Purity of the Church

Thanksgiving, we have a tradition in our home and many others do the same. We go on the table and we declare what we're thankful for. It's encouraging because you have to actually think about what you're thankful for. It's helpful to be forced to do so because we oftentimes do not do this well. It's also encouraging to hear what others say they're thankful for. As I've done this many times around many different tables, there's one thing I've never heard someone say they're thankful for. I've never heard someone say, I'm thankful for hypocrisy. I'm willing to bet that around all the tables, around all the nation, that as people play this game and share what they're thankful for, no one says, I'm thankful for hypocrites. That is universally something we do not appreciate. Now, of course, no one would ever be thankful for hypocrisy, but we actually need to be brutally honest this morning. We're all hypocrites. It's something we would never be thankful for, but if we're honest, everyone is guilty of hypocrisy. Let me just state two arguments here as to why I think we're all guilty of hypocrisy. We like to hide things that we think would cause others to think less of us. We want to hide those things away. We want to be secretive about those things that others might not think well of us if they knew about them. Secondly, we like to highlight the things that will cause others to think more of us. We like to make sure others see how good we are, and we make sure they do not see things that we think they may not like. What's really scary about hypocrisy is sometimes it's so bad, we start believing the lie. We start believing the lie that we're not sinners. We start believing the lie that we are better than we truly are. This morning, we're going to hear about hypocrisy. The focus of our passage is on the hypocrisy of Ananias and Sapphira. They are presenting themselves other than who they really are. They're trying to present a lie because they fear man more than God. And I believe what we hear this morning, it's a warning. It's a warning of how dangerous hypocrisy is. It's dangerous for the individual because we're lying to God. We think we're pulling something over on others, but we're actually ultimately lying to God. It's dangerous to the individual because we can be so easily self-deceived in our own hypocrisy. We're also going to see, because of God's judgment on Ananias and Sapphira, hypocrisy is dangerous for the church. One, it misrepresents God. And two, it hinders a community that's supposed to be committed to love and trust. Now, we don't just see a warning, as you heard Brianne read the passage. We see in 32 through 37 of chapter 4, we have another summary statement. Remember, if you were with us a few weeks ago, Luke gave us a summary statement beginning in Luke chapter 2, verse 42. And they were devoted to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship and to breaking and bread and prayer. And he gives a summary of what the church is doing at this time. And here again in Acts 4, 32 to 37, we have another summary statement. And it's flowing naturally out of what's just happened. Remember, John and Peter, they were just warned, they were threatened, do not proclaim the name of Jesus Christ in the resurrection. And the church responded with prayer that God would give them boldness. And we see here that God has answered that prayer. See, what I think is happening here is Luke is also showing us that there was a struggle within the church. There was a threat from outside the church from the Sadducees and the priests. Do not proclaim that name. And the church responded by trusting God, and he blessed them. That threat to the church, it was from Satan, who wants to hinder that name being proclaimed that can save sinners. And since that outward attack didn't work, what does Satan do next? He tries to attack the church from within. He brings a threat to the internal unity and the power of the church from within that comes from Ananias and Sapphira. Luke is describing the church here. And we see more so that he's actually describing what God is doing. God's saving his people, he's keeping his people, he's protecting his people, and he's purifying them. As we look at this passage, I want us to see three things. The Spirit united the church, that's verse 32. We're gonna focus a lot of our attention on this unity that I believe what we see in Ananias' fire is a threat to that unity. There's a unity to the church, verse 32. Verse 33, the Spirit empowered the church. There's a great power in the proclamation of Jesus Christ. And then our last section, chapter 4, verse 34 through 5, 11, the Spirit purified the church. This grand picture of the summary is the backdrop that we have to read Ananias and Sapphira in. So let's look to our first point. It's one verse. Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. Notice who Luke is talking about. It's the full number of those who believed. Well, we have to think about what if they believed? We've heard a number of messages from Peter that they must have been believing. The messages of Peter always focus on the fact that God sent His only Son. He sent Him with a clear plan that that Son would be punished by the people He came to save. He sent His Son knowing that He would be crucified as if a sinner. He sent His Son so that He would be crucified for us. So that the sins that we have committed would be counted against Him. That He would be crushed for our iniquities. He would be judged by those He came to save. And then God would exalt Him. God would raise Him from the dead. This is what you must believe to be a Christian. that God looked upon us in our sin and saw there was nothing we could do to improve ourselves, there's nothing we could do to save ourselves, there's nothing we could do