Should faith and works be separated in salvation? Both Ananias and Sapphira lied to Peter and were judged by God immediately afterwards. The feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also. And at once she fell down at his feet and died, P.S. How can I recognize one? Why do you not agree with Soul Salvation? Biblical Hermeneutics Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for professors, theologians, and those interested in exegetical analysis of biblical texts. Is it possible that Ananias and Sapphira were still saved despite the exemplary punishment they received? It only takes a minute to sign up. The Greek phrase in Joshua 7:1 of the Septuagint is identical to that which Luke uses here in Acts. Is there any sign that either of you is seeking the supremacy in your relationship (such as keeping score)? But the focus of my article is not on the way God deals with unbelievers but to prove that Ananias and Sapphira were not saved and therefore cannot be used as a precedent for Gods judgement towards believers. Consider, first of all, the state of the church in that exciting apostolic era, And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own; but all things were common property to them (Acts 4:32). Sis Johns, Hi! So, being sent on their way by the church, they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, describing the conversion of the Gentiles; and they caused great joy to all the brethren. How do I fit an e-hub motor axle that is too big? Ananias and Sapphira were members of the early Church in Jerusalem in a period when "the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved" (Acts 2:47). Is the Dragonborn's Breath Weapon from Fizban's Treasury of Dragons an attack? (2 Corinthians 5:19). by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Thursday, October 8, 2009 at 7:37pm, HERES AN INTERESTING QUESTION: We are working through the book of Acts in our Sunday School class, and last week discussed Ananias and Sapphira. We understand hypocrisy to be a deliberate and calculated effort to deceive, as it was with Ananias and Sapphira, and we may not be consciously doing that. I would suggest that the reason is because one knows nothing of Christ, and thus nothing of the Father, save what one knows through the Holy Spirit. Up until that time there had been no such crass exhibition of fleshliness, and God loathed the day it would permeate the church. Second, contrary to a widespread fallacy, an individual sin (except for the sin of unbelief) does not necessarily separate us from the grace of God. Even though the Bible says they believed it is clear that they did not understand justification by faith and therefore could not have been saved. Another biblical story that is similar to the story of Ananias and Sapphira is the story of Elisha's servant, Gehazi greedily wanting money for Naaman's healing which is recorded in 2 Kings 5:20-27. Ananias and Sapphira were mentioned in Acts 5:1-10 as a couple who sold some property and donated a portion of the proceeds to the Disciples. Hope this helps, This question assumes that were not given a chance to repent. It only says that they conspired to deceive. Was the gift of the Holy Spirit promised only for the first-century Church, according to Acts 2:38-39? Ananias & Sapphira were clearly practicing duplicity and hypocrisy, which was indicative of their attitude toward lying. What shall I do if I can't believe that God is for me? Rather, John is saying that a continuing confession of the fact that we ARE SINNERS (i.e., a repentant heart) is part of what keeps us within the grace of God. Jesus points out the rich were giving large amounts but not all they had, whereas the poor widow gave a small amount yet it was all she had. Jesus never left and He is here via the Holy Spirit. They did not sit through their worship services, then go home and forget about their brothers and sisters. Jesus ascends into the clouds. Yet, Ananias and Sapphira were both responsible for their own actions, and Sapphira should have obeyed the Spirit instead of obeying her husband. Their spirits were knit together in the cords of Christs life and Christs love. If Ananias and Sapphira were new Christians/immature Christians then we might have asked why they did Not have a chance to repent( i.e., some kind of gracious period of time to repent). joining the Church. Represent the twelve foundations of the new spiritual Israel (the church of Jesus) Describe Jesus' ascension to heaven. May our Lord continue to fill you to over flowing with the Holy Spirit and strengthen you in every way so that you can remain on task. Lets be honest. 6:10), the household of God (Eph. Peter asked her the price of the land that she and Ananias had sold, and she stated the same untruthful price that Ananias had given. Jude vs 12-13 These are hidden reefs at your love feasts, as they feast with you without fear, shepherds feeding themselves; waterless clouds, swept along by winds; fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, uprooted; wild waves of the sea, casting up the foam of their own shame; wandering stars, for whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever.. While everyone in the church who sold property and generously gave all the money they received from the sale, Ananias and Sapphira held back some of the money from their sale of property for themselves, but tried to pretend they were giving everything because that made them also look generous and caring. To consider this further, this article will offer some argumentation that supports the contention that these two people were actually saved. And more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, Who were the rest that didnt dare join the Church? The Holy Ghost had not granted them repentance. Whereas, other blasphemies