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to the book of Acts, Acts chapter 
5. Actually, I'll pick up reading 
in Acts chapter 4 at verse 32, and we'll read to Acts 5.11. 
So, beginning in Acts chapter 4 at verse 32. Now, the multitude 
of those who believed were of one heart and one soul. Neither 
did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, 
but they had all things in common. And with great power the apostles 
gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great 
grace was upon them all. Nor was there anyone among them 
who lacked, for all who were possessors of lands or houses 
sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold, 
and laid them at the apostles' feet, and they distributed to 
each as anyone had need. And Joseph, who was also named 
Barnabas by the apostles, which is translated son of encouragement, 
a Levite of the country of Cyprus, having land, sold it and brought 
the money and laid it at the apostles' feet. But a certain 
man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession, 
and he kept back part of the proceeds, his wife also being 
aware of it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles' 
feet. But Peter said, Ananias, why 
has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep 
back part of the price of the land for yourself? While it remained, 
was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it 
not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing 
in your heart? You have not lied to men, but to God. Then Ananias, 
hearing these words, fell down and breathed his last. So great 
fear came upon all those who heard these things. And the young 
man arose and wrapped him up, carried him out, and buried him. 
Now it was about three hours later when his wife came in, 
not knowing what had happened. And Peter answered her, tell 
me whether you sold the land for so much. She said, yes, for 
so much. And Peter said to her, how is 
it that you have agreed together to test the spirit of the Lord? 
Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the 
door and they will carry you out. Then immediately she fell 
down at his feet and breathed her last. And the young man came 
in and found her dead and carrying her out, buried her by her husband. So great fear came upon all the 
church and upon all who heard these things. Amen. Well, let 
us pray. Father, we thank You for the 
written Word. We know it's given by inspiration of God, that it's 
profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and 
for instruction in righteousness. And we pray now that Your Spirit 
would guide us and lead us and help us to uncover the truth 
of Acts 5, 1 to 11. Help us to see what's at stake 
here, and help us to see that You are, in fact, a great God, 
a sin-hating God, a God who is holy, a God who is righteous, 
a God who is just. May we stand in awe before You, 
and may we as well thank You and praise You and rejoice in 
Your goodness and in Your graciousness. How we thank you for the gospel 
of our salvation. We know in our own strength, 
according to our own deeds, none of us could ever stand in your 
presence. For God, you are holy and we 
are utterly unholy. But how we thank you for the 
Lord Jesus, for the redemption that we have in Him, for His 
life and His death and His resurrection. And we pray that sinners would 
hear of this today, here and elsewhere. And by grace, sinners 
would come and taste and see that the Lord is good. that they 
would believe the gospel and know the joy of being found in 
him, not having their own righteousness, which is from the law, but that 
righteousness which is from you, received by faith alone. Do forgive 
us for our sins and our transgressions now. Cleanse us from all unrighteousness 
and that precious fountain that is open for sin and uncleanness. 
And again, fill us with your Holy Spirit. And we pray these 
things through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. Now, I would 
submit that this passage in Acts chapter 5, 1 to 11 is offensive 
to some because it demonstrates the truth taught in both the 
Old and the New Testaments that our God is a consuming fire. Man, even modern professing Christian 
man, finds the justice of God and finds the wrath of God concepts 
that are not the most pleasant for him. Some wonder, in fact, 
why this passage is even here, Acts 5, 1 to 11. Some prefer 
to look at it as being legendary, that it really didn't transpire 
this way, that it was some legend that grew up alongside of the 
church and was inserted here into the text. But I think the 
connection is clear. Notice in Acts 4, at verses 32 
to 37, Luke gives us a snapshot of life in the early church. 
And for the most part, it's a glowing report. But in Acts 5, verses 
1 to 11, Luke also shows us that not all that glitters is gold. 
In fact, Ananias and Sapphira were fake. They were hypocritical 
liars, and so God killed them. Also, it shows us that the devil 
is at work among the professing people of God. Luke, or rather 
Peter, acknowledges that in Acts 5.3, that the devil is a roaring 
lion seeking whom he may devour. So in the midst of this altogether 
glowing report, Luke wants us to see, though, that the devil 
is a real foe and that there are false professors within the 
context of the local church. Christian man, today, prefers 
a nice and a tamed God versus a God who kills hypocritical 
liars. If that is your mindset, then 
I hope that your mind will be changed as we work our way through 
Acts 5, verses 1 to 11, and we'll notice it under two considerations. First, the deceitfulness of Ananias 
and Sapphira in verses 1 to 4, and then secondly, the death 
of Ananias and Sapphira in verses 5 to 11. We see that close connection 
between verses 1 and 2 here and verses 32 to 37 in Acts 4. Notice in 5.1, but a certain 
man named Ananias with Sapphira, his wife, sold a possession, 
And he kept back part of the proceeds, and his wife also being 
aware of it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles' 
feet." Just like what was happening previous to this. As well, Ananias 
serves or functions as the complete contrary to what we find in Barnabas. Remember, Barnabas is introduced 
in verses 36 and 37 as a great and positive example of the kind 
of person who sold property, brought the proceeds, and laid 
it at the apostles' feet so they could distribute it to anyone 
who had need. Well, Ananias sells property, 
and then Ananias brings the proceeds to the apostles. Now, I think 
the context makes clear what's happening in this particular 
passage. It wasn't wrong for Ananias to 
control the property prior to its sale. It wasn't wrong for 
Ananias to control the proceeds after the sale. But what was 
wrong was that Ananias tried to fool the apostles. Ananias 
was a hypocrite. Ananias was a liar. Ananias brought 
that money, laid it at the apostles' feet, and said, this is the money 
that I got from the sale of my property. He doesn't mention 
that he kept some back. He was posturing. He was engaged 
in an act of self-righteousness. He wanted the right hand to observe 
the left hand in this instance of almsgiving. He wanted persons 
to say, Wow, what a benevolent and generous person. He sold 
his property and he brought all of the proceeds to the apostles 
so that they could dole it out to those who had need. That's 
the specific sin. That's the specific issue in 
this particular narrative. So he holds it back. Again, Peter 
will make clear in verse 4 that private property is a reality 
