Sermon by Pastor Brent Kompelien
April 21, 2024
INTRO
Good morning! We are in our series in the book of Acts called “To the Ends of the Earth” and we have already seen the early church encounter some opposition. There have been threats from the outside that have tried the keep these early believers from speaking in the name of Jesus. Now we come to a passage where the church faces the internal threat of lies and deceit.
I want to start by making an observation about the book of Acts, and actually about the Bible as a whole.
Here we are at the very beginning of the church, and as Luke the historian records the words and actions of these early believers, he doesn’t hide their flaws or choose to leave out the accounts of their failures and mistakes. Rather, he addresses them head-on.
This is consistent throughout the Bible actually, and is one of the most intriguing features of the Scriptures. When you look at the major characters, except Jesus, you will see their shortcomings and their sin. The Bible doesn’t hide the fact that, apart from God’s saving work, human beings harbor evil in their hearts and all fall short of the glory of God.
The often brutal honesty of the Bible when it comes to the human heart has a purpose: That we would grasp our great need for a Savior! And also that we would examine our hearts and humble ourselves before the Lord and see the wonder of the gospel.
You see, here in Acts, right at the start of the church, we are going to see three central features of the church’s life that describe how these early believers lived out the truth of the gospel in community.
Open with me to Acts 4:32. We will be reading through Acts 5:11 today. This account describes community life in the early church, and then gives a positive example and a negative example of how these early believers lived out the truth of the gospel.
ORG SENT — These three features of the church’s life together that we will examine this morning are generosity, truth, and integrity.
PROP — These features spring from this reality: That receiving the free gift of forgiveness and the indwelling of the Spirit of God through the gospel of Jesus Christ should turn self-centeredness into generosity, lies into truth, and deception into integrity.
Let’s read our text: READ Acts 4:32-5:11.
Again, we are going to look at three themes, or three features of the church’s life together as they live out the truth of the gospel: generosity, truth, and integrity.
MAIN 1 — Generosity (4:32-37). (SLIDE 2)
Before we get into this first feature, this is a good time for us to talk about how to interpret scripture. There is an important interpretive question that arises in passages like this in the Bible: (SLIDE 3) Is this passage descriptive, or is the passage prescriptive? Does it describe an event, or does it prescribe an action that we must do?
In other words, to what degree are descriptions of the early church merely informative, or to what degree are they commanding us to do things the way they did it?
You see, just because the Bible describes an event or a person’s behavior doesn’t mean that the Bible is condoning it or commanding us to do likewise. Just because David slayed a giant doesn’t mean God is telling you to slay your giants. Maybe that’s not the reason that passage is in the Bible.
But on the other hand, there are descriptive events that have moral lessons that we must learn and follow. So, how do we discern the difference between descriptive and prescriptive passages? In the case of Acts 4:32-37, is this merely describing the common life together of the church at this moment in time? Or is it a universal command for churches at all times to do what these early believers were doing?
The key to this question is to identify what is unique about the immediate context, and also to see whether the passage contains any specific commands or imperatives. Let’s use our text this morning as a case study:
What was unique about the context of the early church at this moment? (SLIDE 4)
We know that tens of thousands of people had recently come to Jerusalem for the Pentecost festival, or the Day of Firstfruits. (SLIDE 5) More than 5000 people had come to faith in Christ by this point, and they all likely stayed in the city longer than they originally anticipated because they wanted to learn more about following Christ. Many were far from home, so there was probably a great need for food, clothing, and shelter for these new believers.
We also know that the Jewish leaders had immediately begun persecuting them. (SLIDE 6) And many of these Christians who resided in Jerusalem were likely ostracized by the families or possibly expelled from their workplaces and livelihoods because they believed in Jesus.
In other words: There was an acute issue to address. People had needs due to the large crowds of people coming to faith and due to the persecution they began to experience.
And when you look at the text, nowhere does Luke give a direct command. He is simply describing what is happening with the specific needs of the church in Jerusalem at this moment.
