“THE PROBLEMS” Acts 5:1-11
FBCF – 3/13/22
Jon Daniels
INTRO – What’s the answer to this problem: 2+2?
What’s the answer to this problem?
The equation 24x squared + 25x – 47 over ax – 2 = negative 8x – 3 – 53 over ax – 2 is true for all values of x is unequal to 2 over a prime where a is a constant. What is the value of a?
Some problems are easy to solve – some not so easy. By the way, that 2nd problem is considered one of the hardest SAT math questions ever.
Life is full of problems – some that are easy to solve, & some not so easy. How many of you have some kind of problem that is pressing in on you right now? (PRAY)
Same is true for the Church. The Church experiences problems, too – some that are easy to solve, some not so easy. Comes in a myriad of forms: budget problems, staff problems, volunteer problems, space problems, moral problems, personality problems, problems due to differing opinions & viewpoints & personal preferences, doctrinal problems.
Today, we are going to look at some of the problems in the early church & discover how the Church should deal w/ problems when they arise in the Church.
EXPLANATION – Acts 5:1-11
The early church was facing both internal problems of greed, dishonesty, & discontentment, & external problems of harassment & persecution. Let’s talk about this internal problem that happened in Act 5. Pretty drastic, dramatic experience!
The church was enjoying some great days of growth & unity, so it’s no surprise that Satan would rear his ugly head in the midst of it to try & derail what the Lord was doing. Chapter 4 ends w/ the unified church taking care of their needy members as landowners & homeowners sold property & brought the proceeds of the sales to the apostles so they could take care of those in need.
This beautiful picture of Christ-like compassion was marred by Ananias & Sapphira deceitfully holding back a portion of their contribution while claiming to be giving it all to the Church. Verse 2 says Ananias “kept back…some of the proceeds.” Word has connotation of “embezzlement” – keeping the $ back in a secret, dishonest way.
Peter confronts both of them at separate times. Asks Ananias a pointed question about why he had allowed Satan to fill his heart, causing him to think in a wicked way & lie to the Holy Spirit. Satan couldn’t destroy the early Church, so he tried to infiltrate it & hinder it by tempting people to live in hypocrisy. He’s still using those tactics today.
The end result of the sins of Ananias & Sapphira is that they both died suddenly & dramatically. Many people wonder if God overdid His judgment of them. But when we look at the grand scope of Scripture, we see that God did not go too far in His judgment. In 1 Corinthians 10, Paul reminded the people in Corinth of the same severe judgment of death that God poured out several times in the OT. All of those deaths occurred at times of new beginnings for God’s people, critical times when it was important to establish a standard of holiness & purity, just like the new beginning that was happening in Acts 5. God’s judgment shows one simple, but strong truth: He hates sin & the penalty for sin is death. It is only His GRACE that prevents us from paying the same price each & every time we sin.
Problems like these that the early church were facing are still prevalent in the church today. And while we may not see people dropping dead when they’re sinning against the Lord & His Church, we still need to deal w/ problems when they surface in the Church.
APPLICATION – The Church must always face & solve its problems in a God-honoring way.
CHURCHES HAVE PROBLEMS B/C CHURCHES HAVE PEOPLE – v. 1-2
Notice that you don’t see anywhere where Luke (the author of Acts) said “the Church had problems,” or “the Church sinned.” The problem was a person who had sinned against the Lord & against the Church, & his sin could have led to widespread problems within the Church.
Some churches are known as problem churches. Pastor gets a call from a church who is searching for a pastor. Calls his buddies – “Man, you better think twice that church! That church is known to have lots of problems!” which is interpreted to mean, “It’s got some people who are instigators of problems” – power brokers in the church – a single family who controls everything & has for years – an influential person whose opinions sway the majority of the congregation – a SS class or prayer group that is known to regularly oppose any changes in the church. Or the church may have problems b/c the problems stem from the pastor. The point is that the church has problems b/c the church has people.
It's amazing that the name, “Ananias” literally means, “God is merciful,” or “God has given.” The man whose very name speaks of the mercy, compassion, & graciousness of God is the man who brought the first problems into the Church. He & his wife’s love of praise for their PRETENDED generosity & their love of money led to the first recorded sin in the life of the Church.
This is why it is SO important for the Church to make disciples who love God & love others. Why? B/c disciples who love God & love others are much less likely to cause problems in the Church.
GOD PUTS GIFTED LEADERS IN PLACE TO DEAL W/ PROBLEMS – v. 3-10
Peter took control of the situation quickly.
Confronted the problem-maker – v. 3a – He didn’t let the Ananias have the opportunity to infect others in the church w/ his deceitfulness. Peter immediately went to him & dealt directly w/ him, calling him by name.
Clarified the problem – v. 3b – After Peter confronted the problem-maker, he clarified the problem so there would be no doubt in anyone’s mind about what was happening. Satan was on the move as the instigator of Ananias & Sapphira’s deed. The Holy Spirit had filled the members of the Church & given them great boldness to share the Gospel (Acts 4:31), & now Satan is filling hearts to cause them to turn away from the Lord. Even though the Holy Spirit has come, we are not immune to Satan’s temptations. He was defeated at the cross, but still actively tries to cause us to stumble, just as he did w/ Ananias & Sapphira.
Concluded w/ a final summary of the problem – v. 4b – Bottom line: “You have not lied to men but to God.” Peter making sure Ananias understood – “This is not between you & me, but between you & God. You’ve sinned against HIM!” Psalm 51:4 – “Against you, & you alone have I sinned, & done this evil in your sight.”
And we see the consequences. Notice that PETER didn’t strike Ananias down or declare that he was going to die. That was God’s sovereign decision. Peter simply & decisively dealt w/ the problem as the Spirit led him. That’s what leaders do. Folks may not like it, but it must be done.
- “You can’t judge me.”
- “That’s none of your business.”
- “Well, so-and-so is worse than me. Why didn’t you say something to him?”
Leaders are called to hold the standard of the W of G high, to call believers to obedience, to protect the unity of the Church, & to confront those whose actions go against the Word & threaten that unity.
THE WAY WE HANDLE PROBLEMS INSIDE THE CHURCH SPEAKS VOLUMES TO THE PEOPLE OUTSIDE THE CHURCH – v. 11
This incident & the resulting swift discipline of God brought shock & awe among the people of the Church. It also caused those outside the church who heard about it to be in awe of what happened. God was working in a powerful way through His Church, & the outside world could see that.
- Used Peter in this problem
- Used the apostles & the disciples in the Acts 6 problem of the widows being neglected
- Used the power of the prayers of the Church when problem of persecution was growing
And every time, those outside the Church were drawn to the Church & to Jesus Christ & His offer of salvation. V. 14 – “And more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of men & women.”
NO MATTER WHAT PROBLEMS THE CHURCH FACES, THE GOSPEL MUST REMAIN ITS PRIORITY.
“Had the sin of Ananias & Sapphira been ignored, it would have corrupted all that God wanted to do in the early church.” (David Jeremiah) And what God wanted to do in the early church is the same thing He wants to do in our church – proclaim the Gospel & make disciples of Jesus Christ!
No matter what problems arise in our church, we must not let them distract us from “Making Much of JESUS” as we proclaim the Gospel & make disciples.
CONCLUSION/TAKEAWAYS – Greatest problem of all is a universal problem – the problem of sin. And there’s only 1 solution to that problem – a personal relationship w/ Jesus Christ. He’s the great Problem-solver! Come to Him today!