in the context of the church. The church does not sacrifice 
the Eighth Commandment. People in the church have control 
over their own property, and when they sell that property, 
people in the church have control over those proceeds. The problem 
in the text is that Ananias said that this was all of the money 
that I made from the sale of this property, and I am bringing 
it here for the apostles so they can dole it out. That's what's 
in view in this particular passage. Now, note that Peter rebukes 
Ananias in verses 3 and 4. In the first place, he acknowledges 
Satan's influence. Notice 5.3. But Peter said, Ananias, 
why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit. So 
you see, Peter will later write in his first epistle that the 
devil goes about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. This is the same sort of language 
employed by Luke in Luke 22 when the devil or Satan enters into 
Judas so that Judas will indeed engage in that act of betrayal 
and corruption. Now we need to understand The 
devil exercises influence here in the heart of Ananias, but 
the responsibility for the sin is Ananias'. That's clear in 
verse 4. We cannot blame the devil for 
our sins. We cannot say or suggest, the 
devil made me do it. We cannot get off with God because 
somehow the devil over-influenced us to the place where we did 
such and such. Never make that mistake. The 
devil is real, the devil does seek whom he may devour, the 
devil does exercise influence, but the devil can't make us lie 
to the Holy Spirit. The devil can't make us sin against 
the Holy Ghost. The devil can't make us keep 
back some of the proceeds from the sale of the property and 
then lie and suggest we're giving it all. He can't do that. Peter 
makes it clear in verse 4. The responsibility or the culpability 
lie squarely in Ananias. and Sapphira's lap. She's not 
some unwilling victim along the way either. Sapphira knew exactly 
what was going on. In fact, after she comes back, 
Peter then indicts her or Peter then questions her to show her 
responsibility in this. She wasn't duped. She wasn't 
ignorant. She wasn't brought into this 
by a pushy man, but she conspired alongside of her husband to try 
and make people think that they were really generous. and really 
wonderful. That's the crime. That's the 
sin. That's the problem. They were doing precisely what 
Jesus said not to do. When you give alms, don't let 
the left hand know what the right hand is doing. You don't, you 
know, sound a trumpet and call attention to yourself when you 
drop something in the box. You don't try to make people 
think that you're far more generous than you really are. Now, before 
our hearts run in condemnation of Ananias, think about what 
they're doing here. They want to look better before 
others. would suggest that's probably a motivation in some 
of our hearts as well. Now, perhaps we don't go this 
far and actually lie to an entire church and say, all the money 
that I made, I'm going to willingly give it to these particular persons. 
But a desire to look better in the eyes of our fellows, that's 
probably not a sin that's too far off with reference to our 
own hearts. We need to beware. We need to 
take heed. We need to guard our hearts. 
We need to make sure that it's the eye and the favor and the 
approval of God that we seek, and not the eye and the favor 
and the approval of men that we seek. In fact, the Geneva 
Bible makes this observation. It says in the study notes, Luke 
shows bicontrary examples how great a sin hypocrisy is, especially 
in them which under a false pretense and cloak of zeal would seem 
to shine and be chief in the church. Now, when you step back 
from the text for just a moment and you ponder the mindset of 
Ananias and Sapphira, how did that conversation go at dinner? What possibly got them to this 
point where they were going to try and dupe the church, the 
apostles specifically, and the Holy Spirit into thinking that 
they were a great guy and a great girl? What was just that? They 
wanted to be seen as a great guy and a great girl. Why is 
it that we are like that? Why is it that we want to be 
viewed as great guys and great girls? I realize we don't want 
to wander down the street and have people throw tomatoes or 
dead cats at us. I get that. But why is it that 
we are so craven with reference to person's approval over us? Why is it that we function that 
way except for the reality that we're paying lip service, perhaps, 
to total depravity? We're paying lip service to sovereign 
grace? We're paying lip service to the 
doctrine of election and predestination? See, on the one hand, we preach 
up those truths. On the other hand, we live contrary 
to those truths when we actually think there's something in us 
worthy of commendation. Brethren, there's nothing in 
us worthy of commendation. We as Calvinists ought to know 
that better than anybody. We as Reformed believers who 
understand the doctrine of total depravity and total inability 
ought to be the last people on the face of the earth seeking 
to court the favor of men. Now, I'm not saying be a bad 
employee. I'm not saying be a bad cook. 
I'm not saying be a bad at everything. I'm saying that when we are craving 
other person's approval, it may lend itself to this kind of conduct. And we might be inclined to read 
this passage and say, boy, this seems to be a bit of overkill. God destroyed them. God killed 
them. They were hypocritical liars. 
And then we reflect upon ourselves and we might surmise, I too am 
a hypocritical liar. Praise God for mercy shown. Praise 
God Almighty that he doesn't typically judge this way. He is free to, it is appropriate 
for him to, but he has opted not to in 99 out of 100 instances. And we ought to praise him for 
that. Because how many times have we sought the favor of men, 
and we should have been wiped out alongside of Ananias and 
Sapphira, but we've lived to sin another day. Praise God Almighty 
from whom all blessings flow. Notice, Daryl Bach makes this 
observation. So the deceitful act was completely 
premeditated. Again, we'll see that when Peter 
comes to deal with Sapphira. She's not unwilling. It wasn't 
the case that she had a terrible husband that forced her in to 
compliance with sin. It was premeditated. It was malice 
aforethought. All of the things necessary to 
be a grievous sin were present. He goes on to say, apparently 
motivated by Ananias and Sapphira to appear to be more generous 
than they truly are. The desire for human praise is 
more important to them than being faithful to God. Now, notice 
what Peter goes on to say. Verse 3, he acknowledges Satan. He reproves them on the lie, 
and notice how he reproves them. Peter said to Ananias, why has 
Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back 
part of the price of the land for yourself? Now this is intriguing, 
isn't it? He lied to the Holy Spirit. What should we sort of infer 
from this? The Holy Spirit is present among 
the people of God. The Holy Spirit indwells the 
church of God. The Holy Spirit is indwelling 
the apostles of God, such that when Ananias and Sapphira try 
to dupe the church and try to dupe the apostles, Peter rightly 
concludes that they have lied to the Holy Spirit of God. Brethren, do you view the church 
that way? Do you see the church, the blood-bought 
people of God, gathered together on the Sabbath day as the place 
where the Spirit dwells? Because you should. Certainly 
the Spirit indwells His people. We learn that from the Bible. 
