Acts 4:32 – 5:11
I would think that most of us, at one point or another, have wished that we could be part of a church fellowship like the one we read about in Acts. The closest I have come to this is the group at Park Street Church in Boston where I first attended church after making a commitment to Christ. There were six hundred college and graduate age students in our group. We met at 9:14 (we loved meeting at odd times) for Sunday School and then went to church. We came back at 5:31 that evening for a teaching time before going to the evening service and then followed that with a fellowship meeting. During the week most of us were involved in small groups and then some of us had extra responsibility as leaders for training and planning retreats and outreach events.
We went out into the city to meet people, inviting them to come on Sunday to one of our meetings. We shared our faith and every week it seemed there were new people who came to faith in Christ. We shared with each other what we had. I received anonymous gifts that helped me pay my way through seminary. When someone had a car it was often lent to someone else who needed it. I lived with a friend for a summer and we decided we would pool all we had and live for the summer with a common purse. He had a car but I had more money so it seemed fair and at the end of the summer we divided what was left. We lived with three other guys for an additional two years, not with the same level of sharing, but we did look out for each other and help each other.
I look back at those years with a lot of fondness and have not found the same depth of community in any fellowship since then. So when I read Acts I am drawn to the rich community life they experienced.
The passage today has a focus on giving in the early church and how we read the passage depends on our perspective. If we do not have a lot of money and need many things, we look at the passage and wonder why it is that people in the church who do have money and possessions do not share them more freely with us. How could it be more clear? Acts plainly tells us to share what we have with those in need in the church. What is wrong with people who have money but do not share it? It is clear they are being disobedient to the clear Word of God.
If we have money and possessions, we read this passage and then find some way to interpret it so we do not feel guilty for not sharing what we have with those in the church who have needs. We might say that what happened in Acts was a one-time experience and not to be repeated. In fact, we see that Jerusalem got into trouble for this economic policy of selling property and distributing it to those in need because just a few years later, Paul had to go around the Gentile world raising money for the Church in Jerusalem that had been hit by a famine and was in great need. If some in the church had kept their property, they would have been in better financial shape to support the community during this famine.
There are a lot of misconceptions about this passage. Let me run through the passage making some comments and then move on to what I want us to take home this week.
As I said, this is a passage about giving. Although our Bibles make a chapter break after the gift of Barnabas and before the story of Ananias and Sapphira, it is really one story that contrasts the giving of Joseph who was named Barnabas and the giving of Ananias and Sapphira.
The text begins with this line:
All the believers were one in heart and mind.
This does not mean they agreed on everything. It does not mean that when they talked about having a meal together everyone wanted lamb and no one wanted goat. It does not mean that there were no disagreements in the church. A few chapters later we read about tension in the church because the Greek Jews thought that the Hebrew Jews were overlooking the Greek widows in the daily distribution of food.
There were differences of opinion and points of tension, but Greek Jews and Hebrew Jews were one in heart and mind in their devotion to Jesus. All in the church were straining to draw closer to Jesus, to learn his teachings, to obey him.
No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had.Ā 33 With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all.
In this unity of desire and purpose, the apostles taught and evangelized and the congregation gave evidence of their unity by sharing what they had with each other. It is important to note that all that the church did came out of this unity of desire and purpose, to know Jesus and follow him.
34 There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the salesĀ 35 and put it at the apostlesā feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.
This was not a communist economic system with no private property. A couple chapters later in Acts when Peter was in prison and miraculously released, he came to the home of Mary, mother of John Mark, who later accompanied Paul on his first missionary journey. Mary still owned her home. People continued to hold private property but from time to time as there was need, someone would sell something they owned and give the money to the apostles who were in charge of distributing the money to those who were in need.
An example of this giving is then presented.
36 Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means Son of Encouragement),Ā 37 sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostlesā feet.
And then this act of giving is contrasted with the gift of Ananias and his wife, Sapphira
Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property.Ā 2 With his wifeās full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostlesā feet.
You can imagine the scene after Barnabas gave his gift to the church. There were many gifts, but this must have been an exceptionally generous one. There was a buzz in the early church. āDid you hear what Barnabas did? He sold his land in Cyprus and gave it all to the church, didnāt keep any of it for himself! He gave it all to the church!ā
Ananias and Sapphira heard this buzz and decided they wanted to be respected and appreciated like Barnabas so they sold a piece of property and told the church they were giving it all to the church but secretly kept some of it for themselves.
3 Then Peter said, āAnanias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land?Ā 4 Didnāt it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasnāt the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God.ā
Ananias heard this, fell down and died. Three hours later his wife came in and stuck to the prepared story and she too fell down dead. The story concludes with an easily understood reaction of the church to these two deaths.
Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events.
