Do you know what it was that brought a time of peace to the church? It was the fact that no one was preaching Jesus in the synagogue. That's right. Shortly after Saul of Tarsus was baptized with the Holy Spirit, he started preaching Jesus in the synagogue. That upset the Jews so much they sought to kill him and probably threatened other believers who wouldn't give up information about where Saul was. When the disciples helped Saul get out of town, the trouble stopped and peace ensued or should I say the persecution of the church stopped. The peace they found was not from God, but rather lost men tolerating believers because they agreed to keep their mouth shut about Jesus.

Even though the peace the believers enjoyed came from not provoking the religious crowd, you used that time to grow the church. Scripture says it was strengthened and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, growing in numbers as the believers lived in fear of the Lord.

Preaching has been the way truth is preached to a number of people simultaneously. In our day however, evangelistic preaching has all but replaced one on one witnessing in some congregations. The early church disproved another doctrine of church growth. Listening to the promoters of church growth, you might get the impression that salvation is reserved for those who walk down the aisle of the church during the singing of Just as I Am, but that's just not the case.

Real church growth occurs when a single person is saved and is discipled by another to become over time a devout follower of our Lord. It's not about numbers, but about individuals who are saved, one at a time - not by men, but as the Holy Spirit convicts of sin and comes to live in their heart through faith. May we have a time of peace like the first church and learn that salvation comes through fear of the Lord and not sitting in a church pew.

1. Pray Through the Word - 365 devotionals on the subject of prayer by James R. Green (Dt 10; Acts 9:20-43)
2. Scripture comes from the Holy Bible, New International Version; (c)1978 by New York International Bible Society

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