Acts 5:1-16 - Spiritual Integrity - Part 9
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Good morning! Welcome to CHCC. As we continue our study through the book of Acts we come to a very interesting passage that should cause some deep introspection on our end.
Chapter four closes with some great insight to the Church’s heart. Things are going well; the body is living in unity, leaning on the power of the Holy Spirit, walking in His grace, and willingly sacrificing for one another. It is a wonderful example for how the church should act.
Where we ended, Luke has given us an introduction into a man who is called Barnabas—the son of encouragement. And this serves as a comparison to the passage we will enter into this morning. On the one side we have the example of Barnabas; a man who sells a field he owned and brings the money to the apostles for distribution for the church to help those who may have need.
It is a simple and beautiful heart of generosity and an example of how we ought to live like Christ. There was a selflessness and sacrificial aspect to Barnabas’ action. It wasn’t something that was required, but rather given out a heart that desired to serve.
It is likely that there was a very positive response to this that may have been the catalyst for Ananias and Sapphira’s actions which are the focus of our study this morning.
No doubt, the enemy is once more at work here in the early church. The arrest and trial of the apostles didn’t do anything to stop the gospel message from getting out, so Satan tries another tactic—to take down the church from the inside out.
The main characters in our passage are Ananias and Sapphira. Perhaps no two names in Scripture are greater contradictions to their characters. Ananias means “God is gracious” and Sapphira is Aramaic for “beautiful.” But nothing of their deception is either gracious or beautiful.
This passage serves as both a warning and an example for us today of the importance of Spiritual integrity. If you have your Bibles with you this morning, please turn with me to Acts 5, beginning in verse 1.
PRAY
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.
One thing Luke highlights on several occasions in his writings is that he desires believers to be free from the love of things and instead he wants us to have a love for God and for people. And in his writings he also reveals that you cannot have both simultaneously. And the understanding is that if you have a love for people that, then your heart will not hold tightly to possessions, for it is those possessions that really become valuable only as a means of loving people.
That is what we see with Barnabas. The true value of his property wasn’t in ownership; rather he saw it as something that could be used—in this case, sold—to help others.
And this was the case for many others in the church as well, it seems, because Luke makes it a priority to point out that “many” owners of land or houses were selling them and the proceeds were going towards any who had a need.
This little snapshot of the church community shows a heart that is like Christ. Their possessions held no sway over them; rather, they were motivated by a desire to love others as Christ has loved us. They were living out Jesus’ exhortation from Luke 12.
“Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys.
And let us be clear; this was not a requirement handed down by the apostles. There was no expectation do this. Rather, this was born out of hearts that desired to sacrifice and to serve.
As John Piper states:
Faith in the promises of God's fatherly care produces freedom from fear, freedom from anxiety, and therefore freedom from things and freedom for people and freedom for love.
Sadly, we see an example here in Acts 5 of spiritual dishonesty and it will have deadly consequences for both husband and wife.
Luke reveals to us that Ananias with his wife sell their property. And with his wife’s knowledge, he pockets some of the money for himself and brings the leftover money to the church.
In other words, there is clear intent to deceive. As one author called it: pious pretense, religious sham, simulated holiness, Christian fraud.
The result that comes forth for both Ananias and Sapphira tells us that God doesn’t take lightly spiritual deception for it can be a very serious issue for the church.
I believe that both Ananias and Sapphira were both Christians. St. Augustine, Alexander Maclaren, and Richard Longenecker all contend they were Christians as well. I think their sin serves as a not so subtle reminder that we are all susceptible to the same sin. As Jeremy Taylor explains, their punishment was a “sanctifying discipline” for the church.
It is rather interesting to me that this isn’t a very common text that is preached from. Charles Spurgeon, in all sixty of his volumes of his recorded sermons, there is not a single one on this text.
Dr. Donald Barnhouse, in response to this passage of Scripture, would never let his congregation sing the third stanza of the hymn, “At Calvary” which sings, “Now I have giv’n to Jesus everything; now I gladly own him as my King.” Barnhouse said:
“You see, if God acted in the same way today that he did in the fifth chapter of Acts, you’d have to have a morgue in the basement of every church and a mortician on the pastoral staff.”
The humble reality is you probably would have a pastoral staff either.
I think the first question that comes to most people’s minds is “why?” Why did Ananias and Sapphira do what they did? What would compel them to do it?
It could be a whole slew of things; it could be a combination of things. Perhaps they wanted to feel like they belonged. Possibly they desired the recognition from the apostles. Maybe they wanted the applause others had possibly received. At worst (and I don’t believe this is the case), they may a deceptive attempt to gain some power or authority within the church.
Ultimately, I think they saw Barnabas’ generosity, realized they had land of their own they could sell, and wanted to follow suit. But once the money was in hand, the temptation grabbed a hold of them and they were unable to part with the money.
There is a common error among new believers (and even with seasoned ones) and that is the ability to overestimate oneself.
