Ananias and Sapphira Promise, Lie and Fall Deadby sanjalberts
5:8Acts 5:8
And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much.
Peter asked Sapphira whether the land had been sold for the stated sum, giving her opportunity to tell the truth, and about three hours after her husband's death, without knowing what had happened, she affirmed that it had. Keeping part of the proceeds was not itself wrong, for the property remained theirs to keep or give in part, but pretending to bring the whole as a free offering while concealing part was deliberate joint deception with her husband. Her false answer was not merely lying to people but dissembling to God and tempting the Holy Spirit, who searches the heart and cannot be deceived or mocked. Conviction was followed by swift retribution when she fell dead and was buried beside her husband, bringing great fear on the church and guarding the young, rapidly increasing church from demoralization by hypocrisy. The questioning and punishment stand as a perpetual danger-signal to professed followers in every age against covetousness, breaking vows, and withholding tithe while pretending to give the whole, for the same God still hates falsehood though visible punishment is not always shown now.
Peter Questions Sapphira
Peter put to her the direct question whether the property had been sold for the particular sum named, and in doing so gave her full opportunity to state honestly what the price had been and to tell the truth. The questioning was not mere inquiry but a test, made under the Lord's direction, to convict her of falsehood if she persisted in it. By that exposure the first departure from truthful dealing in the church was brought into the open, and believers were warned that God knows and will search out hidden fraud and dishonesty.
She came in about three hours after Ananias had died, not knowing what had been done. When asked, she answered affirmatively that the land had indeed been sold for the amount Peter named. That short affirmative answer is presented as joining her husband in falsely presenting part of the proceeds as the whole, dissembling in a matter of professed consecration and free-will offering, and illustrating the course of those who put down their property below its value.
Joint Deception and Motives
Sapphira's short answer was a deliberate lie by which she joined her husband in hiding part of the price of the land while presenting what was brought as the whole amount given as a free-will offering. She knowingly confirmed the false figure Peter named, and by that affirmation she shared fully in the agreed deception and in tempting the Spirit of the Lord. Her word exposed their common hypocrisy, a lie to the Holy Spirit presented as entire consecration to the church.
To keep part of the money was not in itself the wrong, for the property and its proceeds remained their own to retain or to give only in part. God would have accepted a portion honestly given, and the fraud lay in the deliberate false claim that the offering was the full sale price. Their sin was pretending to give all while withholding part in order to appear to have surrendered everything.
They had pledged the land and its proceeds to God and to His work under the direct influence of the Spirit, and then they drew back from that pledge. What was withheld had already been devoted by promise, so the withholding was breaking a vow, and that broken pledge with its dishonesty was a grave offense requiring faithfulness. They promised part of their property for Christ's cause and then tried to make others believe they had given everything while keeping back what was pledged.
The deception grew out of covetousness, selfishness, avarice, and love of money, professing to serve and to be consecrated to God while in heart worshiping mammon. Satan filled the heart, and those not wholly consecrated came to regret a pledge made under the Spirit and turned regret into fraud and hypocrisy. In that false answer she dissembled to God, putting the property below its value while claiming a free and full offering.
They wanted commendation and to be thought liberal, self-denying, devoted, generous, and sacrificial, gaining esteem and even support from the common fund without surrendering all. Their lie sought a reputation for sacrifice and devotion while concealing the truth, sacrificing truth itself in order to gain favor. The Holy Spirit read the deception behind the answer, and the stern and sudden punishment that followed marked Christ's deep contempt for all such underhand dealing.
Lying to God
Her brief affirmation was not a mere misstatement to men but dissembling before God, a lie to the Holy Spirit and to God Himself, and a deliberate agreement with her husband to tempt the Spirit of the Lord. In keeping back part of the price while pretending to bring the whole, she joined Ananias in deception and in underhanded, deceptive dealing in the Lord's work. That dealing is the same as unstraightforward, oppressive and unjust business, taking advantage of circumstances, exacting exorbitant prices, conniving in fraud, hindering the triumph of truth, and diverting God's means into a wrong channel.
To lie to people about consecration and money is to lie to God, for He knows the exact truth of what was sold and what was given. Nothing is hidden from His search, for He searches the heart and detects hidden sin of the heart. The motives and purposes of men cannot be hidden from Him, He cannot be deceived, and He will not be mocked.
