6 Seriousness of Sin. Acts 4:36-5:11

Transcription

1 6 Seriousness of Sin Acts 4:36-5:11 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. 5:1 Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. 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. 3 Then Peter said, Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit a and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? 4 Didn t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God. 5 When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened. 6 Then some young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him. 7 About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8 Peter asked her, Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land? Yes, she said, that is the price. 9 Peter said to her, How could you conspire to test the Spirit of the Lord? Listen! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also. 10 At that moment she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11 Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events. 54 Explore the Bible Students

2 Exploration To ensure that you teach this passage in accordance with its larger context, read Acts 4:23 5:21 in your preparation time. CONTEXT External opposition to the early church was a real and ongoing danger (4:3,17). Those who had opposed Jesus and cried the loudest for His crucifixion simply transferred their hostility onto Christ s followers. Yet Satan, the church s number one Enemy, also found new ways to attack Christ s followers. He attacked on the inside. External opposition did not deter the early church s growth, either numerically or spiritually. The number of believers reached at least 5,000 men, even as Peter and John were arrested, interrogated, and threatened by the Jewish high council (4:1-22). Indeed, as a response to these first acts of persecution, the early church became more passionate in their praying (4:23-31) and more devoted to one another in their fellowship and ministry (4:32-37). It was at this point that Satan stirred turmoil internally in the church by tempting Ananias and Sapphira, two professing believers who were husband and wife, to lie to God concerning their giving. God exposed the couple s deceit, however, and they died (5:1-11). This event and many other miraculous happenings resulted in hosts of new believers being added to the church (5:12-16). TRANSITION TO INDIVIDUAL STUDY After you have set the context, move your students into the Exploration time in their Personal Study Guides. There are several different ways that you can lead your students to explore the Scripture. 1. Lead your students to work through all of the Scripture and questions, then discuss their responses together as a group. 2. Guide your students to work through the Scripture and questions one question at a time. Pause for group discussion after each question. Whichever method you choose, make sure that the students have an opportunity to explore the Scripture for themselves. Session 6 55

3 Conversation This portion of Acts tells stories about the conditions of the hearts of three different individuals. Barnabas heart was honest and exemplary in his giving. Ananias was deceitful in the way he sought personal praise, doing something wicked to appear righteous. Sapphira was complicit and tacitly approving of Ananias sin. We will analyze this story and find the similarities and differences between our hearts and the hearts of these three. In this session s application, your students will be called to a time of honest introspection and challenged to give with the same authentic generosity as Barnabas. Invite your students to read This Week s Focus and this session s verses in their Personal Study Guides or Bibles before responding to the following questions as a group: Was God fair to each person in this story? Why or why not? For that matter, is it fair that God would forgive any sinner? Affirm your students for the sense of fear that this story instills in them as that was the same effect it on those who first heard of it (v. 11). In fact, this proper sense of awe and fear was part of God s purpose in it. How do we know that God takes sin seriously? Can we accept the Bible s promises of blessings while rejecting the story of Ananias and Sapphira? 4:36-37 Now that we have explored the Scripture as a whole, we will explore each section of this session s passage and respond to discussion questions together along the way. Call upon a student to read verses for the group and then work through these questions as a group. The first of the three types of hearts we encounter in this passage is the honest and exemplary heart. Barnabas was completely forthright in the way he gave this offering. Students will best understand why these two verses are isolated for individual study if they have read through the entire passage already. This way, returning to Barnabas story after reading the story of Ananias and Sapphira will show the benefits of integrity by contrast. Was there anything fake about Barnabas gift? Why does that matter? It is a misconception that the early church lived in a communist society. Those who sold what they had and shared did so voluntarily; not under compulsion from the church. The people in this church knew that the kingdom of heaven was upon them and so, like the radical converts of Jesus parables (Matt. 13:44-52), they sold what they had and gave it for the cause of the gospel. Refer to the verses before this session s passage; Acts 4: This church had prayed to God for boldness after hearing about the way that the Sanhedrin threatened Peter and John (Acts 4:23-30). God literally shook the place and then these bold acts of radical generosity followed. Barnabas gift was one of these acts of radical generosity. His gift was not given out of the desire to be praised, but was given out of the overflow of who Barnabas was, the Son of Encouragement (v. 36b). His gift encouraged others to give and so it was a testimony worth sharing. 56 Explore the Bible Students

