1

The Acts of the Apostles

Part 12

Deceiving

Acts 4:36-5:11

2Acts of the Apostles

Part 12

Deceiving 14 May 2006

The reading begins with Joseph or Barnabas selling land and giving it to the

apostles.

This is one of Luke’s summaries showing his ability to pack a lot of information

into few words. A real gift. Luke presents Barnabas to us as an incredibly

generous and encouraging person. The kind who would be an asset to any

fellowship. If you needed encouragement, you just had to be around Barnabas

for a while. There a still Christians around like that and it’s always good to be

around them.

Barnabas came from Cyprus which was rich in natural wealth from forests,

mining, fruit, wine and oil. People with land on Cyprus were probably wealthy

and what Barnabas put at the feet of the apostles from the sale of his land was

no doubt substantial.

As I said last time, the church was like the Eden of the day and as Adam and

Eve were tempted by Satan and paid a price, we now see Ananias and Sapphira

following doing the same. In this lovely setting of the early church where so

much was going well, we read of a “But”. (Translated “Now” in the NIV – it can

be either. But draws the greater contrast). Barnabas sold land and gave it all,

“But” Ananias and Sapphira (They were the “But” of the church in those days

but only after Barnabas had given so much and the implication is that they were

not the “but” of the church before then. Perhaps they were quite wealthy

3themselves and had been generous givers maybe they had a reputation as such

but when Barnabas turns up with the huge proceeds of a land sale, attention

switches to him. We can’t say that for certain but it could be that the episode we

read about here was a failed attempt by Ananias and Sapphira to regain

recognition as the generous givers.

When Christians have conversations it isn’t helpful when the conversation goes

“Well Coundon’s ok BUT there’s this couple that……………”

As individuals we are more help as encouragers than being “but” people and

while “But” people might prevent mistakes being made by warning “But have

you thought of this…?” when presented with a proposal, more often they act to

stifle progress. In the latter respect, some people use “But” far too much and

it’s a job to get anything done if they have to agree to it first. “We want do this,

what do you think?” “Well it’s OK but I dunno…” “Do you like the way we’ve

arranged these things?” “Yes but don’t you think it would be better if we did it

like this?” Alright, there can be a place for “Yes but” at times. The trouble is

people don’t hear the Yes they only hear the but.

Your friend says “Do you like my new shoes” and you say “Yes but..” your

friend hears the “But”, not the “Yes”. People skilled in negotiating try hard not

to use “Yes but” in response to unacceptable proposals.

Unfortunately it’s sometimes the people who are “The pillars of the church”

who are the worst “Yes but-ers”. They’ve been in the place for years, they don’t

want change and like pillars they hold up the church, obscure vision and you

can’t move them however hard you try. But-but-but-but but-but-but …. Motor

boat Christians! We must try to be different from that.

4Although Ananias and Sapphira are remembered for the deception they tried

to hatch, there’s something mentioned to their credit here. It says Ananias

together with his wife Sapphira. Now here was a married couple who worked

out things together. They clearly planned together. That is a lesson which should

be learned by every married couple. Now there are some things which married

couples do which can only be done together but there are many things that

needn’t be but should be. For example, the way money is spent should be

discussed together and agreed before it is spent. Then there’s less of a problem if

something goes wrong.

Obviously, if you are buying a present you need some independence but listen

up men. If your wife has said that she would like such and such a thing and you

decide to get it as a surprise, don’t go into debt for it or spend money on it you

had both earmarked for something Communicate and plan together in as many

areas as possible. Such action will avoid many misunderstandings. Even then

some things can go wrong. Illustration: Telephone call “Who owns this phone?”

The fact that Ananias and Sapphira had planned things together was

commendable; it’s what they actually planned that wasn’t because their plan

was a carefully organised attempt to deceive not only the church but the apostles

whom God appointed to head up the church and, in particular, Peter who was

full of the Holy Spirit and who was a major foundation stone of the church God

was building.

