2002-09-05
Good Morning Faithful Ones,
As I am led to continue on the subject of just how much the truthmatters to God, we will take a look a the story of Ananias and Sapphira from AC4: 32-5:11. God has given us specific ways we can avoid seduction away from the truth in the areas of 1) unqualified leadership of churches or families; 2) apostate doctrine, such as that practiced by cults and certain sects; 3) gossip; and 4) refusal for respect reasonable boundaries in relationships. Today, we will look at 5) greed and other sin breeding lies.
The context of the story of Ananias and Sapphira is in the early church during the time of a social experiment. Hearts of the believers were burning with love for Christ and for each other. This manifested itself in giving freely to the community as they practiced their common life in Christ. The leaders of the community were responsible for meting out land, goods, food, etc. that were given based on need. The division was not arbitrary or equal, as it was later theorized to be in a communist economic system. Houses and land were sold, and the proceeds given to the apostles for distribution to those in need. AC 4: 32-33 shows that there is a great mysterious power connected with the lives of people totally dedicated to the Lord. "The group of believers was one in mind and heart. No one said that any of his belongings was his own, but they all shared with one another everything they had. With great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and God poured rich blessings on them all." It seems that when God finds people willing to give all they have, He grants them powerful and attractively forceful testimonies. That is exactly what was needed to increase the numbers of the faithful quickly in those early days of the church. We know from later accounts that this social system failed economically and reverted back to a more familiar one. That would explain why Paul ended up taking money from the grateful Macedonians to Jerusalem for early Christians who were in great need of it [RO 15: 26].
It was during this period of sharing possessions that the events of the story of Ananias and Sapphira unfold. AC 4: 36-37, "And so it was that Joseph, a Levite born in Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabus (which means 'One Who Encourages'), sold a field he owned, brought the money, and turned it over to the apostles." At that same time Ananias also sold some property that had belonged to him. While Barnabus had turned over all the proceeds from his land sale, Ananias, with his wife, Sapphira's, agreement, kept some of the money from his sale-not turning it all over to the apostles. Peter figured out what had happened and asked Ananais in AC 5: 4 why he did this, stating "You have not lied to men-you have lied to God!" AC 5 :5, "As soon as Ananias heard this, he fell down dead; and all who heard about it were terrified. Three hours later, Sapphira came in not knowing what had happened. Peter asked her in (8), "Tell me, was this the full amount you and your husband received for your property?" When Sapphira answered in the affirmative lying, Peter asked her in (9), "Why did you and your husband decide to put the Lord's Spirit to the test? The men who buried your husband are at the door right now, and they will carry you out too!" She, too, fell dead, demonstrating the truth of Peter's words. Sapphira was buried beside her husband, and the whole early church community who heard about this was terrified (10-11).
It is significant that we are given the contrast between Baranabus, "One Who Encourages" with Ananias, who could certainly be considered one of the "son's of disobedience" referred to in JN 8: 44. Satan's role in this incident is clear. He leads this couple to greed and to lying to cover it up. Their fate for being vulnerable to Satan is death. In this case, it is not only physical death, but spiritual death as well. That's Satan's goal, and we must not allow ourselves to be vulnerable to his temptation. Note also the same issue of testing God comes up in this story, which came up in MT 4: 7, when Christ cites DT 6: 16 to Satan who was tempting Him in the wilderness. I recently heard a stock market analyst say on TV that he believed that people who are caught engaging in insider trading usually face larger penalties than their original crime would bear, because of their attempts to cover up what they did. The political fate of President Richard Nixon would fall into this category as well. Peter and the other apostles of his time possessed special miraculous powers given to them by God. Peter's ability to pronounce judgment on this couple is an example of that. Another example is Paul's ability to deliver and offending Christian over to Satan in 1 COR 5: 5. There is no reason to believe that this special miraculous power continued after the time of the early apostles. The real lesson of this story for us is seeing the mechanism by which Satan tempts the human mind to greed, which leads to the telling of lies. We can and should examine our own lives today to see if any of that is a part of them. God has lessons for us on this subject going on all around us. We should look for them.
PRAYER: O Lord, You want each of us to wake up to the materialism and greed in today's society. Shocking cases of greed and its evil consequences involving famous companies and people are coming into our homes every day. The school of thought which teaches the "bottom line" is all that matters in the business schools has brought lack of ethics, loss of jobs, diminishing productivity, problems with the stock market, investor losses, lack of consumer and investor confidence into the world's economy. We are beginning to see the results of altered bookkeeping to cover up losses, long-time loyal employees losing their pensions and unable to retire, companies turning away experienced employees to be replaced with younger MBA's who are not ready for the responsibilities they are being given, and downright unethical business practices. In some cases, companies like Enron, Global Crossing, Arthur Anderson, etc. are failing. Others which have been making poor management decisions are in deep trouble and are going into chapter 11. It has been necessary to pass legislation allowing the arrest and incarceration of CEO's and upper level managers who try to walk away with the company's assets, along with the right to confiscate their property. How different is this from the example of Ananias and Sapphira? Dearest Abba, we come to You today to acknowledge the lessons You are teaching us. If faith is strong, then Satan cannot establish the stronghold of greed leading to lies in our lives. We must remember that greed is a form of idolatry, the sin You hate the most. Paul says in 1 COR 10:14, "So then, my dear friends, keep away from worship of idols." We recognize and respect the words of PS 97: 7, "Everyone who worships idols is put to shame; all the gods bow down before the Lord." Today, we humbly approach You to confess our sins and to offer Your our heartfelt adoration, worship, loyalty, honor, glory, trust, obedience, praise, and thanksgiving for Your continuing and faithful presence in our lives. In Christ's name, amen.
I am led in tomorrow's message to finish the topic of "truth matters" and to begin a new segment on righteousness. We must remember that a lifestyle of sin leads to negative consequences. This must be so, because God would otherwise not be able to demonstrate His righteousness [RO 3: 26]. If we imagine what it would be like if God were not consistently faithful and righteous, we would realize the chaos that would ensue from that. But, we can depend on our Abba to be a loving, just, compassionate, and righteous Covenant Partner at all times. That is one of the ways He shows us how profound His love for His children is. Because of this, we have a model for how to please God in Christ, a Deity to Whom we can turn in times of needing guidance or trouble, and the Holy Spirit Who is there to help us understand God's word. What precious blessings these are! They are not to be taken lightly. Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn