The Harsh and Necessary Truth About Lying to God

Reverend Leo H. McCrary II

God sees our heart, so what’s the point in lying to God? What can we keep secret from Him?

Introduction

Lying to God – Do you think you can lie to God and He won’t know that you are?  There is no action that you can keep secret from God that He is not aware of.  This week’s Sunday School commentary covers scripture from Acts 4:32-5:11.  We will follow the actions of two who tried to lie to the disciples about their activities.

The Early Church

Acts 4:32-37 covers some of the activities of the early church.  I do want to note some things about the early church.  Let’s first begin on the note that the church began by being mostly composed of Jewish believers who followed Christ.  The early church was led by the eleven apostles of Christ (Iscariot betrayed Christ and hung himself – Matt. 27:3-5).

The apostle did eventually choose a twelfth apostle to replace Iscariot.  They prayed to God, cast lots, and the lots fell for the man named Matthias, and he became the twelfth apostle (Acts 1:23-26).  

Of course, many of us may question whether Paul was an apostle or not.  Paul was also an apostle, though his identification as an apostle was met with a bit of hesitation by the apostles (Acts 9:26-30).  Paul was elected by Christ and personally taught by Christ, which confirms his apostleship.  

However, Paul’s apostleship began well after the scripture of Acts 4.  In fact, during the earliest days of the church, Paul, then known as Saul, sought to destroy the church (Acts 8:1-3; Gal. 1:13-14).

Something else I want to point out about the early church is the solidarity shown in Acts 4:32-37.  The early believers worked together, as the scripture tells us that “great grace was upon them all.”  They shared with one another, giving their possessions, and sharing their profits from the selling of their possessions.  The scripture tells us that there wasn’t anyone among them who lacked.

The modern church used to be this way years ago, and some still are this way.  I can recall when I was little, how the church would gather from their offerings and be able to help those less fortunate in the church.  When I was in high school, the church my dad pastored was able to help graduating seniors by giving a bit of money to help them with college.

The early church sounded more like a community that lived and worked together.  In the beginning, it wasn’t just a come together once a week and have a service type of thing.  Now, this type of community living did not last long for the early church, and I believe that Paul’s persecution of the early church may have played a role in why.

The Sin of Ananias and Sapphira

I believe another reason why the community living aspect of the early church waned is shown to us through Ananias and Sapphira.

Acts 5:1-2 introduces us to the married couple of Ananias and Sapphira.  Like others in the early church, they sold their possessions and brought their money to the apostles.  In comparison to others, however, scripture tells us that Ananias chose to keep some of the profits for themselves.  Now, nothing sounds wrong about them choosing to keep some of their profits for themselves, right?

However, in Acts 5:3, we will see that something wasn’t right in the actions they had taken.  Peter said to 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?”

Peter then said to Ananias, in Acts 5:4, “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.”

Let’s try to understand what the problem was in the action of Ananias.  For anyone thinking that Peter was trying to be greedy and got upset because he didn’t get all the money out of greed, that is not the issue.  I also want to make it clear that Ananias and Sapphira had every right to do what they wanted to do with their money.

Ananias and Sapphira’s sin, however, was in what they said they would do and what they did.  Pay close attention to Peter’s statement to draw context clues.  

The implication is that Ananias and Sapphira wanted to join the church community.  They saw that several others were giving all of their possessions to the apostles, and were even selling all they had and bringing profits to the apostles.  The two likely believed they had to give all they had to the apostles as well, and told the apostles they would do just that.

Now, behind the apostle’s back, the two wanted to keep some of their money.  They likely wanted to hold on to their money just in case things didn’t work out with the whole “church community” thing.  This notion would tell us that they were halfhearted in their faith, which is to say, they had no faith.  Let’s be clear, faith goes all-in and does nothing halfhearted. 

I also want to point out Peter saying this:  “Why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit … You have not lied to men but to God.”  Ananias thought they were keeping their secret from men, meaning the apostles.  However, the men they were trying to hide things from were men in whom the Holy Spirit dwelt.  Not only that, the apostles were doing work on behalf of the Lord.

This reminds me of scripture from Exodus 16:2-8.  In that passage of scripture, the children of Israel had been complaining against Moses and Aaron after they had been freed from the bondage of Egypt.  The people complained about not having good food and being left to starve to death in the wilderness.