It was not an accidental sin into which they fell into unintentionally as they were

going about their daily life. There’s a remedy for that in repentance and

forgiveness. It was a joint intentional act by the two of them to bring some kind

of honour to themselves by deliberate deception of the Apostles and they failed

5to see the consequences it would have on the church and the apostles should it

be exposed. In any event, they knew they shouldn’t be doing it as that kind of

action was contrary to the Law of Moses (Lev 19:11"Do not steal. Do not lie. Do

not deceive one another”(NIV)). They probably thought that it didn’t really

matter “After all, they’re going to get the money”.

Of course, Ananias and Sapphira could simply have given out the money

gradually to people in the church and could have given them the impression that

it was the full price for the land. If that had been done and proved to be

successful in bringing honour to them, which is what they wanted, it would be to

people like them that others would look for example and gradually their

deceitful ways would have leaked into any counsel or advice they might give

which would have gradually spread like yeast to pollute and weaken the

growing church. Even so, they might have got away with doing that – who

knows?

I believe it was the act of presenting the deception to the most anointed apostle

at the time who was overflowing with the Holy Spirit that was their real

downfall.

We need to note that no one’s questioning their generosity, they were not stingy

people. I don’t personally know Christians who have sold houses and have given

the entire amount to the church. They must exist but I don’t personally know

them. Such Christians would be none the less generous if they’d kept half and

given the rest so long as they hadn’t tried to deceive their leaders into believing

that they had given it all – which was the problem here. As Satan was stated by

Peter as being behind this perhaps we can see a bit of him shining through.

6Matt 4:8-9

8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the

kingdoms of the world and their splendour.

9 "All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me."

(NIV)

Satan wanted honour from the Lord Jesus in exchange for the giving of wealth.

In a similar way perhaps Ananias and Sapphira felt that by publicly giving the

proceeds of a land sale they would receive honour from people and that it would

result in them enjoying some kind of prestige. They knew, though, that any

accolade would not be so great if they only gave part and so, for them, it had to

look like they had given the whole – and they didn’t want to give the whole.

Take Care When Giving

This isn’t quite the same thing but I want to say that we have to be careful about

motive when giving money to meet the needs of a particular individual - such as

another Christian. The motive needs to be the true one of wanting to help and

not one of wanting to be appreciated or to have a person feel they are indebted

to you. Anonymous giving is a good way around that – although that’s obviously

not practical in every case. Where it is possible to give anonymously, though,

always take that option because the receiver won’t know who gave the gift and

the receiver won’t feel indebted to you personally. If the anonymous option is

available to us but doesn’t appeal, we need to check our motive! It’s good for

one hand not to know what the other is giving.

Baranabas clearly didn’t give anonymously but, in his case, he was not giving to

individuals – and he wasn’t seeking accolades either.

7Pulling Off the Plan

So with the plan partly hatched, they now finalise the way to pull it off. This is

how they would do it.

We read that the new Christians devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching

and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Acts 2:42. It

appears that there were three separate hours of the day when the Jews went for

public prayer. In Acts we read of three specific times. In Acts 2:15 we read of

the THIRD hour, ( nine o'clock in the morning). In Acts 10:9 the SIXTH hour,

(noon) and in Acts 3:1 the NINTH hour (three o’clock in the afternoon).

Here’s what could have been the plan. Ananias would go to one of the first two

prayer meetings and then go on to a place where he knew the apostles would be.

Sapphira agreed to go the next prayer meeting and then call by three hours

later. (It may be that they always did that anyway.) The plan went into action

and at the agreed time Ananias kissed Sapphira goodbye and went off with his

money.

After prayer, Ananias makes his way to the meeting which would include some

apostles and other men. From the fact that the younger of those men arose

when Ananias died, it would indicate that the meeting was one of those where

some of the men devoted to the apostles teaching were being taught as they sat

at the apostles’ feet. Paul said that he was brought up at the FEET of Gamaliel,

Acts 22:3. That was the typical posture adopted by Jewish students when being

instructed by their teachers and I imagine the place was pretty full – which, of

course, was all the more reason why Ananias should choose such a time to

present the money. We’re not told if the students knew what the Apostles would

8be teaching that day but whatever was on the schedule God had His own plans

for the session which would sharpen everybody up.

