A Study of the Book of Acts
Sermon # 11
“It is not a Good Idea to Lie to God!”
Acts 5:1-11
Things were going great in the church. As we have seen in the previous study, verse 33 tells us that there was great power and great grace at work in the church. Satan, always the enemy of God’s great plan, had already begun a counter attack of persecution through the civil and religious authorities. But his tactic had proven ineffective in stopping the advance of the gospel, so the devil tried a different strategy this time he attacked from within. It is always tragic when Satan can use Christians to wreck the church.
“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.” Acts 5:1-11 (NKJV)
This is one of those passages that biblical commentators tend to pass over, perhaps because they think that it shows God in a bad light.
I. SPIRITUAL DECEPTION DEFINED 5:1-2
“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.”
“Half of the misery in the world comes from trying to look, instead of trying to be, what one is not!” George McDonald.
The word “but” introduces the awful contrast of the lives of Ananias and Sapphira to the portrait of the life of Barnabas. The names Ananias and Sapphira are as much a contradiction of their natures as Barnabas’s was an affirmation. Ananias means “God is Gracious” and Sapphira means “beautiful.”
You will remember that last week we noted the fact that we should all be involved in a ministry of encouragement, by examining the life of Barnabas. Barnabas was an individual whose life is characterized by the investment he made in others. One of the things that Barnabas did was sell a parcel of land and use in helping the needy and for the expansion of the gospel. Unfortunately in the crowd somewhere was a man and wife who saw the recognition that Barnabas was receiving, and desired the same kind of acclaim. There names where Ananias and Sapphira. They thought, “I should would like to have people praising me like that! Look at all the attention that he is getting.” So they decided to sell a piece of their property and do the same.
Sadly we soon find out that they are not anything like Barnabas. Outwardly it may have looked so, but inwardly they had completely different motives. Barnabas gave out of a thankful heart and motivated by concern for others.
Ananias and Sapphira lied because they wanted to impress the rest of the church. They wanted the credit and the prestige for sacrificial giving, without the inconvenience of it. “Have you ever tried to impress someone and have it blow up in your face?” Most of us have some of Ananias in us, which is the desire to be thought better of spiritually than we are.
This is a pretty dramatic story and it is easy for us to say, “Well I could never do anything like that.” Really!!! Do you ever make decisions that although they are not illegal are just this side of ethical because you think, “well its no big deal.” “It is not going to hurt anyone else. No one needs to know.”
“There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.” Proverbs 14:12 (NKJV)
That death may not be immediate, it may not even be literal as in the case of Ananias and Sapphira, but in one way or another, there is always destruction when we blindly follow our own hearts.
Author Andy Stanley tells of a counseling session with a young woman he says, “As I talked with her about her decision to move in with her boyfriend, she could tell that I disapproved. I’ll never forget her defense,” he writes. “I know it’s not the best thing,” she said, “I mean, I know about sex and marriage and all of that. But this is what I need right now.” Stanley continues with, “my heart broke for her. Earlier in our conversation she had admitted that similar decisions in the past had always complicated her life. They always took a toll on her self-esteem. Nevertheless, she was going back for another round.”
II. SPIRITUAL DECEPTION DETECTED 5:3-4
Peter Establishes Three Important Principles in verses 3and 4
“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.”
A. The Right of Private Ownership
Peter clarifies the concept of ownership when he says, While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control” (v.4). He in effect says, “You have the right to it. You have the right to sell it. And after you sold it, you have the right to give it or not to give it.”
The problem was not that Ananias did not give the whole sum of the purchase price, but that he pretended to be giving all while he held back some. The problem was in reality one of hypocrisy.
B. The Fact of Spiritual Warfare
Peter pointed out the source of this deception.“…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?…” He says, “How has Satan so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit?”
