"But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession, 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. 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? 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. And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things." (Acts 5:1-5).
After Peter rebuked Ananias, he fell down and died. His wife also suffered the same fate for the same reason. Why was their sin judged so severely?
1. The Specifics of their sin:(v.3-4) It was the sin of Hypocrisy. The sin of Ananias and Sapphira wasn’t that they didn’t give all the money from the sale of their property but that they wanted it to appear as if they gave it all. They were spiritual pretenders and their sin was first and foremost the sin of hypocrisy.
2. The Source of their sin: The Holy Spirit had revealed to Peter that Satan was the source of their sin. These Church members had given place to the devil (Eph. 4:27) not only in the beginning of the new period of the church age but during a period of revival. “If Satan cannot defeat the church by attacks from the outside, he will get on the inside and go to work. (Acts 20:28-31) He knows how to lie to the minds and hearts of Christians and get them to follow his orders.” (Warren Wiersbe)
When a Christian harbors sin in their lives this can give place to the devil and allow him to fill their hearts with his lies and use them to accomplish his evil plans.
3. The Seriousness of their sin:
a. They lied to the Holy Spirit: This was a premeditated lie against God and the Holy Spirit. They resisted the Holy Spirit who was saying to them, "don’t do that" but they said, "no" to the Spirit. They were more concerned with what others thought than what God thought.
b. This sin was motivated by pride: They desired more the praises of men than the praises of God (John 12:43). Pride is a sin that God especially hates (Proverbs 8:13). Pride is what turned Lucifer the anointed Cherub into Satan the father of lies.
c. They sinned against God’s Church: “God loves His Church and is jealous over it, for the Church was purchased with His own blood (Acts 20:28; Ephesians 5:25) and has been put on earth to glorify Him and do His work. Satan wants to destroy the Church, and the easiest way to do that is to use those who are within the fellowship.” (Warren Wiersbe)
d. They sinned during a period of revival: Not only was this a period of new beginnings in the Church age, but God the Holy Spirit was moving in a powerful way. During this important period of Church history they allowed the devil to hinder the work of God.
Remember, Ananias and Sapphira's sin was a sin of pretense. He wanted to appear spiritual in the eyes of man by saying that he gave all the proceeds from the sale of his land when in fact he kept some of it for himself. He wasn't judged for not giving it all, but for pretending that he did. God is more concerned with our character than he is our reputation. Our reputation is who we are in the eyes of men. Our character is who we are in the eyes of God. What God sees should be the only things that matter to us. Don't be a fake. Let’s be real with God and one another.
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