Talk about excitement! You can feel it when you read the book of Acts. It begins with a few of Jesus’ followers who were uncertain about what was going to happen next. But they were sure about one thing: Jesus had come back from death! The fact that their leader was alive made them bold enough to go right back into Jerusalem where He had been crucified. There, in obedience to His directions before He ascended into heaven, they waited for the baptism of the Holy Spirit and anticipated witnessing for Him in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the whole world.

Ten days later, the promised event occurred. The Holy Spirit came, they declared the wonderful works of God in dialects they had never learned, Peter preached a great sermon, and 3,000 people repented and were baptized. The church was born.

That small group began proclaiming the good news about Jesus in the power of the Spirit. They told people that Jesus Christ is the Messiah, that He died to pay the price for sin, and that He conquered death.

They began the most dynamic movement in history. They swept away all obstacles as they proclaimed their message with spontaneity and power. They reflected a sense of God’s presence. They showed such love for one another that sinners were drawn to them. In the way they proclaimed the gospel and lived out its truths, they gave us a model. If we follow their strategy, we will make as great an impact on our culture as they did on theirs.

 

PRACTICING THE LOVE OF CHRIST

There is no definite declaration in Acts that says, “Multitudes of unsaved people turned to Christ because they were so deeply impressed by the love Christians had for one another.” But love was so obvious among these first-century believers that we can be sure the non-Christians saw it. Jesus had told His disciples, “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (Jn. 13:35).

The early Christians acted as a support group for one another. They shared their possessions (Acts 2:44-47). They helped their widows (Acts 6:1-7). The believers in Jerusalem held an all-night prayer meeting for Peter when they learned that he had been imprisoned and was scheduled for execution (Acts 12). The Christians in Macedonia, though poor and oppressed, astonished Paul by the amount of money they raised for the persecuted believers in Jerusalem (2 Cor. 8–9).

In his letter to the Christians in Colosse, written during the Acts period, Paul thanked God for their love for all the saints (Col. 1:4). No wonder multitudes came to Christ during those days. This kind of love among believers speaks eloquently to the unsaved who observe.

Such supportive relationships prevailed for a time. The church father Tertullian (about AD 200) quoted the heathen as saying about Christians: “See how they love one another… see how they are ready even to die for one another.” He saw this as a great factor in causing people to believe on Jesus Christ.

When this love is no longer in evidence, the appeal of the gospel is largely lost. John Chrysostom, who lived about 150 years after Tertullian, complained:

There is nothing else that causes the heathen to stumble, except that there is no love…. Their own doctrines they have long condemned, and in like manner they admire ours, but they are hindered by our mode of life.

Is it possible that the same criticism would apply to us? We talk about fellowship. We enjoy getting together with fellow Christians. We may even enjoy times of Bible study and prayer. But we usually do so with people of our own income bracket and with little sacrificial love. Such meetings are okay, but they don’t really fit the meaning of the Greek word koinonia, translated “fellowship” in Acts 2:42. Genuine fellowship involves costly sharing—helping one another financially, bearing one another’s burdens, and rejoicing over one another’s blessings.

Unsaved people would be impressed if they saw New Testament fellowship among Christians. If wealthy believers in the suburbs who pour great sums of money into lavishly furnished buildings would show an interest in small, struggling works in the ghetto, non-Christians would be much more inclined to believe the gospel.

One of the factors that caused the first-century church to grow so rapidly was the oneness of the saints. The slave and his master worshiped in the same building—usually a house. Yes, there were some problems to be worked out even then, as indicated in 1 Corinthians 11:17-34. But true fellowship prevailed, and the church grew by leaps and bounds.

History has shown that large numbers come to Christ whenever affluent believers take a keen interest in their poorer brothers and sisters in the Lord. We must remind ourselves of this responsibility toward the poor (Gal. 2:10). This does not mean, of course, that we abandon our efforts to evangelize on college campuses or among the prominent in our society. We thank God for such ministries. But many church historians affirm that great “religious movements are born among the poor” (Howard A. Snyder, The Problem Of Wineskins, p.47).

