Information Related to "What Did the Early Church Believe and Practice?"
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What Did the Early Church Believe and Practice |
The
book of Acts is an eyewitness account of the early Church from Christ's death
until about A.D. 60. Chapter 2 records the beginning of the Church, when God
sent His Spirit to 120 followers of Jesus Christ.
Many Bible readers are familiar with the miraculous events of that day. Often
overlooked in this account is the day on which these events occurred, the Day
of Pentecost (Acts 2:1), one of the festivals God commanded for His people many
centuries before (Leviticus 23). In revealing these festivals, God said that
"these are My feasts ... the feasts of the LORD, holy convocations ..."
(verses 2,4).
The Gospels show that Jesus Christ kept the same festivals (Matthew 26:17-19;
John 7:10-14,37-38). Both the book of Acts and Paul's letters show the apostles
keeping these festivals during the decades after Christ's crucifixion (Acts 2:1-4; 18:21; 20:6,16; 27:9).
Most churches teach that the festivals were "nailed to the cross,"
that they were somehow annulled by Christ's death. Yet the unmistakable record
of the Bible is that the early Church continued to observe them, but with greater
grasp of their spiritual significance.
Since Jesus, the apostles and the early Church kept these days, why don't churches
teach and observe them today? After all, Paul directly tied the feasts to Jesus,
His purpose and His sacrifice for mankind (1Corinthians 5:7).
The Gospels and the book of Acts are equally clear that Christ, the disciples
and the early Church kept the weekly Sabbath-from Friday evening to Saturday
evening, the seventh day of the week-as their day of rest and worship (Mark 6:2; Luke 4:16,31-32; 13:10; Acts 13:14-44; 18:4). Jesus even called Himself
"Lord of the Sabbath" (Mark 2:28).
It was Jesus' custom to go to the synagogue every Sabbath to worship (Luke 4:16).
Contrary to the teaching of those who say that Paul abandoned the Sabbath, it
was his custom, too, to go to the synagogue every Sabbath (Acts 17:1-3), using
the opportunity to teach others about Jesus Christ.
The weekly Sabbath is another of God's festivals. It is included in the Ten
Commandments (Exodus 20:8-11; Deuteronomy 5:12-15). As with God's other feasts,
the Sabbath is ignored by the overwhelming majority of churches. Rather than
keeping the Sabbath as God commanded, most churches meet on the first day of
the week-Sunday-a day nowhere commanded in the Bible as a day of worship. Why?
If we are to observe any day as a weekly day of rest and worship, shouldn't
it be the same day Jesus Christ and the apostles kept?
Many churches teach that obedience to God's law is unnecessary, that Christ
kept it for us or it was "nailed to the cross" with Christ. This is
directly contrary to Jesus' own words (Matthew 4:4; 5:17-19) and the teaching
and practice of the apostles (Acts 24:14; 25:8; Romans 7:12,22; 1Corinthians 7:19; 2Timothy 3:15-17).
Following Christ's example, the apostles powerfully preached about Jesus Christ's
return to establish the coming Kingdom of God (Luke 4:43; 8:1; 21:27,31; Acts 1:3; 8:12; 14:22; 19:8; 28:23,31). But Paul warned that, even in his day, some
were already preaching "a different gospel" (2Corinthians 11:4; Galatians 1:6).
Jesus and the apostles did not teach that the righteous ascend to heaven at
death (John 3:13; Acts 2:29,34), and they understood that man does not possess
an immortal soul (Ezekiel 18:4,20; Matthew 10:28) that would spend eternity
in either heaven or hell.
These are some of the major differences between the Christianity of the time
of Christ and the apostles and that commonly practiced today. Shouldn't you
look into your Bible to see if your beliefs and practices square with what Jesus
Christ and the apostles practiced and taught?
(Excerpted from The Church Jesus Built. -order
your
today. )
© 2001-2022
United Church of God, an International Association
Related Information:
Sidebar to Europe's Coming Religious Revival
Table of Contents that includes "What Did the Early Church Believe and Practice?"
Origin of article "What Did the Early Church Believe and Practice?"
Re-published from an earlier version
Keywords: early church worship God's festivals Sabbath Sabbath in the New Testament apostles Acts, book of Pentecost apostolic faith church, early church, apostolic holydays Biblical doctrines Early Church disciples festivals
Acts, book of: