The Insanity of Humanity (Acts 4:31-5:11, Jeff Kliewer)

The Great Awakening and Jonathan Edwards’s Fight Against Sin

Father, we come to this part of the service where we open Your Word and we ask that You.

Would speak to us.

Lord, we ask that You would wash our minds with Your Word. Little do we know how much we need the renewing of the mind that comes through Your Word. We pray that You would reveal to us secret things that our minds are not aware of yet regarding our own nature, regarding the way we think.

We pray, Lord, for the transforming that comes by the Holy Spirit applying the sword of the.

Spirit to us.

So Lord, we come now asking, speak, Lord Jesus.

Speak to us through Your Word.

Your name we pray, amen. I would argue that this country in which we live, the United States of America, is a product of the Great Awakening. There is a Harvard professor named Alan Hemert who makes that argument in the book, Religion and the American Mind.

I think that the case is compelling. That the first Great Awakening that began in the 1630s, I'm sorry, in the 1730s and continued until really the founding of this country, is the predominant cause of this country being born as a nation separate from England.

Jonathan Edwards, along with George Whitefield, were the two great leaders of the first Great Awakening.

There were others.

But Jonathan Edwards was born in America, and I'll give a brief biography of his life just sharing some things, because I think what he teaches is very relevant to what we're studying this morning. As a young man, he struggled to obey God, as we all do.

But he recounts when God opened his eyes and brought him to saving faith. He puts it this way, I now sought an increase of grace and holiness and a holy life with much more earnestness than I ever sought grace before I had it.

I used to be continually examining myself and studying and contriving for likely ways and means how I should live wholly with far greater diligence and earnestness than ever I pursued anything in my life.

But yet, with too great a dependence on my own strength, which afterwards proved a great damage to me. My experience had not then taught me, as it has done since, my extreme feebleness and impotence, every manner of way, and the bottomless depths of secret corruption and deceit there was in my heart.

When Jonathan Edwards came to believe, and when he was enlightened, brought to true saving faith in Jesus Christ, it was not by his striving and by his effort, because he was a very, very religious young man, striving harder than any of his peers for holiness.

But the harder he strived to be good and to do right, and the means that he sought for that, only led him deeper into despair because he realized he wasn't meeting the standard. There came a point when he understood grace.

And in understanding grace, he was quickened to the gospel. But in that, also, he began to understand the bottomless depths of secret corruption and deceit in his heart. Coming to know Christ and experiencing grace did not convince him that he had become a good person.

Rather, he saw the depths of his own heart more clearly than ever before. And it caused him to cling to the cross, to cling to Christ. Well, it wasn't long after this that he became a pastor at 18 years old.

Began to preach, and his father and his grandfather were both pastors, and before long, he was called to be an assistant pastor at Northampton in Massachusetts. One day, as he was preaching, he's a young man, probably a thousand people in the congregation, he looked and he saw in the back row that some young people were talking and passing notes.

And the more he observed that as he was preaching, he recognized that they were not at all trembling before the word of God, as Isaiah 66 would tell us to do. They were indifferent to the word of God.

And so he preached more intensely and more intensely and began to call for repentance and faith. He couldn't understand how someone could take the word of God so lightly. As he preached, his spirit was grieved.

And I think the spirit of God was grieved too. Because in that moment, an earthquake shook the building, shattering windows. Edwards rushed out of the pulpit to attend to a woman who was cut by some of the falling glass.

After the chaos and once the earthquake subsided, he came back into the pulpit and began to preach again. And now, the teenagers were listening. They came to the front and laid down before God and repented of sin.

And that was the first stirring of the Great Awakening. This was in the year, I believe it was in the 1730s. The Great Awakening proper would begin in 1740 when George Whitefield comes from England. But this began in his church so early in his ministry, in the 1730s.

He continued to preach and would go to various churches. Many other churches would invite him to preach and similar things happened. One time he was preaching, sinners in the hands of an angry God. And describing how it is that we as sinners are like spiders suspended over a fire.

And we don't recognize it, but it's only the smallest thread that holds us from falling.

In.

As he preached, sinners in the hands of an angry God, people began to groan. And the groaning turned into a loud noise where people were physically reacting to the message that he preached. To the point where some were literally holding on to the beams that supported the church.

Jonathan Edwards himself, when he finished preaching that sermon, went out and visited for just a minute and then physically collapsed unconscious. Wouldn't awake for hours later. But that, again, began a Great Awakening in that church.

