Could you imagine seeing 3,000 souls converted in one day? Think about that for a moment. Would that be nice to see? That is what we see in Acts 2:41 and I believe it is theoretically possible for that to happen again, if we learn some key lessons.
It is obvious that Acts 2:41 precedes Acts 15:21 chronologically. There is no question of this fact. The book of Acts was written in chronological order. However, the concepts are in reverse order as far as cause and effect. There is a good lesson for us in noticing this fact.
Acts 2:41 is a magnificent verse talking about the growth of the church. The first Gospel sermon on record after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus resulted in 3,000 souls being saved. It is easy to imagine that every Christian would want to see something like that happen again. I’ve heard many people bemoan the fact that we have not repeated such an event in our own time. There seems to be a disconnect from reality in the minds of some people though.
We have the same message that Peter preached. In fact, our circumstances are somewhat better because we have the written word that allows us to know the full counsel of God regarding our salvation (2 Peter 1:3). The word of God was provided so that we would be thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17). If we have the greatest message ever told and the completed Word of God, why do we not see thousands come to the Lord?
We also have conditions that are superior to what the Apostles had in the first century. The Roman roads literally paved the way for the spread of the Gospel, but they pale in comparison to the roads and means of travel that we have today. Yet we cannot seem to imitate the amazing work Paul did in the book of Acts. Why can we not imitate such success?
We have technology that is unprecedented. What would take days, weeks, or months to communicate in the past would now take mere microseconds. We have remarkable technology at our fingertips that allows amazing methods of communication. Why can we not mimic what happened in Acts 2:41?
Common Opinions
Sometimes we seem to think that the answer is found in the preaching. Preaching should cater to the ideas and needs of the listeners more--this is the message we hear in some circles. The easy response to that is to look at the results. There are many who teach what others want to hear, but they still have nowhere near the results found in Acts 2:41.
Related to that, many churches seem to think that if they happen to find the right man who has the right message and is charismatic enough to demand a following, the church will grow that way. There is no question that growth can come because of the personality of a preacher. Unfortunately, this process tends to elevate the preacher beyond his role as servant. And if the preacher leaves, the people leave. This gives a preacher great power in a congregation so that elders are pressed to compromise their positions as leaders and allow the preacher to say and do things they would not normally allow. The end result of this kind of growth is what many call "preacheritis". It is unhealthy for the long-term health of any congregation.
Others tell us that we need to get away from preaching altogether. If only we had enough programs to offer newcomers we would finally find the magic formula for converting large masses of people. This is a misguided belief that ignores the importance of people hearing the Word in order to have faith. The result of such a philosophy is that a church turns into a social program that sees no need for spiritual matters.
Another common answer is that the people saw and heard miracles that day. This one is given as a reason why it cannot happen again. Since we do not have miracles, we cannot replicate what happened that day. There is no doubt that the miracles were valid and proved the message. But do we not have the means of proving our message true? While the miracles undoubtedly helped the situation, what do we make of 1 Corinthians 13:10? This states that what they had was partial and that we have the perfect will of God now. Paul went on in 1 Corinthians 13 comparing that time to the times of youth that would be put away as maturity came. The passage implies that what we have is better now because it is the complete Word of God. But since we humans tend to be more impressed with the show of power, we should grant that at least part of the answer lies in those miracles. We should consider the theoretical possibility that if we had a similar demonstration of the power of God today, we would have an Acts 2:41 day sometime.
Having admitted that miracles theoretically could have played a part, we have to admit that this is not a sufficient explanation by itself. Why do we not have any other Acts 2:41 events recorded in New Testament times? Didn’t they have miracles in other parts of Acts? Why were those miracles insufficient to produce the same numbers? With this last question we see an important point. The miracles cannot account for the amazing response of that day. We cannot imitate the miracles, but that does not mean we cannot imitate the conversions, at least in theory.
A Biblical Answer
The reason we do not see such a response in the rest of Acts is simply because of the circumstances of Acts 2. Acts 15:21 gives us a clue to what happened. “For Moses has had throughout many generations those who preach him in every city, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath.” The very people who heard Moses read week after week, whose culture reiterated the teachings of the Law, these same people came to Jerusalem from all over the Roman Empire (Acts 2:5-11). They had a thorough knowledge of the Law of Moses and the circumstances of the death and resurrection of Jesus. The reason there were so many converted in Acts 2:41 was because of what was said to have happened in Acts 15:21. God arranged for it to happen. Could He not do the same thing again?
If we hope to have anything near the success of that day when the church first began, we must be willing to do the preparatory work. It does not matter how slick our presentation skills are or how fluently we teach God’s plan of salvation. We must find ways to introduce people to long term study of the Word just to get them to the point of understanding how to be saved and why they need to be saved.
If we want to come anywhere near the numbers of conversions found in Acts, we must start with a realization and acceptance of this fact. The days of “easy evangelism” have been over for a long time. We need quickly to catch up to that fact and do the preparatory work necessary to have conversions.
There is no quick and easy way to evangelize. People tend to look at Acts 2:41 and wish for similar things to happen. Every now and then a charismatic man presents his plan for such a thing. We can have a big event in the community and draw in large crowds. Then we can preach the Gospel to them and voilà! We have 3,000 souls added to the church. The problem with that plan is that it does not happen as planned! One does not merely preach a lesson and convert masses of people. There must be preparatory work.
There is no promise that it will ever happen again. But if we hope to have anywhere near the number of conversions found in Acts 2:41, we must find a way to mimic Acts 15:21 according to New Testament standards. We need to ask and answer a question: What will it take for us to have an Acts 2:41 event? And the next logical question is: Do we have the patience and vision to accomplish it?
I vote Yes. Any takers?
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