Acts 5

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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Acts 3-4

Acts 3 – The Ministering Church

In Acts 3 Peter heals the crippled beggar.  There are physical healings that point to Christ’s spiritual healing of a person.  (1) Rom. 10:17 – Faith comes from hearing the word.  Peter healed the crippled man in the name of Jesus. (2) Acts 3:2 – The man was helpless to change himself.  Without Christ, God calls us all “dead in trespasses and sins”.  (3) Eph. 2:8 - by grace you are saved.  God healed the man through His grace. (4) John 10:10b – “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full”.

At three in the afternoon Peter and John were going to the temple to pray.  Three in the afternoon or the ninth hour was probably a special significance to them because this was the hour when Jesus cried out from the cross, “It is finished” in John 19:30.  On the way they saw a beggar who asked for money.  They didn’t ignore him like most people would, but looked straight at him.  Peter said, “Look at us!”  - Acts 3:4.  Then Peter told him he had no money, but that he had something better.  The Holy Spirit prompted Peter and God gave Peter supernatural ability to trust Him.   He simple spoke and told him in the name of Jesus, “walk”.  Peter took his hand and helped the beggar up and he began to walk. 

Compare Peter’s healing miracle with today’s so called healers.  The healers today usually put on a fraudulent show and they do it for money.  This gift was given to the apostles following Pentecost.  These miracles were getting the attention of the same crowd who crucified Christ.  They were hearing the gospel, repenting and receiving the gift of salvation from the very one they crucified.  This healing of the Holy Spirit got their attention and validated the power of God giving authority to the message that would follow.  Healing power is available to Christians today by the power the Holy Spirit through prayer.

The man followed Peter into the temple and shouted with joy praising God and telling everyone what God had done.  The name of Jesus is powerful!  Acts 3:15 – He is the author of life.  Acts 3:16 – His name heals.  Acts 4:12 – “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:30 – miraculous signs and wonders are performed through His name.   

As people heard the man telling his story, a crowd quickly assembled.  Peter took advantage of the moment to share the gospel.  They were the ones who disowned and rejected Him.  They handed Jesus over to be killed.  He said “you killed the author of life, but God raised Him from the dead.” – Acts 3:15.  He told them this was God’s plan to let Him be crucified because it was the only way to save sinners. 

Yes, it was God’s plan that Jesus die on the cross.  You can’t sin in such a way that God hasn’t prepared for it.  There’s no sin that Jesus didn’t take care of on the cross.  Peter told them they were personally responsible for Jesus’ slaughter.  If He can forgive that, He can forgive anything.  Nothing is impossible for God.

The healings done in the Bible are not only physical but point to Jesus’ spiritual healing.  The man was helpless to heal himself.  We can’t help ourselves.  Only Jesus can help us.  God helps those who have no hope in helping themselves.  That is the message of the Bible.

  

John 10:10  - “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

Rom. 10:17 – “Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.”

Eph. 2:5 – “when we were dead in transgressions – it is by grace you have been saved.” 

Eph. 2:8 – “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.”

Are you a believer, yet living in a helpless way?  The beggar’s healing in a picture of the spiritual life.  God is able and willing to transform your life.  All you have to do is truly believe and trust Him.  Give Him time in personal Bible study, prayer and obedience.  Depend on His strength.  He will give you the power to change your thoughts and actions.

When Peter saw how the crowd reacted, he asked them why they were surprised.  Jesus had healed all kinds of people and it shouldn’t seem strange that He is healing from heaven.  He made it clear that he was speaking about the God of Israel.  Peter wasn’t afraid to confront them in boldness.  He said they had handed Him over to be killed and you killed Him.  “You killed the author of life” – Acts 3:15.

But Peter offered them hope.  He told them to repent and turn to God so their sins would be wiped away.  In the same way we have hope.  Acknowledge your sins, repent, believe and trust in Jesus and you will be saved.  Then your sins will be forgiven and erased from your record.

Principle:  Jesus is the author of life.

