Acts 4:32-5:11

Today we will begin in Acts 4:32

First, however, I want us to just recall a couple of things about what you probably learned last week. And really, it is not so much what you may have learned as, I sincerely hope, what the Word has reinforced.

The early church grew and increased in numbers through the proclamation of the Gospel, and the Gospel consisted in the truth of the Person of Jesus Christ. In Acts 4:12 Peter informs the Sanhedrin that salvation lies in the name of Jesus alone! Brothers and sistes, a church that foregoes this one truth is no church at all. Remember always that salvation does not lie in the name of Mohammed, nor does it lie in the supposed infallibility of the Bishop of Rome; and certainly it does not lie in any work that we might accomplish. No, and in this I know that I preach to the choir, salvation lies only in the name of Jesus Christ. This is a supernatural thing and not a natural thing. By this I mean that I can teach and proclaim the name of Christ until I lose my voice and my abilities will in no way convince anyone to repent. On the other hand, the power inherent in Christ is able to soften the hardest of hearts and convince the most doubtful of men and women.

The other thing of importance is that teaching found in Acts 4:19-20; which is so similar to Acts 5:29. Remember that the Apostles have been ordered to preach no more in the name of Jesus. They refuse and make the comment that God’s commands are far more important than those of mere men, no matter how powerful those men think they are. Likewise, brothers and sisters, this Word that we hold, for which our brethren in other parts of the world die, should be worthy of our defense. Think about it; and think about it in repentance if this applies to you…how many of us have our Bibles gathering dust? How many books or magazines do we read in one week as opposed to the Bible? And yet this is the book written FOR US by men who were inspired to do so by the Holy Spirit!! And why was it written? That we may know the commands of our Master and do them. Brothers and sisters, we cannot know how to obey God if we do not have His Word before us…therefore if we also are to obey God rather than man…then we’d better know what our God commands!!

So then I pray that these are thoughts and musings that you interact with every day…that daily battle in which we die to self…

Read Acts 4:32-37

Note and stand in awe of this early church. I have in the past and even now longed for a time when the church of our day was a mirror of this church recorded for us in this book. I have often wondered why it is not so.

The answer, I believe, to why the church today so little resembles this one we read about is that we are not “of one heart and one soul.” We live in a time when the individual is sacred and the desire for what satisfies ME is paramount. We don’t think communally. And even this is due to the fact that while we strive to be obedient to our God we fail to do it in full confidence. In other words, we KNOW what the Bible says, too often because we’ve been told and not because we’ve read it…but even when we’ve read it…obedience comes slowly because we have fear of man in our hearts rather than fear of God.

We fail to live the victorious life because rather than desire and hunger to live righteously for God we care too much what our neighbors, our friends, and our families think of us! And I believe that a major cause of this has been the idea popular in too many churches that the Lordship of Christ is something separate from salvation in Christ! Pray a prayer, mouth some words and you’ve purchased your ticket…now you can live like a heathen because salvation is assured! But brothers and sisters, assurance of salvation, eternal security, whatever you want to call it…it is for the Believer…and the Believer does not take lightly the Lordship of Christ. For us to be Christians means He is our Lord and we are His servants…

But as you well know, I can go on and on with this theme…

I was reading J Vernon McGee’s commentary on this passage and he said the following:
“This kind of living [would lead to] utter chaos. Why? Because there must first be the same high spiritual level, and we don’t have that today. Let us be honest and face up to it. We need to come into a closer relationship to the person of Jesus Christ.”

What this late brother was saying is that the church today lacks the fervor and zeal for the name of Christ that the early church had…and this is not to say that some do not have it today nor that all had it then, as we’ll see in just a bit. What it means is that as a whole, the church back then sought to be obedient far more than, as a whole, the church does today.

Note now verses 36-37.

Barnabas is here introduced and it is in relation to what his zeal for the Lord has led him to do. This not only tells us what kind of man Barnabas was but also sets the stage for the events of chapter 5.

Read Acts 5:1-11

We have seen that the early church was full of zeal…and yet even here we see an example of sin in the church.

All of you are fully aware, of course, that this couple did not die because they did not give all of their money, but for lying about it. They could have given what they did and simply said that was how much they had given.

