At the very beginning of the church on the day of Pentecost, Acts 2:42 tells us that these first believers “continued steadfastly” in what the apostles were teaching. This is also translated as “devoted themselves.” That Greek word means that they attended to something constantly. This is in the present tense, so this devotion to the gospel message is what they were focusing on.Now they did not have the convivence of a printed Bible, they met in the Temple and in their homes listening to what the apostles taught. They wanted to know more about Jesus and about what God’s will was for their lives. They were steadfast and singleminded in purpose and so they devoted themselves.The apostles were teaching the message of Jesus and the will of God conveyed by what they remembered and what the Holy Spirit was revealing to them. It’s interesting that they phrase isn’t “they devoted themselves to the teachings of Jesus” but rather it is “they devoted themselves to the teachings of the apostles.” But actually, the teachings of the apostles are the teachings of Jesus and what the Spirit was revealing to them about how we must live.To say that those early Christians were devoted to the apostles’ teaching indicates that they understood the authority and the inspiration of the apostles, and what they taught was God’s truth. They understood that the church was built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets (Eph. 2:20) —what they were teaching!This should be our desire today. We want to know that pure gospel message. We are blessed today that we have these teachings in printed form. The Scripture that we have such easy access to today is the same truth that the apostles taught and what God wanted communicated and preserved for our benefit.Now just like those early Christians, it is our duty and honor to receive the apostles’ teaching and be devoted to it. It is not our job to pick and choose which doctrines we like or don’t like. It is our job to believe it and to obey it. But many people approach the Bible like it is a cafeteria style buffet – where they can pick and choose what they like and dislike.We can’t be “Red Letter” Christians that just believe in the words printed in a red letter edition of the New Testament. The New Testament is inspired by God’s ...
