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. Our gifts of finances, service, and participation are a part of our worship to God. We give because love God and support his righteous cause. God needs nothing from us yet welcomes our acts of worship. Acts 5 begins immediately after Barnabas act of pure worship followed by the contrasting actions of a man named Ananias. Now the Church must face a new hazard the seeks to pollute the worship of the church. 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.
The church that began so holy, pure and charitable is now invaded by the sins of deception, greed, hypocrisy, and lying. Satan’s attempt to pollute God’s worship. Please don’t misunderstand me, riches are not evil, but they can be dangerous to our souls. Paul warns (Ephesians 5) that no greedy person will inherit the kingdom of God. Greed pollutes everything. Greedy people may even do the right thing for the wrong reason. One may be greedy for recognition, attention, praise, or money, it always pollutes. One can give to the church or to charity commendable deeds for the wrong reason. Greed and deception reveal the true content of the heart. Acceptable worship must come from a pure heart. At a time when standards are changing, the text remind us that God has not changed.
This sin in the church was exposed and judged. Jesus warned us that the last days would be filled with deceivers within the church and without the church. Even though deception is still practiced often but should never be tolerated. Deception is a form of lying, but with the purpose of misleading others. Deception is dangerous and has been the cause of death, wars and fighting. Many campaigns are guided by deception; candidates manipulate the masses through deception, yet in the church it is more deadly. 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 many times in the Scriptures. The opposition and external deceivers were easily recognized by the Church leadership, yet the Holy Spirit must alert the leadership to the internal deception.
Every Spirited-filled church will be confronted with trouble, persecution, and confusion. Yet, it seems surprising that gifts of charity and offerings worship to God could be the seedbed of jealous and envy within the early church. Never underestimate the power of praise of men; the human ego rejoices and responds to praise. 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, they are just the opposite of their appearance. Hypocrisy pollutes worship. The most beautiful singing, the largest gift and the most radical praise can all be done with the wrong motive. 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 are really in love with themselves. 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. Ananias and Sapphira did not realized their deception would pollute their worship.
1. Deception in the Heart Pollutes Worship – “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.”
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. Deception in the Mind Pollutes the Heart. “…why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.”
God looks at the heart, not the amount. The needs of the people were great, so Ananias and Sapphira thought what would a little hurt. After all, giving this amount of money we should get accolades of appreciation, maybe a plague on the wall or our names on a pew. They forgot giving is an act of worship and lying is no small sin. What’s so bad about their deception? Their sin was not mere stinginess, it was a violation of honesty and truthfulness. Purity, honesty, truthfulness and love were the 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 so that 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. Their offering was polluted, their hearts were defiled, and their judgment was swift.
Living for the praise of men is always costly and unacceptable to God. Long after the praise of men is silent, honesty and truth will stand tall. Their hearts were polluted, they abandoned their spiritual qualities and received just punishment. A pure heart and a clean conscience allow you to live with yourself, to live in right relationship with others and to live honestly before God. When we look at the case of Ananias and Sapphira, we see the danger of deception, the dilemma caused by their decision, and the destruction of their lives. Ananias and Sapphira were thinking about praise and celebration, but judgment came.
3. Deception in the mind and Heart leads To Self-Deception. “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.”
Ananias and Sapphira had witnessed the Holy Spirit moving in the Church, yet they convinced themselves that their actions would be alright based on a false sense of security, unvalidated feeling, and idea. Self-deception is a process of denying or rationalizing away the relevance, significance, or importance of opposing evidence and logical argument. Self-deception involves convincing oneself of a truth despite what your conscience says.
Ananias and Sapphira never received the good they expected. Notice the swift judgment of God on the couple, this text shows us 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, or any other things for the praise of men. Even though the Holy Spirit stuck down these first deceivers, the church must stay on guard against deception. 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 deception 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 healeth 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. Rid ourselves of pride, lust, and boasting.
(2) Let us walk in love, live in love with one another, building up one another and blessing one another. Rid ourselves of jealousy, envy, and 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 righteous 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.” Amen.
