There seems to be a prevailing attitude in our modern society that ethics are purely situational; in other words, it is necessary to take into account the particular context of an act when evaluating it ethically, rather than judging it according to absolute moral standards. Whilst the motivation behind actions can be really helpful in understanding a person, we have to acknowledge also that God gives us absolute moral standards and we do well to focus our attention on obedience to these, rather than offering excuses for our sin in the guise of rationalisations or ‘reasons.’ God’s grace, as Paul vividly expounds to the Romans, is not a reason to sin! (Rom 5:20-6:14) Rather, His grace and mercy are the motivators to holiness we desperately need.

The account of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5:1-11 does not dwell on the motivation behind their actions. We don’t know what made them decide to withhold part of the proceeds from the sale of their property from the apostles or to lie about this. Our text seems to say that whatever our motive might be, if the act is a violation of God’s Word, then the act is sin. Peter’s emphasis is that Ananias and Sapphira lied, not only to men, but to God. (Acts 5:3-4) Regardless of why they lied, they lied, and that was a sin worthy of death. From a Christian point of view, one may do “the right thing” for the wrong motive and thereby sin, but one can never do the wrong thing for the right motive and do that which is pleasing to God. Machiavelli taught that ‘the end justifies the means’, but this is no Christian doctrine.

One of the ways we sift our motivation and seek to obey God in every aspect of our lives is by regularly praying David’s prayer: ‘Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.’ (Ps 139:23-24) Jeremiah warned us of the deceitfulness of the heart (Jer 17:9) and we need God’s help if we are to avoid situational ethics, chameleon-like tendencies rather than the distinctively different lifestyles God longs to grow within us. Paul, when discussing Holy Communion with the Corinthians, warned that some had died because of their failure to discern the body of Christ (1 Cor 11:29-30) and went on to say, ‘if we were more discerning with regard to ourselves, we would not come under such judgment.’ (1 Cor 11:31) Earlier, he had urged the Corinthians to ‘build with care’ so that they would build something of lasting value (1 Cor 3:10-15). We can rely on God’s grace and help to sustain us, but we also do bear responsibility for how we live and this is best done in prayerful response to God’s word.

The Bible tells us that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14:6) and that God’s word is truth. (John 17:17) Jesus is described as being ‘full of grace and truth’ (John 1:14) and promised He would send the Spirit of truth to His disciples (John 15:26). Truth is of paramount importance to God, as John makes clear in his letters; John’s greatest pastoral joy was when he heard of people ‘walking in the truth.’ (3 John 1:4)

The opposite of truth is a lie. Jesus described Satan as the ‘father of lies’ (John 8:44) whose native language was lies. Elsewhere, Satan is described as a deceiver (2 Corinthians 11:3; Revelation 12:9-10). Clearly, truth over lies matters enormously to God, and it was this act of lying through pretence for which Ananias and Sapphira were judged. (Acts 5:1-11)

Peter accused Ananias of ‘lying to the Holy Spirit’ (Acts 5:3) and lying to God (Acts 5:4, thereby equating the Holy Spirit with God.) It’s easy to be distracted by the details of the story, wondering if this means private ownership of property is automatically condemned by God, but Peter makes it clear that the property was theirs to do with as they wished. What was so abhorrent were their lies and pretence, trying to appear holier and more virtuous than they actually were. They were effectively putting God to the test (Acts 5:9), as the Israelites so often did in the wilderness (see Ex 16 as one example of this.) When we doubt God’s ability to provide for us and wander from the paths of truth, we are on dangerous ground.

Some may ask why this kind of judgment is not seen so frequently nowadays, given that we are just as prone to sin, lying and hypocrisy as Ananias and Sapphira were. In all honesty, I do not know, but I do know this story has a preventative twist to it. God’s reasons for bringing about the deaths of Ananias and Sapphira involve His abhorrence of sin, the hypocrisy of the couple, and the lesson for the rest of the church, both then and now. It can be easy today to gloss over the holiness of God, to forget that He is righteous and pure and that He hates sin wholeheartedly. This particular sin of hypocrisy in the church was dealt with swiftly and decisively at the time and the sudden, dramatic deaths of Ananias and Sapphira served to purify and warn the church. (Acts 5:11) May they continue to do the same for us today, reminding us to ‘worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.”’ (Heb 12:28-29)

Acts 5:1-11 is not the easiest passage in the book of Acts to read or understand: Howard Marshall says of this passage, ‘The story must be ranked among the most difficult for modern readers of Acts.’ The explosive start of the church following the Day of Pentecost and the apparently unhindered growth of the growth make for exciting reading, but here, after the news of a tremendous healing and unprecedented unity, we have the story of Ananias and Sapphira, a couple who found their deceit and dishonesty were not tolerated by God or by the church and whose deaths remind us, if we needed reminding, that it is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (Heb 10:31) Peter was later to write that ‘it is time for judgment to begin with God’s household’ (1 Pet 4:17), and there is no doubt that this shocking account leaves us stunned with the severity of the judgment and can make us feel very uncomfortable and uncertain.

