It's Personal (and Marital)

Acts 5:1-11

Acts 5.1-11 is one of the more uncomfortable passages of the Bible. We see two people, Ananias and Sapphira, instantly struck dead by the Holy Spirit, causing much fear in the newborn church. In the sermon, I will explain the need of reading this passage in the context of what's happening in Acts. Although the context of Acts cannot be fully summarized here, it is important to recognize that this passage takes place at the earliest stage of the church. The Spirit is moving powerfully by unifying the church (Acts 4.32-37) and by performing many miracles (Acts 5.12-16). In this passage, we see the potential of something to undermine both the unity and the authenticity of the church through deceit and lies.

The sermon will also expound on some practical implications from this passage. Ananias and Sapphira's sin was that they lied to the Spirit. They sold their land and pretended to give all of the proceeds to the church (when in reality, they held some of the proceeds back for themselves). This lie was not very noticeable and was something that many of us can relate with. There is no requirement to give all of our proceeds to the church and in some ways, this act is financially prudent! From this, we learn how we can always rationalize sin. Sin might not be as obvious as theft or murder.

The second implication is how the Spirit takes our sin personally. Peter says that the lie is not primarily against the leaders of the church or even the church community. Instead, Peter says 3 times that the lie is against the Spirit himself (Acts 5.3, 4, 9). As I preached earlier, the Spirit is a person (who is also God). He is not some distant entity. Rather, he loves and cares for us intimately; conversely, our sin is a personal matter and can even grieve him (e.g., Ephesians 4.30).

The third implication is how much God is zealous for the church! The church is the bride of Christ, so God will do whatever it takes to make the church beautiful, spotless, and presentable to Christ! Notice that 2 times, the result of the deaths of Ananias and Sapphira is that fear came upon the church (Acts 5.5 and 11). God is calling the church to have a certain fear or reverence because he is with the church and cares deeply for it. Let us therefore love, serve, and pray for the church with the same zeal that God has, and with a sense of fear!

Questions:

1. A primary reason why the Holy Spirit responded to Ananias and Sapphira with such harshness is because this incident took place at the infancy of the church, needing to protect the unity and the authenticity of the church. Moreover, the church is the ultimate way that God reveals the wisdom of the gospel to the world (Ephesians 3.10). Have you ever had an experience interacting with a group or organization that either lacked unity or authenticity? How did this affect your perception of that group or organization?

2. Sin is something that is abhorrent to God, but is something that is often unnoticed by us. It's usually unnoticeable to us because we rationalize it, making it seem innocent or normal. In what ways have you been rationalizing your own sin?

3. One of the most common questions among Christians is which sins can I get away with or are not as harmful. The question assumes that the Spirit is not a person, but just some distant or unengaged entity. How is being reminded that the Spirit is a person who can be grieved by our sin help us be more sensitive to our sin and ultimately repentant?

4. The passage is about how zealous and committed God is toward the church. God takes the church very personally because it is the bride (and also the body) of Christ. For all of us who submit to the gospel of Jesus Christ, we are part of this church! Unfortunately, we take God's passion for the church and our privilege to be a part of the church for granted. In what ways is the Spirit convicting you to have more reverence at the fact that God is with the church?