We have a tendency to blame Satan for a lot of things by rather glibly saying as the comedian of some years ago, Flip Wilson said, “The Devil made me do it!’ The truth is that is very unlikely that Satan has ever tempted you or I personally. We are not that important. Satan can only be in one place at a time. If you did wrong, you probably just did it on your own. But nevertheless, there is real spiritual warfare and it is possible to be tempted by Satan or one his emissaries. Paul tells us in his letter the Ephesians, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places”. Ephesians 6:12 (NKJV)
Our text gives us here an important warning here both about the fact of spiritual warfare and about the nature of spiritual warfare. It is important to remember that as we go through periods of special blessing as the early church had, either personally or as a church, we can expect the forces of Satan to come against us. If you are only going through the motions of serving God, if you are not attempting anything of significance for God, if you are not trying to do anything new, not serving in any effective way, then Satan will probably not bother you. If on the other hand, you are trying to do something for God, if you are part of a church that is being effective, if the mission’s outreach is strong, if you are trying to reach people for God, then Satan will attack, and you will have be on guard.
C. Sin Is Always Against God
“….You have not lied to men but to God.” (v. 4)
In Psalm 52:4 David also recognize that every sin is against God when he said, “Against you, you only, have I sinned, and done evil in your sight.” The words “against you only” literally mean “against you and you in particular.”
We live in a world that does not like to shoulder the responsibility for it actions. We either try to blame someone or something else; our parents, our genetic make up, our environment or society as a whole or we try to minimize them by saying, “It does not hurt anyone but me. Or it is really not that serious.” The story is told of a little boy who said to his mother, “Mother why is it whenever I do something wrong, it is because I am a bad boy, but whenever you do something wrong, it’s your nerves.”
When we blame somebody else for our conduct me are in the final analysis actually blaming God. It you excuse yourself on the basis of your environment, well, God is ultimately the one responsible for your environment. If you appeal to internal factors, well, God created those. Whenever you try to excuse yourself for some wrong behavior, you are actually attempting to shift the blame for you sin to God.
Ananias and Sapphira were not just guilty of simple miscalculation but of premeditated deception. And we are guilty of Ananias’ sin not when others think us more spiritual than we are but when we try to make others think we are more spiritual than we are. Examples would be of creating the impression that we are people of great prayer when we are not; making it look like we have it altogether when we do not; promoting the idea that we are generous when in fact we are so tight we squeak when we walk. I think you get the idea!
III. SPIRITUAL DECEPTION DISCIPLINED
5:5-10
“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.”
Both Ananias and Sapphira were equally guilty. Luke points this out in two ways. In verse two, he tells us that Ananias takes his action, “his wife also being aware of it” that everything that Ananias did, he did with his wife’s full knowledge. Then after Ananias had been judged, he tells us that Sapphira repeated her husband’s lie.
Let me point out that when we talk of God’s judgment of Ananias and Sapphira, who as far as we know were believers, we are not saying that God sent them to hell. The punishment of Ananias and Sapphira, although severe, was in this life only.
Still it was serious, and what it teaches us is that God is not indifferent to his people’s sin!
God judges, but out of love not anger. He judges in order to wake us up. He judges in order to teach us. His judgment begins with the church. “For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?” 1 Peter 4:17 (NKJV)
It is interesting to see that Jesus, who usually treated even the vilest of sinners with gentleness, who ate with sinners, who forgave sins, always got angry with one sin in particular. That was the sin of Hypocrisy. The word hypocrite come to us from the world of Greek drama. The actor in a drama, one who pretended to be someone he was not, was called a hypocritus.
Jesus called the Pharisees, “white-washed tombs,” looking clean on the outside but inside full of corruption and dead bones. The reason why Jesus hated this sin in particular was that it is the sin the misguides people away from God. It stands in the way of people who want to know God, but instead get someone saying, “look at me.” Can you see what hypocrisy would do the church in its infancy. If this sin where left unjudged the church would end up looking like the Pharisees.
Conclusion
Luke ends this story in verse 11 with the words, “So great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things.” They began to honestly evaluate what God wanted of them and where they were spiritually. In verses 14-16 we will see that the end result was restoration, so that great power continues to be manifested through the church and the church continues to expand. When the church is great – there is great unity, great power, and great care, the end result is great honesty.
