One of the things that is striking about the early church is the way they loved one another and took care of each other. I have been very blunt about the disciples keeping the Gospel as their main message, however the affect of God’s love and forgiveness in our lives plays out in our relationship with others. It moves us to have compassion on others. That compassion is the motivation behind the funding of the early church.
People like Barnabas (who will become even more important later), and Ananias and Sapphira who had the means gave to support the work of the church. It was a lot like today. God’s desire is that those gifts/offerings be given out of faith, love and gratitude. That was the difference between Barnabas and Ananias. Barnabas gave joyfully, freely and fully. Ananias and Sapphira gave a portion, pretending that it was the whole amount. Their sin was not that they hadn’t given it all, rather that they said that they had in order to look good in the eyes of others. They were more concerned about their reputation among these people who were held “in high esteem” by the community than they were concerned about the Father’s heart. Sadly, they became an example to us as they died for their sin.
Does that seem harsh to you? It does to me. This underscores how serious sin is. It also highlights how patient God is with us as he forgives us over and over again for our failures and sins. We should never take God’s grace for granted. In today’s culture we are very casual about God. We see Jesus as our loving big brother, the Father as a doting papa, and the Spirit as a nursemaid who rocks us to sleep. These images are not entirely wrong. They’re not entirely right either. There is still a lot of room for fear and trembling in our relationship with God. We should be horrified by sin, but too often we see it as a little dalliance. “No big deal.” However, it is a big deal to God, and he is the God who brings judgment and fire, as well as repentance and forgiveness. We must remember that He gave the Law as well as the Gospel.
As the reputation and size of the church grow, so does the ire of the Temple leaders. They once again have Peter and John arrested, but this time they bring the other ten for good measure. Did you notice that Peter, once again, calls himself and the other Apostles, “witnesses,” as he declared that they must obey God rather than men? How about the way the Apostles rejoiced that they were counted “worthy to suffer” for Jesus’ sake after they were beaten? Their focus is no longer on who is the greatest as it was many times when they walked with Jesus, but not they see themselves as servants whose greatest joy and privilege is to serve the Lord who has saved them (and us) from sin and death. There is much for us to model here as we move past our pride to see ourselves as saved servants who are called to give ourselves to the Lord and his service.
We should also take note of Gamaliel’s comment, “. . . if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them.” This is why it is so important for us to be in the Word and to think and pray about our work today. We are often tempted, as were Ananias and Sapphira, to pursue our own ideas and the plans of man. What we need is for our eyes to be fixed on the plans of God to bring Jesus’ salvation into people’s lives today.
O Holy Spirit, guide us, teach us, and lead us in God’s plans for us. Set our hearts and minds on the Father’s will, and help us to share Jesus’ salvation. Amen.
People like Barnabas (who will become even more important later), and Ananias and Sapphira who had the means gave to support the work of the church. It was a lot like today. God’s desire is that those gifts/offerings be given out of faith, love and gratitude. That was the difference between Barnabas and Ananias. Barnabas gave joyfully, freely and fully. Ananias and Sapphira gave a portion, pretending that it was the whole amount. Their sin was not that they hadn’t given it all, rather that they said that they had in order to look good in the eyes of others. They were more concerned about their reputation among these people who were held “in high esteem” by the community than they were concerned about the Father’s heart. Sadly, they became an example to us as they died for their sin.
Does that seem harsh to you? It does to me. This underscores how serious sin is. It also highlights how patient God is with us as he forgives us over and over again for our failures and sins. We should never take God’s grace for granted. In today’s culture we are very casual about God. We see Jesus as our loving big brother, the Father as a doting papa, and the Spirit as a nursemaid who rocks us to sleep. These images are not entirely wrong. They’re not entirely right either. There is still a lot of room for fear and trembling in our relationship with God. We should be horrified by sin, but too often we see it as a little dalliance. “No big deal.” However, it is a big deal to God, and he is the God who brings judgment and fire, as well as repentance and forgiveness. We must remember that He gave the Law as well as the Gospel.
As the reputation and size of the church grow, so does the ire of the Temple leaders. They once again have Peter and John arrested, but this time they bring the other ten for good measure. Did you notice that Peter, once again, calls himself and the other Apostles, “witnesses,” as he declared that they must obey God rather than men? How about the way the Apostles rejoiced that they were counted “worthy to suffer” for Jesus’ sake after they were beaten? Their focus is no longer on who is the greatest as it was many times when they walked with Jesus, but not they see themselves as servants whose greatest joy and privilege is to serve the Lord who has saved them (and us) from sin and death. There is much for us to model here as we move past our pride to see ourselves as saved servants who are called to give ourselves to the Lord and his service.
We should also take note of Gamaliel’s comment, “. . . if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them.” This is why it is so important for us to be in the Word and to think and pray about our work today. We are often tempted, as were Ananias and Sapphira, to pursue our own ideas and the plans of man. What we need is for our eyes to be fixed on the plans of God to bring Jesus’ salvation into people’s lives today.
O Holy Spirit, guide us, teach us, and lead us in God’s plans for us. Set our hearts and minds on the Father’s will, and help us to share Jesus’ salvation. Amen.
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