Sanctification by Grace (Electronic Only), What To Do After You Get Saved (Electronic Only). As believers they had already passed from death unto life (John 5:24). The number of believers probably totaled five thousand or more by this time, and yet they were of one heart and one soul. Their story is rarely shown in art, but is the subject of one of the Raphael Cartoons, and a panel on the Brescia Casket, both illustrated here. We all sin despite our earnest desire not to do so (see Romans 7:14-25); but this affects our efforts toward SANCTIFICATION, not our secure state of JUSTIFICATION. They collaborated on a plan to stash some of the money from the sale of their property in a safety deposit box for themselves and take the rest to the apostles. 2. What if our works aren't enough? 2021 New Nature Ministries All rights reserved. The holiness of God is often overlooked today, but it's important to remember that he hates sin and can't stand wrongdoing. Unbelievers are spiritually 'dead' and cannot believe the gospel or make any moves towards God. Is it possible that Ananias and Sapphira were still saved despite the exemplary punishment they received? Ask your mate whether or not it is easy to be honest with you. Thus, to sin against the Holy Spirit in such a manner as to negate His Person, leaves one with no means of access to Deity at all. A man named Ananias and his wife Sapphira sold a piece of land kept some of it for themselves and then the husband, brought the rest as an offering to the Church. In support of this, one learns from Peter sees this present age as a time for judgment which will begin with the household of God (1 Pet 4:17). But right now there is mercy in hope that people will turn to Christ. The result of this unselfish spirit was great power and blessing on the entire church. Jesus ascends into the clouds. Why they were killed for that only God knows. Does Acts 5:3-4 equate the Holy Spirit with God. 4 & ch. Jesus points out the rich were giving large amounts but not all they had, whereas the poor widow gave a small amount yet it was all she had. The reason I believe they were indeed Pharisees, and not saved, is because their behaviour displayed the exact characteristics of Pharisees. While they demonstrated a marvelous togetherness in their deceptive scheme, their hypocrisy could not help but have affected their marriage. Can non-Muslims ride the Haramain high-speed train in Saudi Arabia? They finally came up with a solution. We have the deaths of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5, and the death of Herod in Acts 12 for his wickedness. Lets be honest. Ananias and Sapphira: Saved or Lost? Duress at instant speed in response to Counterspell, Book about a good dark lord, think "not Sauron". Do you agree with a partial rapture? 1:22, 23), the household of faith (Gal. They did dare join the Church. Why weren't they simply confronted and led to confession and repentance? Peter confronts Sapphira and asks her why they tested the Spirit of the Lord. But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, 2 and with his wife's knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles' feet. Was all mankind forgiven at the Cross or must each person receive forgiveness? Claim to fame: The Holy Spirit told Peter that Ananias and Sapphira would immediately die. It says: Related Topics: Christian Home, Finance, Marriage, Richard L. Strauss authored nine books, and served as pastor of churches in Fort Worth, TX, Huntsville, AL. Somehow or other, Ananias could not summon up that gladness and that singleness of heart with which all the other contributors came up that day. The story of Ananias and Sapphira is found in Acts 5, and it is a sad story, indeed. (1958 More, The Net Pastors Journal, Eng. Unfortunately, the years have diluted the purity of the church, and as far removed as we are from the uniqueness of the apostolic age, we may even find it difficult to recognize our hypocrisy. And even after they sold it, they were under no obligation to give all the money to the church. This must surely have meant that, during the very early years of the Levitical priesthood, God felt it necessary to teach some very harsh lessons about faith and strict obedience. In the first place, their physical death was a temporal punishment (severe, to be sure, but deserved under the circumstances), but it should not be tied to or equated with eternal punishment. What are Christians generally most prone to mask from each other? The church still saw this as an example of God's holiness and of the reality of the presence of His Spirit, as a result of which great fear came upon the believers (as opposed to great consolation). In Acts 5:3-4, did Ananias "lie to", "fake", "pretend" or "perjure yourself"? How do I fit an e-hub motor axle that is too big? 2:19). This is the realm of experience. Again, it isn't to condemn them to hell - believers are saved, but they can still die physically. We see unbelievers and false believers in the church being threatened with judgement. And that brings us, secondly, to the sin of Ananias and Sapphira. They sent Ananias and Sapphira to infiltrate the Church but when they saw what happened to them, none of the rest of them dared join the Church for fear of the same fate. With this knowledge in view, it seems that they either failed to use this ability in their initial dealings with Ananias and Sapphira as it seems that they allowed them into the fellowship of believers, or this married couple had been truly granted the Holy Spirit and fellowship among Gods people. Evidently they could. If he thinks he is coming out on the short end, he quarrels and complains until he gets what he thinks he deserves. Ive never disciplined any of my kids by killing them! There must not be any ulterior motives in an offering made to God, such as desiring material gain, fame, or praise of man for oneself. Is there a more recent similar source? They knew they belonged to each other as brothers and sisters in Christ. Most of us felt, assuming they were born again believers, they did. If Ananias and Sapphira were new Christians/immature Christians then we might have asked why they did Not have a chance to repent( i.e., some kind of gracious period of time to repent). Thereafter, remains the final judgment upon resurrection. This is the level on which he thinks his thoughts, senses his feelings, and makes his choices. While the generosity of the previous passage stems from being "filled with the Holy Spirit" (4:31) where does Have a read of Ray Stedman's notes on this at the bottom of this Q&A http://www.jesusplusnothing.com/questions/sinleadingtodeath.htm, It will give more info on this. 3. What happens to Ananias and Sapphira is alarming. Ananias and Sapphira yeah certainly an interesting story. 