Acts | Chapter 5

Acts Ch 5 1-11

“Why did you lie?”

Intro.

Vs. 1-2 In contrast to the general attitude of the believers Luke tells us of another couple who gave for far different reasons. Ananias means “God is gracious” and Sapphira means “beautiful”. On the outside Barnabas and these two did the same thing. Both were free to give or not give, as they wanted both before and after the sale of the property.

         The word “kept back” means to misappropriate or steal. Evidently these two had come to the church leaders and said that they were going to give all of the sale of their property to the Church. But when it came down to it they did not do so. Their sin that cost them their lives was not selfishness, it was pride. They wanted the applause of men without the sacrifice.  They were putting a façade to the people. Were these two real believers? 

Well it would appear so based upon Peter’s comments:

• They were a part of the believers of Acts 4:32.

• They had lied to the Holy Spirit, which suggests that they had a relationship with Him.

• Their discipline is consistent with what the rest of the N.T. has to say about believers who practice sin.

So there you have it, a guy whose name means God is gracious but wanted to appear that he was. And a gal whose name means beautiful who wanted people to see her beauty and not the Lord’s. Hey folks, what these believers ripped off was not God’s money but rather God’s glory!

Vs. 3-4 In Peter’s rebuke he does not concentrate on their lack of honesty rather he focuses on their lack of integrity. Peter points to where the heart of this action had come from, Satan. Hey, folks we can allow the enemy to fill our heart if we do not allow the Holy Spirit to! Oliver Wendell Holmes said, “Sin has many tools. But the lie is the handle that fits them all.” Peter says, “Hey the property was yours to do whatever you wanted and after you sold it you could have done whatever you wanted then.” You know what their giving was inspired like Barnabas’ the difference was who was inspiring it. It was not a sin to sell the land and keep most of the money for themselves, the sin was to lie about it and act as if they had given it all.

         One other important point here in Peter’s words he teaches us two important truths about the Holy Spirit:

• Peter by saying that they lied to the Holy Spirit affirms that the Holy Spirit is a person. You can not lie to a force or an influence any more than you can lie to a fruit. No, you can only lie to a person. In fact you can not lie to an animal can you? “Ok Rover I’m going to take you for a walk.” “Oh I just lied to you, dog!”

• In verse 4 Peter says that the Holy Spirit whom they lied to is not only a person He is God.  

Vs. 5-6 Now don’t think Peter calls down some curse upon Ananias or even Church discipline. No, Peter says nothing about judgement at all, it was rather an act of judgment of God. So what do we get out of this? Well may I just say that God sees the thoughts and intents of your heart. You may be able to pull one over and your brother or sister in Christ but you can fool God. Peter was most likely the most surprised by this action. As he was the first one in the Church to be used by God to slay a person in the Spirit. So all of those today who claim that there is slaying in the Spirit just ask them if they get back up?

         Now there are a great number of people who are a bit put out at God for doing this but may I say God did not do this they did. To me the greater wonder is that there are any of us standing today! 

Vs. 7-10 Now three hours later in walks Sapphira who does the same thing as did her husband.

Great Fear: This is the third quality that made this a great Church. Now both times after the death of these two we are told that “Great Fear” came upon the Church. Great fear at not wanting to be a fake Christian. Is that not awesome? Don’t you want to be around those people who are real? This is the first time the word Church is used in acts and it is used in conjunction with not wanting to be fakes. There was a purity to this Church that we all ought to desire to get back to.

I pray now that we will ponder these events and how the enemy desires to puff us up and go back to the simplicity of dependence upon the Holy Spirit, conviction of the word of God and resting on His glory not seeking our own.  

Acts. 5:12-42

“Help wanted, only the serious need apply”

Vs. 12-16 Purity and power

Vs. 17-28 Speaking the words of life

Vs. 29-42 Preaching, persecution and praise

Intro.

I am really enjoying this study in Acts. It’s like looking at old family photographs of your relatives, you may not have known them but you can see some resemblance. Now in my family ancestry there was a family member that as far as physical appearance is not the gene pool you wanted to come across your path. From my earliest memories I can remember my grandparents speaking of this fellow’s physical characteristics in disparaging terms, “Oh that must be the old Carmack genes!” they would say. It seemed that whatever you did not want in physical characteristics was always traced to the Carmack ancestor. Now maybe old Carmack was a good guy, at least someone in my family thought he was at one time, but his characteristics were those you did not want to see in your family line.

