Acts 4:32-5:16 -- Generosity and Judgment in the Community of Christ (September 24, 2023)

Acts 4–5 and the Pattern of Pentecost in the New Community

We can turn in your Bibles to Acts chapter 4. Acts chapter 4, we did the first 31 verses last week. This morning we're going to begin in verse 32 and go through verse 16 of chapter 5. So Acts 4, 32 through chapter 5, verse 16.

If you remember last week we saw that Peter and John were arrested for the good deed of healing a lame man. And that filled with the Holy Spirit they began to speak boldly to the Sanhedrin, the council that had brought them and put them on trial before them.

But ultimately Peter and John were let go because the ruling class could not deny the miracle that they had done. They feared the people. But Peter and John were told not to speak in the name of Jesus.

They were commanded not to teach in His name anymore. Or a command that they told the rulers that they would not abide by. They would not obey. And then we see that they went and they joined the other believers.

In verses 23 through 31 of chapter 4. And verse 31 says this is what they did. When they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and they spoke the word of God with boldness.

That catches us up to where we are in verse 32 with our passage this morning. Now if you read chapters 4 and 5 carefully, you're going to notice some similarities. You're going to be reminded of Acts chapter 2.

If you remember the story of Pentecost in Acts chapter 2, you'll remember that the disciples were gathered in a place and they were all praying together with one accord. And that the Spirit came like a mighty rushing wind filling the place where they were gathered.

And believers were then filled with the Spirit and they began to speak. And multitudes believed. And then at the end of chapter 2, life in this new community is described and it's featuring signs and miracles.

And it mentions that the believers shared all things in common. That's the story of Pentecost in Acts chapter 2. And then in chapter 4, again, we see verse 24 that the disciples are gathered together, praying in one accord.

And the place where they are gathered is shaken by the Spirit and believers are filled with the Holy Spirit and they begin to speak, verse 31. Verse 32, we'll read it in just a minute. Verse 32, multitudes believe.

And then again, life in the new community is described. And we'll see this as we go throughout today. But life in the new community is described featuring signs and miracles. Verse 33 and then 12 -16 of chapter 5.

And again, sharing all things in common. Verse 32 and following. What we see is this is Pentecost all over again. It's a recapitulation. But in this account, we get an extended look at what that life in the new community looks like.

It was briefly mentioned in chapter 2 and we get an extended look in chapters 4 and 5 at what life in the kingdom, life in the new community looks like, especially the practice of sharing all things in common.

And on this point about sharing all things in common, we see both generosity and judgment in the community of Christ. We see both generosity and judgment in the community of Christ. And so let's first focus in on the generosity that we see on full display in the new church by reading verses 32 through the end of chapter 4.

Generosity in the Community of Christ

And the Word of God says this,. Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul. Neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common.

And with great power, the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. Nor was there anyone among them who lacked. For all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold and laid them at the apostles' feet and they distributed to each as anyone had need.

And Joseph, who was also named Barnabas by the apostles, which is translated son of encouragement, a Levite of the country of Cyprus, having land, sold it and brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet.

This is the Word of God to us this morning. And what we see here is this incredible description of generosity, or I should say a description of incredible generosity. Neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common.

Nor was there anyone among them who lacked. For all who possessed lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds to the apostles' feet. And the apostles, verse 35 says, distributed to each as anyone had need.

This is incredible generosity of the first church. I want to note a few things about this generosity that we see in the community of Christ. And the first thing I want us to know is that this generosity was voluntary.

Generosity in the community of Christ doesn't function like taxation. It doesn't function like membership dues in some organization. There was no compulsion. There was no coercion. Rather, their generosity was voluntary.

We see this in several ways. We see it in verse 32. It says, neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own. Yet, when we go into chapter 5 in just a minute, you'll see in verse 4 that Peter, when he's talking to Ananias, he says, while it remained, was it not your own?

And after it was sold, was it not in your control? Meaning it was their own. They did possess it. It was under their control. But they didn't say, verse 32 says, they didn't say that it was their own.