The poor will do their own evangelizing, but they can’t do it effectively unless others share with them their time, talents, and money. Then, as these lower-income Christians start doing better financially, they must not forget their roots and desert the people who need them. Jesus repeatedly emphasized the need to preach the gospel to the poor (Mt. 11:1-6; Lk. 4:18-21). Snyder comments:

Every denomination needs a continuing infusion of hundreds of new members from among the poor—men and women saved right out of the crisis of their poverty. This would keep us shook up and spiritually alive. It would keep our churches from being captured by any one class or political philosophy, and thus from being compromised. Our radical differences in the world would unite us in Christ (The Problem Of Wineskins, p.47).

The early Christians practiced real fellowship. They followed the example of Christ, who reached out in love and accepted all kinds of people. We should too! We need to start small ministries among the poor. It won’t be easy. It will require more than spending a few dollars. It will demand a share of our time as we do more than hire a few workers. We must become personally involved, rubbing shoulders with the people we want to reach. It worked in New Testament days and it will work today.

Thomas and Earl Koon, one a successful pastor and the other a missionary in Australia, are products of this kind of effort. They came to know the Lord because two Christian men opened a store-front mission in a depressed area, recruited Christians to help them, and brought people into a Sunday afternoon meeting. Those efforts were truly the result of practicing the love of Christ.

 

REFLECTING THE PRESENCE OF CHRIST

The first Christians were also effective in evangelism because their lives reflected the presence of Christ. They had been touched by God, and it showed. Sometimes His presence was obvious through miracles such as the sound like that of wind and the tongues-speaking on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1- 13), the “wonders and signs” (2:43), the healings (3:1-10), the shaking of a meeting place (4:31), the sudden judgment of two who lied to God (5:1-11), the restoration of life to the dead (9:36-43), and the breaking of prisoners’ chains (12:5-19).

God provided many such wonders and signs and healings as evidence of His presence with the men and women who preached Christ. And although those open signs and wonders became less frequent as the apostolic period drew to its close, the Lord continued to work miracles in the lives of His people.

The power of God’s presence, however, was not limited to those occasions when the Lord supernaturally intervened to heal or deliver. Even during the early days, when these outward signs were most prevalent, there were situations in which the followers of Jesus reflected God’s presence by the way they suffered.

God allowed the Jewish authorities to arrest and scourge Peter and John (5:22-42). He permitted the Sanhedrin to kill Stephen by stoning (7:54- 60). He let Saul of Tarsus arrest and imprison believers (8:1-3). He didn’t prevent Herod from beheading the apostle James (12:1-4).

During the historical period covered by the book of Acts, God allowed Paul to be beaten many times, to be stoned and left for dead once, to be shipwrecked three times, to endure hunger and cold again and again, and to live with a painful physical affliction he called his “thorn in the flesh” (2 Cor. 11:1–12:10). But on these occasions the strength of God’s presence was just as real as when He supernaturally intervened.

Think of the impression Stephen made on the men in the Jewish council who tried and convicted him of blasphemy. During his trial, they “saw his face as the face of an angel” (Acts 6:15). After Stephen gave his defense, he indicted them for the murder of the Messiah. The council was so furious with him that they “gnashed at him with their teeth” (7:54), “cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord; and they cast him out of the city and stoned him” (7:57-58). While they were stoning him, the last thing Stephen said before he died was, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin” (7:60).

Think of the impression Paul and Silas had on the guards and prisoners in Philippi. Even though their backs were lacerated from being beaten with rods and their feet were fastened in stocks, Paul and Silas prayed and sang songs of praise to God (16:23-25). And “the prisoners were listening to them” (v.25). No wonder the inmates remained in their cells when the prison doors burst open! No wonder the jailer and his household were saved that night! They must have sensed that in being near Paul and Silas they were in the very presence of God.

God’s presence should be just as obvious in our lives. It can be! I know of a minister’s wife who was admitted to the hospital for a very painful operation. After some discussion, she realized that her roommate was not at all interested in spiritual things. So the minister’s wife prayed that somehow her conduct after her surgery would supplement her words of testimony. It did. The other woman and her husband both became Christians because, in their words, “We could see God in her!”

During a television interview, a Christian doctor whose specialty puts him in touch with many terminally ill patients said that some of his non-Christian colleagues have been deeply moved by the calm assurance of believers facing suffering and death. They told him they could explain most unexpected healings and remissions, but they couldn’t explain away the presence of God in these suffering, dying saints.

