Fire & Reign: Studies in the Book of Acts

Purified by His Discipline

Acts 4:32-5:11

All the believers were one in heart and mind.  No one claimed any of his possession was his own, but they shared everything they had.  With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all.  There were no needy persons among them, for from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need. (Acts 4:32-35)

It was a great time to be at church!

When we left the book of Acts last week,  in chapter 4, we found the church facing its first organized opposition.  The religious and political leaders of Israel had arrested Peter and John.  They had warned them to stop teaching and preaching in Jesus name.  The church, which had just seen Jesus arrested and murdered by these same leaders, was at a critical point.  Would Peter and John be killed, too?  Were they all in danger of death? 

When Peter and John returned from their trial, and informed the others that they had been instructed to stop, the church fell on its face before God, and prayed a powerful prayer – asking God not to change their circumstances – not to protect them from danger – but to give them courage and boldness in the face of opposition!  We read in verse 31 of chapter 4 that as they prayed, “the place where they meeting was shaken and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and they spoke the word of God boldly.”  It was a great moment of victory for the church!  A high-water moment for them all.  Imagine the euphoria of that experience!  The rush of having faced down a powerful opponent.  Satan had attacked them directly, and they had not folded!

Doesn’t that just sound idyllic?  I mean, it’s perfect! Birds singing, sun shining, husbands and wives with 1.5 kids living in harmony and love – it’s a perfect picture.  That’s the way church ought to be!  That’s what we all long for – unity, generosity, powerful teaching, grace and love.  It was about as good as it gets! 

It was a great time to be at church!

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Let me tell you a little secret.  When things are going great – when the people are in unity and loving each other; when the teaching is powerful and lives are being transformed; when you’ve just faced down a serious attack and won a great victory – WATCH OUT! 

Our enemy is not one to give up because he’s faced a set back.  When he tempted Jesus in the dessert after 40 days of fasting and prayer, Jesus withstood his attack directly and boldly – He quoted Scripture at Him – and resisted the temptations for food, power and authority.  And Satan left Him, but Dr. Luke, who also wrote this book, tells us in his biography of Jesus that the devil left “only to return at an opportune time.”  Satan is always looking for that next “opportune moment!”

He had tried a direct attack on the church – trying to get them to shut up about Jesus by arrest and threats from the government authorities.  When that failed, Satan decided to attack the church from the inside, and use people who were part of that wonderful fellowship itself.  Satan is a clever and powerful enemy.  If he does not beat us as a “devouring lion” as Peter describes Him, then he will attack us again as a “deceiving serpent” or an “angel of light,” as Paul tell us in 2 Corinthians.  He will do all he can to spread discord and division within the church.  Jesus said, “By this will all men know that you are my disciples, by your love one for another.”  Satan knows that, so he tries to destroy our testimony before the world by destroying that love.  The church must always be on guard against his attacks.

As we move to the opening verses of chapter 5, he launches his plan.

Read with me.  [Read Acts 5:1-11]

First we see Satan’s Deceitful Attack. (Acts 5:1-3)

When the Bible calls Satan the “Father of lies,” (John 8:44) it’s not kidding.  From beginning to end, this episode is one act of deception after another.  First, there was the lie that Annanias and Sapphira believed.  It is obvious from their actions that they were the first one’s to believe Satan’s lies.  Like he did with Adam and Eve, Satan had convinced them that there would be no consequences for their deception.  “It’s just a little thing…You’re giving most of the money…You can have it both ways – you’ll look generous, and you can keep some for yourself.”  Peter says that they had decided to test God.  They wanted to see “how much they could get away with.” 

Then there was the lie to their brothers and sisters in the church.  They were convinced that no one would ever know what they had done.  Annanias and Sapphira’s issue was spiritual deception – giving one impression to the church when something else was happening on the inside.  In Acts chapter 2, when we first see that wonderful description of the early church, we read, “They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts.”  The word “sincere,” means pure, nothing hidden, nothing masked.  Here in chapter 5, Peter says that Annanias’ heart has been “so filled with Satan that he had lied to the Holy Spirit.” 

Notice that their chief sin is not greed, though they are certainly greedy.  Nor is it a lack of faith, though they obviously felt they needed to hedge their bets by withholding some of the money “just in case” things didn’t work out.  No – the sin that caused them to face such harsh judgment was deception – lying to the Holy Spirit.  First Annanias, then Sapphira, walked into that meeting of the church with their mask of spirituality firmly in place – sure that they had everyone fooled.  George MacDonald wrote, “Half of the misery in the world comes from trying to look, instead of trying to be, what one is not.”  Annanias’ and Sapphira’s  attempt to look spiritual, to look generous, to look mature, was all a sham.  And it led to God’s Disciplinary Action.

