When one Christian sees another Christian getting away with it, he finds it easier to try it himself. What the Bible Says About Grace (College Press). PS - I spent about 6 weeks in the US for the first time late last year. A man couldnt ask for much more than that. See again my book, Set Free!, pp. Peter, with miraculous divine discernment, attributed their scheme to Satan and called it lying to the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:3). To subscribe to this RSS feed, copy and paste this URL into your RSS reader. Is there any sign that either of you is seeking the supremacy in your relationship (such as keeping score)? The heart is sometimes used in Scripture to refer in a wider sense to the immaterial part of mans being, including both his spirit and his soul. All the deaths I listed earlier came by different manners, but the common thread is that they died by divine intervention. A man named Ananias and his wife Sapphira sold a piece of land kept some of it for themselves and then the husband, brought the rest as an offering to the Church. Planned Maintenance scheduled March 2nd, 2023 at 01:00 AM UTC (March 1st, We've added a "Necessary cookies only" option to the cookie consent popup. And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but all things were common property to them For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales and lay them at the apostle's feet". Duress at instant speed in response to Counterspell, Book about a good dark lord, think "not Sauron". Why they were killed for that only God knows. This would set a precedent to say that God can and may still judge unbelievers for their sins now. The Holy Spirit, God or both? And he tells believers to watch out for these kinds of people. Look finally at the significance of their discipline. Perhaps they had previously - the whole story is not recorded. There was no trace of fleshly pride in it whatsoever. 4. What happens to Ananias and Sapphira is alarming. Barnabas was one who sacrificed everything (Acts 4:36, 37). In any case, lying or blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is one sin that cannot be forgiven. Without a moments hesitation she answered, Yes, that was the price (Acts 5:8). [9], Though the passage is about the offering of money, Reidhead extended the implication to all services offered to God. But coming at the very start of the church, with God incredibly active and the great need to start in purity, it was a sin that required swift and firm judgement - and the result was that which was needed with a holy fear coming upon the believers. It was certainly their privilege to continue in the Spirit. Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search. This was not discipline, this was judgement and death for sin. By clicking Accept all cookies, you agree Stack Exchange can store cookies on your device and disclose information in accordance with our Cookie Policy. I think so but I don't really know. Jude also calls these kinds of people waterless clouds, swept along by the winds. The church is not composed of perfect people, but sins including pride and deceit will eventually be dealt with. B. Personally I think its quite obviously referring to the party of the Pharisees. They wanted more than acceptance; they wanted acclaim. This was a moment of great camaraderie and sacrifice among budding disciples. Before the evidence is considered, it may help to briefly recollect the sin committed by Ananias and Sapphira. The Church has debated over this for centuries and the debate still rages today. The number of believers probably totaled five thousand or more by this time, and yet they were of one heart and one soul. Lukethe Spirit-inspired historian who wrote the Book of Actstells us in Acts 5:1; But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession (Acts 5:1). And certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, Therefore, when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and dispute with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them should go up to Jerusalem, to the apostles and elders, about this question. ", Leviticus 10:9: Do not drink wine or strong drink, neither you nor your sons with you, when you come into the tent of meeting, so that you will not die". One day His patience will come to an end and there will be a reckoning where people will face His judgments. To conclude, God has a certain God-defined "threshold" for every situation involving a person's sin, and once she/he crosses that threshold then consequences of God's Anger to uphold justice will be brought forth. Is it possible that Ananias and Sapphira were still saved despite the exemplary punishment they received? Thanks for contributing an answer to Biblical Hermeneutics Stack Exchange! Perhaps we might wish to contemplate the end of the previous chapter (Acts 4). (Luke 16:19-31, Luke 18:18-30). Why did God approve of animal-based diets if Adam and Eve were originally vegan? Will Jesus 'spit' us out of His mouth? And more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, Who were the rest that didnt dare join the Church? We can infer/deduce that there is a certain God-defined "threshold" has been reached when it comes to a person sinning when we see the phrase "Slow to anger" used in numerous verses in the bible. You will see some famous names including Moses that committed the sin unto death. Story Identification: Nanomachines Building Cities, Rename .gz files according to names in separate txt-file. I believe they were clearly unsaved Pharisees, and this is why. There is nothing