to help ourselves. And so he sent help. His name is Jesus. He came not just to help us, he came to do everything for us, to die on our behalf so the judgment of God would be taken away. He came to rise again from the dead so that we could have new life. If you're not a Christian this morning, This is what you must believe to live. Yes, you have air in your lungs, you have oxygen in your lungs right now, you have blood going through your veins, but according to God, you're not living, you're walking dead. You're headed for destruction. If you believe in Jesus Christ, he takes away the punishment of your sin, and he gives you eternal life, he gives you the Holy Spirit, which renews you. It gives you the abundant life He created you for. See, the early church, they were all believers. Notice the full number of those who believed. It's interesting that we keep getting an account. They keep counting. The early church knew it was important to know who was in the church and who was not in the church. There was a clear understanding of who was a member of the church and who was not. And while we at Jefferson Park acknowledge we do membership in a very unique way, We don't think everything we do in terms of membership is clearly prescribed, but we do think it's important that you know who is a member and who is not. This early church knew who was a believer and who was not. Notice that all these believers. It's a young church, but it's a committed church. Notice how he describes them. Those who believed, they're of one heart and one soul. There's a unique unity, and while we could look at this and separate maybe one heart refers to their desires, and their soul refers to their minds, I'm not sure that's how this language works typically. And so as I wrestle with what does it mean to be one heart and soul, I ask how does somebody become? How do all these different people from these different nations, these different languages, how do they all come together to be of one heart and one soul? I think the only answer I could possibly come up with is that they all have the one same love. They all love the one God with all their hearts and all their souls. I believe what we see here is a church that actually is fulfilling the greatest commandment that Jesus Christ told us about. They have one heart and one soul because they've all said, I'm going to commit to loving God with all my heart and all my soul. I want us to see here that at one level they're united because Christ purchased them, but that unity, it required some action. It required a turning from sin and a turning to loving God with all their heart and all their soul. I believe this is an idiom that we actually see here in the greatest commandment, love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and all your strength. It's not referring to different parts as much as it's saying all of you, All of you, every bit of you must be committed to loving God. When the church is united in this way, it's a strong unity. Too often we try to find a weak unity, a lazy unity. Too often we try to find unity by compromising the commands of Christ. Too often we try to find unity by coming up with what the least common denominator of doctrine might be that we could all agree upon. A united church shares one love. that says I'm going to trust God, I'm going to obey him. A divided church typically points back to a divided love. Believers get distracted by self-interest, selfishness, self-absorption, self-pity, self-defense, self-righteousness, self-love. The church gets divided when our loves are always just bent in on ourselves, and the whole reason Christ came is to save us from this. to save us from a self-love that only worships ourselves and to bend our loves back up to God together. Now let me be very clear, self-love is not always sinful. God says, love your neighbor as yourself. There is a certain design self-love. Self-love is only sinful when we love ourselves and not our neighbors. Self-love is only sinful whenever we love ourselves more than God. What I believe Christ is doing here in the church is He's creating a wise community. He's creating a pure community that has their loves properly aligned. As we continue to think about this one heart and one soul, there's a commitment that must be loving God with all of their being so that they are all aligned. I want us to challenge just to continue to think about these greatest commandments. Love your God with all your heart. Love your neighbor as yourself. And there's actually another commandment that we know of from 1 John. Love your brother as Christ loved you. Notice there's a difference there between the neighbor and the brother. Love your neighbor as yourself. That's being a good neighbor. Loving your brother is different. Loving those who Christ purchased means you love them as Christ loved them. You lay down your life for them. It's a higher calling. As I wrestle with this unity that has me focused on a unique kind of love, I want to challenge you with something, that you have to believe in order for us to really love one another the way Christ called us to love. In order to love each other the way Christ called us to love, we have to believe something that is assumed here, I think. We have to believe that Christ loves us more than we love ourselves. I have to believe that Christ loves me more than I could possibly love myself. I have to believe that Christ has the ultimate perfect love. And when I believe that, I know that all things will work together for the good of those who love him. I believe his love is perfect. And that empowers us to pour ourselves out to others. When we're convinced of Christ and His perfect, unending love that is always going to empower us, to provide for us, it frees us to truly love others. Now, they're believers. They have one heart