Articles
Sharing Among the Early Christians
“And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need.” (Acts 2:44-45)
“And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but all things were common property to them. And with great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all. For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales and lay them at the apostles’ feet, and they would be distributed to each as any had need.” (Acts 4:32-35)
If reading these texts doesn’t make us just a smidge uncomfortable in our cushy first-world American prosperity, I would submit that we are not reading them correctly. Those who call for the restoration of “first century Christianity” and the belief and practices of the early church tend to cringe a little when they read that those first century Christians eschewed the concept of individual property ownership amongst themselves, sold everything they had, and supported the poor among them.
I have heard numerous explanations—most of them incredibly elaborate—on why this practice absolutely isn’t normative for today. Some claim they were faraway travelers who had decided to sell their faraway lands and live in Jerusalem. This motive is not stated anywhere, and is not even remotely provable. Others even go so far to claim that the Jerusalem Christians were unwise to do these things, since they were later impoverished. This explanation clearly cuts against the New Testament’s consistently positive portrayal of generosity and decidedly negative portrayal of stinginess. But may I suggest that the eagerness to “explain away” these examples is itself a symptom of worldliness among the people of God? For those who claim to “be silent when the Bible is silent” there seems to be a suspicious amount of speculation in these explanations. Has our ox been gored a little bit? Our toes stepped on? Our sacred cow slaughtered?
Granted, these texts are descriptive—not prescriptive. They make no claim as to what ought to happen. They only tell us what did happen. But descriptive accounts of people’s actions have a compelling power all their own. After all, the most profound thing God tells us isn’t in the commands he gives us, but rather in the action he demonstrated, when he sent his Son to die on the cross for our sins. Jesus’ death on the cross is also technically descriptive rather than prescriptive. But it still shocks and offends those who are confronted with it. The enormity of Jesus’ self-sacrifice surpasses anything that we have ever done or ever plan to do in our lives, and so naturally, it makes us feel a twinge guilty. The same is true when we read of the unparalleled generosity of Jesus’ first post-resurrection followers. If we are offended at their conduct, the fault is not with them, but with us in our hearts.
Like Jesus who takes up the cross, giving all they had, the Christians who gave all they had to support one another and share with one another stand as an example for the ages. They give us a glimpse of the prosperity of heaven itself, a place where there are no poor, because the most valuable of our metals is used as pavement (Rev 21:21). They show us the blessing that should have been Israel’s when God said “there will be no poor among you” (Deut 15:4-6). They demonstrate the power of the gospel message through their clear and obvious belief that this life is not all there is to this life. The world’s goods are passing away and are not something to be clung to with great forcefulness.
Jesus once charged a rich young ruler to sell everything he had and give it to the poor in order to have treasure in heaven (Matt 19:16-22; Mark 10:17-27; Luke 18:18-27). What if he asked any one of us to do that today?
Would we obey gladly, abandoning our possessions to follow our king and master for an eternal treasure?
Or would we make excuses, or grieve, or depart from him, claiming the cost is too high, as that rich young ruler did?
The situation is hypothetical, but the way we answer says everything about our hearts. The Lord may have blessed us with wealth, but that blessing can even become a stumbling block and a temptation. Let us not be shackled by concern for personal possessions, but rather let us be content whatever our circumstance, whether rich or poor, whether we live in a good economy or a bad one, whether we are taxed heavily or not at all. In all of our circumstances, we ought to keep our character free from the love of money (Heb 13:5), which is a root of all kinds of evil (1 Tim 6:10).
Let us examine our hearts, and see if we have hearts to share!
