A Deadly Lie

Two scenes sit back to back in Acts, and the contrast is hard to ignore. First, a community of believers lives with real unity: one heart, one mind, open hands, and a simple goal of making sure no one among them lacks basic needs. Then, a married couple bring a gift that looks generous on the outside but is built on a lie and the consequences are shocking.

If you’ve ever felt confused or disturbed by Acts 5, you’re not alone, and we slow down long enough to hear what the text is actually saying.

We read Acts 4:32-37 and Acts 5:1-11 and talk through the early church’s radical sharing, the role of leaders in protecting unity, and why Barnabas stands out as “son of encouragement.” From there we face the story of Ananias and Sapphira: not a warning about failing to donate enough, but a warning about fraud, deceit, and performing holiness for status. Peter’s questions make it clear they had choices. What they chose was image over integrity and praise over truth.

We also connect the lesson to everyday Christian life: generosity, service, and "church giving" can become a stage if we’re not careful. 1 Corinthians 13:3 presses the point that God weighs the heart behind the gift, not just the gift itself. If the motive is pride, the sacrifice may impress people while still missing what God desires. The invitation is to do good with love, honesty, and the furtherance of God’s kingdom as the goal.

If this helped you think more clearly about Christian integrity, stewardship, and motives, subscribe, share the episode with a friend, and leave a review so more listeners can find the show.

===

Acts 4:32-37  -  King James Version
32 And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.

33 And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.

34 Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold,

35 And laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.

36 And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus,

37 Having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles' feet.
===
Acts 5:1-11  -  King James Version
5 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession,

2 And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles' feet.

3 But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?

4 Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.

5 And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things.

6 And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him.

7 And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in.

8 And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much.

9 Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out.

10 Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband.

11 And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things.

===

1 Corinthians 13:3 - King James Version
3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.

Buzzsprout - Let's get your podcast launched!
Start for FREE

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Transcript

Welcome And Where To Listen

SPEAKER_00 0:06

Welcome to the Christ Quarter Podcast. Thank you for taking a quarter of an hour out of this day to enjoy the presence of Christ and the words of Christ. Today, let's read a section of Scripture, discuss what it means, and also how it applies to our lives. I hope that God will speak to you through my words and more importantly through his scriptures and will bring you closer to Him. I am blessed and thankful to have this time to speak with you, and I thank you so much for being with me here today. The Christ Quarter is available on Amazon Music. Just ask your smart speaker or app to play the Christ Quarter Podcast. I'm also available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcast, and wherever you get your podcast.

Acts Reading On Sharing And Deceit

SPEAKER_00 0:51

Today's scriptural selection is Acts chapter four, verses thirty two through thirty seven, and Acts chapter five, verses one through eleven. The King James Version reads as follows And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul. Neither said any of them that aught of the things which he possessed was his own, but they had all things common, and with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. Neither was there any among them that lacked, for as many as were possessors of lands or houses, sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, and laid them down at the apostles' feet, and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need. And Joseph, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, which is being interpreted the son of consolation, a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus, having land, sold it, and brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet. But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira, his wife, sold a possession, and kept back part of the price. His wife also been privy to it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostle's feet. But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? Whilst it remained, was it not thine? And after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? Why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? Thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God. And Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and gave up the ghost, and great fear came on all them that heard these things. And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him. And it was about the space of three hours after when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in. And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much. And she said, Yea, for so much. Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out. Then fell she down straight away at his feet, and yielded up the ghost, and the young men came in and found her dead, and carrying her forth, buried her by her husband. And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things. The Nive says it this way. All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and God's grace was so powerfully at work in them all, that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need. Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostle called Barnabas, which means son of encouragement, sold a field he owned, and brought the money and put it at the apostles' feet. Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sephirah, also sold a piece of property. With his wife's full knowledge, he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostle's feet. 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? 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. And when Ananias heard this, he fell down and died, and great fear seized all who heard what had happened. Then some young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him. About three hours later, his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. Peter asked her, Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land? Yes, she said, That is the price. 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. 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. Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events.

Prayer For Understanding And Love

SPEAKER_00 5:47

Let us pray. Lord, we thank you for this day, we thank you for the freedom and the ability to discuss your word and enjoy your presence. Help us to understand your word and your will for our daily lives more fully. We ask that you bless this discussion of your word, that it will speak to someone who needs to hear from you. We ask that you use these words to bring someone closer to you, and that you will touch their hearts to love others through action in your name. That each of us will do something to show love to their neighbor, in action as well as in word. That each of us will do our best to represent you to the world. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.

