“The Price of Impurity”
The tragic story of Ananias and Sapphira
5:1-16
Good morning. It’s good to be back with you.
While I was gone we as a family took a week’s vacation and one of the things we did was took the kids to Knott’s Berry Farm.
•It’s a whole different experience going to an amusement park than it was years ago. When we were younger and had no kids, we would head straight for the roller coaster and fast action rides.
•Now we spend most of the day in the kiddie ride section, watching children ride. It’s fun, but its a different kind of fun, a parental kind of fun. (We joke that Disneyland is no place to take children, they hold you back and slow you down).
•But as we were moving through the park, we were looking at some of the roller coasters and things that we weren’t going on. And I kept noticing this one ride. It was called the Supreme Scream. It is a giant tower that goes up 254 feet, around this cage 12 people are strapped, dangling in midair. It takes you up 30 stories, then it just drops you, in a freefall, over 50 miles an hour. The ride takes a total of three seconds.
•Now I’m one of these idiots who likes a challenge.
•Just before we left we let the kids each choose one ride each, their favorite and we returned to it. And then we were about to leave and my wife caught me looking at it and she said, “What? You want to ride that thing?” Go ahead.
•All of the other adults still had their sanity, so I went alone.
I got strapped in and I have to tell you, I wasn’t really ready for the feeling of being propelled up the outside of a building, just hanging there. As I’m going up I’m thinking, “This was a mistake.”
My mind was telling me, “I’m perfectly safe, a thousand people a day ride this.” My heart was screaming “You are going to die.” There is a sense of sheer terror.
(Of course when my wife asked “how was it?” I replied “no big deal – to prove I was a man”)
•But there was truly a moment of sheer terror.
Ever had that feeling? Sheer terror. The recognition that your life could be over in a minute.
In Acts chapter 5 we meet a Church that is suddenly in the grip of fear.
•But this is not a fear provoked by being strapped to a tower 254 feet high..
•It is not fear brought about by some natural phenomenon like a hurricane or earthquake.
•It is not even provoked by persecution, which as we have seen only made the Church stronger and bolder.
In fact, it is actually a good fear; a healthy fear. Because it is fear provoked by an encounter with the awesome power of the living God.
And it serves as a reality check for Church.
If you have your Bibles turn with me to Acts 5. Read 5:1-11.
Now this is really an amazing story. A shocking story. This is not the kind of thing that happens every day. I don’t think we really get the full impact unless we contextualize it; bring it into our own contemporary setting.
So let me do that for you.
Suppose we launched a building campaign. We’re actually doing that now, with the remodel of some of our buildings.
•And I had a car that I sold for $5,000. And we gave $4,000 to the building program for this. But we had to get the registration paid on a new car, so we kept $1,000. And I come in and present a check for $4,000 to the building fund committee.
•They are thrilled. So one of our pastor’s, lets say Curt, “we really want to interview you before the congregation as a model for giving.”
•I say humbly, “OK.” So the next Sunday he is interviewing me and they say, “So you sold the car and gave it all to the building fund. And I say, “Well, yeah…”
•At that moment I suddenly feel a tightening in my throat, and I drop over dead.
•So they call my wife up here and ask, “So you sold the car and gave it all to the building fund, is that right?” She says, “Yes,” and she drops over dead.
•As they are dragging the bodies out, the Pastor looks out at the audience, “O.K. Who else wants to make a pledge this morning?”
What kind of impact do you think that would have on the church?
•I can guarantee the next week there would be a lot fewer people here.
•But I can also guarantee they would be a lot more committed.
We read this story and we think, isn’t this a little extreme? a little harsh?
After all, it was only a little fib! So he said “all” and I meant “most,” What’s the big deal?
•Someone has pointed out that if these standards of judgment were being held today, we’d have to a hearse in front of every church.
•Right after the offering we’d make and announcement “Would the ushers please come forward and remove the bodies.”
But do you know what should shake us up? God has not changed at all. His character is the same as it was when this event occurred.
•This story teaches us that God demands purity from his church.
•It teaches us that sin is a serious thing; that sin is a disease that eats away and destroys us.
•It teaches us that if we want to be like the Church in Acts, with phenomenal spiritual and physical growth, extraordinary miracles taking place, with a community being changed for Christ, then purity, integrity and transparency must be among our highest priorities.
T- Let’s look at the sins that led to their death, so we can avoid those sins in our life.
1. The Sins of Ananias and Sapphira which Led to their Death
There first great sin was:
a. Pride, the desire to impress others with their achievements, vv. 1-2
It is interesting to note what provoked them to sell their property
We learn at the end of chapter 4. Look at it
•Luke has just described the Church’s key to success, how the Church was a giving and caring body, meeting the needs of its members.
•Now he gives an example of that caring attitude. Read 4:36 Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means Son of Encouragement), 37 sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet.
•We’re going to hear a lot more about Joseph, known as Barnabas, in the future. He is an incredible bridge-builder, someone who loves people and seeks to bring them together.
•But the first thing we learn is that he makes an exceptional sacrifice. He sells some property and gives the money to the Church for the poor.
