Lying to the Holy Spirit

A sharing church. Just before this, the believers shared what they had. Barnabas sold a field and brought all the money to the apostles (Acts 4:36-37). A sale. “But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession” (5:1). The possession was a piece of land. Part, not all. “He kept back part of the proceeds” (5:2). Proceeds means the money from the sale. Together. The Bible says “his wife also being aware of it” (5:2). They made the plan together. A pretend gift. Ananias brought the rest and laid it at the apostles’ feet as if it were the whole price. The gift was real, but the story he told with it was false. Why pretend? They wanted the church to think they had given everything, like Barnabas. They wanted praise from people. What God wants. “So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7). Grudgingly means unhappily. What we learn. God cares about why we do good things, not just what we do. Jesus said to do good so that people “glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). Good works should point to God, not to us.

The setting (4:32-37). The first believers shared their things freely. Barnabas, whose name means Son of Encouragement, sold a field and brought the money to the apostles. Ananias and Sapphira did the same thing on the outside, but not on the inside. Kept back (5:2). The Greek word nosphizomai (say: nos-FID-zoh-my) means to keep something back for yourself secretly. The Greek Old Testament uses the same word for Achan, who secretly kept treasure from Jericho (Joshua 7:1). Free to keep it. No one forced anyone to sell. Peter said the land was Ananias’ own, and the money was “in your own control” (5:4). Sharing in the church was willing, not a rule. The sin was the pretending. A mask. Jesus warned against giving in order to be seen by people (Matthew 6:1-4). Ananias wore a mask of generosity. He wanted the honor Barnabas received without paying what Barnabas paid. Agreement (5:2). Sapphira knew. A husband and wife are meant to help each other do right; here they helped each other do wrong. A quiet sin. “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit” (Philippians 2:3). Conceit means thinking too highly of yourself. The wish to be admired can hide inside good deeds. Application. Before you give, help or serve, ask who you want to impress. Give for God’s eyes, not for people’s praise, and you will be free from the need to pretend.

The first church loved to share. Nobody in the church went without what they needed. A man named Barnabas sold a field. He gave all the money to the apostles. Ananias and Sapphira sold some land too. They kept part of the money secretly. Then they acted like they had given it all. They wanted people to think they gave everything. Giving to God is good. But God cares about why we give. He does not want us to give so people will praise us. He wants us to give with a happy, honest heart. God sees what is inside us.

Ananias and Sapphira gave money to the church. But they wanted people to think they gave it all. God wants a true heart.

Peter’s question. “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself?” (5:3). Satan’s part. Satan is the enemy of God. Jesus called him a liar. Satan put the idea in front of Ananias, and Ananias let it in. Ananias’ part. “Why have you conceived this thing in your heart?” (5:4). Conceived means the plan began and grew inside him. Ananias could not blame the devil. Free to choose. “While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control?” (5:4). The land and the money were his. The real sin. Keeping money was not wrong. Lying about it was. The Holy Spirit is God. In verse 3 Peter said Ananias lied “to the Holy Spirit.” In verse 4 he said, “You have not lied to men but to God.” The Holy Spirit is God. A Person. You can only lie to someone who hears and knows. The Holy Spirit is a Person, not just a power. What we learn. Every lie is a lie to God, who sees everything. “Submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (James 4:7).

Filled (5:3). Not long before, the believers had been filled with the Holy Spirit (4:31). Now Satan had filled Ananias’ heart. Every heart is filled with something, and Ananias opened his to the enemy. Lied (5:3). A lie is saying or showing something false so that others will believe it. Ananias’ gift itself told the lie. Conceived (5:4). The plan was formed in his heart before it was done with his hands. “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked” (Jeremiah 17:9). That is why we need God to give us new hearts. The Holy Spirit is God. Verse 3 says Ananias chose “to lie to the Holy Spirit.” Verse 4 says, “You have not lied to men but to God.” Peter speaks of lying to the Spirit as lying to God. The Holy Spirit is fully God, and He is a Person. A Person, not a power. A force cannot be lied to or tested (5:9). Jesus called the Spirit “another Helper” and said, “He will guide you into all truth” (John 14:16; 16:13). The Spirit of truth. Jesus also called Him “the Spirit of truth” (John 14:17). To lie to Him is to lie to truth itself. Free, not forced (5:4). Peter’s two questions show that the believers’ sharing was willing. Ananias had no duty to sell or to give it all. His only duty was to be honest. Application. Satan tempts, but the choice to sin is ours. When a lie starts forming in your heart, stop and bring it to God before it reaches your mouth.

