INTRODUCTION
• SLIDE #1
• Today I want us to examine a delicate subject. This is a subject that if it is ignored or written off can and will come back to bite us at some point in our life.
• This issue of dealing with the “secret sins” in our life can be one that will gnaw at us like a slow moving cancer.
• The sin seems to be so small and insignificant that we think we can ignore it or that the sin is no big deal.
• Then one day we wake up only to find that the little sin we thought we could hide has us caught in a trap. WE wake up to see that the once secret sin is now exposed for everyone to see.
• What we thought was secret, what we thought was something that we had a grip on all the sudden has over taken our life.
• So-called “secret sins” can do a lot of destruction if they are not confessed and dealt with.
• Secret sins will destroy relationships with those we love and with God. These sins will stunt our spiritual growth so they need to be dealt with if we hope to grow spiritually, if we hope to grow in our relationship with Jesus.
• Today as we look at Acts 5:1-11, we will see a couple who has what we would call a “secret sin”, they have a secret sin that they believe NO ONE else knows anything about.
• In chapter four we see that folks in the church were voluntarily selling property and other possessions and giving the proceeds to the Apostles in order to help those within the church.
• Barnabas was one who was mentioned specifically for his generosity in Acts 4:36-37. This leads us into chapter five where this couple by the name of Ananias and Sapphira hatch a plan.
• They must have taken note of the praise that Barnabas and others were getting for their selfless acts of giving and they wanted in on the action also.
• Who would know what they were going to do? They had what they considered to be a secret sin that would change their lives forever.
• Today I hope we all see that one of the essential tools for spiritual living is the ability to rid ourselves of the secret sins in our lives.
• Let’s begin with Acts 5:1-3
• SLIDE #2
• Acts 5:1-3 (NET)5:1 Now a man named Ananias, together with Sapphira his wife, sold a piece of property. 5:2 He1 kept back for himself part of the proceeds with his wife’s knowledge; he brought2 only part of it and placed it at the apostles’ feet. 5:3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled3 your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back for yourself part of the proceeds from the sale of4 the land?
• SLIDE #3
SERMON
If we are going to cut out the secret sins in our life we need to understand the following:
I. The progression of sin.
• Why did this couple do this? What possessed them to concoct such a scheme?
• Why do we concoct the schemes we do? We need to have an understanding of how sin progresses from beginning to end.
• I want look at James 1:14-15 so we can get a good picture of the process.
• SLIDE #4
• James 1:14-15 (NET) 14 But each one is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desires. 15 Then when desire conceives, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is full grown, it gives birth to death.
• Let us look at three parts of the sin process.
• SLIDE #5
A. There is a knowledge of what God commands.
• To be accountable for what we do we first need to know what God’s commands are.
• There has to be an understanding of what is right and what is wrong. The word sin means “to miss the mark”. You need to know there is a mark before you can miss it.
• We can sin and not know it, but God does not hold us to the same level of accountability as He would if we knew.
• With that being said, we cannot stay willfully ignorant then hope to slide by on that.
• We understand this thought. SHOPLIFTING FOR A 2 YEAR OLD VS. A TEEN.
• We see this principle taught in Romans 2:1-16.
• By the way there are sins of omission (not doing what we know is right) and sins of commission (when we DO what is wrong).
• This why young children are innocent before God, they do not know what they do is wrong.
• Another part of the process is…
• SLIDE #6
B. There is a prompting to induce us to sin.
• In verse three of our text Peter asks Ananias why Satan has filled his heart to lie to the Holy Spirit.
• In James says But each one is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desires. 15 Then when desire conceives, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is full grown, it gives birth to death
• We find throughout the bible that Satan is the one who gives the prompting, going clear back to the garden when he worked on Eve concerning the fruit that God commanded then not to eat.
• Also we see from the Genesis 3:1-3 we even see that Eve FULLY knew God’s expectation.
• Satan planted the thought into Eve’s mind and he did the same to Ananias and Sapphira.
• Satan will tempt you with things you are tempted by.
• Then the straw that breaks the camels back is..