But the Spirit indwells the church of the Lord God Most High. It's 
the Spirit that is among us. You know, we oftentimes take 
that passage about treating our temples properly and not, you 
know, ingesting white flour and sugar or drugs or alcohol to 
excess because our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. 
And that's certainly true to be sure, but I think the larger 
truth in view there in Corinth is that the church of the Lord 
Jesus is the place where the Spirit dwells. Yeah, don't smoke, 
and don't drink, and don't chew, and don't run with girls or do, 
because you'll affect the Holy Spirit that is indwelling you. 
But I think Paul's bigger idea in there is that the church is 
the place where the triune God is. And when you as the people 
of the triune God sin vis-a-vis joining your members to a harlot, 
1 Corinthians chapter 6, you dishonor the very God who indwells 
that temple. That's the point, brethren. The 
Holy Spirit is lied to in the person of the apostles, in the 
person of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. J. A. Alexander 
says, the reference then, or the references then not merely 
to the presence and inhabitation of the Holy Ghost in all believers, 
1 Corinthians 3, 1 Corinthians 6, but to his special and authoritative 
acting through the apostles. so that disobedience to their 
rightful apostolic authority is represented as resistance 
to the Holy Ghost. See, this is why it is what it 
is. Again, fight the temptation to 
say, you know, 1 to 11, I kind of wish it was a legend. I kind 
of wish it wasn't in there. It just seems to be harsh. It 
just seems to be over the top. Funny that anybody who holds 
a whole Bible in their lap would ever think such a thing. What 
happens when the Ark of the Covenant comes back to Israel after its 
time with the Philistines? It enters into the land of Beth 
Shemesh, and we learn that God killed a great number of Beth 
Shemeshites because they dared look into the Ark of the Covenant. Do you know what the Beth Shemeshites 
that continued on said? They certainly didn't say, wow, 
that was over the top. That was overkill. That was harsh. That was severe. That's the kind 
of stuff Christians today might say to such incidents. But they 
were constrained to say, who can stand before this holy Lord 
God? You see, Acts 5, 1 to 11 ought 
to underscore in all of our minds and in our hearts that God takes 
sin seriously. I think we forget that from time 
to time, don't we? Because we have an advocate with 
the Father, even Jesus Christ the righteous. Yes and amen, 
1 John 2, 1. Yes and amen, that if we confess 
our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and 
to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1, 9. Yeah, absolutely. Psalm 130 is a reality for the 
people of God. If thou, Lord, shouldst mark 
iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness 
with thee that thou mayest be feared. Those should be near 
and dear to our hearts. But the reality of God's forgiveness 
ought never to be a means or a reason for our sinfulness. What shall we say? Shall we continue 
in sin, that grace may abound? Romans 6, 1. May it never be! God forbid, as the old King James 
has it. It actually isn't a good translation 
of the phrase, but it certainly conveys the horror of the implication. You see, we ought to realize 
that the church is God's, and that if we are using the church 
so that we can look good, or we can look generous, or we can 
be seen with some degree of notoriety among our fellows, we are prostituting 
the church. We are misusing the church. We 
are turning the church into something other It's not our place for 
our exaltation. It's God's place for His exaltation. And I think the sooner we get 
that down, the better off we're gonna be. You know what the grand 
lesson in this passage is? If I could just, you know, boil 
it all down, you and I need to fear this Holy Lord God. Doesn't that happen? After Ananias 
breathes his last and after Sapphira breathes her last, what's Luke's 
commentary? And then great fear came upon 
them. It's one of those kinds of passages. 
I think that Christians oftentimes go to their Bibles and they want 
helps and hints on how to live a life or how to live their life. 
They go to Ephesians 5, and they say, OK, I'm going to love my 
wife the way Jesus loves the church. They try that for about 
30 seconds, and they say, praise God Almighty for salvation by 
grace through faith in Jesus Christ our Lord. But we go to 
the Bible to mine out practical truths for practical living. 
You look at Acts 5, 1 to 11. Not a lot of mining out practical 
truths for practical living. Now, certainly, we can surmise, 
don't lie to the Holy Spirit. That's always a bad idea. Don't 
try to look good in the eyes of others. That's a bad idea. 
Don't let your right hand know what your left hand is doing. 
That's a bad idea. But you know the primary practical 
truth of Acts 5, 1 to 11? You ought to fear God. That's it. Amen. Let's pray. Let's go eat. Why 
is that not a practical lesson for the church today? The fear 
of God. Why is that something that's, 
you know, just esoteric and abstract and it's out there? Well, that's 
probably why we're not holy like we ought to be because it's esoteric 
and it's abstract and it's out there rather than in our hearts 
where it affects us to live in a way that is pleasing to God 
most high. This passage is about God. Notice. He goes on in verse 4 to underscore 
something I've underscored in chapters 2 and 4, that private 
property survives in the New Covenant era. The Eighth Commandment 
is still for us today. Verse 4 indicates that what happens 
in Acts 2, 45 to 46, and what happens in Acts 4, 32 to 37, 
was voluntary. And I think by that reality or 
by that understanding, it exacerbates all the more Ananias' sin. There was nothing compelling 
him to undertake this kind of activity. Now brethren, let me 
just ask you for a moment, not audibly, think about this. Are 
you the kind of person that looks down on someone else because 
they don't give everything they have? If the answer is yes, you 
need to repent. Isn't that amazing? We want to 
tell everybody else on how they ought to live. I still always 
go back to Proverbs 4. Keep your heart with all diligence. 