In fact, as Peter says to Ananias, the money was his to do with as he pleased. But what this couple wanted was to receive the adulation of their brethren! Similar to the Pharisees who loudly proclaimed how much they were giving…the piety expressed by Ananias and Sapphira was self serving and not genuine.

Realize this: Whatever we do in service of God, we must do it regardless of whether anyone other than God will notice us doing it!

Another thing on this issue I’d like to touch on is the fact that nobody was under obligation to give all or part of what they made. I realize that I stand in the minority…but I do not believe that a tithe is a requirement for those of us under grace. Does this mean we should not give? Far from it!

Remember that nobody in the church was required to give anything…that people gave was a testimony to their desire to give to the work of the Lord and is a testimony of their love for God.

I say that each should give according to how the Lord leads you to do so. And be perfectly honest…the Lord often leads us to give far more than a mere 10% of their income. The testimony of the early church declares the truth that many gave everything they had!!!

J Vernon McGee writes the following:
“I don’t like to have people sing the song that talks about putting “my all” on the altar. Unfortunately, that makes liars out of the people who are singing. We need to be very careful about the songs we sing. A vow to the Lord should never be made lightly.”

In other words, brothers and sisters, give as you are led to give and as you vow to give. But really, being under grace so very often leads people to give far more than they would otherwise give. Take as an example the story of the widow and her two mites (found in Luke 21 and Mark 12:41-44) Do you remember it? [discuss and talk about the banner “Equal sacrifice-unequal giving”]

Note the importance of verses 3-4)

“But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit…” To whom does Peter say Ananias lied? The Holy Spirit.

Verse 4)

“…You have not lied to men but to God”

The only reason I bring this up is because here lies a clear refutation of the idea that the Holy Spirit is NOT God. The Jehovah’s Witnesses claim that the Spirit is merely a force…the aura of God if you will…but the Word tells us that the Holy Spirit is a Person…that He is the third member of the Triune God…that He is God. So understand this: The Father is God…The Son is God…and the Holy Spirit is God.

Let me ask you a question.

Who killed Ananias and Sapphira?

God did.

Do we then, attribute unto God the charge of murder?

God Forbid!!

The Lord did no wrong in striking down this couple…no more than He would be guilty of a crime were He to strike anyone in this room right now.

This is a hard thing for some of us to take in…that God would strike people dead…yet as with all other things, God is the Sovereign of lives. The Lord gives…and the Lord takes away…and our ONLY response to this should be “blessed be the name of the Lord.” I will not say it is an easy thing to do…nor will I say I am confident of such a response on my part were the Lord to call Joy or my children home…nevertheless, it is how we MUST respond.

[share the story of how the hymn “It is well with my soul” came to be]

Since I have been referring to J Vernon McGee so much…I will end today’s lesson with some more thoughts from him.

He refers to this incident and stands amazed that such was the high calling of the early church that such lies could not be permitted. God killed two who professed Him as Lord for lying to Him…for doing that which they should have known they could not do.

In our church today…hypocrites and liars fill our congregations. And I do not refer here to all of us who struggle with particular sins…but to those who pretend to be what they are not and yet hold positions of leadership in our churches…who often teach in our churches…McGee says the following:
“Today the worst kinds of hypocrites can get into our Bible churches. They are not good at coming to Bible studies…but they can hold offices and even run the church. If those who lied to God in our churches were to drop down dead, we would have a lot of funerals.”

Convicting words, are they not? Brothers and sisters…I stand before you to tell you today that I am as guilty of this as anyone else. I too desire to be liked…but I make you a promise that I know Brother David would also make. I will always teach from the Word of God...always. The day I am told that I may not use this beautiful book is the day I stop teaching within the church that tells me to stop. I will never shy away from what the Lord has taught me…I cannot tell you how often I have been nervous about lessons I was to bring before you…knowing that someone would be upset with me because I taught on doctrine they disagreed with…but I pray that God never permits me to back down for fear of offending ANYONE.

Why do I tell you this? Because I want to be plain and honest before you. I don’t want to be a hypocrite. I ask and beg that if you ever have reason to rebuke me that you do so. But do so in a loving way and not behind my back!! And in what manner must you rebuke me in order for me not to dismiss you out of hand?

With the Word of God and the relevant passages in your hand…Amen?

End with prayer.