2. Part Eleven
Acts 4:32 – 5:11

4. Acts 4:32 - 5:11
And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to

5. Acts 4:32 - 5:11
him was his own; but all things were common property to them. And with great power the apostles were giving witness to the

6. Acts 4:32 - 5:11
resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all. For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were

7. Acts 4:32 - 5:11
owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales, and lay them down at the apostles’ feet; and they would be

8. Acts 4:32 - 5:11
distributed to each, as any had need. And Joseph, a Levite of Cyprian birth, who was also called Barnabas by the apostles (which

9. Acts 4:32 - 5:11
translated means, Son of Encouragement), and who owned a tract of land, sold it and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

10. Acts 4:32 - 5:11
But a certain man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, and kept back some of the price for himself, with his

11. Acts 4:32 - 5:11
wife’s full knowledge, and bringing a portion of it, he laid it at the apostles’ feet. But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart

12. Acts 4:32 - 5:11
to lie to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back some of the price of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it

13. Acts 4:32 - 5:11
was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men, but to

14. Acts 4:32 - 5:11
God.” And as he heard these words, Ananias fell down and breathed his last; and great fear came upon all who heard of it.

15. Acts 4:32 - 5:11
And the young men arose and covered him up, and after carrying him out, they buried him. Now there elapsed an interval of about

16. Acts 4:32 - 5:11
three hours, and his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. And Peter responded to her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for

17. Acts 4:32 - 5:11
such and such a price?” And she said, “Yes, that was the price.” Then Peter said to her, “Why is it that you have agreed together to put

18. Acts 4:32 - 5:11
the Spirit of the Lord to the test? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they shall carry you out as

19. Acts 4:32 - 5:11
well.” And she fell immediately at his feet, and breathed her last; and the young men came in and found her dead, and they carried

20. Acts 4:32 - 5:11
her out and buried her beside her husband. And great fear came upon the whole church, and upon all who heard of these things.

21. The Bible is brutally honest as it records the good, the bad, and the ugly of church history.

22. Today’s passage can be divided into two distinctive parts: the sharing of the saints and the sins of the saints.

23. Let’s take a look at the sharing of the saints first.

24. Sharing
Spiritual Participation
Strong Preaching
Simple Provision

25. Spiritual Participation!

26. Acts 4:32a
And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul;

27. The congregation of those who believed had grown so rapidly that they were no longer numbered.

28. That startling growth was the direct result of the action recorded in verse 31, when those who were filled with the Holy Spirit began to speak the Word of God with boldness.

29. That should sound familiar to us.

30. Take a look at John 4:23-24.

31. John 4:23-24
But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks

32. John 4:23-24
to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.

33. The basis of their shared life was twofold.

34. First, they were preoccupied with ministering to each other.

35. They were so content with meeting the needs of each other that they had no concern for gratifying their own desires.

36. Philippians 2:3
Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves;

37. Philippians 2:4
do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.

38. Second, they were focused beyond themselves to reaching the lost world with the truth of the gospel.

39. John 8:31-32
Jesus therefore was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you abide in My word, then you are disciples of Mine;

40. John 8:31-32
and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

41. That left them little time to bother with trivial personal matters.

42. Sharing
Spiritual Participation
Strong Preaching
Simple Provision

43. Strong Preaching!

44. Acts 4:33
And with great power the apostles were giving witness to the resurrec-tion of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all.

45. They did the very thing they were commanded not to do by the religious leaders.

46. We must continue to declare what we have seen and heard!

47. I am compelled! I am obligated to share the Gospel!

48. 1 Corinthians 2:1
And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God.

49. 1 Corinthians 2:2
For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.

50. 1 Corinthians 2:3
I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling,

51. 1 Corinthians 2:4
and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,

52. 1 Corinthians 2:5
so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.

53. Sharing
Spiritual Participation
Strong Preaching
Simple Provision

54. Simple Provision!

55. Acts 4:34
For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds

56. Acts 4:34-35
of the sales, and lay them down at the apostles’ feet; and they would be distributed to each, as any had need.

57. The loving unselfish unity of the church found a practical expression in the sharing of material goods.

58. They all understood that everything they had belonged to God and should be used for His glory.

59. James 2:15-16
If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,”

60. James 2:15-16
and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?

61. Or what about I John 3:17

62. I John 3:17
But whoever has the world’s goods, and beholds his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God

63. I John 3:17
abide in him?

64. We should be less focused on what we want and better prepared to give to those in need.

65. 2 Corinthians 8:1
Now, brethren, we wish to make known to you the grace of God which has been given in the churches of Macedonia,

66. 2 Corinthians 8:2
that in a great ordeal of affliction their abun-dance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in the wealth of their liberality.

