There are a number of terms we can use to describe ourselves as Christians. We could say that we are ‘committed Christians’, although I don’t like this term because it gives the impression that the only difference between ourselves and other people is that we put in a bit of effort into our Christian faith. Some people call Christians ‘good living’—which on one hand might give the impression that Christians are simply moral people who take things a bit seriously, but on the other hand might point to the change that Christ does bring in his people’s lives. I like the term ‘born again’ because being born is something that you don’t contribute to—we have been given new life in Christ. What about ‘saint’? A ‘saint’ in the New Testament is not a special dead Christian it is every Christian (although you will probably be considered a bit arrogant if you start calling you self ‘Saint Eddie’).
A term that used to be used to describe Christians was to say ‘those are God-fearing folks.’ To be called a God-fearing person was seen as a good thing. Now we should know that there is a type of fearing God that a Christian should not feel. Those who are born again should not fear being condemned on the last day—Christ has dealt with our sin and we have been declared righteous in him. But there is a type of fear that every Christian should have. We should be people of awe and reverence towards God. There is a balance to be found between familiarity with God and revenant fear towards him. Someone who heard Martin Luther pray said, ‘It was with so much reverence, as if he were speaking to God, yet with so much confidence as if he were speaking with a friend.’
At the end of this morning’s passage we read that all those who heard of what happened to Ananias and Sapphira, even those in the church, were filled with fear. This is ‘a fear of displeasing God that comes from a knowledge of his holiness and the consequences of our sin’ (Fernando). It is a fear we all should have.
1. The Good—Barnabas
We have a contrast in our reading. Barnabas’s actions are compared with those of Ananias and Sapphira. Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means Son of Encouragement), sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at his disciples feet.
Giving in the early church was voluntary and was designed to meet the needs of others and later to fund the ministry. This giving was often radical. Don’t imagine that it was easy for Barnabas to give in the way he did. This was a part of his financial security that he was selling, in a time with no social welfare. Perhaps this was his inheritance that he was handing over. I’ll be the first to put up my hand and say that my giving tends to be safe and not sacrificial. We give in a way that doesn’t affect the type of car we drive, won’t change our holiday plans or wouldn’t put at risk our ability to treat the kids to whatever indulgence they want. Here’s a challenge: we are approaching the most materialist and opulent holiday of the year, Christmas; would we be willing to tell even one of our family members not to buy us a gift but to give the money to a Christian charity like Fields of Life or Tearfund?
In Forgotten God Francis Chan writes
A few months ago I was speaking at a summer camp, and I was speaking to one of the organisations there that sponsors children. This volunteer told me about a sixteen-year-old girl there at the camp who sponsors fourteen children, on her own. I was astonished by this. Fourteen children (at about thirty dollars a month for each child) is a lot of money for a high school student to come up with. I talked to this girl and asked her how she did it. She told me that se works year-round and she works three jobs in the summertime to pay for the child support. While other teenagers are saving for a car, she is saving lives! Instead of spending her hard-earned money on herself and her future, she gives it to these fourteen children because she believes God loves them just as much as He loves her.
The Bad—Ananias and Sapphira
Presumably Ananias and Sapphira saw what Barnabas did and how it was approved of by the apostles. They were jealous and decided that they would seek the adulation Barnabas received. Where Barnabas had given out of a desire to please God they were going to give in order to win praise.
When Ananias brings the gift to the apostles Peter sees his deceit. How did he know about the lie? Presumably the Holy Spirit gave him insight. I came across something similar with regards the nineteenth-century London preacher Charles Spurgeon:
‘While preaching at Exeter Hall, [Spurgeon] once broke off his sermon and pointed in a certain direction, declaring: “Young man, those gloves you are wearing have not been paid for: you have stolen them from your employer.” After the service, an obviously pale and agitated young man approached Spurgeon and begged to speak with him privately. He placed a pair of gloves on the table and said, “It’s the first time I have robbed my master, and I will not do it again. You won’t expose me, sir, will you? It would kill my mother if she heard that I had become a thief”’ (Sam Storms).
No one had been forcing Ananias and Sapphira to give. When Peter addresses Ananias he says: ‘Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal?’ The problem was not that they hadn’t given all that they received from the sale of the property; the problem was that they pretended that they had—they sought to lie to the church. ‘How is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit…?’ Satan is the ‘father of lies’, the deceiver—don’t let him get a foothold in your thinking! Let us always seek to be people of transparency and honesty. Let us never put on a show to impress and deceive others.
Apparently the Greek word translated ‘kept back’, in verse 2, is the same word that is used of Achan’s sin in Joshua 7 in the Greek translation of the Old Testament (LXX). Luke wants us to see the parallel. In both accounts the sin is met with a severe punishment. God cares when there is hypocrisy and deceit in the camp. God takes the purity in the community of his people seriously. As Bible commentator Ajith Fernando writes, ‘today when Christians sin against the body, they lose their peace, the body loses its power, and the blessing of God is withheld.’ You may feel that how you behave is only your business; but if you are claiming to be a Christian and this is your fellowship then what you do affects the health and witness of this church.
The Godly—Do we have a godly attitude towards sin?
If we were to read on we would see that this story about Ananias and Sapphira is followed by an account of the church being blessed by God (5:12 -16). The apostles were unwilling to compromise with hypocrisy and deceit, and the church was better for it. We need to realise that church discipline is essential to church health. Ajith Fernando writes that ‘we must confront sin when it appears in the body … today when Christians sin against the body, they lose their peace, the body loses its power, and the blessing of God is withheld.’
Do we have the godly fear of displeasing God that comes from the knowledge of his holiness and the consequences of our sin? What about deceit? Do those who know us best see the same person at home as they do when we are at church? What about honesty? One of the things that impacted me about my parents’ faith was I always knew that they told the truth! If we are married are we committed to our spouse for better or for worse, as we promised we would be? Are we living for our glory or God’s glory? Remember that God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble! What about sacrifice? Does obeying God mean more to us than our reputation, bank accounts and homes? What about purity? Do we battle with temptation seeking the help of the Holy Spirit or have we given up the battle and settled for a life of compromise? What about living under God’s word? If we are a single Christian are we committed to only entering into relationships with those who are born again?
What about our church? Do we realise that our actions are actually the church’s business? Is discipline one of the features of this congregation? We should welcome the non-Christian with a non-judgemental attitude, but demand that those who are our members seek to walk in obedience! Are we so concerned that everyone would be pleased with us that we are unwilling to speak hard words to those whose actions are compromising the church’s witness? Are we setting an example for our young people in love and truth? Are we willing, in love, to rebuke and correct those whose actions are contrary to the Bible’s teaching in the hope that such people will not make a ship-wreck of the faith they claim to have?
May we be God-fearing folks who have ‘a fear of displeasing God that comes from a knowledge of his holiness and the consequences of our sin’
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