Acts 2:42-47

Some scripture is prescriptive, and some is descriptive.  Prescriptive scripture tells us what we ought and ought not to do, how we are to think, what feelings we should encourage, and which emotions we should control.  “Love your neighbor as yourself” is prescriptive; it tells us what we ought to do.  Verses 42-47 are not prescriptive.  Some people believe they are and teach that Christians should sell all their property and take up communal living.  They completely ignore scriptures that teach that we are God’s stewards; we have a responsibility to administer our material possessions on his behalf.  How can God use us to meet the needs of others if we have squandered away or sold and given away all of the possessions, He has entrusted to our care?

These verses describe what happened in the Jerusalem church following the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.  Pilgrims from all nations heard the gospel, repented of their sins, and received salvation.  Soon they would be returning to their homes, and taking the gospel with them.  This required them to study at the feet of the disciples.  They needed to know the teachings of Jesus; if they were going to live Christ like, they needed to know what Christ lived like.  For a period, they spent their days in study, fellowship and prayer.  They made a practice of worshiping God and partaking of the Lord’s Supper as a congregation.  Because many of them were far from home, and they had not intended to stay nearly that long, they were short of resources.  The Christians who lived in Jerusalem sold property and possessions to take care of their needs.

When these Christians accepted Christ as savior, they were changed.  They displayed a generosity that was not normal for their world.  This text does not prescribe how we should live; it does describe how becoming a Christian made a difference in their lives.  Accepting Christ as savior always makes a different.  That difference is lived out in many ways, but it always show.