Why Ananias And Sapphira Fell

SPEAKER_00 6:23

The verses for today are disturbing but instructional. Our scriptures today focus on fraud, deceit, and lying in the early church. It's difficult to imagine members of the early church having these characteristics, but we humans haven't changed all that much over the centuries, and wherever there is the exchange of money, there is the very real likelihood that people will behave badly. The fact that in our scriptures today this bad behavior resulted in punishment is not surprising. It is instructional. The fact that the punishment was immediate death is disturbing and off-putting. In my experience, scriptures like we have today can be reasons why many people choose to not be Christians. I am disturbed by these scriptures as well, but many people pull the wrong message out of them. Was the punishment of immediate death applied because of not giving enough money? Did God strike two people down for not giving enough money to the church? Well yes and no. The real and very important reason can be found in our scriptures today. Let's get right to it. The people in our scriptures today were members of the early first century church. These people were forming and building the earthly structures of the church. Their actions would affect everyone who came after them, including us. Even in our recent histories, we can see how churches fracture and follow certain enigmatic people and start their own denominations. In my opinion, God did not call us to be Baptists or Methodists or Presbyterians, etc. He called us to be followers of Jesus Christ's example, to be Christians. But we tend to divide ourselves up into distinct groups and look at other Christians as different or even less than us. These divisions are prevalent and well known in our churches today. Can you imagine how bad it would be if these divisions had started in the first decades and centuries after Jesus died and rose again? Having all members working together on the same page and following Jesus together is important today, but in my opinion, it was much more important back then. Because of this, the church leaders did their best to remove earthly distractions from the group. Wealthy individuals were encouraged to sell their houses and land and give their proceeds to the leadership so that the money could be used to make sure all members were above the poverty level. I do not believe that all of them were brought to the same financial level, but none of them suffered from lack of basic needs such as clothing, shelter, or plenty of food. Of course, those who sold their possessions and gave to the group received some praise and accolades for doing so. Into this situation comes our two main characters, Ananias and his wife, Sapphira. Ananias and Sapphira were wealthy and decided to sell some of their property and give their proceeds to the church. This was a great thing to do, and the couple was very likely expecting to receive praise for their gift. They had probably already received some praise while going through the process of selling their property and telling a few people why they were doing so. I'm sure they had in mind that the bigger the amount they gave to the church, the larger their praise would be, the larger their standing would be. So Ananias and Sephira decided to lie to the church, lie to the church leaders, and to lie even to God, and said that they were giving the church 100% of the money they received from the sale of their property. They were not required to sell their property, nor were they required to give the church all the money from the sale. They were lying to make their gift, their sacrifice, seem larger than it actually was, in order to receive praise that they did not deserve. It is difficult to understand what they were thinking. They were living during a time when they could speak to people who had witnessed the miracles and power of God. But then God is still working miracles today, and many of us disregard their reality. Whatever they were thinking, they lied and presented their sacrifice to the church with a false heart. 1 Corinthians chapter 13, verse 3 tells us that none of our gifts have any value in the eyes of God. It is only the heart and the motivations of our heart that God really cares about. Ananias and Sephirah's hearts were not clean. They lied to Peter, their church leader, but more importantly, they lied before God, they lied to God. All the same, it is difficult to accept that the penalty for their behavior was immediate death. This is one of the events in the Bible that I do not fully understand. However, I can say that Ananias and his wife Sophia lied to gain a little more standing before their fellow Christians. If they were willing to lie for so little gain, what else have they lied about? Perhaps this was the last straw, their last chance. Regardless, their fraud was the opposite of the faith that is needed in any church, especially in a strong church. The lesson for us here is to realize we should inspect our innovations for why we are doing what we do. If we help someone, do we puff up our chest and think of how wonderful we are? If we do, then we're wrong. The person we help will still benefit, but God sees our hearts and sees it clouded and he would not accept our sacrifice. No matter what we do, if we do it with a clouded heart, we're wrong. Let each one of us work hard to ensure that we do what we do with correct motives, with love, and with the furtherance of God's kingdom at heart. That concludes our scripture discussion for today.

Closing Thanks And The Lord’s Prayer

SPEAKER_00 12:07

Thank you for spending time with me talking about, learning about, and enjoying Christ. It is my hope that God has used my words to touch you today and has brought you closer to Him. Let us pray. Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.