Three Commitments of Living Faith & A Faithful Church | Acts 2:42-47

What does a healthy, living faith look like? And what should a church look like once it has been born through the Spirit of God? Acts 2:42-47 gives one of the clearest and most practical pictures in all of Scripture of what genuine faith and a faithful church are called to be. In this message from Acts 2, we explore three commitments that defined the early church and still define what it means to follow Jesus today. Commitment One: A Commitment to Biblical Teaching. The apostles were eyewitnesses to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Through the Holy Spirit, their teaching has been preserved in Scripture. A living faith begins with submitting to the authority of God's Word, because that is where we learn who Christ is, what He has done, and how He calls us to live. Commitment Two: A Commitment to the Bond of Believers. The church is unlike any other community in the world. It is not built around personal preferences or shared interests. It is built around Christ. The early believers gave freely and joyfully because they understood that everything they had already belonged to Him. A living faith holds possessions and preferences with open hands. Commitment Three: A Commitment to Prayer and Evangelism. The early church prayed while they waited for the Spirit, and they kept praying after 3,000 people came to faith in a single day. Evangelism is not a program. It is a whole way of life, living in such a way that the love, truth, and grace of Jesus are visible to the people around you. When the people of God live as witnesses to God, personal faith strengthens, Christlikeness increases, and the kingdom of God grows. Acts 2:47 tells us that the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. That was true 2,000 years ago, and it is still true today. Topics covered include: healthy church, living faith, Acts 2, early church, biblical teaching, Christian community, prayer, evangelism, spiritual growth, Pentecost, Holy Spirit, discipleship, church community, Christian living, what is the church, how to grow in faith, Bible study, Acts 2:42-47, Christian fellowship, sharing the gospel.