It was their own, but they did not account it as their own. Rather, they voluntarily gave of it to meet the needs of others in the community. We see it in verses 34 and 35 where they brought the proceeds, and they did what with it?

They laid them at the apostles' feet. The apostles didn't go out to collect from the church. The apostles didn't go out and extract money from the church to meet the needs. No, the believers brought the proceeds.

As needs were observed, they brought the proceeds and laid them at the apostles' feet. Now, laying them at their feet. At the feet is a sign of submission. Not so much to the apostles themselves, but to Jesus in whose stead the apostles ministered.

And so what we have is voluntary, not coerced generosity. The question then is why? Why were they so incredibly generous? Why did they sell their possessions and give them away? Well, the first answer to that is grace.

They sold what they had because of grace. We see this in verse 33. And great grace was upon them all. Great grace was upon them all. There are at least two ways that grace fueled generosity in the community of Christ here in Acts 4.

The first is this. We're not naturally generous, are we? That isn't naturally the way we're wired. Even after we've been saved and we still have indwelling sin, right? And we have corrupted desires and motivations.

And that means we battle selfishness and envy and worry, which are all things that hinder our generosity towards others. But God's grace at work through His Spirit, at work through His Word, at work through His people makes us generous.

It is God's grace. Without grace, none of us would be particularly generous, at least not with righteous motivations. But God's grace was upon them all. And God's grace transforms hearts. And from their hearts, they were generous to all who had need.

It's grace-driven generosity. A second way that grace fuels generosity is this. It's a fitting response to the Gospel. It's a fitting response to what God has done for us in salvation. I can still remember being in seminary and the day in Greek class when Dr. Kellum said that he often translates the Greek word charis, which is usually translated grace, that he often translates that as generosity.

That really stuck with me. The generosity of God. The grace of God is the generosity of God. He's being generous to us in salvation. He's being generous to us in being at work in our lives and in our hearts.

And in Christ, we've received a generous gift. The removal of your sins, the forgiveness of your sins, the righteousness of Jesus that Jesus takes on our sin and He gives us His perfect righteousness.

He gives us His obedience as if we had fully obeyed God. He gives us new life in the Spirit, a new nature that is able to obey God. And He gives us everlasting life in heaven in the presence of God where there is fullness of joy.

This is a generous gift, right? And Peter had preached to the crowd and he had told them what they had done, that they had crucified Jesus, that they had put the Prince of Life to death, that they had blood on their hands.

This is Peter's message that we read about in chapters 3 and 4. But he also told them that they could repent. He also told them that God was giving them a second chance that they could turn from their sins and times of refreshing would come.

Chapter 3 verse 19. And they would receive this generous gift of God in Christ. And hearing Peter preach that, what happened? Many believed. Multitudes believed. Thousands believed. And having received that generosity from God, they then extend that generosity towards others.

Having received blessing and generosity from God, they extend blessing and generosity towards others. Christ had met their need and so they met the needs of others. It's a fitting response to the Gospel.

And their voluntary generosity was in this way, grace-driven, verse 33. And great grace was upon them all. A second reason why they sold their possessions and gave them away is this. The church was a restored Israel that was representing a restored humanity.

A restored Israel, restored people of God, representing a restored humanity. Israel was given instructions about debt and economics in Deuteronomy 15. I want to read just a few selected portions from Deuteronomy 15 where it describes the year of release every seven years.

And I want you to hear this. I want you to get an idea of how God is instructing His people, Israel, to live and to be, particularly as it relates to their economics. And it says, At the end of every seven years you shall grant a release of debts.

And this is the form of the release. Every creditor who has lent anything to his neighbor shall release it. He shall not require it of his neighbor or his brother because it is called the Lord's release.

Of a foreigner you may require it, but you shall give up your claim to what is owed by your brother, except when there may be no poor among you. For the Lord will greatly bless you in the land which the Lord your God has given you to possess as an inheritance.

