Thursday, August 5, 2010

Acts Chapter Five

Acts Chapter Five (NIV)
Acts Chapter Five (NASB)

I. SYNOPSIS

Verses 1-11: Ananias and Sapphira lie to the Spirit, and are judged.

Verses 12-16: Numerous signs and wonders are being done by the hands of the Apostles.

Verses 17-42: The Apostles are arrested, beaten, and set free (after Gamaliel speaks in their defense).

II. KEY PASSAGES

(A) Acts 5:1-11--The judgment of Ananias and Sapphira can be difficult for some, given the Biblical emphasis on God's love. This passage reminds us that God is just, and that He punishes sin. The Spirit was present to an unimaginable extent in the early church. Miracles were being performed regularly. In verse 15, we find that sick people were desperate just to have Peter's shadow fall on them. With such a powerful manifestation of God's power comes tremendous responsibility. Ananias and Sapphira, through their deception, would have brought sin into the early community, thereby disrupting the Spirit-filled unity of the body of Christ.

(B) Acts 5:3-4--"Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit . . . You have not lied to men but to God." The fact that Ananias could lie to the Spirit confirms that the Spirit is a person. Verse 4 makes it clear that to lie to the Spirit is to lie to God, confirming the deity of the Spirit.

(C) Acts 5:29--"But Peter and the apostles answered, 'We must obey God rather than men.'" There is no compromise when preaching is forbidden.

(D) Acts 5:30-31--Peter again draws attention to Jesus death, resurrection, and deity. The constant emphasis on these facts shows that this was indeed the heart of the Christian Gospel, and that the Gospel is grounded in evidence.

(E) Acts 5:41-42--"So they went on their way from the presence of the Council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name. And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they kept right on teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ." Suffering is normally considered a bad thing. But suffering for the Lord is an honor.

1 comment:

otto said...

For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.

:)