Acts 4 – Persecution Begins

Peter and John were arrested by the Sanhedrin, because they were teaching and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead.  The rulers saw their courage and that they were just ordinary men – uneducated, but knew the scriptures.  They knew they had been with Jesus and they saw the proof of the man who was healed.  The rulers knew there was nothing they could do since the apostles had done nothing against the law.  So they ordered the apostles to stop teaching the people and warned them to not speak in Jesus’ name.  But Peter and John said, “For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:20)  God allowed this opposition in order to unite the apostles and deepen their roots in Christ.

Will you ask God to give you a firm conviction that Jesus is the only way?

Do you share your salvation with others?

If you are not, what is keeping you from it?

The central message that Peter and John proclaimed is in Acts 4:12 – “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”

The apostles returned to their own people.  They prayed to God who has all power and authority over all (Acts 4:24), prayed using the promises and prophecies of Scripture (Psalm 2) as a basis for prayer in the will of God (Acts 4:25-28), and asked for more boldness to witness and more power to help others (Acts 4:29-30).  God answered by power (Acts 4:31) with an outward sign of an earthquake.

Notice how they prayed.  First they acknowledged who God is, that He is sovereign and Creator.  They asked that He enable them to speak with boldness.  They asked that God heal and perform miraculous sings and wonders.  Does this make you think about how you should pray?

Again all the believers were one in heart and mind.  They shared everything they had.  There were no needy persons among them.  They often sold their properties and gave the money to the apostles to be distributed to anyone in need.

Principle:  God gives His people power to speak boldly about Jesus.

Join me here next week for our study of the book of Acts.  --  I encourage you to trust in Jesus.

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Acts 2

Acts 2:1-13 –Holy Spirit at Pentecost

The meaning of Pentecost is the number 50 and the Pentecost Festival is 50 days after the annual Passover.  On that first Pentecost day the Holy Spirit came to all believers in the form of 2 outward signs:  1. A sound like blowing of a violent wind and 2. What seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.  Then each began to speak in a language that everyone understood in their own language. 

Who is the Holy Spirit?  The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Jesus (Rom. 8:9).  Jesus gave the disciples His very breath of life and their part was simply to receive Him.  The Holy Spirit is a person who comes to dwell within the Christian.  He pours out God’s love, counsels, directs and guides the believer (Acts 13:2, 16:7).  He teaches, gives understanding and pours out emotions of love, joy, and peace (John 14:26-27).  He empowers for a task, comforts in bereavement and trouble (2 Cor. 12:9; John 14:16).  When a person chooses to believe in Jesus as Lord, he receives the Holy Spirit.  He is then sealed by the Holy Spirit until the day of redemption, the resurrection of the body (Eph. 1:13-14).  The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity and is God in every way.  Jesus calls Him the Comforter.  The Holy Spirit empowers, purifies, and unifies all believers. 

The Holy Spirit came to people before Pentecost, but only for a limited period of time for special work.  At Pentecost the Holy Spirit came to all who believed.  Now the Holy Spirit come when you first accept Jesus and become a believer. 

This was not the first time the Holy Spirit came in such a miraculous way.  In Genesis 11 the Holy Spirit came and confused the peoples’ language so they were not able to understand each other.  In Acts 2 it was the opposite.  The Holy Spirit rested on them in their own language so they would understand each other.  This shows the power of the Holy Spirit and that He can do anything.  I think this gave the disciples much confidence for their mission to come.

The miracle of the people speaking in different languages was a special miracle to demonstrate God’s purpose in taking the gospel to all the nations.  It enabled the church to be launched in all of these places when these men returned to their homes.  God’s good news is for all the nations.  Jesus purchased for God with His blood men from every tribe and every nation.

Jesus sent us His Holy Spirit whose power is beyond human abilities and guides us toward God.  The Spirit helps us understand the Word, know the heart of God, empowers us for ministry, comforts us, makes us holy and seals us in Christ guarantying us that we are His.  We grieve the Holy Spirit when we sin and ignore the truth He shows us.  The deepest longing of the Spirit is to glorify Jesus Christ.  What is your deepest longing?

When you are filled with the Holy Spirit, you are emptied of self and now submit to God.  Now God is in control of your life.  Now you know your suffering has a purpose.  We can’t rely on our own righteousness, but on His perfect righteousness.

