Acts 5:4, commentary and pictures

Ananias was under no compulsion to sell or to give, for while the land was unsold it was his own and after it was sold the money was in his own power to keep or to give as he purposed in his heart.
His sin was not in keeping part for himself but in bringing part as if it were the whole, pretending entire generosity to gain credit while secretly retaining a share from covetousness and love of esteem.
That deception, conceived in his heart with his wife privy to it, was a lie not merely to men but to God, to the Holy Ghost whose Spirit had convicted them, for God searches motives and cannot be deceived or mocked.
Having voluntarily vowed the proceeds to God, that portion was consecrated and no longer his own to reclaim, so to withhold it was sacrilege and robbery of God and breach of a binding contract made with Him before brethren as witnesses.
They were therefore struck dead by retributive justice, and the swift judgment struck fear upon all, guarding the young growing church from demoralization by hypocrisy and warning all after generations that the same fraud in tithes, offerings, and unjust dealing, though not now visibly punished, is equally heinous and will surely meet judgment.

Free to Keep or Give

While the property remained unsold it was his own, and after it was sold the money was in his own power to keep or to give. No one compelled him to give it to the church, and he was free to keep the land or to decide for himself what to do with the proceeds. He and his wife were under no compulsion to give, for the possession while unsold was their own and the money after sale remained at their disposal.

He acted from choice, with no undue influence compelling him to sacrifice his possessions. His freedom to keep or to give shows that the offering was voluntary and not forced upon him by others.

God would have accepted a part, for he was not required to give everything. Each one is left to be his own assessor and to give as he purposes in his heart, cooperating with God under systematic benevolence where the work bears equally on all according to ability as moral discipline.

Sin Was Pretended Generosity

Ananias remained entirely free to keep his property while unsold and to keep or give the money after it was sold, with no compulsion laid upon him to place it with the church. His sin therefore was not in withholding part of the proceeds, but in bringing a certain part as if it were the whole and pretending to give everything. In claiming a spiritual generosity he had not shown and pretending to act under the Holy Spirit, he attempted to deceive the apostles. That deliberate deception was a lie not merely to people but to God.

The fraud was conceived in the heart, with Satan filling the heart to lie to the Holy Ghost and tempt the Spirit of the Lord. Satan gained entrance when covetousness was first cherished and selfishness warped the character. From that inward cherishing came the deliberate decision to withhold and dissemble under the appearance of full surrender.

Love of money and covetousness led him to regret the pledge made under deep conviction and the softening influence of the Spirit, to question, draw back, and withhold part of the price. Yet from shame before the brethren he would not admit the change, but practiced deception in order to gain the high esteem given to the generous and to be thought liberal and self-denying. He sought credit for a full sacrifice while secretly retaining a large share to secure his living and to draw support from the common fund. In this he also sought to supply a fancied deficiency in pay for his work, professing godliness while secretly cherishing iniquity. His wife was privy to the plan and they agreed together in the fraud and falsehood. Together they gave the impression of having sold for a certain sum and made full surrender to God, while in reality they received more and selfishly kept back part for themselves.

Lied to God Spirit

Ananias was free to keep his land while it remained unsold and free to decide what to do with the money after it was sold, with no one compelling him to give it to the church. His sin was not in keeping part of the proceeds but in bringing a certain part as if it were the whole, pretending to give everything while secretly keeping back part of the price. In doing so he claimed a spiritual generosity he had not shown and professed to consecrate all to God while presenting a reduced amount, trying to deceive the apostles and believers while claiming to act under the Holy Spirit. That deliberate deception, conceived in the heart and carried out with his wife privy to it and agreeing together in it, was a lie not merely to people but to God.

The lie told to men was lying to the Holy Ghost, and in keeping back part while bringing part as if it were the whole he tempted the Spirit of the Lord. Satan filled his heart to conceive this deceit when covetousness was first cherished, and by dissembling under appearance of full surrender he practiced fraud toward God. To deceive the disciples in this way was to lie to the Holy Spirit, to lie not unto men but unto God, unto the Almighty.

