Generosity & Putting the Lord to the Test (Acts 4:32-5:11)

Introduction

English Standard Version Chapter 4

They Had Everything in Common

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. 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. 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.

5 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. 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.” 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.

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

Well, this week we’re picking up in verse 32 of Acts chapter 4, and as I said in our last time this is probably where I would have started chapter 5 if would have had a say in the process of dividing chapters, because Acts 4:32 through Acts 5:11 function as a single unit, they’re not unrelated. Notice how the last paragraph of chapter 4, verses 32-37, describes the church’s generosity, which is illustrated, specifically, by Barnabas, who sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostle’s feet, and then in the first two paragraphs of chapter 5 Luke deliberately contrasts Barnabas’s example of generosity with the example of Ananias and Sapphira. So, our goal this morning will be to do as Luke intends and compare these two incidents, to compare Barnabas’s generosity with Ananias and Sapphira’s generosity, or as we’ll see their counterfeit generosity.

Everything in common

First, I want you to consider how the last paragraph of chapter 4 parallels much of what we read back at the end of Acts chapter 2, that it portrays a scene we’ve seen before. If you like, turn with me back to Acts 2:42 and we’ll read just a few of those verses together,

English Standard Version Chapter 2

42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.

So, as we pickup at the end of Acts 4, we notice that these circumstances have continued as the church grows. That just as the disciples had all things in common and were selling their possessions and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need, back in chapter 2, that in chapter 4 Luke elaborates and writes that no one said that any of the things that belonged to them was his own, but again that they had everything in common; that 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.

Barnabas

Then, in verses 36-37, Luke gives us an example of this. He writes,

English Standard Version Chapter 4

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.

Now, if you’ve read the Book of Acts before you might recognize this man’s name, or more specifically by what the apostles called him, Barnabas. This is the same Barnabas we’ll see featured throughout the Book of Acts, in chapters 4-15, and even featured in some of Paul’s letters like 1 Corinthians, Galatians, and Colossians.

Barnabas becomes an early church leader and is known as being an encourager, hence what Luke writes there in verse 36 that he was “called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement).” As Luke points out, he was a native of Cyprus, an island located in the Mediterranean Sea off the coasts of Syria and Asia Minor, approximately 250 miles northwest of Jerusalem as the crow flies. It’s possible that Barnabas and his family had been living in Cyprus for many generations (even hundreds of years), as a result of Alexander the Great’s Hellenization of the world when many Jews moved away from the land of Israel and settled in cities elsewhere and adopted Greek culture.

In fact, so many Jews migrated beyond the borders of Israel that eventually more Jews lived outside the land of Canaan than within it. Many of the surrounding cities had sizable Jewish populations, sometimes reaching 10% of the population. Now, most of them retained their religious convictions and established synagogues in those cities. This is probably why Barnabas, as a Levite, owned property in Cyprus, and may have even been a leader in his synagogue back home. However, it appears that he had traveled back to Jerusalem for one reason or another, likely to celebrate the Feast of Pentecost, where he was very soon saved under the preaching of the Apostles, and he makes his first appearance here in Acts chapter 4.

Now, Barnabas is portrayed favorable everywhere he’s mentioned in the NT, including here. He’s someone worth emulating, someone worth following, as he follows Christ. We’ll see him again when he vouches for Saul’s conversion later in Acts chapter 9, and then repeatedly in chapters 11-15. In chapter 11 he’s sent to Antioch to encourage the church there, and is described as “a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith.” He later meets up with Saul and together they deliver aid from Antioch to the church in Jerusalem during a famine. So, in short, Barnabas is a good man, and as a result Luke highlights him here as an example of the kind of generosity that marked the early church when they’re described as having everything in common, even selling their possessions and giving the proceeds to the apostles to distribute to each as any had need.