4 Leader Prep 4:36-37 Luke emphasized the early church s experience of fellowship by highlighting one man who was a prime example of glad generosity (4:36-37) and one married couple who through deceit and pretense became a prime example of insincere fellowship (5:1-11). Luke s prime example of sincere fellowship an example to follow was a believer named Joseph. Joseph was a Cypriot by birth, meaning that he was born on the island of Cyprus (located in the eastern Mediterranean Sea south of modern-day Turkey). He also was a Levite, indicating that his family heritage was from the Israelite tribe that became closely connected to temple life. How long Joseph had lived in Jerusalem is unclear; what is clear is that he was a landowner and had become a follower of Christ. He was intimately involved in the life of the early church in Jerusalem. Another key fact Luke included here is that Joseph was the one the apostles called Barnabas, which is translated Son of Encouragement. Indeed, Barnabas would become a key leader in the Jerusalem church and would play a significant role in the spread of the gospel (11:22-26; 13:2-3; 15:2-3). In addition to his generosity and encouragement, Barnabas constantly displayed a profound faith that was willing to take risks in order to advance the mission of Christ. Barnabas served as Luke s Exhibit A for exemplary service in the cause of Christ. He was filled with the Holy Spirit and maintained a supreme focus on the glory of God and the building up of the church. In a providential way, we have Barnabas to thank in part for a huge portion of the New Testament. He obeyed the Lord and befriended a new believer but former persecutor of Christians named Saul of Tarsus (Paul), whom God used to write many of the New Testament epistles. Barnabas defended Paul when others were suspicious of this former antagonist. Barnabas labored to advance the message of Jesus as a faithful team player. The sincerity Barnabas displayed throughout his ministry was demonstrated early on when he sold a field he owned, brought the money, and laid it at the apostles feet. The context reveals that Barnabas motive behind his action was to provide additional funds for the church s ministry to needy believers (4:34-35). His integrity and generosity were twin virtues that blessed other believers and energized their devotion. When God works mightily in a community of believers, He takes delight in their unity and fellowship. One way that godly fellowship becomes evident in a group is when believers show constant concern and generosity for one another (Acts 4:32-35). Session 6 57

5 Conversation Did Barnabas keep any of the proceeds for himself? How is this unlike the Christian life? How are we called to give as Christians? Refer to Matthew 6:1-4 and Matthew 16: Barnabas was giving to the poor and contributing to his church s mission to satisfy the needs of those among them (Acts 4:34-35). He was continuing what had begun in Acts 2 and what would even continue in the ministry of Paul as he collected offerings from Gentile churches to be sent to this same church at Jerusalem (Rom. 15:25-28). He was not doing this for acclaim. Ananias and Sapphira, however, dubiously claimed to be doing just as Barnabas had done. Barnabas gave sacrificially. Christ gave all of Himself for us and called us to do the same for Him. To take up one s cross is to keep nothing for one s self. Thus, partial repentance from sin is complete disobedience. ITEM 3 (LEADER PACK) Use The People of Acts poster for this session if you ve purchased the optional Leader Pack. When introducing your students to Barnabas, show what a vital role he played by referring the info included about him and the other apostles in the Book of Acts. 5:1-6 After examining your heart, and being sure that you have tithed and given, then, challenge your students to tithe and give. Encourage students who receive regular income to give one tenth of it to your church and to give an offering to another form of ministry beyond their tithe. Encourage students who do not receive income of any sort to, with their parents help, make arrangements to earn money through a safe service such as lawn-care, baby-sitting, or house-cleaning provided to a trusted person. Then, challenge them to discreetly give all of the proceeds to the church and experience what such an act of worship is like. With this proper sense of vision for godly giving in mind, your students will now better understand the sin behind Ananias actions in verses 1-6. In what way was Ananias act of giving evil? Point to verse 3. It is revealed to Peter by the Holy Spirit that Ananias is not a believer, but an imposter whose heart is filled by Satan s deceit. He lied to the Holy Spirit (vv. 3-5) and tried to exalt himself in God s house. This bears a resemblance to Satan s own mission. Did Ananias successfully lie to the Holy Spirit? Can we trick other people? Can we deceive the Holy Spirit? Explain. GO DEEPER OPTION: If the data are available, use your own church s membership and giving records for the previous week. If such data are not shared, then invent a fictitious church of your church s own size. Based on the membership and average tithe based on census data for your area, how many homeless people could your church or your hypothetical church feed per month after paying its mortgage payment, personnel expenses, and utility bills if every church member tithed. Assume that one meal costs $4. 58 Explore the Bible Students

