The 2021 Inauguration Day was unique in several ways. The lights lining the Reflection Pool reminded us of the lives lost to COVID-19 over the past year. They also reminded us why the Inauguration was not attended like it has been in the past year. Strangely, the former President did not attend this Inauguration as is the custom. In addition to these oddities, if you scroll social media for very long, you will find strong opinions and sometimes even threatening comments about the incoming administration.
You don’t need another person to tell you that you should be concerned about this administration. In fact, you’re probably tired of hearing it! I do not believe that this administration is all doom and gloom or the beginning of the end. It’s not like we haven’t been in a spot like this politically before. However, I’m not sure that we’ve been in a spot like this culturally before—a spot where Christianity is viewed as “problematic” and speaking truth is called “violence.”
While this is nothing like the persecution that the Early Church faced, the cultural temperature is rising and putting pressure on the 2021 Church. No, we are not being imprisoned or physically harmed, but we are being doxed, cancelled, or sued for speaking up for the truth and Christian values. Certainly, we know nothing of the persecution that Christians in other parts of the world face today! Yet the pressure we are feeling today is similar to the early stages of persecution that faced the Early Church at its inception.
In Acts 4, the Church is a brand new institution. It’s a body of diverse believers, composed of both Jews and Gentiles alike. Yet this diverse group living in a very politically and socially divided culture shares unity in the crucified and then risen Jesus Christ. When Peter and John are arrested for healing a lame man in the name of Jesus, the Church understands that they can expect the same hostility that the world gave to their Savior Jesus. What did the Early Church do when the temperature started to rise? They prayed. “And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God” (Acts 4:24). By looking at four characteristics of the Early Church’s prayer, we can learn how the 2021 Church ought to respond under pressure.
First, the Early Church prayed in unity.
“And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord . . .” The Early Church had just as many excuses to be divided as the 2021 Church does today. The Jews could have blamed the Gentiles for killing their Savior and oppressing their people. Likewise, the Gentiles could have belittled the Jews as second-class citizens and social outcasts. Plenty of cultural, political, and even ethnic differences existed in the Early Church, just as they do in the 2021 Church. However, the Early Church did not focus on or drudge up those differences. Rather, the individuals of the Early Church focused on their main identity in Christ: “And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch” (Acts 11:26). Antioch was probably the most diverse group of Christians that made up the Early Church. They were Jews, Greeks, and other Mediterranean and African ethnic groups, and yet they were all called Christians or “little Christs.” This identity is what allowed them to set aside their cultural, political, and ethnic differences and pray in unity for a common cause—the cause of Christ’s gospel.
Second, the Early Church prayed to the Lord God.
“And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is: Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things? The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ . . . both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.” (Acts 4:24). The word translated Lord here comes from the Greek word despotes, meaning master or absolute ruler. The Early Church recognized Who they were praying to—the Master, the Absolute Ruler of the Universe. Even though the Romans and the Jews thought they had killed Jesus, they were only helping to bring about what God had already ordained. The Early Church knew that it was the Lord—not the human rulers putting pressure on them—Who was ultimately in control. The Lord, the Master, the Absolute Ruler would have the last word.
Third, the Early Church prayed not for less confrontation, but for more confidence.
“And now, Lord, behold, their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word, By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus” (Acts 4:29-30). The Early Church didn’t pretend that the “threatenings” did not exist. They said, behold! They talked to God about the confrontation they were facing and asked for Him to increase their confidence in His work. They asked for Him to do His work through them. The Early Church knew that they could expect confrontation because Jesus said, “In the world ye shall have tribulation” (John 16:33). But they also knew that the solution to this confrontation was not to wish it away. They knew that the solution was confidence in Christ because Jesus also said, “but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
Fourth, the Early Church prayed not for a lighter burden, but for greater boldness.
“And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness” (Acts 4:31). Not only did they ask for boldness to speak the word (v. 29), but they also did speak the word with boldness (v. 31). The kept on doing the very thing that got Peter and John arrested in the first place! The secret weapon that enabled their bold actions was the filling of the Holy Spirit. As a result of Holy Spirit fullness, they were able to show Holy Spirit boldness. Just as the Early Church expected the confrontation from the world, they accepted the burden of living for Christ in the world.
So, what can the 2021 Church learn from the Early Church?
For one thing, Christians have always lived in a culture hostile to their faith. While it may be new for Americans, it’s not new for Christians. Second, the 2021 Church can respond to pressure the same way the Early Church did. We must pray in unity. We must pray to the Lord, knowing He will have the last word. We can pray for confidence in the Christ Who has overcome the world. And we can pray for Holy Spirit fullness to bolster Holy Spirit boldness. The Early Church offers an example for those of us who make up the body of Christ today, the 2021 Church.