The swift exposure and punishment show how deep is His hatred and contempt for fraud, hypocrisy, deception and falsehood. Lying lips are an abomination to Him, and Christ regards all deception with deep contempt. Deliberate falsehood is grave sin, exceedingly offensive to God, and the guilt of such deception rests on each deceiver in proportion to the offense. The same Spirit who read the deception behind her answer still condemns all underhand dealing today, warns those who know the truth and stand in high positions of trust to guard righteousness and judgment, and calls all selfish meanness to be put away from the character.
Judgment Guards Church
Conviction was followed by instant, swift retribution without delay, for her false affirmation brought death at Peter's feet and burial beside her husband. Deliberate falsehood is grave sin, and the deception cost them both the life that now is and the life to come. God regards such dissembling as lying to the Holy Spirit and to God, and ministering angels take note of neglect by those handling sacred things who must maintain strict integrity.
The deaths brought great fear upon the church and all who heard, exciting reverential awe in all new converts. That awe led to greater caution and more thorough self-examination testing the motives of actions. Such underhanded, deceptive dealing in the Lord's work will just as surely bring punishment and judgment on its actors.
The signal manifestation of wrath and strict dealing was a check that Infinite Wisdom knew was needed to guard the rapidly increasing young church from demoralization and disgrace. It was a special example necessary to keep the church from adding professed servants of God who worshiped mammon while professing to serve Him. The Spirit of truth revealed the real character of these pretenders, and the judgments of God that followed forever rid the church of this foul blot and stain of hypocrisy upon its purity. This signal evidence of the discerning Spirit of Christ was a terror to hypocrites and evil-doers, who could not long remain with constant representatives of Christ, so that as long as trials and persecution continued the church remained comparatively pure.
Their presence shows that unworthy and false members joined the disciples even at the beginning, and false brethren will be found in the church till the close of time. Their presence gives the world no right to doubt Christianity and should not dishearten Christians, for believers must bear with false brethren in forbearance lest the precious wheat be rooted up with the tares, since Christ does not want to lose one soul and bears long with perverse human nature. The hidden sin searched out with swift retribution was like Achan's, and warns the church through all time that the same sins that brought God's wrath anciently can bring it still. Their doom shows the fearful consequences of covetousness and proves that no one can defraud God and prosper because all are God's property, since the influence of one unrepentant sinner is defiling and corrupts many others.
The high priest with those with him, the council and all the senate of Israel, decided to turn those deaths into a criminal charge against the disciples. They falsely accused the apostles of murdering Ananias and Sapphira, with insurrection and conspiring to deprive the priests of authority and put them to death. They meant to use that charge to excite the mob to take the disciples and deal with them as it had dealt with Jesus. They did so because they feared that if the dissatisfied people accepted the apostles' truths and acknowledged Jesus as Messiah, the anger of the whole people would be raised against the religious authorities for the murder of Christ.
Warning for Giving Today
Peter's question and the swift punishment that followed were set as a danger-signal and perpetual warning not only to the early church but to professed followers of Christ in every age against covetousness, hypocrisy, deception and robbing God. The answer in which Sapphira confirmed the false sale price stands as testimony to the dishonest practice for which judgment came, showing such dishonesty to be serious sin violating God's sacred claims and dignity. The story warns through all time, as with Achan, that the same sins that brought wrath anciently can bring it on the church, and that human hearts remain continually inclined to this sin.
God requires faithfulness in performing vows, and withholding what is pledged to Him is selfishness, fraud, sacrilege and robbery of Him. Selfishness can harden the heart so that a person withholds what is owed to God while making a false show of faithfulness. The deliberate confirming of a false amount after pledging under the Spirit's influence, then drawing back and letting Satan fill the heart, was met with instant death as retributive justice.
A pledge to the cause, whether verbal or written before brethren, is a vow made to God, with brethren only as visible witnesses of a contract between the giver and God. No legal bond for payment of money is more binding, and a vow to God the giver of all favors is of still greater importance than a pledge to fellow men, which men do not generally think of asking to be released from. It is not less binding and not less valid because it will not be tried in courts of justice, and to appropriate to one's own use what was once pledged to advance His sacred work is sacrilege and robbery of God by one professing to be saved by the blood of Christ's infinite sacrifice. Vows and actions are weighed in the balance of justice in the heavenly courts.
