South Woods Baptist Church

THE HIGH COST OF DECEIT

ACTS 5:1-11

AUGUST 4, 1996

To the all-seeing (omnipresent), all-knowing (omniscient) eyes of God, there are no secret sins. As Thomas Brooks put it, "Those sins which lie closest and are most secretly lurking in the heart, are as obvious and odious to God as those that are most fairly written upon a man's forehead." We deceive ourselves to think that we can nurture sin without its ugliness affecting our lives and those about us.

It is a remarkable thing that the Bible gives us not only the good and positive, but also the evil and negative things that have happened throughout biblical history. We can see a David slay Goliath by the hand of the Lord, then see him blacken his holy reputation by his sin with Bathsheba. Peter received the divine revelation of Jesus being Messiah, then found himself denying the very Messiah he had proclaimed. We can learn from both the positive and negative.

The movement of the Spirit in the early church is captivating throughout the first four chapters of Acts. We see the coming of the Spirit in power, the unforgettable drama of Jerusalem coming together to hear Peter's "Pentecostal sermon," the healing of the lame beggar, and the testimony of Peter and John before the Jewish religious leaders. So far, so good!

When you read the latter part of chapter 4 you discover the practical unity of the church displayed in their care for one another.

And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own; but all things were common property to them. And with great power the apostles were giving witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all. For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales, and lay them at the apostles' feet; and they would be distributed to each, as any had need. And Joseph, a Levite of Cyprian birth, who was also called Barnabas by the apostles (which translated means, Son of Encouragement), and who owned a tract of land, sold it and brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet. (Acts 4:32-37)

Here was the magnificence of Christian unity which Christ had prayed about in His high priestly prayer of John 17. These brethren stood together in "one heart and soul," giving of themselves and their means for the cause of the gospel and the good of the church. They did not sell all their material possessions and put them in a common fund as the Essenes did in the Qumran region, but as anyone had need, they would sell property and goods, using the proceeds to meet the needs of others in the body.

Luke carefully points out one such believer who acted in this way, a man we know as Barnabas. He had a tract of land which he sold and gave all the proceeds for the church. Obviously, he was held in great esteem by the rest of the church and this act of sacrificial giving was admired by others in the body. Perhaps there was a buzz of excitement about this substantial gift which Barnabas laid at the apostle's feet.

It is was in the context of such a selfless act of giving that we see the first real blight upon the infant church. The names of Ananias and Sapphira will forever go down in the annals of church history as the first members of the church to strike a blow against the unity of the church as instruments in Satan's hands. The adversary had assaulted the church externally, using religious persecution as a means to deter the Christians from their Christ-centered mission. But that assault only served to increase the church rather than destroy it. So Satan turned his evil attention inward and filled the heart of two church members to do something that would pollute the church.

Two important questions arise from this text. First, what is the nature of the church for a member's secret sins to be so serious? Second, is the Holy Spirit really serious about the purity and holiness of the church? Both of these questions are answered with clarity in our text. We must never lose sight of the truth that the saving work of Christ purifies a people for Himself (Titus 2:14). We must not presume upon the purity and unity of the church. It is vital that we constantly search our motives and actions to make sure that we do nothing to grieve the Spirit (Eph. 4:30) and hinder the church of Jesus Christ.

With this exhortation in mind, let us see...

I believe that one of the great benefits of studying the book of Acts is to understand more about the whole nature and workings of the local church. It addresses the local church as opposed to the mysterious, universal church. The first instance of the word "church" being used in Acts is found in v. 11.

Let's admit that there is probably a great deal of confusion concerning precisely what the church is in our day. I would point out that whatever the true church "was" in the first century, it "is" in the 20th century. The problem comes in our sifting through the many ideas of "church" that seem to be prevalent and coming to some firm, biblical conclusions on the nature of the church.

