A Holy God and a Holy Church
A Holy God and a Holy Church
The early church in Acts gives us a beautiful picture of Christian fellowship. The believers were devoted to the apostles’ teaching, fellowship, the breaking of bread and prayer. They were united in heart and soul, and God was powerfully at work among them.
Then Acts 5 begins with a shocking event: Ananias and Sapphira die because of their sin. Why does Luke include such a serious and difficult story? It reminds us of something we desperately need to remember: God is holy, and because the church belongs to Him, He calls His church to holiness.
1. A Holy God sees what others cannot
Ananias and Sapphira were not required to sell their property or give all the money to the church. They were free to keep their property and their money. The problem was not that they kept some of the money. The problem was that they pretended to give everything while secretly keeping some for themselves.
They wanted people to think they were as generous as Barnabas, while keeping some of the proceeds themselves. Their desire for the praise and respect of others became more important to them than being truthful before God.
Peter said that they had not merely lied to people: “You have not lied to man but to God.”
People could see the money Ananias and Sapphira brought. God could see what they had kept. People could hear their words. God knew their hearts and motives.
We can sometimes fool other people—even other Christians. We can appear spiritual by attending church, reading the Bible, praying, singing, giving and serving. But we can never deceive God. He sees what others cannot see.
The important question is therefore not simply:
“What do other Christians think about me?”
but:
“What does God know about me?”
2. A Holy God takes sin seriously
The punishment of Ananias and Sapphira is shocking. Their judgment was not the ordinary way God deals with sin, but it demonstrated how seriously God regards sin and hypocrisy.
God has always been holy. The God of the Old Testament is the same God revealed in the New Testament. He is both the God of salvation and the God of judgment. His kindness and His severity are both real.
Hypocrisy can begin like a tiny amount of yeast. It may seem small and harmless, but if it is not dealt with, it spreads. It can deceive us into thinking that everything is right between us and God when it is not. It can also affect an entire church.
The extraordinary judgment in Acts 5 served as a serious warning to the early church. It showed that the church belongs to God and that His presence and power among His people must never be treated lightly.
3. A Holy church should live in the fear of God
After Ananias and Sapphira died, “great fear came upon the whole church.”
The fear of God does not mean living in constant panic. It means recognising who God really is. He is not our equal. He cannot be manipulated or deceived. He is the holy, sovereign and righteous God.
“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.”
Understanding God's holiness should not make us think He is unloving. Instead, the more clearly we understand His holiness, the more deeply we appreciate His grace.
When Isaiah saw God's holiness, he cried, “Woe is me! For I am lost!” Seeing God's holiness helps us see our own sin clearly and makes us appreciate God's mercy.
What does this mean for us?
Acts 5:1–11 gives us some searching questions:
• Am I more concerned about what people think of me than what God knows about me?
• Is my Christianity merely outward, or is there genuine holiness within?
• Are there areas of my life where I am pretending before God?
• Do I take sin as seriously as God takes it?
But the answer is not simply “Try harder to be good.”
The ultimate question is:
Am I trusting in my own righteousness, or am I resting in the perfect righteousness of Christ?
We cannot make ourselves righteous by our own efforts. We must come honestly before the holy God, confess our sin, and trust in Christ's perfect righteousness. And having been redeemed by His grace, we should seek to walk before Him in holiness and in the fear of God.
Remember
God is holy.
Sin is serious.
God sees the heart.
The church must pursue holiness.
God's people should live in the fear of the Lord.
And our hope is Christ and His perfect righteousness.
Bible Text: Acts 5:1-11 | Preacher: Philip Dhinakar | The early church in Acts gives us a beautiful picture of Christian fellowship. The believers were devoted to the apostles’ teaching, fellowship, the breaking of bread and prayer. They were united in heart and soul, and God was powerfully at work among them.
Then Acts 5 begins with a shocking event: Ananias and Sapphira die because of their sin. Why does Luke include such a serious and difficult story? It reminds us of something we desperately need to remember: God is holy, and because the church belongs to Him, He calls His church to holiness.
1. A Holy God sees what others cannot
Ananias and Sapphira were not required to sell their property or give all the money to the church. They were free to keep their property and their money. The problem was not that they kept some of the money. The problem was that they pretended to give everything while secretly keeping some for themselves.
They wanted people to think they were as generous as Barnabas, while keeping some of the proceeds themselves. Their desire for the praise and respect of others became more important to them than being truthful before God.
Peter said that they had not merely lied to people: “You have not lied to man but to God.”
People could see the money Ananias and Sapphira brought. God could see what they had kept. People could hear their words. God knew their hearts and motives.
We can sometimes fool other people—even other Christians. We can appear spiritual by attending church, reading the Bible, praying, singing, giving and serving. But we can never deceive God. He sees what others cannot see.
The important question is therefore not simply:
“What do other Christians think about me?”
but:
“What does God know about me?”
2. A Holy God takes sin seriously
The punishment of Ananias and Sapphira is shocking. Their judgment was not the ordinary way God deals with sin, but it demonstrated how seriously God regards sin and hypocrisy.
God has always been holy. The God of the Old Testament is the same God revealed in the New Testament. He is both the God of salvation and the God of judgment. His kindness and His severity are both real.
Hypocrisy can begin like a tiny amount of yeast. It may seem small and harmless, but if it is not dealt with, it spreads. It can deceive us into thinking that everything is right between us and God when it is not. It can also affect an entire church.
The extraordinary judgment in Acts 5 served as a serious warning to the early church. It showed that the church belongs to God and that His presence and power among His people must never be treated lightly.
3. A Holy church should live in the fear of God
After Ananias and Sapphira died, “great fear came upon the whole church.”
The fear of God does not mean living in constant panic. It means recognising who God really is. He is not our equal. He cannot be manipulated or deceived. He is the holy, sovereign and righteous God.
“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.”
Understanding God’s holiness should not make us think He is unloving. Instead, the more clearly we understand His holiness, the more deeply we appreciate His grace.
When Isaiah saw God’s holiness, he cried, “Woe is me! For I am lost!” Seeing God’s holiness helps us see our own sin clearly and makes us appreciate God’s mercy.
What does this mean for us?
Acts 5:1–11 gives us some searching questions:
• Am I more concerned about what people think of me than what God knows about me?
• Is my Christianity merely outward, or is there genuine holiness within?
• Are there areas of my life where I am pretending before God?
• Do I take sin as seriously as God takes it?
But the answer is not simply “Try harder to be good.”
The ultimate question is:
Am I trusting in my own righteousness, or am I resting in the perfect righteousness of Christ?
We cannot make ourselves righteous by our own efforts. We must come honestly before the holy God, confess our sin, and trust in Christ’s perfect righteousness. And having been redeemed by His grace, we should seek to walk before Him in holiness and in the fear of God.
Remember
God is holy.
Sin is serious.
God sees the heart.
The church must pursue holiness.
God’s people should live in the fear of the Lord.
And our hope is Christ and His perfect righteousness.