"Pandemic" - Acts 5:1-16
- Series: "Pandemic" - The Gospel Unleashed
- by: Chris Mayfield 11/29/09
Acts 5:1-16 Honest to God
In Acts 4:36 we’re given a good example of what it means to share when Barnabas sold a field and gave the money to the church. Now, in chapter 5 we’re given an example of how not to give. But the moral of the story is not that you should give all your money to God or else you’re going to be punished. The moral is that God wants our hearts more than our money. And the way that we use our money reflects the condition of our hearts. The reality is, God doesn’t need our money; everything is already His.
Once we’ve given our hearts to God, our angle on what is actually “ours” and what is actually God’s is straightened out and we’re able to live a life free from worry because we’re not going crazy over saving all our money for a rainy day or making sure we’re getting the latest and greatest gadgets and gizmos. When we have a fixating desire to buy and consume, the things we want to own end up owning us; owing our time, our resources and our affections. However, when we’re focused on God, he satisfies our deepest desires making us an authentic, powerful witness. This is exactly what happened in the early church and that’s when “more and more men and women believed and in the Lord and were added to their number.”
Engage the Text
- What was Ananias and Sapphira's actual sin? What was their sin: keeping some of the money they received for the land or lying about the amount they received for the land?
- What likely led them to lie?
- Why do you think God dealt so harshly with Ananias and Sapphira?
- Why do you think Luke (who wrote the book of Acts) included this specific incident?
- 5. What was different about the Apostles that made them highly regarded by the people? How was Peter able to physically heal others? Was this an answer to prayer?
From Thought to Action
- What are you withholding from God? What is it you can’t bring yourself to give over to Him? It could be obedience in a specific area, a particular relationship, your job, talents, family, your hurt, your very soul.
- What leads us to lie? When we lie, who are we really lying to? How can this circumstance, with Ananias and Sapphira, apply to the righteous works that we do out of a complaining heart? Are we lying when we begrudgingly serve or give? Why or why not?