The church is described by many terms. It is called "the body of Christ" (I Cor. 12; Eph. 4), "the bride of Christ" (Eph. 5:23ff; Rev. 19:6,7), the "pillar and support of the truth" (I Tim. 3:15), and dozens of other names. The church, in its truest sense, is composed of all true disciples of Jesus Christ, i.e., those who have been redeemed by the blood of Christ and who now live under the Lordship of Christ. Now, I am speaking in the true, biblical terms concerning the church. The unfortunate thing is that it is difficult to get a clear picture of the church by looking at the thousands of organized churches which exist throughout our world. The term "church" seems to imply more of the idea of a building or an active organization or a membership roll or a calendar of programs and activities rather than the redeemed of the Lord. I want to challenge us to think in biblical terms about the church rather than the modern, worldly ideas. I would point out at least three truths concerning the nature of the church that are inherent within our text.

The emphasis on the sin of Ananias and Sapphira is that they have lied to the Holy Spirit and sought to put the Holy Spirit to the test. The language used shows that the activity and life of the church is in relationship to the Holy Spirit. We must begin by noting that the deity of the Spirit is clearly confirmed in these verses.

Notice in verse 3 that Peter tells Ananias that he has lied to the Holy Spirit. Then in the next verse he states, "You have not lied to men, but to God." Again, in verse 9, Peter calls the Holy Spirit "the Spirit of the Lord." The Holy Spirit is called "God" by this use of parallelism in these verses. Just as the Father is God and the Redeemer, Jesus Christ, is God, the Holy Spirit is Himself God of very God. The 1689 London Baptist Confession states: "Three divine Persons constitute the Godhead--the Father, the Son (or the Word), and the Holy Spirit. They are one in substance, in power, and in eternity. Each is fully God, and yet the Godhead is one and indivisible..." (p. 19). If He is not God, then to pray to Him, to depend upon Him, to trust in Him, to ask for His power would constitute the highest form of idolatry!

We must understand that the Holy Spirit is a Person. Only a person can be lied to or put to the test. Some have the mistaken notion that the Holy Spirit is an "it," albeit a 'powerful it'. Others think that He is merely a 'force' or a 'power' that works in people's lives. But Peter unmistakably shows that He is a Person. And as a Person, He is involved in relationships with other persons. The Holy Spirit is One with whom we have to do, One to whom we must answer, One whom we must not ignore or presume upon. He is One with whom we have fellowship, according to II Cor. 13:14, and you cannot have fellowship with anyone who does not have personhood.

The fact of the Spirit's deity lays the groundwork for the essential truth we must see. The church is a "habitation of the Spirit." Paul expressed it like this in Ephesians 2:22, "in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit." That word "dwelling" means "a place of settling down" or "a habitation." Think of the enormity of that statement. When the church gathers together the Holy Spirit, God Himself, dwells right in our midst! When we come to worship, the Spirit is among us. When we come and go to serve, the Spirit is among us. When we come together in any fashion, the Spirit is among us. The point we must see is that since the Holy Spirit is among us, we must not in any way offend Him by unholiness or disobedience.

Let us consider some practical outworking of this truth. Do you prepare for Sunday School and worship as if you are going to be in the presence of the Spirit of God Himself? Perhaps your mind is on some project or a television show or an activity. Do you think the Spirit is unaware of this, yet you are gathered with the church which is His holy habitation? Maybe you are not really interested in the truth of God's Word being proclaimed. Instead, you just want lots of programs and activities to keep you busy and make you 'feel' spiritual. Dare you have such an attitude when the Author of the Word of God who breathed the Scriptures into existence through human personalities is right in our midst?

This Holy Spirit who habitates among us as a local church can be grieved by our sin (Eph. 4:30), quenched by our resisting the proclamation of God's Word (I Thess. 5:19-20), and offended by our attempts to "use" the church for self-centered purposes (context).

The seriousness of the sin of Ananias and Sapphira can be seen in how they took liberty with the unity of the church. They were willing to treat the "one heart and soul" of Acts 4:32 lightly by deceiving the church. They lived under the ruse that the church was an organization they could use rather a body to whom they were responsible.

