Good Morning everyone. Today is going to be interesting…mainly because we are going to be dealing with one of those passages preachers avoid. It is not a simple passage; but it is in the Bible so we are going to talk about it. 🙂

Let us read Acts 5:1-11

1Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. 2With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet.  3Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? 4Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God.”  5When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened. 6Then the young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him.

7About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8Peter asked her, “Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land?”  “Yes,” she said, “that is the price.” 9Peter said to her, “How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.”  10At that moment she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events.

So what is happening here? What is the Lord saying?

As you can imagine, there are many different lessons to be learned from the mistake of Ananias and Sapphira.  The lesson that God brought to my heart this week comes from a conversation I had with a member of the local community. This community member felt that churches – like this one – were simply ‘bank accounts’ used to acquire money for a few people.

Unfortunately, this is a view that a lot of people outside the church have – and even more unfortunately, there are abuses within many churches that make these concerns valid…

This, however, does not mean that we as a church are to shrink back from what God has spoken. No – we are speak the words of the Bible and draw closer to Him. This is why I am willing to jump out of the frying pan this morning and into the fire. Today we are going to be talking about our attitude towards money.

Did the air just drop a few degrees in here?

Don’t worry – I’m not going to tell you what to do with your money – that’s God’s job, not mine. I’m just going to talk about our attitude.

Let us turn back to the book of Acts.

At the end of chapter 4 we see the believers in Jerusalem gathering together and providing for the needs of those around them. In verse 36 we hear about Joseph who sells a field and gives all the money to the apostles to hand out to the needy.

Following on the heels of this passage comes the story about Ananias and Sapphira. Note that originally there were no chapters or verses – meaning that these two passages were meant to be read as one story.  We – as listeners – are supposed to hear the contrast between these two people:

• Joseph, who as a Levite would have traditionally been the one to whom all gifts were to be given to (according to the Law of Moses), brings an offering to the 12 Apostles (who stood for the new Israel).
  • We are also told that Joseph was called Barnabas – Son of Encouragement – meaning that his heart and primary motivation was to glorify God and to help people.
• Ananias and Sapphira, on the other hand, wanted all the glory for themselves. This is why they lied about the amount of the property – they wanted to be praised like Barnabas while making a little dough.
  • Here’s the thing: the Apostles did not ask Ananias and Sapphira to sell their property. Just like Peter says in verse 4: “Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal?”
  • In other words, they could have kept some of the money for themselves. That wasn’t the issue – the issue was that instead of being honest, they tried to gain glory by making it look like they were giving the full amount.

Attitude.

Attitude is one of the most important things in giving. Paul in 2 Corinthians 9:7 says:

7Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

When we give money to the Lord it is not because God ‘requires’ or ‘makes’ us give. NO!! It is because we WANT to give – it is because of the love God has placed into our hearts for our brothers and sisters – for our fellow human beings – that we give.

Listen closely, no amount of giving or not giving will ever change your position before God the Father. Our relationship with God is based upon one thing and one thing only: the blood of Jesus Christ.

It is through Jesus life, ministry, death, burial, resurrection and ascension that we can come before the Father. Nothing else. Period.