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Dead
Hypocrites
Acts
5:1-11
Begin with 4:36, then read
5:1-10 [the ushers that day had a hard job…no wonder old churches put their
cemeteries so close!]
v. 11 Great fear?
I guess so!
The early church in our
text is in great revival with thousands getting saved…and the devil didn’t
like it!
He had tried to stop the
church with intimidation / persecution…but when he couldn’t stop it from
without, he tried to stop it from within!…if he couldn’t
conquer the church, maybe he could corrupt the church!
So ch. 5 starts with a
great contrast… “But”.
…Means—here’s the flip
side.
In chapters 2-4 thousands
are saved…
but,
Ananias and Sapphira
Great generosity…
but, Ananias and Sapphira
Wonderful unity…
but, Ananias and Sapphira
I.
The Problem in
the Church
Reminds me of the story in
Joshua where the children of Israel suffered defeat in the little village of Ai…36 men lost their lives / Joshua got
on his knees and asked God why / God said these words:
"There’s sin in the camp!"
This was open, flagrant,
pre-meditated sin…we all struggle and mess up and sin at times, but when we
choose to LIVE there it’s
different.
Ill—phone
call at 8 am—"Did I wake you?"
“I’m up!”
All lying is wrong…but this
was clearly different!
Prov.—“he that being often
reproved and hardeneth…”
v. 1-4 Permit me a little liberty here,
and use your imagination to think how this may have happened.
In Acts 4:36 Barnabas had
made quite a generous donation, and many would have been impressed.
He didn’t give it for praise, but inevitably word gets out.
Perhaps this married couple was bitten by the green-eyed monster of
jealousy and concocted a plan of their own.
They sell some land and
carry a big bag of money home and dump it on the table.
What a stack! Money does
funny things to people. The Bible
calls it a snare/trap.
“If I had a million dollars
I’d give it to the church”
[they don’t even tithe].
That’s silly because money doesn’t tend to make greedy people
unselfish, it has a tendency to make greedy people more greedy!
The more you have the more you want.
They look at that stack and
say, it will be a great day at church this Sunday…and they planted some
leaks to spread the word!
I picture in my mind them
looking at all that money the rest of the week saying, we haven’t saved
anything for retirement [then they took out part, and set it aside].
Kid’s
college…Vacation…Extended cab camel…
By Sunday they had half the
$ in the bag and half under their mattress.
The husband brought it to
church Sunday and gave it to Peter.
Does it look like Peter believes him?
And the story continues like this…[slides]
Was it wrong for him to
only bring part of the proceeds to church?
No!
There was no record of God telling them to do it at all.
And that’s the point Peter makes in v. 4…
Nothing wrong with any of
this. The problem was not their
giving only part of the $…the problem was that they SAID they were giving it
all. They intentionally lied /
deceived to lift themselves up!
They pretended to be something that they were not.
Hypocrisy!
If they had come and said,
we sold land for $50k and we feel led to give half and keep half…that would
have been fine…but they just had to try to keep up with the Barnaby Jones’
[Barnabas].
We can point the finger,
but 3 more are right back at us.
How many times do we sing
All to Jesus I Surrender…but not come back to church for just the
slightest excuse.
Or, Sweet Hour of Prayer,
knowing we haven’t prayed 10 minutes!?
Or, sang a special for our
own glory and not the Lord’s?
Or, prayed a spiritual
prayer publicly in the service, and it was our only heartfelt prayer all
week!?
Or, collected the offering
as an usher, but not participate in giving at our church?
Or, taught that lesson on
sin, only to go home intending to sin privately.
Lead kids in song, O be
careful little eyes…then surf the net or TV lustfully!
Jesus said in Matthew 15:8
This people draweth
nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their
heart is far from me.
You can fool…
Some
of the people all the time / All the people some of the
time / But you can’t fool…All the people all the time!
Those in your home will
figure it out
Those at work / those
neighbors / …those at church
Proverbs 26:26
Whose hatred is covered
by deceit, his wickedness shall be shewed before the whole
congregation.
…because we can’t fool God ANYtime!
How many times do we see
it? A person looks this way and
that, but they fail to look up.
It's like they have no God-consciousness at all!
[Yes, we can spot this in others.
But do we recognize it in ourselves?]
In the gospels Jesus was
very compassionate, patient, and tender in dealing with those who fell to
sins of the flesh…but very harsh with those who were religious hypocrites!
The meek and gentle Lamb could also be the Lion of Judah when needed…
--woman caught in very act
of adultery.
The Lamb said, I forgive
you, go and sin no more
--woman at the well,
married 5 x’s, shacking up…
Jesus said, I’ll give you
living water
--Zacchaeus the liar /
thief…
Today salvation is coming
to your house!
But how did He treat the
religious hypocrites? Like a
lion!
You snakes!
Generation of vipers!
You’re like a whitewashed tomb, looks good outside but filled with dead,
stinking corruption! That’s what
you remind me of…I know your wicked thought life/motives!
[You've built a nice online profile, but I know the truth about you!]
He took a whip and drove
them out of the temple, shouting at them for turning His house into a den of
thieves!
Religious hypocrisy is a
stench in the nostrils of God!
That was the problem in
the church…
II.
The Purging of
the Sin
v. 7 Why did she come in 3 hours late?
[she was a woman!]
v. 8-10
The Holy Spirit exposed the whole thing dramatically in front of the
church. It was a gift of
knowledge whispered in Peter’s ear!
