Pretenders In the Early Church/ Grieving the Holy Spirit
Acts 5:1-16 (NASB77)
1 But a certain man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property,2 and kept back some of the price for himself, with his wife’s full knowledge, and bringing a portion of it, he 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 some of the price of the land?4 “While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men, but to God.”5 And as he heard these words, Ananias fell down and breathed his last; and great fear came upon all who heard of it. 6 And the young men arose and covered him up, and after carrying him out, they buried him.7 Now there elapsed an interval of about three hours, and his wife came in, not knowing what had happened.8 And Peter responded to her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for such and such a price?” And she said, “Yes, that was the price.”9 Then Peter said to her, “Why is it that you have agreed together to put the Spirit of the Lord to the test? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they shall carry you out as well.” 10 And she fell immediately at his feet, and breathed her last; and the young men came in and found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband.11 And great fear came upon the whole church, and upon all who heard of these things.12 And at the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were taking place among the people; and they were all with one accord in Solomon’s portico.13 But none of the rest dared to associate with them; however, the people held them in high esteem.14 And all the more believers in the Lord, multitudes of men and women, were constantly added to their number; 15 to such an extent that they even carried the sick out into the streets, and laid them on cots and pallets, so that when Peter came by, at least his shadow might fall on any one of them.16 And also the people from the cities in the vicinity of Jerusalem were coming together, bringing people who were sick or afflicted with unclean spirits; and they were all being healed.
Last week we looked at Barnabas as a man who through his encouragement influenced the church in a positive way. Unfortunately, today we will see how Satan used a couple to attack the church from within.
We’re continuing in a series that we’re calling “That Old Time Religion.” In order to face the future, we have to look backward to find out what God has done, to see what God wants to do in and by the church today. We come to a very interesting passage about grieving the Holy Spirit of God as believers.
Before we jump into our Scripture for this Lord’s Day, we need to set the background leading up to the two Big Pretenders, and their horrible deed and mistake, to make sure we do not fall into the same trap.
We find the trigger in the last verses of chapter four: Acts 4:36-37 (NASB77) 36 And Joseph, a Levite of Cyprian birth, who was also called Barnabas by the apostles (which translated means, Son of Encouragement), 37 and who owned a tract of land, sold it and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
As we read our focus Scripture for the couple that grieved the Holy Spirit, we see they were obviously imitating Barnabas. They saw that he got a certain amount of publicity, and they thought it would be nice if they could get that kind of publicity too. They wanted it, no they craved it.
When we do deceitful things to keep up appearances or gain credit and status, we are on shaky grounds. It is such an easy trap to step into going too far in keeping up appearances.
No doubt Ananias and Sapphira wanted to bask in some of the glow that surrounded Barnabas. They too had property; they too sold it. But then came that fateful family conference. They decided to keep back part of the price. Little did they realize the cost of that decision. Their conversation was overheard in heaven, as all such conversations are.
1 But a certain man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, 2 and kept back some of the price for himself, with his wife’s full knowledge, and bringing a portion of it, he laid it at the apostles’ feet.
But He will not be involved in pretense. For us to pretend that we are more holy, more dedicated, more spiritual than we are, is an offense to Him. “Ye shall be holy; for I am holy” (Lev. 11:44) was the great edict of the law. Peter later quoted that command in his first epistle—I wonder if that was with the memory of Ananias and Sapphira in his mind.
It was, then, Satan-inspired not only deception, but a flat out lie. The serpent had once again entered the Garden of Eden, and Ananias and Sapphira had eaten the forbidden fruit. The apple of the love of money became the root of their evil. Acts 5:2 (NASB77) 2 and kept back some of the price for himself, with his wife’s full knowledge, and bringing a portion of it, he laid it at the apostles’ feet.
As we read the results of lying to the Holy Spirit, let’s not forget that the couple were Christians. My beloved a Christian cannot commit blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, however, we can lie to Him and we see the results.
Slide 12#
Acts 5:3-6 (NASB77) 3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back some of the price of the land? 4 “While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men, but to God.”5 And as he heard these words, Ananias fell down and breathed his last; and great fear came upon all who heard of it. 6 And the young men arose and covered him up, and after carrying him out, they buried him.
1 Corinthians 10:13 (NASB77) 13 No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it.
“Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men, but to God.” Deception was at the root of Ananias’s sin. The root of Satan’s language is the lie, deception, his stock in trade. This first attack on the church from within was in keeping with his character and his method.
One can be sure there was nothing impulsive about this question. He had had three hours to think about it. I wonder if Peter hopes against hope that the now widow would not lie to the church and grieve the Holy Spirit also. God is full of grace. He gives her time to do the right thing. He is also not a male chauvinist.
We are not to use grace to tempt the Lord our God. Acts 5:9 (NASB77) 9 Then Peter said to her, “Why is it that you have agreed together to put the Spirit of the Lord to the test? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they shall carry you out as well.”
Do not miss a most telling verse in the context of this early church event. Acts 5:11 (NASB77) 11 And great fear came upon the whole church, and upon all who heard of these things. How much more could the Lord bless the church if we got back to some good old time religious fear of not pleasing the Holy Spirit?
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