Hypocrisy in the Church

Introduction

How many wish the church today could be like the church in Acts?

With an understanding of our passage today, if God worked and moved in our church the way that we see Him working in Acts 5, . . . would you be alive?

Would any of us be alive?

At Granger MC we say we walk together to take the next step in a Jesus-first life.

It’s our way of saying we help each other become Fully Devoted followers of Jesus.

We hear from God’s Word to help us see where we need to make Jesus-first.

Jesus-first means Jesus is first in every area of our lives not because he forces us to, but because we want him to.

We walk together to make Jesus first in every area, not just some areas.

What we will see today is Jesus has your all or has you not at all.

poor grammar, good theology

Acts 5:1 - “But” - contrasting what came before

Acts 4:32–37 (ESV)

32 Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. 33 And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all.

Good times, great grace, God’s power

34 There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold 35 and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.

Spirit -led generosity

I think we oftentimes miss how diverse this group of believers were.

They were different races, different languages, different age groups, people from different socio-economic statuses - they weren’t uniform, they were unified.

They didn’t choose the Jerusalem church because they preferred it over the church of Bethlehem.

The unifying factor was Jesus and the common thread among them was the Holy Spirit.

I don’t know of a church that has split over a fight over who would give more.

Genuine generosity is not natural, it’s supernatural.

ILLUST - kids and cutting the cake fairly

JD Greear:

“The gospel had loosened their grip on their stuff and tightened their grip on each other.”

36 Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, 37 sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

Story of Barnabas - ‘Son of Encouragement’

We’ll see him several times in Acts:

Model of generosity (4:36)

Vouches for Paul after his conversion when all the other disciples are wary of him. (9:27)

Sent to Antioch to verify God’s work among the Gentiles - ends up being their pastor. (11:23-25) Also called, “a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith.” (Men, wouldn’t that be a great way for someone to describe you?)

(Maybe because of what happened in Acts 4) he along with Paul, are put in charge of taking money to Jerusalem to help the church there after it had been hit by a famine. (11:30)

He was set apart by the Holy Spirit along with Paul to be sent on a missionary journey to Cyprus

Gives John Mark a second chance after he had deserted Barnabas and Paul during the missionary journey.

He’s a mans who is sold out for Jesus and his mission and he put his money where his mouth was.

Acts 5:1–11 (ESV)

Ananias claimed to give all but only gave some.

1 But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, 2 and with his wife’s knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

Similar to Barnabas; however, only gives part of the proceeds from the sale of his property

It is generally understood that Ananias claimed it was not part but all of the proceeds.

There was no demand or command that they had to sell their property and give it all to the apostles. This is indicated by Peter stating that while it was their property they could do with it whatever they wanted

“Kept back” - Embezzled - rare Greek word - also used in LXX in Josh 7:1–26, the story of Achan

Peter calls out Ananias’ hypocritical heart

3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? 4 While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but to God.”

“Satan filled your heart”

Same word used for the filling of the Holy Spirit.

Ananias was a believer but could still allow Satan to fill his heart.

Ananias judged for his sin.

5 When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard of it. 6 The young men rose and wrapped him up and carried him out and buried him.

“Great fear” - well, DUH!

ILLUST - What if we published everyone’s giving records?. . . This is there v. 11 comes in: ‘And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things.’ We would never do that, but the shock makes a point.

The believers of the Early Church certainly did not see their faith or their giving to be something that was private - they had all things in common.

Sapphira tests the Lord and fails.

7 After an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8 And Peter said to her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for so much.” And she said, “Yes, for so much.” 9 But Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.”

Sapphira is judged the same.

10 Immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. When the young men came in they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband.

The church responds in fear.

11 And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things.

Fearing God is a right and good thing. Being scared of him is not.

If we give people a true picture of who God is, they will have a real understanding of themselves, and a beautiful picture of the gospel.

Sin is Serious

God desires, even demands, holiness

Leviticus 19:1–2 (ESV)

1 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.

1 Peter 1:14–16 (ESV)

14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, 15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

Until you are fully sanctified, you wrestle with sin.

“Be killing sin or it will be killing you. . .” Johnathan Owen

Definition of sin: sin. “The fundamental unbelief, distrust and rejection of God and human displacement of God as the center of reality.”

All sin comes from not putting supreme value on the glory of God—this is the very essence of sin.

John Piper

ILLUST: The castle of life. Me on the throne in different areas / regions is rebellion (or sin) when there is a rightful king for the throne.

There is no easy-believism

One person has said that the reason this part of the story makes us so uncomfortable is because if this was how God chose to work today, we’d all be dead.

ILLUST - What if we published everyone’s giving records?. . . This is there v. 11 comes in: ‘And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things.’ We would never do that, but the shock makes a point.

The believers of the Early Church certainly did not see their faith or their giving to be something that was private - they had all things in common.

We shouldn’t ask then, “Why did they die?” We really should be asking, “Why are we still alive?”

Why was it so severe?

While the punishment for the sin may not be as severe today, the gravity of the sin and its effects on our spiritual life are still just as severe.