So let us see how this unfolds; try to picture it. Ananias has just laid the gift at the apostles’ feet. He is probably expecting a warm smile and an embrace. A kind thank you and some sort of appreciation. But when he looks at Peter, there isn’t a smile. Rather a fierce gaze pierces into his soul.
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.”
Peter’s words bring some clarity to the situation. Ananias didn’t have to give anything. This wasn’t a requirement nor was it an expectation! He could have even given the amount he did had he just been honest about it! Instead, he was under the enemy’s control, and tried to deceive the church. And in his attempt to deceive the church, Peter gives a sobering reality: he was lying to God!
And he was responsible for his own actions for he contrived them in his own heart.
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.
The Greek word translated “breathed his last” (KJV, “gave up the ghost”) is used in Acts to describe sudden, terrible, judicial death. In other words, this was divine judgment.
As one pastor poignantly noted, this was first recorded burial of the Christian church—one of a hypocrite. R. Kent Hughes points out what exactly this sin was that Ananias had committed. He says:
We must be absolutely clear as to what Ananias’ sin was. It was not casual deception. Rather, he feigned a deeper spiritual commitment than he had. We share Ananias’ sin not when others think we are more spiritual than we are, but when we try to make others think we are more spiritual than we are.
What does this look like today? Perhaps we try to create the impression that we are people of prayer when we really aren’t. Maybe we try to convince others we have it all together—certainly an issue in the social media age.
Maybe we try to create the impression we are generous givers when we really aren’t; in other words, people who exaggerate their spirituality.
And why do we do this? “I’ve read the Bible all the way through 5 times” when in reality it’s three times. Why exaggerate? I hope I don’t ever give the idea that I’m better than I really am. I try to share openly with you all; I struggle with sin, I don’t pray as much as I truly desire to. I wrestle with selfishness and pride.
Looking at this moment with Ananias, there was such a clear, honest, and easy path here to avoid this sin. He could have just said, “Here is some of the money we received from selling our land. We intended to give it all, but decided we would like to keep some for ourselves.”
And the reality is that God would used and even multiplied their gift as He always does! That’s it! I mean, it really seems silly when you put it into perspective; but we can all fall into this temptation of spiritual deceit.
Let us continue and see what comes of Sapphira.
After an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. And Peter said to her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for so much.” And she said, “Yes, for so much.” 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.” 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.
We have to imagine the effect this had on the church. In fact, Luke tells us in verse 11.
And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things.
No doubt this kind of fear would lead to some deep introspection in the hearts of the believers. R. Kent Hughes states:
We must not take the unyielding holiness and the judgment of God lightly. What if such a thing happened today? Can you imagine if a pastor or other church leader was speaking falsehood to the church and suddenly fell over dead? What would that do to us? We would surely begin to think about our own integrity or the lack of it.
As we see here the result of Ananias and Sapphira’s sin here is death. It may seem over the top; many have questioned, “Does the punishment fit the crime?” But the result I think tells us two things.
The first is that spiritual deceit is heinous to God! Because, as Peter mentions, when we lie to believers, we are ultimately lying to God; to the Holy Spirit!
And second as I mentioned prior, as Jeremy Taylor stated, it was a “sanctifying discipline.” The early church was at a pivotal point and an example needed to be made.
Richard Longenecker explains:
The way Ananias and Sapphira attempted to reach their goals was so dramatically opposed to the whole thrust of the Gospel that to allow it to go unchallenged would have set the entire mission for the Church off course.
There is actually an Old Testament parallel here and you may be familiar with it. It is a man named Achan. Joshua chapter 7 tells the story. Israel is riding high off of their victory over Jericho and making there way to the city of Ai. Joshua sent spies to look over land and determine the best course of action.
They conclude that they only need to send two to three thousand men since Ai is small and it wouldn’t require a large army to defeat them. But in a huge upset, the men of Israel are driven back and defeated. It tells us the the hearts of the people melted and became as water.
God then tells Joshua the reason for the defeat. Someone in the camp has sinned against the commands of God. And as they are going through the camp trying to determine who it was, Achan comes forward and admits his sin. He had kept for himself some of the “devoted things”—things that were not to be taken for personal gain after victory over Jericho. And he hid these things under his tent.
And the result? They brought Achan and his entire family out and had them killed. It seems clear from these examples that the destruction caused by spiritual dishonesty is more far-reaching than we imagine. It is clearly something God does not take lightly and for good reason, too. If there is an accusation against the church that has stuck throughout the years it is the cry of “hypocrite.”
Perhaps it is against this heart of spiritual deceit that Paul calls for the church to put away falsehood.
Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.
And the thing is, deception can come so naturally, and sometimes innocently. That 4 pound bass suddenly became 5 pounds. The 10 foot putt you made for birdie is now 15 feet. Our culture is littered with untruth. And those little exaggerations can, over time, turn into larger deceits. And as one pastor put it, “habits of deceit are easily formed, hard to break.”
Dr. Samuel Johnson exhorts parents to build habits of truthfulness in our children. He writes:
Accustom your children constantly to this [the telling of the truth]; if a thing happened at one window, and they, when relating it, say that it happened at another, do not let it pass, but instantly check them; you do not know where deviation from truth will end. . . . It is more from carelessness about truth than from intentional lying, that there is so much falsehood in the world.
And what about the church? Paul’s words should ring loudly and be our constant reminder. The church can only remain healthy so long as it functions in truth.
And I think this passage; this sobering moment in the early church with Ananias and Sapphira calls for us to check ourselves. Do we live and act in spiritual deceit? Do we attempt to make others think we are better than we really are? That we are more pious than we really are? More faithful? More committed?
There is a lot at stake. Perhaps it isn’t our life necessarily, but maybe it is the example it leaves behind for our children or grandchildren. What mark is being left for future generations of the church in our honesty or lack thereof?
Luke tells us that the result of what they saw led to great fear among the entire church. It led to honest introspection first and foremost. And then it led to further growth and many signs and wonders being performed. Verse 12…
Now many signs and wonders were regularly done among the people by the hands of the apostles. And they were all together in Solomon’s Portico. None of the rest dared join them, but the people held them in high esteem. And more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, so that they even carried out the sick into the streets and laid them on cots and mats, that as Peter came by at least his shadow might fall on some of them. The people also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all healed.
There is a continuing theme throughout Acts and it is certainly front and center throughout chapter 4 and that is the triumph of the gospel in the midst of adversity.
Every time God intervenes—the Holy Spirit takes front and center—the gospel moves forward. We saw that when the religious leaders opposed the apostles teaching of the resurrection of Jesus, God intervened and the Holy Spirit gave Peter words to speak at the trial and afterward the believers came together to pray and God shook the place where they stood and gave them a fresh filling of His Spirit.
Then here when the enemy attempted to tear the church from the inside, God again intervened through Peter and the consequence of judgment that fell upon Ananias and Sapphira. Then what follows immediately after is some more effective miracles and ministry.
What we see after the events of Ananias and Sapphira is not a church led by fear, incapacitated by what they had seen. Rather, they continued forth in their ministry of miraculous healings and evangelism.
Again, what we read here are shades of Jesus’ ministry. Sick being carried out on mats with just the hope that Peter’s shadow would fall upon them and heal them. But even so, there is a very real hesitancy among the people to join the church. Yes, many did enter into the fold of the church, but many also did not even though the signs were evident. Why? I think Ajith Fernando answers that well. He says:
Though Christians were held in high esteem, people were reluctant to join the church. They realized that “the awesome power of the Spirit that judges also demands commitment and responsibility.” Still, “more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number.” The church did not lower its standards in order to win the lost.
How important a reminder for us today. How many mega churches (not all, of course) and your run of the mill small and medium sized local churches have lowered standards in order to draw people in. I am not against brainstorming ways we can draw people in to hear the gospel message of Jesus; I think effort and creativity are things God desires for His people to utilize for His glory.
But we cannot lower standards. We cannot minimize man’s depravity; we cannot sit idly by and just accept sinful living. Yes, we encourage everyone to “come as you are” but the desire is that we would all be changed by God’s grace.
God holds holiness in His church in high regard as we see with Ananias and Sapphira because it separates the church from the world. Notice that even though there was a hesitancy to join the fellowship of believers among the crowds, they still held them in high regard. They recognized that these men and women were different in good ways.
What is more is that God’s power was made manifest in His church through miraculous healings. I think this is another reminder for the modern day church; we have the power of the Holy Spirit leading and guiding us; going before us in all things. Again, to quote Ajith Fernando, he says:
A church that is pure but is powerless is an unattractive church. Along with an emphasis on God’s holiness we must always see to it that there is also the experience of the fullness and power of the Spirit…By contrast, a church that emphasizes the power of God but has no corresponding holiness reaps a scandalous dishonor to Christ.
The early church represented both purity and power, and that is what we should be representing today as well. The church’s responsibility thus is meeting people at their point of need, ministering in and through the power of the Holy Spirit, and expressing God’s hatred for sin.
CONCLUSION
Wrapping this up as we close; last week we discussed the question what makes a church truly great? And the Scripture reveals to us that a great church has great unity, great grace, great power, and great care. And all of this is enveloped by great honesty. May we be a church where we are humble enough to be honest with ourselves and with one another. If you are struggling, how can there be prayer and encouragement, and support if you fail to be honest about it?
How often in life do I get the question, “How are you?” And my response almost always is, “Not bad.” “Pretty good.” “Can’t complain.”
But how often is that true? And I get it, you might think—like me at times—that you don’t want to burden someone with your struggles or that you don’t want to come across as whiny. But the reality is, we are called to bear one another’s burdens.
Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
Spiritual honesty opens the door for true growth in God’s Church. And coupled with the power of the Holy Spirit and the preaching of the gospel, we have a great opportunity to draw people into the heart of Christ.
PRAY