Then it goes on to say, If there is among you a poor man of your brethren within any of the gates in your land which the Lord your God has given you, you shall not harden your heart nor shut your hand from your poor brother, but you shall open your hand wide to him and willingly lend him sufficient for his need, whatever he desires.

You shall surely give to him and your heart should not be grieved. And when you give to him, because for this thing the Lord your God will bless you in all your works and in all to which you put your hand, for the poor will never cease from the land.

Therefore I command you saying, You shall open your hand wide to your brother, to your poor and your needy in your land. This is how God has instructed them to look out for their brother, to look out for their neighbor.

Israel is to be an obedient people and as such God will bless them and they will be generous from the heart and there will be no poor among them. Now of course we've read the Old Testament. We know that Israel was not obedient.

They rebelled constantly. We know that they exploited the poor among them rather than helping the poor among them. But Jesus came to be the true Israel. Jesus came to be the true Israel who would obey in the place of his people and in the church by his spirit through the apostles, Jesus was reconstituting the people of God.

The church was to be a restored Israel and there was to be none among them who lacked and had need. And as a restored Israel in Christ, they represented a restored humanity. But in Christ God is rebuilding what it means to be made in his image.

He's rebuilding us as humanity. And in such, this is pointing to how the world ought to be. As one commentary put it, what we see here in Acts 4, it's pointing to a world where the rich do not get richer by exploiting the poor and where everyone knows something of the goodness and the grace of God.

Where everyone knows something of the goodness and grace of God. And as a restored humanity, the church knew that they were more than atomized individuals. They belong to a body. They belong to a group.

They belong to the body of Christ. They were bound up together in a very real way. Their good was bound up in the good of others. And so helping a neighbor did not mean loss for them. Helping a brother did not mean loss for them, but gain.

Because the benefit of one represented the benefit of all because they belong together. This is what it means to have membership in the body of Christ. For us locally in any given church, we are not merely individuals, but we are in a very real sense, we belong to one another.

And so how can we apply this voluntary, incredible generosity that we see in chapter 4, how can we apply this here in our church? We ought to be generous with one another. If one of us lacks, if one of us has a need, then others of us who have plenty ought to help meet that need.

Now this does not mean that everyone is going to have equal shares of goods and resources. God rarely pours out His blessings with such uniformity. But it does mean that we ought to be generous with one another such that no one among us, no one among our membership lacks what he or she needs.

And in our generosity, we ought to prioritize fellow church members and fellow believers. Sometimes I think Christians need to hear that it's okay to give priority in our generosity towards those in the church rather than those outside of the church.

But Deuteronomy 15 tells us, what we just read, teaches us an asymmetry between insiders and outsiders. Between how Israel was to act economically with those in Israel and those from without Israel. Galatians 6 .10 tells us the same thing when it says, Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.

So it's not that we shouldn't be generous with anybody outside of the church. We absolutely should. Do good to all, Paul says, but especially to those of the household of faith. Meaning, we prioritize those who belong to us.

This is another reason why church membership is important. Because a commitment to a body by membership, it affords you certain privileges and blessings. That's why membership is important. And so one practical way we can apply this generosity in addition to financially meeting needs as those were made known and those who have the means are able to meet those.

Another way is to serve one another. You see, one of the things I love about our church is we have a wide age range. We have fairly newborn babies up to 90-something year olds here in our church and everything in between.

I love that. And that gives us opportunity to serve in various ways. And so I think one small example, when we were doing our summer fellowships, I can't tell you how many times I saw Greg Wood holding Enoch Basuah so that Stephen or Sarah could go fix their plate and eat a little bit.

It's a small way to serve, but that's an act of generosity, right? Or I can think of, I'm sure there are people within our church, maybe you've grown older and it's harder to do projects around your house or out in your yard, and you can use some strong backs of some younger guys in our church to do those things.

And we should look for ways to serve in practical ways like this. We were just discussing this during our deacons meeting a couple weeks ago. And so I'd say, do you have a need? Are you one of those who needs help in some way?

Let it be known. Let our deacons know. Are you someone who you would jump at the chance if you knew there was a need, you'd love to meet it if you could. Let our deacons know that you're ready and willing and available.