67. 2 Corinthians 8:3
For I testify that according to their ability, and beyond their ability, they gave of their own accord,

68. 2 Corinthians 8:4
begging us with much urging for the favor of participation in the support of the saints,

69. 2 Corinthians 8:5
and this, not as we had expected, but they first gave themselves to the Lord and to us by the will of God.

70. Sharing
Spiritual Participation
Strong Preaching
Simple Provision

71. Here’s an example of sharing!

72. Acts 4:36
And Joseph, a Levite of Cyprian birth, who was also called Barnabas by the apostles (which translated means, Son of Encouragement),

73. Acts 4:37
and who owned a tract of land, sold it and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

74. He freely gave of himself and shared what he had to offer.

75. He gave out of pure love, not to call attention to himself but for the simple blessedness of giving.

76. He represents many others who also gave sacrificially and is an example for us to follow.

77. Let’s see how Luke described him in Acts 11:23-24.

78. Acts 11:23-24
Then when he arrived and witnessed the grace of God, he rejoiced and began to encourage them all with resolute heart to remain true to

79. Acts 11:23-24
the Lord; for he was good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and faith. And considerable numbers were brought to the Lord.

80. Now, let’s take a look at the sinning saints.

81. Observing Spiritual Pretense Spiritual Perception Swift Punishment
Solemn Purging

82. Spiritual Pretense!

83. Acts 5:1-2
But a certain man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, and kept back some of the price for himself, with his

84. Acts 5:2
wife’s full knowledge, and bringing a portion of it, he laid it at the apostles’ feet.

85. “But” introduces a sharp contrast between the actions of Barnabas and those of Ananias and his wife Sapphira.

86. They too sold a piece of property, but unlike Barnabas, they lied and kept back a little money for themselves.

87. They pretended to give it all so they could be recognized for their generosity.

88. Their sin wasn’t in deciding to keep some of the money, but in lying to the body about giving it all.

89. Observing Spiritual Pretense Spiritual Perception Swift Punishment
Solemn Purging

90. Spiritual Perception!

91. Acts 5:3
But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back some of the price of the land?

92. Acts 5:4
While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control?

93. Acts 5:4
Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men, but to God.”

94. The deceit of Ananias and Sapphira did not fool Peter.

95. With the help of the Holy Spirit, he was able to detect their hypocrisy.

96. Ananias, no doubt expecting the accolades of the people for his gift, must have been stunned by Peter’s words.

97. Observing Spiritual Pretense Spiritual Perception Swift Punishment
Solemn Purging

98. Swift Punishment!

99. Acts 5:5
And as he heard these words, Ananias fell down and breathed his last; and great fear came upon all who heard of it.

100. Acts 5:6
And the young men arose and covered him up, and after carrying him out, they buried him.

101. Acts 5:7
Now there elapsed an interval of about three hours, and his wife came in, not knowing what had happened.

102. Acts 5:8
And Peter responded to her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for such and such a price?” And she said, “Yes, that was the price.”

103. Acts 5:9
Then Peter said to her, “Why is it that you have agreed together to put the Spirit of the Lord to the test?

104. Acts 5:9
Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they shall carry you out as well.”

105. Acts 5:10
And she fell immediately at his feet, and breathed her last; and the young men came in and found her dead, and they carried her out and

106. Acts 5:10
buried her beside her husband.

107. God moved quickly to remove this spiritual cancer from the body.

108. This action of God was meant to impress upon the congregation the seriousness of sin.

109. What if that took place on a regular basis today?

110. I wonder if the body of Christ would deal with their own personal sin more tenaciously?

111. Observing Spiritual Pretense Spiritual Perception Swift Punishment
Solemn Purging

112. Solemn Purging!

113. Acts 5:11
And great fear came upon the whole church, and upon all who heard of these things.

114. One benefit of quick discipline is that it often deters others from sinning.

115. No doubt much self examination took place following the deaths of Ananias and Sapphira.

116. Their deaths caused great fear, not only among the whole church but also upon all who heard these things.

117. God’s strong desire for a pure church, and His willingness to take drastic steps to achieve that desire, were obvious for all to see.

118. We should all love doing what is right!

119. I Peter 4:17
For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the out-come for those who do

120. I Peter 4:17-18
not obey the gospel of God? And if it is with difficulty that the right-eous is saved, what will become of the godless man and the sinner?

121. I Peter 4:19
Therefore, those also who suffer according to the will of God shall entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right.

122. We should all love doing what is right!

123. The Bible is brutally honest as it records the good, the bad, and the ugly of church history.

124. Will our legacy be that of sharing saints or sinning saints?

125. May we freely give to all who find themselves in need.