So, with bag in hand, Ananias brought money like others had done and did with

the money just what the others done. He walked through the seated men and he

put it at the apostles’ feet. No doubt at the feet of Peter.

From Acts Chapter 2 we seem to be reading repeatedly about what happened at

the feet of Peter. On the day of Pentecost, Peter stood, with 1000’s of people at

his feet as he preached and 3000 came to the Lord. In Acts 3 we see a cripple at

Peter’s feet who gets miraculously healed. In Acts 4 and 5 we see money being

put at Peter’s feet for distribution in the church In Acts 5 we see students at

Peter’s feet being taught by the apostles and then we see the sick being put in

the street so that they will be at Peter’s feet to make sure his shadow will fall on

them – Good things happen at Peter’s feet to people who come with a genuine

heart to give or receive but the hypocrites that come with a heart to deceive die

at Peters feet as Ananias and Sapphira are about to find out.

People ask why this sort of thing doesn’t happen now. Surely worse things have

been done than lie about money. If anything is recorded twice or more in

scripture, it might be regarded as normal church life. It may be that worse

things have been done since but they been done before powerfully anointed

men? Deliberate lying has certainly taken place in churches. The local Elim

church fell foul of a healing scam some years ago when someone new began

attending the church in a wheelchair. After attending for some time, the person

stood up claiming healing. In fact, it was later found to be a deception because

the person was perfectly able to walk and had just tried to deceive the church.

However, I would not like to be in the shoes of anyone who set out deliberately

9to deceive someone with a powerful anointing of the Holy Spirit on them such

as some of those behind revivals and meetings where God has moved powerfully

using such people.

We don’t know if Ananias said anything but his actions would have intimated

that he was doing what Barnabas had done knowing it would be taken by others

to mean he had sold property and was bringing the full price.

However, someone had told Peter what had been going on. Whom might that

have been? Did someone in the group overhear Ananias and Sapphira planning

the deception and pass the info to Peter? Had either of the couple told someone

else their secret and that got passed on to Peter or did God tell Peter? Well, it

wouldn’t have been the first time it had happened. II Ki 6:8-12

8 Now the king of Aram was at war with Israel. After conferring with

his officers, he said, "I will set up my camp in such and such a place."

9 The man of God sent word to the king of Israel: "Beware of passing

that place, because the Arameans are going down there."

10 So the king of Israel checked on the place indicated by the man of

God. Time and again Elisha warned the king, so that he was on his guard

in such places.

11 This enraged the king of Aram. He summoned his officers and

demanded of them, "Will you not tell me which of us is on the side of the

king of Israel?"

12 "None of us, my lord the king," said one of his officers, "but Elisha,

the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the very words you

speak in your bedroom." (NIV)

There’s another example in 2 Kings 5 involving Elisha’s servant.

10

II Ki 5:25-27

25 Then he went in and stood before his master Elisha. "Where have you

been, Gehazi?" Elisha asked. "Your servant didn't go anywhere," Gehazi

answered.

26 But Elisha said to him, "Was not my spirit with you when the man

got down from his chariot to meet you? Is this the time to take money, or

to accept clothes, olive groves, vineyards, flocks, herds, or menservants and

maidservants?

27 Naaman's leprosy will cling to you and to your descendants for ever."

Then Gehazi went from Elisha's presence and he was leprous, as white as

snow. (NIV)

Well, God can do that sort of thing and when He wants to He uses the Holy

Spirit to convey what He knows to one of His children. When Paul wrote

1Corinthians, he had come to realise that God gave certain Christians a

spiritual gift specifically for that purpose, a Word of Knowledge. Using that gift,

a person becomes aware of a bit what God knows about a situation. It will

always be knowledge which has a purpose and knowledge which could not have

been acquired at that time by the person unless the Holy Spirit had revealed it.

