Disunity is Displaced by the Gospel of Grace
Acts (EMPOWERED TO WITNESS) • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, 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. 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? 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.” When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard of it.
INTRODUCTION
I recently rewatched one of my favorite old Twilight Zone episodes entitled, “The Monsters are Due on Maple Street.”
And in it, a strange sight is witnessed by the people who live there. It was a bright light that they just assumed was a meteor, until the electricity went out and their vehicles quit working.
With this, a young boy shared that it was not a meteor that came, but an alien spaceship. And in the stories that he read, he said that they never sent a spaceship without sending aliens first. But these aliens walked and talked like humans, in fact, there was no way to tell them apart.
For the rest of the episode this street begins slowly unraveling. Accusations begin to fly, paranoia ensues and people get hurt. They went from neighbors living in unity to individuals seeking their own good and willing to harm their neighbors in order to save themselves. And this disunity was all the result of a simple lie that was allowed to fester and grow.
The episode ends with two aliens watching the whole scene from a hill. And one says to the other:
Understand the procedure now? Just stop a few of their machines and radios and telephones and lawn mowers...throw them into darkness for a few hours and then you just sit back and watch the pattern. They pick the most dangerous enemy they can find...and it's themselves. And all we need do is sit back...and watch.
Their world is full of Maple Streets. And we'll go from one to the other and let them destroy themselves.
So, why do I share all of this?
It is because this is the same sinister way that the enemy works when we are operating in our own power and not the power of the gospel.
CHUNK #1
We have seen several times now in the book of Acts what happens when people believe the gospel and repent or turn away from everything that keeps them from believing the gospel…what the Bible calls sin. Not a word we love to use very much in 2025.
We’ve become a culture much more aligned with psychology, we like to use words like trauma, triggers, and baggage, but the Bible calls it sin.
Psychology might help us to understand it more, which is great, we want to be aware of sin’s power when it comes to navigating our lives, but we should not overly psychologize what the Word of God, calls out plainly. And the gospel is the good news that makes us aware of that sin, and the one who came to do something about it. Jesus.
The gospel changes everything.
If we are preaching a gospel that is only good news after we die, we are preaching a gospel that is too small.
The gospel is good news right now. It changes the way we live, the way we spend our money, the way that we sacrifice with one another and for one another.
But it begins in our heart first. It always must begin with us, before it can move into our household and into our community. We cannot attempt to preach the gospel to others, if we have not first preached it to ourselves.
And Peter and John have been cut to the heart by the truth of the gospel, preaching it to every audience the Lord grants them.
And the result?
The confidence of the church is growing and the unity of the church is growing.
Look at
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. And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all.
I love that. Great power and great grace.
They are not operating out of their own power, but the power of the Holy Spirit through the truth of the gospel.
Which is allowing them to operate in great grace.
Apart from the Holy Spirit and the gospel, we try to grow in power, through our own strength, which causes us to grow in judgment of others.
But when we grow in the power of the Holy Spirit, through the truth of the gospel we grow in great grace.
The law was given, in order to convert a great into a little man—to show that you have no power of your own for righteousness; and might thus, poor, needy, and destitute, flee to grace.
Saint Augustine of Hippo
The entire point of Scripture is to demonstrate our inability, so that we may always be aware of God’s ability, and as a result continually flee to Him and His grace.
We do not deserve it. We cannot earn it. But we can only receive it, as we Trust His Word over all of our worries.
And as we grow in great grace, we will radically live the gospel out.
Look at
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 and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.
The confidence of the church is growing and the unity of the church is growing.
And how is this confidence and unity established?
The gospel!
CHUNK #2
Acts 4:32 really helps us understand the power of this unity.
It says the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul. The full number at this point has got to be anywhere from 8,000 to 10,000 people.
We saw 3,000 souls saved after Peter preached the first time and 5,000 men saved the last time he preached. Surely a great deal of these men were married. So the number has got to be around 8,000 to 10,000 people.
Do you know how hard it must have been to get these people unified?
Have you ever tried to consistently schedule something with 5-10 people? It is almost impossible to get consistent attendance.
So, if we struggle with such a small amount of people, how is it possible for 10,000 people to be unified.
