Acts 5 - The Danger of Lying to the Holy Spirit?
Story of Ananias and Sapphira
5 Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. 2 With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet.3 Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? 4 Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.” 5 When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened. 6 Then some young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him. 7 About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8 Peter asked her, “Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land?” “Yes,” she said, “that is the price.” 9 Peter said to her, “How could you conspire to test the Spirit of the Lord? Listen! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.” 10 At that moment she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11 Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events.
Commentary
This is one of the scariest stories in the bible, and there is really no way to slice or dice in a way that makes it less scary. There is no way to sugar coat it. We often talk about the grace and mercy of God, which we well should, but today's passage shows the judgment and holiness of God.
As we finished off Acts 4, one of the remarkable counter cultural things that was happening in the church was that people were selling their personal property and giving the proceeds to the apostles to do with it what was most needed. They claimed no possession they owned to be theirs alone.
We talk a lot about "tithing" which is the Old Testament command for giving, but in Acts 4, we see the radical generosity these new believers in Jesus demonstrated. The Spirit of generosity flowed through them, and the Spirit and worked great deeds of power through them due to their obedience.
You may say that sounds a lot like modern day Communiism. No personal property. Everyone having an equal amount. But it was far from it. First of allm the people willingly gave of their material possessions. It was not due to the coercion from the government.
"Unlike communism, which is an enforced, state-run political system that abolishes private property, Acts 4 features voluntary, locally organized sharing that respects private property ownership." -Perkins Center for Preaching Development
So why did Ananias and Sapphira pay such a great price for their deceit?
1. The passage says they first lied to the "Holy Spirit". On Pentecost every believer personally received the indwelling presence and power of the Holy Spirit, which Jesus had promised them. We know the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity, and is every bit as much God as Father and the Son.
In other places the bible says "Do not quench or test the Holy Spirit." 1 Thessalonians 5:19
They ignored the "promptings of the Holy Spirit". If nothing else this story reminds us of the "holiness" of the Holy Spirit. We should not take the Holy Spirit for granted, or grow hardened to his voice. Most of all we should not "lie to the Holy Spirit". After all he already knows you are doing it!
2. The judgment of Ananias and Sapphira was an example to the rest of the Church. At the heart of their sin was their deceit and lying to the apostles. We know the evil one is also called "the deceiver". This was a direct attack on the integrity and purity of the early church. Paul says to the Galatians,
"Do not deceived, God cannot be mocked!" Galatians 6:7
Integrity is something we don't talk about enough. Intergrity is when what you believe or purport to believe matches the way you live. The term "hypocrite" comes from the Greek word used for actors "wearing a mask". They aren't who you really think they are. Ananias and Sapphira were wearing the mask of generosity, and they faced God's judgment because of it.
3. They got what they deserved. This sounds harsh, but the bible says, "The wages of sin is death". Maybe a better question is why is God so merciful to us when we willfully sin and ignore the prompting of the Holy Spirit.
I think this passage reminds me to take sin seriously. We can get so comfortable and casual about sin that forget how much it offends our holy God! God hates sin. He has every right to judge it.
Although I am saddened how Ananias and Sapphira's live were taken, I hope and pray they still went straight to heaven as a result of what Jesus did on the cross for them.
Application
As you think about the ways you might quench the Holy Spirit, or lie to the church (which could be presenting a much more holy version of yourself), remember the wages of sin is death. Sin is so costly, Jesus had to die to free us from it.
When we casually and comfortable sin without fear, it as if we say to Jesus, "Thanks for what you did on the cross but I still want to do things my way!"
Where are you refusing to offer something you have for God's purposes in the church.? Where might he be calling you to share the love of Jesus with someone who needs it the most? Are you being obedient to the Spirit's promptings in your life?
Prayer
Thank you Jesus that though we sin everyday we haven't yet met the fate of Ananias and Sapphira. You are so good to me, despite what you know of me. As we received your free gift of grace, may we live in obedience the Holy Spirit who lives in us! Amen.
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