We have found it happens in ministry situations where the knowledge is

essential in setting someone free and may be knowledge in the head of the

person but has not been shared for some reason or other. It has been likened to

God reading a person’s mail and then sharing some of it with someone else for a

purpose.

We’ve mentioned this on more than one occasion but it serves as an illustration

of the way the Holy Spirit conveys information when you need it.

11

The Arrow

Some years ago, I went through a difficult time at work with one client giving

me a lot of grief. So much so that I came home one night, burst into tears and

found it very hard to handle the situation. To make matters worse, the client

was a near neighbour and I developed a fear of even going into the street in case

I met him. It was not good.

It got to the point where I needed prayer for that and I sat in the back half our

lounge and the remainder of the Fellowship leadership team prayed for me. At

that time the Holy Spirit gave Graham a picture of an arrow stuck into me and

causing trauma. Graham felt that the Holy Spirit was telling him to pull it out

which he did in faith and I felt instant release. In fact the relief was so great that

I could hardly stop laughing for some time. No amount of guessing or

considering by Graham or other team members would have exposed that arrow.

It was a clear case of being in tune with the Holy Spirit. It was “A word of

knowledge” - one of the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit listed in 1 Corinthians 12.

Another tool in the kit. Since that time, I have been reconciled with the

neighbour.

Well, I don’t personally think that some other Christian shared the secret with

Peter but God told Peter. It could be that God told Peter about it as Ananias

and Sapphira were planning the deception and when Ananias turned up it was

confirmation to Peter that what he had heard was correct. Alternatively, as

Ananias was putting down the money intimating that the whole price had been

given when it hadn’t, Peter was hearing another voice telling him exactly what

had been going on.

12You know, we can’t fool God. Not in any area and even if we succeed in

fooling someone else in the church, God may decide one day to share our secret

with someone else, to expose whatever it is for reasons God knows best. That’s

church life according to God’s design.

To summarize what has been said so far:-

The passage makes a comparison between Barnabas, who sold land and laid all the

proceeds at the feet of the Apostles for distribution to those in need, and Ananias

and Sapphira who sold land and laid part of the proceeds at the feet of the Apostles

but said or intimated that it was all.

Barnabas was an encourager but Ananias and Sapphira were the “But” people of

the early church at that time.. Barbabas gave all “But” Ananias and

Sapphira…………. “But” people are present all over the place and while they

might prevent mistakes being made by warning “But have you thought of this….”

when presented with a proposal, more often they act to stifle progress. We need to

decide which type of person we want to be.

To their credit as a husband and wife team they planned things together and,

particularly in the area of finance, joint planning is a good thing to do in a

marriage. Many problems can be avoided by doing that. The problem in this case is

what Ananias and Sapphira actually planned.

What they did was not an accidental sin into which they fell unintentionally as they

went about their daily lives. Even under the Law of Moses they knew they should

not steal, lie or deceive. It was an act intended to deceive the Apostles of the early

church who were overflowing with the Holy Spirit.

13Satan was in on this episode and as Satan wanted honour from the Lord Jesus in

exchange for the giving of wealth, perhaps Ananias and Sapphira felt their

deception would result in them enjoying some kind of honour and prestige in

exchange for giving wealth. It isn’t quite the same thing but we have to be careful

about motive when giving money to meet the needs of a particular individual - such

as another Christian. The motive needs to be the true one of wanting to help and

not one of wanting to be appreciated or gain prestige. Where possible, anonymous

giving is a good way around that. If the anonymous option is available to us but

doesn’t appeal, we need to check our motive! It’s good for one hand not to know

what the other is giving.

