Kingdom Tension Part 6
At Keys Vineyard Church, we are presenting a series called ‘Kingdom Tension,’ which we post here on Online Bible Institute.
Last week, in our Kingdom Tension series, we discussed the importance of corporate prayer. This week, we will begin discussing the apostles’ teachings.
Acts 2:42-44 (NIV)
42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common.
Acts 2:42–44 gives us a great picture of the early church, a group of people who lived out their faith. These Christians “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching,” but they didn’t only study it; they kept going with it. The goal wasn’t to learn more; it was to change. Their devotion led to real change: people living together, living generously, and being amazed by the goodness of God.
But what were the apostles teaching? The apostles were teaching what Jesus had taught them.
Matthew 28:19-20 (NIV)
19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
They were to make disciples by baptizing people and instructing them to follow all of His commands. It is important to note that Jesus’ commandments are not hard regulations that you have to follow to earn your salvation. Instead, they are loving instructions that come from a relationship that has already been made possible by grace. “If you love me, you will do what I say,” Jesus remarked in John 14:15. Obeying God isn’t about earning salvation; it shows that you love him.
There are 40 to 50 explicit directives from Jesus in the Gospels that show us how to live a life of mercy, humility, charity, forgiveness, and witness. All of these commands find their roots in the Greatest Commandment: to love God with all that we are and to love our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:36–40).
Matthew 22:36-40 (NIV)
36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Jesus makes it plain that love is the basis for everything God has said.
Our job as a church is not just to “go to church,” but to be the church—a group of people who follow Jesus with the help of the Holy Spirit. In the following few weeks, we’ll look at some of the things Jesus taught and how they affect our lives as the church.
This weekend at Keys Vineyard Church, we will explore how to let our light shine. Be sure to join us in person or online.
Steve Lawes is a pastor at Keys Vineyard Church and also the founder of the Online Bible Institute Network.