Spend your money with all rigor. Everybody's a champ at spending 
everybody else's money. Peter assumes that the people 
of God would not have been offended if Ananias and Sapphira sold 
their land, took a portion of it, and put it in their own retirement 
fund, and then took a portion and gave it to the downtrodden 
and poor. Peter assumes among the people of God this right 
of and this expectation concerning Freedom of ownership, private 
property. That's what Peter says in verse 
four. Notice to Ananias, while it remained, 
was it not your own? We see the state wasn't there 
with a gun, putting it to Ananias' head, making him give it up. 
And we see that the apostles weren't there with guns, putting 
it to Ananias' head and saying, you need to sell this great piece 
of property because we've got a lot of downtrodden poor, and 
we need you to ameliorate that. Now Peter says, while it was 
yours, wasn't it under your control? And after you sold it, wasn't 
the proceeds under your control? You see what this does? There's 
no necessity for Ananias to do this. There's no coercion in 
Ananias to do this. There's just a sinful, praise-loving, 
wretched heart in Ananias, where he concocts this sort of scheme 
with his wife to keep back some, but to tell everybody that we're 
giving it all. Peter says, no, private property 
is a reality. The church would have respected 
that and you had the opportunity to do so. And then notice what 
he says at the very end. Why have you conceived this thing 
in your heart? Again, the devil influences, 
the devil helps, the devil exploits, the devil roams about like a 
roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. But notice that Peter 
does not hinge this or settle this sin or put this sin on the 
devil. Why have you conceived this thing 
in your heart? That's the problem, Ananias and 
Sapphira. Your hearts are messed up. Your 
hearts crave the praise of man. Your hearts want people to say, 
wow, look at their hearts. Your hearts want people to applaud 
you and to slap you on the back. Your hearts want a plaque from 
whatever wing that you donated. Your hearts want to be mentioned 
in the next newsletter concerning life in the church in Jerusalem. 
And thanks to Ananias and Sapphira and their exceedingly abundant 
charity, we were able to ameliorate the downtrodden and the poor 
in this sector or this quadrant. It's their hearts that's the 
problem. Does everybody get that? It's not the devil. The devil 
does stuff. The devil is roaming about like 
a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour, sort of a fiend, 
but he's not the one that Peter blames for this particular sin. 
And then notice what he says concerning theology proper. to 
men, but to God. And yeah, you need to understand 
that the way it says. He lies to the Holy Spirit, which 
shows the personhood of the Holy Spirit. Jehovah's Witnesses deny 
that the Holy Spirit is a person. They call Holy Spirit active 
force. Well, you see, you've got a problem 
with that because you can't lie to the wind, but you can lie 
to a person. You can lie to somebody that 
has personality. But it's not only personhood 
that's underscored, there's deity underscored. When you lie to 
the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit who indwells the apostles and 
the entirety of the Church, you are lying to God Himself. The 
passages in 1 Corinthians 3, 1 Corinthians 6 evidence that 
and make it clear. Our confession, I think, is a 
wonderful outside-of-the-Bible comment on this whole idea. It says, in this divine and infinite 
being, God, there are three subsistences, or persons, the Father, the Word, 
or Son, and the Holy Spirit. of one substance, power, and 
eternity, each having the whole divine essence, yet the essence 
undivided. So the line of the Holy Spirit 
is to lie to God Almighty. Now, let's look secondly at the 
death of Ananias and Sapphira. We see the death of Ananias in 
verses five and six, and then Sapphira in verses seven to 11. Verse five, then Ananias, hearing 
these words, fell down and breathed his last. Now, brethren, there 
are those who engage in evasive tactics to try and avoid the 
obvious. He died as a direct result of 
the judgment of God. It wasn't a coincidence. Then 
the great fear that came upon the entirety of the church would 
have been at coincidences and how they just sometimes happen. 
That doesn't promote the fear of God. The fear of God promotes 
the fear of God, and that's what's in view here. Even worse is the 
suggestion that Peter killed them. Peter had a shank or a 
shiv or something, and he took Ananias and Sapphira out. Some 
suggest even more so with Sapphira. No, it's not coincidence. It's not by the hand of Peter. 
It is a direct act of the judgment of a holy and righteous God. 
God's been lied to, and Peter has evidenced that and demonstrated 
that to Ananias. Ananias hears that, and now Ananias 
breathes his last, he gives up the ghost, he dies. He is strucken 
down or struck down in the judgment of God Almighty. Now, the New 
Testament, as I mentioned, the Bible doesn't everywhere tell 
us that God always acts like this with reference to sin. But 
even the New Testament tells us that he does. 1 Corinthians 
11. You know what one of the reasons 
is for you to engage in proper conduct at the supper? It's so 
that you don't get sick or die. Do we ever think about that when 
it comes to the table? I know that Pastor Porter and 
myself read that section. For this cause, many are sick 
among you. For what cause? For coming to 
the Lord's table in a way that is an affront to the Lord. For 
this cause, drinking to the point of drunkenness, eating to the 
point of gluttony, in the neglect of brethren. For this cause many 
are sick among you, and many sleep. 1 Corinthians 11 attaches 
a very severe sanction against an improper taking of the supper. 
That's just what we find. 1 Corinthians chapter 5 and in 
1 Timothy chapter 1. What does Paul do with sinners 
who affect the very people of God? He delivers them over to 
the devil. What's Paul do in Acts chapter 
13 with Elamaz the sorcerer? There is a blindness that comes 
upon that man, that son of Satan, that son of deceit. Again, God 
doesn't always break out in wrath this way, but God sometimes does. Even in the Old Testament, I 
know that persons think, you know, page after page after page 
after page. In the Old Testament, it's just 
this angry God, this God just, you know, throwing things and 
killing people and destroying things. That's not how it is. 
