ACTS: Making a Change for the Better

 

Acts 5:1 There was among the believers a couple, Ananias and Sapphira, who sold a piece of property. 2 Rather than bringing the full proceeds of the sale to the apostles, they chose to keep back some of the price when Ananias presented their gift to Peter. 3 Peter, with knowledge from the Holy Spirit, was aware of their deception and said to Ananias, "You are lying to the Holy Spirit by withholding a portion of the price of your land. Satan has deceived you in this plot. 4 "It was your land to sell. When you sold it, it was still your money. Why did you lie about giving the whole amount to God when you only gave a portion? You did not lie to me, but to God." 5 Upon hearing Peter speak, Ananias fell to the ground dead. All of the people looking on were in great awe of the power of God. 6 Some of the younger men covered Ananias and took him out for burial. 7 Sapphira came to Peter about three hours later, unaware of what had happened to her husband. 8 Peter said, "Did you sell the land for this price?" She said, "Yes, that was the price." 9 Peter said, "You and your husband conspired together to test the Holy Spirit. See these men coming in the room right now, they have just buried your husband and they will bury you beside him. 10 She, like her husband, collapsed and died. So, the young men carried her to the burial site and laid her in the ground near her husband. 11 The church was overcome with awe when they heard about the deaths of this couple. 

 

Ananias and his wife Sapphira plotted a greedy strategy to make themselves look good to others. We can only assume they wanted to catch the attention of the apostles and the people of the church. They thought somehow, they would look more spiritual by this act. I am sure they wanted some of the attention which they had noticed others getting. Many people were selling things and bringing the money to the apostles. Ananias and Sapphira must have thought they could look good to others and at the same time keep a little of the money for themselves. And they could have, but they should not have lied about the amount they received from the sale of their property. They did get noticed, but it did not bring them any lasting satisfaction. 

 

Jesus spoke about people who sought attention for their actions in the Sermon on the Mount, “When you act righteously just to get the attention of others you don't gain any benefits in the eyes of God. Learn to give what you have to those who have less without trying to draw attention to yourself. You can see too many hypocrites in the church and in public who seek this kind of attention. Guess what? They have the only reward they are going to receive, someone noticed them.” (Matthew 6:1,2 EBV)

 

 Giving to the church was not the crime in this case, it was lying to Peter about the amount the property sold for. Peter mentions to Ananias that the property belonged to him before he sold it and the money he received was still his after he sold the property. The fact that the money belonged to Ananias and Sapphira was clear and the Bible teaches that a person who has money can do with it as they wish, there are no constraints. God does not force us to use our money in any particular way; He has guidelines to help us, but requirements. The apostles had no claim to the money either. The sin was not holding back some of the money. They were free to do with their money how they saw fit. But they lied to Peter and Peter says they lied to God about the sale price of the property. 

 

The action of death to the couple did not come from Peter. God brought that on both of them. We do not fully know the reasoning behind God’s actions in this case much the same as we do not always understand what He is doing most of the time. Here we know that the result of the action brought fear on all of the followers of Jesus and probably on people who were standing back and watching. 

 

The fear of God often refers to having a reverent awe and wonder about the power of what God can do. Fear can be a healthy emotion because it keeps us in line, reminds us who is in control, and helps us make better choices. Solomon said, “Knowledge begins with our humility towards God, our fear of Him. Those who are foolish turn away from wisdom and discipline.” (Proverbs 1:7 EBV) The apostle Paul said in his letter to the church in Colossae, “In Him [Jesus} we find the treasures of true wisdom and knowledge.” (Colossians 2:3 EBV) Without a dose of humility, an awareness that God is far greater than we are, we will never begin to understand the mystery of life. For reasons we cannot even imagine, God chose the actions of Ananias and Sapphira to bring that lesson to the early church. 

I can only imagine the guilt that Ananias and Sapphira would have struggled with had they “gotten away” with their scheme. Maybe some people actually fool others into thinking they have great faith by some of the actions they portray to the church, but in the end, they will never fool God. And if we try to hide a secret from God, we become overcome with guilt. I am aware that if we live with our guilt long enough, we can develop ways to rationalize away our guilt, telling ourselves that what we did really was in some twisted way the will of God. But truth be told, we will only find true happiness when we come to God, ask for forgiveness, and allow Him to cleanse our conscience free from all our guilt. Jesus talked about this as coming into the Light and having our deeds exposed. “Those who choose to live by truth, will come into the Light, have their evil exposed, and find forgiveness, so that their lives will be shaped and seal by the Almighty God.” (John 3:21 EBV)

 

I suppose we could say that God spared Ananias and Sapphira from a life of guilty torment and passed on to the church a great lesson all at the same time. 

 

Acts 5:12 The Spirit was working through the apostles with many miracles for the people, and the people continued to gather together in the area of the temple called Solomon's porch. 13 They were highly esteemed by the people but most just watched rather than joining up with the group. 14 Even so, the number of the followers of Jesus increased each day, people who were choosing to believe in Jesus, as Lord. 15 It got to a point that as Peter walked through the streets, even the people who were touched by his shadow were healed and encouraged. 16 People in the neighboring cities around Jerusalem also brought their sick and demon possessed to Jerusalem to be healed. 

 

Evidence of the power of the Holy Spirit followed Peter and the apostles so that people were amazed by them and the things they said and did. Since the people of the young church gathered each day in a section of the temple porches, observers also came to see what was happening. Some just watched, but many others joined with the young church and became believers as well. 

 

            Wherever these people went, lives were changed. And this can be true for us today if we think about our calling. Paul said, “We are now called to be ambassadors for Jesus, where God uses us to appeal to the world on His behalf to be reconciled to God.” (2 Corinthians 5:20 EBV) As God’s ambassadors we carry on the work of Jesus, the work of the apostles, and the work of all followers of Jesus down through the centuries; we are the people of God. Where we are, God is present, and where God is present, lives will be changed. 

 

            It does require a change in mindset for; one that avoids the distractions of this world and focuses on the beauty and wonder of the world to come. Paul said, “We have been lifted up with Christ and gathered with Him at the right hand of our Father. Since this is true, we can mentally set our hearts and minds on our being there rather than here. We can now ask how things are done in heaven so we can do them that way here on earth.” (Col. 1:1-2 EBV) And to the church at Rome Paul said, “Once you make this choice to follow God’s ways, avoid conforming yourselves to the ways of this world, and instead become transformed in the way you think.” (Romans 12:2 EBV)

 

I was reading a devotional recently by another pastor and they suggested two things that I agree are the way we might wish to approach every day of our lives. First, ask the Holy Spirit to be present in our lives as we walk throughout our day. This will bring to us the power of God to make a difference wherever we go. Second, set our minds on adding some value to the lives of other people that we might meet. This will start our day out with the focus that we have something to offer to others because we are a child of God.

 

Remember, our goal is not to change people to our way of thinking but to live so much like Jesus, with the power of the Holy Spirit, that people around us will be unable to forget that we were there, and somehow, know that Jesus has brushed their lives and changed them forever. 

 

I bless you in the name of Jesus that you might be filled with the Holy Spirit and live freely as an ambassador of Jesus, touching others with His love and mercy. 

Pastor Edd