Acts 5:1-11 – The Deception
There were
problems in the early church just as there are problems in our churches
today. There was sin, legalism and
persecution. Some sins we are told about
are that of Ananias and his wife Sapphira.
They sold a piece of property and decided to donate a portion of the
money, but they lied to the apostles telling them they gave all of the
profit. It’s not uncommon for some to try
to look holy for personal gain. Ananias
and Sapphira certainly wanted to look holy.
They were hypocrites. They should
have been honest about the sale. Peter was
given supernatural knowledge of what they had done. He told them they lied to the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:3).
They lied not to men, but to God (Acts 5:4). When Ananias heard
this, he fell dead. Later Sapphira also
lied and she fell dead. They paid the
price of their lies with their death.
Their greed was
based on pride, deceit, and selfishness.
Death is the consequence of sin.
This shows me that the Holy Spirit knows all and we cannot hide anything
from God. Also it teaches God does not
tolerate sin. This may appear to be a
harsh judgment, but they could not live in the atmosphere of purity that marked
the church at that time. They may have
been in such shock that their sin was exposed that they had heart attacks. It’s impossible to say that they did or did
not go to heaven. Only God knows. We do know true Christians don’t lose their
salvation by sinning, because we all sin daily.
The difference is we don’t let sin rule our lives.
We learn from
this passage that there are two kinds of people in the church and it’s
sometimes impossible to tell them from the outside. We may be able to get away with sin for a
while, but it will catch up with us. We
learn that we can hide nothing from God.
He knows all even the secrets of our hearts. We learn that sin is a deadly serious matter
to God.
Many Christians’
fear in not the sinning itself, but in being found out. When we as Christians act this way, it may
cost someone else their salvation. It
can turn them away from Christ - not toward Him. Note:
In verse 11 the word church is used for the first time.
How does your
life demonstrate pride, deceit or selfishness?
Principle: Nothing
can be hidden from God.
Acts 5:12-16 – The Healings
The apostles
continued performing many signs and wonders and the church began to grow. All the believers met together in Solomon’s
Colonnade. (Solomon’s Colonnade was also
known as Solomon’s Porch. It was located
on the eastern side of the Temple’s Outer Court in Jerusalem.) Some of the people were too afraid to meet
with them, but more and more people believed and were saved. People brought their sick and those tormented
by evil spirits and all of them were healed.
Acts 5:17-42 – The Consequences
The high priest
and his associates were filled with jealousy and the apostles were persecuted
for their teachings and healings. They
were arrested and put in jail, but during the night an angel of the Lord opened
the doors of the jail and brought them out.
They again went to the temple and preached to the people. They were questioned by the Sanhedrin and
gave strict orders not to preach. Peter
and the other apostles said, “We must obey God rather
than men!” – Acts 5:29. This infuriated the religious leaders and
they wanted to put the apostles to death, but a Pharisee named Gamaliel
convinced them not to take such drastic measures. So the apostles were flogged and ordered
again not to speak in the name of Jesus.
The religious
leaders ignored the clear signs of the power of God. They ignored that jail doors were
locked. They ignored the teachings of
the apostles. They ignored the apostles
as eye witnesses. The persecution didn’t
stop the apostles. If anything, it made
them bolder and more courageous to spread the gospel.
There was
persecution of Christians in the early church and it is the same today. Christians are persecuted all around the
world for their faith. This persecution
added to the perseverance of the church, because the church belongs to God and He
will let nothing destroy it.
The apostles continued
teaching in the temple and going from house to house. They never stopped teaching and proclaiming
the good news that Jesus is the Christ.
Do you obey
God or do you worry about what others will think of you?
What’s
keeping you from sharing the gospel?
Principles: We
must obey God rather than men.
Join me here
next week for our next study in the book of Acts. -- I
encourage you to trust in Jesus.
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