in the story that indicates that they went to hell and this was not a sin that Jesus didn't pay for when He died. They are evil and have a sinister agenda. As told at the beginning of Acts chapter 5 Ananias and Sapphira, following Barnabas' example, also sold their land but secretly withheld a portion of the proceeds. We don't know if they were given a second chance. Hope this helps, Three hours after Ananias' death his wife arrived, unaware of what had happened. So if we believe that they were genuine believers then does this lie commit them to hell? Three hours later, his wife comes in, not knowing of her husband's death. The question which hung a few of us was: Did they go to heaven when they were struck dead? Most of us felt, assuming they were born again believers, they did. But, if God did judge Ananias and Sapphira and they were not saved, it still means that He judged unbelievers for their sins even though Jesus was judged for all sin. While they demonstrated a marvelous togetherness in their deceptive scheme, their hypocrisy could not help but have affected their marriage. It is quite possible that in this case, Nadab and Abihu had been intoxicated as they offered their sacrifices. And we can be grateful for that! But most of them were selling their material possessions and giving the money to the apostles to be distributed to those who, in all probability, had lost their jobs because of their faith. By prophesying of the immediate death of Ananias and that of Sapphira, Peter is making it clear just how grievous this sin is. Only, Ananias was not at all happy in his approach to Peter's feet that day. Is it possible that [they] were still saved despite the exemplary punishment they received?". Second, contrary to a widespread fallacy, an individual sin (except for the sin of unbelief) does not necessarily separate us from the grace of God. Then we will be able to stop playing the game of putting on appearances. 10. The rest of who? Husbands and wives can begin by being honest with each other. Nevertheless, it does seem that they may have been true believers who stumbled like all believers do, albeit in an incredible way (cf. The LORD is compassionate and gracious, Slow to anger and abounding in feet, and they would be distributed to each as any had need. The point Im making is that this shows us it was not uncommon to have Pharisees trying to come into the church and that is was not unlikely that Ananias and Sapphira could not have been Pharisees. Connected to this story is the truth, though not often dwelt upon, that God can sometimes take a believers life in judgement. The church needs to be strict at that critical time of beginning and growth. Given the particularly heinous nature of their sin and their brazen attempt to cover it up even under the cross examination of Peter, Ananias and Sapphira are often considered to be the first interlopers to have pretentiously associated themselves with the Church. Ananias & Sapphira were clearly practicing duplicity and hypocrisy, which was indicative of their attitude toward lying. In Peter's words, Ananias and Sapphira agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord (v9), which appears to be a terrible sin in the eyes of God, so terrible that it even warranted having the couple killed on the spot, without even being given the chance to confess and repent. Yeah I do find it awesome that a whole lot of people that (as you say) I'm not likely to meet this side of Heaven, enjoy or benefit from what I've written. To be clear, nowhere does Acts 5 say that Ananias and Sapphira were not believers. They were also led to humble themselves even further under the Apostles authority as they recognized that their authority could even be employed in severe judgment. is a man who boasts of a gift he does not give.. And for every member who operates in the power of the flesh rather than the Spirit, for every one who lives for the praise of men rather than for the glory of God, the effectiveness of Christs church is reduced so much the more. Gods family is much broader than any single family unit, and we soon learn that our relationship to this larger spiritual family affects our relationship with each other as husbands and wives. They wanted the praise of men. 7. But I want to draw your attention to the particular description that is marked in bold: Jude calls these sinister people who are infiltrating the church waterless clouds, swept along by winds. You have not lied to man but to God. 5 When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. Biblical Hermeneutics Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for professors, theologians, and those interested in exegetical analysis of biblical texts. This gives us a whole new perspective on suicide, also. Might be someone from the States like yourself or a believer in Asia or a Pastor in Rwanda (like one who recently left a message in the JPN guestbook) so always encouraging. They could not bear to do what the others were doinggive their substance totally to God and trust solely in His faithfulness to meet their needs. Each partner is keeping score of who gives in the most, who gets the most attention, who shows the most appreciation, who has the most faults, or some other trivial area of contention. What had happened all the deaths I listed earlier came by different,! Believers probably totaled five thousand or more by this time, and this is why no trace of pride... `` not Sauron '' was indicative of their attitude toward lying pride in it whatsoever did! 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