Are you a Barnabas or an Ananias?

Introduction

One of the reputations that the Church has as a whole is that it is a bunch of hypocrites and this charge is not entirely false. Hypocrisy is the sin in which a person professes beliefs and opinions that he or she does not actually hold in order to conceal his or her motives. It is being an actor or a pretender. Sometimes this accusation is unjustly levied against someone because the reality between what they wish to be and what they currently are does not match. All of us are striving to be something we are not yet; that is called growth. But hypocrisy is a real problem in the church.

We practice the forms of devotion but have no heart for God.

The ministry becomes more important than people.

Double standards are applied to those who are in the in crowd.

Worship becomes about the performance rather than the God we worship.

Attending services and worshipping God, but living in sin Monday through Saturday.

In our text today, Luke has arranged the narrative in such a way that he is trying to tell us that hypocrisy is a threat to true biblical community or fellowship within the church. Chapter 4 ends with a description of the early spirit-filled church. WE have already looked at these verses previously in our messages on the Anatomy of a Fellowship. But here we see the church filled with the spirit Vs 31, the church unified vs 32, the church powerful vs 33 and the church generously taking care of each other vs 34-35. The church is in a spirit of revival and the fellowship of the believers is not diminished by persecution. As evidence of this spiritual renewal in the church, this tightening of the bonds of fellowship, Luke in two verses shows us one illustration of what the Lord was doing in people’s lives. Barnabas sells some land, takes the money and donates it to the church to distribute as needed. God is doing great things in this church but Satan is not remaining silent.

Notice chapter number 5, the very first word is But. This but is not an accident, Luke is intentionally telling us that chapter 5 is intended to be contrasted with the end of chapter 4. And the main thrust of this contrast shows us that living hypocritically is a threat to true biblical community in the church.

Thesis: Living hypocritically is a threat to true biblical community in the church.

What follows is a story of tragedy and defeat as Satan tries to tear down the church. The story of Ananias and Sapphira is well known to many of us (read 5:1-10). In this story we see a couple who were guilty of secrecy, collusion, pride, greed and lying to the Holy Spirit. From this story we see that sin destroys lives and sin will be dealt with. For the remainder of the sermon, I would like to do exactly what Luke was trying to do: contrast Barnabas and Ananias. In these two men, we have an example of authentic faith and hypocritical showy faith.

Filled with the Spirit/ Filled with Satan

The first thing to notice is that Barnabas was filled with the Spirit. notice in vs 31 it says that the church was shaken where they were gathered together, they were filled with the spirit and the evidence of that filling is that they spoke with boldness. The implication here is that Barnabas was included in this group. The first word of most of these verses is the word and which ties the events together. Barnabas was a man who was influenced and guided by the Holy Spirit in his life. Later on in the book, we see him being the one to introduce Paul to the church, minster in the church of Antioch, travel with Paul on his missionary journeys, bring relief to the poor and seek to give John Mark a second chance in ministry. Barnabas was used by God to do great things, but it all comes back to this point: Barnabas was filled with the Spirit.

Ananias on the other hand is said to be filled with Satan. Acts 5:3 “But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?” Ananias’ motives are prompted and influenced by the devil. From this we see that Satan was directly behind this attack on the community of the church. Satan wants to destroy true biblical community in the church and one of the ways he can do it is by convincing us to fake it.

For clarity let me make this statement: saying that Ananias’ heart was filled with Satan is not saying that he was possessed by the Devil. We believe that a person who is indwelt by the Holy Spirit cannot be possessed by the Devil, but that does not mean that a Christian cannot be influenced even controlled or directed by the Devil. Our actions can give Satan influence in our lives. Remember from our message on Acts 2, we talked about how the filling of the Spirit is the influence. In the filling of the Holy Spirit, He does not come in and possess you so that you have no control over your actions. In the same way, Satan filling Ananias’ heart is not a possession, but an influence. This is proven by the fact that Ananias is still help accountable and participated in his own sin. Acts 5:4 “Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.” The devil did not make Ananias sin, he influenced Ananias and Ananias because of his own lusts and desires gave in to the temptation.

In vs 3, we see that Satan filling the heart of Ananias led him to lie to the Holy Spirit. How often do we try to convince God of a lie? We are really trying to convince ourselves, but we want God to approve of our actions when we know they are wrong. Their hypocrisy was not just a lie to men, but it was a lie to God. Acts 5:4 “Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.” God knows all things and yet they acted like they could hide what they were doing from Him. It is in human nature, to hide when we are sinning. Think back to Genesis 3:8 “And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.” By our lies, we are trying to cover up or hide what we have done from God. One lesson I have been trying to teach my children is that normally if you have to hide something, you are probably doing something wrong.

Not only did they lie to the Holy Spirit, but they also tempted or tested the Holy Spirit. Acts 5:9 “Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out.” Their lies were a test to see if the Holy Spirit was really going to deal with their sin or not. It may have even been a test of the reality of the Spirit’s presence. It is possible that Ananias and Sapphira were not present during the revival. It is possible that they had not experienced the truth of his working. This is all just a possibility and not stated in the text, but one thing we do know: they saw what Barnabas had done in the Spirit and they tried to replicate it by fleshly means.

Faith/ Lacked in Faith

Vs 32 declares that those who believed were united and shared all things. From this we gather that Barnabas was one of those who had faith. Now to start out with I believe that both Barnabas and Ananias were Christians. They both believed, but Barnabas’s faith produced results while something was lacking in Ananias’ faith in that it did not produce the same results. James 2:14-17 “What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.” James is not saying that you are saved by works and faith. James is saying that a true faith that saves your soul manifests itself in actions. The proof is in the pudding. You will know them by their fruits. Barnabas had faith that God would provide for him and was willing to sell his land to provide for the needs of others.