Peter
knew:
·
The
Source of the Sin
v. 3 Satan is the source…he has the ability of planting ideas in the
minds of church members for the purpose of hindering God’s work.
So, we have to protect our hearts and minds.
“I know what she's
thinking/saying about me!”
“I know that guy’s against
me!”
Then we find out later that
nothing could be further from the truth.
Satan will mess with your
mind if he can…try to get you to make a mountain out of a mole hill.
The Holy Spirit revealed to
the leader not only the source of the sin, but also…
·
The
Seriousness of the Sin
v. 4b Any lie is serious, we are
never more like Satan than when we lie and rebel…Satan is the Father of all
lies! But it’s more serious to
lie to a judge [perjury]…and it’s most serious to lie to God [hypocrisy].
Have you ever lied to God?
Made Him a promise you didn’t keep?
Pretending in church is lying!
Don’t worry about what others think of you.
What does God know about you?
That’s what’s important!
3.
The Punishment of Ananias and Sapphira
a.
A severe judgment
They died! Saved by
grace doesn’t mean you have a license to sin. God judges believers…be
sure your sin will find you out. God will not be mocked! We ALL
reap what we sow!
Every
believer undergoes 3 judgments…
As a sinner, as a servant,
as a son
If
you’ve been saved, your judgment as a sinner is in the past/as a servant
will be in the future, but you are judged as a son right now!
In
the past--As a
sinner-judged on the cross, you died
with Christ, God’s wrath toward your sin was poured out on Christ.
Romans 8:1
There is
therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus...
Sin was fully judged there.
Ill.—prairie
fire, stand in burnt patch.
The foot
of the cross is the place to stand when judgment comes!
In
the future—judged
as a servant, during trib. on earth,
judgment seat of Christ happens in heaven [not great white throne]…a 1 on 1
personal interview with Christ…you’ll be judged not as a sinner, but as a
servant, how faithful have you been, what were your motives for service,
etc. A time of rewards…if not, then why did Jesus tell us to lay up
for ourselves treasures in heaven?
Read I Cor. 3—wood, hay,
stubble will burn up/gold, silver, precious stones are rewarded!
In
the present—you
are being judged as a son…right now
you are being judged.
Heb. 12:6-11 [chastisement
works righteousness]
Not positional
righteousness in v. 11, but practical.
Ananias and Sapphira were
saved. And they were being judged as “sons.” They died because
they crossed a line with God.
This is not pleasant, and I
have not looked foreward to sharing this…but God sometimes takes a believer
home early because of sin.
I Cor. 11—people abusing
Lord’s Supper.
1 Cor. 11:29
For he
that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation [lit.
judgment] to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.
1 Cor. 11:30-32
For this
cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. [31] For if we
would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. [32] But when we are judged,
we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the
world.
That’s one example.
1 Cor. 5:1-5
It is reported commonly that there is fornication
among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the
Gentiles, that one should have his father's wife. [2] And ye are puffed up,
and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken
away from among you. [3] For I verily, as absent in body, but present in
spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that
hath so done this deed, [4] In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye
are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus
Christ, [5] To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the
flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
The word destruction does
not always mean annihilation, but I’ve sure seen it happen a few times
following a nasty church discipline!
1 John 5:16
If any
man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death [Implies what?
There IS a sin unto death], he shall ask, and he shall give him life
for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say
that he shall pray for it.
Written to Christians.
You say, you’re trying to
scare me! [maybe, no worse than a doctor who says, stop smoking or
these spots that I see now will turn to cancer!]
Not only a severe
judgment, but…
b.
A Saving Judgment
1.
for them
This judgment was for the
purpose of saving them from further sin. He wasn’t getting even with
them, God does not take “vengeance” upon His own. He was saving them
from further sin.
Ill.—suppose you
have a 3 year old, you look out window and they are playing in the
street…you warn Johnny to stay in yard/ 5 minutes later he’s back, you spank
him this time, and give one more chance, watch carefully…he starts to head
that way again, so you bring him on in, to save him!
You ask, ‘What
kind of punishment is that, going to heaven?’
I don’t wanna get benched
early, I wanna stay in the game! Johnny lost his privileges, and so
may we!
It was a saving
judgment for them…
2.
a saving judgment
for the church
acts 5:11—God did this as
an example…He didn’t continue to kill everyone who lied in church,
necessarily, but He sure showed how He felt about sin in the church!
God often sets examples for first time offenses.
[Sodom
and Gomorrah]
Jude 1:7
Even as
Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving
themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth
for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.
There’s God’s 1st statement about homosexuality…yet San
Francisco/Houston seem to be ok!
Children of Israel—I Cor.
10—a whole generation wiped out as an example.
The Bible teaches that
punishment is a deterrent.
Saved them, saved
the church…
3.
a judgment to save
souls
v. 14
purity brings power!
4 conclusions:
1.
Sin in the life of a believer is more
serious than sin in the life of an unbeliever…for you are bought with a
price, you are His child, His ambassador.
2.
Be very careful not to lie to God.
[and yourself!]
3.
Guard against hypocrisy in your own
life…be the same at home as at church, in the closet as on the platform!
[your walk talks, and your talk talks, but your walk talks louder than your
talk talks!]
4.
Don’t let some hypocrite keep you out
of church, follow God, not man!
There’s 1 person in this
church that will never disappoint you…and it’s not me! Follow Christ!
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