The Old Testament covers quite a span of years. It covers a 
long time. And that Old Testament highlights 
to us the patience of God, the long-suffering of God, the mercy 
of God. Have any of you ever read the 
former prophets and thought for a moment, man, when is God going 
to stop these people? Not that you're second-guessing 
God. I'm not suggesting we do that. Never do that. But you 
read it, and it almost gets tedious because there's these endless 
cycles of sin and depravity and wretchedness and evil. And then 
God breaks out in judgment. Everybody goes nuts. Oh, God, 
how could you ever kill such nice people? They're not nice 
people. They're sinners that have violated 
a holy God. You know, when we get to Sapphira, 
Peter just gets right to the point. Someone actually says, 
well, you know, Peter actually lacked pastoral experience. If 
he would have had more time as a pastor, as soon as he saw Sapphira, 
he would have said, oh, oh, by the way, this is what happened 
to Ananias, and I just want to give you the opportunity. No, 
Peter just asks the question, not because he lacks pastoral 
experience, but because we need to learn to fear the living and 
the true God. And that's what Ananias and Sapphira 
teach us. The New Testament elsewhere recognizes 
similar judgments of God. And my young brothers, young 
men in the context of the local church, note your task. Then 
Ananias, verse five, hearing these words, fell down and breathed 
his last. So great fear came upon all those 
who heard these things. And the young man arose and wrapped 
him up, carried him out and buried him. I'm not suggesting, young 
men, that on those occasions where God kills somebody in our 
midst, your task is to make sure they find their way to Henderson's 
down the street. But it is intriguing. The apostles 
didn't do this, and the old men didn't do this. Young, strong 
men ought to serve the church with their young strength. I 
know that's probably a moralistic application of a passage that 
has nothing to do with that, but it is intriguing that on 
both instances, when there was a job to be done, They didn't 
have to be harangued, they didn't have to be invited, they didn't 
have to have a sign-up sheet. They got up, they wrapped the 
body, they carted the body off, and they buried the body, and 
then they came back and they did it again. Now, brothers, 
young men, serve in the context of the local church. Open the 
door for the ladies. Rise in the presence of the hoary 
head. Take seriously the responsibility that scripture mandates for civil 
ethics. We're losing that in society. 
Old people, women, they're not treated any more special or with 
any more dignity than the rest of the rabble. But God's word 
is different, isn't it? Shouldn't we be distinguished 
by our commitment to and our allegiance to the instruction 
of God's word? versus the prevailing opinions 
of men today, I think at times, brethren, we set a very poor 
example in this arena by not doing what God says when it comes 
to chivalry. Chivalry is biblical. Men are 
supposed to protect women. I know that's chauvinistic, and 
I know you're probably triggered, and you're going to report me, 
and Facebook me, and tweet me, and all that sort of thing, but 
men are supposed to protect women. It's just the way it is. People 
are supposed to esteem the elderly. That's just the way it is. And 
young men, in the context of the church, you shouldn't have 
to be harangued to do something in the context of the church. 
Get up, wrap them, take them, bury them. Now, note the response 
in verse 6. I'm sorry, verse 5. Then Ananias, 
hearing these words, fell down and breathed his last, so great 
fear came upon all those who heard these sayings. Matthew 
Poole makes this very excellent observation. He says, some instances 
of God's extraordinary judgments upon sinners were in the beginning 
of the Jewish church. as upon the man that gathered 
sticks on the Sabbath day, Numbers 15, and upon Nadab and Abihu, 
Leviticus chapter 10. Now listen to what Matthew Poole 
says. At the very beginning of the Jewish church, we see these 
sorts of outbreaks of God's wrath against particular offenders. 
Again, it's not the case that this is commonplace. It's not 
the case that this happens all the time. But it happens at that 
key juncture in the context of the Jewish church. Why? Because 
we need to learn something about our God. I think that's a legit 
application from this text. Notice, this is the infant church. 
In fact, Paul goes on. And so here, in the beginning 
of the Christian church, to be as marks to teach us to shun 
such sins and to teach us that the God with whom we have to 
do is greatly to be feared. I think that's a good connection, 
what we find in terms of Nadab and Abihu offering up strange 
fire to the Lord, and the Lord sending fire down from heaven 
to consume them, not their sacrifice, like He does in Leviticus 9, 
but them, because they offered up profane fire. And everybody's 
standing there, gawking at these burning, consumed bodies, and 
God says to Moses and the assembly, by those who come to me, I must 
be regarded as holy. I guarantee you, brothers and 
sisters, you wouldn't have forgotten the lesson of that day. Actually, 
in light of what scripture says, we probably would have. You see 
those times where Baal worship is exterminated from the land 
only to find a few chapters later, they're bowing to Baal again. 
Yeah, we are that bad, I guess, but that's the lesson underscored. 
And it's the same sort of thing here in this infant church setting. 
We see God send forth judgment upon Ananias and Sapphira so 
that we can learn both to A, shun certain types of sins, and 
B, learn that our God is greatly to be feared. Now notice the 
death of Sapphira, verses 7 to 11. She was gone for three hours 
and did not know what had happened to Ananias. Again, the Bible 
is sparse in its details. It doesn't tell us that she was 
having tea with somebody in a different part of it. We don't know why 
she didn't know. We know she didn't know. So she 
comes back in the convention there where it says, and Peter 
answered her. That's just a literary convention. She didn't say anything 
to Peter. Oftentimes, that sort of language 
is used even for an initial address. But Peter answered her, tell 
me whether you sold the land for so much. It's legit, right? I don't think that's indicative 
that he lacks pastoral experience. I don't think it's anything to 
upgrade Peter over. He asks a simple question. Why 
is it that we'll come out of this passage and blame Peter 
and not her for perpetuating a lie? That's who's at fault 
here, isn't it? Well, you know, Peter could have 
been a lot more wise and a lot more judicious. She could have 
been a lot more honest. Let's blame everybody else except 
the two sinners in the passage who God kills. That's very common 
today too, isn't it? Oh no, it can't be that. It has 
to be everybody else. It had to be Peter's fault. Peter 
should have went up to her and said, did God just kill Ananias? 
