Join us for our upcoming Passion Week services: Good Friday (3/29) @ 7pm and Easter Sunday (3/31) @ 10:30am.

Book of Acts graphic

One of the many things to love about the Bible is that God doesn’t just tell us about the pleasant things, but also the unpleasant things. Imagine if the bible was written by a team of marketing professionals whose goal was to make the characters of the Bible look good. Think about how much of the bible would be taken out.

All of the Bible is profitable for our lives, though, some for different reasons than othersSometime parts of the bible are meant to be a balm for our soul, like a cold drink of water on a hot day. And other passage are meant to serve as warnings for us. Like a guardrail on the edge of a mountain cliff, or a warning sign for a road closure.

We must remember that God gives us the whole bible to teach us about Him and how we live in light of the truth and his character. The challenge for us: will we listen? Will we take heed to God’s Word? 

We must remember that true devotion to God comes from your heart. Don’t think you can fake it.

The Reality of Devotion and Deception in Christ’s Church

Barnabas: A Devoted Disciple who shows us that true transformation comes from the inside out.

Look at Acts 4:36-37. 36 Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus by birth, the one the apostles called Barnabas (which is translated Son of Encouragement), 37 sold a field he owned, brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

His name matches his spiritual gift. Every mention of Barnabas in Acts displays him as an encourager, in an extraordinary way. In fact, every time we come across Barnabas in the Bible, he is encouraging someone. He becomes an advocate for the new convert Paul, (who had been persecuting Christians). He was shepherd for new converts in Antioch, and the one trusted to manage the care for the poor among them. Barnabas shines as one of the most mature, reliable, and loveable leaders of the early church. 

He is a man whose heart was transformed and his actions reflected it. Verse 37 says that he “sold a field and gave laid all the proceeds at the apostles’ feet.”

It is clear that faith in Christ lead God’s people to make extraordinary sacrifices. Barnabas, and many others, were so overcome by God’s grace and their calling to help others that they chose to give in a sacrificial way.

Barnabas and many others made this sacrifice because they knew: "I can trust Jesus with my life, and when he is Lord my life, I find ultimate satisfaction in Him."

This is how true life change happens. It begins with Jesus. When we find our significance and hope is His saving work in our lives, when we realize all we have is from him and through Him; when we realize that our life has new meaning because of Him, we are transformed. Their sacrifice wasn’t a way to earn favor with God, but a response to what Jesus had done for them, and overwhelming faith in the promise that God would care for their needs. So then, finding their satisfaction in Christ drew the church closer to each other. It’s true for them and it’s true for us.

And we see the connection in verse 32: their belief in Christ caused them to be of one heart and mind—giving to each other sacrificially as needs arose. It was the fruit of the Holy Spirit changing and transforming them. Believing in Jesus tightened the people’s relationship to each other. So then, when you become united to Jesus by faith, you united to people by love.

This renewed relationship freed them to value people over their possessions. Not that they all chose a vow of poverty, but rather they realized that because I have Jesus to satisfy, what I own, my worldly status, my comfort in this life, doesn’t define me. This freed men like Barnabas to provide for the needs of others in powerful and exciting ways.

It is clear that Barnabas’ actions were the result of transformed heart. God has changed him from the inside out and his life and actions were a response to God’s transforming work.

As we move into Acts 5, we see another example, an opposite example, a tragic scene in the life of the church.

Ananias and Sapphira: Dangerous Deceivers who show us you can’t fake your way to a transformed life.

No doubt word has gotten around about Barnabas and his great sacrifice. And not only because of Barnabas’s example, but this was the culture God had formed within the church. God was moving and working and Ananias and Sapphira wanted to be a part of it as well.

Notice the words in 4:37 compared to 5:1-2.

37 sold a field he owned, brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

…sold a piece of property. However, he kept back part of the proceeds with his wife’s knowledge, and brought a portion of it and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

We see a difference here. Barnabas brought all the money from the sale and this couple only brought a portion. Barnabas gave everything, they only gave part. Growing up, this is how I would read this passage. Don’t be like Ananias and Sapphira, give everything to God. At first glance, it seems the passage is saying that they just didn’t sacrifice enough, that was the problem. Others were giving everything, and they only gave a portion. While that is true, there’s something deeper going on here.

The truth goes back to the truth we saw earlier. Remember, the people weren’t required to give all that they owned. Barnabas and others were overcome by God’s grace in their own life that they chose to sacrifice greatly for his kingdom and mission.

In Acts 5:4, the Apostle Peter essentially says, "it was your land to sell, and your choice to give the proceeds to the church." It is clear then, the couple was under no pressure to sell the property and donate the entire amount of the sale. The chief problem here wasn’t that they didn’t give all the money from the land sale, but that they were trying to fool everyone into the thinking that they had.

I’m sure they had witnessed the great respect the people gave to Barnabas, and they wanted to be a part of it. They wanted to everyone to think they were like Barnabas, giving sacrificially, when really they stashed away part of the money.

So then, their sin was not a casual deception. Rather, they faked a deeper spiritual commitment than he actually had. Sadly, they wanted the respect and recognition and a prominent place in the church without the commitment to Christ.

