We don't know how old they were, or what their general health condition was like. Unbelievers are spiritually 'dead' and cannot believe the gospel or make any moves towards God. They knew they belonged to each other as brothers and sisters in Christ. Biblical Hermeneutics Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for professors, theologians, and those interested in exegetical analysis of biblical texts. Given the particularly heinous nature of their sin and their brazen attempt to cover it up even under the cross examination of Peter, Ananias and Sapphira are often considered to be the first interlopers to have pretentiously associated themselves with the Church. Thanks for contributing an answer to Biblical Hermeneutics Stack Exchange! Thats why God doesnt just wipe out the whole planet even though there is so much sin and evil. Acts 5:4 indicates that they could have sold the land and offered a portion of the proceeds to the apostles, and not present it as the full amount; which was the sin of lying. It will be remembered that each was filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 4:31ff): Acts 4:31-32, 34, 35: And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness. Is Water Baptism necessary for Salvation? How can you avoid this tendency? New International Version Ananias and Sapphira 5 Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. Thanks for the email and the encouragement. The soul is the conscious life force in man, his personality, consisting of his mind, emotions, and will. The feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also. And at once she fell down at his feet and died, P.S. "Hellenistic Parallels to Acts 5:111 and the Problem of Conflicting Interpretations". You will see some famous names including Moses that committed the sin unto death. We do not know how they got Ananias buried without Sapphira knowing about it, but bodies had to be buried quickly in those days and maybe they could not find Sapphira at the moment. [1]All Scripture references are taken from NASB1995. Jude vs 12-13 These are hidden reefs at your love feasts, as they feast with you without fear, shepherds feeding themselves; waterless clouds, swept along by winds; fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, uprooted; wild waves of the sea, casting up the foam of their own shame; wandering stars, for whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever.. (Ephesians 6:5,6) Do not seek for any selfish gain out of your service: Put away all pretence and hypocrisy. (Also in this book, see pp. Ananias (/nna.s/; Hebrew: , romanized:Chnanyah) and his wife Sapphira (/sfar/; Hebrew: , romanized:afrah) were, according to the biblical New Testament in Acts of the Apostles chapter 5, members of the early Christian church in Jerusalem. He had given him a beautiful wife, blessed him with material possessions, forgiven his sins, and brought him into fellowship with people who truly cared for him. The story of Ananias and Sapphira is to the book of Acts what the story of Achan is to the book of Joshua. But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, 2 and with his wife's knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles' feet. joining the Church. Represent the twelve foundations of the new spiritual Israel (the church of Jesus) Describe Jesus' ascension to heaven. According to Luke, he believed Philip when he was preaching the good news, and then received baptism (8:12-13). I believe they were clearly unsaved Pharisees, and this is why. Jesus makes it clear that there is no forgiveness for the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, in this life or the next, Matthew 12:31-32 and Mark 3:28-29. (1958 More, The Net Pastors Journal, Eng. This isnt far fetched as the Pharisees hated the Church, persecuted it and were desperately trying to destroy it. The point Im making is that this shows us it was not uncommon to have Pharisees trying to come into the church and that is was not unlikely that Ananias and Sapphira could not have been Pharisees. Pretend! The feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also. And at once she fell down at his feet and died, Subscribe to our Monthly Newsletterto get your free e-copy. Their punishments served as an example to the nascent church. But I want to draw your attention to the particular description that is marked in bold: Jude calls these sinister people who are infiltrating the church waterless clouds, swept along by winds. They seemed blind to the malfeasance they were ushering into the young church. HERE'S AN INTERESTING QUESTION: "We are working through the book of Acts in our Sunday School class, and last week discussed Ananias and Sapphira. We can probably deduce/infer that Gehazi being a servant to a Godly prophet should have known better because Gehazi is someone who is part of God's ministry. Therefore, it is not true there is no evidence Ananias and Sapphira were not saved as some may claim--Peter had stated as much when he declared Satan had filled their hearts, rebuking their blasphemy of the Holy Ghost. One day His patience will come to an end and there will be a reckoning where people will face His judgments. Sapphira chose to perpetuate the same false front her husband had initiated. [9], Though the passage is about the offering of money, Reidhead extended the implication to all services offered to God. The bible verse James 3:1 gives support for Gehazi's disciplining: Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing I would suggest that we may never know of their ultimate circumstances. How could they get the congratulations they craved from the congregation without laying everything on the altar of sacrifice? [2][3][4], Darrell Bock concludes that the episode emphasises the seriousness of sin, as well