and one soul, which I believe is referring to one love. And notice the third description here of these people. They're united in their belief. They're united in their love. They're united in what they have in common. They're united in their possessions. No one said that any of their possessions were theirs. As Mark mentioned earlier, Luke talks about material wealth constantly throughout his gospel, and we're going to see it a lot in Acts. He's constantly challenging us in our love for material things. No one said, this is a description of what that unity looks like. No one said that any of the recessions were theirs. They had everything in common. That word common is the same root that we get the word fellowship for. This church had a united fellowship because they all partook of the same salvation and they're all committed to living their lives together. Now if we were to ask today, what are we supposed to have in common? We're not gathered around everyone having the same age. We're not gathered around everyone being of the same race, of the same class, of the same political affiliation. No, what we're supposed to have in common is our gospel unity. A focus on Jesus Christ and his death for us is our focus on Jesus Christ and his life for us. It means we set aside personal preferences and most of all, sin. What's amazing about this church, as Luke is describing it, They're willing to sacrifice personal property and their possessions for those whom Christ has purchased with his own blood. It's a powerful witness to their hope in Jesus Christ. As Ben read earlier, loving Christ means we cheerfully give. But believing in Jesus Christ means we have a loose grip on money and we're always trying to draw closer to believers. When we're called to faith, there's a lot of recalculating that takes place. When you believe, you repent, and that means we have to think about God, ourselves, one another, and the stuff in this world, all different. There's a recalculating that takes place. So let me just walk through some of these recalculations to remind us of some of the more important ones, and the ones that are pressed in here. One of the first recalculations we have to take into account is, I'm not as good or as important as I thought I was. Jesus Christ came to save sinners. He didn't come to save good, important people. He came to save people who needed help, who are sinners. And as we look to the gospel, it's a constant reminder, I'm not as good or as important as I thought I was. As we look to Jesus Christ, I'm reminded, I have to recalculate constantly, I am more loved than I could ever imagine. The father sent his son to die for me. There is no greater love than this, that he laid down his life. As I look to the gospel, I'm not as good or important as I thought I was, but I'm also more loved than I could ever imagine. The gospel tells us both of those truths together. The gospel also tells us this truth, I'm now part of a people. I have a responsibility to love others that Christ has loved. They don't deserve my love because of their actions, but because of Christ. And here's the fourth recalculation that I think really gets focused on what Luke is pointing us to here. I am blessed by God with all I have. It's not mine to possess, but it's mine to steward. You see, when we become Christians, when you believe in God the Father, who's the giver of every good and perfect gift, you realize everything we have that's good is from Him. And while we think we've deserved it, we've earned it, it all comes from Him and is given to us as a responsibility. It's given to us to steward. what Luke presents for us here in this one verse. They all believed together. They all loved together. They all had one heart and soul. They all shared everything they had and had it in common. It's an amazing picture of a community that's driven by a love for God. As I think about this, I want to think about two different kinds of Christians we might have among us. There's Christians who have much material wealth. And Christians who have very little material wealth. I believe we need to think about this passage in light of both of those kinds of believers because it has a different application for each one. Those who have much and those who have little. First, to those who have much, there's a sinful response to this passage that says, why would I give away what I have? I earned it. It's mine. If that's your inclination, if that's your response, you're denying that all you have is a gift. You're not recognizing that God has given you much, and therefore He's going to require much. A faithful response says, God has given me much, and I want to see how I can bless others. I want to see what I can do to make much of the name of Christ with what He has given me today. Do those have little? There's also sinful responses. One, we can look and say, why hasn't God blessed me? We can always look to somebody and see they have more wealth, and we can always ask, why hasn't God blessed me? Or even worse, you can look and you can say, well, if I had that much, I would be more generous. There's a judgment. There's a self-righteousness. There's another sinful response. I don't need charity. I will earn what I get. A faith response says I have humility before God and I'm thankful that he's given me what he's given me. I'm thankful that he's been abundantly blessing to me in the ways that he has and I can use what he has given me, whatever little it is, for his glory. I think we need to be honest here in that for us, sometimes it's harder to have little. Sometimes it's actually harder to have this kind of humility that says, I'm going to ask for help, I'm going to receive help, as the church is doing here in Acts. To be a community that holds all things in common requires humility. We see that everything that we