TELL THE TRUTH
Acts 4:32 – 5:11
S: Integrity
Th: Community
Pr: WE ARE TO BE OPEN AND HONEST.
KW: Section
TS: We will find in Acts 4:32 – 5:11 a community that is growing in faith and fear.
Type: Inductive
The ____ section of the narrative describes…
I. UNITY (32-33)
II. GENEROSITY (34-37)
III. HYPOCRISY (1-10)
PA: How is the change to be observed?
• Don’t live complacently.
• Don’t trifle with God.
• Be open and honest with people and with God.
Version: ESV
RMBC 03 July 05 AM
INTRODUCTION:
ILL Truth (talking dog)
A man sees a sign in front of a house and is astonished to see this sign: "Talking Dog for Sale." He rings the bell and the owner tells him that he can checkout the dog in the backyard.
The man goes into the backyard and sees a black dog just sitting there. "You talk?" he asks.
"Yep," the dog replies.
"So, what’s your story?"
The dog looks up and says, "Well, I discovered my gift of talking pretty young and I wanted to help the government, so I told the CIA about my gift, and in no time they had me jetting from country to country, sitting in rooms with spies and world leaders, because no one figured a dog would be eavesdropping. I was one of their most valuable spies eight years running. The jetting around really tired me out, and I knew I wasn’t getting any younger and I wanted to settle down. So I signed up for a job at the airport to do some undercover security work, mostly wandering near suspicious characters and listening in. I uncovered some incredible dealings there and was awarded a batch of medals. Had a wife, a mess of puppies, and now I’m just retired."
The man is amazed. He goes back in and asks the owner what he wants for the dog. The owner says, "Ten dollars."
The man says, "This dog is amazing. Why on earth are you selling him so cheap?"
The owner replies, "He’s a big liar. He didn’t do any of that stuff."
When it comes to the truth, do you tell it?
This is the kind of situation we are facing in our study this morning.
Sometimes, we are afraid of the truth, but it is what builds us.
The lack of truth is what tears us down.
TRANSITION:
This month we will be working through the 5th chapter of Acts.
There is a reason why Acts is called “Acts.”
1. Acts describes the activity of the early church.
In fact, if you go to chapter 1, you will probably see the title, “The Acts of the Apostles.”
It is in this book we get a historical look at how the early church started and functioned.
Early in the book, the emphasis is on the apostle Peter.
Later in the book, the emphasis switches to the apostle Paul.
In this particular chapter, we are going to see that truth was an essential ingredient to the success of the church.
When they got truth right, things went well.
When they didn’t, there was difficulty.
There is a trend to make the early church the model that is to be followed.
The truth is, the church was developing and maturing with people that were just like us.
They made mistakes.
They were learning together all that it meant to be in Christ.
They were learning together what it meant to be a community of believers.
So…
2. We will find in Acts 4:32 – 5:11 a community that is growing in faith and fear.
So let’s follow the narrative, and see how the church grows…
OUR STUDY:
I. The first section of the narrative describes UNITY (32-33).
Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all.
1. A Christian’s faith is demonstrated by a common heart.
The word common here is a strong one.
Their hearts were the same, which is, when you come right down to it – radical behavior.
In fact, they were actually sharing.
They were not acting like toddlers!
(It’s mine!)
There was a true expression of the union of hearts and minds.
They knew they belonged together and were in this together, so trivial matters were left to being trivial.
The text tells us that the apostles were talking about the resurrection.
This means that they were not going off center.
They were about Jesus.
They were continuing to testify about the central doctrine of the Christian faith.
What strikes me here is that this early community was living out what we studied last week about faith, love and hope.
They were “Living by faith; being known by love; and a voice of hope.”
They were a voice of hope because their faith and love demonstrated an unusual and unexplainable unity.
This living by faith was different.
The…
2. Faith is characterized by grace.
God was with these people and His grace and favor was sustaining them.
They were one and united because they had become people of the Spirit.
Not only that, as a result, they were becoming people of grace.
They were gracious with one another and they were gracious to those that would receive the word of truth.
This brings us to…
II. The second section of the narrative describes GENEROSITY (34-37).
There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
The radical behavior continues, because they are now radically generous, and…
1. Needs were being met.
Wherever they turned, needs in the community were being met.
No one was hungry.
No one was without a place to stay.
No one was lacking in any of the needs that they might have.