as the graciousness of God who often defers judgment. Personally I think its quite obviously referring to the party of the Pharisees. Look! 5/8), here the church is attacked from within. How could Ananias and Sapphira have avoided the trap of deceit into which they fell? To this end, they sold a piece of property, and kept back some of the price while giving the rest to the Apostles (Acts 5:1-2). Then we will be able to stop playing the game of putting on appearances. Sis Johns, Hi! So, judgment by the Lord, within the congregation, may result in weakness, illness or death, as appropriate. We may simply have fallen into the unconscious habit of protecting our saintly image, covering our carnality, keeping people from knowing what is going on in our hearts and in our homes. Acts 5:1-11. More specifically on the second point, Reidhead commented that the introduction of sin would destroy the unity that the early believers had in the Holy Spirit, and would thus remove God's blessing on the body. Yet, Ananias and Sapphira were both responsible for their own actions, and Sapphira should have obeyed the Spirit instead of obeying her husband. They can admit to one another what is going on inside them, then encourage one another and pray about each others weaknesses. Whereas, other blasphemies may be forgiven. "When men want to impose unity, there are problems. What shall I do if I can't believe that God is for me? I think Sapphira did have a second chance. This is compulsory morality Luke, the author of the book of Acts thus presents Peter and his first church rather critically. B. We have each other, and that is all that matters, the love-struck couple boasted shortly after their wedding. And he tells believers to watch out for these kinds of people. So why did Ananias and Sapphira? A man couldnt ask for much more than that. Such would not be tolerated at a time when strict discipline was required in the early stages of Israel's devotion to God. Acts chapter 4:32 closes by stating that the first followers of Jesus did not consider their possessions to be their own but rather held in common, in order to use what they had on behalf of those in want. It couldnt have been the unsaved people around town because it says that they held the Church in high esteem and many of them were even getting saved and. Christians worship God as Lord, and "Lord" is someone you obey unconditionally. Why such a radical and drastic punishment on the spot? 2. They did dare join the Church. It says: Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? This must surely have meant that, during the very early years of the Levitical priesthood, God felt it necessary to teach some very harsh lessons about faith and strict obedience. 4 While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? Heres an article I did that gives biblical evidence for this. However they lied and said they had donated all the proceeds. The major sin of Ananias and Sapphira was dishonesty, deceit, hypocrisy, pretense, presenting a false image of themselves, implying a greater spirituality than they actually possessed, letting people think more highly of them than what they knew was warranted. God used them to teach a lesson to the early church and even to believers today. How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? This was not discipline, this was judgement and death for sin. I think Peter was not naive and knew what was going on. We may even be tempted to accuse God of overreacting with undue harshness. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. [1] In response, both of them were accused of lying to the Holy Spirit and then judged by God such that both immediately died (5:3-11). Jude also calls these kinds of people waterless clouds, swept along by the winds. Husbands and wives can begin by being honest with each other. A caring congregation is a strong congregation, for there is dynamic energy in the genuine expression of Gods love. If he thinks he is coming out on the short end, he quarrels and complains until he gets what he thinks he deserves. Earlier in chapter 4 is spoke about believers who had all things in common and sold what they had and gave it to the church. Peter stated that Ananias had lied not to men, but to God. The account records their sudden deaths after lying to the Holy Spirit about money. Is there any sign that either of you is seeking the supremacy in your relationship (such as keeping score)? Ananias means Jehovah is gracious, and God certainly had been gracious to him. But this is only at the very end of the age. (Luke 16:19-31, Luke 18:18-30). Ananias and Sapphira lied to God and are killed on the spot. Unlike Barnabas, they didn't live up to their names (Ananias- God is gracious; Sapphira- beautiful). Hypocrisy is the most dangerous spiritual virus to infect the church. No Christian husband and wife can be an island to themselves. It actually begins at the end of chapter 4 with the description of the early church in Jerusalem, a group of believers so filled with the Holy Spirit that they were of one heart and one mind. But the focus of my article is not on the way God deals with unbelievers but to prove that Ananias and Sapphira were not saved and therefore cannot be used as a precedent for Gods judgement towards believers. But right now there is mercy in hope that people will turn to Christ. them and bring the proceeds of the sales (35) and lay them at the apostles' Now if this couple were indeed saved and God did in fact kill them for their sin, then it would be quite hard to argue that God doesnt judge believers like this for their sins today. This you know, my beloved brethren. But the dishonesty increases our burden of guilt, and the guilt leads to further defensiveness and irritability, and the irritability produces greater dissension and discord in the home. This was all in a public place, just like it was in Acts 5. But God's power was mightier than all the forces of hell, so their sin found them out. There are a number of opposing views about the event that happened in Acts chapter 5 regarding Ananias and Sapphiras death. 