         Now folks we can trace our spiritual history back to this ancestry before us. This is our spiritual gene pool if you will. It ought to be the desire of all Christians and every Church to want to be like the early Church. I mean they were what the Church of Jesus should look like, they are what the standard of what a successful Church looks like. I do not need to look at other family members today and see if I measure up. No, we need to look at these relatives and see if we look like them.

Vs. 12-16 Purity and power

Vs. 12, 15-16 Now I’m going to separate these verses in this manner because Luke inserts the statement of verses 13-14 in between talking about the power of the Church. We left off with verse 11 where as a result of God’s judgment of Ananias and Sapphira “great fear” came upon all the Church and all who heard about it. Simply put, purity led to more power. Today many wonder why the Church is not as powerful as it once was. I mean the Church does not have the influence in the world that it had at the beginning. Now remember we have a great amount of access to equipment that ought to facilitate our desire to reach the world for Jesus. Yet we are unable to do so, why? Well I think you have the reason looking at this old photograph of the early Church in the book of Acts; they were a pure Church!

As a pure church we are told that they meet in unity on the Eastern wall of the temple, an area known as Solomon’s Porch. And the apostles did many signs and wonders. Sick people were brought out on the straw mats of the homeless as well as the fancy beds of the rich. Further more people began to come from the surrounding regions bringing a variety of illnesses to the apostles and we are told all were healed. Did you get that? Folks, people’s lives were being touched by the power of God in the Church. Furthermore, this was not just happening to the poor folks in Jerusalem. No, it was impacting the rich as well.

Neither was this just a local city thing, it was touching the lives of all. Let me put it to you plainly, in these verses Luke is telling us that the power of God has no limitations as far as physical experiences are concerned. No matter what your background, the Lord can change your life. The power of God is able to take anyone no matter their condition and transform them. Wow, that means He can change my life no matter what my background or my situation! The limitation is not on the power of God according to His will, but rather on the human heart. The Sadducees are going to see a prison break and instead of believing they are going to try to kill the apostles. The head of the Pharisees, Gamaliel, is going to see the same thing and he is just going to be indifferent.

Oh, there is one other point here, look at some of the weird things that were being used to facilitate the change. “So that they brought the sick out into the streets and laid them on beds and couches, that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on some of them.” Now what are we to make of this? Man don’t you wish sometimes the writers of the Bible would just leave out these kinds of details? I’m kidding! Pastor are you going to tell me people actually came out at certain times of the day waiting for Peter to come by so that his shadow would pass over them? Yep, as strange as it sounds that is exactly what this verse says. 

May I point out several things though?

• It does not say that this was orchestrated by the apostles but rather by the people in need. The word “they” refers to the people.

• Next it does not say here that all that did so were healed, although some no doubt probably were.

• Lastly, it never says that the shadow healed them. Simply put it was not Peter, his shadow or the hands of the apostles. No, it was Jesus as the hearts of needy people trusted in Him that did the healing. So all the shadow did was become a point of reference to where the person in need could release their trust in the God who heals.

Now doesn’t this open up a can of worms for all those weird T.V. evangelists doing “shadow healing ministry?” Well, I suppose it does to a degree, but remember Peter was not on a stage in a three-piece suit trying to orchestrate this. Peter was not selling books and videos, nor was he begging for money. In fact, he really had nothing to do with this type of healing at all. As he just walked, probably to the temple at the hours of prayer, and people in need would begin to line the streets. Now, I’ve got to tell you that this must have been a pretty strange looking scene. People’s mattresses laying out on the street trying to figure out which way the sun was going to be coming through that day in conjunction to a person’s shadow passing by. 

Now what happened if you got a good spot and all, then some bozo went and parked his bed in front of yours? Hey, isn’t it great that to be touched by the Lord we don’t have to go through all these hassles? Now let me just say that if you have ever been healed by the laying on of the elders hands or a shadow I’m rejoicing with you but you did not have to have it that way. No, all you needed to do was simply ask the Lord to touch your life and according to His will and it would be done! Now I’m afraid if I started doing this kind of thing people would either see my shadow and think that there would be four more weeks of winter or that we are having a solar eclipse!