Unity is to always be at the heart of the local church. This is not merely an organizational unity. It is not a unity that is structured because you have all the right programs and personalities in place. It is a unity that is grounded in the redemptive work of Christ. It is a unity that is threaded together by the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit. It is a unity that is bound as tight as the unity of the Father and the Son (John 17:21). It is a unity that is a grand display of the glory of the indwelling Christ (John 17:22-23).

Sanctify them in the truth; Thy word is truth. As Thou didst send Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth. I do not ask in behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be in Us; that the world may believe that Thou didst send Me. And the glory which Thou hast given Me I have given to them; that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them, and thou in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, that the world may know that Thou didst send Me, and didst love them, even as Thou didst love Me. (John 17:17-23)

Unity does not mean uniformity, that is, we all look alike, act alike, think alike. Unity implies that we are bound together at the deepest level of the soul. Our hearts and minds beat in sync though we may have different ideas and interests and ministries. Unity is a fact that is wrought through Christ so that though we are different in many ways, we harmonize together due to our common bond in Jesus Christ and common desire to bring glory to His name. The truth is that as Christians we have unity and we must not do anything to obscure the unity which has been purchased at the cost of the blood of Jesus Christ.

This organic or living unity is described by Paul as the many members of the human body functioning together though different in many ways (I Cor. 12). The hands, feet, ears, eyes are all distinctly different but belong to the same "head" and have the same purpose, to do all that the "head" desires them to do. Such unity can be hindered only by one of two things: "There are always those in the church who are not of it. Inevitably they occasion division....And those who are truly of the church are still at best very poor Christians. The frequent disobedience of the members of the church to its Head drives them apart" (R.B. Kuiper, The Glorious Body of Christ, 97-98).

The prayer of our Lord, "Sanctify them in the truth; Thy word is truth," was a prayer for our holiness as the people of God. Paul explained what it meant to be a recipient of the grace of God in Christ:

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus: who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds. (Titus 2:11-14)

There is no doubt in this passage and many others like it, that the work of Christ in the heart of a sinner is not to leave that sinner living the same old way. It is a work that makes him a "new creation" (II Cor. 5:17), so that he lives in a way that is distinctly Christian. Holiness means that we are set apart to the Lord. In practical fashion, being a holy people means that we are living our lives as if we belong to the Lord and not to this worldly system.

The threat by Ananias and Sapphira was that of obscuring the holiness of the church. Christ had saved this body of believers, given them a new nature, filled them with new desires, so that they distinctly lived as the people of God in the midst of a corrupt people. When Ananias and Sapphira thought that they could deceive the church, embezzle funds (the meaning of "kept back" in v. 2), lie about their gift, and gain a position of prominence in the church for their own selfish purposes, the Holy Spirit would not allow it to go on!

Holiness is one of those words which people don't like to talk about. Yet at the heart of the saving work of Christ is that of producing a holy people. This does not mean that we are just to be holy in "position" but not in practice. It implies that we are to give ourselves to the practice of personal holiness in word, attitude, deed, and actions. In his classic work, Holiness, J.C. Ryle has written, "I fear it is sometimes forgotten that God has married together justification and sanctification. They are distinct and different things, beyond question, but one is never found without the other. All justified people are sanctified people, and all sanctified are justified....Tell me not of your justification, unless you have also some marks of sanctification. Boast not of Christ's work for you, unless you can show us the Spirit's work in you" (p. 46).

II. An offense to the church

Keeping in mind that the nature of the church is one of being a habitation of the Spirit which exists in unity as a holy people of God, when sin creeps in it is something that is "foreign" to the church's nature. We have in our text the first great offense of the church. There have been many since then, but perhaps none so clearly seen and severely dealt with than the one found in our text.

We must remember that the church was in its infancy. If it began to tolerate sin among its members it would soon become defiled and impure, losing its salty effect in its ministry. It was in this pristine condition that the adversary assaulted the church from within. Though Satan was at work, the blame lay not at his 'feet' but at the feet two church members, Ananias and Sapphira. As Thomas Brooks has pointed out, "Satan must have a double leave before he can do anything against us. He must have leave from God, and leave from ourselves, before he can act anything against our happiness" (Works, vol. 1, 153). Though Providence permitted this assault, Ananias and Sapphira had the responsibility of opposing it and resisting it (I Cor. 10:13; I Peter 5:8-9). They did not and we have for an example to us the seriousness of an offense against the Holy Spirit and the church whom He inhabits.

