From Harmony to Hypocrisy in the Church pt. 2 Acts 5:1-11
Last week we began looking at Acts chapter 5 and how the church, quickly, went from Harmony to Hypocrisy. We looked at #1. The problem in the church and discovered that if Satan cannot conquer the church, externally, he’ll try to corrupt it, internally.
I was reminded, last week, of the story in Joshua where the children of Israel suffered defeat in the little village of Ai and 36 men lost their lives.
This happened right after Israel’s awesome defeat of the super fortified city of Jericho. Suddenly this little one camel town beat the soup out Israel so Joshua knelt before God and asked why this had happened. God told him that sin was in the camp!
After the battle of Jericho, Achan had taken some of the things that God had forbidden and hid them in his tent. (See Joshua chapter 7)
Achan’s sin was deliberate and pre-meditated.
You may believe that your sin is no ones business but your own BUT I want you to understand that your sin, my sin WILL affect your family and it will affect this church!
We all struggle with sin and at times even give in BUT there is a major difference in tripping and choosing to LIVE in it.
We also saw #2. The purging of the sin and that the source of the sin in any believer’s life is Satan. He is the one who planted the thought there but we must make a conscious decision to listen as well as participate.
We also discovered the seriousness of the sin was that it was lying to God!
Now let’s look at:
3. The Price of Ananias and Sapphira’s sin
There are a couple of things we need to see here…
a. The Price was extreme.
What happened to these two? They died!
Remember God’s Word says…be sure your sin will find you out.
It also says God will not be mocked!
The truth is that WE ALL reap what we sow!
Every believer undergoes 3 judgments…
As a sinner, as a servant and as a son.
If you’ve been saved, your judgment as a sinner is in the past.
Once you are saved, you become a servant and judgment will be in the future, based on your level of servant hood.
But you are judged as a son right now!
As a sinner, you were judged on the cross and you died with Christ, on that cross. God’s wrath was poured out on Christ, not for anything He had done but for everything you/I have done!
[Rom 8:1 NKJV] “[There is] therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.”
Too many times I hear this verse quoted but the second half of the verse is missing. We need to understand that the first half is a promise but the second half is the condition for the first half becoming a reality. In other words, you don’t get the first part unless you’re living the second part. If you consider this verse as a whole then you can begin to see the difference. There is no condemnation for the child of God…who REFUSES to walk in the world but DOES walk according to the Spirit. If I refuse to walk according to the Spirit and choose to walk according to the flesh then I can expect to be disciplined by my Father in heaven.
Please listen to me, for a moment… You need to understand that being saved by grace doesn’t mean you have a license to commit habitual premeditated sin.
Being judged as a servant comes in the future and you’ll be judged not as a sinner, but as a how faithful have you been, as a servant. This is the time your motives for serving God will be brought out. This will also be a time of rewards.
[1Co 3:11-15 NLT] “11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have--Jesus Christ. 12 Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials--gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw. 13 But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person's work has any value. 14 If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward. 15 But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames.”
Which of the six items will make it through the fire? Which will not? Is your service to the Lord fireproof? My Dad loves the song “Pile of Crowns” which talks about the crowns we receive for our service to our King. But the most important part of the sing is when each of us takes our crowns and piles them at Jesus’ feet. I don’t want to be standing there with nothing to place at the feet of the One who gave His life for me. I don’t want to be the only one in heaven to hear my Master say, “Welcome home Jimmy. I sorry I have no crowns to give you but your work was burned in the fire.”
In other words, if your motives, for serving God are selfish and you are a believer; you will walk through the gates of heaven But just barely.
Right now in the present, however, you are being judged as a son.
[Hebrews 12:6-11 NLT] “6 For the LORD disciplines those he loves, and he punishes each one he accepts as his child." 7 As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father? 8 If God doesn't discipline you as he does all of his children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really his children at all. 9 Since we respected our earthly fathers who disciplined us, shouldn't we submit even more to the discipline of the Father of our spirits, and live forever?
10 For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God's discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness. 11 No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening--it's painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.”
This is NOT positional righteousness in v. 11, but PRACTICAL.
Ananias and Sapphira were saved, so they were being judged as “sons.”
They died because they crossed a line with God.
