Devoted Leadership
Acts 2:42
According to St. Peter, we have been living in the Last Days since Pentecost (Acts 2:17). That is true. This is the age when God is building His people and forcefully advancing His Kingdom. Nearly 2,000 years in, we do not know the exact day of judgment or the return of the King. Peter describes that day, when Jesus returns from heaven, as the “final restoration of all things” (Acts 3:21). It is coming as surely as daybreak, yet like a thief in the night (2 Peter 3:10).
One verse in Acts keeps drawing me back, and I truly love it (Acts 2:42). It has revolutionized my thinking as I’ve studied Church history and what the early church (pre-200 AD) believed under apostolic authority. For instance, it's making me consider what the apostles taught about baptism. Is it regenerative, as Peter declares in Acts 2:38 and as Jesus explained to Nicodemus in John 3:5? Or is it merely a symbol we perform out of obligation, without God’s regenerative power, as many of us Southern Baptists long believed? I now conclude the former. Tertullian (c. 160–220 AD), the early Church Father known as the “father of Latin Christianity,” taught this clearly in his treatise On Baptism, describing it as producing the remission of sins, deliverance from death, regeneration, and the bestowal of the Holy Spirit. To my reading to date, all the early teachers echoed the same. I’m like a babe learning for the first time. So be it. Please teach me, Lord Jesus.
From Polycarp (c. 69–155 AD, bishop of Smyrna and disciple of the apostle John) to Irenaeus of Lyons (c. 130–202 AD, bishop and defender of the faith who studied under Polycarp), they all believed baptism was regenerative, “for the forgiveness of your sins.” Baptism does something. It has been eye-opening. Even as a longtime Baptist, I’ve always sensed real sanctifying grace and power in baptism. It’s been deeply confirming to see what the apostles actually taught, and as I read through Acts again this morning, it aligns perfectly with Scripture.
This growing appreciation for the early church has me thinking more and more about unity and what I can do to work toward it in the Church today. We cannot compromise truth. God forbid we become so ecumenical that we turn heretical. Too many denominations today are spiritually empty, malnourished, or even corpses because they’ve rejected the Gospel to please crowds with watered-down morality.
Peter and the Apostles never did that. Peter boldly told the people that Moses himself warned: if you will not listen to and obey Jesus, you will be cut off from God’s people (Acts 3:23; see also Deuteronomy 18:19 and Leviticus 23:29). That doesn’t sound very “nice” or broadly ecumenical, but it is true. I’m reminded to do what is right and honest, no matter the cost.
At the same time, God’s light is infinitely more powerful and illuminating than all the forces of darkness arrayed against us. Peter told the Jewish people the truth: Jesus came to bless God’s people by turning them from their wicked ways (Acts 3:26). Our approach with Jewish, Muslim, or any friends should be the same: share the full Gospel. God’s promise is for all people. He died on the cross for all (Acts 2:39).
Family splits are hard to mend. National splits are even harder (think 2 Chronicles 10 and the permanent division of Israel after Solomon’s death, never reunited). Once trust is broken between friends, it is often never fully regained. But nothing is impossible with God. As my mom often says, as long as you have breath, it’s not too late to reconcile. Jesus calls us to forgiveness, unity, and brotherly love. Demons call for war, dysfunction, jealousy, and division.
The Church enjoyed 1,500 years of growth before a terrible (and in many ways understandable) rupture. But is 500 years of protest and division enough? Is it time for formation and God-glorifying, John 17-honoring unity? Perhaps. I won’t hold my breath, but we must watch what God is doing across the globe. He is calling people to Jesus Christ and to His Church. God does not have two churches, or forty thousand. He has one Church.
As the Holy Spirit says through Paul: “Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all, in all, and living through all” (Ephesians 4:3-6).
I pray for revival and increased faith in Christ our King. It’s encouraging to see young people hungry and thirsty for Jesus and the teaching of the Apostles, as we see in Scripture and Tradition. I want to know God more. I want a deeper relationship with Him. I want to emulate His goodness through obedience. Lord Jesus, please help us. Help all who love You to find You and grow today. Protect us and lead us, Lord and King. Amen.
I’ve been reading G.K. Chesterton lately (The Everlasting Man and other classics, alongside St. Thomas Aquinas). I'm halfway through Summa Theologica now - I don't know if I'm even understanding half of it, but still enjoying it. Chesterton was indeed influential in C.S. Lewis’s journey from atheism to Christianity. Lewis credited him with helping “baptize his intellect.” In Everlasting Man, you can hear Chesterton’s great sense of humor, as well as a deadly seriousness and crisp, clear truth-telling. In that, he aligns with St. Thomas Aquinas (though perhaps with less humor on St. Thomas' part). Both of these Christian giants show a pastoral heart of love for people, even as they confront evil and bad teaching.
Be happy. Love people. There is little worse than an angry or, God forbid, evil Christian leader who bears no resemblance to what we’re called to be (1 Corinthians 13). I’ve seen too much of that, and I hate it.
I’m so thankful for faithful Christians who earnestly follow Christ, humbly admit they don’t know it all, yet eagerly learn and obey God in unity and truth. When we read Scripture, we see unity in Christ’s church: Acts 1:15, “together”; Acts 2:1, “On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place.” The same in Acts 2:14, where Peter stands with the Eleven and addresses the crowd with one voice. And right at the heart of it all, Acts 2:42: “All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer.” Yes, there is a time to confront brothers in Christ with the truth (think Paul to Peter regarding the Judaizers), but always explain our faith in Christ with gentleness and love - honoring Christ.
There is tremendous power in devotion to the apostles’ teaching and to unity in Christ. Holy God, please unify Your Church. Help us humbly follow You in one faith, one baptism, one God, and one holy apostolic Church. Amen.
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