Vs. 13-14 So right in the middle of Luke telling us about the impact of the purity of the Church as seen in its power he drops this paradoxical statement on us. I have read this verse a 100 times this week and every time I do it blows my mind. Can you imagine some sales type person teaching a seminar on how to grow your business. His premise is, “Cause such a fear in your potential clientele that the casual buyer would not dare come into your establishment but would still think that what you are selling is the best that you can buy?” In a nutshell that is what the Lord does with the early Church.

The believers had a great reputation and integrity with those that they were trying to reach but at the same time they knew it was a serious thing to be a follower of Jesus. It required far more than a casual commitment. They had a great respect for how they saw the believers living their lives and a curiosity, as to the power that they possessed. Yet as the story of Ananias and Sapphira made its rounds they realized that their sin had to be left at the door. No halfhearted commitment would do no shallow curiosity that has come to be entertained. No, come to the early Church in a lifestyle that was not according to the word of God and you would experience God in a way that you may not desire.

Do you see where I’m going with this? The early Church practiced a lifestyle that drove away those who wanted to stay in the love with their sin. Pastor I’m not sure of what you’re saying? Well, what I’m saying is that going to Church because it was the “in” place or the “cool” place to hang out was not going to happen. Because if you came to Church that way then you would be dragged out. Now there’s a thought, “Instead of dragging people to Church we would be dragging them out!” May I just say that perhaps there are some that need to be dragged out?

This incident kept out the riff-raft, if you loved your sin you could continue in it or you could come to Church and have it forgiven but you could not come to Church and stay in your sin. You know what is cool though? The unbelievers on their own knew that! The Church’s uncompromised commitment to the holiness of God caused those who were not serious to stay away. Furthermore it was not the legalistic, self-righteous practices of the early Church that kept them away. No, it was their commitment to the holiness of God motivated out of love for the Lord!

         Now I’ve done a lot of soul searching this week as it relates to our church here at Calvary Chapel Merced. And I’ve come to the conclusion that I want us to be for those who are serious about their Christianity. I want us to continue to be a place where what we offer in Christ is not for the person who wants to make Jesus just a hobby. No, I want Calvary Chapel Merced to be a place for the person who wants to be a professional Christian. A hobbyist does not make his or her living at it; they just play at the hobby to entertain themselves.

A professional will make their living at it and are ever striving to hone their skills. This past week the NBA playoffs began, now I can go down and purchase an authentic jersey that looks just like the ones worn by my Kings but let me just say that though my clothing may look like the real team you don’t want me on the court! Far too much of what the Church offers today just makes people feel like they are part of the team without any of the true commitment it takes to be a part of it.

What’s wild is that this kind of commitment still brought about an ever increasing amount of believers that were added to the Lord. Now that is real Church growth! 

Vs. 17-28 Speaking the words of life

Vs. 17-18 So there was no superficiality in these believers and eventually the early Church began to have such an impact upon Jerusalem and the surrounding community. This in turn got them in hot water with the High Priest and his buddies the Sadducees. There were three reasons for the apostle’s arrest.

• Vs. 17 Jealousy: The Church had a greater popularity with the people then they did.

• Peter and John had defied the orders of 4:18 not to speak or teach in the name of Jesus.

• What the apostles were teaching and doing (signs and wonders) was in direct conflict with the Sadducees teaching.

Vs. 19-21a Now here is a curious thing; the Sadducees who don’t believe in miracles, have demanded that Peter, John and the rest of the apostles don’t teach in the name of Jesus, and are jealous of their ever-growing popularity throw them into jail to stop them. But by doing so guess what happens? 

Well let’s see:

• Unwittingly they give opportunity for another miracle, (verse 19) an angel of the Lord freeing them from prison. Oh by the way, remember now these guys did not believe in angels.

• Furthermore they gave (at the direction of the angel they don’t believe in) another opportunity to share about Jesus again in the temple.

• Lastly, because of the heavenly prison break and the now preaching in the temple, the same people who watched them hauled off to prison see them the next morning preaching Jesus. In other words the apostles’ popularity would grow by leaps and bounds.

