The Secret of the Early Church

But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some brethren to the rulers of the city, crying out, “These who have turned the world upside down have come here too.” (Acts 17:6 NKJV)

Why is it that first-century believers so radically impacted their world? After all, they didn’t have the cool technology we have today. They didn’t have big Christian bands. They didn’t have megachurches. They didn’t have printing presses. Yet a relatively small group of men and women turned their first-century world on its ear. To put it biblically, they turned the world upside down.

I think that many times, especially in the United States, we are surviving on a watered-down, anemic version of Christianity. I don’t think we are living at the same standard of Christian faith as the first-century Christians lived. You might say it is a little like faith light. It seems that believers want to do only what is absolutely necessary.

I think Jesus has a lot of fair-weather followers today. They will be Christians when it is convenient, when it is easy, or when it is the cool thing to do. But the moment it gets difficult, when hardship hits, when persecution comes, they are out of there. They are not true followers. They are not real disciples.

That is why we are not turning our world upside down. I would even say that is maybe why, far too often, the world is turning the church upside down.

We need to get back to Christianity the way it is given to us in the Bible, the way that Jesus proclaimed it, the way the early church lived it, and the way the Bible teaches it—not the watered-down version of today but authentic, New Testament Christianity. In short, we need to become disciples of the Lord.

Are you a disciple of Jesus Christ? Jesus is still asking us to step out from the multitude, from the fair-weather followers, from the fickle people, and be His true disciples.

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