Acts 5
by Philip Layton
Ananias and Sapphira face the consequences of lying to God. The apostles are persecuted
Discussion Questions
- Ananias and Sapphira (vv 1-10) both died when they lied to God.
- How did the believers react? What can be learned from this incident?
- Jealousy by the Jewish religious leaders (v 17) led to persecution.
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Going Deeper from 'Words of Life'
The new believers were ‘of one heart and mind’ (4:32) so shared what they had: possessions, food, everything . As a result, no one was in need. It all started out so well! But, of course, Satan wanted this plan wiped out – right at the very beginning. So he tempted some people to sin: a married couple – with disastrous results.
Ananias and Sapphira were greedy, no question. I could be wrong, but would others reading this account think: I might have done the same thing – keeping some for myself, yet still giving a good portion away. I will admit that it has crossed my mind. Yet their sin was not just about thinking of themselves first, or greed itself. Let us read again what Peter says to Ananias:
‘Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit…?’ (v 3).
Wow! Heavy stuff. Greed started the ball rolling, but when Ananias presented his money to the apostles he implied this was all he had. A blatant lie to them – and to the Holy Spirit! The consequences? Death: physical and spiritual – for both Ananias and Sapphira.
We must never try to cover up our sins. Yes, we will have to pay the price for what we have done wrong – having hurt people, having let ourselves down. But far better than the spiritual consequences which could have tragic results!
May God protect us all from yielding to temptation – of any kind.
Prayer
Lord, help me to keep my eyes on you alone. And help me to be honest, true, holy, and pure in your sight.
Beverly Ivany
Tags: Acts