TAKING THE LORD SERIOUSLY
Dr. Wm. J. Maxwell
First Presbyterian Church, Newport, RI
August 28, 2005
I believe it is fair to say that the passage before us this morning is surely one that is not often preached upon. It is fair to say, I imagine, because of the difficulty some have with it. This and other similar passages in the Bible appear to run counter to our conceptual understanding of God.
It’s easy for us to consider the statement that “God is love” as found In the letter of I John, but this particular incident seems so harsh. It forces us, either willingly or unwillingly, to take God ever so seriously. Of course, this is not a bad thing to do, for we are all called to take into our view the whole of God’s self-revelation in Scripture, and so we prayerfully seek to understand this morning both this text and the God to whom we belong.
Our text begins in revealing to us the generosity of the believers in the infant church. Because they were “one in heart and mind,” they were conscious of the needy in the church. In acts of generosity that were clearly voluntary and not compulsory, many of the believers sold their lands and gave the proceeds to the poor through the apostles.
One exemplary person noted for us is that of Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, who was named “Barnabas” (“son of encouragement”) by the apostles. Barnabas surely lived up to his name by bringing encouragement to the church in selling some property and using the full and entire proceeds received from the sale to help the poor.
Now, in great contrast, we are told of the duplicity of Ananias and Sapphira, also members of the church. They also sold some property, but they deliberately kept some of the money, while telling everyone that all of it had been given to the church.
Now, they didn’t have to sell their property at all, nor did they have to give anything to the church. They could even have sold the property, given only a portion of the proceeds to help the poor, then have told everyone the truth. But instead, they chose the way of deliberate lies and deception, seeking only glory, honor, prominence and prestige for themselves.
Like an expert prosecutor, the Apostle Peter held these two accountable for this. Turning to Ananias, Peter said, “Ananias, why 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 from the land?”
You may recall that Jesus described Satan as “a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” [i] In seeking to practice deception in the church, Ananias was following the devil’s lead.
Peter also said that in doing this act, both Ananias and Sapphira were seeking to lie to the Holy Spirit and to test the Holy Spirit. They were in other words, attempting to “get by” God the Holy Spirit in telling their lies to the church – as if God cannot see everything, hear everything and know everything, and that they could thus get away with it.
Well, we are told in no uncertain terms that Ananias and Sapphira didn’t get away with it. We are told that God did not let this evil continue unabated, but that judgment immediately fell upon these two. Both of them were carried out the door.
You see, the testimony of the whole church was at risk and at jeopardy. If God had allowed this lying and deceitfulness to continue and get out of hand, not only with this couple but with others as well, this young church could die in infancy. Secondly, if God did nothing, it would give the impression that people can get away with their lies, and that, no, we don’t have to take God all that seriously.
Hopefully, we are all seeing that we do need to take the Lord seriously, and in doing so, we need to heed the lessons that are here for us.
THE MOST OBVIOUS LESSON:
GOD DETESTS DECEITFULNESS,
ESPECIALLY WHEN FOUND IN HIS CHURCH.
For this lesson, we ought to especially turn to our Old Testament reading. In the 6th chapter of the book of Proverbs we are told: “There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to Him …” In Hebrew poetry, the pairings of such numbers are included for emphasis, as if to say “how much more …” Of course, the number seven also stands for completeness or fullness.
Notice also the very strong words that are used here. God “hates” (detests, turns against) these things. They are in fact an abomination to Him, a detestable act, an object of utter loathing. These include a proud and haughty look, a lying tongue, hands that kill the innocent, a mind that thinks up evil plans and schemes, an eagerness to do wrong, a witness who tells lies, and a person who stirs up dissension and discord.
Because the issue of deceitfulness is before us from the passage in Acts, we may note that it may come in several ways. It may come in the way of outright falsehood – what we would call a “a bold faced lie.” Secondly, it can also come in the way of subtle, covert, behind-the-scenes insinuation or innuendo. Thirdly, it can come in the utterance of a half-truth, which is also the same as a half a lie. For example, I could say, “I saw Joe out with a woman last night.” What I didn’t say was that the woman was his wife!
We are accustomed to saying that God is a loving God, that “God is Love.” If so, why is this all then so odious, so hateful, so abominable to God?
I remember when our children were little, that they would often use the word “hate.” “I hate this broccoli” or “I hate her or him.” Pat and I taught them not to use the word “hate,” unless they really meant it, because it is one of the strongest words we can ever use. Well, it is used here, because God really means it, and for good and sufficient reasons.