6 Leader Prep 5:1-3 Luke s example of insincere fellowship an example to avoid was focused on a married couple, a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira. In contrast to the description of Joseph (Barnabas), Luke gave no biographical details concerning these two. The name Ananias means God is gracious. Sapphira refers to the typically blue gemstone known as sapphire; accordingly, the name means beautiful. There is a touch of irony in the meanings of these two names, especially considering the ungracious and ugly nature of the couple s act of deceit when they, like Barnabas, sold a piece of property. Ananias and Sapphira made a seemingly generous donation. The problem lay in their deception and manipulation. They publicly pretended to give the whole amount but secretly kept back part of the proceeds. The verb rendered kept back refers to embezzlement and fraud. A parallel Hebrew word appears in the Old Testament account of Achan taking treasures from the conquered city of Jericho that were to be devoted completely to God (Josh. 7:1). Ananias and Sapphira acted hypocritically. They were selfserving instead of Christ-serving. They misrepresented their Lord and acted dishonestly toward the community of believers. How did Peter discern the hidden problem? Could he detect the presence of guilt in the man s demeanor? The text doesn t reveal a clear answer, but based on the apostle s question, I believe the Holy Spirit gave Peter a profound revelation of insight. Notice that Peter didn t begin with a word of condemnation. Rather, he began with a question: Why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the proceeds? The question gave Ananias an opportunity to confess his wrongdoing which was no longer secret and to repent. 5:4-8 Peter continued to ask Ananias questions designed to solicit repentance. The first two questions in verse 4 were rhetorical; the assumed answer to both was yes. However, these two questions also reveal that neither Peter nor the congregation had made mandatory the selling of property. God delights in cheerful givers who display generosity as an act of loving fellowship (2 Cor. 9:7). Peter s final question revealed the root problem. Ananias sordid scheme was premeditated. The verb planned emphasizes purposeful forethought. Ananias became so consumed by a desire for recognition that he justified to himself and to his wife an unholy plan. Bible students have debated whether or not Ananias and Sapphira were genuine believers. Presumably they were part of the large group of those who believed mentioned in Acts 4:32. In any case, Satan is a shrewd adversary who through temptation is certainly capable of leading weak believers into committing acts of treachery and sin. Session 6 59

7 Conversation 5:7-11 Was the property selling price Peter asked Sapphira about higher or lower than what Ananias and Sapphira actually received? Why would Ananias claim that they sold the property for one price when they had actually sold it for another? These questions are intended to ensure that students understand what happened in this story. Ananias and Sapphira claimed to have sold the property for less than what they actually did. Then, they pretended to have given everything just as Barnabas had. In essence, they had sacrificed nothing, but wanted to be recognized as generous. In what ways were Ananias and Sapphira like Adam and Eve? Is peer pressure an excuse for sin? Why or why not? Satan would have your students believe that God does not mean what He says and that there are no consequences for sin; that God does not mean what He says. He convinced Eve that there would be no negative consequences for her disobedience of God s one command and he evidently convinced Ananias and Sapphira that they would not suffer for this act of deceit (v. 3). Adam attempted to pass the blame to Eve when confronted (Gen 3:12), but ultimately his silent approval would result in his being held responsible (1 Cor. 15:22) just as Sapphira s complicity and even participation (v. 8) in her shared sin with Ananias resulted in her bearing the full brunt of God s wrath (v.10). Why did fear come over the church? If God had not set this profound example, would it have negatively affected New Testament churches thereafter? Let this Scripture dispel the lie that may exist in some of your students minds that God is a push-over who can be tricked, who does not take sin seriously, or who does not respond to evil. This terrifying miracle set a serious tone for church giving. Every gift that followed this demonstration of God s wrath was indeed given genuinely and that is a vital precedent to have set for the church we have inherited today. God cares more about the giver s heart than He cares about the gift (2 Cor. 9:7). 60 Explore the Bible Students

