Luke has already told us that the believers have formed their own community within the larger community by sharing all their money and possessions with each other. We discussed the reasons why this may have been necessary in the first days of the church and we talked about the fact that no one was forcing the believers to give anything. They did it voluntarily of their own free will. I don't believe, except in very rare cases, that the Lord expects anyone today to sell everything he has and donate it to a religious organization. I would be extremely wary of anyone who tells you that you must.
But in the first days of the early church the practice of mingling funds was workable for a short time. Today we meet a man named Ananias who meets his death for telling a lie about the offering he brings, but first Luke provides us with some commendable examples of unselfishness.
"All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God's grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need. Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means 'son of encouragement'), sold a field he owned and brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet." (Acts 4:32-37)
Luke isn't saying God's grace is poured out on them because they are giving everything they have; he's saying they are giving everything they have because God's grace is poured out on them. There's a tremendous difference. A number of people in modern times have been swindled out of their life savings because a false evangelist has promised them God's grace and blessing if they will give all they have to his or her religious organization. But Luke shows us that the mingling of funds in the early church was not done in order to seek God's grace, but because God's grace had already been poured out on them. When the early Christians came together as a group, those who were well off noted that some of the members were poor and needy. Because they now feel the compassion of Christ toward their fellow man, they can't allow anyone in the group to be in need, so they show the grace of God (which they themselves have received) to their fellow man. They aren't giving in order to receive a reward. They are giving because they love their brothers and sisters in Christ.
Luke makes his first mention of Barnabas, a man who will become a great missionary, who will be a good friend of the Apostle Paul, and who is a cousin to the John Mark who wrote the gospel of Mark. We will be seeing a lot more of him as time goes on, but next we meet a man who is not so godly.
"Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. With his wife's full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles' feet." (Acts 5:1-2) The issue here is not whether Ananias has the right to keep back part of the price. Of course he does. The issue is that he has apparently made a vow to dedicate the entire amount to the growing church, so when he brings the money he claims it represents the entire amount. He is a hypocrite as well as a liar. He cares more for the opinion of man than for the opinion of God. He's observed how respected and admired the other men are who have sold houses or fields and dedicated all the money to the Lord. He wants the same recognition for himself, but he doesn't really want to give the entire amount. He simply wants the credit for giving all of it to the Lord. He holds back part of what he has promised to the Lord because he's holding back part of his heart from the Lord. He's greedy along with being a liar and a hypocrite.
You may recall from our study of Mark that in Old Testament times there was a vow known as corban, which was the practice of promising to dedicate funds to the Lord (to the temple treasury). This vow was irrevocable. The person who made such a vow was, symbolically, tagging the funds with the Lord's name. If he later regretted dedicating these funds to the Lord, he could not take back his vow. The vow of Ananias may be an example of corban, or it could simply be an example of the type of hypocrisy and dishonesty and greed that could not be allowed to take root in the early church.
The Holy Spirit reveals to Peter the deceit in Ananias' heart. Have you ever felt warned by the Holy Spirit about associating with or trusting a certain person or persons? It's important to take heed to such warnings. There have been times I've ignored these warnings to my own regret. If the Holy Spirit warns you about a certain person or a certain situation, it's best to obey Him right away. This is what Peter does. Peter sees through the lie of Ananias and he calls him out on it. "Then Peter said, 'Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? Didn't it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn't the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.'" (Acts 5:3-4)
Peter's words clearly demonstrate that no one was forcibly compelled to give to the church. Ananias didn't have to sell the land at all. He didn't have to give any of the money at all. But he made a public promise to devote the money from the sale to the Lord and he told a public lie that the money in his hand represented the entire amount of the sale. I think when he initially made his vow he fully intended to carry it out, but when the cash fell into his hot little hand he started thinking about what he could do with it. He was seduced by greed. He listened to the whisper of Satan who said, "Why not keep some of this money for yourself? You deserve it. The apostles will never know the difference if you keep back part of it but claim to be giving it all. That way you can have your cake and eat it too. You can spend some of the money on yourself and at the same time you can bask in the admiration of the church."
Satan is always telling us we can have our cake and eat it too. He tells us it's fine to have one foot in the church and one foot in the world. He tells us that devoting our entire hearts to the Lord is going to cause us to miss out on all the fun. He says these things because he is a liar and the father of lies. (John 8:44) There is only One who offers us the abundant life, and He is Jesus Christ the Lord. (John 10:10) The devil would have us think that the Christian life is not real living, but the person who is completely sold out to following Christ is going to have adventures and opportunities and excitement he never even dreamed of.
When the sin of Ananias is exposed a shocking thing happens. "When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened. Then some young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him." (Acts 5:5-6) In the gospels we never find Jesus rebuking sinners who know they are sinners. The only people we find Him rebuking are the hypocrites who refuse to recognize or admit they are sinners. Whether or not Ananias and Sapphira are true Christians I cannot say, but I can say they are hypocrites and hypocrisy is a thing that disgusts the Lord, a thing He finds difficult to tolerate. The early church is too holy to tolerate it as well, so as a warning to all the believers not to allow hypocrisy and greed and dishonesty to creep into the church, the Lord passes swift sentence on Ananias. We ought to be grateful that God doesn't strike us down dead these days for telling a lie in the church or for putting on a front so we can be admired by others. But in the early days of the church it was imperative that the community of believers remain a united and godly group. They are going to need this unity to get through the tough days ahead. If sin is allowed to creep in at this point and gain a foothold, they are not going to be able to endure the persecution that awaits them.
Ananias dies for a lie. He enjoys no admiration from the church members. He spends none of the money he kept back. He accomplishes nothing for the kingdom of Christ. His fate is a lesson to us to be honest with ourselves and honest with the Lord. The Lord has mercy and healing for anyone who comes to Him and openly admits sins and mistakes. A person who is honest is a person God can use. But what can He do with hypocrisy? How can He help a person who won't admit he or she needs help? The Lord knows all our faults: all our petty jealousies, all our bitterness, all our greed and worldly desires. We might as well go ahead and admit them to Him, laying them at His feet, asking Him to transform them into better things, holding nothing back. Such an offering is pleasing to the Lord.
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