STUDY THEME: FAMILY MEMBERS SHOWING GRACE. 5-18-03

"GIVING UNSELFISHLY TO GOD’S WORK. ACTS 4:32-5:11.

ACTS 4:32-35, 36-37; 5:1-6, 7-11.

PLEASE OPEN YOUR BIBLE TO ACTS 4.

Our first two lessons in this series were based upon passages in the Old Testament. The one this Sunday is taken from the New Testament book of Acts. It studies two different family units. One was a single person family and the other was a married couple family. The lesson does not, however, focus upon their being single or married but rather upon their attitude and practice of giving. Their giving revealed a far deeper spiritual condition. One attitude was that of spiritual health and the other was of spiritual death. The theme of this lesson is that families with a right attitude toward giving, honor God; Luke, the author of Acts will contrast Barnabas with Ananias and Sapphira.

There is much to be learned from both experiences. Much good can come from our learning about Barnabas, and much negative can be learned about what not to do from the experience of the married couple. God’s judgment was awesome in the latter case. God apparently wanted to teach an unforgettable lesson.

The suggested "Bible Truth" for this lesson is that Christian families should give to God’s work voluntarily, without duplicity, and out of reverence for God. The suggested "Life Impact" for the lesson is to help us develop a lifestyle of giving unselfishly to God’s work.

The Jerusalem church gave generously and voluntarily to meet the needs of those in the congregation. Barnabas is a positive example. Ananias and Sapphira are negative examples. They lied to the Holy Spirit and fell down dead when confronted with their sin. The result was a sense of holy fear, among those who learned of this event.

The three Focal Passage Outline points answer the Life Question. With what attitudes should I and my family, give to God’s work? (1) Give voluntarily. (2) Live without duplication. (3) Give out of reverence for God.

More important than the amount of money given, the manner in which people give to the Lord is a key indication of their spiritual condition. Giving tithes and offerings is an act of worship, not just a means of providing for the needs of the church. The attitude of family members about giving reveals much about their hearts and their relationships with God.

Financial decisions are among the most common causes of disharmony in the average family. Sound financial decisions are vital, not only in making household purchases, but also in the manner in which a family gives to the church. My mother and Dad sold a rent house. Dad was determined to tithe the money received. Mother pointed out that they had already tithed the money they had paid for the house earlier. I don’t remember who won that argument.

The pouring out of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost, in Acts 2: 1-3 was the beginning of the church. Over 3,000 people accepted Christ following Peter’s sermon. Believers in Jesus met together to learn about their new Savior and Lord. In this newly constituted, spiritual family, physical needs existed. Some of the believers did not have the basic necessities of food, clothing and shelter.

Luke did not reveal the reasons for the extreme poverty of some within the church at Jerusalem. Possible explanations, however, are not difficult to discover. Among the new converts there would certainly have been widows and orphans, who were notoriously poor. Those who confessed faith in Christ may have lost other means of assistance from family, synagogues, or the community as an early form of persecution. Also, many early converts were slaves or servants who had little income.

Nevertheless, Luke described an incredible unity within the infant church. All the believers were one in heart and mind. This harmony was the result of their focus on Christ and the filling of the Holy Spirit. Their common love for Christ resulted in a love for one another. This love was expressed through concern for each other’s physical and spiritual needs. They shared their possessions with each other. It is important to notice that this sharing was not mandatory; but voluntary. The right to own and keep personal property was not forbidden to Israel under the Old Covenant or to members of the church under the New Covenant.

Genuine care for another person can never be coerced. Only through love will one individual sacrifice to meet the needs of someone else. The early church abounded in authentic concern as the believers did what they could to aid one another. The era of persecution had not yet descended fully on the church, but many Jewish Christians suffered as the result of their faith. Even in good times, some people lacked the basic necessities of life. The believers benevolent care for others give testimony to the effect Christ had on their lives.

In Vs. 32-35 Luke emphasized that the apostles continued to testify about the resurrection of Lord Jesus. Luke may have meant to show that while the church members tended to the physical needs of people, the apostles remained focused on the preaching of the gospel of Christ. Such an interpretation would be consistent with the purpose behind the choosing of the first deacons in Acts 6: 1-7. The disciples did not feel that they should leave the ministry of the Word in order to handle issues like the disbursement of food to widows. Rather, they commended the care of the widows, (and perhaps other such needs), into the hands of lay leaders.

Another view of this passage could indicate that the way in which the believers cared for one another was a strong testimony to the power of Christ. Each of the descriptive phrases reveals different ways in which God blessed the early Christians’ lives and witnesses.

First, all the believers shared a unity in heart and mind. They were not divided by petty jealousies or by personal agendas. These early Christians had discovered that the primary issue of life was Christ and were so captivated by Him that possessions were not important.