Marxist ideology

Now, before we continue by looking at Luke’s comparison of Barnabas to Ananias and Sapphira, it’s worth taking a minute to deal with the frequent claim that the phrase “they had everything in common” is biblical precedent in support of Marxist ideology, forming the basis of government systems such as socialism and communism. That as Christians we should therefore support governmental systems and programs that seek to impose this idea of sharing each other’s economic resources equally between its citizens.

Now, I addressed this briefly during our series through the 10 commandments, but it’s worth addressing it here again since it’s particularly texts like these here in Acts chapter 2 and 4 that advocates of such thinking frequently pull out of context and leverage against well meaning Christians in support of their Marxist ideologies.

First, it’s important to realize that this text is describing the personal, voluntary generosity of those within the church, it’s not talking about forcibly imposing the redistribution of personal wealth at the hands of the government. The Bible is not advocating that the government should impose wealth redistribution policies upon its citizens, nor is it teaching that church leaders should impose wealth redistribution requirements on their local congregations. As I argued in our look at the 8th commandment (you shall not steal), the 8th commandment assumes the right to personal property and that personal property is right and good.

In fact, and not to get too far ahead of ourselves here, look at what Peter says to Ananias there in Acts 5, verse 4, after it’s been revealed that Ananias was pretending to give all of the proceeds of their property to the apostles, Peter says, “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.” In other words, they had every right to own property, and they were under no obligation to sell it, or to give any of its proceeds to the apostles, so why lie about it? Peter affirms their right to own property and their right to do with as they see fit, he isn’t advocating for a generosity that’s coerced or forced by anyone, which by definition wouldn’t be generosity at all.

Now, one of the reasons Christians fall prey to Marxist thinking is because it’s sold to us under the guise of loving our neighbor, and Christians have an inherent desire to do just that, so we have to be as wise as serpents. It’s important that we recognize policies and government systems that seek to leverage the coercive power of the government to redistribute its citizen’s wealth under the guise of loving our neighbor.

You see, first, this isn’t the government’s role or responsibility, it’s your role, it’s your personal responsibility to love your neighbor and to share with him when he’s in need, it’s your responsibility to be generous, not the government’s. The government should not be not tasked with being generous with your money. The biblical prescription for the government boils down to protecting its citizens and upholding justice.

Second, if we attempt to leverage the coercive power of the government to carry out your responsibility to be generous, you’re asking the government to steal from the rich to give to the poor, to forcibly redistribute its citizen’s wealth, thereby violating the 8th commandment. As I pointed out when I covered the 10th commandment (you shall not covet), socialism and communism are simply covetousness applied to public policy, flying under the guise of loving your neighbor. So, it’s important to recognize that the phrase “they had everything in common” is not a biblical argument in support of Marxist ideology, it’s an argument for personal, voluntary generosity. It’s an argument for you to be generous.

Ananias and Sapphira

Now, that being said, I want to spend the rest of our time considering Ananias and Sapphira in contrast to the generosity of Barnabas, so let’s pickup there in Acts 5, beginning in verse 1,

English Standard Version Chapter 5

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. 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.” 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.

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

So, like Barnabas, Ananias and Sapphira sell a piece of their property, and bring the proceeds of that property and lay it at the feet of the apostles, and they do so under the pretense of having given all the proceeds to them. And as I already pointed out, they didn’t have to sell their property, and they didn’t have to give any of the proceeds of selling that property to the church, but they voluntarily brought the proceeds to the apostles anyway, but they did so under the false pretence that they were giving all of the proceeds to the church. In fact, we’re told that Ananias, “with his wife’s knowledge,” “kept back for himself some of the proceeds.” So, they not only gave the apostles the false impression that they had given all the proceeds of their land to them, but had secretly conspired together in order to do so. But knowing what they had done, Peter asked Ananias, “Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but to God.”