The verse warns specifically against withholding in the tithing system a portion of what God claims while pretending to give the whole, with the thought that the brethren will never know it. It warns against bringing God a stinted offering while spending lavishly on self-gratification, against putting property down below its value, and against dishonest offering which God no more accepts than He accepted theirs. Sapphira's false Yea, for so much dissembled to God while pretending to make a free-will offering with professed consecration, and retribution lingered not.
The same underhanded, deceptive dealing in the Lord's work includes unstraightforward, oppressive and unjust business, taking advantage of circumstances, exacting exorbitant prices, conniving in fraud, hindering the triumph of truth and diverting God's means into a wrong channel. It includes thinking one is not paid enough for work and taking money or goods to supply that fancied lack, as Judas stole from the bag carrying gifts for the work on the ground his labors were not sufficiently appreciated. It includes entering business selfishly and leading customers to think profits aid benevolent enterprises while in reality they are used for personal interests, and acting a lie to brethren about consecration and money.
God's people and institutions must not misrepresent truth to gain favor or a reputation for devotion and liberality. All selfish meanness and deceit must be put away from the character, for the Holy Spirit still condemns all underhand dealing today. Those who handle sacred things and carry responsibility as faithful stewards must exemplify the mind of Christ and maintain strict integrity in every transaction rather than marring the sacred cause with selfishness, while ministering angels note neglect; those who know the truth and stand in high positions of trust are responsible to guard righteousness and judgment, to give youth a right impression, and not to pass by, cover, or hold peace toward hidden sin and moral corruption.
The same God of ancient Israel is the same in the gospel and still condemns all falsehood and dishonest dealing, though without always showing visible displeasure. The sin is just as heinous now as then, will surely be visited on the transgressor in the day of judgment and final reckoning, with many feeling the curse of God even in this life, and all who follow the same course destroy their own souls. If the same punishment fell now there would be many dead bodies in churches requiring burial, for God sees motives and purposes of the heart even when visible displeasure is not shown. For such acts God will just as surely bring punishment and judgment as He struck Ananias and Sapphira dead and brought great fear on the church and all who heard.
Peter asked Sapphira whether the land had been sold for the stated sum, giving her opportunity to tell the truth, and about three hours after her husband's death, without knowing what had happened, she affirmed that it had.
Keeping part of the proceeds was not itself wrong, for the property remained theirs to keep or give in part, but pretending to bring the whole as a free offering while concealing part was deliberate joint deception with her husband.
Her false answer was not merely lying to people but dissembling to God and tempting the Holy Spirit, who searches the heart and cannot be deceived or mocked.
Conviction was followed by swift retribution when she fell dead and was buried beside her husband, bringing great fear on the church and guarding the young, rapidly increasing church from demoralization by hypocrisy.
The questioning and punishment stand as a perpetual danger-signal to professed followers in every age against covetousness, breaking vows, and withholding tithe while pretending to give the whole, for the same God still hates falsehood though visible punishment is not always shown now.
Peter Questions Sapphira
Peter put to her the direct question whether the property had been sold for the particular sum named, and in doing so gave her full opportunity to state honestly what the price had been and to tell the truth. The questioning was not mere inquiry but a test, made under the Lord's direction, to convict her of falsehood if she persisted in it. By that exposure the first departure from truthful dealing in the church was brought into the open, and believers were warned that God knows and will search out hidden fraud and dishonesty.
She came in about three hours after Ananias had died, not knowing what had been done. When asked, she answered affirmatively that the land had indeed been sold for the amount Peter named. That short affirmative answer is presented as joining her husband in falsely presenting part of the proceeds as the whole, dissembling in a matter of professed consecration and free-will offering, and illustrating the course of those who put down their property below its value.
Joint Deception and Motives
Sapphira's short answer was a deliberate lie by which she joined her husband in hiding part of the price of the land while presenting what was brought as the whole amount given as a free-will offering. She knowingly confirmed the false figure Peter named, and by that affirmation she shared fully in the agreed deception and in tempting the Spirit of the Lord. Her word exposed their common hypocrisy, a lie to the Holy Spirit presented as entire consecration to the church.
