Peril and Power
Notes
Transcript
1 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession.
2 And he kept back part of the proceeds, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part 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 keep back part of the price of the land for yourself?
4 While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.”
5 Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and breathed his last. So great fear came upon all those who heard these things.
6 And the young men arose and wrapped him up, carried him out, and buried him.
7 Now it was about three hours later when his wife came in, not knowing what had happened.
8 And Peter answered her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for so much?” She said, “Yes, for so much.”
9 Then Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.”
10 Then immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. And the young men came in and found her dead, and carrying her out, buried her by her husband.
11 So great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things.
12 And through the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people. And they were all with one accord in Solomon’s Porch.
13 Yet none of the rest dared join them, but the people esteemed them highly.
14 And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women,
15 so that they brought the sick out into the streets and laid them on beds and couches, that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on some of them.
16 Also a multitude gathered from the surrounding cities to Jerusalem, bringing sick people and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all healed.
The opening word of this section, “But,” suggests a contrast.....
In this passage we are faced with new peril, and a new manifestation of power.
The passage opens with the tragic and awful story of Ananias and Sapphira; but it closes with the account of how all the sick who were brought to the apostles were healed.
All that is recorded here of judgment and blessing is the outcome of the presence of God in the church.
The blasting and the blessing were the acts of the HG in administration of the work and the will of the Lord.
The first discipline...
Reveals it’s
Occasion - Sin of Ananias and Saphira
Operation - Direct, swift and awful judgment of God
Outcome. - New fear and a new power resulting from it.
The perils without we have seen; but this peril was within, and was far more insidious, far more subtle, far more dangerous, than all those from without.
The church has never been harmed or hindered by opposition from without; it has been perpetually harmed and hindered by perils from within.
The sin of pretending that part was all.
The Bible Exposition Commentary Chapter Five: Beware of the Serpent! (Acts 4:32–5:16)
George MacDonald wrote, “Half of the misery in the world comes from trying to look, instead of trying to be, what one is not.” The name that Jesus gave to this practice is “hypocrisy,” which simply means “wearing a mask, playing the actor.” We must not think that failure to reach our ideals is hypocrisy, because no believer lives up to all that he or she knows or has in the Lord. Hypocrisy is deliberate deception, trying to make people think we are more spiritual than we really are.
George MacDonald wrote, “Half of the misery in the world comes from trying to look, instead of trying to be, what one is not.”
The name that Jesus gave to this practice is “hypocrisy,” which simply means “wearing a mask, playing the actor.”
We must not think that failure to reach our ideals is hypocrisy, because no believer lives up to all that he or she knows or has in the Lord.
Hypocrisy is deliberate deception, trying to make people think we are more spiritual than we really are.
Ananias means “God is gracious,” but he learned that God is also holy; and
Sapphira means “beautiful,” but her heart was ugly 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 period in salvation history.
Just after the tabernacle was erected, God killed Nadab and Abihu for trying to present “false fire” to the Lord (Lev. 10).
He also had Achan killed for disobeying orders after Israel had entered the Promised Land (Josh. 7).
While God was certainly not responsible for their sins, He did use these judgments as warnings to the people, and even to us (1 Cor. 10:11–12).
To begin with, the sin of Ananias and Sapphira was:
1. Energized by Satan (Acts 5:3);
1. Energized by Satan (Acts 5:3);
and that is a serious matter.
If Satan cannot defeat the church by attacks from the outside, he will get on the inside and go to work (Acts 20:28–31).
He knows how to lie to the minds and hearts of church members, even genuine Christians, and get them to follow his orders.
We forget that the admonition about the spiritual armor (Eph. 6:10–18) was written to God’s people, not to unbelievers, because it is the Christians who are in danger of being used by Satan to accomplish his evil purposes.
Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote, “Sin has many tools, but a lie is the handle which fits them all.”
Satan is a liar and a murderer (John 8:44).
He lied to and through this couple, and the lie led to their deaths.
When God judged Ananias and Sapphira, He was also judging Satan.
