Sermon: The Danger of Deception
Scripture: Acts 5:1-11 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession, And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles' feet. But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God. And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things. And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him. And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in. And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much. Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out. Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband. And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things.”
Introduction: The Church of God, filled with the Holy Spirit and power was experiencing tremendous growth and unity. Observers could see demonstration of unity and love among them. This new movement was the talk of the town. Even the religious leaders were impressed by this new sect. yet as with any new, fast-growing movement problems will surface. Acts 4 ends with the story of Barnabas, a devout, dedicated Christian, who sold a parcel of land and lay the money at the apostles’ feet to provide for the needy. It is such a blessing to have that kind of people in the church. Acts 5 begins with a contrasting figure, a man named Ananias who was not so devout. . Now the Church must face a new enemy called deception.
We all like to think of ourselves as somewhat intelligent, and we are often hesitant to admit that sometimes others have taken advantage of us. Maybe we were sold something that didn’t turn out to be what was advertised, or maybe we got something other than what we paid for, or maybe we were even sold something that was represented as trustworthy, but full of defects. When we discovered the truth, we were angry, and we felt cheated. We did not get what we bargained for, and we often were worse off than if we had never had anything to do with the thing.
Deception is one of the first sins exposed in the Church. Since then, it is still practiced often but should never be tolerated. Deception is another form of lying, but with a stronger degree of wrong because the deceiver purposefully misleads others into believing that a lie is really what is true. In many cases deception is dangerous and has been the cause of death for many who have been the unknowing victims of deception. Wars are caused, won and lost on deception. Many campaigns are guided by deception; candidates manipulate through deception, yet in the church it is more deadly.
Deception is dangerous in the Church. Deception, as used in the Bible, means either a purposeful misleading or a leading away (from the right way). We, as believers of God and His word, should be on the lookout for deception in the realm of religion, for we are warned about it several times in the Scriptures. And if it is such a danger, we need to know what forms of deception may be used against us and prepare ourselves. The opposition and external deception could easily be recognized by the Church l leadership, yet the Holy Spirit must alert the leadership to the internal deception.
The Spirited-filled church will be confronted with trouble, persecution, and confusion. Yet, it seems so surprising that gifts of charity could be the seedbed of jealous and envy within the early church. Never underestimate the power of praise of men and how our egos respond to celebration. Ananias and Sapphira were moved by the celebration Barnabas received. They became overly concerned about making a good appearance. For many today, life is all about appearances. We live in an age where people want to appear one way but in reality, they are just the opposite of their appearance. Today, many are giving out false impressions. They appear to be one thing and are really something else.
Even our children learn how to make a good appearance at an early age. That’s why they want to wear the most expensive name-brand clothes. While many are learning to make a good APPEARANCE, they are not being taught that: A person can look like a king and not be a king; A person can look like a football player and not be a football player; a person can look like a lawyer but only be a non-attorney spokesperson. And a person can look like they love the Lord, but they do not love Him. Appearances can be deceiving.
The Story is told of “A man met a beautiful young lady at the mall and immediately he asked her for a date. She said, “I’ll tell you what, you come to my apartment, and I will fix you a nice meal and we will watch television and eat some popcorn together.” He said that sounded like a good idea, so he showed up at her home at the appointed time. She greeted him with a big hug and a big kiss at the door. They had a lovely meal together and everything was going great, when he noticed a picture on a table of a man standing by the sofa they were sitting on. He said, “Is that your brother?” She said, “No!” He said, “Don’t tell me that is your boyfriend.” She said “No!” He said, “Don’t tell me it is your husband!” Again, she said, “No!” She said, “Actually that is a picture of me before I had my sex change operation!” He threw up and went home!
In these days: What looks like a woman might be a man; What looks like a man might be a woman; What looks like a man or woman might be an “other.” On a recent fishing trip, a friend said, “You are going to get kick out of the sign on the restroom door.” I said “Why?” He said, Just Read it. The sign read, Men/women/Aliens” Appearances can be deceiving! But the truth is, you can put a pig in a tuxedo, but he is still a pig! We live in an age when making a good appearance has become everything for many folks.
1. Ananias and Sapphira Thought Deception Was Harmless - Ananias and Sapphira would have fit right into this age of ours. In the New Testament church, they tried to appear to give more and love the Lord more sacrificially than anyone else. They desired the praise and affection of men and the sound of applause. They did not realize the full extent of their dishonesty and deceit. They thought it was harmless. It won’t hurt anyone!