1st OF ALL,
GOD HATES ALL LIES AND DECEIT
BECAUSE THEY GO AGAINST HIS VERY NATURE.
Lies and deception come in direct and sharp collision with God’s own nature. God is a pure, absolutely holy and righteous spirit, who loves and lives and desires truth. God’s nature is such that He cannot say anything but the truth. He declares through Isaiah the prophet, “I, the LORD, speak the truth; I declare what is right.[ii]
The LORD revealed Himself to Balak and Balaam in saying, “God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and then not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?” [iii]
Who is Jesus Christ but God incarnate, who described Himself in being “the Way and the Truth and the Life”? [iv] And who is God the Holy Spirit, but the one named so often in Scripture as “the Spirit of truth.” [v]
So, you see, to promote falsehood and lies in any way is to go against the very grain of God’s own nature.
SECONDLY, GOD HATES FALSEHOOD
BECAUSE IT RUNS COUNTER TO HIS WILL FOR OUR LIVES.
God desires to see the truth upheld, promoted and exercised in His creation. But He especially desires that His people manifest and express truth in their lives and in their life together. As a matter of fact, He expects it of us.
As we are re-made into God’s image in Christ, God desires that truth-telling become more and more a part of who we are. When we fall short of being the people of truth God calls us to be, it is most wise to recall God’s own nature, as well as God’s intention for us.
You will recall how so very far short David fell in his adulterous affair with Bathsheba. Lies, deception, cover-up and a murderous plot hardly revealed “a man after God’s own heart.” But when confronted by the courageous prophet Nathan, David knew he had to get honest with himself and with God, and to turn from his sin and turn to God.
It is not often that we have recorded for us a prayer of sincere remorse and confession. But we have such a prayer of David in Psalm 51, which includes these words prayed in earnest:
I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.
Against You, You only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in Your sight,
so that You are proved right when You speak
and justified when You judge.
Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
Surely You desire truth in the inner parts;
You teach me wisdom in the inmost place.[vi]
God knows our hearts, you see, and He desires that our heart be fashioned after His, in truth, honesty, and integrity. When it is not, like David’s in that moment of fallenness and disobedience, it is time to recapture and reclaim the truth again, especially as we stand before God, who sees all and knows all!
BECAUSE THEY HURT MANY PEOPLE
AND WE KNOW THIS,
BUT INCLUDING THE ONES
WHO MAKE A PRACTICE OF FALSEHOOD.
Stop for a moment and consider the consequences of continuing in a life of lies and deception. The consequences are worth our sober consideration.
Those who continue in this way only end up in sharp moral and spiritual decline. It is inevitable.
In his book, Mere Christianity, for example, C.S. Lewis talks about the accumulating effect of the choices we make:
Every time you make a choice you are turning the central part of you, the part of you that chooses, into something a little different from what it was before. And taking your life as a whole, with all your innumerable choices, all your life long you are slowly turning this central thing either into a heavenly creature or a hellish creature: either into a creature that is in harmony with God, and with other creatures, and with itself, or else into one that is in a state of war with and hatred with God, and with its fellow creatures, and with itself. To be the one kind of creature is heaven: that is, joy and peace and knowledge and power. To be the other means madness, horror, idiocy, rage, impotence, and eternal loneliness.[vii]
Those who continue in the way of lies and deception also make themselves unworthy of one’s trust, and in so doing, they gain for themselves a poor reputation. In fact, people will begin to avoid them, intentionally excluding themselves from friendship or fellowship with this person, feeling it is the far better and safer thing to do.
* * *
All of this is quite sobering isn’t it, and it should be. The passages before us are not given to make us feel good, or to comfort us, but to alert us to the dangers of living contrary to God’s will.
But do note that there is great promise for those who heed these warnings, who do indeed take the Lord seriously, and who consequently live as a people of truth. God clearly blesses the church
when truth and honesty and integrity are upheld.
For example, we find one result in verse 13, in that no insincere, superficial follower dared to identify with the church or join its membership. The Lord was exalted in that church, and the standards of righteousness were held high, as they always should be.
Another result, as found in verse 14, is that sincere, committed believers came forward and joined the church, both men and women. They wanted to be in a place that honored God and honored each other with the truth.
Yet a third result, as found in verses 15-16, is that God’s power was “unleashed,” at work in wonderful healing, liberating and freeing ways. God will work mightily in a fellowship that is true to Him, and true to one another.
This is the way it works, dear friends, when we take the God of truth seriously. This is the way it works with the God of truth, and a people of truth!