You see, this radical attitude led to sacrificial action.
They thought differently of their possessions now because their perspective had changed.
Now, they thought of possessions as something to be available to brothers and sisters in the faith that would be equitably distributed to those according to their need.
Their material possessions became a matter of eternity.
It is at this point we are introduced to man named Joseph.
We know from elsewhere he is related to John Mark, and that his sister’s house was a meeting place in Jerusalem.
We find here in this text he was born on the island of Cyrpus and that being Jewish, he was of the tribe of Levi.
More importantly, though…
2. Joseph led the way in sacrificial giving.
As we learn more about Joseph, we find this was an act that was fully in keeping with his character.
Of course, we know him as Barnabas.
Joseph is a generous man with his property.
You see, what makes his giving so special is that he was liquidating capital assets that were irreplaceable.
He was reducing his own personal security, for what he believed to be a greater cause, the needs of the people in the community.
He was investing wholeheartedly in the eternal.
ILL Giving (credit for the shilling)
There was an old Scotsman who inadvertently dropped a gold sovereign in the collection bag at a church service. In Scotland, when they take up the offering the ushers use a long pole with a bag on the end of it which they pass among the pews. This old Scotsman put in a gold sovereign by mistake when he meant to put in only a shilling. As soon as he realized his mistake he tried to retrieve his sovereign. But the usher pulled the bag, back and said. "Nah, once in. always in!"
The old man said. "Ah weel. I’ll get credit for it in glory."
The usher replied, "Nah, you’ll get credit for the shilling!"
One thing that is true in life is that things are not always what they seem.
It can appear to be one way, but the truth is actually sadder.
As we come to the next section, we find that Luke, our author, does not shy away from this different episode.
It was not all romance and righteousness in the early church.
There were real problems…
III. The third section of the narrative describes HYPOCRISY (1-10).
But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, and with his wife’s knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles’ feet. But Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God." When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard of it. The young men rose and wrapped him up and carried him out and buried him.
After an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. And Peter said to her, "Tell me whether you sold the land for so much." And she said, "Yes, for so much." But Peter said to her, "How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out." Immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. When the young men came in they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband.
This incident, of course, is most disturbing, both in the act itself, and its result.
The sin was a combination of dishonesty and deceit, in order to gain spiritual prestige.
And it shows us that…
1. We are not to live a pretend faith.
We need to remember that if we give because of pride, trying to impress others, that God isn’t impressed.
Ananias and Sapphira wanted to make themselves appear more generous than they really were.
Apparently, they wanted to appear to be like Barnabas.
But their motivation was different, and their commitment level was the opposite.
They wanted credit for generosity without the inconvenience of being generous.
ILL Pretend (George MacDonald quote)
George MacDonald said:
“Half the misery in the world comes from trying to look, instead of trying to be, what one is not.”
Peter was so discerning in this matter.
Either the Lord has revealed it to him, or he figured it out.
Either way, Ananias and Sapphira were in big trouble.
We find that they were under no obligation to give.
They were under no coercion or pressure to give all they had earned with the sale of the property.
In fact, they had every right to retain part if they so desired.
Instead, though, they committed a deliberate deception.
They wanted people to people to think they were extra-spiritual.
They had succumbed to the temptation to do whatever it takes for the high regard of others.
They had presumed they could get away with it.
But God does not allow it.
Ananias dies.
And when Sapphira reappears, she is given a full opportunity to repent.
She fails to do so, and she is judged too.
Sapphira dies.
This happens so that we will remember that…
2. We are to live by a higher standard.
We cannot be caught caring more about looking good than being good for God.
For if we adopt that kind of thinking, it is, in essence, a lack of faith and belief.
It is thinking we can get away with sin and abuse grace, and not suffer because of it.
God wants us meeting a higher standard.
Our walk is to match our talk.
Anything less is hypocrisy.
ILL Integrity (some honest hymn titles)
This is the way we might sing some of our well known hymns if we were being honest.
* I Surrender Some (instead of ALL)
* Fill My Spoon, Lord (CUP)
* He’s Quite a Bit to Me (EVERYTHING)
* Take My Life and Let Me Be (IT)
* Just As I Pretend to Be (AM)
APPLICATION:
Our text today ends with this…
And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things.
It is interesting to note that this is the first mention of the word ekklesia (church).
And it shows us that sin makes an impact on the community of believers.
Falsehood ruins the fellowship.
