We have seen earlier in the New Testament that God couples Christlike holiness in individual and church life by disciplining churches to safeguard that holiness. The Letter to the Hebrews encourages individual Christians and churches, saying: “Make every effort ... to be holy; without holiness no-one will see the Lord.” (Hebrews 12:14)
Furthermore, Hebrews reminds us that “God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness.” (Hebrews 12:10)
So, what might God want to say to our churches today through the way He disciplined New Testament congregations? Let us carefully reflect upon all the earlier mentioned cases.
Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-11)
In Meditation 78 we mentioned this couple, that by their hypocritical action endangered the purity of Christlike love and compassion in the early church in Jerusalem. The apostle Peter exposes their performance as a satanic assault on the church.
From the beginning of mankind (see Genesis 3), Satan has been God’s adversary. He is always bent on destroying God’s work. Jesus says of him: “He was a murderer from the beginning and has always hated the truth. There is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (John 8:44)
The apostle Peter warns his fellow-Christians: “Be careful! Watch out for attacks from the Devil, your great enemy. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for some victim to devour.”
(1 Peter 5:8)
I think that through this dramatic story God gives us and our churches some serious warnings:
1. Satan and our sinful action
Although each church member bears the blame for his or her own hypocritical behaviour within the church, it is Satan “who fills the human heart” to act in an evil way. (Acts 5:3)
The apostle Paul explains that Satan is determined to use the sinful action of Christians and non-Christians for his own dark strategies! He uses sinning man as pawns in his evil schemes.
Therefore, Paul urges the Ephesian church: “Put on all of God's armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies and tricks of the Devil.
For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against the evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against those mighty powers of darkness who rule this world, and against wicked spirits in the heavenly realms.
Use every piece of God's armor to resist the enemy in the time of evil, so that after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground...” (Ephesians 6:11-14a)
We can find the same notion elsewhere in God’s Word. See 1 Kings 22:21-22, 1 Chronicles 21:1-3, Luke 22:3, John 13:2 and 27.
2. Sinning against each other is sinning against God
In the story of Ananias and Sapphira, the apostle Peter says to Ananias: “You lied to the Holy Spirit ... You weren't lying to us but to God” (Acts 5:3-4). To his wife Sapphira, Peter said later on: "How could the two of you even think of doing a thing like this-- conspiring together to test the Spirit of the Lord?” (Acts 5:9)
We might tend to forget that in sinning against each other, we first of all sin against God! He has given us the command to love each other. In breaking that command we actually sin against God.
In 2 Samuel we read how the prophet Nathan charged king David with his adulterous behaviour against Uriah’s wife: “Why did you despise the word of the LORD by doing what is evil in his eyes?”
(2 Samuel 12:9)
Later on in David’s penitent prayer he acknowledges that in his adulterous behaviour he was first of all sinning against God: “Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight.” (Psalm 51:4)
3. God’s judgment is certain
In executing His righteous judgment on this couple, God saved the young church in Jerusalem from an early descent into compromise as far as sin is concerned. The untimely death of Ananias and Sapphira was a terrible punishment of God that shocked the church back onto the right track; that of pursuing Christlike holiness.
Although the Old and New Testament tell us of other similar divine punishments (e.g., Korah, Dathan, Abiram, Achan, the Corinthian and Thyatiran churches, etc.), I don’t know of any contemporary examples.
However, it does not mean that God overlooks our evil actions. The apostle Paul warns the Corinthian church and us by saying: “We must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in our bodies” (2 Corinthians 5:10).
None of us will ultimately escape from God’s righteous judgment of our public and hidden sins. Yet, in the face of God’s holiness, the apostle John comforts us when he writes: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. ...
My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defence--Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins...” (1 John 1:9 and 2:1-2a)
The fatal story of Ananias and Sapphira is a severe warning to us and our present-day churches. It shows that God does not ignore our sins or the sins of our churches. We might take misconduct within our churches lightly. We might brush aside the idea of a judging and punishing God.
Yet, the Lord Jesus-Christ warns our contemporary churches just as He did when He warned the New Testament churches:
“All the churches will know that I am the one who searches out the thoughts and intentions of every person. And I will give to each of you whatever you deserve.” (Revelation 2:23)
We better take heed!
(to be continued)
Hebrews 12:14, Hebrews 12:10, 2 Samuel 12:9, 1 John 1:9 and 2:1-2a are quotes from the New International Version. All other quotes are from the New Living Translation.
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