Isn’t it great how God uses the opposition for opportunity? So they are out there in the temple proclaiming and also by their very presence freed from jail, the “words of this life”. Now what we have to share to the world are not just the words of the afterlife or even eternal life. No, they are the words of “abundant life”.  Man, go on ahead and tell the people the “reason for the hope that is in you”, (1 Peter 3:15).

Vs. 21b-25 Man is this ever a funny scene. When the supreme court of the land comes to get these guys for their court date they find the prison doors locked but nobody inside. So they are all around the room scratching their heads wondering how this could be seeing that the guards are still at the doors of the prison, when someone says, “Hey, you all looking for those Jesus lovers? Well, I saw them on the way this morning preaching Jesus, who you banned them from speaking about, saying that an angel whom you don’t believe exists freed them and told them to tell everyone about Jesus’ resurrection!” 

Now I love the fact that the apostles went right back to the temple, I mean why not? If an angel can spring you from jail once he can do it again.

Vs.26-28 Notice that the captain had no problem apprehending these apostles a second time and he was real careful not to treat them with violence lest the crowds stone him. So they come again before this prestigious 70-member panel of the nation’s leaders who have the power to sentence you to death.

         Now here in verse 28 we see the complaints of the Sadducees, which were threefold:

• You’re using the name we told you not to use. Notice they don’t even want to say the name of Jesus.

• You have filled Jerusalem with the teaching concerning Him. Oh that our opponents would say this about us. “Man you guys, at Calvary have filled Merced with the teaching concerning Jesus.”

• You have blamed us for the death of Jesus: Hey, remember at the trial before Pilate as he brought the water pitcher in front of them and said, “I wash my hands of his blood” and they said, “His blood be on us and our Children!” Now when it’s not a good thing to be guilty of the blood of Jesus they don’t want anything to do with it.

It is as if these guys stand up and say, “We have made up our minds so don’t confuse us with the facts!”

         May I just say that this is often the reaction of those who come in contact with the truth of who Jesus is as seen in the purity and power of His Church, PERSECUTION! I’ll stomp it out and crush it you know! But it never works. All it does is purify and empower the Church all the more.

Vs. 29-42 Preaching, persecution and praise

Vs. 29-32 Here again is another opportunity for the apostles to declare the truths concerning Jesus. 

They proclaim three truths about Jesus:

• This is the familiar contrast of, “You killed Him, God raised Him, you rejected Him, God exalted Him!”

• From His position of exaltation He is able to forgive you and everyone else of their sins.

• It is because of the first two facts that we must speak and demonstrate the truths concerning Him.

Vs. 33 What’s their reaction to the apostle’s threefold statement towards them? Well we are told they were furious and nearly decided to execute them! 

Vs. 34 This brings us to the next reaction to the truth concerning Jesus, as seen in Gamaliel. Now he was the Grandson of Hillel and even today Gamaliel is given the title “Rabban” (our teacher) and not just Rabbi (my teacher). When he died they said that the “glory of the law died with him.” He was a Pharisee and thus disagreed with the teachings of the Sadducees. He was also Paul the apostles’ teacher prior to his conversion and Jewish historians tell us that his one complaint against Paul or Saul as he was then called was that it was impossible to find Paul enough reading material.

Vs.35-39 Well his idea is that of INDIFFERENCE. It seems that Gamaliel was an original member of the band that popularized the song, “Jesus is just alright with me!” I find that the Church has far more to fear with those that are indifferent towards the gospel than those who are persecuting the Church. Pure numbers tell us that there are far more folks in the Church of indifference than there is in the Church of persecution. In fact many in the true Church also belong to the Church of indifference, but that is not the Church of the early Church.

Vs. 40-42 Though the Sadducees agreed with Gamaliel they still gave the apostles 39 lashes each with a cat-o-nine-tails. And there is no recorded protest of Gamaliel so much for the Church of indifference.

         But look at how the apostles handle the truth concerning Jesus even though they are severely beaten, they REJOICE that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for Jesus name. Furthermore we are told that they did not cease daily TEACHING and PREACHING Jesus as Christ! They were not teaching and preaching anything other than the Word of God. They did it publicly and privately. Hey folks, may we be a Church that is serious about our lives in Christ! May Calvary Chapel Merced be what Winston Churchill called a fanatic. He declared, “A fanatic is someone who can’t change their mind and won’t change the subject!”