To keep part of the money was not in itself the wrong, for the property and its proceeds remained their own to retain or to give only in part. God would have accepted a portion honestly given, and the fraud lay in the deliberate false claim that the offering was the full sale price. Their sin was pretending to give all while withholding part in order to appear to have surrendered everything.
They had pledged the land and its proceeds to God and to His work under the direct influence of the Spirit, and then they drew back from that pledge. What was withheld had already been devoted by promise, so the withholding was breaking a vow, and that broken pledge with its dishonesty was a grave offense requiring faithfulness. They promised part of their property for Christ's cause and then tried to make others believe they had given everything while keeping back what was pledged.
The deception grew out of covetousness, selfishness, avarice, and love of money, professing to serve and to be consecrated to God while in heart worshiping mammon. Satan filled the heart, and those not wholly consecrated came to regret a pledge made under the Spirit and turned regret into fraud and hypocrisy. In that false answer she dissembled to God, putting the property below its value while claiming a free and full offering.
They wanted commendation and to be thought liberal, self-denying, devoted, generous, and sacrificial, gaining esteem and even support from the common fund without surrendering all. Their lie sought a reputation for sacrifice and devotion while concealing the truth, sacrificing truth itself in order to gain favor. The Holy Spirit read the deception behind the answer, and the stern and sudden punishment that followed marked Christ's deep contempt for all such underhand dealing.
Lying to God
Her brief affirmation was not a mere misstatement to men but dissembling before God, a lie to the Holy Spirit and to God Himself, and a deliberate agreement with her husband to tempt the Spirit of the Lord. In keeping back part of the price while pretending to bring the whole, she joined Ananias in deception and in underhanded, deceptive dealing in the Lord's work. That dealing is the same as unstraightforward, oppressive and unjust business, taking advantage of circumstances, exacting exorbitant prices, conniving in fraud, hindering the triumph of truth, and diverting God's means into a wrong channel.
To lie to people about consecration and money is to lie to God, for He knows the exact truth of what was sold and what was given. Nothing is hidden from His search, for He searches the heart and detects hidden sin of the heart. The motives and purposes of men cannot be hidden from Him, He cannot be deceived, and He will not be mocked.
The swift exposure and punishment show how deep is His hatred and contempt for fraud, hypocrisy, deception and falsehood. Lying lips are an abomination to Him, and Christ regards all deception with deep contempt. Deliberate falsehood is grave sin, exceedingly offensive to God, and the guilt of such deception rests on each deceiver in proportion to the offense. The same Spirit who read the deception behind her answer still condemns all underhand dealing today, warns those who know the truth and stand in high positions of trust to guard righteousness and judgment, and calls all selfish meanness to be put away from the character.
Judgment Guards Church
Conviction was followed by instant, swift retribution without delay, for her false affirmation brought death at Peter's feet and burial beside her husband. Deliberate falsehood is grave sin, and the deception cost them both the life that now is and the life to come. God regards such dissembling as lying to the Holy Spirit and to God, and ministering angels take note of neglect by those handling sacred things who must maintain strict integrity.
The deaths brought great fear upon the church and all who heard, exciting reverential awe in all new converts. That awe led to greater caution and more thorough self-examination testing the motives of actions. Such underhanded, deceptive dealing in the Lord's work will just as surely bring punishment and judgment on its actors.
The signal manifestation of wrath and strict dealing was a check that Infinite Wisdom knew was needed to guard the rapidly increasing young church from demoralization and disgrace. It was a special example necessary to keep the church from adding professed servants of God who worshiped mammon while professing to serve Him. The Spirit of truth revealed the real character of these pretenders, and the judgments of God that followed forever rid the church of this foul blot and stain of hypocrisy upon its purity. This signal evidence of the discerning Spirit of Christ was a terror to hypocrites and evil-doers, who could not long remain with constant representatives of Christ, so that as long as trials and persecution continued the church remained comparatively pure.
Their presence shows that unworthy and false members joined the disciples even at the beginning, and false brethren will be found in the church till the close of time. Their presence gives the world no right to doubt Christianity and should not dishearten Christians, for believers must bear with false brethren in forbearance lest the precious wheat be rooted up with the tares, since Christ does not want to lose one soul and bears long with perverse human nature. The hidden sin searched out with swift retribution was like Achan's, and warns the church through all time that the same sins that brought God's wrath anciently can bring it still. Their doom shows the fearful consequences of covetousness and proves that no one can defraud God and prosper because all are God's property, since the influence of one unrepentant sinner is defiling and corrupts many others.