may be forgiven. Why were Ananias and Sapphira not given a second chance? Dealing with hard questions during a software developer interview. The reason I believe they. The enemy wants to steal the glory and damage the testimony of a church or a revival. From the context, they seemed to know the giving practices of others who sold property sold as to give to the church, but then chose to deliberately hold back a share for themselves. Many people do a lot worse and God doesnt kill them. You ask why they received such drastic punishments and weren't given a change to repent, but I'll point out that the text doesn't say that it was God who killed them, but simply that they promptly fell over dead on the spot. and to your [d]descendants forever. So he went out from his presence Or Ananias and Sapphira, wanted recognition for an offering, rather than giving all. Can someone have their spirit saved but not their soul? Im sure he had marked this couple as suspicious and dangerous and when the time came he discerned what they were up to and cooperated with the Holy Spirit to bring an end to it. The rest of who? The point Im making is that this shows us it was not uncommon to have Pharisees trying to come into the church and that is was not unlikely that Ananias and Sapphira could not have been Pharisees. Connected to this story is the truth, though not often dwelt upon, that God can sometimes take a believers life in judgement. B. In Acts 15 we see that they were eventually successful in this. But they were obligated to be honest (Acts 5:4). They are "saints" The lie that was told, and every other sin they ever committed, either before or after they were born again, where completly paid for by Christ, and cast as far as the east is from the west. I think God recognised their strategy and brought it to an abrupt end. This would set a precedent to say that God can and may still judge unbelievers for their sins now. The LORD is compassionate and gracious, Slow to anger and abounding in And when they had come to Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders; and they reported all things that God had done with them. Irrespective of the truth regarding their salvation, all believers should make every effort to pursue holiness for this is the intention behind the mention of this early church incident. This is compulsory morality Luke, the author of the book of Acts thus presents Peter and his first church rather critically. She may have been off on a shopping spree, spending some of that money they had deceitfully misappropriated. See again my book, Set Free!, pp. We find in the time of Peter, when men and women were receiving the power of the Holy Ghost, the counterfeit appeared in Ananias and Sapphira. A couple of reasons: First, their deathslike much in Actsserve as a sign. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Are good deeds required for Heaven? She was given an opportunity to back out in Acts 5:8b, but doubled-down on the lie that they offered the full amount; which itself was not required. Matthew 6:1,2) I think they had an agenda to infiltrate the church and bring harm to the believers. I believe they were clearly unsaved Pharisees, and this is why. Who were the rest that didnt dare join the Church? But distinguished from the soul, as it is here, it would probably refer just to his spirit, the innermost facet of mans makeup, the center of his being to which God reveals Himself and in which God dwells. This is the realm of experience. He gives of himself only to get something in return, and he usually keeps track of how much he gets. As an example, Paul talks about those in 1 Cor 11 that had 'fallen asleep' (ie believers that had died) because of bring judgement upon themselves at the Lord's Supper. And presto, they would have instant acclaim as spiritual, self-sacrificing believers who had surrendered everything to Jesus Christ. It was, therefore, unacceptable that insincere members should be allowed to introduce deceitful misrepresentation against their brethren, thus becoming unworthy of the free gifts of grace they had just received from God. Thats why its not God sending the Tsunamis and storms and earthquakes. Why weren't they simply confronted and led to confession and repentance? That is why He put this account into his Word. What are husbands and wives most likely to conceal from each other? What was so wrong with their plan? We do not know how they got Ananias buried without Sapphira knowing about it, but bodies had to be buried quickly in those days and maybe they could not find Sapphira at the moment. Look! It is a little hard because we know so little about them. She gave everything. This question is important because it impacts our understanding of the New Covenant. Iain. Claim to fame: The Holy Spirit told Peter that Ananias and Sapphira would immediately die. Many scholars have noted parallels with the story of Achan (Joshua 7), and Havelaar (1997) notes various parallel events in pagan literature, in particular one close parallel in an event recounted by Herodotus about a certain Glaucus who tried to tempt the gods at Delphi by lying about money he had kept dishonestly, and was subsequently deprived of descendants. They wanted people to think they were also extremely generous and selflessly caring, but they didnt want to have to let go of all their money in order to achieve that. Had a wonderful time. 11 And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things. In Peter's words, Ananias and Sapphira agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord (v9), which appears to be a terrible sin in the eyes of God, so terrible that it even warranted having the couple killed on the spot, without even being given the chance to confess and repent. 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