Acts 5:1–11 - Pick A Lane

When it comes to Christ's Church, you're either all in or your not.

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"Yes, you want to go to heaven, but you want to get your fill of this world, too, do you not? But it cannot be done. You must choose one or the other. You cannot walk on the broad and narrow ways at the same time. Yet many people are trying to do that, and they are stretching their legs to cover both. They think they are clever. They have everything; they are in church and outside; they believe and disbelieve as they choose" - Martyn Lloyd Jones, preaching on Acts 5.

SINCE WE LAST LEFT OFF... After the establishment confronted and threatened Peter and John, the Church has grown exponentially as it continued to aggressively preach the gospel. A whole new way of life has sprung forth for church members, who are described as being 'of one heart and soul' (4:32). Those who owned land and houses sold them to meet needs that would arise.

Acts 4:36 - 5:11 (NASB95)

³⁶ Now Joseph, a Levite of Cyprian birth, who was also called Barnabas by the apostles (which translated means Son of Encouragement), ³⁷ and who owned a tract of land, sold it and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

5 But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, ² 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. ³ 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?

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.”

⁵ And as he heard these words, Ananias fell down and breathed his last; and great fear came over all who heard of it. ⁶ The young men got up and covered him up, and after carrying him out, they buried him.

⁷ Now there elapsed an interval of about three hours, and his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. ⁸ 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.”

⁹ 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.”

¹⁰ 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.

¹¹ And great fear came over the whole church, and over all who heard of these things.

Heidelberg Catechism

Q&A 110

Q. What does God forbid in the eighth commandment?

A. He forbids not only outright theft and robbery,

punishable by law.

But in God’s sight theft also includes

cheating and swindling our neighbor

by schemes made to appear legitimate,

such as:

inaccurate measurements of weight, size, or volume;

fraudulent merchandising;

counterfeit money;

excessive interest;

or any other means forbidden by God.

In addition he forbids all greed

and pointless squandering of his gifts.

Summary

Ananias saw the credit - the glory, really - that men like Barnabas were getting for donating the proceeds from selling property, and he wanted it. But as much as Ananias wanted that glory, he also wanted the proceeds. So he concocted a plan that would get him both. He and his wife Sapphira sold a piece of property, and kept back some of the price for himself... and bringing a portion of it, he laid it at the apostles' feet.

So far, so good. Peter makes clear that the property belonged to Ananias, and since it was under his control, he could do with it as he pleased. The issue in this episode isn't that Ananias and Sapphira didn't give all of the proceeds to the Church, for they were not required to give any of the money to the Lord. Though many would like to wring socialist principles out of the early Church's practices, such ideas are not promoted anywhere in Scripture.

But Ananias' devious scheme laid bare some massive problems in his soul - problems that each and every one of us struggle with daily. Ananias wanted the best of both worlds. On the one hand, Ananias wanted the Church to prosper, so much so that he gave it what likely still amounted to a sizeable donation, even if it wasn't all of the proceeds from the sale. On the other hand, he wanted to keep holding onto to the things of this world: glory and money.

So Ananias lied. He insinuated that he gave all of the proceeds, but kept back some of the price for himself. Both Ananias and his wife would pay with their lives for their deceit.

  Dig Deeper  

Perhaps the Lord's immediate judgment upon Ananias and Sapphira seems overly harsh. After all, we all fib, exaggerate, and even flat out lie all the time, and none of us have dropped dead after doing so. So the fact Ananias and Sapphira both breathed their last after lying feels rather arbitrary when everybody else seems to be getting away with it.

But this episode would be a poor example to demonstrate what may be perceived as God's unfairness. God was very fair to these two. He immediately paid them the wages their sins deserved: death (Genesis 2:17, Romans 6:23). If God is unfair at all, it's in the grace that He extends to the rest of us when He doesn't smite us as our continual sins deserve!

But God's quick fairness shown to Ananias and Sapphira gets the early Church's attention, and it ought to get ours! Luke reports that a great fear came over the whole church, and over all who heard these things. The command to fear God is one of the most prevalent in the Bible, occurring over 300 times. It simply means, as one commentator has dubbed it, to have a trembling trust - to know what God is capable of in giving us what we deserve, but to trust that He won't because of the grace, mercy and peace that He extends to us in Christ.

One of the primary points of this episode is that you and I are called to be all-in as members of Christ's Church. This doesn't mean forfeiting all of our worldly possessions and goods. Ananias was never obligated to do so either. But it does mean that we use all that we have to honor and glorify the One whom we ought to properly fear.

What are you keeping back for yourself?

AAA Prayer (About)

• ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, whom we come before with trembling trust;

• ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will let go of the things of this world so that you can be all in as a member of Christ's Church;

• ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:

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