Something powerful was afoot. After 23 years of preaching like this, Northampton fired him. Why would you fire the Great Awakening preacher? He was very hard on sin. In fact, the controversy that led to his firing was called bundling.

The teenagers in the congregation felt like it was fun and fine to go into a bed together, fully clothed, but to lay and pile and bundle in beds together. And Jonathan Edwards came down with such force and fury against that behavior that the parents arose and had him fired.

Because of it. But Jonathan Edwards was not playing with sin. He was very direct. When we get to the story today, we're going to read about Ananias and Sapphira. And I think in our culture, when we read about what God did to deal with Ananias and Sapphira, we are shocked and surprised.

But I would argue that the surprise should move in the other direction. As sinful as our hearts are, and the level of sin that we tolerate in our own lives, it is a wonder that Ananias and Sapphira, the story we'll study today, is not the norm.

I could have called today's sermon the noetic effect of sin. Instead, I called it the insanity of humanity. I think it has a little better ring to it. But the theological term, the noetic effect of sin, refers to something that happened to us in the fall.

When Adam and Eve rebelled in the garden, they fell in slavery to sin. And a penalty hung over them. And that penalty, of course, was death. But something else happened in the fall. The mind, the rational mind of humankind was changed at that time.

Our rationality itself suffered. And people no longer thought as clearly as before the fall. In fact, what began to happen from that time on, the noetic effect of sin, is that in processing information, in hearing the Word of God, we tend to justify ourselves and rationalize our own behavior.

Rather than hearing the Word of God, we justify. First Corinthians 2 .14, a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him. And he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.

There's but one remedy to the noetic effect of sin. The insanity of the human mind. And that is regeneration, that God would give us a new mind in the new birth. And yet, even so, the sin nature remains with us.

And so, we need to be washed by the Word for our mind to be continually renewed. When we receive the new birth, God is able to change not only the way we think, but how we live in relation to others. And that we will read about in Acts chapter 4, beginning in verse 31.

First we will see a renewed mind resulting in concern for others, and concern for the glory of God. But then we will see the counterexample of the natural mind, the carnality of Ananias and Sapphira. So let's read it.

The Church Filled with the Holy Spirit and One Heart and Soul

Acts chapter 4, verse 31. And we'll go to chapter 5, verse 11 today. And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.

Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own. But they had everything in common. And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.

And great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them. For as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of what was sold, and laid it at the apostles' feet.

And it was distributed to each as any had need. Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas, which means son of encouragement, a Levite, a native of Cyprus, sold a field that belonged to him, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles' feet.

But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, 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.

But 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 of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own?

And 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 man, but to God. When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last.

And great fear came upon all who heard it. The young men rose and wrapped him up, and carried him out, and buried him. After an interval of about three hours, his wife came in, not knowing what had happened, and Peter said to her, Tell me, whether you sold the land for so much?

And she said, Yes, for so much. But 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.

Immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. When the young men came in, they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. And great fear came upon the whole church, and upon all who heard of these things.

Well, in our hearing of these things, surprising, someone lied to the Holy Spirit through the apostles, and the immediate penalty was death. We are surprised because the grace of God has so covered us that we don't experience that kind of judgment in the same way.

In the time of Jonathan Edwards, there were great revivals happening. And as a result, there was also many terrible and similar things to this happening in the congregation. I think that in times of revival, there's a heightened awareness of the glory of God.

There's a heightened anticipation of the things of God. And as the Spirit is moving powerfully, Satan begins to rage and bring temptations. And I think that the mercy of God judged Ananias and Sapphira in order to continue the work of God.

Had God allowed this kind of thing to go unchecked, would the church have thrived the way it did? Three thousand people born again in a day. Five thousand, not long after. The number growing to five thousand.

Verse 31 of chapter 4. This is a powerful time. When they prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.

Recognize, the Holy Spirit is moving in a powerful way. He's filling the believers. And now verses 32 to 37. This is what fruit comes from a Spirit-filled man. Verse 32. The full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul.

One heart and soul, knit together as one people. And no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. Circle that word, things. When the Spirit of God is at work in the heart of a man, the thinking of that person becomes God-centered.

The result of God-centered thinking is concern for other people. The fleshly man is concerned about things. The God-centered man is concerned about people. One heart and mind. Verse 33. With great power, the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all.

