Taking God Seriously

Then Peter said, “Ananias, why have you let Satan fill your heart? You lied to the Holy Spirit, and you kept some of the money for yourself” … As soon as Ananias heard these words, he fell to the floor and died … Instantly, his wife Sapphira fell to the floor and died … Great fear swept the entire church and everyone else who heard what had happened. (Acts 5:3,5,10-11)

Food For Thought: In most churches today, we count visitors and salvations rather than dead bodies. We pride ourselves on being visitor friendly and seeker sensitive, not a danger zone. Our vision statement is “living proof of a loving God” not “enter at your own risk.” We have greeters and ushers instead of pallbearers. We have a gymnasium and a nursery, not a cemetery.

How different things were for the first church in the book of Acts. The church was growing and God was doing great things among the people. Of the many wonderful marks of spiritual awakening that characterized this church, amazing generosity was one of the most impressive (Acts 4:34-37). There were no needy people among them because everyone was so willing to share what they had with each other. In particular, a man named Barnabas had been prompted to sell his property and give all the proceeds to the apostles to be used for the benevolence ministry, and the church was greatly encouraged by his generosity.

Ananias and his wife Sapphira saw what had happened, and the response that Barnabas received, so they, too, sold their property. But they came up with a plan to give part of the proceeds to the church leadership while claiming they had given it all (they claimed to be “tithers” but were really only “tippers”). That way, they would get the accolades of the church and have some cash in pocket as well.

Bad move! Peter, discerning their hypocrisy and selfishness, pronounced judgment on them and they fell over dead…right there in church. Now as a pastor, I can tell you: That would put a damper on a church service!

What is the point of this unusual Bible account? Among other things, perhaps the most important is that we need to take God seriously. In this age of viewing God as our best buddy or as our ticket to health, comfort and prosperity, we need to remember that he is still a holy God who expects our reverence and full obedience. And we ought to let this story remind us that he sees into our lives with utter moral clarity—that nothing is hidden from him, even though we may be quite proficient in hiding things from everybody else. So we would do well to acknowledge those areas of sin and compromise and selective obedience in our lives, ask him for forgiveness, and truly repent of them by changing our heart and our behavior.

Oh, one more thing: I think we’re all glad that God hasn’t dealt with us like he did with Ananias and Sapphira! If that kind of thing still happened today, every church would need to have a funeral home instead of a fellowship hall.

Prayer: Lord God, I am so grateful for your mercy and grace; for your patience and kindness. If it weren’t for your great love, I would have been consumed already. But your compassions never fail—they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness! Lord, you are holy, and you desire holiness in me. I pray that you would examine my heart and cleanse me of everything that is displeasing and dishonoring to you—every thought, every habit, every word, every action that stands in the way of your Lordship over my life. Destroy in me, O God, those things that could destroy me. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.

On this day… in 1959, English apologist C.S. Lewis wrote in a letter, “If we really think that home is elsewhere and that this life is a ‘wandering to find home,’ why should we not look forward to arrival?” (Taken from StudyLight.org’s “Today in Christian History”)