Sermon Rewind 3/18/12 - An Authentic Church

Acts 5:1-11
New International Version (NIV)

Ananias and Sapphira

1 Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. 2 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.
3 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? 4 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.”
5 When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened. 6 Then some young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him.
7 About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8 Peter asked her, “Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land?”
“Yes,” she said, “that is the price.”
9 Peter said to her, “How could you conspire to test the Spirit of the Lord? Listen! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.”
10 At that moment she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11 Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events.



Pastor Peter continued the Ekklesia series, extrapolating from Acts 5:1 – 11. The passage sheds light on the first sin to take place in the growing church. Ananias and his wife Sapphira conspired to withhold money from the church and lied to the Apostles about it, and promptly died when they maintained their innocence. Scenarios similar to this one occur in other parts of the Bible – in each case there is coveting and hiding, followed by death. God is harsh with deception because it is destructive and divisive – the exact opposite of his goal to unite all of us as one. Gossiping, talking behind others’ backs, and not confronting are some of the easiest ways to divide. These actions never fix situations. We need to confront and be authentic to build and fix the church. We should call out gossip and encourage direct communication to solve conflicts. Deception divides. Authenticity unites.

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