possess should be held lightly, should be held loosely. And we should see that all those that Christ purchased with own blood, they should be held tightly and closely. I also think this passage is timely for us as a church. It's the glorious budget season. It is a season where churches have budgets, and we talk about money, and that's always awkward, and we have to talk about money because we're a church, we need a budget, and more than that, the Bible talks about money often. These are awkward conversations we like to avoid, and I always think back when I have to address this that I've met with a number of international pastors, and one of the things they regularly accuse American pastors of doing is not talking about money with their church members. Because they claim it, I think they're right. If you're not actually addressing how people are spending and how people are using their money, you're not able to really get to the heart of their sin oftentimes. It's something we shy away from, but the Bible does not. So as we look at the budget, I want to encourage you and challenge you, be praying about that. The budget is important for a church because it helps us see what we're prioritizing. If you were here for the meeting, Andrew did a fantastic job of walking through why we've set aside the funds the way we have, and the main goal is to say we're prioritizing making disciples through discipleship and evangelism. We're trying to set aside priorities and show what we're doing and then putting money towards those things. pray about the budget, pray that we'll be a church that's one in our giving and our purposes. In our covenant, we commit that we're going to give our time and energy and resources to one another. I actually want to set aside money for a moment. I want to say, let's think about our time. Let's think about our time. Our country actually has an abundance of wealth compared to the people that Luke's describing. I think we have the same amount of time, But time seems to be the thing that's so pressed for us. It points to how we prioritize our lives. So this church is united because of their belief. They're united in action, in the way they're sharing their things. They see them as good gifts, not as things to possess. And now we'll look at the Spirit has empowered that church, verse 33. They're a united church, they're an empowered church. And all this is because of the Holy Spirit. Notice how verse 33 begins. with great power. With great power. This power did not come from within. This power came from outside. The early disciples, they were told not to leave Jerusalem until the power from on high had come upon them. Then they can go out, and with great power that is from God, from on high, they can go out and proclaim that name of Jesus Christ. We see the power they had, they prayed for. And God blessed that prayer. Here, still, the apostles are the primary spokespeople. They have not yet organized into churches with elders and deacons. It's one church, literally. What is the primary declaration? With great power, the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and grace was upon them all. The resurrection was the focal point. Christians. I've said it before, and I'll continue to say it, if Christ isn't raised from the dead, we'll all be pitied. This is the key focus of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Everything falls upon, is Jesus Christ alive today at the right hand of the Father, interceding for us? It isn't just that he was a good man that was baptized and taught us wisdom and was crucified, it's that he was raised from the dead to show that he's conquered death. He's there now to give us new life at the right hand of the Father. Everything we believe is based upon the truth that Jesus is the risen Son of God who was crucified for our sins. Now, as we look at verse 33, I kind of look at it in light of everything else that Luke says, And what is interesting about 33 is it's not like the others. This verse stands out as not like the others because every other verse that we're gonna be looking at is about unity and sharing or selfishness and hypocrisy. It's all about if you're giving or keeping your stuff. 33 is about the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And I actually want to make sure we think about how the power of the resurrection is significant in the way they thought about their material goods. I want us to see how the resurrection is connected to the kind of common care that they provide for another in sharing their belongings. So three observations about the resurrection and what it says about this community. First, This church is united together in the name of Christ who is raised to save them from their sins. There's a witness, there's a common faith, a common commitment. They're not just a social gathering, they are committed together to be under Christ who's been raised from the dead. So first, it's a community committed to the risen Savior. Second, we realize that it's not just a simple social gathering of people who like one another. Most of these people probably didn't even know one another before this took place. But now they're brothers and sisters. It's a people called out to be united in Christ. And then third, what we're gonna spend most of our time in this point on, I believe there's an intrinsic connection between the church's hope in the resurrection and their willingness to give up their earthly goods. There's an intrinsic connection between the church's hope in the resurrection and their willingness to give up their earthly goods. The connection is this. If you do not believe in the resurrection, you should keep everything you earn and you should spend it on yourself, for tomorrow you will die. Eat, drink, and be merry. For tomorrow, you will die. If you do not believe the resurrection, this world is as good as it gets, and you should try to live it up as best you can. However, if you believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, you believe He's coming back, and you believe He's going to make each of us give an account for how we stewarded what He gave us. We're all gonna have to give an account for how we lived in light of that resurrection, how we have participated and sought to live in that eternal life now. You know that eternal life and it's qualitatively better. What we're waiting for is better than this life today. In Matthew 6, 19 through 21, Jesus introduces a radical truth. Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, where thieves do not break in and steal, for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Jesus, our risen Savior, taught us there's two worlds. There's two worlds. There's the earth that's going to end, things perish, they rust, and this earth is ultimately unsatisfying. And then there's heaven. It's eternal. Your treasure there lasts forever and it's satisfying. As Jesus taught, we can either have our treasure here on earth or in heaven. Now if you think about the things here on earth, they sure are enticing. And they sure have figured out a way of making commercials very enticing. My children, they hear the commercials and they can repeat them. Wow, we need that. The things in this world, they tell you, you need this to be happy. They tell you this will make you satisfied. They even say if you wake up at 3 a.m. on a certain Friday, we'll give you a discount so you can buy more of it. How foolish we are. That extra sleep was way more satisfying. Here's the reality. We're all looking for that delight we know we don't have. We're all looking to be satisfied. And the things of this earth are always promising and never fulfilling. And let me say this as clear as I can. One of the greatest applications of the resurrection of Jesus Christ is it verifies this world is not satisfying. My experience is accurate. It also tells me one of the most encouraging things. This world is not all there is. Praise God. This world is not the end. It's not all there is. God has created a new heaven and a new earth. The son not only came down to save us, but the son now is going back to the father. And there he prepares a place for us that is ultimately and finally satisfying. What we have to see is that Jesus Christ came to gave us the most guaranteed investment plan. It's himself. If we place our faith in Christ, if we trust Him, if we love Him, He is ultimately and perfectly satisfying today and will be forever. It's an investment plan that says His glory is our greatest goal. Because the thing about this passage and a lot of the resurrection, we realize there's a responsibility we have. We're longing to hear, well done, good and faithful servant, when the resurrected Savior comes and returns. And this is fitting for Thanksgiving. We have to be thankful for all that we have so that we're good stewards of it. Finally, as we look at the heart of our passage, verses 34 through 511, the Spirit purifies the church. It's a church that's empowered by belief. It's empowered by the belief in the resurrection. And now we're gonna see Luke give a little bit more description and then a great warning. The result of all the believers having everything in common is verse 34, there were no needy people. There was no need and we see here that some in verse 34, many who were owners of land and houses, they sold them. And then they would bring the proceeds to the apostles and they would set them at their feet and say, we submit these things to you and trust you. I want to pause here for a second. I want to simply say, elders and deacons, this is a high calling in stewardship because whenever people give to the church, they're saying, we trust that you're going to use these funds that we voted on in a budget for the best purpose of glorifying God. There's a great stewardship for those who receive the funds who then have to use them for God's glory. I also wanted to see something that not everybody gave the same thing in the same way. Everybody didn't sell everything they had to give. Some who had property they sold, not everybody sold what they had, but everybody contributed. What's interesting here is also if they're selling land, that's an inheritance. And I believe the only reason they're selling off that inheritance, that physical earthly inheritance, is that they are convinced that their inheritance in Jesus Christ is truly greater. Now look at verse 36 and 37. He takes a little bit of a turn. He's described this beautiful picture of a people who love one another, who believe together, who share together. And then he highlights one specific person, someone we're gonna learn more about later. His name is Barnabas. We see that he also had a name change. And he's known to be a son of encouragement before he gives this land. I think that's significant. He is an encourager, and giving up his land is simply one of the ways that he is an encouragement. He's used as a positive example to show this one individual is in line with what the Holy Spirit is doing in the church. And then we come to chapter 5, where new people are introduced. And they're introduced with a contrast. But, things change here. So far we've seen this beautiful picture. People who believe together, love together, share together. They're proclaiming Christ together. They're one in the resurrected Jesus Christ. That's the backdrop of what happens next. But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, they sold a piece of property. And with his wife's knowledge, he kept back for himself some of the proceeds. and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles' feet. Now, as a pastor, I wondered, is this teaching 100% tithing given? I was tempted to see if this was teaching, and I had to read it a couple times to make sure it's not. However tempting that is. Because what we see later, the interpretation isn't that they give everything, it's that you simply are honest with what you give. If we left it there, we would say there's something wrong with not giving everything, but that's not what Peter actually accuses them of later. 