It was not keeping some of the money for themselves but lying about it that brought the judgement of God on Ananias and Sapphira. They could have sold the property, kept some of the money for themselves and given the rest to the church. The church would have been blessed. They would have been happy. But they wanted the acclaim of the church for giving everything and yet were not able to let go of the money.
If you asked Christians what story they would like to have taken out of the Bible, this might be a popular choice. The severity of the punishment is difficult for us to understand. Ananias and Sapphira gave money to the church after all. They helped the church to pay for the needs of the community and the only thing they did was to lie about how much they had received in the sale of their property. That is an offence deserving death?
Iāll come back to this next week and use the discipline of Ananias and Sapphira as a means of preparing us for communion.
For today I want to focus on spiritual giving.
First of all, let me say that I have absolutely no problem talking in church about giving.
I was talking about this sermon with a friend this week and he made a comment about how preachers dread the stewardship sermons they have to preach each year. I have never had that feeling of dread. And, by the way, this is not an annual stewardship sermon. In preaching through Acts, this is where we have come and our preaching follows the text.
The money I give to the work of the church in the world is an integral part of my spirituality. The money I give reflects what is in my heart and my giving can lead my heart to the heart of God for the world.
When I am giving as God intends for me to give, I benefit because I am being drawn to his heart and the church and other projects benefit because they are receiving what God intends for them to receive. Giving is an integral part of my spiritual life.
What was it about the gift of Joseph that led the apostles to change his name to Barnabas, which means āSon of Encouragementā?
His giving and the other characteristics of the early church have their origin in verse 31
After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
The characteristics of the early church we so much admire had their origin in this experience. The promised Holy Spirit came with power at Pentecost and then repeatedly there were ongoing experiences of being filled with the Holy Spirit. The gift of the Holy Spirit led to inspired preaching when Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, preached sermons that were used to astonish the Sanhedrin and more importantly, draw many people to faith in Jesus. The gift of the Holy Spirit led to a unity in the body of Christ that revealed to outsiders the truth of Jesus. And the gift of the Holy Spirit led to the use of spiritual gifts, including the gift of giving, that made generosity a characteristic of the early church.
When Barnabas gave his gift, it was not just the money that was significant. It was the spirit in which the gift was given that was meaningful. It was the prompting of the Holy Spirit to give that made this gift appropriate. When Barnabas gave, he gave in a way that encouraged the church and this is why he was given the name Barnabas, son of encouragement.
The gift of Barnabas is contrasted with the gift of Ananias and Sapphira. Let me make a contrast between spiritual giving and human giving.
Spiritual giving is always beneficial. Human giving can be destructive.
When I was a pastor in Ohio, I went a couple times to visit an older lady who lived in a nearby town. She had been a part of the church where I was pastor many years ago but now attended a larger city church. I heard that she was wealthy but went to see her because she had asked to see me. We had tea and prayed together. I donāt remember much of those visits but about ten years after I left, she died and left one million dollars to the church where I had been pastor. My first thought, when I heard about this, was āThis is not good news for the church.ā
Why would it not be good news? Think of all the good that could be done with that money. But a generous gift is not always helpful.
Before being pastor of these two churches in Ohio, I was youth pastor in a Methodist church in West Virginia, a neighboring state. There was a wealthy family in this church and the father for years would write out a check at the end of the year to cover any deficit in the church budget. When he died, his son no longer wanted to continue this giving and the church suffered. Over the years the church had become financially lazy and that reflected the spiritual weakness of the church as well.
There was another church in our Presbytery (a local grouping of Presbyterian churches) that had a large endowment and for the most part, they lived off this endowment. What this meant is that the church needed to raise just a little money each year to meet itās budget. I told a leader of this church that the only way I would consider being pastor of such a church is if they made a commitment to give away half the endowment over the next five years. People made generous gifts to this church over the years but the gifts had weakened, not strengthened the church.
A church needs to exercise wisdom when it sets a budget and then believe by faith that the funds it seeks will come in. When the funds do not come easily, this can be a faith-building experience and when the church members have to sacrifice to meet the budget, this is a positive means of building Christian character.
The church where I was a pastor had a problem with pride. They prided themselves in being the most respectable of the churches in town. They had a problem with complacency. They did not want to have to work hard for the church. The gift of $1,000,000 has only increased their problems. The money was used to fix up the church. My daughter and her husband visited the church after the repairs and picked up a nice pen they had bought. But it has not helped the church to draw closer to Christ. They are now the most respectable and richest church in town. May God work in their midst and shake them loose of their attachment to the things of this world.
Spiritual giving is an encouragement to the organization or individual. Human giving may be destructive.
Here is a second distinction. Human giving can block what God is trying to do in someoneās life or in the life of an organization. Spiritual giving aids and abets the work of God in the lives of individuals and organizations.