It appears that there were three separate hours of the day when the Jews went for

public prayer, nine in the morning, noon and three in the afternoon. Here’s what

could have been the plan. Ananias would go to one of the first two prayer meetings

and then go on to a place where he knew the apostles would be. Sapphira agreed to

go to the next prayer meeting three hours later and then join Ananias. It may be

that they always did that anyway – we don't know. The plan went into action and at

the agreed time Ananias kissed Sapphira goodbye and went off with his money to

the place where Peter was probably doing some teaching. It may be that Ananias

usually turned up at that time of day- again we don’t know..

Ananias didn’t know it but God was a step ahead and gave Peter a word of

knowledge – one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit – and Peter know what had been

going on. So, to continue.

Ananias puts down the money at Peter’s feet and waits. He’s waiting for the

accolade, the smiles from the apostles, the public thanks from the other men, the

appreciation. I’m certain some of the men sitting there were already thinking

14“What generosity”, “Praise God for Ananias”, “How kind” and so on.

Ananias waits.

Then Peter said “Ananias”. The first word he spoke was “Ananias”. If you look

at verse 7 and you see that the last word he spoke was “God”. In the final

analysis when all’s said and done, the most important thing in our lives is how it

is between us and God. We are down on this earth for as many years as God

ordains and we all live our lives one way or the other but when we breathe our

last, the only thing which will matter then is “How is it between us and God”

and that will depend on whether or not we have put our faith in Christ and how

we have continued in it.

Now we know that Ananias was among those who had come to faith, part of the

5000 men who were now forming the early church. All of them, including

Ananias and Sapphira, had been of one heart and mind and had devoted

themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of

bread and to prayer and had continued to meet together in the temple courts

and had broken bread in their homes and eaten together with glad and sincere

hearts. In Luke’s writings we don’t get a sentence included here in which he

raises a question about whether or not this couple were really saved. Luke is

precise in his writings but is silent on that because it’s deception and not

salvation which is the issue here.

Peter asks four questions next but doesn’t ask Ananias if he’s really born again.

If anything, the questions Peter asks confirm that Peter believed Ananias to be a

Christian because it would be no surprise for Satan to affect the heart of an

unbeliever or for an unbeliever to lie in the way Ananias did. But Satan will try

very hard to attack the hearts of Christians and we need to guard against that

15by not giving Satan footholds. If he really was born again and was truly a

Christian then we can understand why great fear came upon the church when

the news broke of the death of Ananias and later to Sapphira. If it happened to

Ananias and Sapphira, the rest too could be tempted and fall into such a sin.

Therefore all Christians, including ourselves, need to take note of what

happened here.

As just mentioned Peter asks four questions. And let’s look at the answers. Acts

5:3-4

Question 1 Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy

Spirit, and to keep back part of the price of the land? He was

able to say that Ananias had lied to the Holy Spirit because it

was the Holy Spirit speaking through Peter and Ananias was

right in His presence. Ananias was seen by God coming with his

desecrated offering covered with Satan’s paw prints and He

watched Ananias present it before the Holy Spirit and it was a

stench in God’s nostrils.

If we could have heard Peter speaking and could have

understood his language, we would have heard something

different from what we read in the NIV. We would have heard

“Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Spirit the

Holy to keep back part of the price of the land?” What Ananias

did was not only an affront to the Spirit as a person of the

Godhead but an affront to His Holy Character.

Maybe Ananias knew Jesus at the time he walked the earth and

knew how amiable and approachable He was and as the Holy

16Spirit had been sent to be with them after Jesus returned to

His Father then he may have thought the Holy Spirit must be

the same. However, the Lord Jesus came as a mediator (who by

definition must be approachable) between God and man because

without Him as mediator we could not even approach God in

His holiness. It was also Jesus who said that people could speak

against Him and it would be forgiven – that was one thing – but

the same did not apply to speaking against the Holy Spirit (Matt

12:31-32) and Ananias was now coming face to face with the

reality of that.

So, Peter asks Question 1

“Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Spirit the

Holy to keep back part of the price of the land?” What did

Ananias answer?

Nothing.

Question 2 Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? Answer –

Nothing

Question 3 and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? Answer

Nothing

Question 4 why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? Answer -

Nothing. Was Satan really to blame? No. Ananias had given

place to Satan’s enticement and had then conceived the plan in

his own heart.

