Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property.But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession,But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession,But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession,
4 sermons cite this verse
… who sells a piece of property and brings all of the proceeds to the church just to take care of this community and to take care of others. And Acts chapter five, verse one starts with this phrase, but a man named Ananias. So he is intentionally giving us a contrast of two different stories. We're going to pick up in verse one. It says, but a man named Ananias with his wife, Sapphira sold a piece of property. And with his wife's knowledge, he kept back for himself, some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles feet. But Peter said Ananias why is Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back yourself part of the proceeds of the land while it remained unsold did it not remain your own after it was sold was it not at your disposal why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart you have not lied to man but to God and I want to make something abundantly clear at the beginning of this passage the point of this passage is not to say hey you need to sell everything and give it to the church you can exhale this morning. You're gonna be okay. The heart of this is not simply a generosity problem. It's an honesty problem. Ananias came and presented like he was giving all of the proceeds, but behind closed doors, he kept back some for himself. So the sin here is not that he didn't …
… as virtuous people too. So this is what happens next. And one of the most shocking stories in the Bible, quite candidly, Acts chapter 5 starting in verse 1. I'm reading from the New Living translation. There was a man named Ananias who with his wife Sapphira sold some property. He brought part of the property to the apostles but claimed it was the full amount. His wife agreed to this deception. Underline that, this deception. Then Peter said, Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart? You lied to the Holy Spirit and you kept some of the money for yourself. This property was yours to sell or not sell, as you wish or not. And after selling it, the money was yours to keep or to give away. Why would you do a thing like this? You're not lying to us. You're lying to God. And as soon as Ananias heard these words, he fell to the ground and died. And everyone who heard about it was terrified. Well then some young men wrapped him in a sheet, took him out and buried him. About three hours later his wife comes in not knowing what had happened. Peter asks her, what was this price you and your husband received for the land? She said, yeah, that was the price. Peter said, how could the two of you even think of doing a thing like this, conspiring together to test the Spirit of the Lord? You might underline that phrase, test the Spirit of the Lord. Just outside that door are the young men who buried your husband …
… And one of the most shocking stories in the Bible, quite candidly, Acts chapter five, starting in verse one. I'm reading from the New Living Translation. There was a man named Ananias who with his wife Sapphira sold some property. He brought part of the property to the apostles but claimed it was the full amount. His wife agreed to this deception. Underline that, this deception. Then Peter said, Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart? You lied to the Holy Spirit and you kept some of the money for yourself. This property was yours to sell or not sell as you wish or not. And after selling it, the money was yours to keep or to give away. Why would you do a thing like this? You're not lying to us. you're lying to God. And as soon as Ananias heard these words, he fell to the ground and died. And everyone who heard about it was terrified. Well then some young men wrapped him in a sheet, took him out, and buried him. About three hours later, his wife comes in, not knowing what had happened. Peter asks her, what was this price you and your husband received for the land? She said, yeah, that was the price. Peter said, how could the two of you even think of doing a thing like this, conspiring together to test the spirit of the Lord. You might underline that phrase, test the spirit of the Lord. Just outside that door are the young men who buried your husband, …
With that context, just listen to this story. Acts chapter 5, verse 1. Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. With his wife's full knowledge, he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles' feet. And Peter said, Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? Didn't it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn't the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men, but to God. When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died, and great fear seized all who heard what had happened. And the young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him. About three hours later, his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. …