May 25, 2020
God Sees What We Can't
Acts 5:1–16
Jared Stevens
Central Truth
When we conceal or suppress sin, God sees it.
Key Verse | Acts 5:5
When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard of it.
Acts 5:1–16
Ananias and Sapphira
1 But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, 2 and with his wife's knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and 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 for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? 4 While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but to God.” 5 When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard of it. 6 The young men rose and wrapped him up and carried him out and buried him.
7 After an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8 And Peter said to her, “Tell me whether you 1 5:8 The Greek for you is plural here sold the land for so much.” And she said, “Yes, for so much.” 9 But Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.” 10 Immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. When the young men came in they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11 And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things.
Many Signs and Wonders Done
12 Now many signs and wonders were regularly done among the people by the hands of the apostles. And they were all together in Solomon's Portico. 13 None of the rest dared join them, but the people held them in high esteem. 14 And more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, 15 so that they even carried out the sick into the streets and laid them on cots and mats, that as Peter came by at least his shadow might fall on some of them. 16 The people also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all healed.
Dive Deeper | Acts 5:1–16
You know that feeling? You get to the trash can, dirty paper plate in hand—flip that bad boy over, and you push the trash down as far as it'll go. Whether hosting a house party or a bunch of college kids, we'll do anything to avoid having to take the trash out. Best case: we postpone the chore. Worst case: we compress our trash so much we're either left with a full trash bag lodged semipermanently in the can or an overflowing volcano.
If we take after Ananias and Sapphira, we'll find ourselves doing just that, except with our hearts: stuffing the convictions of the Holy Spirit deep down inside of us over and over again, only to ignore them to our own destruction.
Acts 5:1-11, sandwiched in between two positive descriptions of believers, teaches us about the importance of obedience. All throughout the Old Testament, we learn that God cares deeply about His reputation. He wants the world to know who He really is. He intends for His followers to accurately depict His character as they point the world to Him. Acts 5 takes us a step further as we are reminded that God also cares about the unseen condition of our hearts. When we conceal or repeatedly suppress sin, God sees it—and, eventually, the trash has got to go.
When we read about the consequence imposed upon Ananias and Sapphira, we may find ourselves questioning God's goodness. I know I did. We must persist, though, in reminding ourselves that God always has our best interest at heart. He demonstrates His love for us by intervening in our lives with discipline and correction to return our focus to Him. Ultimately, it would be better to be home in heaven with God in His timing than to continue in sin here on earth in our disobedience. What a great act of mercy!
Remember, my life as a Christ-follower tells others about who my God is. What might my life be telling them?
Discussion Questions
1. What does my life tell others about the Creator of the universe?
2. Am I willing to sacrificially support the local church?
3. Am I listening to and obeying the Spirit's promptings and convictions? Should I be considering re:generation, Watermark's spiritual recovery ministry?