Introduction
      When Pastor Jones picked up the phone, Special Agent Struzik from the IRS was on the line.
      "Hello, Pastor Jones?"
      "Yes, this is he."
      "I'm calling to inquire about a member of your congregation, a Dr. Shipe.  Do you recognize the name?"
      "Yes, he is a member of our congregation.  How can I be of service?"
      "Well, on last year's tax return, the doctor claimed that he made a large tax-deductible contribution to your church?  Is this true?"
      "Well, I'll have to check with my bookkeeper to verify this information for you.  How much did Dr. Shipe say he contributed?"
      Agent Struzik answered, "Twenty five thousand dollars.  Can you tell me if that's true?"
      There was a long pause.  Then the pastor replied, "I'll tell you what, you call back tomorrow.  I'm sure it will be true!”[1]
      It’s risky business to withhold from God!  This morning we read about a couple who found this to be true, and the consequences involved more than just the IRS.  As we continue our study in Acts today, I want you to notice three things: the deceit of a couple; the judgment of God; and examples of generosity.

I. The Deceit of a Couple
      One of the great challenges in preaching through a book of the Bible is that you can’t skip over problematic passages like this one.  It forces you to deal honestly with the text, and it holds your feet to the fire of accountability with God.  It is in situations like this when we might be tempted to cut out a verse or two from Scripture because the passage offends us or we can’t make sense of it.  It reminds me of a time earlier this year when I was studying the Sermon on the Mount with our interns.  We were going around in a circle reading a passage, and one of the interns stumbled over the words.  She paused and said, “I’m sorry.  I’m having trouble reading the passage because back in high school I struck through these words in my Bible with a pen because I didn’t like them.  They seemed too demanding!”  The Bible is demanding, and an honest study of Scripture requires us to deal with difficult topics and difficult passages like this one.
      Luke tells us that there was a man named Ananias who, together with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property.  Then, with the full knowledge of his wife, he held back part of the money for himself, and he brought the rest of it and placed it at the disciples’ feet.  You will recall from last week in our study of Acts 4, when Paul Parsons preached, we learned that Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, who earned the nickname Barnabas because of his great encouragement, had been the first to do this.  He sold some property and gave all the proceeds to the church to help meet the needs of the poor.
      I imagine that Ananias was envious of all the attention Barnabas received for his generosity.  Perhaps he thought, “I’ve got some property.  I could sell it and give the money to the church, too.  Maybe I’ll get a nickname when they see how generous I am!  Besides, that piece of land hasn’t been appreciating as much as the realtor said it would, and I might as well get it off my taxes.  And, hey, I can keep some of the money for myself.  No one will know the difference.”
      From all appearances, Barnabas and Ananias did the same thing.  Both sold a piece of property.  Both brought the proceeds of the sale to the apostles, and both committed it to their disposal.  The difference was that Barnabas brought all the proceeds from the sale, while Ananias only brought a portion. The problem was that Ananias represented to everyone that the amount he gave was the full amount of the sale of the property.  He committed the double sin of dishonesty and deceit.  It was an act of hypocrisy.  Ananias pretended to do something that in reality he didn’t, and he lacked integrity.
      Gordon MacDonald writes, “Who of us, in the dark places of our lives, does not want to be overly admired, respected, even envied?  Left to our devices, we crave each bit of self-worth that can be built upon the applause and regard of people.  Thus the temptation: give them something to admire you for.”[2] 
      My friends, the problem comes when it leads us to do deceitful things so that others think better of us than they really should.  We shade the truth, we cut corners, we tell half the story, and we present an image all in an effort to get people to think more highly of us.  We are charlatans, actors on a stage pretending to be something we’re not. 
      A number of years ago there was a town in Connecticut where 53 residents of a particular neighborhood signed a petition to stop reckless driving on their streets.  The police responded by setting out a stakeout in the neighborhood to arrest violators.  A few nights’ later five people were caught.  All five had signed the petition!
      When we fail to maintain our integrity, when we are deceitful in how we present ourselves, we should not be surprised when the judgment of God comes our way.  Ananias and his wife Sapphira discovered this to be true in their own lives, and it should serve as a warning to each one of us.