• SLIDE #7
C. There is a submission of the will to sin.
• 15 Then when desire conceives, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is full grown, it gives birth to death
• Temptation in itself is not a sin, but when we allow that temptation to conceive, it gives birth to sin.
• In June we will get more in depth on this subject when I preach through the book of James.
• But for our purposes today Ananias and Sapphira were prompted to commit their sin and they followed through.
• They must have watch as others within the church body were being praised for their generosity and they had a desire to receive the same praise but they did not have the commitment to go all the way.
• They would have been fine had they just told the truth and said we are donating this much of the proceeds of the sale of our property top the church, no one would have thought anything about it, but these two wanted more but they were not committed enough to do it right
• Hence the secret sin. But here is something we really need to understand concerning secret sins.
• Let’s look at verses 3-4
• SLIDE #8
• Acts 5:3-4 (NET) 5:3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled 3 your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back for yourself part of the proceeds from the sale of 4 the land? 5:4 Before it was sold, 5 did it not 6 belong to you? And when it was sold, was the money 7 not at your disposal? How have you thought up this deed in your heart? 8 You have not lied to people 9 but to God!”
• SLIDE #9
II. “Secret sins” are not really secret.
• OPPS!
• I guess the sin was not so secret. I am amazed that Ananias lied to Peter; do you think he may have thought something was up when Peter asked the question?
• Man may not know your secret sins, but God does and Peter guided by the Holy Spirit knew that Ananias was lying.
• God knows your heart, He knows everything about you.
• SLIDE #10
• 1 Samuel 16:7 (NET) 16:7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t be impressed by13 his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. God does not view things the way men do.14 People look on the outward appearance,15 but the Lord looks at the heart.”
• We cannot hide anything from God. Ananias and his wife thought they could.
• When David sinned with Bathsheba God knew it and eventually He sent Nathan the prophet to confront David with his sin.
• A secret sin does not have to ruin your life or your relationships because…
• SLIDE #11
III. God gives us the opportunity to deal with “secret sins”.
• It does not seem like Ananias got much of a chance to repent, but God knew his heart, but let us look at verses 7-8
• SLIDE #12
• Acts 5:7-8 (NET) After an interval of about three hours, his wife came in, but she did not know what had happened. Peter said to her, “Tell me, were the two of you paid this amount for the land?” Sapphira said, “Yes, that much.”
• Sapphira had no idea what had happened to her husband, Peter gives her a chance to come clean, but she decided not to come clean.
• When it comes to the issue of sin, you have the chance to repent and go on.
• It is tough when you are caught in a lie. Many people will continue to lie because their pride will not allow them to admit they were caught in the lie.
• Sapphira had a chance to make her sin right, and if her husband was still alive she could have helped him.
• How many times do we pass up the chance to get the secret sins off our back?
• These things weigh us down like carrying 100 pounds of bricks.
• When given the opportunity to repent you better take it because you never know how many other times you will have to fix the situation because…
• SLIDE #13
IV. Unresolved “secret sins” will eventually catch up to you.
• You never know when the secret will catch up to you.
• Look at what the passage says.
• SLIDE #14
• Acts 5:9-11 (NET) 5:9 Peter then told her, “Why have you agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look! The feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out!” 5:10 At once 19 she collapsed at his feet and died. So when the young men came in, they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 5:11 Great 20 fear gripped 21 the whole church 22 and all who heard about these things.
• Sin will eventually catch you. It caught King David, it caught Ananias and Sapphira and it will eventually catch you.
• Some may wonder why God was so harsh with them, the question is pretty simple. God was making sure to keep His house pure.
• Ananias and Sapphira were playing Christian instead of being Christian. They paid a steep price for it, but the church saw that God was serious.
• God most likely will not strike you dead for your sin, but you will pay a price for not repenting.
CONCLUSION
• We have to realize that when we sin, we need to deal with it, hiding it will only make it worse in the long run.
• There are no secrets from God.
• And do you know what is really awesome, even though God knows us with all our issues and faults, He still loves us.
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