Honest to God

Acts 5King James Version (KJV)

5 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession,

2 And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles' feet.

3 But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?

4 Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.

5 And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things.

6 And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him.

7 And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in.

8 And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much.

9 Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out.

10 Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband.

11 And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things.

Perhaps you have heard the quaint old saying, "You can put lipstick on a pig, but it is still a pig." There is something about humanity that wants to appear greater, smarter, better than we really are.

But lipstick doesn't change the creature, just the appearance.

In our passage we find a warning against dishonesty to God. Now there is also the concept of communal living, but Peter lists the sins in verses 3-4 that it was their lying to the Holy Ghost.

The language of 'filling' is normally associated with the presence of the Holy Spirit or with the graces and gifts supplied by the Spirit… Rather than being filled with the fruit of the Spirit, the heart of Ananias was filled by Satan with deceit and hypocrisyDavid G. Peterson, Pillar New Testament Commentary – The Acts of the Apostles, ed. D. A. Carson, (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2009), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, 209.

Every lie is told with the intention to deceive;Adam Clarke, Adam Clarke's Commentary, (New York: Abingdon-Cokesbury Press, 1826), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, Under: "Acts".

Dishonesty to the Holy Spirit is a very serious Offense

Jesus said all other blasphemies against God would and could be forgiven, but not the blasphemy of the Holy Ghost.

Matthew 12:31-32King James Version (KJV)

31 Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.

32 And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.

Matthew 12:43-45 (KJV)

43 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.

44 Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished.

45 Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last stateof that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.

The spirit returns and finds its former home empty, swept, and tidied, a very satisfactory situation for a homeless spirit. It is empty,so there is no barrier to the spirit's return. But if it is empty, it is not desolate; the man has evidently been busy on himself so that the place vacated by the spirit may now be said to be swept and tidied. Jesus is talking about a pleasant, moral reformation, but with the man thinking that he is still in control of himself and with no reference to the Spirit of God. The man is empty; he is open to invasion from all kinds of evil, and in fact the original spirit comes back with reinforcements.

Leon Morris, The Pillar New Testament Commentary – The Gospel According to Matthew, (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1992), WORDsearchCROSS e-book, 328.

has to do with a man reforming and cleaning up his life. Note what happens when the evil (spirit) returns to the man and knocks on the door of his thoughts and prys at the windows of his desires.

a. He finds the house empty and unoccupied.

b. He finds the house swept and clean and put in order—ready for occupancy. The man had removed all the rubbish and swept out all the dirt. He had cleaned the house of his life, but he had not invited the tenant (the Lord Jesus Christ) to move in and occupy the premises.

3. Note what happens when the evil (spirit) finds the house empty and unoccupied.

a. He swarms and floods in with more force than ever. The man indulges and indulges much more than before.

b. He brings more evil with him—launches out and does more evil than ever.

c. He "dwells" there. It is unlikely he will ever clean his house again.

The reader should note that Jesus applies the truth of this parable not only to individuals, but to whole generations and societies as well. The answer to the evil and ills of society is not reformation—not the changing of the outside and external—but the transformation and regeneration of man's heart. It is the filling of the human heart with Christ Himself and with the acts of Christian love and care. The message and acts of love and care are to be carried to a world suffering and reeling in pain and war, and doomed to die without God.

, The Preacher's Outline & Sermon Bible – Matthew I, (Chattanooga: Leadership Ministries Worldwide, 1991), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, Under: "F. Defense 6: Messiah's Answer to an Evil Generation or Apostates, 12:38-45".

Dishonesty to God never goes unpunished

Proverbs 28:13He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy. Achan Balam Ananias & Sapphira

It wasn't the money, it wasn't that they kept back part of the price - it was their money to do with what they wanted - They however were dishonest with God - they suffered. YOU WILL TOO

From <https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+12%3A31-32&version=KJV>

Getting honest with God say Here I am God - Just as I am without one plea

I have no pretense

I'm not trying to make you think I am better than I am

I am not trying to impress you or only show you my good side

Here I am all of me, just as I am,

The Publican and the Sinner

From <https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts+5&version=KJV>