And we can serve one another and be generous in that way. So we see generosity in the new community of Christ. But if we keep reading in chapter 5, we also see judgment. Let me read, beginning in verse 1 of chapter 5.

Judgment on Ananias and Sapphira

But a certain man named Ananias with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession. And he kept back part of the proceeds, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles' feet.

But Peter said, Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control?

Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men, but to God. Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and breathed his last. So great fear came upon all who heard these things.

And the young men arose and wrapped him up, carried him out, and buried him. Now, it was about three hours later when his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. And Peter answered her, Tell me, whether you sold the land for so much?

And she said, Yes, for so much. And then Peter said to her, How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.

And then immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. And the young men came in and found her dead and carrying her out, buried her by her husband. So great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things.

I'll make a few notes about this story, and then I'll apply it to our church. First, the sin of Ananias and Sapphira was not that they held on to the things that they owned. Peter says this much in the beginning of verse 4.

He says, While it remained, was it not your own? After it was sold, was it not in your own control? So their sin wasn't that they kept what was theirs. Their sin was lying about what they were bringing, saying that they were bringing it all, saying that all of it was devoted to the Lord, and then keeping part of it back for themselves.

And Peter says at the end of verse 4 that they lied not to men, but to God. Lying to God was their sin. Keeping what belonged to God that they had devoted to God was their sin. In that sense, they were stealing from God.

Which is bad, right? That's their sin. Second, we see a contrast between Barnabas and Ananias. At the end of 4, you have Barnabas who tells who he is. He's a Levite of the country of Cyprus. Having land, sold it, brought the money, laid it at the apostles' fee.

And you have him contrasted with Ananias who sold land and brought part of it. You have a contrast between Barnabas, an example of true religion, caring for those in need, generosity to care for those in need, and Ananias, an example of the pretense of religion.

Religion for show. Religion put on display for other people, but not for God. Not from a sincere heart. I want you to hear and see in the example of Ananias it's a dangerous thing to pretend to be a Christian.

To put on a show for other people with no regard for God Almighty. Third, sometimes we read a story like this in the scriptures and modern sensibilities start to come in to how we read it. And we might think, that was a little severe.

That escalated quickly. We might think that it was a little bit excessive on God's part here. And so the first thing I want to say about that, if that strikes you as being a little bit harsh, first thing we need to see is that that means there's a deficiency in us.

Because there's not a deficiency in God. If it seems that God has done something excessive, that there's something that we don't understand, we need to recognize that's because we don't understand, not because God doesn't understand.

So that's where we start. We start by admitting our own deficiencies. But if that's the case, if we're having a little bit of trouble seeing why God did what He did here, it can help us to connect Ananias to a couple of other stories in the scriptures.

First, we see a connection with Ananias between him and Judas. You see, Satan had filled his heart. Verse 3, chapter 5, Peter says, Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit? Just as Satan had entered Judas that we see in Luke 22.

We see that both of them conspired for money and they both sinned in order to get real estate or having to do with real estate. And both received divine judgment and both were put to death. Second, an even more obvious connection I believe is with Achan in the book of Joshua.

Do you remember the story of Achan? After entering into the promised land, God had told His people to devote everything to destruction, devote it to Him. But Achan kept back some of which was devoted to the Lord for himself.

And because of this great sin, Israel suffered a terrible loss at the battle of Ai. Sin was in the camp and so God would not bless and He would not protect His people because of it. Achan kept back for himself what was devoted to the Lord and Israel suffered a great defeat.

And here with Ananias, he kept back a portion of what was devoted to the Lord and there was sin in the camp. And so that there would be no sin in the new community, he received divine judgment and he was killed.

And so what lessons can we learn from Ananias and Sapphira? I want to draw out two for our church. The first is this, sin never stays with the sinner. Sin never stays with the sinner. That is, sin never only affects the one who is doing the sinning.

We like to think that if we sin it only affects us. But that's not true. We're not atomized individuals that what we do only affects us. You can ask any child of an alcoholic father if his dad sins only affects dad.