Even deeper still, the lied to God. To cover their tracks, perhaps to maintain the praise of others, they lied. This is the sobering reality of sin. This sin, at its core, is not just deceiving people, but trying to deceive God.

 When he heard these words, Ananias dropped dead, and a great fear came on all who heard. The young men got up, wrapped his body, carried him out, and buried him.

 

Wow, this is hard to hear. The Greek word here “dropped dead” is used to describe a sudden, terrible, judicial death. This was a divine act of God. What a sobering scene. Why was God so severe in this moment? 

One thing to remember is that this was such pivotal time in church history. The church it’s infant stages and God is setting the tone for what a Christ-centered life looks like. One writer puts it this way:

“The way Ananias and Sapphira attempted to reach their goals was so dramatically opposed to the whole thrust of the Gospel that to allow it to go unchallenged would have set the entire mission of the church off-course.”

So then, this event served as a warning for the church. It is also a warning for all of us.

John Piper says these words: “The reason Ananias and Sapphira drop dead is to give a stunning warning to the whole church that phony Christians will all end up this way, sooner or later.”

This tragic scene reveals a sobering reality: God may not strike you down because you falsely portray yourself to others, but this shows us where this lifestyle will lead you. Quite simply, we can’t have the Christian life without Christ at the center of it. 

Four Ways to Respond to this Truth

1) You must give God your heart; He hates the mere appearance of holiness.

If we boil this story down to a single truth, it is that we must follow God with our heart, not merely our outward deeds. True transformation comes from the inside and flows out. In biblical literature, the heart represents the whole inner life. Everything, soul, mind, strength. He calls for us to wholeheartedly follow him. This means that true devotion to God can never be just a physical exercise. It must come from the heart.

We must remember, in order to honor God with our action, to glorify Him with our worship, we must give him our hearts. Just like Ananias and Sapphira,  we can fake it. We can show up come to church, say the right things, we can even fool people into thinking we are close to God, but transformation comes from the heart.

“Examples of this sin today include creating an impression we are people of prayer when are not, making it look like we have it all together, when we don’t. Promoting the idea that we are generous when are really so tight we squeak when we smile… when a leader in the church (or a preacher like myself) urges people to live a life devoted to God, when he knows his life doesn’t match up.” -Kent Hughes

Ask yourself this question today in your heart: “Do I long for God, to grow closer to Him, to better follow him, or do I just want people to think I do?” 

When I do things for God or others, what is my motivation? Is it because I love God or because for is it for my own glory?

2) Flee the temptation to hold temporary possessions above the Great Provider

Sometimes we may have good intentions to follow God’s lead, but fear creeps in. Perhaps Ananias and Sapphira (or someone in that position) has the intention of living sacrificially like Barnabas did, but when it came time to give the proceeds, they couldn’t part with it.

It’s quite possible for someone in that position to make the sale, look at the money and not bear the thought of giving it all away. This is a temptation for all of us. Do we put more faith in our provisions (or the security it offers) than we do our Provider? Is that true for you?

3) Never turn a blind eye to the holiness of God and the importance of His mission.

Throughout this ordeal, it is clear that Ananias and Sapphira lacked a healthy fear of God. Obviously, Ananias and Sapphira needed a healthy fear of the Lord. But, we shouldn’t stand over them and point fingers. How often do we fail to give God the respect he deserves?

The God of all the earth demands respect. So, as you consider this passage, you shouldn’t think, God would never do that these days, to me. I thank God He hasn’t, I pray He never will, but it doesn’t change the truth of God’s nature. God is just and holy.We need to remember that “God is not mocked” (Gal 6:7). Proverbs 1:7 teaches us that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. If you don’t stand in awe of God, you are unwise. Destruction will come eventually.

We often need that reminder in our daily lives. How often do you claim to rely on God only to live our life in your own power, completely with our own agenda?

4) Celebrate God’s grace to allow broken sinners the participate in His saving work.

we can’t sit back and separate ourselves from this story. It’s by God’s grace that he allows us to serve Him. We are all guilty of the sin of hypocrisy, yet God has mercy on us. We should praise Him for that.

We also rejoice in the truth that God protected his church from this dangerous corruption. As he protects us and blesses us, often in spite of ourselves. Nothing can stop our God from fulfilling His plan. His mission continues in spite of the obstacles.

All in all, this story today ultimately leads us back to the gospel, the good news of the transforming power of Jesus. Ananias and Sapphira either didn’t understand the gospel or had not allowed it to work down deep in their hearts.

Friends, we can’t make the same mistake. The gospel frees us from addictions to self and stuff. It frees us from pretending. It frees us from craving praise from people. It frees us from wanting to lie, steal, and deceive, to misrepresent ourselves to others and even to God. It makes us honest and generous. It leads us to set our minds on the glory that is to be revealed. Let’s cling to Him, let’s point others to his mercy. May we never lose sight that our God is faithful, his promises are true, and his plan perfect for our lives.

Have a great week! 

Pastor Sam