Notice in verse 34. There is not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles' feet to be distributed to those who were in need.

Notice this great grace in verse 33. It's only grace that brings us to salvation, but great grace when we are fully devoted to God, when our heart is fully in tune with His. The result is concern for others, and giving becomes generous.

Now in the Old Testament, of course, we know that the law was to give the first 10 of all of your proceeds. What we see here is radically greater than that, but it's not motivated by law. It's not motivated by begging for money as you'll see done on the television or in churches.

Notice we don't talk a lot about money from the pulpit, but when the text talks about money and things, we talk about it. The genuine Christian heart is pleased to give, and it's marked by a freedom. There's no compulsion to this giving.

There's freedom because it comes from a heart of worship to God. I think it goes beyond what the Israelites were giving as far as 10 of their income in the Old Testament. In the New Testament, we're motivated by genuine worship to God, and we're happy and pleased to give as much as we possibly can.

There's a freedom in that, and there's a joy in that giving. I would go so far as to say, if you can't joyfully put your offering in the plate, please do not give it.

Don't even give it.

If it comes from a heart that says, I'm centered on God, I give this out of worship, and I do it freely with a joyful heart, if it doesn't come from that motivation, keep it. It's nothing pleasing to God.

Verse 35, they laid at the apostles' feet, it's distributed to each as they have need. Now Joseph, of course we know of Joseph as he gets this nickname Barnabas. Later in the book of Acts, we see his heart coming through.

When Paul was converted to Christianity, when his heart was changed, he was off by himself, unable to associate with the Christians.

Why?

Because people were afraid of him. This is the same man that persecuted Christians. It was Barnabas that left his home, his family, and went and found Paul, and encouraged him, and brought him into fellowship, that he also would be of one heart and soul with the apostles.

This is his heart. You also remember the story when John Mark had abandoned Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey, and now John Mark wants to go on the second missionary journey. What does the apostle Paul say?

No, we can't afford the liability. He deserted once, it's not worth the risk to bring him a second time. But the son of encouragement, Barnabas, said give him another chance. God's at work in his life, his heart's been changed, be merciful.

This is Barnabas' nature. And so look here in verse 36, he receives a nickname. His name is Joseph, called by the apostles, son of encouragement. And his first great encouraging act here is verse 37. He sells a field that belonged to him, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles' feet.

He got his nickname because he was concerned for others. It's a great name, Barnabas. Ask yourself, would someone look at me and say, my nickname is Barnabas? Would someone look at me and give me that kind of nickname?

That's something we should aspire to. Follow the example of Barnabas. But now we move on to the intense part of the story, the counterexample, what not to follow. Chapter 5, verse 1, a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property.

The Noetic Effect of Sin and the Insanity of Humanity

And with his wife's full knowledge, he kept back for himself some of the proceeds, brought only a part of it, laid it at the apostles' feet. Pause here. This is insanity. The mind of Ananias to do this, considering what has taken place, they have witnessed the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ.

They have seen him risen from the dead. He has appeared for 40 days to many of them. And now, in the presence of Ananias and Sapphira, Peter has raised a crippled man through the name of Jesus Christ.

People are being baptized, the church is growing. There is power. And yet, something in the mind of Ananias and Sapphira reasons a little lie. A little white lie wouldn't be so bad. Now, there's a religious hypocrisy in this as well.

Because in the outward show, they want to be seen as giving, and they want to be known that they gave it all. That's the impression that they want to make. The outward show of their religion is to show people that they gave it all.

And yet, their mind knows that they're lying. That's insane. They're rationalizing. They're, in their brain, justifying their own behavior. Where does this come from? Turn with me to Romans 1. And here we study the noetic effect of sin.

This is very important for all of us to understand. Because our minds were affected by the fall. Noetic comes from the Greek noos. It means mind. So the effect that the fall had upon our mind, that sin had upon our mind.

Romans 1, 18 and following. I want you to notice two things as I read this. One is exchange. The unregenerate mind in the fall will exchange the glory of God for idols. And number two, notice that God gives people over to their way of thinking.

To do what ought not be done. So 1, 18 and following. Do you see that? There's a futility of the way people think. And there's a darkening of the heart, the understanding. Now look at verse 22. Claiming to be wise, they became fools.

And exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images. Resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. Now watch the giving over. Verse 24. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity.

To the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves. Because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie. And worshiped and served the creature rather than the creator who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions.