It affects the whole family, right? When you belong to a group, when you belong to a body such as a family or a church or a citizenry, a society, when you have a body with real bonds, one member's sin always affects the other members in one way or another.

Sometimes more severe, sometimes less. But it always affects the others. Therefore, because that's true, we here, members of First Baptist Church Travelers Rest, we have an interest in, we have a stake in one another's holiness.

We have an interest in one another's fight against sin. And so it matters to me if you are walking with Christ. It matters to me if you are walking in unrepentant or flagrant sin. And it ought to matter.

It's okay that it matters to me because we belong together. And it's not just because I'm your pastor. Because I'm your pastor, I have an extra interest in how you're doing. It's one that's charged by God to keep watch over your souls.

But church members have an interest in, a stake in, and it ought to matter to you how other church members are walking with Christ or not. Because if one of us is walking in unrepentant and flagrant sin, it affects all of us.

Because we're a body. We belong together. We have membership with one another. And sin in the camp affects us all. Look at the stories of Achan, and Ananias, and Sapphira. The second lesson that we can draw from this then is that church discipline is good, godly, and healthy.

It's good, godly, and healthy. And it's biblical. We see it in the Scriptures. But I want to be clear. When we're talking about church discipline, I'm referring to a broad spectrum of things. I mean positive discipline like our preaching and teaching ministry which trains us in the Scriptures, right?

Trains us in God's Word. I mean informal conversations that members have with one another where members give godly counsel or exhortation or admonition to other members about certain life situations. I also mean those awkward but necessary conversations where one member or a leader in the church addresses sin that's observed in a member's life and calls them to turn from it, to be forgiven of it, to forsake it, to leave it.

It's only going to harm you and others. So they call them to repent. And eventually if one persists in flagrant sin and refuses to repent, as the Bible outlines and our bylaws instruct us, that can include a final step of excommunication, a final step in pleading with someone for their soul and protecting the church community from that person's sin.

Now those latter stages of discipline are not pleasant. They're not something that we would ever take lightly or rush into. But we do see them in the Scriptures. But taken as a whole, both the informal and the formal, both the positive forms of discipline and the corrective forms of discipline, but taken as a whole we can see all of that and see that church discipline is good, godly, and healthy for a church community.

It's not something that we should chafe against, but it's something that we should embrace as part of our calling as a church. And the reason we should do that is because discipline is love. Go to Hebrews chapter 12.

God disciplines the one He loves. Go to Proverbs. If a father doesn't discipline his kid, he doesn't love him. It's hatred. Discipline is love. And God disciplines the one He loves. And so it's good, godly, and healthy.

Also, discipline leads Christians to repentance. You see, God doesn't leave us in our sins. He's a good father to us, and He won't leave us in our sins. He leads us out from our sins. And He does this through informal and formal means.

Positive and corrective. Whatever it takes to lead us out from our sin that we will repent of it. And lastly, we see that discipline protects the purity of the church. Christ's bride. Protects the purity of the bride of Jesus.

Now it's not that the church is for perfect people only. We don't say that at all. There's only one perfect man, the man Christ Jesus. The church is for sinners, but the church is for repentant sinners.

For sinners who trust in Jesus and who, by God's grace, seek to walk in His ways and obedience to Him. And when they don't, they properly deal with their sin. Not by covering it up, but by confessing it, repenting from it.

And when we confess our sin, what does 1 John tell us? God is faithful. God is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. As we prayed earlier from the Beatitudes, blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Let's pray. Our Father in heaven, we ask for Your Spirit's work among us, that You would help us to be generous so that no one among us lacks what he or she needs. We ask You to help us that we would be holy, that Your church may stand before You pure, that this church may stand before You pure.

We thank You for Jesus who takes away our sin. We thank You for Your Holy Spirit who strengthens us to walk according to Your Word. And again, Father, we ask for Your grace that we may not be hearers only, but doers of Your Word.

And we ask all of this in the name of Jesus. Amen.