Now, does that mean we are off the hook? Does the fact that this passage is descriptive allow us to close our fists around our possessions and not help others who are in need? Of course not! You see, even descriptive passages paint a picture of the way we should live as Christians.
(SLIDE 7) Every generation of Christians will face unique challenges that require us to practice self-sacrifice and to come alongside one another in tangible ways.
Just like the early church, when persecution ramps up, Christians today will need to be more sacrificial to care for one another.
Someone in our church may lose their job because they refused to do or say something that is unbiblical.
Families will need extra support to raise their kids in a world that is increasingly teaching them things that undermine God’s ways.
There may be legal battles, we may need to choose restraint when it comes to media and smartphones, we will need to help each other navigate the complexity of this world through intense prayer and daily encouragement.
IMPORTANT — This kind of care is a witness to the watching world. As Jesus said in John 13:35, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
KEY: These early believers learned a simple lesson: (SLIDE 8) Caring for each other is an expression of love for God, in response to the gospel, and is a witness to the watching world. This is true for all generations of Christians.
KEY: Here’s what comes through so strongly in this passage: The opportunity meet physical needs is only a fruit of a deeper change in people’s hearts through the gospel. When you are saved by grace, one of the results is that you open your hands.
We have opened our hands to receive God’s free forgiveness.
We open our hands in full surrender to God. Receiving grace makes it possible to extent grace. Freely I’ve received, freely I give.
This means we open our hands to give our very lives for God’s service because our identity and our daily provision and our future is secure in Christ!
This kind of attitude and perspective comes from the oneness we have in the gospel of Jesus Christ. There is a key word at the end of verse 32, and in the original language this word is emphatically placed at the end of the sentence: it is the word “κοινωνία” which means fellowship. (SLIDE 9)
Here’s what this means: helping each other materially is a fruit of a deeper root. The deeper root is fellowship; the oneness in the gospel as brothers and sisters who each have received such a wonderful gift in Christ, sharing in the same forgiveness, the same spiritual renewal, the same adoption in the same family, and sharing in the same inheritance.
KEY: When Luke observes that the church generously gave to meet physical needs, he is observing a result of something, not the start of something.
Christian discipleship is not firstly outward shows of piety.
Rather, it is a (SLIDE 10) heart-transformation that results in generous and sacrificial love.
APPLY — This passage is a good opportunity for a heart-check. We aren’t talking about washing the outside of the cup, as Jesus said in Matthew 23. We aren’t talking about giving so that you feel good about yourself or so that people can be impressed with their piety. We’re talking about heart-change; seeing your whole life as a gift from God to be stewarded and looking for opportunities to bless others. This is why the text now moves on to give an illustration of this.
MAIN 2 — Truth and Integrity (5:1-11). (SLIDE 11)
We will deal with these two features together in 5:1-11.
The last section ended with a positive example as Luke points out Barnabas’ gift.
Now the text moves into a negative example as Luke records the account of Ananias and Sapphira. Let’s go back to what I said at the beginning: Luke doesn’t hide this story. Rather, he addresses it directly and with full transparency. (SLIDE 12) Why?
Here’s why this story is so important: (SLIDE 13) We need to understand that lies and deception are not welcome in the church of the Living God. This family, the family of God, redeemed by Christ’s blood, born again to be new creation, this is a family of truth and integrity, full stop.
You see, Acts 5 is another descriptive account, but with a powerful lesson for every local church in every generation: In the same way that the gospel promotes generous self-giving love for others, so (SLIDE 14) the gospel promotes truth and integrity within the people of God.
When you’ve been fully and freely forgiven by God’s grace in Christ, you don’t need to lie and deceive to posture yourself as worthy or good enough or impressive in the sight of anyone, including God!
Freely you are known in the deepest reaches of your heart, so you can freely tell the truth and live with integrity before the Lord, knowing you are already fully accepted because of Christ.
Let me walk you through this story of Ananias and Sapphira (SLIDE 15) so that we can see how important it is that the church be built on a foundation of truth and integrity. Pick it up in verse 1 of chapter 5.
