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1 But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, 2 and with his wife's knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles' feet. 3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? 4 While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but to God.” 5 When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard of it. 6 The young men rose and wrapped him up and carried him out and buried him. ~ Acts 5:1-6
Today, we transition into our study of Acts 5 where the stage has been set in the previous chapter where the Spirit of the living God was having His way in the hearts of people. Generosity was abounding. And, uniquely, no one had brought attention to their godly behavior. This is the sign that these first century believers in the Lord Jesus were authentic. There was no sign of the flesh or the self-life. This is the tactic of the enemy of our souls. He doesn't try to get us to follow Him directly, he tries to get us to follow him indirectly by getting us to follow ourselves.
In v.1-2 of today's passage we read, "1 But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, 2 and with his wife's knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles' feet."
In the context of everything good shows up the devastating effects of sin. The exposed sin of hypocrisy. Interestingly, it was the first recorded sinful event in the life of the first century church. In addition, it was the first public discipline of sin in the church. When we have truly been redeemed, we are not eager to hide our sin. But, this couple was more concerned with the praise of others than they were of God. Their sin was not that they didn’t give all the money they had made from the sell of their property, their sin was they lied about it.
Ananias and Sapphire committed a secret sin, and, of course, a secret sin on earth is an open scandal in heaven. They desired the praise of men instead of the praise of God. They craved spiritual status that others before them had received. They wanted to be thought of as something they weren't. They served appearance more than honesty which is essential for the development of deep relationships. When we are determined to be defined by the God of grace, we will deny the self-life. We will reject the self-protective defense of dishonesty.
Ananias and Sapphire pretended to give all the money they had made from the sell of their property. Their lie was simply the vehicle that their greed used to feed itself. They tried to create the impression they were something they were not. When we feed the flesh or the self-life we play right into the playbook of the devil who is out to destroy us. It is only in the context of the truth that true freedom is experienced. The Lord exposed the sin of Ananias and Sapphire that day so that the devil would not be able to get a foothold among these first century believers.
In James 5:16 we read, "Make this your common practice: Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you can live together whole and healed. The prayer of a person living right with God is something powerful to be reckoned with."
In v.3-4 of today's passage we read, "3 But Peter said, 'Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? 4 While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but to God.'"
Immediately the Lord granted Peter the spiritual perception to see the sinful pretense of Ananias and Sapphire. Peter put his finger on the pulse of the problem: Satan had filled his heart to lie to the Holy Spirit. When we are prizing the truth we will be honest about the truth. The enemy will always seek to undermine the truth in our lives. He will always lead us to be defined by the lie rather than the truth. And, once we give ourselves to the lies, we will give safe haven to the fake and phony. In this context trust will not grow and the lack of trust undermines community.
It was then that Peter confronted Ananias with his deceitfulness, telling him that what he had done was to lie to God. The biggest challenge we face in this context isn’t speaking the truth; it is speaking the truth in love. Ananias and Sapphire didn’t have to give all of the money they collected from the sell of their land. They were guilty of spiritual hypocrisy which is most corrupting in the church, so corrupting that God dealt with it rather swiftly.
In v.5-6 of today's passage we read, "5 When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard of it. 6 The young men rose and wrapped him up and carried him out and buried him."
In his description of this event, Luke used a rare word which is found for the first of three times in the book of Acts. It is translated: "he breathed his last." Ananias' breath was extinguished. The question is by whom. I believe since Ananias played with fire he got burnt by the devil. The response of those who observed it was staggering. In that moment great fear came upon all who heard of it. The reason the death of Ananias was allowed by God or caused by God was to instill in the minds of the people the terrifying nature of just how seriously dangerous it is to be defined by the devil.
Truth is critical in all aspects of life especially in community. We believe wrongly that there is power in hiding our sin but to the contrary there is great power in honesty and humility. Without truth there is no honesty, there is no humility. And, we all struggle with being honest. No one is perfect, but we are foolish to value hypocrisy because it will be used of the enemy to harm us. The word translated "hypocrite" in biblical days meant "actor." First-century actors wore masks. A hypocrite is one who puts on a mask or a false face. Hypocrisy is dangerous because it turns people away from the truth. It was the Lord Jesus who said, "You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free."
