Lying to the Holy Spirit

Following her birth and initial growth, persecution did not threaten the church in her infancy. On the contrary, opposition helped her to be in "one heart and one soul" (Acts 4:32). Consequently, the church was not only unified spiritually but also materially. They helped one another to such a degree that "there was not a needy person among them" (Acts 4:34). One example displaying such oneness was Barnabas. Motivated by his love for others, Barnabas sold a piece of land and gave all the proceeds to the church ("laid it at the apostles' feet" indicating he put it under their authority as Christ's representatives for the use in the church). His selfless act of generosity must have earned him the respect and admiration of the church. 

Nevertheless, a sin, so dangerous, threatened this oneness of the church. Coming on the heel of Barnabas' act of generosity, Luke records an antithetical example contrasting that of Barnabas with that of Ananias and Sapphira. Like Barnabas, Ananias and Sapphira sold a piece of land except they pretended to give all the proceeds to the church when they had held a portion of the price to themselves. Their sin was such a threat to the health of the church that they were immediately struck dead by God. What was their egregious sin that warranted such extreme measures? It was merely that Ananias and Sapphira misrepresented themselves before the church. That's it! 

Some have compared their sin to that of Achan (Joshua 7) who took things from the conquest after God had told them not to. However, there is a crucial distinction between Achan's sin and that of Ananias and Sapphira: the latter were under no obligation to give the entire proceeds to the church. The sharing in the early church was not compulsory (i.e., a form of Christian Socialism) as it is clear in the Apostle Peter's response (cf. Acts 5:4). The two rhetorical questions at the beginning of verse 4 are assertions that Ananias and his wife did not have to sell the land nor did they have to give any portion of the proceeds after its sale. They had the option to keep the land or sell it, to give all, some, or none of the proceeds. Thus, their premeditated act was motivated by the desire to appear more generous than they truly are. Their desire for human praise was more consequential in their life than faithfulness to God and His people.

The lie to the Apostles was considered a lie to the Holy Spirit Himself. Therefore, the Apostle Peter accused them of conspiring "to put the Spirit of the Lord to the test", namely, to see how much they can get away with before they are judged by the Spirit (Acts 4:9). Ananias and Sapphira presumed on God by testing the limits of His mercy in direct violation to Scripture (cf. Deut. 6:16; Matt. 4:7). Although their deception was instigated by Satan, they bore all the blame. 

Although this unique judgment at a crucial time in the life of the church is an atypical instantaneous judgment of God, consider how many times you may have represented yourself as more righteousness than you really are! Would you consider your misrepresentation so dangerous to the life of the church to deserve immediate punishment by God? That is a frightful thought that should give us pause the next time we consider misrepresenting ourselves before the Body of Christ. Perhaps nothing is more egregious than claiming to be a Christian by being ashamed of the name of Christ in the face of difficulty, something that is not often tested here in America yet.

A story, however, is told of a church gathering behind the Iron Curtain of what used to be the USSR. Just before the meeting was about to start, four masked commandos propelled down from the ceiling and threatened to kill anyone left in the room who confesses Jesus Christ. After almost half the people had left, the commandos took off their masks and said, "Pastor, we can worship now that all the hypocrites have left."

Prayerfully consider this: would you have stayed or left?