Series: Action [#10]
DEATH
Acts 5:1-11
Introduction:
There are some Bible Passages that are not real inviting to study; but are very necessary. Today’s passage is 1 of those. During this pandemic, the subject of death has come up many times. There are some politicians that say, “We must stay locked up in our houses so that no one dies”. They say, “Even if this saves only 1 life, it is worth it”. I might listen to them a little more if they were not allowing abortions to continue everyday at a staggering pace. The bottom line is- Everyone is going to die. You could die from this virus. You could die while walking down the street. No one knows the day that they will die.
Acts 5:1-11
Let me state the obvious, then we will study this deeper. Ananias and Sapphira lied to the Holy Spirit and therefore died. The people responded with fear of the Lord. This fear was a reverence and respect for God and His righteousness. I want to ask the hard question here and then talk about the 2 types of death. “Did Ananias and Sapphira go to Heaven or Hell?”
Hebrews 9:27-28
2 types of death:
1. Physical death.
We are all going to die a physical death. Even Jesus Christ, died a physical death so that He could give us spiritual life. Their punishment for lying to the Holy Spirit was death. If they were saved and died- Why?
1 John 5:13-17
I believe that as Christians, we can get so far off track and hurt the cause of the Kingdom to the point that God says, “Enough”. There is obviously a sin that Christians can commit that leads to physical death; but they will still go to Heaven through the power of the blood of Jesus.
Revelation 20:11-15
2. Spiritual death.
The 2nd death is eternal death. Eternal death is the consequence of dying without Jesus Christ as Savior. Only those who are not saved will experience this death. Those who are saved will experience eternal life. We don’t know Ananias and Sapphira’s hearts, so therefore we do not know if they were saved; but for argument’s sake, let’s say they were saved. If they were saved then they went to Heaven. The Bible says that the unpardonable sin is blasphemy of the Holy Spirit not lying to the Holy Spirit. Every sin is against God, and therefore this was a sin that led to physical death; but not necessarily spiritual death. If there is any sin that cost us our salvation, then Hebrews says that Jesus would have to die again for that sin.
Conclusion:
When we know that one of our Christian brothers or sisters are in sin, we are to pray for them. When we are dealing with people who are not saved; remember that if they die without Christ, they will die twice. You can be born once and die twice; or you can be born twice and die once. It’s your choice.
