letters to surfers

Q. Shouldn't real Christians give away all their possessions (Acts 2:44-45)?

by Robert Brow (www.brow.on.ca)



When the Holy Spirit was poured out on the Day of Pentecost there was an immediate longing to share with one another. It has been suggested this was a kind of Christian communism. But this sharing was voluntary (Stalin forced people to live in communes). It was not a church requirement as Peter made clear in the case of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:4). The selling of possessions (5:34-37) did not mean that people did not own or rent houses to live in (Acts 12:12, 28:30, Romans 16:5), or tools for their trade (Acts 18:3), or the clothes and books needed for their work (2 Timothy 4:13). In the old days every village had common land, and every Christian can make some things common for all to enjoy. We offer our house for a meeting, they lend their cottage for a conference, you lend me your truck for a move, she gives her time to provide a church supper, and all of us give money for the work of our church and those in need.

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