2013 Acts #9: an exposition of Acts 5:1-11. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday morning, July 14, 2013.
Intro:
It must have made for interesting conversation the next day. “How was church yesterday? Did anything out of the ordinary happen?” “Well, I guess you could say that. We really didn’t have a sermon…at least not in the traditional sense.” “Well, was it a drama?” “Oh, it was dramatic. It certainly drove the point home. I don’t think anyone will forget it anytime soon!” “What happened?” “Oh, two of our members dropped dead as a direct result of God’s judgment.” What do you think? Was that the talk around town the day after God struck down Ananias and Sapphira? Do you think the people present wanted to double-check their contribution records? Do you think some other members were sweating out the remainder of the service?
Of course the problem is that we read the story of Ananias and Sapphira and respond to it as if it was a work of fiction. Now, we might believe that it really happened but it is so distant and removed from us that we can’t relate to it. We don’t think of the Spirit’s immediate presence in our worship. If he is present he is here to make us feel good not to bring such severe judgment – after all we are under grace! They must have been false professors or sham believers.
That is certainly not the impression left by an honest reading of the text. The cold, hard reality present in the text of Acts 5 is that Ananias and Sapphira were members, in good standing, of the Jerusalem church. We have no reason to believe they were “wicked,” “corrupt” people who were not genuine believers. Such a thing is not stated in the text or in the whole of Scripture. Beyond that, to focus on Ananias and Sapphira is to miss the point of the text. The story is not about them – it is about God!
Text: Acts 5:1-11
The context of chapter 5 is the continuing description of authentic Christianity that began in chapter 4. Verse 1 of chapter 5 connects this passage with Acts 4:32-37 – “But…” (5:1). Their behavior is to be contrasted with that of the other followers of Christ gathered in the Jerusalem church. Those who were of one heart and soul, none of whom said, “That any of the things that belonged to them was their won, but they had everything in common.” This is not a primitive experiment with communism – this was biblical, authentic Christianity. It was that sense of genuine community. This was a matter of believers investing their lives in the lives of their fellow believers. People were selling lands and houses and laying the money at the feet of the apostles to be given to any who had need. As we talked about last time this is a mark of authentic, biblical Christianity. Now, in contrast to that, we have Ananias and Sapphira and we witness the fearful judgment of God in the place of worship.
In the context of a gathering of believers, we find God coming, not in blessing, but in terrifying judgment. We ought not to be shocked by this. After all the Scriptures tell us that judgment begins in the house of God. We think of judgment as, “God’s really gonna get those nasty heathens.” “Boy I’d sure hate to be one of those God-haters on the Day of Judgment.” We should think in those terms but we should also be terrified of being one of those who claim to love God but who lives in disobedience!
This texts serves to remind us that:
Thesis: In a world of half-truths, white lies and misinformation the church must have a biblical understanding of the sin of hypocrisy.
Those outside of the church are often quick to accuse believers of hypocrisy.
We are quick to dismiss or ignore such accusations.
We sometimes jokingly dismiss it by saying, “Well, we’re all hypocritical to a point.”
How serious is hypocrisy?
Is it just part of being human or is it something far more deadly?
There are three things I want us to consider as we explore this subject in Acts 5.
- The hypocrite seeks to use the things of God to serve his or her own agenda. (5:1-4)
- The hypocrite ultimately discovers that God will not be mocked. (5:5-10)
- God’s judgment of the hypocrite serves as a warning to the wise. (5:11)