A Priority of the Early Church
And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.
- Acts 2:42
Luke could have brought a lot of things to our attention about the early church as he recorded its history in the book of Acts. After all, the early church was vibrant, joyful, and rapidly expanding. But Luke made a point of reminding us that the first-century Christians studied the Scriptures together.
It could have been a temptation for these believers to look back with great fondness on Pentecost and say, "Why can't every service be like Pentecost? Remember the Holy Spirit coming upon us and the divided flames of fire? Remember all of the languages we spoke?" But Pentecost was like the explosion that started the engine. And instead of reminiscing, the church was reveling in the Word of God.
A trend in the church today, however, is to disregard the study of Scripture. Some pastors will say things like, "Questions are the new answers. Let's not have a sermon. Let's have a discussion. Let's talk about the latest film or share our doubts and struggles. Besides, it is arrogant for us to say we know what the Bible teaches, because God is too big for us to understand, and His truth is too mysterious for us to know with certainty."
Another trend is to marginalize the Word of God. A church may have their videos, their drama, their film clips, their testimonies, and even their dance sometimes. Then, at the end, they might have a little sermonette, a short talk by the pastor. The problem with this is that sermonettes produce Christianettes.
The Bible is alive and powerful. Hebrews 4:12 tells us, "For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword. . . ."
The early church loved, reveled in, and studied the Word of God. And so should we.