It's time to come clean with your sin. Well, asking her the 
very simple question was giving her an opportunity to come clean 
of her sin. She could have said, no, we lied. She could have said, 
no, we sinned. She could have said, we concocted 
it over a bowl of soup a week ago. She could have said any 
of those things, but she didn't. She continued to lie. That's 
the problem. She said yes for so much. Now notice Peter in verse 9. 
He reproves her for her conspiracy to sin. Then Peter said to her, 
how is it that you have agreed together? That's conspiracy. 
You've agreed together to test the spirit of the Lord. How is 
it that you've done this? Same sort of thing with Ananias. 
Why did you do this? There was no external force compelling 
you into this. There was nothing that would 
persuade you or get into you to make you think that this was 
the best possible option. Why did you do this? Parents, 
you know Peter's heart right here, don't you? Your kid does 
something and you say, why did you do that? You're not actually 
asking them, so they'll give you 10 reasons why. It's an expression 
of the horror that you feel over the fact that they've engaged 
in such folly. That's what Peter does. How is 
it that you have agreed together to test the spirit of the Lord. 
This wasn't a fact-finding mission for the apostle. This was an 
indictment by the apostle. This is upbraiding her as a result 
of her conspiracy to lie and the actual perpetuation of that 
lie. Even to this, the 11th hour in 
her life, she held fast to the story. Oh yeah, that's how much 
we sold it for. Oh yeah, that's how it went. 
Oh yeah, everything we got, we brought it to ameliorate the 
downtrodden and the poor. That's it. Right there, Peter. 
We're great. We're awesome. Don't forget how 
to spell Sapphira. Two Bs when you write up our 
plaque. That's what she's fishing for. Notice what Peter says. The feet of those who have buried 
your husband. Again, a literary convention. 
Feet don't bury people. The feet of those who have buried 
your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out. Verse 10, then immediately she 
fell down at his feet and breathed her last, and the young men came 
in and found her dead, and carrying her out, buried her by her husband. Again, not coincidence, not by 
Peter's hand, but rather by a direct judgment of God Almighty for 
their having lied to God Almighty. Their hypocrisy, their virtue 
signaling, their desire for the praise of men has ended their 
lives, brethren. Matthew Poole again says, the 
same sins meet with the same punishment. God is no respecter 
of persons, Jew or Gentile, male or female. There is an instance 
where men and women are treated equally. Now brethren, this is 
the God with whom we have to do. Verse 11 underscores the 
great theme of the section. So great fear came upon all the 
church and upon all who heard these things. I love that. It's extended beyond the church 
border. The pagans heard, the unbelieving 
Jews heard, the atheists heard. They heard what? If you go in and you worship 
among those people and you lie to their God, their God may just 
kill you. I don't think that pagans, that 
atheists, that the outsiders of the church today have any 
fear whatsoever concerning what goes on in the church. And that's 
not because God's changed. Both Deuteronomy 4 and Hebrews 
12 underscore the reality that our God is a consuming fire. 
I would suggest it's the church that's changed. The church has 
relegated the message of holy, holy, holy is Yahweh of hosts 
to nice, nice, nice is Yahweh of hosts. We have forgotten that 
our God is a consuming fire. We have forgotten that when we 
sing, when we pray, when we preach, when we hear, when we give, we 
are to do so with a consciousness of who God is. with an eye to 
His glory, with an eye to our own conduct, so that we don't 
come up short, so that we honor and esteem Him, that we remember 
those words that were done or spoken at the fire that was Nadab 
and Abihu. By those who come to me, I must 
be regarded as holy. That's an aspect that's all but 
forgotten today. We want encounters, we want therapy, 
we want feelings, we want emotions. When was the last time anybody 
ever measured a worship service this way? We believe God was 
feared. Oh, that's so puritanical. Yeah, 
maybe because they were biblical in the way they did things. No, 
we measure worship services this way. Well, he really didn't do 
anything for me. He preached long. He preached 
loud. He preached judgment. He preached righteousness. He 
preached justice. I don't want that. I want happy, peppy, joyous 
feelings. That's what we want, isn't it? We got groups and scads of people 
that are feeding that mentality. I can't imagine Joel Osteen preaches 
Acts 5, 1 to 11 ever. I bet some of those whacked out 
prosperity guys do, though. It's a good way to try to beat 
fear into people so that they cough up. If coughing up is the 
end game, then we'll use the fear of God to try to get them 
to cough up. So I could see that. Brethren, 
we've got big problems in the professing church today. We're 
offended by God. We want tame. We want cuddling. We want kittens. What's Lewis 
say in the Chronicles of Narnia concerning Aslan? I'm not getting 
into the theology. I'm not getting into the whole 
atonement. None of that. He ain't tame, but he's good. It's our God, isn't it? He ain't tame, but he is good. Now, when I say tame, I mean 
by us. God is constrained by his holy 
will. God functions according to God. 
but not according to us. What will make you happy today? 
Church, I want to perform for you and do everything it is that 
will make you complete. That's the kind of God that the 
church has been preaching. Listen to Dale Ralph Davis. This 
is his commentary on 1 Samuel 6, verse 20, where the men of 
Beth Shemesh say, who is able to stand before this holy Lord 
God? He says, God's people today no 
longer have the ark of the covenant, but we can fall into the same 
Beth Shemesh mode of thinking. We can forget that Yahweh is 
holy, in a word, different, and that He does not conform to our 
expectation of an easygoing God. Our culture does not help us 
to smash our graven image of the casual God. Our culture proclaims 
that God must be the essence of tolerance. He is chummy rather 
than holy, the man upstairs rather than my father, for Jesus' sake. 