Appearing generous and the praise of men

So, why would Ananias and Sapphira lie? Why had they contrived this deed in their hearts? Well, first, they wanted to be seen as generous, they wanted to look generous. It’s no secret people love to appear generous, because it makes us look good, it makes us look virtuous, it makes us look compassionate, it garners admiration, it makes people think we have more money than others, it bolsters our public reputation, and it we think it can give us leverage over others. This is why plaques with donor’s names are mounted on building walls and plastered on the websites of giving campaigns, because they’re trading public accolades for donations. We like to appear generous because we want something in return. And what did they want in return? Well, some kind of praise from others, they were seeking the praise of men, they wanted people to think the were like Barnabas, they wanted the apostle’s approval, maybe even some influence. And apparently the were willing to lie in order to get it.

Covetous and the love of money

But why did they lie if they could have just given all of the proceeds to the apostles and gotten what they wanted? Because they also desired something else, they loved their money, so they couldn’t bear to part with all of it. Not that anyone was was forcing them to anyway, but if they wanted the same degree of accolades that Barnabas might receive for his donation they needed everyone to think they had given all of the proceeds of their land to the apostles, not just some of the proceeds, but at the same time they didn’t want to have to part with anymore than the had to, so I’m sure Ananias gave Peter just enough to convince them that they had.

Lied to the Holy Spirit

Now, clearly, they didn’t grasp the gravity of their sin. Which is why Peter tells Ananias there in verse 4 that “you have not lied to man but to God.” Now, that isn’t to say that he hadn’t lied to Peter, but only to emphasize that all sin is fundamentally a sin against God, that all sin is rebellion to his law and to his authority, not just a harm committed against your neighbor. This is why, for instance, when David commits adultery with Bathsheba and murders her husband to get away with it, and is confronted with his sin by the prophet Nathan in 2 Samuel 12:13 that the first words out of his mouth are, “I have sinned against the Lord,” and then again later in Psalm 51:4, writing, “Against you, you only, have a I sinned.” In other words, Ananias and Sapphira have lied not just to them, but to God, to the Holy Spirit.

Putting the Spirit of the Lord to the test

Furthermore, when Peter interrogates Sapphira, later in verse 8, he says to her in verse 9, “How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord?” Now, this is significant, because it further reveals the danger they’re in, that not only have they lied to the Holy Spirit, but that they have “agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord.” Why is that significant? Well, not only have they sinned against God, but they have put him to the test, their actions, if you will, have dared Him to act by questioning His knowledge, challenging His patience, profaning His holiness, and presuming upon his grace. In other words, they think they can just get away with it?

In a tight spot

There have been times when I’ve had to be particularly stern with some of my children, and I was telling my wife just the other day that I wish didn’t ever have to be that stern with them. Not that I shouldn’t have been as stern as I was in most of those situations, but regretting that I had to be. The truth is I don’t generally enjoy punishing my children, especially if have to discipline them severely (and I don’t mean abusing them), I mean administering consequences that will be painful and often long lasting. On one hand, my desire is that my children would obey me such that I didn’t have to impose any consequences at all, but on the other hand, when they sin grievously they put me in a tight spot, they put me to the test, sometimes to the point where I don’t have a choice but to act and to dish out painful and hard consequences. Otherwise, if I didn’t I wouldn’t be a good father, and I would be forsaking my duty as a parent.

Daring God to act

Similarly, Ananias and Sapphira had put the Spirit of the Lord to the test, they had, if you will, dared him to act. They had put his knowledge into question by acting as if he didn’t know what they had done, but he knew. They had challenged his patience by thinking they could get away with it, that his patience would give them cover. They had profaned his holiness by sinning against him and treating it as a light thing. They had presumed upon his grace, thinking his grace meant he would tolerate their sin while they held onto it, as if grace were a license to sin and to get away with it.

Strikes them down dead

So, what does God do? He strikes them down dead. Acts 5:5 says that “when Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last,” and then in Acts 5:9 Peter said to Sapphira, “Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out,” and “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.”

