir, quartet or soloist to do all the singing. We need to praise God together. Yet our public praise should be an extension of our private praise. When was the last time you sang while driving or washing your dishes? God inhabits the praise of His people.

4. THERE WAS GROWTH

Finally, there was significant growth in the early church. Verse 47 states, “And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.” Notice that the Lord added to the church and not the pastor or evangelist. God adds to the Church through the salvation of souls. How exciting to see people get saved and plugged into a good church!

As we looked over these four areas, we must confess that the American Church is much better at paving parking lots than it is at praise. Today's churches are better at programs than unity. Today, growth is often superficial and shallow. It seems that some have perfected the art of attending as little of a service as possible. They arrive late and leave early. They want don't experience deep fellowship. They want to be known for attending a church but not for activity in the church.

We need to return to our roots. Yes, we have nice buildings, polished preachers and padded pews. Some have plays and programs that rival Hollywood. I can't help but think that we are far from where we ought to be.

We need to return to our spiritual roots.