ACTS 5

They died!  They fell over and died!  That seems like a bit much.

What did he do to deserve the death penalty?

Acts 5

Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. 2 With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet. 

That's it!

On first reading, this seems like a major over-reaction on God's part.  Why such an extreme penalty?  They gave their money, but they didn't give all of it.  The penalty....death!  Why?

Well to fully understand the seemingly extreme nature of this consequence, you have to remember the context where Ananias and Sapphira were living. They were in the middle of a time when God was working through His Church in ways truly unique to that time.  

Acts 2

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

Acts 2

41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

Acts 3
2 Now a man who was lame from birth... ...6 Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” 7 Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. 8 He jumped to his feet and began to walk.

Acts 4

32 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. 33 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 34 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 35 and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.

God was acting mightily and visibly to launch His Church.  They were seeing extraordinary miracles in front of them.  They were seeing extreme generosity.  They were seeing the church at it's best, and so was the community around them. 

Today there are two billion people on the earth who claim to be Christians in some form or fashion.  A movement which started with 12 disciples locked in room has exploded over the last 2,000 years to have over 2,000,000,000 followers (at least those who claim to be followers).

• Christianity changed Roman culture over 1,500 years ago.
• Christianity defined the medieval Europe.
• Christianity is the backbone of Western culture.
• Christianity is the largest belief system to this day.

All of this started with the first few chapters of Acts.  Christianity started in Acts 1-2 as Jesus ascended to Heaven and The Holy Spirit descended upon us.  This book is record of the launch of God's church which has shaped and defined human history.

More importantly, God has used His church to save the souls of millions upon millions upon millions upon millions of people over 2,000 years. 

So why did they have to die?

Because too much is at stake to let the church be sabotaged.  Our natural reaction is to view physical death as the worst thing that can happen to us, but there's something far worse, spiritual death. 

God was starting a movement which was going to give spiritual life to millions (possibly billions) of people. Their lies and deception could have poisoned that movement and stopped it dead in it's tracks at a pivotal time.  We don't stop to think about the consequences that their life of deception could have had.

While we can't know their actual spiritual state, I don't know that we have reason to believe they weren't believers (we all sin).  If that is the case, their death was actually a blessing.  They found themselves instantly with their Lord and Savior.  

When considering what was at stake, the consequences of their actions weren't extreme at all.  However, the consequences of allowing their actions unchecked would have been extreme.

 SEAN CHANDLER  |  Associate Pastor 

 Sean has been a part of the association of Hill Country Bible Churches for over twenty years. He received Christ as a youth while attending Hill Country Bible Church Austin. He attended Hill Country Bible Church NW from 1989 to 2002. At that time he began attending HCBC Pflugerville. He served as a student ministry intern there for two years. In 2008, Sean graduated from Columbia International University with a double major in Bible and Bible teaching. Sean married his wife, Jennifer, in 2006. Their first child, Liam, was born in 2012.

He blogs regularly at seanchandler.net.