A second illustration of Christ’s impact on the believers was the way they shared everything they had. In fact, they did more than display generosity in sharing food, clothing and other possessions. They did not even claim ownership to any thing that they previously might have held dear. Instead, the Christians considered nothing to be their own. They were like a large family, sharing as each had a need.

Some of the verses in Acts 4:32-35 sound as if the Jerusalem Church, in the early years practiced a kind of community of possessions. A close study of these verses shows this is not an accurate understanding.

The phrase "all things in common" in Acts 2:44 and 4:32 does not convey that the early Christians lived in a commune or pooled and redistributed everything equally. Vs. 32 says "No one claimed that any of his possessions were his own." This does not mean that no one continued to have anything of his own. Rather it means that they did not show the kind of selfish spirit that some people use when they speak of their possessions. They held their own possessions lightly, ready to be used at any moment for someone else, as needs arose. The believers understood that all they had belonged to God and therefore when a brother or sister had a need those who could meet it felt obligated to do so.

James 2:15-17 says, "If you know someone who doesn’t have any clothes or food, you shouldn’t just say, ‘I hope all goes well for you. I hope you will be warm and have plenty to eat. What good is it to say this, unless you do something to help?" "Faith that doesn’t lead us to do good deeds is all alone and dead!" 1 John 3: 17-18 says, "If we have all we need and see one of our own people in need, we must have pity on that person, or else we cannot say we love God. Children, you show love for others by truly helping them, and not merely talking about it."

The words "great grace" was upon them all to reinforce that the sharing of goods and proclaiming Christ were acts made possible by the grace of God. They had been saved by God’s grace, and His favor rested on them and inspired them as they lived for Him and served Him. Those words show that God’s favor rested on them. He was pleased with what they were doing. The background to Vs. 34a is Deut. 15:1-11. "Neither was there any among them that lacked" sounds like the ideal situation described in Deut. 15:4: "There shall be no poor among you."

In laying the proceeds at the apostles’ feet, Barnabas was giving it to God for use in helping the needy. The apostles, in receiving his gift, were accountable for distributing it in the way Barnabas intended.

Some have wondered why a Levite owned property since Numbers 18:20-24 forbids a Levite owning property. The answer is probably that those restrictions were no longer observed in the first century A.D. Or it may have been the regulation in Palestine did not apply in the countries ---such as Cyprus. Barnabas gave all the proceeds to the church.

The amount given was left to Barnabas’s discretion. He was not obligated to give it all, but he chose to do so cheerfully and willingly. Cheerful giving is the only kind of giving that pleases God. 2 Cor. 6-7 says "Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver."

For some reason that we are not told, his wife came in about three hours later. Peter asked her if they had sold the field for the amount of money they had brought. Peter seems to have been giving her an opportunity to tell the truth. Instead of confessing their sin, she told a bold-faced lie. She apparently had not heard of her husband’s death. Peter shocked her by asking "How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord." Peter knew that the couple had conspired together. Sapphira must have been wide-eyed in amazement when Peter pronounced her judgment; when he told her, "The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also." She fell dead on the spot, and the young men took her body out and buried it.

When Ananias died in the way he did, great fear came on all them that heard these things. When the same thing happened to his wife, great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things. The Bible, especially the O.T., calls on people to fear the Lord. Although love dominates in the N.T., the N.T. also warns of the deadliness of sin and calls sinners to fear the Lord. The author of Hebrews 10:31 wrote, "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." For people of faith and obedience, being in God’s hands is a reassuring experience; however, for those who disobey, it is a fearful thing. Biblical fear includes awe and reverence, but it also includes fear of punishment for sin.

Wherein lay the sin? One must discover the nature of the sin by what Peter said both to Ananias and Sapphira. The sin of Ananaias and Sapphira was the sin of pretending that part was all. It was the sin of hypocrisy, of attempting to appear what they really were not, of endeavoring to make it appear that they had done what they really had not. The sin was that of lying; so the apostle named it: " How is it that thou hast conceived this thing in thy heart? Thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God." This was the terrible nature of the sin; not that of refusing to give; and that of only giving part; but that of attempting to make men believe that they had given all, when they had only given part, and so that of lying to God.

The one thing that made Christ angry, the one thing against which He uttered His severest words, was the sin of hypocrisy. What severe things He said to the men who pretended to be religious; what scorching, blasting words fell from His lips against such. He had no attitude toward the hypocrite, but that of unsparing severity; no language for the hypocrite, but the language of denunciation and of fire. "Ye hypocrites who whiten the external, and within are full of dead men’s bones and of all uncleanness."