Good morning. Would you pray with me?
Today, we are going to continue in our Crime Scene Investigation series. We have seen a variety of crimes thus far. We began by looking a Cain killing Abel, David defeat and kill Goliath, David have an affair with Bathsheba and then kill her husband Uriah, and last week, we saw Ahab wanting Naboth’s vineyard, and as a result of that, we watched Ahab and Jezebel kill Naboth. And this week, it’s one of those bizarre stories in the Bible that make you scratch your head and say, “Huh?”
At the time that this crime took place, the church is seeing astronomical growth, thousands of people are coming to the faith and with that come practical problems and practical solutions. The apostles are working full time to administer and teach this growing group of people, which means they are no longer fishing, farming, and doing whatever else it was that they did for a living prior to this growth.
And so there is now a need for providing for the leaders monetarily so that they could provide for the needs of their families. There were needs of those within the community of faith, the widows, orphans, and others in need that had to be met. And the church responded in a big way.
We read in Acts 4:32 that, “All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had.”
So, all the believers were of one heart and mind, and they felt that what they owned was not their own; they shared everything they had. And then if we skip down a little further it says Acts 4:34-35 that, “There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.”
There was no poverty among them, because people who owned land or houses sold them and brought the money to the apostles to give to others in need. Now we don’t know if the Apostles had preached on giving or money, don’t know if they passed the plate or had an offering box. We don’t know anything other then the people were generous and the needs were met. And then, we even have an example of the kinds of things that they would do. In Acts 4:36-37 it says, “Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means Son of Encouragement), sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet.”
Sound like a great story, doesn’t it? And if that was all she wrote we would marvel at the generosity and unselfish nature of the early church and this message would never have shown up in our CSI series. But the story doesn’t end there, it continues.
There was a couple in the early church by the name of Ananias and Sapphira, and they were obviously impressed with what Barnabas did and so they attempted to replicate his actions.
They sold some property they had and brought a portion of the money to the apostles for the church. So far so good. But that wasn’t all there was to the story. We don’t know how much they sold their property for, for arguing purposes, let’s just say that they sold the land for $100,000. I’m sure they were looking at the money and thinking, “This is a lot of money, the church probably doesn’t need it all.” And so Ananias brought part of the proceeds to the church, let’s say it was half, $50,000.
Now that was a pretty good chunk of change. And I’m sure it could have been used for a lot of good. But the problem came when Ananias came to the disciples and he said, “Hey guys, I sold my property and got $50,000 for it, and here it is!”
Now, $50,000 was a great gift, there was no problem with that aspect of what he did. But listen to what happened. Acts 5:3-4 goes on to say, “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? Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at you disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God.”
I don’t know how Peter figured this out, maybe he had seen the listing for the property in the newspaper and knew what Ananias was asking for the property, maybe he knew the guy who bought it, or maybe God told him. We don’t know, but we read what happened. Acts 5:5, as soon as Ananias heard these words, he fell to the floor and died. Everyone who heard about it was terrified. They bundled him up, took him out, and buried him.
3 hours later his wife arrived, and Peter asked her if what they had given was what the property had sold for and she confirmed that it was and he told her what had happened to her husband and she dropped dead and they buried her as well.
Now a couple of thoughts here, don’t you love how the word of God doesn’t cover up the tough situations? If I was writing the Bible I’d skip that part. I mean, think about it, it showed that the early church wasn’t nearly as perfect as we sometimes think. And the entire thing about them dying, who wants people to know about that? That’s not the best thing to say to people, “Hey come to our church and drop dead.”
It is said that Oliver Cromwell the British politician from the 1700’s was disfigured by facial warts and at one point was commissioning a portrait of himself and told the artist, “I desire you would use all your skill to paint my picture truly like me, warts and everything.” And the word of God is like that painting. The Bible paints the picture of the early church with warts and everything.
The other thing is do I think God struck these people dead? No, William Barclay summed it up when he wrote, “This story shows 2 things about the early church, the expectancy of men’s minds and the extraordinary respect in which the apostles were held. It was in that atmosphere that the rebuke of Peter acted as it did.” In other words, Barclay is suggesting that both Ananias and Sapphira died of guilty consciences and the fear of God. The mere suggestion that they had been caught in their lie, the idea that they had lied to the Holy Spirit literally scared them to death.
Now, this story all began when Annanias and Sapphira wanted what someone else had. Someone else had given a great deal of money to the church, and I’m sure that people though highly of them. And so these 2 criminals wanted the same thing. They wanted to look good.
This story may be about a lot of things but the truth is that is isn’t really about money all that much. And this morning we aren’t going to talk about money all that much. So, if you were hoping I’d be speaking about giving today, which I highly doubt it, you are out of luck and you’ll have to come back another day for that sermon.
So, if the story here isn’t about money, then what is it about? Well let’s examine this crime scene and see.
Well, First Of All, It’s About Pride:
There are all kinds of reasons for serving God and for giving to God. Most are honorable but some aren’t. But there is never a right reason for doing the wrong thing.
If we go back to the end of chapter 4 we see the example had been set by another guy who sold a field that he had and gave the money to the church. We are told that his name was Joseph but the apostles had given him a nick name and that was Barnabas. In the original language, Barnabas meant “Son of Encouragement.”