Ananias on the other hand was couldn’t trust God. He wanted to appear to help others, thus getting respect, but did not want to completely sacrifice for their sake. He put on a show and pretended like he was doing this great act of faith, but it was just that: a show. Do you truly trust God with your money, your security, your future or is it all just a show to make people think you do?

Gave Everything/ Gave only a Portion

Ultimately, when we can’t trust God with our security, money, and future; we become greedy.

“Two of the effects of believing in Jesus are that the heart is loosened in relationship to things and tightened in its relationship to people”- John Piper

These two things have an inverse relationship. If you love people, you will let go of things in your heart, but if you love things, you will not love people. One lesson I am trying to teach my kids is that people are more important than things. Luke 12:32-33 “Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth.” Barnabas was willing to give it all to the Lord because he saw a need and trusted that God would take care of him.

Now it must be made clear, Ananias’ sin was not that he didn’t give everything. Acts 5:4 “Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.” Ananias did not have to give it all. In fact, he could have said “here is some of the money that we got from the sale of the land.” But that is not what he did. Ananias kept back part of the money but pretended like it was all of it. While it was not a sin to not give all of it, one must ask why he was not willing to do so? Was it fear? Was it greed? The text actually tells us in the next point.

Was about Others/ Was about Himself

The next contrast between these two men deals with their motives. Acts 4:36 “And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus,” says that Barnabas whose real name was Joses had a nickname. Notice this nickname wasn’t one his parents gave him, it wasn’t one he chose for himself, it wasn’t even one his friends had given him. This nickname came directly from the Apostles because Joses had a reputation that he was all about other people. He was an encourager. Barnabas most likely had the spiritual gift of mercy because he had a heart that saw others in need and wanted to help those who had needs. This money was not given to build bigger cathedrals, or buy a bus for the church; it was given to help those who lacked. He wanted to be a help to other people.

Ananias on the other hand was selfish. Now I am not just slandering Ananias. We don’t see the words selfish in the text and so it would be charitable to assume maybe he was just afraid of the future and that is why he kept back some of the money. But the text actually does tell us what his motives were. Multiple times two words are used over and over again: kept back. This word in Greek is what we call a middle voice. Now in English we have active and passive. Active means I am doing the action: John threw the ball. Passive means the subject is receiving the action: The ball was thrown by John. Middle voice does not exist in English, but it could be translated here by adding the words for himself. Ananias kept back for himself a portion of the money. Ananias was not primarily afraid of the future; Ananias was greedy. He wanted the money for himself.

Authentic community in the church is damaged when everything we do is about ourselves. We preach sermons to expand our influence and prestige. We serve as deacons because it makes us feel like we have influence in the church. We volunteer so others can see what I am doing and praise me for it. We even do good things for others so we don’t have to feel bad about ourselves, but the motivation is just as sinister. We aren’t doing it out of love for others and we certainly aren’t doing it out of love for God. Ananias wanted prestige without the sacrifice. Ananias wanted to look good without truly giving of himself for others. Its like showing up to a charitable event and never giving anything to help. Maybe you just want the free food.

If everyone is only focused on what gains them prestige or benefit, they will only serve when they know they will get the prestige. What if someone’s car breaks down but no one knows that you stopped to help? What if something is broken in the church and you just fix it on your own time and dime without telling anyone? What about the people who treat you like trash? They don’t reward the sacrifices you make so why bother? Is it about you or is it about them? Pastor Karsies has always defined agape love as a sacrificial love that gives of itself to meet the needs of the cherished object expecting nothing in return. Why do you do what you do? Is it for recognition? Is it so you can value yourself? Is it for money?

Was Real/ was Fake

The final point is really a summary of all of the points. Barnabas did what he did because he was who he was. Barnabas truly walked with the Spirit. Barnabas truly loved other people. Barnabas truly wanted to help other people. Ananias on the other hand just saw what giving to others could do for him. People were a means to an end in his life. God condemns such fakery, hypocrisy.

Isa 29:13 “Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, And with their lips do honour me, But have removed their heart far from me, And their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:”

Jesus called them:

Wolves in sheep’s clothing Matt 7:15 “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.”

Whited sepulchres Matt 23:27 “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.”

Snakes and vipers Matt 23:33 “Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?”

Hypocrisy really is the enemy of the church. It is one of the greatest threats to living together in community. How can I trust you if I know you are lying to me? It doesn’t draw people together if they believe you are just in it for you. If you use and abuse people, they will feel no compulsion to be near you. God condemns it and we must as well.

Conclusion:

In a world of cancel culture, we may be tempted to cancel the hypocrite. God does not take this sin lightly. In fact Ananias and Sapphira were struck dead because of this sin. Acts 5:5 “And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things.” and Acts 5:10 “Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband.” God dealt so severely with this sin because the purity of the church was important to him. The phrase yielded up the ghost is only found in one other passage: Acts 12:23 “And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost.” and carries the idea of being struck down by God. This was not just a heart attack at being found out. Consider how impossible it would be for both husband and wife to have a heart attack on the same day because of this. God struck them down because of their sin. The quick burial without family, though out of the ordinary, supports this idea that Ananias was struck down by God as well since burials like this were conducted in the cases of Nadab, Abihu, and Achan (Lev 10:1-7, Josh 7:25)

The result was Acts 5:11 “And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things.” the church feared God. This is certain God will deal with sin even in the lives of His people.

But here is the counterbalance:

God wants to heal hypocrites Matt 23:37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!” Jerusalem the ones who professed to be the people of God yet killed the prophets: the hypocrites, God wanted to draw them to himself. But they would not. You have two choices today: Are you going to be a Barnabas and pursue true, biblical community or will you be like Ananias and fake it.