Cautionary tale

And then what happened as a result? Acts 5:11 says, “And [then] great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things.” Now, this was the whole point, this is why God acted as he did, to make an example out of Ananias and Sapphira, that they might serve as a lesson to the rest of the church, that it might cause them to fear the dangers associated with sin. It was a warning to those early disciples that sin had no place in the church, that sin would never to be tolerated, that God’s grace didn’t mean that he would tolerate sin. You see, while God is infinitely merciful we must never think that his mercy can be used as a license to sin or that we can put him to the test without consequences. We must be careful never to think that our sin can be kept under wraps or never found out, or that we can continue in it without real consequences.

Faithful and just to forgive us

Now, my point isn’t that God expects that you and I will be sinless, or that God is just waiting to club us over the head with judgement the moment we slip, not at all. This is intended to be a sobering reminder never to toy with sin, never to let it get a foothold in our lives, but if it does to bring it out into the light that it might be put to death, to make a habit of confessing and repenting of your sin. Why? Because God is faithful and just to forgive us of our sin. In fact, this cautionary tale is not intended to bring condemnation upon us, but to warn us of sin’s danger, in order that we might avoid it. God wants us to avoid the dangers of sin. No one puts up a caution sign unless their intention is for you to avoid the danger.

Generosity

Now, before we close I want to spend a few minutes considering the generosity of Barnabas in light of this cautionary tale of Ananias and Sapphira. How does the generosity of Barnabas compare with the pretended generosity of Ananias and Sapphira? What can we learn from this, what can we learn from Barnabas? Well, first, Barnabas we not seeking the praise of others when he gave all the proceeds of his property to the apostles. I’m reminded of Jesus’ words in Matthew 6:1-4,

English Standard Version Chapter 6

6 “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.

2 “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Second, Barnabas did not covet his possessions, he did not love his money. Money was not his treasure, Christ was, therefore he didn’t feel a need to hold onto it when his fellow disciples were in need. As a result, Barnabas didn’t feel the need to hold back the amount of money he gave or to lie about how much money he gave. Barnabas we genuinely generous, and didn’t bring reproach upon the name of Christ, but glorified him by his generosity.

God is generous

You see, when you’re generous, in a small way you’re reflecting the generosity of God. We don’t often think about it in this way, but God is immensely generous to us. He’s the one who fills your crab pots, he’s the one who fills your nets, he’s the one who provides the tax revenue and the industry for you to have a job. He’s the one who’s given us this earth full of abundance, despite our sin, despite the curse. And those are only earthly things.

How much more has he generously given us his Son! He has given you a new heart, he has brought you from death to life, he has given you eternal life, he has forgiven you your sin, and now his Son has gone ahead to prepare a place for you. So be generous, be generous with your time, be generous with you money, be generous with the life God has given you, for God loves a cheerful giver.

Reluctant to be generous

Now, sadly, we’re often reluctant to be generous because we don’t want it to impact our standard of living, or to consume the time and energy we’d rather spend on ourselves. We say things like, “I can’t afford to give,” when what we really mean is, “I can’t afford to do all the things that I’m doing now and spend the money I’m spending now while giving a percentage of my income to the Lord.”

Generosity does run contrary to our selfish nature. And it can be difficult, for instance, to give 10% of your income to the Lord, if you never have before, it may require that you restructure your standard of living, you might have to dine out less, your retirement may not grow as fast as you want, you may not be able to buy what you felt at liberty to buy before, you may not be able to go on vacation as frequently as you want to, you might have to cancel certain monthly subscriptions, or consume less entertainment, you’ll have to reign in your spending somehow, you’ll have to budget for regular giving.

Conclusion

But, you see, generosity is the intended byproduct of keeping the 8th commandment do not steal. Listen to Ephesians 4:28, "Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need," or Acts 20:33-35, when the Apostle Paul said, "I coveted no one's silver or gold or apparel. You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities and to those who were with me. In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” (Acts 20:33-35) And remember, you will find far greater joy in giving than in serving yourself.

Prayer