II. The Judgment of God
      The text tells us the apostle Peter sensed in his spirit what Ananias said about the sale of the property was not the whole story.  It appears that the Holy Spirit gave the apostle insight into the situation, and he challenged Ananias on what he had done.  Peter affirmed the right of private ownership of property, but he also spoke about the role of Satan in leading Ananias to do what he did.  He explained the sin’s offense to God and said Ananias had not lied to people, but to the Holy Spirit.  And at this Ananias fell down dead.
      Later on, when Sapphira came in, Peter asked her about the sale of the property, too. He gave her an opportunity to distance herself from the sin and deceit of her husband.  However, it was clear she was a part of the plan from the beginning, and the same judgment befell her, as she died on the spot as well. 
      I have to confess that I have some trouble with the harsh consequences of this couple’s sin.  Sure, they were guilty of hypocrisy, and they tried to make everyone think more highly of them than they should.  They weren’t honest in their dealings, and they lacked integrity.  But was this sin so bad that it warranted death?  Did the punishment really meet the crime?  After all, they did give a lot of money to the church.  Shouldn’t that count for something?  Perhaps you and I would feel better if they had received a slap on the wrist, or even if they had gotten run over by a chariot instead of being struck down by God.
      However, the more I have studied this passage, the more I have come to see its strategic importance in salvation history.  The church could not afford to get off track.  Everything was moving in the right direction for the early church, and God would not let sin rear its ugly head even in subtle ways.  There are other occasions when God responded with harsh judgment in similar situations, and each time it had to do with the critical nature of the new work of God in the world.  Each instance sent a clear message that the people were not to damage the credibility of their witness in the world.
      For example, another occasion in the Bible when something like this happened was when Nadab and Abihu, the older sons of Aaron in the Old Testament, tried to offer a sacrifice of incense to the Lord in a different manner than was prescribed (Lev. 10).  The priests of Israel had just been ordained for the very first time, and they were beginning their ministry of worship in the Tabernacle after the Exodus from Egypt.  A new era was being inaugurated in the work of God, and they should have been keenly attentive to the requirements of the Lord.  However, Nadab and Abihu thought they knew better than God.  They decided to burn the incense a different way than was prescribed by the Law, when they did this, they were consumed with fire from the Lord and died on the spot.
      Another person who experienced a similar fate was Achan (Joshua 7).  When Joshua led the people of Israel to conquer Jericho, he made it clear that God commanded them not to take any of the spoils of war from that city.  They were considered devoted to the Lord.  However, Achan secretly stole a robe, 200 shekels of silver, and a five pound wedge of gold which he kept for himself.  When it was finally discovered that he had tried to deceive everyone, Achan and his whole family were put to death, for they had conspired together in the deception. 
      We could also point to the example of Uzzah in 2 Samuel 6 who died when he tried to steady the Ark of the Covenant in a manner that was contrary to God’s command.  In each of these instances, God was doing a new thing in salvation history among the people, and it was important that everyone be clear that they should give careful attention to doing things God’s way and not their own.  We should also note that in each instance the ones who died thought they had a better idea than God about how things should be done, and their pride and deception was their undoing.
      John Stott points out that this incident in Acts 5 demonstrates in a profound way the gravity of this couple’s sin, the importance of the human conscience, and the necessity of church discipline.[3]  If we see it in the context of the new work of the Holy Spirit in establishing and building of the church of Jesus Christ for the first time, it is more understandable against this backdrop of salvation history.
      When it comes to character development, students of the Bible should look first at the nature of God, and we should reflect on the Lord’s agenda in the world.  If we are ever tempted to puff ourselves up or think we know better than God, or if we ever think we can get away with deception, we should think again.  As Paul writes, “Do not be deceived.  God is not mocked.  A man reaps what he sows” (Gal. 6:8).
      Authenticity in the Christian life is a must for the follower of Jesus Christ.  There must be a congruence of the inside of our lives with the outward expression of our faith.  We must be honest with ourselves, with God, and with others.  For the Christian, what you see is what you should get.

III. Examples of Generosity
      If Ananias and Sapphira are examples of selfishness and deceit, then where can we look to find examples of true generosity and integrity?  Where can we look as we wrestle with the question: what does it mean to live a generous life? 