Peter asked Ananias a hard question. He asked why Ananias let Satan rule his heart. Satan is God’s enemy, and he loves lies. Satan tempted Ananias, but Ananias still chose to lie. Peter said Ananias lied to the Holy Spirit. Then Peter said Ananias lied to God. That shows us something very important. The Holy Spirit is God! The land had belonged to Ananias. He could have kept all the money. That was not wrong. The lie was the wrong thing. It started in his heart before he said it.

Peter knew about the lie. The Holy Spirit is God. So Ananias lied to God. God always knows what is true.

Ananias. “Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and breathed his last” (5:5). Breathed his last means he died. A chance for Sapphira. About three hours later Peter asked her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for so much?” (5:8). She could have told the truth. The same lie. She said, “Yes, for so much” (5:8). She chose to keep pretending. Testing God. “How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord?” (5:9). To test God means to see how far you can push Him. Sapphira. “Then immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last” (5:10). It was a very sad day. Holy. Holy means set apart, pure and perfect. God says, “Be holy, for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:16). Sin cannot stand in His presence. Is God always this quick? No. Most of the time God is patient, “not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). Here, at the very start of the church, God showed everyone how holy He is. What we learn. “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). Wages means what we earn. That is why we need Jesus, who took the punishment for our sins.

God’s judgment (5:5). Peter did not strike Ananias or curse him. Peter spoke the truth, and God acted. Only God gives life and takes it. A door left open (5:8). Peter asked Sapphira a direct question. It was a chance to be honest, and she used it to repeat the lie. Testing the Spirit (5:9). The Greek word peirazo (say: pay-RAD-zoh) means to test or to try. Israel tested God in the desert by demanding proof that He was with them (Exodus 17:7). Ananias and Sapphira tested whether God would notice. At the start of new things. When worship at the tabernacle began, God judged Nadab and Abihu, and Moses said, “By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy” (Leviticus 10:3). When Israel entered the land, God judged Achan’s hidden sin (Joshua 7). Many Christians see the same pattern here: at the start of the church, God showed plainly how holy He is. Mercy is still His way. God usually waits. Paul asks, “Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?” (Romans 2:4). Forbearance means holding back from punishing. Romans 6:23. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” What happened that day shows what sin deserves. The cross shows what God’s love gives. Application. Do not treat God’s patience as permission to sin. Take sin seriously, and take His mercy seriously too.

Ananias and Sapphira both died that day. God judged their lie right away. This shows us that God is holy. Holy means God is pure and perfect. There is no lie in Him at all. Peter gave Sapphira a chance to tell the truth. She chose to lie instead. Does God always punish a lie right away? No, He does not. Most of the time God is very patient. He gives us time to come back to Him. This happened when the church was brand new. God showed everyone how holy He is. Sin is serious, so Jesus died for our sins.

God is holy. He is pure and good. God never tells a lie. Jesus came to take our sins away.

Great fear. “So great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things” (5:11). Two kinds of fear. One kind of fear runs away from someone cruel. The fear of the Lord is deep respect and wonder for a God who is holy and good. The beginning. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge” (Proverbs 1:7). Knowing God starts with taking Him seriously. The church grew. Right after this, “believers were increasingly added to the Lord” (5:14). A holy church was not an empty church. A kind God. “The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, Slow to anger and great in mercy” (Psalm 145:8). Compassion means caring love. Coming honestly. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Confess means to tell God the truth about what we did. Come boldly. “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy” (Hebrews 4:16). What we learn. The holy God who sees every lie is the same God who welcomes every honest heart. You never have to pretend with Him.

Great fear (5:11). The Greek word phobos (say: FOH-boss) can mean terror, but here it is the deep awe of people who have seen that God is truly among them. A healthy church. Right after this, “believers were increasingly added to the Lord” (5:14). God’s holiness did not empty the church. It made the church real. Fear and comfort. Later the churches were walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, and they kept growing (Acts 9:31). Awe and comfort belong together. Walking in the light. “If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). Walking in the light means living with nothing hidden from God. Near to the broken. “The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit” (Psalm 34:18). Contrite means truly sorry. The holy God draws close to honest, sorry people. The throne of grace. The same holy God now invites us to “come boldly to the throne of grace” (Hebrews 4:16), because Jesus, our High Priest, has opened the way. Boldness is not pretending. It is trusting Jesus. Application. If you have been pretending with God or with people, take off the mask. Tell God the truth today, and where you have hurt someone, make it right.

The whole church was filled with fear. This was not fear of a mean person. It was deep respect for a great and holy God. God is holy, and He is also very kind. He does not want us to hide from Him. He wants us to come and tell Him the truth. When we do wrong, we can tell God about it. The Bible says He will forgive us. Jesus already paid for our sins on the cross. So we can always come to God honestly. He will never push us away.

Everyone felt great fear. That means deep respect for God. We can tell God the truth. He loves us and forgives us.