Acts (Part 41) – Act 5:3-5

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Acts (Part 41) – Act 5:3-5

Acts 5:3 – But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?

1. But Peter said, Ananias,
   1. As he makes apparent, Peter knew what Ananias and Sapphira had done before they laid the money at his feet.
   2. It’s possible that word of their scheme had gotten to him before they did.
   3. It’s also possible that, being an apostle, Peter had the gift of knowledge (1Co 12:8) which enabled him to know their secret supernaturally.
2. why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?
   1. Rhetorical questions
      1. This is the first of a series of rhetorical questions which penetrated to the heart of their sin (Act 5:4).
      2. These questions did not require an answer, and God did not give Ananias a chance to respond (Act 5:5).
      3. God has been known to ask powerful, penetrating questions to convict people of sin (Gen 3:9, 11, 13; Gen 4:10).
   2. Satan was behind this sin.
      1. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Peter declared that Satan had filled the heart of Ananias, prompting him to lie to the Holy Ghost about keeping back part of the price of the land.
      2. Satan can possess reprobates and cause them to sin (Joh 6:70-71 c/w Joh 13:2, 27; Luk 22:3-4).
      3. Satan can also possess children of God and cause them to speak and act wickedly (1Ch 21:1-3; Mat 16:22-23).
   3. Lying to the pastor or others in the church is lying to the Holy Ghost, and therefore is lying to God (Act 5:4).
      1. Sins against men are sins against God (Luk 15:21; Psa 51:4).
      2. Never forget who you are really sinning against when you commit an offense against another person.
   4. We will never get away with lying to God.
      1. God hears and sees everything (Pro 15:3).
      2. Nothing can be hidden from Him (Psa 94:7-9; Isa 29:15; Jer 23:24).
      3. God knows the thoughts and intents of the heart, even if they are not vocalized or acted upon (Heb 4:12).
      4. Be sure that your sin will find you out (Num 32:23).

Acts 5:4 – Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.

1. Peter continues with the rhetorical questions.
2. Whiles it remained, was it not thine own?
   1. The obvious answer to this question is: yes, before the land was sold it belonged to Ananias.
   2. Peter is affirming the God-ordained right of private property.
   3. Whoever owns and maintains something controls it and owns the fruit of it (Pro 27:18).
3. and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power?
   1. When a possession is sold for money, the money is under the control of the owner.
   2. He can do whatever he wants with it (Mat 20:15).
   3. The Jerusalem Church was not running some kind of a modern communistic system where all property and goods were commonly owned.
      1. The church members owned their land, money, etc. and had full power over it.
      2. They could choose whether to give part or all of it to the church for the maintenance of the poor, or they could choose to not do so.
4. why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart?
   1. The heart is the seat of thought and intention (Heb 4:12; Mat 9:4; Mat 15:19).
   2. All sin originates with lust which is conceived in the heart and mind before it is acted upon (Jam 1:14-15).
   3. This is why we have to bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ (2Co 10:5).
5. thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.
   1. Though Ananias lied unto men, he ultimately lied to God (see comments on Act 5:3).
   2. This verse, in conjunction with the previous one, proves that the Holy Ghost is God (Act 5:3 c/w Act 5:4; 1Jo 5:7).

Acts 5:5 – And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things.

1. And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost:
   1. Ananias did not respond to the censure.
      1. He might have intentionally held he peace, knowing he was in the wrong and therefore consenting to the condemnation (Lev 10:3; Psa 39:9).
      2. He might not have been given a chance to respond.
         • God knows all things, including the thoughts and intents of the heart (Heb 4:12).
         • We can’t know what’s in other men’s hearts, nor even what’s in our own (Jer 17:9), but God searches the heart and judges a man accordingly (Jer 17:10).
         • Having perfect knowledge of all things, God does not need to give sinners a chance to respond to charges, explain themselves, or defend themselves before He executes judgment.
      3. Either way, God got the last word (Job 40:1-5; Jon 4:11).
   2. Ananias gave up the ghost and died, for the body without the spirit is dead (Jam 2:26).
   3. This may seem like excessive punishment for a relatively minor offense, but consider the following.
      1. “The offense of Ananias and Sapphira, according to the average standard of human morality, was not a very heinous one. They had devoted a large sum to charity, they had defrauded no one, but had simply retained their own and then denied the fact. The following considerations are offered in explanation by Whedon (Com., in loc.): ‘1. The divine Spirit being present with unparalleled power in the Church, the sin, as Peter says (vers. 3, 4), is directly against him. 2. The reason for this selection was to present and record at this beginning of the Christian Church a representative and memorial instance of the just doom of the hypocrite. This couple were deliberate, positive, conceited, and intentionally permanent hypocrites. Their death was God’s declaration to all future ages of the true deserts of all deliberate hypocrites in the Church of Christ.’” (Sapphira, Unger’s Bible Dictionary)
      2. “The apparent undue severity of the punishment meted out upon Ananias and Sapphira is to be explained as ‘a sin unto (physical) death’ (I John 5:16). It was an offense which involved being given over to Satan ‘for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus’ (I Cor. 5:5). The ushering in of a new era at Pentecost necessitated that offenders against divine dealing in grace might be made a public example, as Nadab and Abihu (Lev. 10:1-10) were made a similar warning when they disregarded God’s commands at the beginning of the legal age.” (Ananias, Unger’s Bible Dictionary)
   4. Sentence against an evil work was in this case executed speedily, which would have been a deterrent to doing evil to the rest of the church (Ecc 8:11).
2. and great fear came on all them that heard these things.
   1. Ananias was rebuked before all that others might fear (1Ti 5:20).
   2. This judgment doubtlessly prompted them to serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear, seeing for themselves that our God is a consuming fire (Heb 12:28-29).