In 1903 Elder Sylvester Hassell was asked what became of the first benevolent arrangement of the disciples by which they had all things in common (Acts 2:44-45 & 4:32).  He gave the following answer:

"The Spirit of God, the Spirit of life and grace and faith and holiness and love was so abundantly poured out upon the church on, and just after, the Day of Pentecost that they all felt to be of one family indeed, and they loved God supremely, and they loved each other as they loved themselves, and they did unto other Christians as they would have them do to them, and even sold their property, so far as was necessary, to supply the necessities of their poor and needy brethren and sisters, just as Christ and His apostles were supported by a common fund, and as He had said, "Sell what ye have, and give alms" (Luke 12:33), and as He also said, "A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.  By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another" (John 13:34-35), and as James says, "Faith, if it hath not works, is dead" (James 2:15-17), and as John says, "Whoso hath this world's goods, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?  My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth" (John 3:17-18).

The apostolic church, after the descent of the Holy Ghost upon its members in such great fullness and power, was indeed a heaven on earth.  It was a spiritual unit in faith and practice---a repast of heavenly glory.  But such lovely spirituality was not long to last.  We read in the sixth chapter of Acts that worldly feelings and dissensions came in, and they have been too prevalent ever since that time. 

In the increasing love of money---a root of all kinds of evil---the church has become entirely too much like the world; and this corrupt and corrupting principle seems to be the main-spring of nearly all the activity of nearly all the great denominations of the world, and the leading cause of the wide-spread paralysis affecting the Primitive Baptist churches.