Deliberate Dishonesty
Acts 5:1-11
11/15/02
Introduction
A. Does sin affect you? Do you believe that when you sin there will be repercussions for your sin?
1. Many of us have seen the repercussions for our sin.
a. People have been hurt – physically or emotionally.
b. We have been personally hurt – financially, socially, or through distancing ourselves from God.
2. Many times we don’t see the affect of our sin.
a. God’s mercy wipes it away.
3. But, more times then not, we fail to see the affect because the affect is small.
a. It is a secret sin or a white lie that no one finds out about.
b. It doesn’t have a sudden impact so we feel that either it wasn’t that bad of a sin or, on a subconscious level, we feel that we really didn’t do anything wrong.
c. If no one saw it then God will ignore it.
Illustration
As most of you know I have three kids and they all like to color. My oldest is imaginative – he likes to create his own designs and finds it hard to stay in the box. My second oldest is a stickler for detail and coloring inside the lines. My youngest could care less. Wherever his crayon lands that where he will color.
Although they are all different in their coloring they all have one thing in common. At one time or another, they found it amusing to write on the walls. Now I don’t know about your family, but in our house drawing on the walls is not a good thing. But for some unknown reason, even after they knew it was wrong, they went ahead and colored on the walls.
Why? Why, when they knew it was wrong, did they continue to draw on the walls? A number of reasons. One being that they were liitle kids. Another being that no one was their to stop them before they started. And still another being there was no immediate repercussions for their disobedience – it wasn’t until we saw the drawing that they were punished.
B. And for many of us these same reasons apply.
1. We continue or deliberately sin because:
a. We are immature in our faith (not knowing right from wrong)
b. No one is their to stop us (lack of accountability)
c. We don’t see any immediate affect of our sin.
C. There is a story in Acts that discusses this very thing – deliberate sin and the affect it can have. Lets read Acts 4:36-5:11 together.
Body
A. As I look at the sin of Ananias and Sapphira I become somewhat uncomfortable with the tough punishment God chooses to bestow on them.
1. The reason for that is, maybe, I don’t have the same passion for righteous living that God longs for me to have.
2. Another reason may be because I know, that if my Lord chooses, he can use me as an example just as he used Ananias and Sapphira.
3. And, yet, another reason is that it goes against many of the things I have been taught about an all-loving, all-forgiving God.
B. No matter how it makes me feel the truth of the story still stands. Because of Ananias and Sapphira’s sin they were struck dead.
C. Why? Why did this repercussion have to lead to death?
1. They were doing a good thing in giving a portion to the money to the church.
2. They didn’t have to do it. God should have been happy that they were giving something.
3. The amount they were giving was quite a bit more then what many others have given.
D. There are many reason’s why this happened to them. But the one I would like to pay attention to was the nature of their sin.
E. The one important fact we must take away from their sin was that it was deliberate!
1. They purposed in their heart beforehand to withhold some of the money while making it look like they were giving all away.
2. They deliberately were dishonest!
F. In scripture, deliberate sin is something that has been dealt with on a very serious level. Three examples will suffice.
1. The Curse of Cain. (Genesis 4)
a. He deliberately and purposefully killed his brother Able.
b. Because of his sin God placed Cain under a curse, made him a restless wanderer, and caused his labor to be fruitless.
c. He thought he could kill Able and get away with, but God knew what he was doing.
2. The Destruction of Man through the Flood. (Genesis 6-9)
a. Man’s heart was evil. That was all that was in their heart.
b. So God destroyed them saving only Noah and his family.
3. David and Bathsheeba. (2 Samuel 11-12)
a. As a king, he abused his power and slept with a Bathsheeba who was someone else’s wife.
b. Then he tried to cover it up by killing Uriah, Bathsheeba’s husband.
c. He thought that if no one would find out then it would go away. But God knew what he was doing.
d. His punishment was the death of David and Bathsheeba’s first born.
G. Those were just three examples, but there are more. The point I am trying to make and the truth Ananias and Sapphira learned was that deliberate even secret sin will not go unpunished. No matter how hard you try God always knows what is going on!