Since God designed the church and brought it into existence, it is to be protected.
We are His body.
Therefore, God is not to be trifled with.
It says in Proverbs (1:7), “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”
This means that…
1. We are not to live complacently.
Don’t be caught lying to God and to His church.
He takes this very seriously, and He judges it.
ILL Church (Sider quote)
In Ron Sider’s recent work, The Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience, he writes:
“Scandalous behavior is rapidly destroying American Christianity. By their daily activity, most ‘Christians’ regularly commit treason. With their mouths they claim that Jesus is Lord, but with their actions they demonstrate allegiance to money, sex, and self-fulfillment.”
Perhaps we need to face the truth that we are not committed to the purity of the church.
Perhaps we need to be honest and say that we are more interested in following money, sex and self-fulfillment, than Jesus.
Perhaps we need to have the integrity to say that we have not been telling the truth.
Let me encourage you to say it is time to stop…
It is time for the hiding to stop.
It is the time for the lying to stop.
It is the time for the pretending to stop.
And it is time that…
2. WE ARE TO BE OPEN AND HONEST.
For…
Is it not possible we can be open in our relationship with God, and not pretend anymore?
Is it not possible we can be open in our relationships with each other, and not pretend to be what we are not?
Is it not possible we can be truly different…to the glory of God?
COMMUNION:
Acts 4:1-12
While Peter and John were addressing the people, the priests, the chief of the Temple police, and some Sadducees came up, indignant that these upstart apostles were instructing the people and proclaiming that the resurrection from the dead had taken place in Jesus. They arrested them and threw them in jail until morning, for by now it was late in the evening. But many of those who listened had already believed the Message — in round numbers about five thousand!
The next day a meeting was called in Jerusalem. The rulers, religious leaders, religion scholars, Annas the Chief Priest, Caiaphas, John, Alexander — everybody who was anybody was there. They stood Peter and John in the middle of the room and grilled them: "Who put you in charge here? What business do you have doing this?"
With that, Peter, full of the Holy Spirit, let loose: "Rulers and leaders of the people, if we have been brought to trial today for helping a sick man, put under investigation regarding this healing, I’ll be completely frank with you — we have nothing to hide. By the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the One you killed on a cross, the One God raised from the dead, by means of his name this man stands before you healthy and whole. Jesus is ’the stone you masons threw out, which is now the cornerstone.’ Salvation comes no other way; no other name has been or will be given to us by which we can be saved, only this one."
(from THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language © 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved.)
Those of us that know Jesus are invited to share in the elements of the table.
You do not have to be a member of this church to partake, but we do ask that you have a relationship with Jesus.
If you do not know Jesus, that is, you have not received Him as your Savior and Lord, you do not trust Him with your life, that is, you have not been changed by the message, just let the elements pass by.
Please wait until the time comes when you do have that personal relationship with the Lord Jesus.
We practice “communion” because we are to remember the death of the Lord Jesus.
We take the bread to remind us that it was by the body of our Savior that our salvation came.
He died in our place.
He became our substitute.
We take the cup to remind us that it was by the blood of our Savior that our salvation came.
He died for our sins.
He became our sacrifice.
Being led in prayer by ___________________, let us take a moment and thank Him for being our sacrifice.
(Prayer)
The apostle Paul writes, "The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me."
Let’s partake together.
__________________ will now come and lead us in prayer.
Again, the apostle Paul writes, "In the same way, after supper he took the cup saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me."
Let’s partake together.
BENEDICTION: [Counselors are ]
Let us not be characterized by hypocrisy – let’s put the pretend faith behind, and instead, be real, telling the truth and living by faith.
Let us be characterized by generosity – let’s meet the need of others, which is a true investment in the eternal, for when we are known by love, people come to Jesus.
Let us be characterized by unity – let’s possess a common heart, determined to be a person of grace, truly being a voice of hope to those without Christ.
Now…May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.
RESOURCES:
The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: Acts 1-12, John MacArthur
The Acts of the Apostles, William Barclay
The Spirit, The Church and the World, John Stott
The Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience, Ron Sider
Sermoncentral:
Truth or Consequences, Robert Leroe
You Can’t Fool God, David Holwick
A House without Ceiling or Walls, Christopher Howitz
Deadly Lies – The Twin Deceit!, George Dillahunty
Living a Life of Truth, Marc Axelrod