17Peter made no threats, he didn’t recite church membership conditions and he

didn’t state any consequences. However, as Peter was going through the

questions, Ananias would be thinking fast. “I thought he would be full of

thanks”. “I didn’t expect this”. “I thought this was going to be a really good

meeting”. “What do I say?” “Who told Peter all this?” “Did Sapphira tell him?

Is she here, then?” “What’s going to happen now?”

Whatever was going on in his mind nothing was coming out of his mouth. This

was judgement time and when God is seated in judgement no one argues, no one

answers back and no one recites excuses because none will come out of the

mouth.

A good example of that is found in Matthew Matt 22:11-14

11 And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which

had not on a wedding garment: (At that time the king would have provided the

garment and to refuse to wear it would be considered a great insult.)

12 And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a

wedding garment? And he was speechless.

13 Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him

away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of

teeth.

14 For many are called, but few are chosen.

What if Ananias had fallen to his knees and cried in repentance and pleaded for

forgiveness? Would he have lived? It is futile to try to answer that because there

was no opportunity and it didn’t come to his mind to do so. The secret things

belong to God but a big part of me wants to believe that God’s judgement on

Ananias meant that he lost his life on earth and with that lost the opportunities

18that many Christians have of spreading the Gospel, enjoying God’s favour

through life, working in the Kingdom with other Christians, bringing up

children to know the Lord and so on. I want to believe that his judgment was to

lose his life here but to pass into eternity into the presence of a loving God and

Christ the Saviour whom he had come to trust in this life.

What we do know is that will not be the case for millions of people who go

through this life with scant regard for God, the Father of the Lord Jesus, with

no serious intention of ever repenting of sin and putting their trust in Jesus who

died for them.

Their sin is often not judged in this life like the sin of Ananias was - but it will

be. There was no immediate judgement on those who sinned in the days of Noah

– but it came in the end. There was no immediate judgement of sin for those in

Sodom and Gomorrah – but it came in the end. There was no immediate

judgement for sin on Pharoah in the land of Egypt at the time of Moses – but it

came in the end and you can go through the Bible like that.

The Bible talks of sin having wages and talks about the wages of sin being death.

I used to get my wages at the end of the month. I didn’t get them half way

through but I knew they were coming and at the end of the month, sure enough,

they came. It’s the same with the wages of sin. In the end, they’ll be paid and

when death comes to all those outside Christ – what a surprise. Some in this live

boast saying “I’ll tell God on judgment day “Well, God, I’ve done my best, what

more can you do? I’ve not been as bad as some people, my mother went to

church and I did now and again” “I prayed sometimes too and so I think You

should let me in” and so on.

19The fact is that when God is judging, just like in Ananias’ case, the ability to

present excuses, to argue and tell God what you think will not be there. Even the

ability to burst into repentance and beg forgiveness simply won’t be there. The

mind will be able to think, but the mouth will be silent and even if it is possible

to put in some plea, it will be too late. There is a broad road which leads to Hell

and many are on that road. All roads merge into that broad one except the road

to heaven built by the Lord Jesus who is the Way, the Truth and the Life

because no-one comes to the Father except through faith in Him. (John 14:6)

The idea that all roads lead to God and heaven is a lie from Satan and his paw

prints are all over that concept.

The case of Ananias is an example of the way in which judgement begins at the

house of God. This is what Peter wrote later:-

1 Pet 4:15-18

15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or

as a busybody in other men's matters.

16 Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him

glorify God on this behalf.

17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if

it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of

God?

18 And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the

sinner appear?

(KJV)

As I’ve mentioned before, we are not questioning here if Ananias was a

Christian and if this event caused the loss of his salvation. Neither is an issue in

20this passage. What we do see here is that Christian or not God is entitled to do

what he wants with whom He wants and when He wants. And if in His church

He wants to bring immediate judgement on sin He doesn’t ask anyone’s

permission. Ananias didn’t want to die and didn’t expect to die but that made

no difference to the way God acted in the situation. The God we serve is a

consuming fire.