If you have money, it is easy to say āyesā when someone asks for money. In fact people with money to give are tempted to play God in the lives of people by always helping them out when they have a problem. But what if Godās purpose is for that person to struggle longer without the money needed? What if God intends for them to be blessed by some other person? What if God is trying to direct that person to turn away from one course and set off on another course? If you give when asked it may be you will encourage that person to continue on a course God does not intend for that person to take.
If you give when God does not intend for you to give, you may deny the person asking for money the chance to grow in faith.
Giving money is actually quite difficult. There is a quote from Aristotle that contains a lot of wisdom about giving money.
To give away money is an easy matter
and in man’s power.
But to decide to whom to give it,
And how large and when,
And for what purpose and how,
Is neither in every man’s power,
Nor an easy matter.
Hence it is that such excellence is
rare, praiseworthy and noble.
Aristotle spoke with Godās wisdom on this point.
If you have money to give, you have a great responsibility to make sure your giving is to the right person at the right time in the right amount. The gift of giving needs to be under the control of the Holy Spirit just as with all the other gifts of the Holy Spirit.
I am not at all shy about talking about money in church. But I resist talking each week about the need for money. I do put in the bulletin on most Sundays an update of where we are in relation to the budget. This is put there as a reminder for those who come sporadically to church or for those who visit the church and want to help with our ministry.
But I do not believe speaking each week about financial giving is helpful for the church. If I want to have Barnabas gifts in the church, talking about giving each week is not the way to do it. This is because the giving of Barnabas was a consequence, not an action.
What I mean by this is that Barnabas did not hear a stewardship sermon and have someone from the church come visit with a pledge card and then make a gift. Barnabas was filled with the Spirit and caught up in the life of the church as the apostles spoke and he sold his land because he was directed by the Holy Spirit to do so. His gift was a consequence of his being filled with the Holy Spirit.
If we want to recreate the life of the early church, the way not to do that is to tell people they need to give generously and share what they have with others. This is what cults do. They instruct those in the cult that they have to give their money to the leadership and follow a long list of other behaviors that are presented as Biblical. It may be true that those behaviors are seen in the Bible, but you canāt manufacture them and have a strong spiritual church community.
It is like the last of the books in the Chronicles of Narnia where Jesus is represented as a lion named Aslan. A talking ape puts a lionās skin on a donkey and tells everyone this is Aslan but it is still just a donkey with a lionās skin making an ass of itself.
You canāt create a Christian community like the book of Acts by trying to mimic the behavior of the early church.
When I preached on the Fruit of the Spirit from Galatians a few years ago, the big lesson for me was that you donāt grow in the fruit of the spirit by trying to be more patient or kind or joyful. A tree bears fruit not by thinking about fruit but by sending its roots deep to get water. We grow in the fruit of the Spirit not by working at the fruit but by growing in Christ, sending out spiritual roots deeper and deeper into Christ. When we grow in Christ, the fruit become more evident.
When we grow in Christ, we will become more generous. We will become more loving. We will become more unified. We will become more pure. Barnabas gifts come to the church when the church is deepening its spiritual life and being filled with the Holy Spirit.
Deut 15:4 said there shall be no poor among you. That is the ideal but for it to happen there must be a community filled with the Holy Spirit and passionately living the Christian life.
If you are poor and you are critical of people in the church not sharing with you what they have, pray for a spiritual awakening among us that will open the purses of those with money to care for those without.
If you are critical of some in the church who are poor because you think their poverty is a consequence of illegal actions, pray for a spiritual awakening. When the church is renewed and filled with the Holy Spirit, the gifts of the Holy Spirit are used in a way that builds and blesses the church. There is also a movement of obedience to Jesus that is evidenced. If I think I should not give to you because I believe you are moving in the wrong direction, then I will pray for you to be filled with the Holy Spirit and draw closer to Christ so that you will move out in the direction God wants you to take.
As we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we will become more obedient and more generous.
My challenge to you this morning is not to give more money to the church. My challenge is to renew your desire to draw close to Jesus and to pray for the filling of the Holy Spirit.
Feelings are subjective and it may just be me, but I have sensed a spiritual lack in our worship services. I know faith is not based on feelings and perhaps this is just a season in the church we are passing through. Perhaps this is just me. But I am longing and praying for a more powerful experience of the presence of God in our midst as we worship.
This is where I would like to see our collective hearts and minds, that we would be one in heart and mind in our devotion to Jesus. I want us to be unified in our desire to serve Jesus, to delight in the presence of the Holy Spirit in our worship. When our hearts and minds are one, then we will see the money come we need. We will see the gifts of the Spirit being used in powerful ways in our midst.
Pray with me over the summer for a more powerful experience of the filling of the Holy Spirit.