For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature. And the men likewise gave up natural relations with women. And were consumed with passion for one another. Men committing shameless acts with men.

And receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God. God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. And that's the key of what I'm trying to teach you.

What I need to be reminded of. The human mind is affected by the fall. The way people reason and think has been twisted and perverted. By exchanging the truth for a lie. And God gives people over to think this way.

How does that play out in our culture? Well, just according to Romans 1, 20 and 21. God has clearly displayed that he is the creator of all. His eternal power and divine nature are clearly seen. And yet a vast majority of people in our country.

Do not believe that God spoke this world into existence. Rather they are following the idea of evolution. They believe that this world evolved from a big bang. And over time magically became what it is.

That's insane. That's utterly insane to think that way. The presence of something requires a source.

God.

An eternal power with divine nature to speak things into existence. Ray Comfort uses the example of a book. If you're holding a Bible or you have another book with you now. Imagine the odds that that book would form itself given enough time.

The words arranged on the page. In fact the ink to fall upon that page to form the words. The binding that holds it together. The pictures that make sense. If ink or I guess even nothing were given enough time.

Would it ever form a book? Can time produce that kind of order? And yet the book of life. The code that determines everything about you. Who you are is encoded in DNA. An evolutionist would say that DNA just evolved.

The amount of information in DNA. If it were written on pages and stacked. It would go to the moon and back more than once. All of that information is written in your DNA. And yet an evolutionist will say that this just came from nothing.

That's insanity. We know that the results of Hitler's actions in World War II. Were devastating. And yet he was operating rationally upon Darwinism. He was a Darwinist. And rationally came to the conclusion.

That if we all evolve from apes. That some people are less evolved and less important. And so began his extermination campaign. The concentration camps. Built on that however. His presupposition had excluded God as creator.

He had embraced the wrong supposition. And then through the noetic effects of sin. He reasoned the way he did. To the point of carrying out the atrocity. That happened in the late 1930's and early 1940's.

Same can be said about Stalin.

And Mao.

The result of this reasoning built on Darwinism. Return with me to the text. And we'll come back to that thought in just a moment. Acts chapter 5. We left off at verse 1 and 2. Ananias and Sapphira are justifying their own behavior.

What they're doing is utterly insane. To lie to the Holy Spirit. To lie to the apostles. 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 of the land.

While it remained unsold. Did it not remain your own. And 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 man. But to God.

Now I want to pause and make a comment in verse 4. While it remained unsold. Did it not remain your own. Here again is this principle of freedom in giving. Many people misinterpret Acts chapter 4. And also the end of Acts chapter 2.

Where we saw a similar passage. To refer to communal living. And even to a government redistributing wealth. To take from people who have more. Through taxation. And then to distribute that. That's the opposite of what we have here.

Look at chapter 5 verse 4. While it remained unsold. Says Peter. Did it not remain your own. There is private property here. And after it was sold. Was it not at your disposal. It is his to give. Or to withhold.

This is not some imposition by government. Or some scheme to redistribute wealth. Rather this is free will offering.

From the heart.

From generosity. Now the second part of verse 4.

While it.

While.

Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart. You have not lied to man. But to God. So what was the sin. That led to his fall. Contriving in his heart to do this thing. This religious hypocrisy.

To make a show. An outward show of his giving. And then lying. Directly to the apostles. The sin was a lie. You have not lied to man. But to God. Incidentally. This is a proof text. That the Holy Spirit is God.

The Father is God. Jesus claims to be God. Over and over again saying I am. Which is the name of God from Exodus 3.

Now.

The Holy Spirit is declared to be God. You have lied to the Holy Spirit. You have lied to God. The Holy Spirit is God. Verse 5. When Ananias heard these words. He fell down. And breathed his last. And great fear.

Came upon all who heard it. The young men wrap him up. He's carried out. And buried. Only God's grace. In restraining evil. And delaying judgment. Makes sense of Ananias' death. Let me say that again.

As we look at this story. We're surprised by. How harshly God deals with him. But what should surprise us. Is that God is so gracious. And slow to anger. In dealing with us. The world as it exists today.

The culture in which we live. Is under the wrath of God. Romans 1 .18. However, it's a delayed wrath. That won't be revealed until the end of time. When Christ comes back. He is restraining evil. In order for us to have a world.

That we can live in. As Christians. So follow this thinking. There is a professor. At the University of Washington. Who's written an article. The professor's name is David Barash. The article. Is entitled.

