Do Life Together
Acts 4:32-35; 5:1-6; 6:1-7
The members of the early church were committed to each other. They had spiritual unity, loyalty, commitment, and love for God and His Word. Because of their faith, they were willing to share their possessions with each other. Those who owned land and/or houses were willing to sell them and give the money to the apostles to be used for those in need. Barnabas, an apostle, sold a field and gave all of the money to the apostles for that purpose.
Ananias and Sapphira also sold some property. The property was theirs to sell or not to sell, and the proceeds were theirs to decide how much to give. Ananias claimed they were giving all of the money from the sale to the apostles, but they gave only a portion of the money. Peter confronted Ananias with the truth — that he not only was lying to the apostles, but also to the Holy Spirit – and immediately Ananias fell to the floor dead. He was covered with a sheet, carried out and buried.
Later, Sapphira approached Peter, not knowing the fate of her husband. Peter asked her if they had sold their property for a certain amount. She said they had. Peter confronted her with the truth, and instantly she fell to the floor dead. The same men who had buried her husband buried her. Their sin was lying to God and His people. Dishonesty and covetousness are destructive, especially in the church. The community of believers was shocked and realized just how seriously God regards sin. All lying is bad, but when we lie and try to deceive God and His people, we destroy our testimony for the Lord.
Another problem developed concerning the Greek widows. The Greek-speaking believers felt their widows were not being treated fairly. They went to the apostles, and they called a meeting to deal with the problem. The apostles told the people to select seven men, who were deeply committed believers and well thought of by the group, to administer the serving of the food because they needed to spend their time praying, preaching and teaching.
The people elected seven men and presented them to the apostles, who prayed for them and set them apart by laying hands on them. The apostles were then able to devote their time to spreading the gospel, and, as a result, many people accepted Christ, including some of the Jewish priests.
Spiritual leadership must not be taken lightly by the church or the leaders. When people accept leadership positions in the church, they should pray that God will guide and give them spiritual wisdom as they serve Him.
Johnston– Lessons in the BSL series for the fall quarter are being written by Virginia Johnston, a member of First Baptist Church, North Charleston, where her husband Dan is pastor.