1 and 2 tell us there's a plot. There's something wrong with this picture. And so when he brings it to the apostles' feet, look at verse 3, Peter speaks with knowledge that is divine. He says something that he's not supposed to know because God has revealed it to him. Peter said, in Ananias, Why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? That's quite a bold, a bold accusation. Peter sees, and notice the question, it is asking and putting on an eyes in the position of responsibility, something you have done has given Satan a power over you and now you are over against the Holy Spirit. You're not with the church aligned with the Holy Spirit, you're against the church because you're against the Holy Spirit. He's a blemish in their love feast, as Jude calls it. And now look, it's helpful to see more specifically about what he's done. But it's not that he didn't give everything. Look at verse four. While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? You didn't have to sell it. And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you've contrived this deed in your heart? You didn't have to give it out of the church. You didn't have to sell it. You didn't have to give it out of the church, but what you have to do is you have to tell the truth. You didn't have to sell the property. You didn't have to give it all, but you have to tell the truth. Why is it that you've contrived this deed in your heart? You're not lying to us. You're lying to God. You're not lying to us. You're lying to God. He clarifies the problem. Ananias is a hypocrite. After we just heard how great Barnabas was, it appears Ananias, he wants to be known for someone who's better than he really is. He wants to be known as more generous than he truly is. So he holds some of the property wealth back, but pretends to be giving it all. He wants to pretend, he wants to present himself as more holy and godly and more generous than he is. And one of the things we're to see here, he's more concerned about what other people think than what God thinks. He's more concerned about how other people are going to view him rather than being concerned about the God who knows all and sees all what he thinks. He's controlled by a fear of man that says, I want to be liked, respected, and praised. He's controlled by a love of self more than a love for God. What happens next? When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. The judgment from God was quick and severe. Now notice what happens with the people who heard. They feared. Ananias, who feared man more than God, because of God's judgment on him, it brings about more fear of those who were in the church of God. Same thing happens with his wife. After an interval of about three hours, his wife comes in, Peter says to her, tell me whether you sold the land for so much. She says, yes, so much, because her and her husband have come up with this plot. Peter said to her, how is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband at the door, they will carry you out. And immediately she fell down on his feet and breathed her last. And notice the outcome again. Great fear came upon the whole church. Some people want to know, is Ananias a believer here? That's one of the questions that a lot of the commentators try to answer. Quite frankly, I don't think Luke gives us a hard, clear declaration for a reason. He wants us to simply see this. The hypocrisy and the fear of man of Ananias is deadly dangerous. There should be a fear of this kind of sneaking, of this kind of deceit, of this kind of lying that should overwhelm us to be afraid of sin. We have to recognize the great danger of hypocrisy and being controlled by a fear of man. There's a self-righteousness that wants others to think more of him. It poisons the church. It introduces lies and mistrust. This passage really It's challenging in another way. Many people are asking, how could God do this? How could God be so quick to judge? How come there wasn't any opportunity for repentance? So when we ask that question, we're starting to ask if God is right and good, and that's not healthy. We have to see here that God is righteous. His action is always righteous. We have to see here that what God is desiring is a people who are pure. Not popular. He desires a worshiping church, not a large church. He desires a people who are united in a love that requires trust, which requires honesty. The church feared. This is a great warning. God wants to build a church. Not a building, a church. There's people. He wants to build up a people to be his own who are loving him, loving one another, and are a great witness to the world. And what we have to see here is Ananias and Sapphira. They represent what can be dangerous. They represent the kind of attacks that Satan wants to bring in the church. The kind of attacks that bring about mistrust. The kind of attacks that bring about hypocrisy and self-righteousness. This attack should have an effect on us that causes us to fear God. to be afraid of the kind of sin that lingers and lurks in our own hearts, and to not be a hypocrite about it. So let us meditate on a few warnings from this particular passage. First, there's a warning. Do not fear man more than God. We need to be controlled and compelled by a reverence for God so that we trust him and we obey him. We have to resist the temptation to be people pleasers. This temptation of Ananias is way more appealing, I