It's time to make human chimp hybrids. The humanzee. Is both scientifically possible. And morally defensible. I'm going to read a portion of his article. But here's why I'm doing it. We need to understand.

The noetic effect of sin. On the culture around us. And secondly. As we'll get to the conclusion. How that culture impacts us. Without us even knowing it.

See.

The problem with the noetic effect of sin. That it's a self-rationalization. Is we don't know. Where it is.

We are wrong.

We don't know how it is. We think wrongly. We think because we. Think something.

That we're right.

This person writing this article. Is writing in complete.

Sincerity.

He believes what he's writing. But listen to his words. Looking favorably. On the prospect of a humanzee. Or chimp human. Will likely. Be not only controversial. But to many people. Downright immoral.

But I propose. That generating humanzees. Or chimp humans. Would be not only ethical. But profoundly so. Even if there were no prospects. Of enhancing human welfare.

How could.

Even the most. Determinedly.

Homocentric. And animal denigrating. Religious fundamentalist. Maintain that God created us. In his image. And that we and we alone. Harbor a spark of the divine. Distinct from all other life forms. Once confronted with living beings.

That are indisputably.

Intermediate.

Between human. And non-human. Follow his argument? He'll go on. In any event. The nonsensical insistence. That human beings are uniquely created in God's image. And endowed with a soul. Whereas other living things are mere brutes.

Has not only permitted. But encouraged an attitude toward the natural world. In general. And other animals in particular. That has been at best indifferent. And more often. Downright antagonistic. Jingoistic.

And in many cases. Intolerably cruel. It is only because of this self-serving myth. That some people accord the embryos of Homo sapiens. A special place as persons in waiting. Magically endowed with a notable humanity.

That entitles them to special legal and moral consideration. Unavailable to our non-human kin. It is only because of this self-serving myth. That many people have been able to deny. The screamingly evident evolutionary connectedness.

Between themselves. And other life forms. When claims are made about the right to life. Invariably the referent is human life. A rigid distinction. Only possible. Because of the presumption that human life.

Is somehow uniquely distinct from other forms of life. Even though everything we know of biology. Demonstrates that this is simply untrue. What better clearer and more unambiguous way. To demonstrate this.

Than by creating viable organisms. That are neither human. Nor animal. But certifiably intermediate. Professor David Barish. It will be published by Oxford Press. This is a chapter of a book. That's shortly coming out.

This is certifiably insane. And the point of it. Is to repel our theology. That humans are made in the image of God. And uniquely so. It is certifiably insane. That our nation. Murders babies in the womb.

We had a president. That was asked about when life begins. And that president said. It's above my pay grade. To answer that question. And so he advocated. That the lives of these could be taken. And pressed for more funding of planned parenthood.

The rational response. To not knowing when life begins. Is to say we must protect life. Because we don't know that it's not life. And protect it to the nth degree. But to say you don't know. When life begins.

And then to advocate for abortion. Is certifiably insane. On the level of what Adolf Hitler did. In the second world war. The noetic effect of sin. There's a culture arising. That would tell us. That we need to refer to people.

According to their preferred pronouns. If they don't identify with the gender of their birth. Which is given by God. We are to refer to them. As Zim, Zin or Zer. As opposed to him or her. That is being enforced in Canada.

By the government. Which is certifiably insane. In this culture it will become more and more of a problem. Cultural Marxists. Are promising. Government support for the oppressed. But the problem is. They are the ones defining who's oppressed.

They are the ones. Who would control the solution to that so called oppression. And religious persecution will be the result of it. We live in a culture. That is increasingly insane. Utterly insane. And we look at something like what happened at Parkland.

And we wonder how it is. That something like that happened. The truth is. God is restraining the evil of this culture. And when something like that happens. What is occurring is that God has lifted his hand of restraint.

To give a sneak peek. Of what this world would be like apart from his restraint. Unless the restrainer. Were keeping a common grace upon us all the time. We would not be able to make it home today. Because the cultural Marxists would have.

Stirred up the people to the point where there were violent. Mobs in the street. And the little bit of that that we have seen. Is only a taste of what would be. Cultural Marxism is on the move. What Ananias did.

Was insane. To talk during a sermon. Especially Jonathan Edwards. In the Great Awakening. Was insane. Our minds. Are turned. To justify ourselves. We have a little bit left of the text and the same thing happens.