We see right away in verses 1-2 that Ananias and Sapphira freely sold some property, likely because there was a specific need in the church. Evidently, they had promised to bring the whole profit to the church (SLIDE 16). But then they conspired to keep some of the money for themselves. What was their motivation? Why do this?
ILLUST — Pastor and theologian John Stott describes it this way, (SLIDE 17) “They were not so much misers as thieves and — above all — liars. They wanted the credit and prestige of sacrificial generosity, without the inconvenience of it. So, in order to gain a reputation to which they had no right, they told an outright lie. Their motive in giving was not to relieve the poor, but to boost their own ego. Peter saw in this the subtle activity of Satan behind Ananias’ hypocrisy.”
Verses 3-4 don’t tell us how Peter knew about this deception, he just addresses it publicly and head-on.
He explains that Ananias and Sapphira were under no obligation (SLIDE 18). The land belonged to them before it was sold. After it was sold, the money was theirs to use as they saw fit. They didn’t have to commit it to the church. They didn’t even have to commit all of it. But once they did, they needed to have integrity to follow through.
KEY — So the problem is: lying. (SLIDE 19) Not just lying to human beings, but lying to God!
Peter equates lying to the Holy Spirit (v. 3) with lying to God (v. 4). This elevates the deity of the Holy Spirit.
APPLY: (SLIDE 20) There is no place for lies in the church. There is no place for hypocrisy in the church. There is no place for self-aggrandizing in the church.
Here’s why: If you remember our study of the gospel of John, this is what Jesus said to the hypocritical Pharisees in John 8:44, (SLIDE 21) “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”
Let me be blunt: Lies are not welcome in the church of the Living God because lies are the native language of Satan! By contrast, truth is the language of God! (SLIDE 22, blank)
ILLUST — Anyone know another language? Not many! How many learned a foreign language in school and then forgot it? Most of us!
Why did you forget it? Because you didn’t use it!
APPLY: Friends, may we have integrity to speak the truth, so much so that lies become like a foreign language we never use!
Sapphira had the opportunity to act with integrity and tell the truth. But we see in verses 7-11 that she chose the same path of lies and deception.
This was a missed opportunity. Sapphira could have fessed up, she could have chosen honesty, she could have sought forgiveness and let the gospel shine in this moment.
APPLY — You see, there is a gospel opportunity when you choose to tell the truth. In Christ, we are secure in our forgiveness because of the cross and secure in our identity as God’s child through his grace. Therefore we can honestly admit failure and accept the opportunity to be forgiven and restored, even if it is painful in the short term.
And so Peter confronts her and gives this opportunity, but when she still chooses to lies, Peter tells Sapphira that she is testing the Holy Spirit.
In other words, integrity is something that is ultimately an issue between you and God. And because she chose to continue to lie, she is judged on the spot, just like her husband Ananias.
APPLY
What do we learn from this passage? Let me simply end by summarizing three key lessons for the church:
Falsehood ruins fellowship.
Lies and deceit are poisonous to a church’s life together, and to the witness of the gospel.
KEY: Integrity builds up trust. Lack of integrity breaks down trust. This is a foundational building-block for every church because lies are dangerous to the community and dishonoring to God. A church must be a place of truth, integrity, and accountability.
We must be awake to Satan’s desire to destroy the church from within.
Satan tried to persecute the church from outside in chapters 3-4. He sometimes uses brute force.
Now he tries to erode the integrity of the church from within in chapter 5. He sometimes uses subtle deceptions and hypocrisy.
We shouldn’t be surprised when we see Satan using the same tactics today.
God looks at the heart.
This story is not really about the money; it is about the integrity of our hearts and the oneness of the church as we love sacrificially in response to the gospel.
In this passage, the lie and the lack of integrity was ultimately against God. Ananias and Sapphira made their promise before God, and God knew their heart.
This passage is a challenge for us to examine ourselves, to grasp the gravity of sin, and to realize that honesty and transparency were of ultimate value for the church!