H. Which brings us to some concepts we must embrace.
1. When you sin against another person you sin against God.
a. Ananias and Sapphira thought they were pulling the wool over Peter’s eyes and those in the early church. They thought that their dishonesty was only against the early church, but they were wrong.
b. Whereas they (Ananias and Sapphira) thought they were lying to man they were really lying to God.
c. We try so hard to separate this physical life we lead from our spiritual walk with God. That is why we make excuses for our sin. If we can excuse our sin and rationalize it away on human terms then that is good enough for God.
d. God doesn’t care about excuses – he cares about your heart! Whether you commit a sin publicly or privately, you commit a sin against God.
2. If we believe that God is perfect we must believe that he is perfectly just.
a. Ananias and Sapphira surely had heard about the perfect grace in Christ Jesus. But ehere was their healthy fear of God?
b. Many of us have a healthy appreciation for the work Christ has done for us on the cross. And most of us live with a weak conviction of God’s udder hatred for sin.
c. We seem to think that the more we sin the more God will forgive. That Christ is some sort of eraser on the chalkboard of our soul.
d. We become completely enamored with the magnitude of love Jesus has for us. But we fail to be convinced of his perfect anger toward our sin.
e. We need to be balanced in fear and love for God!
3. Our actions should be based on our love we have for Christ and the fear of his perfect wrath.
a. God is wrathful. The Bible is full of acts done by God through His righteous anger. And just because we are washed in the blood of the lamb does not me we are saved from His heavenly wooden spoon.
b. We live a life sustained by grace, but we should also live with a constant respect for God’s perfect discipline.
I. God has every right to discipline his children. And that discipline takes different forms at different times.
1. His discipline can come with a gentle reminder.
2. His discipline can come by withholding blessings on our lives.
3. His discipline can come by removing us from the situation entirely as he did Ananias and Sapphira.
J. Whatever form he chooses He is right in choosing! The question that Peter poses to Sapphira is the same one I pose today? How long will we continue to test the Spirit?
K. What are some steps we can take to keep us from deliberately sinning against our Lord?
1. Come to grips with the fact that you are a sinner.
a. The first step to any healthy “recovery” is admitting the fact that you have a problem.
b. Deliberate sin is more then a problem. It is an act that keeps us from all God has for us and puts God into a position to discipline us.
c. We all sin. As we grow in our love and respect for Christ our desire to sin decreases. But that will never happen unless you come to grips with the fact that you are sinning and it separates you from what God has for you.
2. Pray for forgiveness and cleansing.
a. When David was “found out” his prayer to God was “Create in me a clean heart . . . and restore to me the joy of your salvation.”
b. He not only wanted to forgiveness, but a new heart. He wanted to start all over.
c. This cleansing doesn’t mean that you will not be tempted. It gives you a new slate, a new perspective, and a new outlook on your relationship with God.
3. Be accountable.
a. Find a trusted, mature Christian who will love you unconditionally, pray for you constantly, and challenge you daily.
b. Be wary not to hold yourself accountable to someone who will be a codependent or who will pass by your deliberate sin.
4. Know God’s word and pray daily.
a. If you want to know the heart of God you need to get into the Word. Knowing the word of God holds us accountable.
b. David also said, “I hide your word in my heart that I won’t sin against you(God).”
c. By understanding God you run out of excuses.
5. Avoid temptation at all costs.
a. Jesus taught us to pray “… and lead us not into temptation”.
b. If you are a recovering alcoholic is it smart to go into places where you can obtain alcohol easily? The same is true for any other deliberate sin you are dealing with.
Conclusion
A. What about you my friend? Is there something lurking in the shadows of your soul that you need to confess to God?
1. Is there deliberate sin that is constantly affecting your life?
2. Are you caught in a secret sin that you think won’t harm anyone?
3. Are you in a job situation that is constantly asking you to purposefully sin?
4. Are you constantly giving excuses for your sin while it hurts those close to you?
B. Whatever the case may be God knows what you are doing. Ananias and Sapphira found that out the hard way.
C. It is time to turn your deliberate sin over to God, find accountability, and “grow up” in the Spirit!
D. Today is the day!
