"You Can't Lie to God" Sermon: Acts 4:32-5:11

“You Can’t Lie to God”
[Acts 4:32-5:11]
August 9, 2009 Second Reformed Church

Our text begins with another summary statement about the early Church: the Church was of one heart and mind, no one in the Church said that anything was his own, the Good News of the Resurrection of Jesus was preached with power, and grace was received by them all, and everyone in the Church had their needs met. How well do we follow this example?

Luke tells us that the Church was of one heart and mind. That does not mean that everyone liked the same type of ice cream or that everyone liked the same TV program. What Luke is telling us is that they agreed about what they believed, and they responded to that belief by loving God and their neighbor with their whole selves – body, soul, mind, and spirit.

We recite the Apostle’s Creed each week, and one of the reasons we do so is to remind us of those key doctrines – teachings – that we ought all be agreed upon as Christians. There is more in the Word of God than what is contained in the Apostle’s Creed, but it contains the central, pivotal teaching of the faith. Do you believe what we confess each week? Does it mean anything for how you live once you leave this place?

No one in the Church said that anything was his own. Now, some have gotten confused about this and tried to argue that the Church is to propagate socialism – that no one is to have possessions, but all is to be held in common. We see one version of this misunderstanding in monasteries. But that cannot be what Luke is telling us, because in chapter five verse four, Luke records Peter telling Ananias that there is nothing wrong with a Christian having property, selling property, keeping the proceeds of the sale, and/or giving some or all of the proceeds of the sale to the Church. Christians are at liberty to use the blessings that God has given them.

What Luke is telling us is that the Church recognized that they were stewards of all that God has given them, not owners. God blessed them, and they had possessions, but they recognized that they didn’t ultimately own anything – it is God’s, and they were to steward the blessings that God gave them – they were to use all that God had given them to glorify God, to love God and their neighbor. So, they voluntarily shared all that they had so that no one in the Church had any needs. In other words, they understood that God gave more to some so they would be able to share with others.

You and I do not own anything – God is the owner of everything. God has blessed us with all the we possess so our needs will be met, so we can show our love to God and neighbor by giving, and by meeting the needs of those in the Church, especially, who do not have enough to meet their own needs. God does not want us to hoard away what He has given us, but after we have given back the tithe and filled our needs – not everything we could ever want, but our needs – then we are to give generously, liberally, in love, to the Glory of God and to fill the needs, especially, of those in the Church.

Jesus explained this is the form of a parable:

“For [the kingdom of heaven] will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. To one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them and he made five talents more. So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money. Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here I have made two talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, so I was afraid and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant You knew that I reap where I have not sowed and gather where I scattered no seed? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent away from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth’” (Matthew 25:14-30, ESV).

All that we have received from God, we are to invest for God – for the Gospel – that God would be glorified and His Gospel would be spread throughout the world. Everything we possess is on loan to us from God and God will call us to account one day. Are we investing what He has given us according to His Wisdom?

Luke also tells us that they were preaching – proclaiming – the Gospel of Jesus Christ – His Resurrection with boldness and power. We’ve seen this the past few weeks as we’ve looked at the healing of the lame man and how Peter and John we imprisoned and threatened by the rulers of the temple, and how Peter and John responded to all of this by saying that they could not obey them – they had to obey God – they had to speak of what they had seen and heard of Jesus. They could not help themselves – they were so filled with joy over what Jesus did to save them that they had to tell others.

And as they obeyed Jesus in proclaiming His Gospel, they received grace. They were empowered to be able to do all that God called them to do. They were given Wisdom from the Holy Spirit to understand and remember the Scriptures and to preach them faithfully. They grew in their faith and understanding as the Holy Spirit grew them.

And, finally, Luke tells us that there was not a needy person among them because those who had lands or houses – not everyone who had lands or houses, but those that had been blessed by God with enough lands and houses that they could sell some and still meet their needs – they sold their lands and houses and gave the money to the apostles for them to distribute as there was need.

In response to the Salvation of Jesus Christ that they had received, those who had much, sold some of what they possessed in order to make sure that everyone’s needs were met. Are your needs being met? Do you have more than you need? Are you giving generously to the Church that the needs of the Church and others can be met?

What are our needs? Until God calls us home, our needs are those things we need to be able to live. In the United States, the government has determined that the poverty level is about thirteen thousand dollars – below that, the government says – one does not have enough to live. Do you gross more than thirteen thousand dollars a year? How do you use the money that is not spent on your needs?

