Jump Start # 782

Acts 5:4 “While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God?”

My home congregation is reading Acts 5 today. It begins with the sad story of Ananias and Sapphira. They got caught up in the excitement of helping needing Christians but in the process greed, deception and lies led them to look better than what they really were. They did not have to sell land and give to the apostles. That was not commanded. They did not have to give all the sell to the apostles. However, when they pretended to give it all, and kept some for themselves, their generous act became tainted with selfishness and lies.

Ananias and Sapphira were struck dead. They were the first Christians to die. Their death wasn’t in standing for their faith, it was in disobedience and standing up for a lie. Why is this sad page preserved in history? Why do we have this in our Bibles? What are we to learn from this?

First, God hates lying. A gift, an offering is of little good if it is not genuine. A gift looks to the  one receiving it, not to the giver. Praise and honor is not the purpose of giving. A little gift in honesty is much better than a large gift covered with selfishness, pride and lies.

Second, God was placing a stake in the ground about His people. Trust, love and fellowship is based upon honesty. This young church in Acts was starting off on the wrong foot if something serious and drastic wasn’t done. Lying members is not the direction that God wants His people to go. If this couple lied about money, would others lie about sin?

Third, Ananias and Sapphira, became Christians the same way every one does, through faith and obedience to Christ. Their young faith hadn’t fully conquered the pride in their hearts. They hadn’t fully surrendered self to Christ. Fighting self is our greatest enemy. What happened here show us that some are still not completely won over by Christ. Yes, they are Christians. Yes, they worship. However, their hearts may still follow greed or pride or other things. There is a great need to teach. Christ must come first. Pride destroys. Lying is wrong. They may have known but been weak.

Fourth, here is another husband and wife team, like Adam and Eve, in which both engaged in wrong. We do not see one in the marriage putting on the brakes. We do not see one reminding the other about God. We do not see one saying, “I’ll have no part in this.” We find one following the other into wrong. One of the blessings of marriage is having someone who will help you get to Heaven. A person who loves you enough to say, “No, we can’t do that.” Or, “Let’s get up and get to worship services,” when the other doesn’t feel like it. Strengthen each other. Pull out the best in each other. Point each other to Heaven. Be a help to each other. When one gets discouraged, the other is there to help. A powerful marriage is one of the greatest tools to help us get to Heaven. When we encourage our mates to be weak, to disobey, to do wrong, we hurt the marriage, we hurt their soul, and we hurt our influence with them. It seems from the punishment that they received in Acts 5, that God was holding them equally accountable.

This section ends with the statement, “Great fear came over the whole church…” The sudden death of a Christian is shocking to any congregation. A couple who dies suddenly is even worse. But when it is learned that they died by the hand of God, great fear fills the hearts of all who knew them. God would strike down His own people, just like in the O.T. God knew their motives and hearts. God would not tolerate wickedness among His people. Their deaths would make all look within. Their deaths would be a reminder of what God expected. Their deaths would send a chill that it could have been others if they had been dishonest. Great fear—we don’t like that. We do all we can to avoid great fear. We try to live in secure homes. We try to protect our ways. A church that had great fear would become a closer and better group as a result. Out of the bad, good would come. Lessons learned. Faith committed. Trust renewed. Sometimes we don’t learn those lessons unless something serious takes place.

Roger