8 And Peter said to her, Tell me whether you sold the land for so much. And she said, Yes, for so much. 9 But Peter said to her, How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? They were more interested in appearances than in reality. If this be true, they were at that time "filled with the Holy Ghost.". The rest of who? [9], Though the passage is about the offering of money, Reidhead extended the implication to all services offered to God. They did not sit through their worship services, then go home and forget about their brothers and sisters. The fleshly desire for praise and preeminence which Ananias and Sapphira exhibited can affect a marriage relationship in another way, too. Or even in the Mass? They were also led to humble themselves even further under the Apostles authority as they recognized that their authority could even be employed in severe judgment. That is why He put this account into his Word. But God is not in the practise of killing unbelievers for their sin, instead He is mercifully extending patience. You seem? Until then we see Gods mercy in effect, not giving people what they deserve but patiently holding back judgment to allow time for unbelievers to repent and come into Christ. It's entirely possible that they died of entirely natural causes like a heart attack or stroke, and God simply gave Peter an oracular insight into the timing of their natural deaths. It is only by God's grace that we are spared today. They would not necessarily say they were giving all of the money they received from the sale; they would just let everyone assume that. Why do you not agree with Soul Salvation? I t is reasonable to believe that both Ananias and Sapphira were present in the prayer meeting described in Acts 4:31. After hearing these words from Peter, Ananias falls down and dies. Is Koestler's The Sleepwalkers still well regarded? We will be real! and to your [d]descendants forever. So he went out from his presence It records without hesitation the blemishes and the faults of God's people, as well as their strength and virtue. Why were Ananias and Sapphira not given a second chance? It couldnt have been the unsaved people around town because it says that they held the Church in high esteem and many of them were even getting saved and were joining the Church. Our familiarity with religiously sanctioned violence makes it difficult to laugh, even if we understand that this scene may not be offered as serious, definitive theology. The story of Ananias and Sapphira is to the book of Acts what the story of Achan is to the book of Joshua. Acts (Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament), "On Why People do NOT Give Money to Their Church", Il est parfois criminel de confondre son glise et le Saint-Esprit, Interpretive Adventures: Subversive Readings in a Missional School, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ananias_and_Sapphira&oldid=1105269399, Articles about multiple people in the Bible, Articles with French-language sources (fr), Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 19 August 2022, at 11:55. 1. When they were judged and then immediately given over to death, the Church did not learn a lesson about Gods judgment on sinners outside the Church; rather, they were forced to consider the issue of sin within the Church and then take account of themselves (Acts 5:11). (Note: This article has been written only to communicate the possibility that Ananias and Sapphira may have been Christians. Then we will be able to stop playing the game of putting on appearances. The Biblical tale of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5 is a strange one that leaves us with more questions than answers. In Luke 21:1-4 Jesus draws His disciples attention to the way people were giving into the temple treasury. You ask why they received such drastic punishments and weren't given a change to repent, but I'll point out that the text doesn't say that it was God who killed them, but simply that they promptly fell over dead on the spot. Irrespective of the truth regarding their salvation, all believers should make every effort to pursue holiness for this is the intention behind the mention of this early church incident. The same questions might be asked of Aaron's sons, but in their case we can probably rest assured they were (eternally) saved given their naivety and youth. The implication of the text leads us to understand that everyone (filled with the Spirit of grace) recognized the sobriety of the fraud: death from such covetousness was probably well understood to be fully justified. Believers are saved, but they can still die physically Haramain high-speed train in Saudi Arabia possibility that and. One soul immediately die ; s Grace that we are spared today 5 were ananias and sapphira saved and the death Herod! And false believers in the practise of killing unbelievers for their sin, instead he coming... What the story of Achan is to the book of Joshua the book of Joshua is mercy hope... 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