The Goal of Our Faith

(The Faith of the Early Christians)

Key Verse: 1 Peter 1:8-9

“Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”

The Apostle Peter says that the goal of our faith is the salvation of our souls. The question then becomes, "Do I have the faith that the Apostle Peter is talking about?" One way to find out the answer to this question is to think about and learn from the early Christians. 

Before we talk about the faith of the early Christians, let me tell you a story. Once upon a time there lived a farmer who loved rooster fights. He had the ambition to own a rooster that would beat all of the roosters in the entire country. So he searched and searched for a strong rooster. One day he met a man who owned a rooster that fights really well. So he said to the owner, "I want to buy the rooster. Give me the price!" The owner looked at him and moved his head left to right. The farmer thought that this man wanted a really good sum of money, so he offered, "I will give you $100." The man still waved his head left to right. The farmer thought he wanted more. So he calculated for a while and said, "What about $200?" Still the man rejected. The farmer said, "Come on. Be easy. How much do you want?" But the man would not budge. But since he really wanted to own the rooster he said, "Well, I will give you $500." Still the man did not move. The farmer got upset. But he still controlled his emotions: he counted in his mind the money in his bag. Then he offered, "This is the final offer. I will give you $1,000, and that is it." The man still waved his head left to right. The farmer then grew suspicious of the owner's motive, so he said, "What is the problem? Why do you reject such a good offer? It is just a rooster." But the owner of the rooster opened his mouth and said, "I cannot catch it." 

Likewise when we think about the faith of the early Christians, their faith is so good that we cannot catch up with the level of their faith. What then are the characteristics of their faith? In what respect can we say that their faith is excellent? 

First, they had the faith that relied on the Holy Spirit. 

Their life of faith began with the coming of the Holy Spirit. They already knew Jesus. They saw Jesus performing great miracles. But their knowledge of Jesus and reliance of Jesus' ability to perform miracles were not enough. Had it not been the case Jesus would not have said to them, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you" (Acts 1:8).

So after receiving the Holy Spirit they became powerful witnesses. For this reason the Apostle Paul asked new believers, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" (Acts 19:2). The fact that you did receive the Holy Spirit is the sign that you have been saved. It is the evidence that you have become a child of God. When you sincerely repent and believe in Jesus Christ you receive the Holy Spirit. When you receive the Holy Spirit you live as a witness of Jesus Christ. When you receive the Holy Spirit you listen to Jesus and obey him. So when you are filled with the Holy Spirit and rely on the power of the Holy Spirit then your faith is compatible with the faith of the early Christians.

In order to change the world we need to rely on the Holy Spirit, for the power of the Holy Spirit alone can destroy the work of the devil. When the Holy Spirit comes, true repentance arises. It is when the Holy Spirit comes that extraordinary miracles take place. When the Holy Spirit comes people change and they bear fruit.  

Second, they devoted themselves to prayer.

It is interesting to note that they received the Holy Spirit through prayer, for Acts 1:14 reads, "They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women..." When the church joined constantly together in prayer God poured out the Holy Spirit upon them. 

When we pray we turn our attention to God. Then God speaks and we hear his voice. When persecutions broke out, the early church prayed, relying on God's power. From 109-111 A.D. the Roman Emperor Trajan sent Pliny, the Governor of Bithnian Province. While he was ruling the area he was under the order to catch Christians and execute them. In one of his letters to Trajan, Pliny wrote: "I tracked down and interrogated Christians. My lord, this is what I learned: before sunrise they gather together in one place and pray. They do the same thing after sunset. They pray all the time for they are praying people. They do not part each other without praying. What do they pray for? They pray that they love one another, live an honest life, not to tell a lie, not to commit sins, and they pray for the salvation of souls. They do not commit crimes punishable under the Roman law. Then how can I punish them?" Then Trajan responded saying, "If they recanted and worshiped our gods they should be freed. Those who persisted, however, they should be punished." 

Pliny's letter shows that the early Christians began the day with prayer and finished the day with prayer. So if one devotes himself to prayer he can keep up with the faith of the early Christians. 

Third, they formed a unity of love and lived together in common life. 

On the day of Pentecost about 3,000 people became Christians. After the feast was over they did not go back home; they remained in Jerusalem. The number quickly grew to 5,000. Of the five thousand, most of them were from outside of Jerusalem. Only a small percentage of them lived in Jerusalem. As they journeyed to Jerusalem they brought some money. But soon their travel money ran out. This meant that the early church had a financial problem. Imagine 2 to 4 thousand people living together using one kitchen. Who will come up with all the financial resources to feed them? 

In order to solve the problem some of the 120 core members began to donate. Barnabas was one of them. He sold all of his assets and donated the money to the church. He did it because he had Christ's love. When Barnabas practiced the love of Christ, many followed his example. 

Due to persecutions the early Christians were scattered to different places, like Cappadocia (1Pe 1:1). The underground city where the Christians lived there still remains in Cappadocia today. The underground church consisted of seven stories throughout dark caves developed underground. This city is so big that it can hold thousands of people. Yet the discovery indicates that they had one soup kitchen. They lived there together. The common nucleus of their community life was the love of Christ. The world was cold. The room temperature of the underground churches was colder. But the love of Christ put them together in such an extreme environment. 