Scripture demonstrates just how simple it can be. They believed the gospel. Faith in Jesus united them.
You guys know, if we start seeing Jesus show up, we’ll clear our schedules.
Which is important to admit.
We cannot just create unity, God does. We maintain it, but we don’t create it.
Unity means pursuing a single purpose. It does not mean uniformity. Remember that this crowd is made up of people from every tribe and tongue and nation. Yet they have all things in common.
Diversity is a beautiful picture of the unity we experience through belief in the gospel.
That in Christ, we are perfect and are living out that identity right here and right now through the way that we care for one another.
We are not working hard for one another to become perfect.
We are perfect in Christ, so we work hard for one another.
As soon as we quit believing that gospel truth is when the unity of the church is in trouble.
CHUNK #3
Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
This is the first time we get to see our brother Barnabas, who will be a big part of the rest of this book. He sold his land and gave all of his money away.
What incredible generosity!
But this act was just the opportunity that Satan needed to disrupt unity.
Brothers and sisters, I cannot say this enough, Satan will always attempt to use good things against us.
When he tempted Jesus it was with food, safety and influence.
Satan tried to sow seeds of distrust by attempting to elevate those good things over God’s Word.
Disunity is always a symptom of misplaced trust, or misplaced belief.
If we trust our doubts, our fears, our worries and our comforts over the Word of God, Satan will use it.
Satan will use:
Our jobs.
Our relationships.
Our families.
Our generosity.
Anything he can to steal, kill and destroy.
And that is just what he does with the generosity of Barnabas.
He takes a good thing, that promotes the glory of God, and the good of the church, and then he distorts it, just a little bit, so that it might create distrust and disunity.
CHUNK #4
But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, 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. 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? 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.”
Charles Spurgeon has a similar story about a farmer and a nobleman.
A farmer grew a carrot at his farm. It was the best carrot he had ever grown. And because he loved his king, He said, “I am going to give him this carrot to show him my love.”
And when the king received it, he discerned the intention of the farmer and saw that it was truly out of love that he gave this carrot.
As a result, the king gave the farmer many acres of fertile land to farm on and own.
When a nobleman in the king’s courts saw this, he said, “If the king gave so much for such a small gift, think of what he will give for a great gift.”
So the next day the nobleman brought him a horse, and said, “This is the greatest horse my stables have produced. I give it to you my king.”
The king accepted the gift and sent the man away. When the king saw the confusion on his face, he said,
“The farmer’s gift was a gift of love, but your gift is one desiring profit. He gave me the carrot, but you are giving yourself the horse.”
We are people called to give out of a love for God, and a love for people. But if we think we are getting salvation for these deeds, it is really ourselves we are giving to. Not God and not our neighbor.
CHUNK #5
This demonstrates the difference between integrity and hypocrisy.
Integrity is described in Scripture as uprightness, faithfulness, blamelessness and righteousness.
Barnabas is a man of integrity. His generosity is the result of a Spirit filled heart.
Hypocrisy on the other hand is mentioned in Scripture as people who are wicked, double minded, and godless.
Ananias and Sapphirra are hypocrites. Their generosity is the result of a sin filled heart.
And Peter calls it out for what it is
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?
Satan, has filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit.
This is the one unforgivable sin.
“Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”—
We must be very careful what spirits we are calling Holy and unholy. Because unholy spirits will certainly try to disguise themselves as the Holy Spirit.
Test them through the gospel.
Am I doing these things out of love of God and neighbor or out of love of myself?
CHUNK #5
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.” When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard of it. The young men rose and wrapped him up and carried him out and buried him.
Peter said you had every opportunity to not sell the land, or to sell it and distribute the money as you wanted, but instead you lied to God.
Peter is being a good leader and a good brother, by calling out this sin. He is seeking to hold them accountable.
But God killed Ananias immediately.
You might look at this, as I often do, and think, sheesh that’s a bit harsh, but everything in Scripture is for our instruction and guidance.
So, when God acts in ways that we don’t quite understand we must ask why?
In Scripture, the entire counsel of God, the only attribute mentioned of God several times in a row is holy. The angels say He is holy, holy, holy.
That means He is set apart from us.
And Scripture says the primary thing that separates us from Him is sin.