So long as our novelty license plates declare that, quote, God 
is my co-pilot, we can be sure that we have not yet seen the 
king, Yahweh of hosts. As Jonathan Edwards noted, it 
is the absence of a godly fear that signifies a lack of the 
knowledge of God. Can you imagine a church service 
where not only the church feared, but outsiders did too? Perhaps 
that is what we ought to be after. Not manufacturing, not cultivating, 
not manipulating, not orchestrating or engineering, but seeking to 
faithfully serve God the way that God has said, by singing 
His Word, by praying His Word, by reading His Word, by preaching 
His Word, by seeing His Word in the sacraments. Doing what 
He has said to promote in our hearts the fear of God. so that 
we may, with the men of Beth Shemesh, actually say, who is 
able to stand before this holy Lord God? Or the prophet Isaiah, 
what does he do when he's confronted with the holiness of God? Woe 
is me, for I am undone. I'm ruined. I am disintegrating. Why? Because mine eyes have seen 
the glory of Yahweh of hosts. You see, brethren, the church 
saw the deaths of Ananias and Sapphira, and the church was 
afraid. The world heard about it, and 
they too were afraid. In fact, that might be some of 
the rationale behind verse 13. There were those who saw what 
was happening, but were hesitant to join in with them. Why is 
that? Because if you lie to their God, 
their God may kill you. That's what we need from this 
passage. In conclusion, I would suggest 
a couple of thoughts, and then we'll have soup. First, the imperfection 
of the church militant. The imperfection of the church 
militant. Theologians, church people. Christians 
everywhere have always talked or made this sort of distinction 
between what's called the church militant and the church triumphant. 
The church militant is the church here on earth fighting for every 
inch of ground she has. Fighting against the world and 
the flesh and the devil. Seeking to maintain reverence 
for God and joy in his presence and emphasize the preaching and 
the proclamation of the Word of God. The church militant is 
where we find ourselves. Church triumphant with Jesus. 
Every tribe, tongue, people, nation, that one holy Catholic 
and apostolic church gathered together, worshiping the Lord 
God Most High, world without end. Amen." Well, the church 
militant's always got problems, doesn't she? She's always got 
problems. We need to get back to the early 
church. Which part of the early church, when Ananias and Sapphira 
lied to God and He killed them right before their eyes? We get 
to 1 Corinthians and what's happening? People are coming to the supper 
drunk and having been engaged in gluttony. Intriguingly, Paul 
doesn't say, stop eating and stop drinking. He says, do that 
at home. How does that happen? Because we have sin. I know that's probably, you know, 
after I die and they bury me, he always told us we were sinners. 
If that's what you get, good, you know, I guess that's a good 
take-home message from a longish ministry. He always told us we 
were sinners, but I hope he could also say, and he always pointed 
us to Christ as a result of that. But we see this here. Right there 
in the midst of this glowing report, Barnabas, Barnabas, 436 
and 37. And then we have the anti-Barnabas 
in Acts 5, 1 to 11. Brethren, the moment you think 
the church militant is perfect, you've gone over the edge. There's always problems, always 
imperfections, always excesses, always negligence, always over 
whatever, always under whatever, always coming up short. That's 
the nature of the church militant. Now, we ought to see, though, 
the faithfulness of the church militant in this passage as well. We see in the first place, the 
Holy Spirit dwells there. It's not a perfect group, but 
that's where the Spirit is. Peter wasn't a perfect man. The 
apostles weren't perfect men. But that's where the spirit is. 
Say what you will about the church militant, Butler, it being imperfect. 
Nevertheless, the spirit of God is there. Absolutely. And I want 
to make sure we understand that. It is the place where sin is 
dealt with. Oh, the church is full of hypocrites. 
They don't do it. You know, I like to think that 
when we find out about stuff, we do try to deal with it. You 
don't know about something, you can't deal with it. It is the 
place, and I almost hesitate to add this again, since I've 
already emphasized it in two and four, but it's the place 
where private property is respected. I find it intriguing that Peter 
assumes the people of God are mature enough that if a wealthy 
landowner in their midst sells a piece of his property and doesn't 
give every drop of change, they're okay with it. They're not going 
to try to guilt manipulate people. See, if there's a responsibility 
for the wealthy landowner in the context of the local church 
to be a man who's large-hearted and generous and who doesn't 
trust in uncertain riches, there ought to be a mandate with reference 
or a responsibility with reference to the poor, not to guilt manipulate, 
not to expect things that are someone else's private property. 
If they choose to give it to you, praise God, and they should 
choose. And we emphasize that in 1 Timothy 6. But Peter assumes 
the reality and the abiding presence of private property in the context 
of the church. As well, within the church militant, 
it is the place where discipline is carried out. You see that, 
right? This wasn't excommunication. 
Well, I guess it was, but to the nth degree. It's a place 
where sin is dealt with. What do we learn from that? Church 
shouldn't just be encounter groups. Church shouldn't just be therapy. 
Church shouldn't just be feel goodery. Church shouldn't just 
be places where we see our buddies once a week. But wherein, if 
we sin and we are impenitent, the hammer will fall. It's not 
the Oaks Lodge. It's not the Moose Lodge. It's 
not some social entity where anything and everything goes. 
No. You need to toe the line in the context of the church. 