And Barnabas keeps showing up in the story of the early church and he keeps living up to his name, he is coming along side of Paul, or Timothy, or John Mark with just the right word at just the right time. Whenever someone seemed a little blue or a little discouraged, the encourager shows up. It was Henry Ford who said, “The ability to encourage others is one of life’s finest assets.”
And so it was Barnabas who saw a need in the church and sold a field he had and gave them the money. Probably didn’t make a big deal out of it, didn’t expect any praise for what he did. He was just doing what he had always done, encouraging people. In this case he happened to use money. And I’m sure people started to talk about what a great guy Barnabas was.
It was at that point that Ananias got thinking, “Boy it would sure be nice if people talked about me that way, maybe if I sold my property and gave the church the money people would talk about what a great guy I am and how much I do for God.” Maybe he was like Louis 14th who once stated, “Has God forgotten all I have done for Him.” Ananias wanted to look good in the eyes of everyone else.
So we have 2 gifts, one given for the right reason, and one given for the wrong reason. And at this point Ananias was still safe, pride might not be a great characteristic but it is part of being human. T.S. Eliot said, “Most of the trouble in the world is caused by people wanting to be important.”
And I guess in a way, Ananias got his way, he wanted people to know about him and talk about him, and they have been for the last 2 thousand years. Someone once said, “Everyone is good for something even if it’s a bad example.”
So, Ananias allowed his pride to get to him, and ultimately lead him into trouble. But it wasn’t just about pride. Acts 5:2 says that, “He brought part of the money to the apostles…”
So, Secondly, It’s About Greed:
I don’t know what happened at this point. Maybe he didn’t know how much the property would bring, or maybe when he had the money in his hand he got thinking about the new chariot he saw in the showroom window earlier, or the Mediterranean cruise that Sapphira had been wanting to go on.
Whatever it was, somewhere between the thought “If I sold some property and gave the money to the church” and actually selling the property and giving the money to the church, something changed. And instead of it being “giving the money to the church” it became “give some of the money to the church.”
Often we hear people quote Jesus in saying, “Money is the root of all evil” but it wasn’t Jesus it was Paul and what he said was I Timothy 6:10 “For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.” So I guess in a way it’s about money, but there are all types of greed.
We can be greedy for stuff, we can be greedy for recognition, and we can be greedy for acceptance. American Psychologist Eric Fromm says that, “Greed is a bottomless pit which exhausts the person in an endless effort to satisfy the need without ever reaching satisfaction.”
But you know, he was probably still safe, when he brought the gift to the church Peter commented in Acts 5:4 and said, “The property was yours to sell or not sell, as you wished. And after selling it, the money was also yours to give away.”
So, after investigating this story, we find that Ananias suffered from pride, and now from greed. But those in them selves could have been corrected, and we wouldn’t be looking at this passage.
Let’s go back to the story. Acts 5:2, he brought part of the money to the apostles, claiming it was the full amount. With his wife’s consent, he kept the rest.
The Main Lesson Behind This Story Is, It’s About Honesty:
So, Ananias struggled with pride? I have and if you were honest you probably have to. And he was a little greedy. You ever suffer from a little greed? I mean maybe just once. Want a bigger paycheck, a larger house, a nicer car, better clothes?
Let’s go back to the story, he sells his property decides to keep some of the money, so far so good. And he brings the money to the church and says, “Hey guys I sold my property just like Barnabas and here’s all the money. Aren’t I great?”
And then listen to Peter’s response, we heard part of it earlier. Acts 5:4 says, “The property was yours to sell or not sell, as you wished. And after selling it, the money was also yours to give away. How could you do a thing like this? You weren’t lying to us but to God!”
They say that honesty pays but obviously not enough to suit Ananias. I wonder if Ananias had even stopped to think about the fact that he was lying to God? I’m sure that he had already worked through the process of the apostles never knowing how much he had gotten and how much he had given. But had he stopped to work through the fact that God knew?
This goes back to the argument that we have gone over again and again through this series. You will get caught. Understand that you cannot lie to God. You can’t lie to Him about your giving, you can’t lie to Him about your behavior, and you can’t lie to Him about your motivation. Think it’s a secret, your spouse doesn’t know the truth, your friends don’t know the truth, I don’t know the truth. Almost 3 thousand years ago David wrote in Psalm 44:21, “God would surely have known it, for He knows the secrets of every heart.”
Chances are, you probably won’t drop dead but what will it do to your spirit, to your conscience, to your relationship with God?
Jesus promised in John 8:31-32 that, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Do you know the truth? Are you living the truth? Has the truth set you free? It can if you want it to, and if you are honest, honest with your self and honest with God.
The problem wasn’t with the amount that Ananias gave to God. Had he been honest, God would have been delighted to have that kind of an offering given to Him. On the other hand, Ananias tried to lie to everyone, and God too, and say that it was everything that he had sold the land for. The lack of honesty is what upset God.
It was Ananias’ lack of honesty that got him in trouble. It was Sapphira’s lack of honesty that got her in trouble. When you give a gift with a sincere heart, God accepts that gift. But when you have ulterior motives, and you are deceitful about you actions or your gift, that is when God becomes displeased with you.
So, as we leave here this morning, keep in mind that it was Ananias’ pride, mixed with a little greed, that led him down the wrong path. But it was his lack of honesty that truly did him in.
As Christ followers, we need to be people of integrity, and that means that we need to be honest with others, and honest with God as well. Let’s Pray!
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