The death of Ananias was intended to make the church sit up and think and it

had the desired effect. Suddenly people in the room woke up afresh to the

holiness of God and the need to reverence the Holy Spirit and we read that great

fear seized all who heard about it. That word “fear” means alarm and fright.

If they learned nothing else that day they learned that when you as Christian

bring something as an offering to God, what ever it is – even if it’s bringing a

sermon like I’m bringing today - you never forget that you are presenting it to a

Holy God, you bring what you believe in your heart will please Him, it must

never be presented with the hope of gaining prestige and must never be

wrapped in deception.

They would have heard the thud as the body hit the ground. This was not going

down in the spirit and there weren’t any catchers! He was dead.

Ananias’s sin might be one of the kind which John refers to in 1 John 5:16:-

16 If anyone sees his brother commit a sin that does not lead to death, he should

pray and God will give him life. I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death.

There is a sin that leads to death. I am not saying that he should pray about that.

(NIV)

21

I think that is the kind of sin where the result is the untimely death of the body with

mercy being extended to the spirit and is one which can apply only to the case of

Christian brother and sisters.

I wonder if Peter knew that would happen? There would have been stunned

silence until some of the young men got up, and wrapped his body and took him

out for burial.

If this attempt to deceive had been allowed to go on, it would have become

known at some point we can be certain. Someone somewhere would have found

out what the land really sold for. That’s just life. Then, the inevitable questions

would be banded around in the church as to just how full of the Holy Spirit

Peter really is. Does he really have any ability to hear from the Lord after all he

was only a fisherman. That would have led to people beginning to question the

validity of his leadership and so on. In short, unless it had been stopped, it could

have been the death knell to the church and God was not prepared to see that

happen.

So what about Sapphira? We do know that Sapphira wasn’t contacted at all

and my guess is that the Holy Spirit had told Peter to do nothing whatsoever but

wait. “No-one else is to leave. The teaching isn’t over for the day”.

Sapphira

Well, three hours later (and that would have seemed a long time in these

circumstances) possibly after the next prayer meeting had finished, Sapphira

arrives. Perhaps she expected to enjoy an accolade all of her own, Ananias

already having received his, or so she believed. So she came in and might have

22wondered where Ananias was, not knowing that a burial service was ending as

she walked through the door. She thought she would be joining Ananias as he

basked in the appreciation of the Apostles and the other men over the money

from the sale. Instead, she would be joining him somewhere else.

The money was there, the bag was on the floor but where was Ananias and why

was everyone so quiet? In the three hours which passed between her husband

dying and she coming in, great fear came on all them who heard about it – but

the news never reached her. As mentioned before, The Lord had told Peter what

Ananias and Sapphira had been doing by imparting a Word of Knowledge to

him – one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit mentioned by Paul in his first letter to

the Corinthians. However, the Lord didn’t tell Sapphira. She didn’t even know

that, as she walked up to Peter, she was walking up to an invisible precipice and

she stopped with her toes over the edge. She was so close to falling over it and

dying but she didn’t know. We can see from this that God is under no obligation

to share His plans with those who are affected by them, though He might do so

through someone like a prophet or another whom He might choose. In this case

He chose to tell Peter but did not tell Sapphira.

With the money no doubt at his feet, Peter asked her a question. Sapphira was

getting a chance that Ananias didn’t get. An opportunity to give an answer but

Peter was not permitted to tell her what the consequences could be.

“Tell me…” said Peter. Why did she get this chance to explain when Ananias

didn’t? One key to this is in Acts 5:2

With his wife's full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself,

but brought the rest and put it at the apostles' feet. (NIV)

23

Firstly it does not say “they kept part of the money for themselves” and

secondly Ananias was her husband which meant he was the head of the home

and we don’t know what pressure might have been brought to bear on Sapphira

to agree to the deception. Also, the Lord Jesus raised the profile of women from

the position of being mere possessions of men to being people worthy of respect

in their own right as illustrated by Jesus when he defended Mary against

criticism levelled at her by Judas. So the Holy Spirit, who has been lied against,

shows mercy and decides that Sapphira is going to have an opportunity to

redeem herself. That’s the grace of God and God extends grace to us time and

again. We just need to take care not to abuse it like she was about to do – if we

do it once too often we have no idea what the consequence might be.