Now I’m sure word got around. Did you hear about that Barnabas? What an example he is!
•Everybody was talking about Barnabas
•And Ananias and Sapphira were longing for the same recognition. They wanted to be viewed as spiritual leaders in the Church.
•So they sold some land and gave it to the Church.
Notice something interesting. They both did the same thing.
•They both sold property. They both gave proceeds from it to the Church (at least most of them).
•The only real difference was in their motivation. Barnabas was motivated by a love for others. Ananias and Sapphira were motivated by a love for self – a desire for public recognition. They were motivated by pride.
It is kind of paradoxical that people who struggle with pride often have the lowest self image.
Have you ever spoken with someone who constantly promotes themselves?
•The person was constantly citing their credentials, all the important people he knew and extraordinary accomplishments.
•A funny thing happens. Every time this person cites another accomplishments, in your mind their status actually drops. It has the opposite effect.
Jesus tells a parable about this in Luke 14. He is sitting at a dinner party watching people and they are jockeying for the best seats. (Luke 14).
•He says “Hey, when you go to a dinner party, don’t seek the best seat.” If you do the host will come up and say, “You can’t sit here, your spot is lower down.” Instead, choose a low spot, and the host will bring you up.
•The moral is, “you don’t have to promote yourself, God will give you all the recognition you need and deserve.”
Ananias and Sapphira are desperate for self-recognition. And they think the way to get it is to promote themselves. They are so wrong.
I saw an extraordinary example of this in the news this week. If you watch the news you know Nelson Mandela is retiring from his position as President in South Africa.
•He was traveling with the new president-elect and you could see the extraordinary recognition and love of the people he had.
•Now whatever you may think of Mandela’s politics, no one can deny that he is a truly great man that and that he has accomplished extraordinary things.
•27 years in prison because of his struggle against apartheid.
•Finally released, without bitterness continued the struggle.
•Elected to the presidency; has led the nation through a peaceful transition from racism and apartheid to democracy for all.
•But he said something to the effect that, “This kind of recognition should be reserved for great men. I am just a servant of the people.
•It was an extraordinary statement of humility. Do you know what? Nobody believed him! everyone knew he was a great man who deserved such recognition
•He didn’t have to stand up and say, “I’m the greatest! He proved that with his actions and with his humility.
True greatness does not come from self-promotion
True greatness comes from great acts of sacrifice for others, lifting them up; giving them self-worth; making others look good.
Barnabas was a great man; Ananias and Sapphira were cheap imitations.
But God saw right through them. You see you can’t lie to God.
T- And that brings up their second great sin:
b. Deceit, trying to deceive God and other people, vv. 3-6
Notice the problem is not the amount of money they gave. It is the fact that they were seeking to deceive God’s people.
This passage is not about effective fund raising techniques.
•I don’t know about you; I get constant requests for money from charities and Christian ministries.
•And they have some very effective methods.
-Matching fund campaigns; heart-wrenching stories of people who’ve been helped; fake highlighter letters. Things are circled and personal comments are scribbled in the margins. Like the author has personally
-Brilliant marketing people.
•But nothing would compare to this one. Simple letter. “Dear Mark, Ananias and Sapphira didn’t give it all. We hope you won’t make the same mistake. Please return the self-addressed envelope with your check.” Signed, God.
•Sort of a “Give or Die” fund-raising campaign. That would be very effective.
But that is not what is happening here. There was no requirement to give. There is no threat if they don’t. Look at verse 4: Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal?
•Peter says, “God never required you to give this money.” This passage is not about how much you pledge to the Church.
•It is about deceit – lying to God.
Look at the next phrase: What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God.”
•Well they had in fact lied to men. But the point is they thought they were just lying to men. When in fact they were lying to God.
•They were living their life as though God wasn’t there.
One of the most disturbing features about the sins of our leaders, whether our political leaders or Christian leaders, is that they never confess them until they get caught. Have you ever noticed that?
•People will live a lie for years.
•They finally get caught. And with lower lip quivering they confess, “I’m so, so very sorry....” and what they mean is “I’m so sorry I got caught, I was having such fun. I really wish I could have kept it up.”
•The message is clear. “It’s o.k. to sin if nobody finds out.”
•But God knows. You can’t lie to God.
And we all fall prey to this kind of inauthenticity. To this kind of hypocrisy.
I’ve been preaching here at CABC now for a year and a half, and it is interesting, you lose some of your anonymity.
•Now, its really difficult. I’ll be in the Mall and one of my kids will have a tantrum and I’ll speak a little too sternly, “You are in big trouble.” And suddenly I’ll hear, “Hi Mark, how are you?....We’re from College Avenue.” And I’m going, “First time she’s ever acted this way. And you caught us!”
•It’s terrible. I now have to wait till I get home to yell at my kids.
And I have to admit. I’ve become more sensitive to the way I act in public.
•You folks are everywhere, at the supermarket, in the Mall, at a restaurant, on the freeways.” That’s the worst. I’ll get cut off and be about to lay on the horn, when I think, “What if that person is from College Avenue? I could be preaching at that person this week; so I’ll just wave and smile, God bless you, cut me off any time.”