John Stott comments that this account ‘illustrates the honesty of Luke as a historian: he did not suppress this sordid episode. It throws light on the interior life of the first Spirit-filled community: it was not all romance and righteousness. It is also a further example of the strategy of Satan.’  The attitude of Ananias and Sapphira is contrasted with that of Barnabas in Acts 4:36-37 and is also reminiscent of Achan, whose sin led to the Israelites’ defeat at Ai (Joshua 7). This is the story of how two members of the community attempted to gain credit for a greater personal sacrifice than they had actually made by offering only part of the proceeds of a sale to the apostles and passing it off as if it were the whole amount. There was no compulsion on them to sell their land and give to the apostles (Acts 5:4), but their lack of integrity and hypocrisy (wanting to appear more virtuous than they were) are judged severely by God, speaking through Peter.

The ultimate truth of this story is that God is not tame or cosy. He will not be fitted into our image; He is holy and just, righteous and true. We may question the severity of the judgment meted out by God, but this shows us how radically God views sin and how easy we find it to gloss over sin, categorise it and rank certain sins higher than others. This passage illustrates that the church is founded upon truth, and it grows by means of truth. The unity of the church is also dependent upon truth. ‘Deception is an attack on the truth, and it is also one of the primary means of attack employed by Satan, the liar and deceiver. To tolerate even a small deception is to open the door to an attack on the truth which would be devastating and thus the consequences of the actions of these two people are extreme.’ (Bob Deffinbaugh)

The core of the sin described in this passage is lying to God (Acts 5:4). Lying can often seem so inconsequential to us, but all lies gradually erode truth and therefore must be shunned. We need to heed the warnings of Acts 5:1-11 and learn from the example of Ananias and Sapphira.

We had a July birthday to celebrate today, all the more special as today was the actual birthday!

Dave spoke tonight from Judges 14, looking at the life and character of Samson. Samson seems a mysterious figure to us:  is he an aggressive, oversexed buffoon or a hero of the faith? In the book of Judges, we see a cycle of sin, represented below:

Samson doesn’t seem to fit into this cycle, however, since he seems more a mirror of the people than a true leader. In his violence and promiscuity, he reflects the state of the nation at this time, and in his tolerance of the Philistines (choosing a wife from them), he mirrors the lack of passion for God which seems to have been prevalent.

We may well wonder where God was in all the murder and mayhem of the time, but the fact is that God works behind the scenes at all times, even when what is happening seems to make no sense to us. Samson’s riddle, based on his experience of killing a lion and later finding honey in the dead carcass (itself a violation of his Nazirite vows since he was not supposed to touch dead bodies or drink wine), infuriated the Philistines and led them to manipulate his new wife into revealing the answer to them. Samson’s wild revenge seems out of proportion and his weakness to women ultimately saw the Philistines rob him of his sight.

Judges 13:5 speaks of the potential Samson had, how God wanted him to be the means of deliverance from the Philistines. For much of his life, we may wonder why God stuck with this wayward man who never did quite live up to his potential (see Judges 15:20) … but that leads us to even greater riddles than Samson brought.

Why God sticks with flawed, sinful people and chooses to work out His plans and purposes through them is a mystery. Jesus continues to use flawed, sinful people such as us to fulfil His purposes, and is Himself proof of God’s riddle of grace. This grace is completely undeserved and cannot be earned, yet God’s unconditional love, grace and mercy reach out to each one of us – not once, but repeatedly, picking us up each time we fail, just as God persevered with Samson. The question ‘what is sweeter than honey?’ could be answered by the words ‘the love of God’. God is there with each one of us just as He was there with Samson, still working for our good and to fulfil His purposes which cannot be thwarted.

Those of a certain generation remember the TV game show ‘Bullseye!’ where the presenter, Jim Bowen, would tell losing contestants ‘Here’s what you could have won!’ – which always seemed a bitter irony, given that they hadn’t…

Garry’s sermon this morning at Cherry Tree Court looked at Isaiah 48:17-19 where God speaks to His people about the way they should go and warns us that we need to pay attention to what He says. The most effective way to learn is often through an apprenticeship where a young person works alongside a more experienced worker and is taught ‘on the job’, learning from them the tricks of the trade, learning from their mistakes. Although these can be misused and youngsters treated as skivvies, an apprenticeship is actually an ideal model for learning since it gives hands-on training as well as theoretical knowledge. God wishes to teach and direct us, leading us in the right paths, but so often, we choose our own ways (Prov 16:25). When this happens, God confronts us, not to gloat over our mistakes (‘here’s what you could have won!‘) but to restore us to His right paths.

When a builder works, he often has to strip things back to the bare brick, a process which leaves the room looking desolate, but it’s only then that new things can be added. God’s ‘look what you could have done’ is not meant to leave us mired in despair and desolation but is meant to offer us a second chance. When we heed His warnings and follow His directions, the result is a life well lived.