What Did the Early Church Believe and Practice?
The book of Acts records eyewitness accounts of the early Church from
Christ's resurrection until about A.D. 60. Chapter 2 records the beginning
of the Church.
This special event began when the place in which the apostles and other
disciples were gathered suddenly was filled with the sound of a mighty
wind and "tongues, as of fire," that appeared to alight on them.
They went out and almost immediately began to speak to the crowds gathered
in Jerusalem, for these events occurred on the biblical Feast of Pentecost.
Miraculously, the apostles' preaching was comprehensible to all people
from many lands so that all understood their words in their own language.
Often overlooked in this account is the significance of these events
occurring on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1). This was one of
the festivals God commanded for His people many centuries before (Leviticus
23). In revealing these festivals, God exclaimed, "... These are
My feasts ... the feasts of the LORD, holy convocations ..."
(verses 2, 4). Then God proclaimed them to be "a statute forever"
(verses 14, 21, 31, 41).
The Gospels show Jesus keeping 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 observing these festivals long after Christ's crucifixion (Acts
2:1-4; 18:21; 20:6, 16; 27:9). This is the example they set for us.
Today, however, most churches teach that these festivals were somehow
annulled by Christ's death. Yet the unmistakable record of the Bible is
that the early Church continued to observe them long after His death—but
with a greater grasp of their spiritual significance.
Speaking of one of these God-given feasts, the apostle Paul urged the
Church congregation in Corinth—a mixed group of gentile and Jewish
believers—to "keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with
the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of
sincerity and truth" (1 Corinthians 5:8).
Paul was obviously referring to keeping the biblical Feast of Unleavened
Bread (see Leviticus 23:6; Deuteronomy 16:16). Paul similarly explained
the Christian significance of the biblical Passover (1 Corinthians 5:7;
Leviticus 23:5) and gave instructions on how to properly observe this
ceremony in the Church (1 Corinthians 11:23-28).
Such passages prompt an obvious question: 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 (1 Corinthians 5:7).
The Gospels and Acts are equally clear that Christ, the disciples and
the early Church kept the weekly Sabbath on 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). It was Jesus' custom to go to the synagogue on Sabbath
days 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 this God-ordained assembly
to teach others about Jesus as Savior and Messiah.
Of course, most people and churches ignore the biblical seventh-day
Sabbath. But why? Shouldn't we observe a weekly day of rest and worship
as God commands (Exodus 20:8-11; Deuteronomy 5:12-15), and shouldn't it
be the same day that Jesus and His apostles kept?
A closer examination of the Scriptures reveals many other differences
between the teachings and practices of Jesus and His apostles and what
is commonly taught. For example, the belief that obedience to God's law
is unnecessary is directly contrary to Jesus' own words (Matthew 4:4;
5:17-19) and the teachings and examples of His apostles (Acts 24:14; 25:8;
Romans 7:12, 22; 1 Corinthians 7:19; 2 Timothy 3:15-17).
Jesus and the apostles never taught 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 that would spend eternity in either heaven
or hell (Ezekiel 18:4, 20; Matthew 10:28). Rather, they followed earlier
Scripture passages in referring to death as being like an unconscious
sleep in which the dead await a future resurrection (compare Ecclesiastes
9:5, 10; Daniel 12:2-3; John 11:11-14; 1 Corinthians 11:30; 15:6, 51;
1 Thessalonians 4:14-17).
Nowhere in the Bible do we find any mention of, or hint of approval
for, today's popular religious holidays such as Christmas and Easter.
Though the Greek word pascha is once incorrectly translated "Easter"
(Acts 12:4, KJV)—and that only in one Bible translation—this
is a flagrant mistranslation. Pascha always means "Passover,"
never Easter!
Instead of approving such celebrations rooted in paganism, God condemns
them even when they are used in attempts to worship Him (compare Deuteronomy
12:29-32; 1 Corinthians 10:19-21).
These are some of the major differences between the Christianity of
Jesus and the apostles and the Christianity commonly practiced today.
But don't simply take our word for it. We encourage you to follow the
example of the Bereans (Acts 17:11) and look into your Bible to see whether
today's popular beliefs and practices agree with what Jesus and His apostles
practiced and taught.
(Adapted from the booklet The Church Jesus Built.
Download or request your free copy at www.gnmagazine.org.
To learn more about these subjects, be sure to request our free booklets
God's Holy Day Plan: The Promise of Hope for All
Mankind, Holidays or Holy Days: Does It Really
Matter Which Days We Keep?, Sunset to Sunset:
God's Sabbath Rest, Heaven and Hell: What Does
the Bible Really Teach? and What Happens After
Death? ) GN
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