1. And as he heard these words, Ananias fell down and breathed his last (Acts 5:5). "Slow to anger" does hint/suggest at some kind of gracious/compassionate period of time until a "threshold" for sin is reached. (SUBSCRIBE HERE). Their sin wasnt that they didnt give everything. [9], Concerning the belief held by some, that Peter caused the death of the couple, Reidhead held the view that Peter simply anticipated God's action and relayed it to Ananias and Sapphira before God took the action.[9]. As told at the beginning of Acts chapter 5 Ananias and Sapphira, following Barnabas' example, also sold their land but secretly withheld a portion of the proceeds. And yes, it may take that They sent Ananias and Sapphira to infiltrate the Church but when they saw what happened to them, none of the rest of them dared join the Church for fear of the same fate. While they demonstrated a marvelous togetherness in their deceptive scheme, their hypocrisy could not help but have affected their marriage. Do Paul and James contradict each other about faith? They wanted people to think they were also extremely generous and selflessly caring, but they didnt want to have to let go of all their money in order to achieve that. The number of believers probably totaled five thousand or more by this time, and yet they were of one heart and one soul. But that becomes even more obvious to us when we learn that their confidence for the future was in their bank account rather than in the Lord. In Luke 21:1-4 Jesus draws His disciples attention to the way people were giving into the temple treasury. Well the reality is that, while Christ paid the price for everyones sins, its only those who are in Christ that receive the benefit of that and are therefore safe from Gods judgment. Do Christians Still Have a Sinful Nature? Peter asked her the price of the land that she and Ananias had sold, and she stated the same untruthful price that Ananias had given. Even though the Bible says they believed it is clear that they did not understand justification by faith and therefore could not have been saved. (Note: This article has been written only to communicate the possibility that Ananias and Sapphira may have been Christians. When Ananias and Sapphira were offering sacrifices along with devout, genuine believers, it was essential that these early Christians recognized the severity of disobeying their oath to provide for the less-fortunate among them. Have you ever wondered what kind of relationship Ananias and Sapphira had with each other? What does put at the apostles feet mean in Acts 4:32-5:2? Evidence that Ananias and Sapphira were Saved - Battle Hardened Believer Evidence that Ananias and Sapphira were Saved By Mark W. Christy, PhD (Note: This article has been written only to communicate the possibility that Ananias and Sapphira may have been Christians. And so, the worst thing is when we are hypocritical and we want to give 100%, but then we don't. And it doesn't mean that we have to sell anything and give anything. Related Topics: Christian Home, Finance, Marriage, Richard L. Strauss authored nine books, and served as pastor of churches in Fort Worth, TX, Huntsville, AL. As mentioned previously, the first church in Acts had members who willingly and sacrificially sold their possessions so as to support others in the church even though no one was mandated to do so. They wanted the praise of men. For example, Barnabas, a Levite from Cyprus, sold a plot of land and donated the proceeds to the apostles. To consider this further, this article will offer some argumentation that supports the contention that these two people were actually saved. Was the gift of the Holy Spirit promised only for the first-century Church, according to Acts 2:38-39? However, even in the beginning, the church . We have the deaths of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5, and the death of Herod in Acts 12 for his wickedness. Pharisees loved money and they loved peoples praises. Jesus never left and He is here via the Holy Spirit. quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; 32 He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, And he who rules Is 'The Heaven Test' presumptuous and judgmental? Connected to this story is the truth, though not often dwelt upon, that God can sometimes take a believers life in judgement. You have not lied to man but to God. 5 When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. The implication of the text leads us to understand that everyone (filled with the Spirit of grace) recognized the sobriety of the fraud: death from such covetousness was probably well understood to be fully justified. Three hours later, his wife comes in, not knowing of her husband's death. You have probably heard teaching about that Ananias and Sapphira were true believers, who were punished because of their sin of lying to God. Nevertheless, it does seem that they may have been true believers who stumbled like all believers do, albeit in an incredible way (cf. And more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women,. Perhaps we should recall how God once reacted to two very foolish young men, Aaron's sons Nadab and Abihu as they offered "strange fire": Leviticus 10:1-2: "Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took their respective firepans, and after putting fire in them, placed incense on it and offered strange fire before the LORD, which He had not commanded them. 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