This tradition continued during the early monastery movement. When monasteries were established in these areas, the early monks sold their possessions and devoted the proceeds to serving others. They did this because Jesus laid down his life for the sheep (John 10:11).

They say it is the Christian religion that changed the Roman Empire. But it was Christ's love that changed Rome. If we are to live like the early Christians we must be mature in love. 

This is also the most important key to evangelizing the Islamic world. In the Koran you cannot find the word "love," not even once. Just as love changed the Roman Empire, so also love will change the Muslim world. Once a Muslim brother named Mattin asked a missionary who tried to evangelize him, "Suppose someone borrowed $1000 from you. Instead of paying it back, he turns around and curses you. What would you do?" The missionary thought for a while and said, "Well, I can either forgive him or press charges against him." Mattin said, "You are not a Christian. Let us not study the Bible.” Mattin showed the missionary Luke 6:29, "If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic." [Here striking one's cheek represents insult causing mental pain, whereas cloak refers to the material loss.] Mattin continued. "Many Christians are in the Muslim world trying to spread the gospel. But true Christians have not yet come to our society. Crusaders came but they beheaded us. England and France came and colonized our territory. There is no evidence that Christians living in the Islam world ever loved Islam. Many say that the door to Arab nations remains closed. But it is not the political door that is closed. True Christians have not yet come, Christians who can show Christ's love. The Muslim world is waiting for true Christians." Then Mattin added, "Here is my advice: you had better imitate Christ first, and then you can preach the gospel." The missionary was shocked and that night he could not sleep.

Copying the early Christians means to be a person who imitates Jesus Christ. Again, to become a Christian means to be perfect in love. This is what the early apostles, such as the Apostle John, struggled to attain to. The Apostle John saw many Christians suffering martyrdom. So he could not love Romans for they mistreated innocent people. So he said to himself, "I hate Romans. But my Lord said, ‘Love your enemy.’ Why is it that I cannot love them? Yet how could they [those who joyfully suffered martyrdom] become so perfect in love?" In desperation he prayed, "Lord, I cannot love my enemies." Then while he was in Patmos, he heard the Lord's voice: "Deny yourself, take up your cross, and then follow me." Finally, he realized that unless he denied himself and took up his cross, he could not be perfect in love. 

Fourth, they memorized the Bible.

The Bible which the early Christians knew was not a small one; in those days the Scriptures were written on materials like leather and papyrus. If we turn the Bibles we have now into leather Bibles, one Bible would easily add up to a truck load. The first batch of the early Christians was mostly Jews. Since the era of Ezra they established the tradition of memorizing Scriptures. Following this tradition, when a letter (which we now call epistles) arrived from any apostle, they copied everything and memorized everything. In the underground church, they did not have much to do. So they read and read, and they memorized everything. Then they passed it onto the next city. Some Christians knew only one epistle, such as Ephesians or Colossians. They did not have the chance to read other books like the book of Romans. Yet they became good Christians. They kept their faith intact. Since they memorized the Bible, God's word was alive in their hearts. And God’s word in turn made their faith perfect. 

Fifth, they had resurrection faith.

The early Christians believed that Jesus Christ died and rose again. They also believed that because Jesus lives, their bodies and souls would be resurrected. This was particularly true with the Greeks, for according to Hellenism the Greeks had a deep seated desire to be like God, for the only difference between gods and mortal men is death. But the Greek gods bear the images of fallen men. But Jesus was different. Jesus did not sin. He lived a perfect life. Then Jesus rose again. To the early Christians, to be a Christian meant to become one (or the same as) with Christ. So they firmly believed in the eternal life in the eternal kingdom of God. In this hope they yearned for a resurrected life. In this hope they could endure hardships. 

Sixth, they overcame differences in Christ.

Even now we can see that there are differences between Jews and Gentiles. It was more or less the same in the early days. The Jews had a set of traditions and customs which the Gentiles found impossible to go by, and the Gentile believers had their own set of cultural practices which the Jewish Christians found hard to accept. But in Christ they overcame their differences. In love they came around the table in the same kitchen.  

Seventh, their goal was to imitate Jesus Christ. 

[This is the most important.] [This should be our UBF direction.] The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch (Acts 11:26). It was in Antioch that the Apostle Paul taught the disciples the purpose of God’s calling, that is, Romans 8:29, "For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers." God called us so that we would bear the likeness of the Son. For this purpose God calls us, justifies us, sanctifies us, and glorifies us. He does this to lead us to imitate Jesus Christ. 

According to the Bible, faith produces righteousness. Righteousness refers to the essence of God's character, like his mercy, his patience, his gentle kindness, and his love—and God's righteousness is reflected in Jesus’ life.  

Upon sinning, sin enters a man’s life. Sin then destroys man's spiritual constitution. It causes damages to the soul. Then the man starts resembling the devil's character. But by the blood of Jesus we are forgiven of our sins. The Holy Spirit restores God's image within us. In this way we start resembling Christ. 

Even when a believer suffers from hardships and difficulties, as he keeps faith in the Lord Christ's image is being formed within him. Referring to this work the Apostle Peter says, "Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin" (1Pe 4:1). Early Christians suffered a lot. Yet they were joyful for hardships helped them become mature in character. And they could endure hardships because their primary purpose was to be like Jesus Christ. This is one of the distinct characteristics of the early Christians.

One word: The goal of our faith 

      Trajan in Pliny, 10.27