To their complaints, Moses told the children of Israel that God had heard all of their complaints.  He then asked them,  “What are we (Moses and Aaron), that you complain against us?”  This was something that was repeated in Numbers 11:1-10.

To this day, it has proven to be difficult for one to understand that one serves on behalf of God.  It is very hard for some to look beyond the person they know and hear that the Spirit is speaking through that person.  When I stand to preach or teach, yes, you may see me and hear my voice, but it is the Spirit who is guiding my every word.

Making a Vow to God

Both Ananias and Sapphira dropped dead when they were confronted about their actions (Acts 5:5-10).  Many may think that Peter was responsible for the deaths of Ananias and Sapphira because he ‘pronounced their deaths’.  

Peter actually did not pronounce either of their deaths.  When Peter told Ananias that he had not lied to men but to God, Ananias dropped dead.  I don’t think Peter thought the Ananias would drop dead, as he was merely rebuking Ananias of a sin.  When Peter spoke to Sapphira, saying that the men who buried her husband would carry her out, that could just be taken as ‘they will escort you on your way’.

My point is that Peter had no say in the matter.  Here is a harsh truth:  I have no say over what will come of you after this life.  I have no say over what will come of me after my life.  My hope is that I will enter the kingdom of God as I have put forth my best effort to live faithfully.  

The harsh truth is that God will judge, and He will determine what comes of us.  As we saw in a recent commentary – The All-Knowing God Knows You Better Than You Know Yourself – God knows our every move.  God knows the intentions of our hearts.  

It does no good to even think that you are capable of keeping something secret from God.  It does no good to even think that you are getting over on God by lying about your activities.  

In Ecclesiastes 5:2, Solomon advised one not to be rash with their mouth and not to let their hearts say anything hastily before God.  The thought that Solomon was sharing was that one ought to be prudent about what they will say or promise to God. 

The reason for this prudence, Solomon tells us, has to do with how God treats promises made to Him.  In Ecclesiastes 5:4-5, Solomon said that God has no pleasure in fools, so when one makes a vow, they ought not delay to pay it.  In other words, when you tell God that you are going to do something, you better be able to come through with doing it.

Otherwise, as Solomon warned, God will have no pleasure in a broken vow – see Ananias and Sapphira.  You see, God takes promises very seriously!  God is faithful to the utmost in the promises that He has made to us.  Therefore, when we make a promise to Him, the Lord expects the same kind of faithfulness in return.

So, if you think you will be unable to keep a promise, Solomon said that it is better not to vow than to vow and not keep it.  When you and I say that we believe in His only begotten Son, it is of the utmost importance that we move in such a manner of belief.  

Apostasy is a sin that nobody can come back from.  As stated in Hebrews 6:4-6, if one falls away after having “tasted the good work of God”, it will be impossible for them to be renewed again.  

The reason why apostasy is impossible for one to overcome is because it puts Christ “to an open shame”.  In other words, apostasy mocks and disgraces the purpose of Christ.  Christ was given for the reconciliation of the relationship between God and man, and man and God.

Christ shed His blood for the remission of sin so that we, who do believe, will not perish but will have everlasting life (Matt. 26:28; John 3:16).  The apostate falls away from belief in having learned and once believing these things to be true.  To deny Christ is to deny reconciliation through Him and repentance as well.  One who is fully convinced in their denial of Christ, as Jesus told Nicodemus, is condemned already (John 3:18).  

There is a present danger I see on a regular basis through social media, where many proudly speak of their leaving the church.  Leaving a church, or a denomination, is understandable, but here’s something one must consider:  don’t confuse a corrupt church congregation or denomination with God.

I believe that it is of the utmost importance for us to preach establishing a relationship with God, rather than with a building or a man/woman.  When you say that you believe in Christ, don’t leave Him when you leave a congregation or a denomination.  One ought to be faithful to the promise they have made to God when they said they would walk with Him.

When you promise to walk with God, if He does this or that for you, be faithful to that promise.  Be prudent about the promises that you make to God because He is certainly aware.  Do your very best in putting forth the effort to be faithful to your promise.  Those who are faithful to what they have promised are those whom the Lord will reward openly.