God searches the heart and knows motives and purposes even when others do not, detects hidden sin, cannot be deceived and will not be mocked. The defrauded Lord searched them out, and through the Spirit the apostles were shown the true state of the case. A holy God hates such hypocrisy and falsehood, the pretense of godliness and of being wrought upon by the Holy Ghost while secretly cherishing iniquity in order to gain high esteem and draw support from the common fund while retaining a large share.

Vows Are Sacred Binding

Ananias had vowed the proceeds to God under deep conviction and the direct influence and softening power of the Spirit, and afterward he questioned, drew back, and deliberately decided not to fulfill it. The pledge was voluntary, made under the Spirit's influence, then regretted through covetousness and selfishness until part of the price was deliberately withheld while deception was practiced. That breaking of a solemn pledge made under the softening power of the Spirit brings guilt in proportion to the offense.

Once a gift is vowed to God the vowed portion is consecrated and is no longer one's own to reclaim. To keep it for personal use is sacrilege, fraud, and robbery of Him. It is breach of a binding vow to God, not merely a broken promise to people. The wrong was not failing to give everything, but withholding part of what had been pledged while falsely presenting it as the whole. Such deceptive handling is a lie to God, who searches out the offender, and each person is accountable for it in proportion to the offense. The absence of immediate visible punishment does not lessen the sin, which God will judge.

A verbal or written pledge to give a certain amount, made in the presence of brethren, is a contract made with God in which the brethren are only visible witnesses. No legal bond for payment of money is more binding than a pledge made to God the giver of all favors. A vow to God is not less valid because it cannot be tried in courts of justice, so seeking release from it is wrong. Vows and actions are weighed in the balance of justice in the heavenly courts, and for one professing to be saved by the blood of Jesus Christ to withhold is to rob God.

Withholding what God claims through the tithing system is the same kind of sin. Withholding a portion while thinking the brethren would never know it meets the God who searches the heart and from whom motives and purposes cannot be hidden. The example stands as a perpetual warning to Christians in every age against this sin to which human hearts are continually inclined. The same warning reaches robbing God in tithes and voluntary offerings. Under God's plan of systematic benevolence the work bears equally on all according to ability, with each one left to be his own assessor and to give as he purposes in his heart, cooperating with God as part of moral discipline.

Swift Judgment Guarded Church

At the word of exposure Ananias fell dead, and Sapphira fell dead three hours later for joining the same lie, and great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard. The sudden death was retributive justice by which the defrauded Lord searched out hidden sin and made it manifest. The case stands recorded so the whole world may have testimony of how dishonest practices are regarded, showing the gospel standard to be no lower than in the days of Joshua.

Through the Spirit of truth the apostles were shown the true state of the case and laid bare the concealed fraud. That discernment increased the confidence of believers in them and in the message of a crucified and risen Saviour. Afterward with great power they healed the afflicted and worked signs and miracles, and many were added to the church by baptism. Yet none dared join them who were not united heart and mind with the believers in Christ. The signal evidence of the discerning Spirit of Christ in the church was a terror to hypocrites and evildoers, so that they could not long remain in connection with those who in habit and disposition constantly represented Christ.

The swift and terrible judgment was necessary in infinite wisdom to guard the rapidly growing young church from becoming demoralized and disgraced by Mammon-worshippers professing to serve God. By that death God forever rid the church of this foul blot upon its purity. As long as persecution continued the church remained comparatively pure.

The same fraud repeated afterward and committed in the present, though not visited with visible displeasure, is no less heinous in His sight. It destroys the soul and brings loss of this life and the life to come. It will surely be visited in the day of judgment, and though visible displeasure may not appear as then, the eventual punishment will be no lighter. Many even in this life feel the curse of God for such a course, and the same judgment still falls on deceptive, unjust and oppressive dealings in the Lord's work, on using lawyers to take advantage, exacting exorbitant prices, conniving at fraud, hindering the triumph of truth, and diverting God's means into a wrong channel.

