A Charge to the Church
A Sermon on Acts 2:42
Scripture
42And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
Sermon Description
In this sermon on Acts 2:42 titled “A Charge to the Church”, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones shows what the church is, why it exists, and why it is important. One of the primary reasons that a church exists is for the preaching of God’s word. Teaching directly from Acts 2:42, he points out that the early church “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” Many churches today gather in ways to increase the entertainment value for the congregation. While Christian fellowship in a church is an extremely vital part of a Christian’s walk, this must not outweigh and overshadow the necessity of going to church to worship with other believers and to hear God’s word preached. Dr. Lloyd-Jones says that one of the great characteristics of the early church was that they were always meeting, but while the early church did gather for fellowship, Dr. Lloyd-Jones points out that Acts 2:42 clearly states that they were primarily concerned with worship and hearing God’s word. Why else does a church exist? A church, or gathering of believers, is a community where the gospel can be lived out and lost people can be introduced to it. Thus, churches serve incredibly important roles as lights to the world. Listen as Dr. Lloyd-Jones expounds on these points and shows how a church can be used to further God’s kingdom.
Sermon Breakdown
- The church came into being as a result of the preaching of the apostles on the day of Pentecost. The Holy Spirit empowered their preaching and brought conviction to the hearers.
- The church is made up of people who have been born again, who have repented of their sins and believed in Jesus Christ. They have undergone a profound change.
- The early church met together constantly - daily. They were eager to be together. This shows the change that had taken place in them.
- The church does not exist for entertainment or social activities but to focus on the apostles' teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread and prayer.
- Teaching and doctrine must come before fellowship. Teaching is what brought the church into being and continues to feed it. It is the only way to know truth from error. It is the only way to help others.
- The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth. He inspired the Scriptures and leads us into truth through them.
- The church met for fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayer. All of these flow out of the truth.
- The early Christians were filled with joy, gladness and praise. This is essential for the church to make an impact on the world.
- The reason most people are outside the church is because of the state of those inside the church. We must be joyful, Spirit-filled believers to attract others.
- We need to pray for ministers of the Word and for persecuted Christians around the world.
Sermon Q&A
What Does Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones Say About the Nature of the Christian Church?
What is the basis of the Christian church according to Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones?
According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, the church comes into being through two essential elements: the preaching of apostolic truth and the power of the Holy Spirit. He states, "What has brought this church into being is this preaching," but also emphasizes that mere information is insufficient: "The Church doesn't merely declare a number of truths and facts in her own strength and power. If she does, she'll be useless." He explains that the combination of orthodox truth and spiritual power is essential: "We must have the message, we must have the truth... But we also must have the power of the Holy Spirit."
How does Dr. Lloyd-Jones describe the characteristics of true church members?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones describes true church members as people who have undergone a profound spiritual transformation. They are "people who have been convicted of their sin," who have "seen and have realized that we are sinners before a holy God." They have "repented" and "believed" in Christ for the remission of sins. He emphasizes that "the Christian is a man who is born again" and has "undergone an entire change in his beliefs, his outlook, his desires, his everything." They are "new people" whose "whole life and being is centered upon this blessed Jesus, the son of God."
Why does Dr. Lloyd-Jones place apostolic doctrine as the highest priority in church life?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones insists on placing doctrine first because: 1) The church came into being through preaching of truth; 2) Doctrine provides the objective standard to test truth claims in a world of competing ideas; 3) Doctrine enables believers to help others by giving a reason for their hope; 4) Knowledge counters spiritual ignorance which is "the cause of all our troubles"; and 5) The Holy Spirit is "the spirit of truth" who works through teaching. He warns that without prioritizing doctrine, "there is no hope for the church whatsoever."
What does Dr. Lloyd-Jones identify as the primary activities of the early church?
He identifies four primary activities from Acts 2: "They continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine, teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread and of prayers." He emphasizes the order matters - doctrine comes first, then fellowship follows. He notes they gathered "steadfastly, daily" and were drawn together "as if by a magnet." Their activities centered on learning truth, experiencing community, commemorating Christ's death in communion, and praying together.
What does Dr. Lloyd-Jones say is the problem with modern churches according to his sermon?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones identifies several problems with modern churches: 1) They have abandoned apostolic doctrine for social activities and entertainment; 2) They wrongly prioritize fellowship over doctrine, seeking unity without truth; 3) They treat church as "just a kind of club or a kind of society" with sports teams and social events; 4) They are characterized by spiritual dullness and joylessness rather than gladness; and 5) Church members attend out of duty rather than desire, making Christianity unattractive to outsiders who see "miserable Christians."
How does Dr. Lloyd-Jones describe the joy of the early church and why is it important?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones describes the early Christians as "a very happy people... filled with joy and gladness and a spirit of praise and of thanksgiving." He emphasizes this joy as essential for Christian witness: "When this church is filled with this kind of person you'll find the others coming in." He contrasts the enthusiasm of sports fans with the dullness of many churchgoers, suggesting that the church's failure to attract outsiders stems from Christians not demonstrating "that they've got the most glorious thing that men has ever heard." True spiritual joy is what "led to the conversion of John Wesley" and is how "Christianity spread at the beginning."
Itinerant Preaching
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.