think, for us than that temptation that we would have seen in Acts 4. If somebody were to threaten us, deny Jesus, I actually think most of us, we wouldn't see that as a real threat. This is a kind of dangerous hypocrisy. This is a kind of dangerous temptation that I think is more of a threat to our hearts. Because we want others to think we're successful. We want others to think we're attractive. We want others to think we're influential. We want others to think that we're holy. We care about how our peers look at us. We can be controlled by that kind of fear of man in a way that begins to remove a fear of God. The gospel of life says I am a sinner in need of salvation. The gospel life says, I will not compromise. The gospel unity of the church says that we are all united in the same faith, the same beliefs, the same life. So the warning here is do not desire the approval of man over against the glory of God. There's a fear of man that can control us, and that leads to all kinds of self-deceit. So the second warning follows along. Resist hypocrisy. Resist hypocrisy. And this is a temptation for all of us because at some level there's a self-protection. What if they find out about this sinful thought that I have or a sinful desire? What will they think of me? There's a fear of how other Christians are going to treat you if they actually found out how sinful you were. My challenge to you is this, be more afraid of what that sin's gonna do than what an immature Christian's going to say about you. An immature Christian is going to stand over you and judge you and condemn you. A mature Christian's going to restore you and love you. You need to be more afraid of what that sin is going to do to your heart than what that immature Christian is going to do with the false accusations and condemnations. What we see here is Ananias, he presented himself as better than he was. He thought he would get away with it. He did not realize he's lying to God. Hypocrisy is, we can fool one another. Hypocrisy is when we actually lie to God. That's a horrible, dangerous self-deception. The third thing we need to see from this passage is that God purifies his church. Praise God he's continually purifying his church. We're sinners saved by grace. He protects us, he purifies us, and something we need to realize is purifying normally has a pinch. Purifying process rarely feels good. When we're purified, it's painful. God is at work building up his church, and oftentimes it's painful. Now sometimes we have the joy of baptizing new believers. That's a way of God building his church and purifying it, by adding to it. And there's great rejoicing at new believers being baptized and new folks coming, but sometimes he purifies the church by pointing out our individual sin that we must repent of. Sometimes he purifies the church by removing members that we've loved and cared for. As I talk about those other men, there were four ways that we came up with it, how God purifies the church. One, through the convictions of us, of the people of God, as we are changed by studying scripture together. This is a normative way that we should be purified. As we all come and we study scripture together, we should be convicted. We should be changed. That is a good way that God purifies the church, and that is what we should be seeking to do every day. Regular Bible study that convicts us. Secondly, sometimes God purifies a church by bringing new Christians from previous churches to our church. And what I love about when somebody joins our church is I love to ask them, tell me about your observations. Because something that a new member will help us see is that we as a church, we sometimes have acceptable sins. We sometimes have patterns that are irregular with scripture. And a new, healthy believer can come in and make observations, and they help us see that we can be more faithful to Scripture. So He purifies the church through the regular study, by adding to us. Sometimes He purifies the church by others leaving the church, who are faithful, godly members, and they go to other churches, and they purify them, and it's a greater picture of what God's doing. And then fourthly, sometimes God purifies the church when an unrepentant professor is removed. This is painful. And we have to remember that that discipline is twofold. It's to restore that professing believer, and it's to help us fear our own sin so that we don't become that unrepentant professor. As I look to this passage, I want us to see God is doing a great work. He wants a unified, empowered church that's proclaiming Jesus Christ. And what hinders that work is one of Satan's attacks. Come in, feed mistrust. He comes in and he causes mistrust to take place. He causes deception. So we have to be a people committed to the Word of God. This is our truth, this is our love, this is our rule. We have to be afraid of our sin that can corrupt Christ's church. Will you pray with me? Father, we thank you that we can come before you and we can hear of this high bar of what this church was like. A united group of believers who love one another. We pray that we would be a united group of believers that love one another and proclaim you boldly. Lord, each of us, each of us can be so tempted so easily to believe the lies of Satan, to believe the lies that we're better than we are, to believe the lies that we're not as loved as much as you love us, to cause us to question you, to cause us to question one another, and Father, I pray that you would bring your Holy Spirit to convict us of our sins, to unite us in Christ and to empower us to be a faithful church. Help us, Lord, to see that who we are in Christ must continually change the way we think of ourselves and one another and the good gifts you've given to us. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.