And it is the place where God is feared. Listen to Dennis Johnson 
on this concept of the fear of God. He says, in contrast to 
the abject terror evoked by some pagan conceptions of capricious 
and malevolent deities, the fear of the Lord, get this, is rooted 
in the assurance of His holiness, constancy, and justice. Those 
who fear the Lord rejoice in His grace, but are vividly aware 
that to violate His holiness is dangerous. If we feel that 
heartfelt joy and awestruck fear are incompatible emotions, we 
have not grasped what it means to stand in the presence of the 
Lord of glory, who is good and terrible at the same time. Sure you've heard that before, 
fear and joy are not incompatible in the Christian heart. In fact, 
they go hand in hand together. And I think Johnson's right. We don't know what it is to joyfully 
embrace the fear of God, then we haven't stood in the presence 
of him who is both good and terrible at the same time. And then in 
terms of the practical lesson, beware of pride and hypocrisy. Beware of it. Beware of wanting 
people to think you're great. Spurgeon, I think it was, who 
said, if somebody upbraids you for a particular sin, don't get 
upset. They don't know the half of it. It's almost like those ticket 
takers at the deli counter, you know, just take a ticket. I mean, 
you know, the lobby's full. We've got lots of things to discuss 
with reference to my sin. Why is it that we're just so 
offended at the thought that anybody should ever think that 
we're sinners? Isn't that what Christianity's for? Isn't that 
Golgotha? Well, Pastor Porter read in Scripture 
worship or in the reading of the Scripture today, why the 
passion? Because Jesus has come to help 
an already decent people? No. He came to die in our place 
because we're so bad. The gospel isn't for good people, 
it's for terrible people. It's not for polished people, 
it's for despicable people. Can I get an amen? I mean, brethren, 
that's what it's about. And so why in the world would 
we court the favor of others so that they think somehow we're 
a bit better than others? We just need to get that out 
of our heads. And again, I think it's very 
perceptive that Bruce says, the desire to gain a higher reputation 
than is one's due for generosity or some other virtue is not so 
uncommon that anyone can afford to adopt a self-righteous attitude 
toward Ananias. In other words, be careful. Be careful. Oh, that terrible 
Ananias. And then we do something today 
and we bang the alarm so people can see it. Praise God he doesn't 
break out in that kind of judgment. And I want to end on that kind 
of judgment. It's legitimate. It is legitimate. It's not common. It's not the 
norm. It's not the way God has opted to work. But it's legitimate 
because Ananias and Sapphira lied to God. They sinned against 
God. There was recently a thing, a 
survey done by Ligonier Ministries, basic theology questions. We 
talked about this a little bit yesterday morning in our Saturday 
meeting, theology meeting. And 78% of those polled believe 
that Jesus is a creature. If you would have voted that 
way, repent. Jesus is not a creature. He is 
the everlasting, eternally begotten Son of God, true God from true 
God, true light from light, begotten, not made, the same in substance 
and being with the Father. He is not a creature. That same 
survey went on to ask about sin. I didn't follow that part, but 
I guess, based on some things I've seen, the answers weren't 
great. We've forgotten the Westminster 
Shorter. We just don't appreciate that. The Westminster Shorter 
asks the question, what does every sin deserve? Well, modern 
man is prepared to say, well, some sins deserve this, and other 
sins deserve that, and my sins deserve nothing at all. Not so 
the shorter catechism. Every sin deserves God's wrath 
and curse, both in this life and that which is to come. The 
moment you start to rail against God's outbreak of judgment in 
this passage, you've got big problems. They sinned. Peter doesn't have a problem 
with the lack of pastoral experience. Sapphira has a problem with lying 
to an apostle of Jesus Christ. That's the issue. Now, the infrequency 
of these types of judgments, I would submit, highlight the 
mercy of God. We don't get what we deserve, 
do we? There's another place. Can I 
get an amen? Praise God Almighty. Sometimes 
brothers, older brothers, younger brothers, you'll say, how are 
you doing? And they'll answer, better than I deserve. It's a 
really good response. We are doing better than we deserve. That's the beauty of grace. It's 
the beauty of grace. Thirdly, the rationale here, 
it is to underscore that we are to avoid sins, certain types 
of sin, well, all sin, and to fear this God. And then the foreshadowing 
of the judgment to come. Let me just leave this thought 
with you before we bow our heads in prayer. God is a consuming 
fire. Hebrews 12, Deuteronomy 4. Acts 5, 1 to 11. It doesn't say 
in those verses, our God is a consuming fire, but it certainly demonstrates 
it in these verses. Our God is a consuming fire. 
And if this God does this kind of judgment for one particular 
lie against the Holy Spirit in this historical situation, what 
must the day of judgment look like? In fact, John Calvin made 
this observation. I thought it was very perceptive. 
He says, for if we consider what it is to be cast into eternal 
fire, we shall not judge that this is the greatest evil and 
punishment of all, to fall down dead before men. In other words, 
if you think concerning the judgment to come, I say it reverently, 
this is a bit of a walk in the park. They fell down dead. They were carted off and buried. 
That's it. It's not what the Day of Judgment 
is. God will cast you into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil 
and his angels. Again, this may not help you 
to digest your soup in the next few moments, but brethren, friend, 
think about this. The men of Beth Shemesh were 
not wrong. Who is able to stand before this 
holy Lord God? The Psalms are filled with that 
ethic or sentiment. Who can ascend into the mount 
of the Lord? Who can stand in the tabernacle 
of God? Well, if you're answering the 
men of Beth Shemesh or you're answering the psalmist in Psalm 
15 and Psalm 24, you have to answer no one. except. No one except Jesus. No one except Him who is all 
together lovely and chief among 10,000. No one except Him who 
always did what the Father said. No one except Him who fulfilled 
the law of God perfectly, perpetually, continually, entirely in every 
jot and tittle. No one except for Him who laid 
down His life at Calvary and who was raised the third day 
and who went back into heaven. No one except for him and all 
those in him by faith. The men of Bathshemesh were right. 
You're not going to be able to stand before this holy Lord God 
unless by grace you're attached savingly to Jesus Christ through 
faith. That's the God with whom we have 
to do and the God who has provided a way of access through his own 
beloved Son. Well, let us close in a word 
of prayer. Father, thank you for your word, and thank you 
for your grace, and thank you for your loving kindness and 
your mercy. Thank you for your justice and 
your righteousness and your holiness, and forgive us, God, that at 
times we don't ever think about such things, that there seems 
to be at times so little evident fear of God in our own hearts 
or in the hearts of our Churches, give us grace, Lord, to write 
this with a proper understanding of who you are and a proper understanding 
of who we are before you. Go with us now, help us to bring 
glory and praise to you throughout this day, throughout our lives. May we shine as lights in this 
crooked and perverse generation, and may we with boldness hold 
forth your word of truth. And we ask through Jesus Christ, 
our Lord, amen. We'll close with a brief time 
of meditation. Our brother will play the piano. 
Then I'll come back up, and we'll give thanks to God for the food, 
and then we can go upstairs to eat.