He was letting everybody know that He would not tolerate deception in His church.
Their sin was:
2. Motivated by pride,
2. Motivated by pride,
and pride is a sin that God especially hates and judges (Prov. 8:13).
No doubt the church was praising God for the generous offering that Barnabas had brought when:
Satan whispered to the couple, “You can also bask in this kind of glory! You can make others think that you are as spiritual as Barnabas!”
Instead of resisting Satan’s approaches, they yielded to him and planned their strategy.
Jesus made it very clear that we must be careful how we give, lest the glory that belongs to God should be given to us (Matt. 6:1–4, 19–34).
The Pharisees were adept at calling attention to their gifts, and they received the praises of men—but that’s all they received!
Whatever we possess, God has given to us; we are stewards, not owners. We must use what He gives us for His glory alone (see John 5:44).
Indeed, it was pride that transformed Lucifer into Satan (Isa. 14:12–15),
and it was pride (“Ye shall be as God!”) that caused our first parents to sin (Gen. 3).
Pride opens the door to every other sin, for once we are more concerned with our reputation than our character, there is no end to the things we will do just to make ourselves “look good” before others.
A third feature of their sin was especially wicked: their sin was:
3. Directed against God’s church
3. Directed against God’s church
We have reason to believe that Ananias and Sapphira were believers.
The spiritual level of the church at that time was so high that it is doubtful that a mere “professor” could have gotten into the fellowship without being detected.
The fact that they were able to lie to the Spirit (Acts 5:3) and tempt the Spirit (Acts 5:9) would indicate that they had the Spirit of God living within.
God loves His church and is jealous over it, for the church was purchased by the blood of God’s Son (Acts 20:28; Eph. 5:25) and has been put on earth to glorify Him and do His work.
Satan wants to destroy the church, and the easiest way to do it is to use those who are within the fellowship.
Had Peter not been discerning, Ananias and Sapphira would have become influential people in the church! Satan would have been working through them to accomplish his purposes!
The church is “the pillar and ground of the truth” (1 Tim. 3:15), and Satan attacks it with his lies.
The church is God’s temple in which He dwells (1 Cor. 3:16), and Satan wants to move in and dwell there too.
The church is God’s army (2 Tim. 2:1–4), and Satan seeks to get into the ranks as many traitors as he can.
The church is safe so long as Satan is attacking from the outside, but when he gets on the inside, the church is in danger.
It is easy for us to condemn Ananias and Sapphira for their dishonesty, but we need to examine our own lives to see if our profession is backed up by our practice.
Do we really mean everything we pray about in public?
Do we sing the hymns and Gospel songs sincerely or routinely?
“These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me” (Matt. 15:8, NIV).
If God killed “religious deceivers” today, how many church members would be left?
What is described in this chapter is not a case of church discipline. Rather it is an example of God’s personal judgment. “The Lord shall judge His people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Heb. 10:30–31). Had Ananias and Sapphira judged their own sin, God would not have judged them (1 Cor. 11:31), but they agreed to lie, and God had to deal with them.
Ananias was dead and buried, and Sapphira did not even know it!
Satan always keeps his servants in the dark, while God guides His servants in the light (John 15:15).
Peter accused her of tempting God’s Spirit, that is, deliberately disobeying God and seeing how far God would go (Ex. 17:2; Deut. 6:16).
They were actually defying God and daring Him to act—and He acted, with swiftness and finality. “Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God” (Matt. 4:7).
We must keep in mind that their sin was not in robbing God of money but in lying to Him and robbing Him of glory.
They were not required to sell the property; and, having sold it, they were not required to give any of the money to the church (Acts 5:4).
Their lust for recognition conceived sin in their hearts (Acts 5:4, 9), and that sin eventually produced death (James 1:15).
The result was a wave of godly fear that swept over the church and over all those who heard the story (Acts 5:11).
We have moved from “great power” and “great grace” (Acts 4:33) to “great fear,” and all of these ought to be present in the church.
28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.
29 For our God is a consuming fire.