The high priest with those with him, the council and all the senate of Israel, decided to turn those deaths into a criminal charge against the disciples. They falsely accused the apostles of murdering Ananias and Sapphira, with insurrection and conspiring to deprive the priests of authority and put them to death. They meant to use that charge to excite the mob to take the disciples and deal with them as it had dealt with Jesus. They did so because they feared that if the dissatisfied people accepted the apostles' truths and acknowledged Jesus as Messiah, the anger of the whole people would be raised against the religious authorities for the murder of Christ.
Warning for Giving Today
Peter's question and the swift punishment that followed were set as a danger-signal and perpetual warning not only to the early church but to professed followers of Christ in every age against covetousness, hypocrisy, deception and robbing God. The answer in which Sapphira confirmed the false sale price stands as testimony to the dishonest practice for which judgment came, showing such dishonesty to be serious sin violating God's sacred claims and dignity. The story warns through all time, as with Achan, that the same sins that brought wrath anciently can bring it on the church, and that human hearts remain continually inclined to this sin.
God requires faithfulness in performing vows, and withholding what is pledged to Him is selfishness, fraud, sacrilege and robbery of Him. Selfishness can harden the heart so that a person withholds what is owed to God while making a false show of faithfulness. The deliberate confirming of a false amount after pledging under the Spirit's influence, then drawing back and letting Satan fill the heart, was met with instant death as retributive justice.
A pledge to the cause, whether verbal or written before brethren, is a vow made to God, with brethren only as visible witnesses of a contract between the giver and God. No legal bond for payment of money is more binding, and a vow to God the giver of all favors is of still greater importance than a pledge to fellow men, which men do not generally think of asking to be released from. It is not less binding and not less valid because it will not be tried in courts of justice, and to appropriate to one's own use what was once pledged to advance His sacred work is sacrilege and robbery of God by one professing to be saved by the blood of Christ's infinite sacrifice. Vows and actions are weighed in the balance of justice in the heavenly courts.
The verse warns specifically against withholding in the tithing system a portion of what God claims while pretending to give the whole, with the thought that the brethren will never know it. It warns against bringing God a stinted offering while spending lavishly on self-gratification, against putting property down below its value, and against dishonest offering which God no more accepts than He accepted theirs. Sapphira's false Yea, for so much dissembled to God while pretending to make a free-will offering with professed consecration, and retribution lingered not.
The same underhanded, deceptive dealing in the Lord's work includes unstraightforward, oppressive and unjust business, taking advantage of circumstances, exacting exorbitant prices, conniving in fraud, hindering the triumph of truth and diverting God's means into a wrong channel. It includes thinking one is not paid enough for work and taking money or goods to supply that fancied lack, as Judas stole from the bag carrying gifts for the work on the ground his labors were not sufficiently appreciated. It includes entering business selfishly and leading customers to think profits aid benevolent enterprises while in reality they are used for personal interests, and acting a lie to brethren about consecration and money.
God's people and institutions must not misrepresent truth to gain favor or a reputation for devotion and liberality. All selfish meanness and deceit must be put away from the character, for the Holy Spirit still condemns all underhand dealing today. Those who handle sacred things and carry responsibility as faithful stewards must exemplify the mind of Christ and maintain strict integrity in every transaction rather than marring the sacred cause with selfishness, while ministering angels note neglect; those who know the truth and stand in high positions of trust are responsible to guard righteousness and judgment, to give youth a right impression, and not to pass by, cover, or hold peace toward hidden sin and moral corruption.
The same God of ancient Israel is the same in the gospel and still condemns all falsehood and dishonest dealing, though without always showing visible displeasure. The sin is just as heinous now as then, will surely be visited on the transgressor in the day of judgment and final reckoning, with many feeling the curse of God even in this life, and all who follow the same course destroy their own souls. If the same punishment fell now there would be many dead bodies in churches requiring burial, for God sees motives and purposes of the heart even when visible displeasure is not shown. For such acts God will just as surely bring punishment and judgment as He struck Ananias and Sapphira dead and brought great fear on the church and all who heard.