God’s hatred of sin in your life does not end when you start following Christ. In much the same way that God’s love for you didn’t start when you started following Christ.

Sin is still serious.

Sin is no little thing. It girded the Redeemer’s head with thorns, and pierced his heart … Look upon all sin as that which crucified the Saviour, and you will see it to be ‘exceeding sinful’.

Charles Spurgeon

God doesn’t change. His love for you doesn’t change. His hatred of sin doesn’t change. His demand for holiness doesn’t change.

What changes is our guilt and our heart.

Ephesians 2:3–5 (ESV)

3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—

— When you trust in Christ and his gospel you are no longer under the guilt and penalty of God’s wrath for your sin.

Romans 8:1 (ESV)

1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

— When you trust in Christ and his gospel you have a soft heart to wants to follow God and is alive in order to resist sin.

We must always remember to view our salvation, our blessings through the lens of Jesus

Hypocrisy hurts . . . but the Holy Spirit is greater than hypocrisy.

This is where the story gets scary in my mind. Why? because they LOOKED righteous.

And it’s likely no one in the church would have been the wiser if Peter, through the power of the Holy Spirit, had not revealed their heart and true motives.

From the pew, they looked like the model Christians who were fully devoted.

What if their sin had not been revealed and Ananias had been chosen instead of Barnabas to go with Paul?

Headlines: Ananias steals money meant for Jerusalem church. Discovered scandal reaches back years.

With different names the stories are actually contemporary.

Hypocrisy is the loudest lie.

Puritan George Swinnock

If social media has shown us anything it has shown us that the natural inclination of the human heart is to paint itself better than it really is.

Sometimes I hear “the church is full of hypocrites” and I feel like saying and “I’ve seen your Facebook we have room for one more come join us.”

“About thirty years ago, my close friend and colleague, Archie Parrish, who at that time led the Evangelism Explosion (EE) program in Fort Lauderdale, came to me with a request. He indicated that on the thousands of evangelistic visits the EE teams made, they kept a record of responses people made to discussions of the gospel. They collated the most frequent questions and objections people raised about the Christian faith and grouped these inquiries or objections into the ten most frequently encountered. Dr. Parrish asked if I would write a book answering those objections for evangelists to use in their outreach. That effort resulted in my book Objections Answered, now called Reason to Believe. Among the top ten objections raised was the objection that the church is filled with hypocrites. At that point in time, Dr. D. James Kennedy responded to this objection by replying, “Well, there’s always room for one more.” He cautioned people that if they found a perfect church, they ought not to join it, since that would ruin it.”

— R. C. Sproul

I saw about a peck of counterfeit dollars once. Did I go to the window and throw away all my good dollars? No! Yet you reject Christianity because there are hypocrites, or counterfeit Christians.

William E. Biederwolf - evangelist

ILLUST - Mask - “The term hypocrite came from the world of Greek drama. It was used to describe the masks that the players used to dramatize certain roles. Even today, the theatre is symbolized by the twin masks of comedy and tragedy. In antiquity, certain players played more than one role, and they indicated their role by holding a mask in front of their face. That’s the origin of the concept of hypocrisy.”

hurts the church

the people of the church

Breeds disunity.

hurts witness

The problem with hypocrisy is it is like anti-evangelism.

it doesn’t display the good news of the gospel but the sin for which we need the gospel.

It attempts glory for self and draws away from Christ.

At best it leads people to religion instead of Christ.

Hypocrisy is demonic

“Why has Satan filled your heart?”

It is direct opposition to God

Hypocrisy hurts. . . but the Holy Spirit is greater than hypocrisy.

Holy Spirit protected the church

Ananias and Sapphira could not get away with lying to the HS.

The bad actions of Christians can never negate the good work of Christ.

If your view of Christianity is something you DO, then there is a chance for hypocrisy. However, if being a Christian is something you ARE, then there is less of a chance for hypocrisy because what you do flows from what you are.

Pharisees and hypocrisy

[verses]

Luke 11:37–54

Where are you not consistent? Where does the “church-you” and the “home-you” differ?

ILLUST - cracks in the ceiling in PRd

Partly devoted is not devoted.

ILLUST - I’m partly devoted to my wife

Interesting that this story revolves around money - Money is a compass that indicates the orientation of our heart.

I Surrender All

Jim Elliot - in 1956 - one of five missionaries killed while trying to evangelize a tribal group in Ecuador.

“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”

“One does not surrender a life in an instant - that which is lifelong can only be surrendered in a lifetime.”

— Jim Elliot

Is there an area of your life that you have not surrendered all to Jesus? Is there something that you are holding back? You may look religious you may act religious, but if you’re honest it’s just a mask of hypocrisy? You’re essentially a Facebook Christian. The picture you put out for all to see does not match when compared to what is actually given.

Maybe you need to check your heart by checking your budget. Are you stewarding the resources that God has given you well? Do you see yourself as a steward given by grace resources to use for God‘s kingdom? Or do you see yourself as an owner who’s earned the right to spend what you have for yourself?

Take your next step in a Jesus-first life. (not a Jesus-some or Jesus-most life)

Jesus has your all or he has none at all.