Principle:  God gives the Holy Spirit to all who believe in Jesus.

Acts 2:14-41 – Peter’s Sermon

Peter was impulsive, ambitious, fearful and experienced brokenness.  Before Jesus’ arrest he was afraid and denied that he knew Jesus.  Now Peter was a changed man.  He began to preach in a bold way preaching unity of faith as he stood up with the 11 disciples and addressed the crowd proclaiming the gospel and the resurrection.  There’s strength in numbers.  By standing together this made them stronger and more courageous.   When we stand together against evil and stand up for God’s truth, we too are stronger.

All the apostles stood together with Peter as Peter spoke to the crowd about “the last days” as described by the prophet Joel.  He said we are now in the last days before Jesus returns.  He will pour out His spirit on all believers – they will prophesy, see visions and dreams, he will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below.  Before the coming of the great and glorious “day of the Lord”, the sun will turn to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord (17-20). 

The phrase "the day of the Lord," refers to the end of time, when Jesus returns at Armageddon to bring justice to the world and defeat evil once and for all.

Peter didn’t know how soon God’s judgments would take place nor do we.  He is saying that these things would proceed the “day of the Lord”.  The prophecy had begun with the evidence by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the rest will come to pass in God’s timing. 

We see God’s great mercy in Acts 2:21.  He offers to those who deserve His judgment a means of escape.  “And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”  

Peter described the life of Jesus on earth as a man accredited by God to do miraculous wonders and signs.  He described the death of Jesus as being handed over to the people by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge and put to death by nailing Him to the cross.  He described Jesus’ resurrection as God raising Him freeing Him from the agony of death because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on Him. 

He held the crowd responsible because they rejected and betrayed Jesus.  He said “you nailed Him to the cross by the hands of lawless men and put Him to death.”  God used evil men to accomplish His purpose, but those evil men were responsible for their crime and can’t blame God for their sin.  The real point of the sermon – God sent His messiah, but Israel rejected Him.

Peter told them God raised Jesus to life and they were witnesses of the fact.  Now He sits on right hand of God and God will make His enemies His footstool for His feet.

When the people heard all Peter had to say, they asked, “What shall we do”, because they had guilt and sorrow for what they had done.  The Holy Spirit stabbed them with conviction of their terrible sin.  Peter said to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.  There was only 1 relief and that was to repent.  They were to change their lives and turn to God and accept the Holy Spirit.  They were convicted by the Holy Spirit and about 3,000 accepted his message, believed, and were baptized. 

Peter was not only speaking to the crowd, but speaking to us.  Repentance is not an option for salvation.  To repent is to change direction in your life.  It’s turning away from a sinful and a godless way life.  Repentance and faith go hand in hand.  Salvation is a personal choice.  Everyone must decide for themselves.

There are 3 steps to repentance.

            Conviction of sin

            Sorry for the sin

            Conversion – turn away from sin and turn to God.

Being baptized is the dipping or immersing in water.  It doesn’t provide forgiveness of sin.  Only repentance brings forgiveness.  Baptism is an outward sign and application of a new life in Jesus Christ.  It identifies us with Christ and is a witness to others.

Principle:  Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

Have you repented?

Are you filled with the Holy Spirit?

How are you allowing the Holy Spirit to use you to bring others to Jesus?

Acts 2:42-47 – Unity of Believers

All those that believed devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching.  They met daily together in the temple, they sold possession and gave to anyone who had a need, they ate in each other’s homes and praised God.  They prayed and broke bread together which today is called Holy Communion or the Lord Supper.

These believers were Spirit filled and participated in a devoted community to Christ.  This is the example of a healthy church.  No church is perfect this side of heaven.  But God will use us to glorify Himself as we continually devote ourselves to Him through His Word and as we devote ourselves to the fellowship of His people and to His work in the world. 

Are you maturing in the Christian life as the early believers did?

How does devotion to Him compare to your job, hobby, family, etc.?

Principle:  A healthy church is marked by continual devotion to His work and to His people.

Join me here next week for our next study of the book of Acts.  --  I encourage you to trust in Jesus.

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