Warning for Believers Today

The case stands on record so that the whole world has testimony of how God regards dishonest practices, showing the standard of the gospel is no lower than in the days of Joshua. God is the same in the gospel as He was in ancient Israel, and transgression of any one of His commandments is exceedingly offensive to Him and must make a deep impression. Their history is also a lesson of the responsibility resting on those in high positions of trust not to pass over sin.

The warning reaches to robbing God in tithes and voluntary offerings, and to bringing a stinted offering while spending lavishly on self. It reaches to transferring property to conceal covetousness and avoid supporting God's cause, which is an attempt to deceive people and is lying to God who reads purposes and motives of the heart. It reaches to deceptively withholding means entrusted for God's work while appearing faithful, for love of money leads professed believers to dissemble in this way. An offering given while withholding what should be given is unacceptable, like the offering of Ananias and Sapphira, and withholding an offering one ought to make while spending freely for self-gratification is robbing God. Though visible displeasure may not appear as it did then, the eventual punishment will be no lighter, for the same fraud repeated afterward and committed in the present, though not visited with visible displeasure, is no less heinous in His sight, destroys the soul, and causes loss of this life and the life to come.

The same judgment still falls on deceptive, unjust and oppressive dealings in the Lord's work, on using lawyers to take advantage, exacting exorbitant prices, conniving fraud, hindering the triumph of truth, and diverting God's means into a wrong channel. It falls on covetously appropriating money to supply a fancied deficiency in pay for work, reasoning that labors are not sufficiently appreciated and that one has a right to pay oneself according to one's own ideas, which is the same sin as Judas stealing from the bag holding gifts for Christ's work, a principle that perverts the conscience. It falls on entering selfishly into the health-food work and giving customers the impression that profits are used to aid benevolent enterprises while using them for personal interests, for to deceive brethren about money in this way is to lie not to men but to God and brings a person under His displeasure, with sure reckoning in the day of final judgment. All unjust selfish actions are known to God, and secretly misusing His goods remains robbery that brings spiritual ruin unless checked and forsaken. Because all are God's property, keeping back what belongs to Him is fraud against Him from which no one can prosper, and the influence of one unrepentant sinner is defiling and corrupts many others.

The lesson is to put away selfishness, selfish meanness, and underhand dealing, and to cultivate justice, fairness, and Christian graces. No one is to favor himself to another's disadvantage, but all are to forsake sin and turn to God. Those entrusted with sacred responsibilities must act with strict integrity, for God knows whether they do so, and those in high positions of trust must not pass over sin. The same Spirit that read the deception and brought sudden punishment still condemns all underhand dealing today, showing Christ's deep contempt for all deception.

Prevarication and falsehood are not slight evils but an enormity of sin that God regards with abhorrence. A lie told before people is also a lie to God, who reads the heart and knows the exact truth, so falsehood before God is fearful. God's judgments against false swearers serve as a terror to evildoers, and the truthfulness required supports solemn testimony under oath. Lying therefore calls for urgent correction, especially by a Christian father through talking, praying, and impressing the child's mind with how hateful lying is to God, because continuing in it retards good work, injures influence, disgraces the liar, and fastens upon him the reputation of a liar.

Their presence shows that false brethren and unworthy members were found even in the early church and may be found among Christ's followers, whom God bears with patiently in His dealing with perverse human nature. Their deaths were even falsely planned by the authorities to be blamed on the apostles as murder. Deceit directed through human actions is ultimately an offense against God, which supports that no one has the right to control another person's conscience in place of God.

Their example warns against sacrificing truth to gain favor, for their guilt was pretending to have given everything in order to gain a reputation for sacrifice and devotion. Their deception misrepresented the work of Christ by pretending full consecration while keeping part back. God will not accept work by His people that depends on deception or cannot withstand the judgment.