Have you ever heard of something called “a sin unto death?” This is not a pleasant discussion topic…but God sometimes takes a believer home early because of sin.
In I Cor. Chapter 11, Paul is talking about believers who were abusing the Lord’s Supper.
[1 Cor. 11:29 KJV] “For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation [literally judgment] to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.”
Watch how Paul finishes this thought in verses 30-32.
[1Co 11:29-32 NLT] “29 For if you eat the bread or drink the cup without honoring the body of Christ, you are eating and drinking God's judgment upon yourself. 30 That is why many of you are weak and sick and some have even died. 31 But if we would examine ourselves, we would not be judged by God in this way. 32 Yet when we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned along with the world.”
That’s one example.
[1Jo 5:16-17 NIV] “16 If you see any brother or sister commit a sin that does not lead to death, you should pray and God will give them life. I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death. There is [a] sin that leads to death. I am not saying that you should pray about that. 17 All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death.”
Now the way I understand what I read in verse 16 is that the article [a] does not mean one particular sin. John is not saying that we need to be careful and stay away from a sin but from predetermined malicious sin. We trash people who are addicted to drugs or alcohol BUT There is an addiction that is much worse! Some are so addicted to sin that rehab will not help and if they don’t get a grip God may need to step in.
Ladies and gentlemen what John wrote WAS WRITTEN to Christians.
I understand that swinging out over the waters that go down to the Niagara Falls are several warning signs, each warning you to turn around or be swept over the falls.
Finally a last sign reads, "Beyond this sign is the point of no return!"
We live in an age in which people are not afraid to push God. Many continue to try Him just to see how much they can get away with.
The Bible teaches that it is possible to push God too far. God has a line and those who cross it do not come back.
Oh stop trying to scare me, pastor!
To be honest I hope it terrifies you. I watch Christians who have been given a bad report from the doctor tremble in fear of dying, yet the concept of sin being that devastating never even cause a mild shutter.
This message may be your last warning… you may be in danger of going too far!
I do want you to understand that not only was the price extreme and a severe judgment, but…
b. This Judgment was a saving judgment.
1. For the individual.
This judgment was for the purpose of saving them from further sin. He wasn’t getting even with them, God does not take “vengeance” upon His own. He was saving them from further sin.
Maybe this will help you understand better. Let’s say your 5 year old is out in the yard playing and you look out window to find him playing in the street. You warn Johnny and tell him to stay in yard. But 5 minutes later you check on him and he’s back, in the street playing away, so you spank him this time. You allow him to stay in the yard and give one more chance. You watch his every move carefully, and he soon starts to head for the street again, so you bring him inside and now little Johnny has lost his privileges!
Why did you bring your son in the house? Johnny lost his privileges.
It was for no other reason than to save him from himself!
Now, at any time, in this story; did that son stop being a son?
Sometimes I wonder, ‘what kind of punishment is going to heaven?’
I don’t know about you but I don’t want to get sent to my room, I want to stay in the game! I have so much more to do and so many more people to reach!
But just like Johnny lost his privileges, for being disobedient you and I could experience the same!
It was a saving judgment for them… it is also;
2. A saving judgment for the church
God did this as an example. If you notice, He didn’t kill everyone who lied in church, necessarily, but He sure showed how He felt about sin in the church!
God often sets examples for first time offenses.
Look at Sodom and Gomorrah, for example.
[Jude verse 7 NIV] “…Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.”
This was God’s 1st statement about homosexuality… yet, today, San Francisco and Amsterdam seem to be ok!
We can read about the Children of Israel in I Corinthians Chapter 10, where Paul reminds the church that an entire generation was wiped out, because of sin, as an example… it took 40 years for that disobedient generation to die out…
3. A judgment to save souls
Verse 14 tells us that purity brings power! Even after this, souls were being saved.
I want to give you 4 things to take home.
1. Sin in the life of a believer is more serious than sin in the life of an unbeliever, because you were bought with a price, you are His child…
2. Be very careful not to lie to God.
3. Guard against hypocrisy in your own life. Be the same at home as you are at church because your walk says a lot about you AND your walk talks louder than your talk!
4. Don’t let some hypocrite keep you out of church. You need to follow God, not man!
