Acts 4:32-37 | a Life SurrenderedSample

Acts 4 shows us total surrender.

It’s curious that right after the bold, “no surrender” moment of Peter and John (along with the disciples’ prayer to speak with boldness despite all kinds of threats), we read about them surrendering their possessions to one another. We’ve already seen this in Acts 2:44-45, and now it’s repeated again. Why such an emphasis?

Maybe because our attitude towards our possessions is a sign of what’s most important to us and where our allegiances lie. As Jesus once said, where your treasure is, so will your heart be. Yes. And maybe something more.

Acts 2 and Acts 4 are not the first time we see the Bible focus on God’s people giving their possessions in light of need because of God’s tremendous blessings. It echoes all the way back to Deuteronomy 15, where God’s covenant community forgives debts and gives lavishly so that there would be no need among them. Read it in context, then draw it forward, and you’ll see what Luke is up to. The early Christians saw themselves as God’s new covenant community. But far more than a seven-year cancellation of debts, the new community finds its meaning in the incredible forgiveness of debts paid by Jesus on the cross.

Jesus gave it all. He gave himself for us. He paid our debts, ones we could never hope to repay. When you’re on the receiving end of that, what can you do except to give your life back to him? And so, they sold land and houses, bringing the money to the apostles to distribute to those in need. They shared everything; no needy persons were among them. Rooted in Christ’s resurrection, they regarded the needs of the kingdom and the needs of each other above their own. NT Wright says it well: “What you do with money and possessions declares loudly what sort of community you are.”

And God’s grace worked powerfully among them.

Total surrender.

The temptation of not surrendering is always around us. When are you inclined to resist Jesus rather than totally surrender to him?