Great fear came over all who heard of these things.

Acts 5 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, ² and kept back some of the price for himself, with his wife’s full knowledge, and bringing a portion of it, he laid it at the apostles’ feet. ³ But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the price of the land? ⁴ While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.” ⁵ And as he heard these words, Ananias fell down and breathed his last; and great fear came over all who heard of it. ⁶ The young men got up and covered him up, and after carrying him out, they buried him.

⁷ Now there elapsed an interval of about three hours, and his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. ⁸ And Peter responded to her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for such and such a price?” And she said, “Yes, that was the price.” ⁹ Then Peter said to her, “Why is it that you have agreed together to put the Spirit of the Lord to the test? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out as well.” ¹⁰ And immediately she fell at his feet and breathed her last, and the young men came in and found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. ¹¹ And great fear came over the whole church, and over all who heard of these things.

¹² At the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were taking place among the people; and they were all with one accord in Solomon’s portico. ¹³ But none of the rest dared to associate with them; however, the people held them in high esteem. ¹⁴ And all the more believers in the Lord, multitudes of men and women, were constantly added to their number, ¹⁵ to such an extent that they even carried the sick out into the streets and laid them on cots and pallets, so that when Peter came by at least his shadow might fall on any one of them. ¹⁶ Also the people from the cities in the vicinity of Jerusalem were coming together, bringing people who were sick or afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all being healed.

Today’s text, in the account of Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, selling property and withholding some of its value, is an example of judgment against sin, even after the cross. The text says:  A man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, and kept back some of the price for himself, with his wife’s full knowledge, and bringing a portion of it, he laid it at the apostles’ feet. But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the price of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.” And as he heard these words, Ananias fell down and breathed his last; and great fear came over all who heard of it.  The fate was the same for Saphira, she too was struck down, not by men, but by the hand of God. I certainly don’t believe, as some do,  that when disasters come upon people it is God’s judgment, but God does not change and He did, He does and will judge sin. Death is not judgment. As Hebrews 9:27 says:  It is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment.  Everyone will die. The judgment against sin is about what happens after our natural death, do we live eternally with God or are we separated from Him by sin. We are not told of the eternal fate of Ananias and Sapphira. The promise of John 3:16 is:  “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”    We cannot and should not judge who believes and who does not.

The sin of Ananias and Sapphira was not that they kept some of the value, but rather that they lied to the Holy Spirit. In Mark 3:28-29, Jesus Himself says:   “Truly I say to you, all sins shall be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they utter; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”   The Holy Spirit is the one who Jesus says: “will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment”  (John 16:8)   Those who believe they can lie to the Holy Spirit no longer feel the conviction for sin. They have believed a lie. 1 John 1:8 says:   If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  We cannot deceive God. We cannot hide our sin from Him. The psalmist understood that. In Psalm 51:3-4 he says: I know my transgressions, And my sin is ever before me. Against You, You only, I have sinned And done what is evil in Your sight, So that You are justified when You speak And blameless when You judge.     In Psalm 139 he says:  O Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar. You scrutinize my path and my lying down, And are intimately acquainted with all my ways. Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, O Lord, You know it all. You have enclosed me behind and before, And laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is too high, I cannot attain to it. Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?

We cannot deceive God or hide our sin from Him. 1 John 1:5-10 says:   This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.   We cannot hide our sins, but through the blood of Jesus we can be forgiven and cleansed of our sins and unrighteousness. We are not forgiven and cleansed that we should continue in sin. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.

In the text, after the death of Ananias and Sapphira,  it says:  And great fear came over the whole church, and over all who heard of these things.   God is gracious, merciful and loving, but He does not change. He does not love sin. Perhaps the story of Ananias and Sapphira should be told more often today. Not that we would fear that God will kill sinners in judgment, but that we would remember that we cannot lie to God and the Holy Spirit, we cannot hide sin. The text does not remain focused on the fear of God. It moves on to the fruit of walking with Him, empowered by, not hiding from the Holy Spirit. It says:  At the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were taking place among the people... And all the more believers in the Lord, multitudes of men and women, were constantly added to their number, to such an extent that they even carried the sick out into the streets and laid them on cots and pallets, so that when Peter came by at least his shadow might fall on any one of them. Also the people from the cities in the vicinity of Jerusalem were coming together, bringing people who were sick or afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all being healed.     Deceit caused Ananias and Sapphira to be carried out. The truth and the Light caused those who were carried in, afflicted, to be healed.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; precious Holy Spirit empower and enable me to walk in the truth that nothing is hidden from You, but that through the cross You do not judge me for my sin. May I live, not in fear as one who has something to hide, but rather in power as one who You have redeemed and restored.   Amen.