A Pure Church is a Powerful Church

The book of Acts gives an eyewitness account of serious hypocrisy found within the church of Jerusalem. Despite the Lord’s blessing of adding uncountable numbers of people to this congregation, He still dealt with the problem at hand: Ananias’ and Sapphira’s deception.

A united church

In the previous chapter,?Luke describes this fast-growing church as having unity with one heart and one soul.?This was significant because Christians from different backgrounds and classes were flooding in from the surrounding areas, eager to join and serve the church. Devout Jewish families banished these recent converts, leaving some very poor and destitute.

“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 put it at the apostles’ feet.” (Acts 4:32–36, NIV)

Acts of compassion were the norm for this body of Christian believers.?The scripture says that?they were so in tune with each other that they didn’t consider anything they possessed their own, and all things were common.

The wealthy in the church gave freely to all in need. Nobody suffered for food or clothing. In this spirit of giving, one person stood out and that was Barnabas. Being described as an “encourager,” (Acts 4:36, NIV) he must have been a true delight to be around. An encourager comforts and consoles the oppressed and needy. I imagine that he was well-loved by this congregation.

The problem

But there was a problem. The?church was of one heart and soul except for one couple.?Peter confirms this obstacle when he tells Ananias that “Satan filled his heart” (Acts 5:3, NIV). I think that this husband and wife saw the attention that Barnabas received and they wanted that admiration for themselves. It was jealousy mixed with greed and a lot of deceit and deception.

God’s answer

Peter reminds the couple that they were under no obligation to sell their land and the amount that they gave was entirely voluntary (Acts 5:4, NIV). Instead, they decided to lie to the church and to God by only giving part and claiming that they had given the full.?It was a studied, deliberate, and premeditated hypocrisy.?They were pretending to be what they were not. And the penalty dealt by our Lord was death.

I couldn’t imagine sitting in that congregation that morning. How would you feel if God struck a fellow Christian people down in front of you for hypocrisy, and then you had to go bury them in the parking lot before lunch at Applebee’s? If you are like me, this story will cause you to think about God’s anger towards your own hypocrisy.

“The apostles performed many signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers used to meet together in Solomon’s Colonnade. No one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people. Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number.” (Acts 5:12–15, NIV)

Then, we see that all is well with the church, “And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people; (and they were all with one accord in Solomon’s porch.” (Acts 5:12, KJV). Notice that the congregation is described as being of one accord again. The hypocrites are dead and the unity of the church is restored. However, the people outside the church were fearful and nobody cared to join this church (Acts 5:12, NIV). It’s obvious that they did not know the grace of God, yet God still supplied tremendous growth to this particular body of Christ (Acts 4:14,NIV).

Conclusion

It seems that a pure church is a powerful church.?This is a valuable lesson for the world today. I studied this passage recently for a Sunday morning sermon, which proved to be a introspective time for me to reflect on my personal hypocrisy towards others. Nobody likes to be called a hypocrite, but I am the first to admit that I am both human and a sinner. Often, I find myself going through the motions of ministry, maybe not intently listening to a person’s problem like I should or writing somebody off as not worthy of my time.?But, spending time in God’s word and praying for guidance are the only antidotes that I have found to cure this prevalent human condition.

My hope is that this story of Ananias’ and Saphira’s deceit makes you reflect on the?pure holiness of God,?what he has done for you, and then turn to him to apply it to your daily life.?The lost souls around us are attracted to the Gospel message, but only if it is genuine, sincere faith.