Sermon Tone Analysis

You have not lied to men...

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.

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.”

George Mac Donald once said, “Half of the misery in the world comes from trying to look, instead of trying to be, what one is not.”

Jesus gave a name to this practice, Jesus called it what it is “hypocrisy.”

Hypokrites which simply means “wearing a mask, or playing a part as an actor does” Look at what St. Augustine says about hypocrisy.

"It is not the being seen of men that is wrong, but doing these things for the purpose of being seen of men.

The problem with the hypocrite is his motivation.

He does not want to be holy; he only wants to seem to be holy.

He is more concerned with his reputation for righteousness than about actually becoming righteous.

The approbation of men matters more to him than the approval of God."- Augustine

Hypocrisy is deliberated deception, trying to make people think we are more spiritual than we really are.

Hypocrisy is the sin of Ananias and Sapphira: putting on a sacred and sacrificial “front” in order to conceal the shabby sin in their lives, a sin that cost them their lives.

It is a shame that neither of them really ever lived up to the meaning of their names.

The name Ananias means “God is gracious,” but he learned that God is also holy; and Sapphira means “beautiful,” but her heart was ugly and filled envy and with sin.

No doubt some people are shocked when they read that God killed two people just because they lied about a business transaction and about their church giving.

But when you consider the features connected with this sin, you have to agree that God did the right thing by judging them.

It is worth noting that the Lord judges sin severely at the beginning of a new beginning and benchmark in salvation history.

If you do not believe me just look that the record contained in Scripture.

( Benchmark #1) When tabernacle was erected and it was the beginning of the proper worship of God.

Two newly ordained priests Nadab and Abihu decided to enter the temple service and to perform their God-given tasks their way instead of how God had prescribed the way service should be handled.

Look at

, “Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered unauthorized fire before the LORD, which he had not commanded them.

2 And fire came out from before the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD. 3 Then Moses said to Aaron, "This is what the LORD has said: 'Among those who are near me I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified.'"

And Aaron held his peace.”

( Benchmark #2 ) Now, there is a second example found in the Old Testament as well concerning the disobedience of God’s servant in transportation of the Ark of Covenant in , “ And when they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled.

And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzzah, and God struck him down there because of his error, and he died there beside the ark of God.”

You see the Ark of the Covenant was never to be place in a wagon, if it was to be transported the priests were to use these poles that would fit through rings on the Ark should that human hands would never touch it.

God struck Uzzah down because of the fact of his touching the Ark with sinful hands desecrated the Holy Ark unlike falling in the dirt could ever had done.

Mankind was made from the dirt and mankind sinned against a Holy God, again and again; yet the dirt of the ground was pure, it was just dirt and God had made it.

It had never rebelled against a Holy God.

( Benchmark #3 the entry into the promise land)

Then we see yet a another example of God’s judgment in .

After had given detail instructions on what the people were to do concerning their enemies, they were to destroy them, the city, men and women, young and old, oxen, sheep, and donkey, with the edge of the sword ().

And all the silver and gold was to be given to the treasury of the LORD and not kept by any individual, yet they be cursed.

At the time of the next great battle, they were defeated and were amazed and wonder aloud what their God was not in the battle with them.

Look at for a the answer,

10 The LORD said to Joshua, "Get up!

Why have you fallen on your face?

11 Israel has sinned; they have transgressed my covenant that I commanded them; they have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen and lied and put them among their own belongings.

12 Therefore the people of Israel cannot stand before their enemies.

They turn their backs before their enemies, because they have become devoted for destruction.

I will be with you no more, unless you destroy the devoted things from among you.13

Get up! Consecrate the people and say, 'Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow; for thus says the LORD, God of Israel, "There are devoted things in your midst, O Israel.

You cannot stand before your enemies until you take away the devoted things from among you."14

In the morning therefore you shall be brought near by your tribes.

And the tribe that the LORD takes by lot shall come near by clans.

And the clan that the LORD takes shall come near by households.

And the household that the LORD takes shall come near man by man.15

And he who is taken with the devoted things shall be burned with fire, he and all that he has, because he has transgressed the covenant of the LORD, and because he has done an outrageous thing in Israel.'" -

It was the sin of Achan that brought judgement on Israel and because of the Achan was killed because he disobeyed orders after Israel had entered the Promise Land.

While God was certainly not responsible for their sins, He did use these judgments as warning to the people, and even to us.

, “Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man.

God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”

Now when we take all of that into consideration the actions of an Holy God in this instance does not seem as radical as it might seem to us.

God is Holy and He must be treated as He is Holy.

This morning we are going to look at a event that happen at the beginning of the church age, at the beginning of the new, pure, Spirit-filled church.

We see that God makes a point about how He feels about hypocrisy and that it will not be allowed in His church.

God reminds Ananias and Sapphira that they have not lied to men... but they have lied to the Holy Spirit.

They have not lied to men... but they have lied to God and that they have not lied to men... but they have lied to the Spirit of the Lord.

Let us pray...

By way of introduction of today’s passage we must take a moment and look at the event that precipitated this Satanic action of hypocrisy in the newly founded church.

When ever God blesses the church or an individual then the Devil comes in to try to destroy that blessing.

Always remember that we are to be sober-minded; watchful because we have a adversary the devil who prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

Here we see that a man named Barnabas shows great generosity towards God and His church and the devil decides to undermine that action by showing great hypocrisy through the lying and stealing actions of Ananias and Sapphira.

Look at , “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 wait it at the apostles’ feet.

But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphria, 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.v

One evidence of the unity of the church was the way they sacrificed and shared with one another.

When the Holy Spirit is at work, giving is more of a blessing and than a burden.

What we see here is the believers in the church were voluntary, motivated by love to sell other properties that they owned and then they laid all of the proceeds at the apostles’ feet to be given to any who had need.

There is not doubt that many of the new believers were visitors in Jerusalem, having come to the feasts; and had to depend on their Christian friends to help meet their daily needs.

Now we should not understand this text to say that all the believers sold the properties and all their good and brought the money to the apostles’ but that many members “ from time to time” sold various pieces of land and donated it to the common treasury.

When the assembly of the saints had a need the Holy Spirit directed someone in the church to step up and step out on faith and to meet the need.

Now in this moment of great joy comes a man nicknamed the son of encouragement.

Barnabas, a generous man who gave freely.

, One gives freely, yet grows all the richer;

another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want.

Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered.

“Barnabas” (the son of encouragement”) He was a generous giver, secondly you should see that his noble act of great generosity, goaded or compelled Ananias and Sapphira into their act of great deception.

They were obvious so filled with envy at the attention and adulation the people shown toward Barnabas for the giving of his gift, they sought to be able to bathe in that glory as well.

But Barnabas gift gives glory to God and we should never try steal God’s glory.

"The purpose of Jesus' death was to glorify the Father.

To be willing as the Son of God to suffer the loss of so much glory Himself in order to repair the injury done to God's glory by our sin showed how infinitely valuable the glory of God is.

To be sure, the death of Christ also shows God's love for us.

But we are not at the center."