Join us as we read the scriptures and a daily devotion written by Don Crisp. We pray these messages will bless us all at this time.
Monday 21 September: Acts chapter 5:1-11
Categories: Don’s Daily Devotions
Monday 21 September: Acts chapter 5:1-11:
( NB: A longer passage than usual, but one that would be difficult to split.)
V1-2: Ananias and Sapphira seek to appear to be as sacrificially committed in the love of Christ as such as Barnabas, but sadly it is a sham.Their intention is to be admired and thought well of, when their hearts are full of deceit.
V3-4: They could have legitimately brought part of the proceeds from the sale of their land rather than the whole, had they simply said so, Perhaps others did. But Peter, with a God-given discernment, declares Satan has tempted them into this deceit, the heart of which is an attempt to deceive not only their fellow believers but God Himself.
V5-6: Note, Peter does not ” curse” him, or strike him down, his heart is smitten by the realisation and revelation of what he has sought to do.
V9-10: As for Ananias, so it is for his wife Sapphira – note the charge of v9 – and realise this is a solemn judgement of God, not of man.
V11: The outcome is a growth of awe and fear both in and beyond the church, at the Holiness of God and His standards for His church. Many years ago, I was struck by the comment of one Bible teacher on this solemn episode ” I stand in awe of the purity of that early church, where a lie could not live.” How it challenges us to see this difficult passage in this way, surely.