A deacon in a large midwestern church said that he became a believer by what he saw in a Christian mother whose child had been killed by the train he was controlling as engineer.

We can also reflect God’s presence in the normal course of life, not just in times of suffering. Recently, a young woman, who had strayed from the Lord and married an unsaved man, rededicated her life to God. Her husband was impressed by the change he saw in her. He started attending church with her, and after a year he accepted Christ as his Savior. He said it wasn’t the preaching that led him to this decision, but it was the change he saw in his wife and the evidence of Christ’s presence. Today his parents, a brother, and a sister are saved. His father testified, “I could tell that God had done something wonderful in his life, and I wanted what he had.”

This evidence of the supernatural is an absolute essential for spiritual effectiveness, and it should be evident in every believer. It can’t be faked or produced through effort. If we have it, we won’t even be aware of it. It is an unconscious, unplanned, Spirit-produced reality that comes through an obedient walk with God.

 

PROCLAIMING THE MESSAGE OF CHRIST

These first followers of Jesus spread the good news by verbal communication— either by powerful sermons, by serious discussions with non-Christians, or simply by telling their story wherever they went. In one way or another, they all preached the good news.

Public Meetings. The first Christians didn’t have church buildings, but they held large public meetings. On the Day of Pentecost described in Acts 2, Peter delivered a powerful address to the thousands who were drawn to the temple by the sound of the rushing wind. Some 3,000 people turned to the Lord. Philip spoke to a large gathering in Samaria (8:5-6). Paul preached with great effectiveness in the synagogues at Damascus (9:20), Cyprus (13:5),
Antioch (13:15), and Iconium (14:1-7). He also gave a memorable appeal on Mars’ Hill (17:22-33).

Proclaiming God’s message to large groups of people brought multitudes to Christ during the first century. It has been a powerful means of evangelism ever since. Even today, such communication fills a very important role in evangelism. TV, radio, mass meetings, church gatherings, and open-air services featuring effective preaching will always fill a vital place wherever people are free to use them.

The main problem today is that these large gatherings usually draw mostly Christians. Nonbelievers seldom attend. Even excellent media publicity won’t attract many of them. That’s where we come into the picture. We may not be able to preach before a crowd, but we can pray and invite people.

Such an invitation should be more than just telling people what time the service starts. If we really want to reach them, we have to become involved. Ask them to dinner and invite them to go to church with you. In this way, although you are not involved in a public service, you can assist those who have been called to preach the Word of God

Small Informal Gatherings. The gospel can also be proclaimed in informal gatherings like a home Bible study. Yes, this is a form of preaching. While the Greek term kerusso usually denotes an address before a crowd, the expressions evangelizo (used 52 times) and dialegomai (used 13 times) may denote telling the good news and reasoning about Christ in smaller groups.

Remember, the first-century Christians had no church buildings. They often met in homes (Acts 2:46; 5:42; 18:7; 20:20; Rom. 16:5; Phile. 2). This kind of proclaiming provides a wonderful opportunity to present Christ without standing behind a pulpit.

One-To-One Evangelism. The message of the gospel can also be given by one individual to another. This is indicated in many New Testament accounts. Jesus often spent time with just one person. For example: Nicodemus (Jn. 3), the Samaritan woman (Jn. 4), the rich young ruler(Lk. 18). The people who “went everywhere preaching the word” (Acts 8:4) were ordinary people (the apostles remained in Jerusalem) who just told others the good news— probably one-to-one. When Luke went on to tell about the preaching of Philip (8:5), he used a different Greek verb, one that more specifically suggests public proclamation. But a little later he described Philip’s preaching in a one-to-one meeting with an Ethiopian eunuch (8:35).

In summary, the first-century Christians were “communicators.” Some proclaimed the Word of God to large gatherings. Others used their homes as meeting places. And almost all of them told the good news wherever they went.

Formal preaching is still an important way to communicate the gospel. And we are fortunate to have many outstanding speakers today. The problem, though, is that relatively few unsaved people will go to church, attend evangelistic mass meetings, or change the channel on the TV to listen to a preacher. We must therefore be more effective in using small gatherings in homes. And we must get back to talking about Jesus wherever we are.