The fact that we dislike the fate of Ananias and Sapphira shows how little we understand God’s holiness and our sinfulness.
This is not just a small little lie. It is act of Satan meant to assault the character of God in His own church.
He is spreading his kingdom on earth through the church, a kingdom that is called to be holy because He is holy, and he will not allow hyprocrisy, and unholiness to create disunity.
He makes an example of this hypocrisy, of this godlessness to teach us that
Godlessness always seeks to dethrone the gospel, and Satan ain’t allowed to run amok in the church.
God is holy and hates sin. It is only by His grace that we are spared. It is not something we like to talk about often, but Jesus died to appease the wrath and justice of God on our behalf. It is only by His grace that we are saved, and allowed to be called holy.
CHUNK #6
And because of this Ananias and Sapphira are gifts of grace for us as His church.
He wants us to be aware of our sinful nature and he wants us to be aware of how Satan will use it to create distrust and disunity to steal, kill and destroy.
Because of this He wants us to call out sin for what it is.
To maintain the holiness and the unity of His church.
We must do this through rooting ourselves in delight and discipline.
In Scripture, God says that He disciplines those He loves.
But discipline is not punishment. It is the practice of training for godliness.
His Word goes on to say why he disciplines us. It is for our good, so that we may share in His holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
Through discipline we are being trained to share in His holiness.
We cannot be disciples without His discipline.
And I know that discipline can sound like a harsh word,
But man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. So, discipline, or the practice of training for godliness, must always come from the root of delight.
CHUNK #7
I delight in God, so I want to discipline myself to look more like Him.
Because I delight in my family I can discipline myself to work out and eat better, with the hope that I can spend more quality time with them.
Because I love traveling, I can discipline myself to get up at 2 in the morning to go on a trip.
But you probably ain’t getting me up that early to hunt or go fish. Because I do not delight in those enough to discipline myself in that way.
So, if you do not delight in our Father God, begin there before you attempt to train for godliness, or discipline yourself to be more holy.
If you don’t, you will always view Him as a taskmaster. And you will never believe that He loves you. You will always be trying to earn His love.
Instead, understand that in Christ, He delights in you, and calls you His child. He loves you, and He proved that perfectly in Jesus Christ.
Delight in His love. And then train yourself to look more like Jesus through His love. He doesn’t discipline those that He is disappointed in. He disciplines those He loves.
Blessed is the man whom you discipline, O Lord,
and whom you teach out of your law,
to give him rest from days of trouble,
Train for godliness with one another, and we will be aware of our sinfulness and Satan’s attempts to use our sin against us and the church.
Delight in Christ and know that our sins don’t define us anymore, and when we allow the Lord to discipline us and teach us out of His Word, we will be given rest from our days of trouble.
CONCLUSION
Jesus tells us that when we are wise in our own eyes, we will never understand this. We will always be frustrated, and as a result we will never receive His rest, because we are always trying to earn our own.
But if we believe Him, we will receive His grace as a gift, and accept His rest for our souls.
Let’s look at
At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
So, the invitation is to trust God.
His gospel establishes unity in His church. It is good news for all of us who need rest for our souls.
Confess your sin to Him and to one another, and Satan will never have a foothold to spread disunity.
Know that our Father disciplines those that He loves, and gives them rest.
PAUSE
LET’S BOW OUR HEADS AND PRAY
What a beautiful invitation to take into the Lord’s Supper today.
If you have any unconfessed sin, this is a beautiful time to remember that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Confess your sin and return to Him and His church in a Spirit of unity.
If you are holding on to something against a brother or sister, lay it at His feet and return to Him and His church in a Spirit of unity.
And if you don’t know Jesus as Lord and savior. If you don’t delight in Him, and want to, come to Him today and ask Him to reveal Himself to you. I am glad to pray over you as you seek Him. You are welcomed no matter, where you’ve come from or what you’ve done. He’s waiting here with open arms.
I thank you Father that you always hear us. Let us receive the grace of your gospel that we might maintain the unity of your Spirit.
The power of Satan and his desire for disunity and disruption is not allowed in this place.
We come to you, as laborers who are so often weary and burdened and we receive rest for our souls.
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift.
