Give carefully, truthfully and prayerfully


Acts 5:1-11

In today’s passage we have a couple in the NT who had obeyed partially in GIVING (out of hypocrisy and Selfish-Ambition), and the result was fatal.

๐Ÿ‘ฅ Ananias and Sapphira a couple who had participated in the nobel cause of Giving (sharing the amount after selling their property). This kind of practices came in when the believers in Jerusalem decided to implement the principle of sharing material goods by selling real estate (Acts 4:32-37).

โœ… The amazing result was that no poverty existed in the church.. nor was there anyone among them who lackedโ€ฆ
โœ… The OT principle in Deuteronomy 15:4 states that there should be no poor among you.

๐Ÿ“Œ WHAT WAS ANANIAS’ AND SAPPHIRA’S SIN ?.

โœ… Ananias, with his wife’s consent, kept part of the money for himself but brought the rest and put it at the apostles feet as if he gave them all..(v 1,2).

โœ… Peter clearly points out that Ananias had two options (v 3b, 4)
1๏ธโƒฃ 1st Option:Ananias could have decided not to sell the property at all, but keep it for himself.
๐Ÿ—ฃ๏ธ Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold ? (v 4). Had Ananias and Sapphira chosen this option, they certainly would not have received God’s Death Penalty (v 5,10)
2๏ธโƒฃ 2nd Option:Ananias after selling the property could have made a partial donation to the church.
๐Ÿ—ฃ๏ธ After it was sold, wasn’t the money at your control? (v 4). If Ananias would have done this, presumably, he would not have been rebuked.

๐Ÿ“Œ WHAT WAS THE INTENTIONS OF ANANIAS AND SAPPHIRA โ‰

๐Ÿ‘‰๐Ÿฝ They made the decision TO LIE TO THE CHURCH (v 2) in order to make themselves appear as committed to God’s Kingdom.

๐Ÿ‘‰๐Ÿฝ They have imitated Barnabas with a SELFISH AMBITION to bring the money and put it at the apostles feet (v 2b).

๐Ÿ™‹โ€โ™‚๏ธ๐Ÿ™‹โ€โ™€๏ธ Believers in Christ,
We have observed that Peter, with the power of the Holy Spirit, said, Ananias, you have not lied to men but to Holy Spirit.. and it was very costly.
Love of praise for generosity and love for money led to the first recorded sin in the life of the church. It is a warning for us that GOD CAN NOT BE MOCKED (Galatians 6:7)

๐Ÿ“Œ IS OUR GIVING IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE STANDARD OF THE SCRIPTURE โ“
๐Ÿ“Œ AM I GIVING JUST BECAUSE MR X or Mr Y IS GIVING โ‰
๐Ÿ“ŒAM I LONGING FOR APPRECIATION / PRAISE FOR MY GENEROSITY โ‰

๐Ÿ™‹โ€โ™‚๏ธ๐Ÿ™‹โ€โ™€๏ธ Believers in Christ,
Paul gave us a complete package of CHRISTIAN GIVING in 2Corinthians 9:7.
1๏ธโƒฃ Decide what / how much to give in your heart.
2๏ธโƒฃ Not reluctantly but willingly.
3๏ธโƒฃ Never give under pressure.
4๏ธโƒฃ Give lovingly and cheerfully.

๐Ÿ‘‰๐Ÿฝ Ananias and Sapphira were ruled by their own standard in giving and were accountable for their investment in God’s service.

๐Ÿ“Œ How is our investment in God’s Serviceโ“
Remember you and I will be accountable in giving our Time, Treasures and Talents in God’s Service (WHY, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE and HOW MUCH).

Glory to God ๐Ÿ™Œ
โœ๐Ÿพ Mark Boje
Arunachal Pradesh, India ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