Satan Goes To Church Lesson Fifteen Acts 4: 32 5:11 We will endeavor to cover a large number of verses spanning across two chapters in today s lesson. As we approach this passage, keep in mind that the chapter breaks and verse numbering were not present in the original manuscripts; they were added later by translators and publishers as a referencing aid. In this instance, the chapter break should probably have occurred after verse thirty-one of chapter four and chapter five begin with verse 32 of chapter four. This section actually records the wonderful, beautiful, loving, caring sacrificial unity of the church described in chapter four. And then when we come to chapter 5, it introduces to us the first recorded sin in the church. The early days of the church's history were bright days. They were happy, joyful, blessed days. They were days of fellowship and teaching sound doctrine. They were days of prayer. The joy was really overwhelming. The love was all-inclusive. The fellowship was deep and rich. The testimony of converted souls was loud and clear. Everything at this point in the church is joyful, upbeat and glorious. God was real. Christ was alive. The Spirit's power surged through them. They literally overwhelmed their persecutors with courage and boldness. Never had the world seen days like these. Not since the fall of Adam, ever, had there been anything like this, because never before had the Messiah come. But Satan was active. His first acts against the church outward persecution was returning him exactly what he didn't want deeper devotion and more souls turning to Christ. Satan then knew that if he was going to do damage to the church, it wasn't going to happen from the outside. He was going to have to get on the inside. We might say that if the chief actor in the story of Acts 1-4 is the Holy Spirit, the chief actor in Acts 5-6 almost seems to be Satan. True, he is identified only once by name, but his activity may be discerned throughout.
Lesson Fifteen, page 2 His one specific mention is when Peter confronts Ananias: Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit...? (5:3). Here the Holy Spirit and that evil spirit, Satan, stand in opposition to one another. And so, as we come here to this section before us, we see Satan's assault on the inside of the church. Thus, I have entitled this lesson Satan Goes to Church. Before we get to chapter five, there is a preliminary section that sets everything in perspective for the events of chapter five. I believe the Holy Spirit put these two passages in sequence in order to provide a contrast. I. The Sharing of the Church (4: 32-37) These are all genuine believers. They are all in Christ. They are all the real thing. They have one heart and one soul. The early Christians certainly differed in their opinions on many things, but they were united as to who Christ was - that he was Lord of all. All of them recognized the necessity of living for him. They were founded and established on Christ. So these believers in the early church are unified so that it is such a unity that not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but all things were common property to them. A. The Believers Generosity (vv. 32-35) This is not communism; we covered that preposterous suggestion in lesson 10; this is simply saying no one held onto anything. They all understood that it all belonged to the Lord, and it all was to be used for His honor and His glory and His people. That is a perspective that should be true of every believer and how you view whatever it is that you possess. Instead of holding their possessions tightly ; they held them _lightly_ They understood, as we should, that all that we have is His, not ours.