     The ultimate expression of generosity is the self-giving, self-impoverishment of the Son of God on our behalf.  The apostle Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 8, "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that by His poverty you might become rich” (v.9).  Paul introduces this verse with the declaration, "You know."  It was something with which the Corinthian believers were well acquainted.
      He was very God of very God, through Whom all things were created.  And yet as Philippians 2 tells us: "He emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.  And being found in human form, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross."   From the highest heaven Christ descended to Calvary and the grave.  None was richer than He; none became poorer – all for your sake and mine.
      Another example to which I would point is the woman with the alabaster jar of perfume who broke it and poured it on Jesus.  The alabaster jar was of pure nard, which was a costly perfume made from the oil extracted from a root native to India.  It was probably a family heirloom that was passed down from one generation to the next, mother to daughter.  And it was very expensive.  The text tells us it was worth over a year's wages, and so in today's dollars it would have been worth about $25,000!  The point of the story is that this woman gave unconditionally, sacrificially to Jesus, and she held nothing back.  How unlike Ananias and Sapphira.
      There are other examples of generosity I want to mention, and they come not from the Bible but from this church.  There is Nancy Pate, a colorful single woman who was as quirky as she was kind.  She lived most of her life here in Boulder and was a member of this church for over 40 years.  When she died a couple of years ago, she left the balance of her estate to the church to be used for missions, and much to our great surprise, the amount of her estate came to over $850,000!
      Another example of generosity which has blown me away happened earlier this year.  A couple in our church made an appointment to meet with me, and when they came to my office, they presented me a check in the amount of $35,000 for the building of Phase 2.  They explained that they had just sold their business, and this represented a part of the tithe on their profit from the sale.  They also planned to make gifts to other ministries they support from the balance of the tithe.  This is the same couple who tithed to the church on the sale of their home a few years back.  They are an amazing example of generosity which humbles me to the core.
      But perhaps the most precious example of generosity I’ve seen in recent years is the little girl who came to our church office last spring to see our financial manager Peggy. The little girl brought in her piggy bank, which was full, and a nice pair of sandals and said, “These are for the Lord’s work at the church.”  The sandals went to the Deacon’s Closet, and the money went to the operating budget of our congregation.  This little girl was like the widow who gave her two pennies to the Temple treasury in Scripture.  She gave out of the fullness of her heart, and she gave all she had.
      All these people gave without holding anything back.  They were sacrificial in their generosity, and I’m convinced that if Ananias and Sapphira had had the same spirit, they would never have experienced the great tragedy that befell them that day.
      Gordon MacDonald says it well in the quote on the cover of the bulletin this morning:
      “Generosity is soul work that yields rich rewards.
      “Generosity isn't about money; it's an attitude of the heart.
      “Whether you're financially comfortable or have only modest means, the choices you make about what to do with the gifts God has given you - talent, energy, influence, time, resources - provide a remarkably accurate picture of the shape of your soul.
      “Those who hoard their gifts, living with clenched fists, suffer the sadness of a pinched soul and a miserly existence, never experiencing the extravagant blessings that come to those who live with open hands and a giving heart.
      “Jesus said, ‘Whatever measure you use in giving - large or small, it will be used to measure what is given back to you.’"[4]

Conclusion
      Some passages elude nice, neat interpretations.  They push us, they prod us, and we squirm a bit when we read them, or we even come away a bit angry. 
      We like stories of forgiveness, like the woman caught in adultery.  But then there are passages like this one.  We’ve just got to sit with it and let it be, and we’ve got to live in the ambiguity and harshness of it all.  It is best with a passage like this one to reserve judgment until further illumination, or even until we get to heaven itself when God will provide all the answers to our questions.  If nothing else, this text makes it clear that God is not only a God of mercy, He is also a God of judgment, and when He is doing a new thing in the world, every believer needs to take their discipleship and their giving seriously, holding nothing back.
      Are you generous with the Lord, my friend, or are you holding back?  Are you more concerned with what people think of you than you are with doing the right thing?  Are you tempted to shade the truth in order to make yourself look better?  Then this passage is for you and for me.  We need to read and pray through it.  May God do His work of transformation in each of our hearts this day.  Amen.