“Acts 5:1-11”

Wednesday, December 23, 2015

“But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, and kept back some of the price for himself, with his wife’s full knowledge, and bringing a portion of it, he laid it at the apostles’ feet. But Peter said, ‘Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the price of the land? 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.’ And as he heard these words, Ananias fell down and breathed his last; and great fear came over all who heard of it. The young men got up and covered him up, and after carrying him out, they buried him. Now there elapsed an interval of about three hours, and his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. And Peter responded to her, ‘Tell me whether you sold the land for such and such a price?’ And she said, ‘Yes, that was the price.’ Then Peter said to her, ‘Why is it that you have agreed together to put the Spirit of the Lord to the test? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out as well.’ And immediately she fell at his feet and breathed her last, and the young men came in and found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. And great fear came over the whole church, and over all who heard of these things.”

---End of Scripture verses---

Ananias and Sapphira suffered from the dual diseases that plague many people in our modern age. Their love for money was only equaled by their love of the praise of men. They did a good deed, but with a bad motive. They wanted to appear to be more benevolent than they really were. You see this kind of thing a lot in the world we live in. A rich person will openly donate a large sum of money to his favorite charity, and yet often the motivation is the positive public relations benefit acquired from it, along with the tax advantage. While this type of thing is perfectly legal and acceptable in the corrupt business world, there is no place for it in the sanctified church of Jesus Christ.

But why such a harsh penalty? It may seem on the surface that the punishment did not fit the crime. I will share my thoughts on why I think it was necessary for God to use such extreme measures to teach His people to be holy. First of all, lying is a very big deal. Of the seven things that God is said to particularly abhor in Proverbs 6:16-19, two of them involve lying. Revelations 21:8 tells us that all liars will have their place in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone. People have the tendency to downplay lying, but with God it is a terrible sin. And while lying is a horrible thing in general, these coconspirators actually tried to lie to the Holy Spirit (verse 3). All Christians must understand that God doesn’t see as man sees. “Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). It is easy to pull the wool over the eyes of human beings, but it is impossible to deceive the Lord.

Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 8:11, “Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed quickly, therefore the hearts of the sons of men among them are given fully to do evil.” God executed this sentence quickly to promote fear in the minds of His people and to deter them from giving their hearts over to evil (verses 5 and 11). God always knows what we are doing and why we are doing it, and we will suffer the consequences for doing what is wrong – if not immediately on earth, then eternally at Judgment. God very rarely killed people on the spot for their sinful behavior, but He periodically teaches us in Scripture that He knows when we sin, and that He is not pleased.

I believe a couple of other issues are at play here as well. First of all, the money that Christians put in the common church treasury is God’s money and is sanctified to be used on God’s things. Once Ananias and Sapphira pledged that money to the church it was no longer their money but God’s. Therefore they were stealing from God. And since God’s money is sanctified, that also means that when we give to the collection it is an act of worship. God has never tolerated the adulteration of the worship that He commands from His servants. I am reminded of what happened with the two priests, Nadab and Abihu in Leviticus 10:1-5. When they tainted God’s worship by burning incense with “strange fire,” God killed them on the spot and they were unceremoniously buried just like Ananias and Sapphira. Once again, this punishment seems awfully severe. But God demands that, “By those who come near Me I will be treated as holy, and before all the people I will be honored” (Leviticus 10:3).

Just one more thought about today’s text. In verse 3 Peter asked Ananias, “Why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit?” Does the Bible teach that the devil forces people to sin against their will when he “enters their hearts”? Well of course that is never the case. In verse 4 Peter asked Ananias, “Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart?” The devil can only enter our hearts and influence us when we allow him to do so. Peter blamed Ananias, not Satan, for the sinful choice that he himself made. While the devil is real and his sway can be strong, we are always willing accomplices when we choose to act on that persuasion and sin against God. Besides, a just God would never punish us for actions that are impossible to resist.

For tomorrow please read Acts 5:12-16.

Blessings!

- Louie Taylor

Share