Luke gives us two examples of people who had more than enough – their needs had been filled, and they had houses and lands that they could sell and be able to give the proceeds to the Church:

The first example is of a man by the name of Joseph, who was also called, Barnabas, which means, “son of encouragement.” This is the same Barnabas that we will see travel with Paul later in the book of Acts. He was a Levite from Cyprus who owned at least one field. We’re not told how he came to own the field, but we know that Levites were not to own land – when God divided up the Promised Land, the Levites, as a family, were not given land, they were given cities within other tribes to live in, but the land belonged to others. However he came to own the land, Barnabas thought the best way he could use the land for God, in response to the joy of his salvation, was to sell the land and give the whole proceeds to the Church to meet needs. And he did so.

Barnabas was a cheerful, joyful giver. As Paul wrote, “Each one must give as he has made up his mind, not reluctantly, or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (II Corinthians 9:7, ESV). God is not honored when we give because we think we have to. God desires us to give, cheerfully, joyfully. I say each week that we worship God in the giving of our tithes and offerings – and we do – we ought to joyfully, cheerfully, put what we put in the offering plate. We should give because we love God and are thankful for all that He has done for us. We should give as a way to invest some of the blessings God has given us. That’s what Barnabas did.

Then we are given the example of Ananias and his wife, Sapphira. They, also, had plenty of blessings in the way of houses and land, and they determined that they, too, would sell a piece of property and say that they were giving the whole proceeds to the Church, but they would actually keep part of it for themselves. Now, like we already said, they were free to possess land, to sell land, and/or to give all or some of the proceeds to the Church. There is no law that says every Christians must sell their house and land and give all of the money to the Church. So, it would not have been wrong for them to sell the land and keep some of the money for themselves and give some of the money to the Church. But they wanted everyone to think that they gave all the money, so they decided to lie.

Ananias went to the temple and put the money at the apostles’ feet, “Brothers, I have sold my field, and I have decided to give all of the money I made from the sale for the Church and meeting the needs of the needy. I am holding nothing back, because God has blessed me richly; I want to give every penny to the Lord.”

And Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds from the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? After it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.” I want us to make sure that we understand: Christians can possess land and houses. Christians can sell land and houses. Christians can keep any or all of the money from the proceeds of that sale and/or give any or all of the proceeds of the sale to the Church. The sin was not in keeping part of the profits; the sin was in lying about bringing the whole profit as a gift to the Church.

And as Ananias heard Peter utter these words, God struck him dead. Before all of the people of the temple, God struck him dead. And the people who saw it got the point – they were afraid – you can’t lie to God. God knows everything. God knows our hearts. God knows what we do and say. God is not fooled. And God will not be mocked.

Three hours later, Sapphira came to the temple, and Peter asked her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for so much.” And she said, “Oh, yes, we received such and such for the land and decided to give the full proceeds for the Church and the needy. We held nothing back, because the Lord has blessed us richly.”

And Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.” And before all the people of the temple, God struck her dead. And the people who saw it got the point – they were greatly afraid – you can’t lie to God. God knows everything. God knows our hearts. God knows what we do and say. God is not fooled. And God will not be mocked.

What does this mean for us?

First, it means that we must understand that we are stewards of all that God has given us – not owners – so we ought to find ourselves free to give generously for the sake of the Gospel and meeting the needs of the needy. If we understand that nothing is ours, we will find ourselves free to give more in thanks and love to Jesus and for His Work. Do you love Jesus? Are you thankful for what He has done for you? Would your checkbook agree?

Our typical response to this is to say, “Well, like you already quoted, ‘God loves a cheerful giver.’” And we have tended to mean by that, “I’ll give what I want and when I want, if I feel like it.” But that’s not what the text is about. Paul was writing to the Corinthians, giving them the example of the Macedonian Church, to urge them to participate in the collection for Christians in Jerusalem. He urged them to give, but told them not to give out of guilt or like they have to fulfill a command, but to do so because it fills them with joy.

Paul begins with the example of the Macedonian Church: “We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed with a wealth of generosity on their part. For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own free will, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints – and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us” (II Corinthians 8:1-7, ESV).

Paul gave the Corinthians the example of the Macedonians, who were suffering and poor, yet for the joy that they received in doing so – for the cheerfulness that it gave them – they gave beyond their means. Paul wanted the Corinthians to see that the Macedonians were filled with joy and gave cheerfully far more than could have been expected of them – because that giving made them joyful – it made them cheerful.