But do you see the hypocrisy? Even before there were College Avenue people everywhere, God was everywhere.
•Every time I lose my temper in the privacy of my own home, God sees it.
•Every time I have an evil thought about someone else, God sees it.
•Every time I lust, God sees it.
Ananias and Sapphira had no sense of God’s presence in there life. They must have thought God wouldn’t know, or wouldn’t care.
•They were tragically wrong.
In verse 9 Peter says to Sapphira How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord?
Ananias and Sapphira wanted to:
c. Testing God, to see how much they could get away with, vv. 7-10
They went too far.
But there is another more subtle form of hypocrisy that permeates our churches.
•This is the “I’m o.k., you’re o.k.” syndrome; When we come to church with our mask of spirituality, but inside we are hurting.
•We are afraid to admit our marriages are struggling; can’t get along with our children
•So we say, “I’m doing great! Everything’s fine.”
•But every time we lie like that, we die a little inside. Ananias and Sapphira may have dropped dead on the spot, but we are dying by degrees.
God wants us to be authentic and transparent.
•John says, “Confess your sins to one another.” We need to be willing to share our deepest hurts.
•We also need to be unshockable.
•I can tell you with absolute certainty that there are marriages on the rocks; alcohol and drug abuse problems; spousal abuse, child abuse. All these things are here. We can deny it, but they are here.
•Are we willing to be open and honest about these areas.
In Psalm 139:1-2 David writes, “O Lord, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.”
He concludes the psalm, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (vv. 23-24).
T- The death of Ananias and Sapphira was a stark reminder that God demand integrity and authenticity in his Church. Let’s look briefly at:
2. The Results of the Judgment in the Life of the Church
The first is:
a. Fear and awe.
Look at it in verse 5: When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened.
Again in verse 11: Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events.
What kind of fear is this? It is recognition that God is holy and righteous and just. It is a recognition that sin is an awful offense against God that deserves punishment.
•We don’t talk a lot about that in society, or in the church, but maybe we should.
•And it breeds a view of God as an old pushover who will look the other way.
•But that is not the God of the Bible.
•He is an awesome God whose holiness is impossible even to look on.
Fear is an appropriate motivation. If that fear reflects reality.
I read about a museum that, despite the "Do Not Touch" signs, was having no success in keeping patrons from touching--and soiling--priceless furniture and art. But the problem evaporated overnight when a clever museum employee replaced the signs with ones that read: "Caution: Wash Hands After Touching!" (Today in the Word, March, 1990).
What if every time we sinned, instantly played out before us a scene of eternal torment in hell; followed by a scene of Christ suffering on the cross.
•We would soon recognize the extraordinary holiness of God and the hideousness of our sins.
T- But there is another result that came about from the death of Ananias and Sapphira.
Look at verse 13: No one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people.
•Now that is odd. These seem rather self contradictory. They were so highly regarded, so no one else dared to join them.
•The next verse sounds like an even greater contradiction: 14 Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number.
•Nobody else would join them, but they kept growing.
What’s going on here? You see, there was:
b. A new recognition of the cost of discipleship, vv. 12-13
There was a recognition that if you joined this group, it was going to cost you something.
•Timid souls need not apply.
•Those looking for a comfy, cushy existence, need not come.
•Those who want to make a lot of money, to buy a nice house, to invest in the future so you can retire early, sit back, eat drink and be merry...need not bother showing up.
You see the death of Ananias and Sapphira reminded everyone in the Church that this was war. There was a spiritual war going on. And it might just cost you everything.
When we lived in Scotland, on a couple of occasions a group of young people from our church went out to one of these paintball war games.
•They have this area in the woods. You have two sides and you use paintball guns to shoot at each other.
•It was great fun. O.K. call me a war-monger, but I really enjoyed it.
And I have to say, running around in those woods looking for the enemy gets your adrenaline pumping. But there is no real danger
•The worst thing that happened to me was when one of my own team members blasted me. I had rushed into an enemy tent. He didn’t even look, he just stuck his gun around the corner and shot me point blank. I had a bruise on my chest for a week.
•But that was the worst that could happen.
Now I have never served in the military. And so I have never been in combat. But I’ve spoken to those who have.
•And they have described a kind of paralyzing fear, knowing that at any moment you could be shot. Knowing that this is no paintball war.
•Knowing that you are indeed playing for keeps.
Hey. When Ananias and Sapphira dropped dead in front of the Church, suddenly there was a new recognition that they were playing for keeps.
•This was no paintball war
•There was no place for half-hearted commitment.
•More important, there was no place for deception, or greed, or self-centeredness.
The Church realized they were in this for keeps.
T- Yet despite this recognition of the cost of discipleship, there was extraordinary growth.
Look at it again: 14 Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number.
You see people rose to the challenge.
c. Spiritual and numerical growth in the Church, vv. 14-16
If we want to experience growth, real growth. Not just larger numbers, but authentic spirituality, authentic discipleship.
Then we have to recognize the awesome holiness of God.
We have to realize the incredibly destructive effects of sins and hypocrisy.
We have to recognize the extraordinary cost of discipleship.