Chuck Swindoll tells the story of an English pastor who got on the trolley Monday morning to go back to his downtown study. He paid his fare, and the trolley driver gave him too much change. The pastor sat down and fumbled the change and looked it over and counted it eight or nine times. And he said to himself, "Praise the Lord! It’s wonderful how God provides!" He realized he was a little short that week and this was just about what he would need to break even. Or at least enough for his lunch. He wrestled with himself all the way downtown. And by the time the trolley pulled up to his stop, he couldn’t live with himself anymore. He walked up to the trolley driver and said, "Here, you gave me too much change. You made a mistake." The driver said, "No, it was no mistake. You see, I was in your church last night when you spoke on honesty, and I thought I would put you to the test." Ananias and Sapphira never knew it was a test. They never knew the cost!
2. Ananias and Sapphira Thought Lying Was a Small Thing. After all, giving this Amount of money would bring accolades of appreciation and maybe a plague on the wall or our names on a pew. Lying is not small thing. What so bad about their sin? Their sin was not a sin of stinginess and greed. Their sin had to do with a violation of honesty and truthfulness. HONESTY and TRUTHFULNESS are hallmark qualities of the church. Holding back part of the price of the land is not the issue. Lying about holding back part of the price of the land through deception is the issue. It is a big deal. They could have chosen to give any portion of the sell. It would have been greatly appreciated. Yet together, they agreed and chose to deceive everyone into believing they had given the full price of the sell. It would be more impressive; it would be more than anyone else had ever given. At the end of the day, who would ever know? God knows and the Church will know.
Living for the praise of men is always costly and short-lived. Long after the praise is silent, honesty and truth will stand tall. Those spiritual qualities allows you to live with yourself, to live in right relationship with others and to live honestly before God. When it comes to Ananias and Sapphira, just look at deception, their dilemma, and their destruction.
3. Ananias and Sapphira Thought About Praise, But Judgment Came. As we see the swift judgment of God on the couple, we see God’s attitude towards deception, lying and covetousness within the church. If not root out, these things would prevent the Holy Spirit from working effectively. All lying is harmful, but when we lie about our relationship with God and His people, our deception maybe exposed.
There is no immunity against that same temptation today. In this appearance driven age, comparison driven age, many are tempted to lie about wealth, attendance, membership, and many other things for the praise of men. Even after the Holy Spirit stuck down these deceivers, The church must resist this temptation. Satan was defeated by Christ at Calvary, but he is still actively in his efforts to slow the progress of the Church and cause believers to stumble.
Jesus warned the disciples about deceiver and flattery when he said, Lu 6:26 “Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.”
Eph 6:10-13 “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”
1Pe 5:6-8 “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: 7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. 8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:”
Believers are given countless warning about the attacks of the enemy. We must resist the tempter and his temptations. All his temptation are given in 1Jo 2:16 “because all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.” The only safeguard is the spirit of humility. Rooting out that spirit of pride was for the good of the early church.
The judgment of God produced shock, fear and awe. It reveals God’s protective attitude towards His Church. The Church grew in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost. The God of the early Church was a God of love, reverence and fear. Today, we preach the comfort of the Holy Ghost without the fear of the Lord. I totally agree, the Lord is on our side, He is for us and not against us. He is a kind and loving God, who understands the weakness of our flesh. He health all of our diseases and forgives all our sin. All these things are faithful and true. Yet our God is also Holy and Righteous. He claims all souls and proclaims “that the souls that sinneth, it shall die.”
Re 21:7 “He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. 8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”
Deception is not harmless; Lying is not a small thing because the judgment of God is sure. This judgment of God within the church allowed the church to refocus on God’s holiness and His righteous standard. God is a god of Justice and mercy. If it was not for the Lord’s mercy, we would all be consumed. Let this lesson remind us that temptation will come. The temptation to deceive and be deceived have been present in the world since the beginning.
Sin entered the garden through deception. Honesty and truth allow the Holy Spirit to flow freely within the Church. Three things we should do with this message:
(1) Let us be clothed with humility and love, living sober, vigilant lives overcoming temptation and glorifying God. No pride, no lust, no boasting.
(2) Let us live in love with one another, building up one another and blessing one another. No jealousy, no envy, and no strife.
(3) Let us keep growing in the fear of the Lord and in the Comfort of the Holy Ghost. Embracing both His grace and His Truth. Abiding in His word and holding up His standard.
Ac 9:31 “Then had the churches rest throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied.”