Paul goes on to say, “The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has made up his mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. As it is written, ‘He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.’ He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way for all your generosity; which through us will produce thanksgiving to God. For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints, but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God. By their approval of this service, they will glorify God because of your submission flowing freely from your confession of the gospel of Christ, and the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others, while they long for you and pray for you, because of the surpassing grace of God upon you. Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift ” (II Corinthians 9:6-15, ESV).

Don’t misunderstand Paul, he is not saying, as some say today, that if you give generously, he will send you a magic handkerchief and you will become healthy, wealthy, and wise. No, what he is saying is if we give generously, God will be glorified and we will continue to increase in Christ-likeness. There is no guarantee that if we give ten dollars, we will receive one hundred dollars. But if we freely, willingly give ten dollars, we will receive joy and be cheerful and be made more fit for the work Christ has for us.

And second, we ought to be aware that God has set a minimum for our giving. After that, no human can judge, but God has set a minimum, not because God needs money, but so we will trust in God’s Providence.

Malachi records God’s words, “Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. Bring the full tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the Lord of hosts. Then all the nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight, says the Lord of hosts” (Malachi 3:8-12, ESV).

We are to give the tithe – ten percent of our gross income – and time and talent, etc. – to the Church. Jesus confirms this in Matthew 23:23-24, if you need a New Testament citation. We begin with ten percent of our gross income. If you are on the poverty level of thirteen thousand dollars a year – that’s two hundred and fifty dollars a week – so that would be a starting point of twenty-five dollars a week.

“But I can’t afford to give ten percent of my gross income a week ” Randy Alcorn in his book, The Treasure Principle, responds to this objection by asking, “Would you die if your income were ten percent less than it is right now?” If the answer is “no,” then you can afford to give the tithe. You may not want to give the tithe. You may want to spend it on pay-per-view or going out. But you can afford it. Don’t lie. No one in this church will hunt you down and demand that you produce your tax records; whatever you give is thankfully received. But understand, God has said that we are to give ten percent of our gross income – so God has promised that we will have at least enough to provide for our needs and to give the tithe, or that if we give the tithe, the Church will step up and help provide for her members, at least. But you can’t lie to God; God has said that He has given each of us enough to give at least ten percent of our gross income – and He has promised us joy in return!

I read Randy Alcorn’s book as part of my study for this sermon, and it in he explains his circumstances and why he does what he does with his blessings. Paul wrote, “For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the Gospel. I urge you, then, be imitators of me” (I Corinthians 4:15b-16, ESV). Paul said, inasmuch as he imitated Christ, he wanted those he served to imitate him. That’s why Alcorn tells his story. That’s why I am ending with an example from my life – not that you would think one way or another about me, but that you would consider what God has given you, what God requires of us, and how you desire to honestly respond in joy for all of God’s blessings.

I grew up in a family that taught tithing as a biblical principle. As soon as I received any money – from my allowance, from working, etc. – I knew that ten percent of it was to be put aside to give to the Church. And I enjoy giving to the Church – I don’t enjoy giving to the government in the form of taxes – and most of you know that I do everything I can to save money in my own life and here at the church. So, it has been a practice of mine – a joyful one – to give at least ten percent of my gross income to the Church.

At the beginning of this year, I was facing some financial issues for which I decided to decrease my giving to the Church – though I still gave at least ten percent. Over these past few months, I found that having the extra money did not alleviate the issues I was addressing, so I started giving more, and after studying for this sermon, I have decided that I need to give even more. The other morning as I was swimming, I was running numbers in my head, and I came to the conclusion that there is no reason why I can’t give twenty-five percent of my gross income to the Church – to this church – so I am. I was doing a backstroke, so I was able to start laughing as I was swimming. I experienced the joy that we are to receive as we willingly give.

Again, I don’t tell you that so you will think one way or another about me. I don’t tell you that to make you think I’m overpaid. I don’t tell you that to say that everyone should give twenty-five percent. I tell you that in the same way that Paul says to imitate him as he imitates Christ.

Understand that everything you have is a gift on loan from God. God has called us to steward our finances – and everything we have – well and to His Glory. Understand that God has set a minimum standard for our financial giving. Consider what you have been given. Consider Who Christ is – how thankful and joyful He has made you. And then honestly respond as God leads you. God knows what He has given you. God knows your heart. And you can’t lie to God.

Let us pray:
Almighty God, we thank You for giving us so much that our needs are met and we have more to give for Your Work. We ask that You would fill us with joy as we cheerfully worship You by giving. Help us to address the issue of stewardship honestly, knowing that You cannot be deceived. You are worthy of all – take us and make us useful for You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.