8 Leader Prep The truth seized Ananias, and he dropped dead. Luke said nothing about the physical cause of Ananias s sudden death. It wasn t necessary to explain the medical symptoms. The primary point was that the believing community (all who heard) understood the man s death to be an act of divine judgment. As a result of Ananias s death, great fear settled on all the believers. Everyone gained a deeper understanding of God s holiness and a reverent fear about the consequences of sin. A reverent, healthy fear of God is taught throughout Scripture. We don t know the exact place where the confrontation and death of Ananias took place. Nevertheless, young men compassionately tended to the details of burying Ananias, indicating it had been a public death observed by witnesses. Sapphira remained in the dark concerning her husband s death for about three hours. When she came in to the place where Peter and the others were, she was unaware of what had happened. With this detail, Luke wanted his readers to know that Sapphira would have the same opportunity to confess and repent as her husband had. Sadly, her terse replies to Peter s questions revealed she had been an informed accomplice in her husband s deceitful scheme. The Jerusalem believers often assembled in an open area of the temple complex. Was this where the confrontation and death of Ananias took place? Luke didn t say. The brevity of Luke s description was meant to keep the focus on God s expectation of sincerity and purity in the church fellowship. 5:9-11 As he had done with Ananias, Peter confronted Sapphira with the underlying sin of their action. By agreeing to lie to the church about their donation, the couple effectively had conspired to test the Spirit of the Lord. Their actions were reminiscent of the ancient Israelites blatant distrust of God in the wilderness a distrust that usually brought on God s swift and severe discipline. A similar divine discipline was now occurring in the early church. God s judgment upon Sapphira happened instantly as she dropped dead at Peter s feet. Although we cannot assume that all sickness and death are direct consequences of people s specific sins, God can and does exercise temporal judgments when He decides the occasions warrant them. His temporal punishment of believers, however, does not signify eternal damnation. Some critics have objected to the severity of God s judgment on Ananias and Sapphira. The critics objection, however, lacks a biblical understanding of God s righteousness. If God had ignored the couple s treachery in the first community of believers, He would have violated His own character. Only a judgment so drastically opposed to sin could reveal a purity so compelling for the infant church. Session 6 61

9 Application CENTRAL TRUTH God holds us accountable for our hearts toward giving and takes sin seriously. This statement is drawn from the Scripture for this session. It zooms out to look at the message of the passage as a whole. Take some time to discuss this Central Truth for Acts 4:36 5:11 before moving to the Now What? section. NOW WHAT? Disciple your students by working through these application questions with them. Love your students right where they are and thoughtfully coach each student to grow in his or her a relationship with Jesus. Always be ready to share the gospel with a student who does not yet know Him. Make a note in your calendar to follow-through with your students, reminding them give. Offer to help parents facilitate a way for their younger students to earn money so that they can give. Journal a commitment to God that you will give an honest gift just as Barnabas did. It can be a commitment to tithe from now on, or a gift above and beyond the tithe. In what ways have you committed a sin similar to that of Ananias by pretending to have given your whole heart to God while harboring secret sin? How have you, like Sapphira, knowingly joined others in deceitful sin? Journal a prayer to God acknowledging that He takes sin seriously and that He follows through in His proclamations of judgment. Thank Him for the grace He has shown you. 62 Explore the Bible Students

10 PERSONAL CHALLENGE Call your students to live in accordance with what they have seen in this Scripture. In the coming week, challenge them to dwell on its message, to memorize a verse from this passage, and to pray in alignment with Scripture. Challenge them to Keep on Digging in their personal devotion times. If your students need a Bible reading plan, direct them to the one in their Personal Study Guides and also in this Leader Guide. Dwell: Barnabas sold a piece of land he owned and gave all the proceeds to the church. It was a genuine act of sacrifice. Ananias and Sapphira, however, sold a piece of property for a profit, maintained access to the property after the sale, and then came to the church pretending to have made a sacrifice similar to Barnabas gift. We are to give authentically out of cheerful hearts and not out of showiness. We serve a God who judges sin and who takes holiness seriously. Memorize: Acts 4:33 Pray: If you can make such a proclamation honestly, declare to God that you will give everything He asks of you in exchange for His kingdom because you know it is worth it. Ask Him to give you wisdom and discernment to know what to give, whether financially or of your time and service. Commit to God that you will be generous just as Barnabas was. Thank Him for His grace. Thank God for His forgiveness and for the gift of His Son, Jesus. If you feel led to, knell in reverence and in awe of His holiness. KEEP ON DIGGING Read and strive to fully understand 2 Corinthians 9:6-15. It begins with a statement saying that whoever sows sparingly reaps sparingly, and that whoever sows generously reaps generously. Experience firsthand what a blessing it is to give something back to the God who has given us everything. Then, you may fully understand 2 Corinthians 9:6-15. For an expository verse-by-verse sermon outline/discussion guide that complements this session with a study in the Ecclesiastes, see lifeway.com/etbactsspr16. For free training, go to MinistryGrid.com/web/ExploreTheBible. Remember to pray for the fellowship of believers around the world who are studying Acts alongside you. This week, share your stories of what God is doing in your church by using #prayeracts. Session 6 63