The New Covenant Church has been created. Three thousand souls have been converted and would be sent back to their homelands to tell their fellow Israelites–known to the world as the “Lost Ten Tribes of Israel”–that their Messiah has come. Together they would carry the Lord’s “light to the Gentiles”–His Word.

Chapter two verses forty-four and forty-five: “And ALL THAT BELIEVED were together and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods and parted them to ALL (that believed) as every man (believer) had need.” Of late we have seen various Bible “scholars” use those two verses to “prove” that Jesus was a socialist, and that He commands the church to be of a socialist mind-set. For this reason many have advocated welcoming all illegals and providing for them, going so far as to hide them from the authorities. Though the Catholics have been at the forefront in this movement based primarily on verses 44 and 45, Satan has deceived many Protestants into joining them. But unlike the liberals in both church and politics, let us “study to show your(our)self approved of God.” Let us “prove all things” relative to spiritual matters so as to determine the mind of the Lord. Such study and such proof must revolve around God’s Truth, which Jesus identified as His Word (Jn. 17:17). With that in mind, let us, with open mind, examine that Truth.

Note that the focal statement concerned ALL THAT BELIEVED, not all that had need. As has been the case forever relative to God’s people, the new-found church immediately became a segregated entity. In this case they shared SOME of their possessions with THEIR FELLOW BELIEVERS, not with others in the community. Note that they sold their possessions to help those IN THE CHURCH who HAD NEED. Obviously, church people were not the only people in Jerusalem who had need at that time. Note also that those church people did not sell ALL of their possessions, for they went from house to house eating, praying, etc. If they had sold their houses they could not have afterwards met in them. And most importantly, their selling, sharing, etc. was VOLUNTARY and was a ONE TIME ACT. We do not read of this taking place again.

Further proof that the selling of possessions and sharing of the proceeds was voluntary is found in chapter 5 where a couple claimed to have sold a possession for a certain price, but lied about the selling price, keeping part of it for themselves. Peter, through the Holy Spirit, knew they were lying and said to them: “While it (the possession) remained in your hand, was it not yours (to do with as you wanted)? And after you sold it, was the money not yours (to do with as you wanted) (vss 1-4)? He was telling them that selling the possession was their choice, and after selling it the proceeds were theirs to do with as they wished. The church did not require them to sell anything or give anything to anyone. Nor, incidentally, did the government. In short, Socialism was not commanded and is not commanded by the Lord. His statement that “The POOR you will ALWAYS have with you, help them WHEN YOU CAN” does not fit the narrative of those in the Institutional Church (and in the federal government) who push for the redistribution of wealth. “Come, let us reason together” using the Word of God as our standard. L.J.