When we begin to analyze the sin of this husband and wife duo, we must see that at the root of it lay wrong motives (an evidence of breaching the 10th commandment--coveting). They wanted to use the church for personal gain and personal glory. They were interested in drawing attention to themselves, receiving the accolades of their fellow church members, and giving the perception that they were very spiritual, sacrificial people. They were satisfying their own craving for personal prestige and power. They hoped to gain greater influence within the infant church. Though their hearts were corrupt they wanted everyone else to think they were good-hearted and pure.

We must understand, as our text points out in verses 1-4, Ananias and Sapphira did not have to sell their property and give all the proceeds to the church. They could have sold it and given a portion to the church and that would have been fine. But the ruse was that they were giving all of the proceeds of the sale of their property to the church.

Can you imagine for a moment the scene in the gathering of the church. The body had gathered for worship and the proclamation of the Word. At some particular time, Ananias came before Peter with a sack of money which he had set aside and presents to him as the full proceeds of the sale of his property. We have already seen that Barnabas had done this. Evidently Ananias had stated that he was going to give all of his proceeds to the church, so when he approached Peter it was under the guise of giving a magnanimous gift. The smile on his face was suddenly dismissed by the questioning of Peter. The wrong motives of Ananias and his wife were exposed. No longer could Peter or the church be neutral about such a sin.

What of your motives? All of us are susceptible to falling prey to wrong motives. It may be in our preaching or our teaching or our leadership or our singing or our acts of service that we begin to think of 'what's in it for me' rather than the glory of God. Perhaps we do what we do so that others will notice us and stroke us. If it bothers you when no one notices your service then you best check your motives for serving. Perhaps you come to church so that you might please others or satisfy some carnal desire rather than the glory of God.

"Francois Fenelon was the court preacher for King Louis XIV of France in the 17th century. One Sunday when the king and his attendants arrived at the chapel for the regular service, no one else was there but the preacher. King Louis demanded, "What does this mean?" Fenelon replied, "I had published that you would not come to church today, in order that your Majesty might see who serves God in truth and who flatters the king" (ODB).

We must have a motive check lest we find ourselves offending the Holy Spirit who habitates the church.

The act of Ananias and Sapphira is called "embezzling" by our text. In verse 2 it states that he "kept back some of the price for himself," then in verse 3 Peter questioned him because he kept back some of the price of the land. The word can literally be translated 'embezzled'. This couple secretly took some of the larger portion that belonged to the Lord for themselves and their own selfish purposes. They intentionally sought to deceive the church.

Peter wastes no time in calling their sin an act of lying to the Holy Spirit. What they had failed to recognize is that when you seek to deceive, you are actually deceiving your own selves. "But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves" (James 1:22).

How could they do such an act of deception to the church? They were part of this pristine assembly of the redeemed of the Lord. They had joined together at the Lord's table. They had partaken of the good things of God hand-in-hand. They had prayed together, fellowshipped together, shared of their goods together. They had witnessed the blessing of the Lord upon their fellowship. Then, with malice in their hearts, they subtly attempted to improve their personal appearance before the church by an act of embezzling. But, my brethren, God will not be mocked! 'Be sure your sin will find you out!'

I would exhort any of you who may be flirting with such secret sins, whether of brazen acts like Ananias and Sapphira or disdaining attitudes like David's wife Michal or doctrinal deception like those at Galatia or abandoning the faith and going after the world like Hymenaeus and Alexander (I Tim. 1:18-20), TURN FROM YOUR SIN! Realize that your offense is not in isolation but in relationship to the church and the Holy Spirit who dwells among us. It is odious in the sight of God! You cannot please God, no matter how many good deeds you try to add to your account, when you are living in such sin and rebellion against the Spirit of God!

