Acts 5:1-4 - You have lied to God

5:1,2

This incident is a clear warning against taking what was said at the end of chapter 4 as meaning the church was idyllic. We now have the incident of Ananias and Sapphira seeking to deceive the church, and it does not end well for them. Some people will always pretend, we maybe even do it ourselves sometimes. This tale is a clear warning that we live our lives before God, and nothing is hidden from Him.

The story is introduced by the word “but”, drawing a contrast between this and the way the church should be that was portrayed at the end of chapter 4. To many Western minds the story has some objectionable features, namely Peter’s supernatural knowledge, his pronouncement of judgement and the deaths of Ananias and Sapphira. It is perhaps also true that our Western way of thinking and doing things has several features that are objectionable to God.

Part of the tragedy of the incident is that Ananias and Sapphira had actually done a good thing in selling some property. If they had given half of the proceeds, and claimed no more, then they would have been OK. But the deceitfulness of their hearts led them to claim they were giving all the money, and they were in it together.

5:3,4

Peter is immediately aware of their deceit. It is most likely that this insight was given to Him by the Holy Spirit, though I suppose it is possible that by some natural means he had become aware of the true price they had received for the property. What we should note is that the emphasis of Acts is on the fact that Ananias and Sapphira acted deceitfully, not how Peter knew about it. When we sin we are acting in line with Satan. Peter is not saying Ananias was somehow possessed, rather we need to realise what we are doing if we act against God. The idea of deceiving the church is an evil idea. We need to beware that our minds can easily become blinded. When we detect untruthful thoughts in our minds we do well to repent quickly. Peter then points out that they actually had no need to lie. It was their money to do as they so fit with. In seeking to deceive the church they were actually seeking to deceive God. This is true of any deception we may seek to carry out, or any other sin for that matter.