Acts 5: Ananias and Sapphira (Church Discipline)
- The church was growing and united –Satan could not tolerate this.
- His goal: Divide it / Disgrace it / Decrease it
- Ch.4 thru outside persecution / Ch. 5 from within the church
- People were selling lands in order to help those who were in need
- Ananias / Sapphira did this and kept back part of the price
- Hypocrite: “one who acts a part” (deliberate deception).
- Their love of praise collided with their love of money (1 Tim.6.10)
- They lied: “Sin has many tools, but a lie is a handle that fits them all.”
- God knows the hearts of all men (Heb.4.13; Mark 2.8)
- Ananias—“you conceived this deed in your heart (V.4)
- Satan tempted but Ananias acted! He was responsible for his actions
- He lied not only to men but more importantly to God.
- What was the sin?
- “While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own?”
- “And after it was sold, was it not under your control?”
- He did not have to sell it; He did not have to give all the proceeds;
- He/She said that they gave it all but kept back part of it. (Lied).
- He fell over dead (Peter was probably as surprised as Ananias!
- Reaction of the people: Great fear came over all who heard it.
- See Lev. 10; 2 Samuel 6; Acts 12; Joshua 7.1.
- Sapphira came in 3 hours later (Partner in the conspiracy)
- “Tell me whether you sold the land?”
- She had a chance to repent and tell the truth—she didn’t.
- “Why have you put God to the test?”
- Test/tempt: “to check up on God; too see how far He will go:”
- Matthew 4.7: Jesus said,” You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.”
- If their deception had succeeded, the reliability and authority of the Spirit-led apostles would have been thrown into question and the church would have been left without effective leadership.
- Galatians 6.7: You cannot make a fool of God!
- “Great fear came upon all the church.”
- The church grew as a result (V.12-16). “Believers were multiplied both men and women”
- More Persecution: (V.17-42). Apostles were cast into prison.
- An angel released them from prison; Go teach in the temple!
- They were arrested again the next morning; they did not resist.
- God can use them in prison or out of prison.
- The Trial: (V.27-32). The stood before the Council (Sanhedrin) 71 men composed Sandhedrin.
- “We must obey God rather than men.”
- “We are witnesses of these things.”
- Gamaliel’s Advice: (V.33-39).
- The Sanhedrin was “cut to the heart” Kill them!
- Pharisees: were ultra conservatives; they had no political ambitions; they believed in spirits and angels; they believed in the resurrection of the dead; (Acts 23.8).
- Some Pharisees became Christians (Acts 15.5; 23.6).
- They considered the traditions of men equally as binding as the commandments of God (Matthew 15. 1-9).
- Leave the apostles alone: if it is of men, it will die out; but if it is of God, then we can’t fight against it. It would succeed in spite of their efforts.
- God providentially used Gamaliel to preserve the lives of the apostles.
- The Flogging and Release of the Apostles (V.40-42).
- They were whipped with strips of leather and on the tips were pieces of bone or metal.
- The Law allowed up to 40 strokes (Deut. 25.1-3)
- One executioner did the beating and the other counted the strokes (could not go over 40 strokes. For each one over 40, the executioner was beaten himself.
- If this blooding beating was successful, then the church would cease to exist.
- The apostles went on their way rejoicing! What would you have done?
- Considered worthy to suffer for His name (Matt.5.10-12).
- Peter’s past, he would have struck back (Matt.26.51). Jesus had changed him!
- Lessons for Us:
- Church discipline: sin in the church hurts the cause of Christ; See 1 Cor.5; 2 Thess. 3.6;
- Our motives must be pure—God knows our hearts
- Sin is serious business: Achan in Joshua 7; Acts 5; James 1.14,15;
- We must obey God rather than men. (Romans 13).
- One cannot rob God and get away with it. (Malachai 3.8).
- The value of trials—“tested by fire:” (1 Peter 1.6; 4.12). Strengthened!
- $10,000 example: We are given $10,00 to spend on suffering
- Some Christians are called to lay down the entire $10,000 at one time as they sacrifice their lives for Christ.
- For many of us, it is a matter of laying down one dollar at a time
- We protest when a co-worker uses God’s name in vain
- We stand up for someone who is being mistreated
- We refuse to go along with immorality, dishonesty and we are ridiculed.
- In the end, it all adds up to the same thing! (2 Tim.3.12)