So, Peter asked her, "Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the

land?" (NIV)

Sapphira needed to answer this carefully. She had the choice of two words. One

had three letters and the other had two. Three letters would mean going over

the precipice and death (but she didn’t know it) and two letters would mean

stepping back and staying alive.

Those little words yes and no are the ones which are likely to steer our lives

more than any others. You are here today because of yes or no. You are in your

current job – or out of it - because of yes or no. The words are so important it

can often be difficult to get straight yes or no answers to certain questions where

politicians are involved or medical/legal advisors. They just daren’t use them in

some cases and you tend to get vague answers. It’s interesting that the words

that have the biggest effect are amongst the shortest words in the vocabulary

24

Peter is waiting for an answer. Right up to this critical point Sapphira could

change her mind and tell the truth. Right up to the point of death a person who

has never had regard for the preciousness of the Lord Jesus can change their

mind, repent of their sin ask for God’s forgiveness and become a Christian. But

so many will not do it, many hoping that in some way somehow all roads lead to

God and heaven and that they are on the way there. As mentioned earlier, the

Lord Jesus makes it quite clear in His teaching that all roads do not lead to

heaven and His teaching is readily available – even on the shelves of W H Smith

the famous booksellers.

Sapphira needed to say “no” or even “yes, but it wasn’t the full price” but she

decided to boast in front of all who were there about something good she hadn’t

done to gain prestige and to maintain the lie Ananias had already told to the

Holy Spirit. “Yes, that is the price”. “Yes” would have been enough but she had

to go on to boast about it being the price believing that the plan which Ananias

and she had hatched secretly would not be discovered by anyone, thereby

putting to the test the words of the Lord Jesus when He said “There is nothing

concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known”

(Luke 12:2 NIV) and it cost Sapphira her life. As she turned her head to look at

the men who were just coming in from burying her husband, she dropped dead

at the feet of Peter and she joined Ananias in the grave.

If only she had changed her mind and said “No”.

The young men who had buried Ananias came in and found her on the floor.

Luke doesn’t record them wrapping up her body and we don’t know if they did

or not but they buried her next to her husband. I wonder if there was some

25writing on the grave. Some epitaph about people lying there who were found

to be lying to God.

We then read

Acts 5:11

11 Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events.

(NIV)

We could use this passage to support the argument that we shouldn’t say things

about us which aren’t true, such as singing songs like this (put song on screen). I

think that’s a weak application of the passage. I’m not saying that it’s OK to

sing words we don’t mean but I think the passage is intended to take us down a

different road.

I believe that the double reference to fear in this passage is what Luke is

wanting to emphasise.

God is love, He sent Jesus to die for us because He loves us. He is a father to us

who wants to encourage us, strengthen us and comfort us. But He is the King of

Glory, a consuming fire and whilst there are those times when God wants us to

curl up on His lap and just enjoy Him it’s by no means always that way. When

God turns up in power, people bow in adoration and stand in awe of Him and

then He’s not dear old dad or dear old Abba–He is God almighty, great and

Holy and we must never forget it. Peter saw Ananias and Sapphira drop dead

right in front of him and later he wrote this.

1 Pet 1:15-17

15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do;

2616 for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."

17 Since you call on a Father who judges each man's work impartially, live

your lives as strangers here in reverent fear.

(NIV)

On its own, that word fear means “alarm or fright” but because true fear of

God is rooted in the fact that God loves us then that fear becomes one which

prompts us to take care not to offend God and to endeavour to please Him in all

that we do.

And Peter says that’s the way we should live our lives.