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 man 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. And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who
heard of these things (Acts 5:1-11).
The Spirit confronts us with a dramatic
comparison here. In the shadow of Joseph’s sale of property and presentation of
the proceeds to the apostles for blessing the needy in the community of
believers, we encounter Ananias and Sapphira’s similar offering. The stories
have very different endings. Joseph’s actions earn him the blessing of a new
nickname… “Barnabas (which means son of encouragement)” (Acts 4:36),
while the consequence for Ananias and Sapphira is death. The Holy Spirit leads
us to important truth here about the virtues that lead to blessing.
Pleasing God above men leads to blessing. The Spirit gives us a
glimpse into Ananias and Sapphira’s motivation here as their action comes on
the heels of Joseph’s offering that earned him praise among the apostles and
other disciples. Their answers to Peter’s questions implied that they were
giving the entire proceeds from the sale of their property and they expected
similar praise. They gave in to the temptation of praise from men and lied
about keeping back some of the proceeds. Placing man above God brings terrible
consequences in the place of His blessings… “The fear of man lays a
snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is safe” (Proverbs 29:25).
Ananias and Sapphira experienced the consequences of pleasing men instead of
God. We are encouraged by their story to seek the blessings of pleasing God
above men.
Delighting in God leads to blessing. Ananias and Sapphira had divided hearts toward God.
As our fellowship with Jesus Christ matures we learn to give Him the desires of
our heart and He transforms them according to His will. God gave us our passion
and when we surrender it to Him He reshapes it into something that can glorify
Him, and He returns it to us… “Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will
give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4). This is part of God’s
plan to make us more like His Son Jesus Christ who was completely devoted to
pleasing His Father… “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to
be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn
among many brothers” (Romans 8:29). Ananias and Sapphira kept part of
their heart from God. We are exhorted by their story to trust our whole heart
and all of its passions to God.
Being honest with God leads to life. Ananias and Sapphira lied to
both God and men. This speaks volumes about their superficial relationship with
God who knows all the secrets of our hearts… “If we had forgotten the
name of our God or spread out our hands to a foreign god, would not God discover
this? For he knows the secrets of the heart” (Psalm 44:20-21).
Ultimately it was their artificial relationship with God that led to the
consequence of death. We are compelled by their story to invest in a real,
growing intimacy and fellowship with God that leads to abundant and eternal
life.
As we grow up into Christ, He gets more of our heart as we grow in…
The Virtues that Lead to Blessing.
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