Take 2 minutes of stillness and silence before God.

Today we are finishing out Acts 4 and beginning Acts 5, and let me tell you, anyone who says that the Bible is boring has clearly never read today’s passage! It’s one of those that starts out really great and ends really…well, not so great. Take a moment to read Acts 4:32-5:11 right now.

After reading that, you may be asking yourself...”What just happened!?” We went from a picture-perfect example of the early church to two people dropping dead because they lied! Quite the roller coaster!

Acts 4:32-35 paints a picture of God’s design of the early church: "All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. With great power, the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need." What an idyllic image of community, formed by unity, generosity, testimony, and experiencing God’s grace and abundance.

However, picking up in Acts 5:1-11, we see how quickly things can turn. Ananias and Sapphira sold a piece of property but kept back some of the proceeds for themselves while pretending to give the full amount to the apostles and directly lying. Their shared deceit brings immediate consequences. God strikes both of them dead and strikes fear into all of the witnesses. God puts an abrupt end to their corrupting the purity of the early church community and reminds us that the God of the New Testament is the same as the God of the Old Testament. God’s love is not incompatible with His wrath, and He hates our sin.

Seeing how quickly sin corrupts the image we see in Acts 4 reminds me of the destructive forces of sin in our own lives. Our unity with God has been destroyed by sin and caused us to experience a spiritual death, and we can’t earn unity in our own strength. But the Good News of the Gospel is that God sent his Son to pay our sin wage. Jesus Christ defeated sin by giving up His life on the cross, allowing us to live in unity with other believers here on Earth and for all eternity in Heaven with Him.

Take 2 minutes to reflect in silence.

Reflection: 

• Spend a few moments in prayer today. Ask God to help you rid yourself of any selfish ambition, deceit, or sinful tendencies in your life. Ask Him to help you do right and seek Him above all else. Finish your prayer by asking for unity within the body of Christ.
  
• What steps do you need to take in your faith journey? Contact your House Church Pastor or email us at hello@venturechurch.org if you would like to talk with someone at Venture Church about your next steps.