Lesson Fifteen, page 3 Not only is there strong unity, but there's strong preaching (v. 33). The last phrase in verse 33, explains why everything is going so well: because much grace was upon them all. Much is a Greek word we all know; it is mega The reason they had much unity and much power was because of God s mega grace being bountifully poured out upon them. Look at verse 34: they didn't even mind selling a house they lived in. They didn't mind selling a piece of land they lived on, or raised their animals on, or their crops. And they didn't need to control where it went. B. Barnabas' Gift (vv. 36-37) The church in Jerusalem was infected with joy and passion for the cause of Christ. Let s look at some good news in verse 36 before we get to the bad news in chapter 5. This verse is an illustration of the joy and sacrifice in this church. "Barnabas" became Joseph's nickname. It means son of encouragement. He earned the nickname evidently, because he was always encouraging the apostles. He later traveled with Paul and demonstrated the same attribute everywhere he went. Barnabas gives a gift. Let me give you some brief points about his gift that stand out in verse 37. His giving was spontaneous His giving was sacrificial Barnabas owned a tract of land, sold it and brought the money to the apostles. The contrasting story, that we are about to get to, implies that Joseph, or Barnabas, brought all the money and laid it at the feet of the apostles. He, evidently, held his possessions loosely. His giving was selfless This church, at this moment in Jerusalem, was incredible. It was joyful; it was contagious; it was effective. It was about to be infiltrated by the Prince of this world Satan. to be continued
Lesson Fifteen, page 4 If Satan cannot conquer the church from without, he will seek to corrupt the church from within. That is exactly what is going to happen next. II. The Sin in the Church (5:1-11) As we mentioned at the outset, this is an unfortunate chapter division, because these two stories are ones that Luke intended to contrast. He begins with "but"; that is, "in contrast to what you have just seen in Barnabas". I find it interesting that the very first problem the church had to deal with was not immorality; not gossip or slander; not anger; not defection; not doctrinal error. The first problem the church had to deal with was hypocrisy To all appearances, Barnabas and Ananias did the same thing. Both sold a property. Both brought the proceeds of the sale to the apostles, and both committed it to their disposal. The difference was that Barnabas brought all the sale money, while Ananias brought only a portion At first sight, there was nothing wrong in their withholding part of the sale money. As Peter plainly said later, their property was their own both before and after the sale (see verse 4). So they were under no obligation to sell their piece of land or, having sold it, to give away any - let alone all - of the proceeds. That is not the whole story, however. There is something else, something half-hidden. For Luke, in declaring that Ananias kept back part of the money for himself, chooses the verb nosphizomai, which carries the idea that before the sale, Ananias and Sapphira had entered into some kind of contract, or agreement, to sell the property and give the church the total amount raised. Because of this, when they brought only some instead of all, they were guilty of embezzlement and lying as well as hypocrisy. It was not on these sins that Peter concentrated, however, but on the hypocrisy.
Lesson Fifteen, page 5 The word "hypocrite" is an interesting word. It is actually an English word that comes directly from the transliteration of a Greek word, "hypokrites". When translated, "hypokrites" or "hypocrite" means, " actor "Hypokrites" or "hypocrite," therefore, in the English language, eventually came to denote someone who was acting as if they were someone or something else. "They're hypocrites" means, "They're actors." They look spiritual, but it is an act. They look moral, but it is a mask hiding dark secrets. One of the first things we can learn from this passage is that it is possible to appear genuine, yet not be_ genuine. A. Characteristics of their gift Let us look at two things about Ananias and Sapphira before we draw out some observations. 1. Their giving attempted to make them look pious 2. The gift giving of Ananias and Sapphira overlooked God s knowledge They thought they could fool God Look at verses 4b through 10. Can you imagine being in the assembly that day? B. Concluding Observations Let me draw this to a conclusion by underlining four truths. 1. The seriousness of sin 2. The malevolence of satan 3. The Holiness of God
Lesson Fifteen, page 6 We might ask why such incidents as this are rare in the New Testament. Why does God not always judge sinners instantly in the way he did Ananias and Sapphira? Why do we not witness more instances of instant retribution? The answer lies in Gods patience (cf. Rom. 2:4). Does this view of God offend us as far too severe? Dennis Johnson says, "If the deaths of Ananias and Sapphira shock us, we ourselves may have fallen into their sin. In today's church, where the holiness of God is not viewed as seriously as it should be, it is all too possible to be offended by this incident. 4. The Fear of God There is no way of avoiding the shock that these deaths must have produced on the infant church. The "fear" (Acts 5:11) must surely have been tangible. It brings to mind the question posed by John Murray: is it right to be afraid of God? The answer he gave is both measured and straightforward: "It is the essence of impiety not to be afraid of God when there is reason to be afraid." As we read this passage about the judgment of Ananias and Sapphira, does it make you tremble? It should! It is a call to us to be serious about our faith. We need to walk before God in godly fear all our lives. Have you ever thought about the fact that the reputation of our church is whatever your reputation is? Of even greater importance is that the reputation of Jesus Christ happens to be what your reputation is in the world. Wow! How is He doing? Lesson Sixteen - Prison Break! Acts 5:12-42