God’s Disciplinary Action.  (Acts 5:3-10)

And what discipline it was!  God chooses to strike them dead, publicly. This seems so harsh to us today that we hardly know what to do with His decisive action, but this is a powerful, teachable moment in the life of the early church, and for us today.  It tells us that God takes sin seriously!

The Bible says that the church is “the pillar and ground of the truth” in this world (1 Timothy 3:15), and so it is not surprising that Satan wants to attack it with lies.  The church is the “Bride of Christ,” (Eph. 5:25-26) and he wants to tempt us to be unfaithful.    The church of Jesus Christ is God’s temple, (1 Cor. 3:16) in which He dwells, and Satan wants to do all he can to move get inside it, and weaken it.  The church is the body of Christ, and Satan wants to weaken us by bringing strain and injury.  The church is the army of God (2 Timothy 2:1-4) and Satan wants to get as many traitors in the ranks as he can.  When the church is being attacked from the outside, it’s generally safe – in fact it will grow stronger –but the real danger comes when he gets inside, and attacks from within by bringing division and discord through his lies.

But God loves the church, He gave Himself for it, He will preserve it and He is jealous over it.  In the Old Testament, God described Himself as “a jealous God.”    Acts 2 tells us the Jerusalem congregation fellowshipped and worshiped with a glad and sincere hearts. That was so precious to God he acted in discipline to protect the simple purity and sincerity of their heart faith.  He was not going to allow Satan to invade their fellowship and destroy it!

It’s not the only time we see this kind of judgment from God.  In the very earliest days of the nation of Israel, under Moses and Aaron, two of Aaron’s sons were consumed by fire for their sin against the Lord.  In Joshua chapter 7, we see that God had Achan put to death because he kept back some of the spoils of battle for himself.  The sons of Eli were killed because of their sinful behavior in the tabernacle of God in I Samuel chapter 4.  Israel’s first king had the approval of God removed from him, and was later killed in battle, because of deceptive, half-hearted obedience to the Lord.

It may seem kind of harsh, but Hebrews chapter 12 tells us that the Lord “disciplines those He loves.” (vs. 6)  In fact, turn to Hebrews 12.  Look at verses 5-11. 

"My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, 6 because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son." 7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? 8 If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. 9 Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! 10 Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. 11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

God’s discipline is harsh, but it is motivated by love.  It is for the greater good.  Take a look over at the last two verses of Hebrews 12.  It says,

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, 29 for our "God is a consuming fire."

Notice especially the middle phrase, “let us be thankful and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe…”  Now turn back to Acts chapter 5, where we will see the result of God’s discipline.

The Church’s Deep Awe. (Acts 5:11)

Verse 11 says, “Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events.”  The result of God’s disciplinary action was a deep sense of awe in the church.  We don’t talk much about the fear of God any more – it’s kind of politically incorrect.  We want to picture God as loving, forgiving, accepting and tolerant – but we shy away from the part of God that is holy, and just, and jealous.  We don’t want to think about God’s discipline.

But when we read that God disciplines those He loves, then we actually have reason to be thankful when we are disciplined – it shows that He loves us enough to correct us.  He cares enough to take us through the tough times so that we can be purified from those sinful behaviors, and drawn closer to Him. 

As I read this story, I shudder to think of the discipline the church in America – in Mayville – deserves, and needs.

 A wave of godly fear swept over the Jerusalem church and everyone who heard about what had happened to Annanias and Sapphira.  When we realize that God takes sin seriously, and that there are consequences for our deceitful, insincere or phony behavior, it will drive us back to the lives that God wants for us.  We need to check our own lives:

Ø         Is Satan deceiving us in order to weaken or attack the fellowship?

Ø         Are we doing all we can to live holy lives, or are we seeing how much we can get away with?  How far can we push the envelope of acceptable behavior?

Ø         Do we where a mask of righteousness at church that covers a life of deception that we live the rest of the week?

God’s actions here speak volumes: “Keeping sin hidden; keep creating false impressions; and it will be deadly to your walk with Me and to the health of the congregation.”  The key to maintaining health in the church is to keep that original formula from Acts 2 and 4 – unity, sincerity, transparency, generosity and compassion.  And it must happen on a personal, individual level before it can happen on a congregational level.

May God use whatever means necessary to bring those qualities to this church – be it by His discipline, His renewed filling, or a combination of the two – so that we can be the church He desires and has ordained us to be.

Prayer.