Sin is always costly. For our redemption, sin demanded the precious blood of the sinless Son of God. For those who are careless with sin, there is always a cost. When Achan stealthily took a Babylonian garment along with gold and silver during the battle of Jericho and hid them in his tent, he thought that no one would ever know. Yet his sin cost the lives of 30 men who went to battle against the city of Ai. And his sin ultimately caused the loss of his life, his family, and everything he possessed, aside from the demoralizing of the congregation of Israel.

We seem to have too light of an attitude about sin in our day. Sin is odious in the sight of God! He hates sin! Sin is the very opposite of His holy character and acts. Sin is a description of everything which God loathes and declares that He will punish. Since sin is so contrary to God and His character it should come as no surprise that when those who are redeemed by the blood of Christ give way to sin it affects that body that has been set apart to holy living.

You may think that the quick execution of Ananias and Sapphira by the Holy Spirit was not fair, perhaps even bordering on the edge of injustice. But I would submit to you that what was done was merciful to the entire church! Their unity was at stake. Without unity they could not worship, they could not fellowship, and they would not go forward in the work of proclaiming the gospel. To have let this sin of wrong motives and deception slide would have amounted to a cruelty exacted upon the church.

Everyone of us contributes to the ongoing unity of this church. Unity is as much your responsibility as it is mine. I must guard my motives, my attitudes, my tongue, my actions, my thoughts, and my deeds. But so must you, for you are as much a part of the church as anyone else if you are indeed born again.

The redemptive purpose of our Lord is seen Ephesians 5:25-27. "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her; that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she should be holy and blameless." In light of this, we cannot allow ourselves to do anything that would affect the purity of the body. Is there a sin you are harboring, nurturing, hiding? Then repent of it! Call upon the Lord for His forgiveness and mercy and turn away from such sin. The unity and purity of this church is before you, so give glory to God by holy living.

Once Peter confronted Ananias, he fell dead at the hearing of those words. What happened exactly in medical terms, we do not know. The text just says, "Ananias fell down and breathed his last." And when Sapphira was confronted with the fact that she "agreed together" with Ananias' deception of the church, she too "breathed her last" and was carried out and buried by her husband.

Now the question is, were they saved? Our text does not state that, but you would assume from the fact that they had evidently partaken of the Spirit to some degree that they may well have been. They were part of the church, given all of the rights and privileges of partakers of Christ. The fact that such severe discipline was dealt to them appears to infer that they were indeed part of the church as believers, but who had fallen into grievous sin. God mercifully stayed their sin by bringing severe measures of death upon them. This is an example, I believe, of a "sin unto death" which I John 5:16-17 speaks of. I would ask you, would it be better to live a life of hypocrisy or for God to take them out of the way to protect the rest of the body? The answer is obvious.

The New Testament gives plenty of teaching about "church discipline." We might say that the Holy Spirit took matters 'in his own hands' at this point, but we are given strong teaching in both the gospels and epistles concerning not tolerating sin in the body.

Now, what are we to make of all this? First, we must live with a deeper consciousness of the nature of the church. We gather, not as an organization, but as the body of Christ inhabited corporately by the Holy Spirit, preserving our unity that has been purchased and paid for by Christ, and maintaining holy lives seven days a week. We must realize that being part of the church is not like being part of a civic club. We are in covenant with one another. We are responsible to the entire body. We are accountable to one another and to the Holy Spirit who abides with us.

Consequently, we must regularly review our own motives in everything we do within the church. If those motives are impure, then repent of them with haste! If you are sinning against the church by attitude, conversation, or actions, then repent of it immediately! If you are trying to use the church to bolster your own ego, then repent of it now! If you are living as a hypocrite, then turn from your sin and cast yourself upon God's mercy.

Realize that all of us are to guard the unity and purity of the body. The Holy Spirit is serious about the church indwells being pure and holy before the Lord. Let us not take this lightly. Let's exhort and admonish and even correct one another for the sake of the body. Let's not resist the brotherly admonitions for the sake of the church of Jesus Christ.