were ananias and sapphira saved

Peter did not call down judgment from heaven as some have supposed. Were Ananias and Sapphira Christians? Personally I think its quite obviously referring to the party of the Pharisees. If they are spiritually-minded people they are not motivated by the desire for the accolades and applause of men, but they may get them anyway. But I want to draw your attention to the particular description that is marked in bold: Jude calls these sinister people who are infiltrating the church waterless clouds, swept along by winds. Unlike Barnabas, they didn't live up to their names (Ananias- God is gracious; Sapphira- beautiful). c. How to serve with purity: Remember that God looks at your heart rather than your service. She falls and breathes her last breath. I t is reasonable to believe that both Ananias and Sapphira were present in the prayer meeting described in Acts 4:31. I think they had an agenda to infiltrate the church and bring harm to the believers. When Ananias and Sapphira were offering sacrifices along with devout, genuine believers, it was essential that these early Christians recognized the severity of disobeying their oath to provide for the less-fortunate among them. With all he could do there was a certain awkwardness and stumblingness . Fourth, the presumed inclusion of Ananias and Sapphira in the Acts 2 Church offers strong proof that they were indeed saved. Stack Exchange network consists of 181 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow, the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers. Sins against the Holy Spirit are extremely grievous. "When men want to impose unity, there are problems. lovingkindness. Ananias and Sapphira demonstrated profound disingenuousness great contempt for God in their actions, unlike everyone else. Do you know what their names mean? I believe they were clearly unsaved Pharisees, and this is why. When they were judged and then immediately given over to death, the Church did not learn a lesson about Gods judgment on sinners outside the Church; rather, they were forced to consider the issue of sin within the Church and then take account of themselves (Acts 5:11). 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. In Luke 21:1-4 Jesus draws His disciples attention to the way people were giving into the temple treasury. [1] In response, both of them were accused of lying to the Holy Spirit and then judged by God such that both immediately died (5:3-11). It was a special time for the church. [1]All Scripture references are taken from NASB1995. 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. Thanks for the email and the encouragement. Both Ananias and Sapphira lied to Peter and were judged by God immediately afterwards. It attracted a couple named Ananias and Sapphira. It then follows with the two examples (1 good and 1 not good) of people selling their property to give to the church. But there is nowhere in the New Testament where we see God killing believers for their sins even though there were clearly believers sinning. But that becomes even more obvious to us when we learn that their confidence for the future was in their bank account rather than in the Lord. We cringe at this extreme illustration of divine discipline. The believers were truly grateful and loving towards each other as they began sharing their possessions and supporting those in need. Outside of Christ, people are still in their sins and will one day ultimately be held accountable for them on the Day of Judgement. How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? Which is really more important to usto maintain the appearance of spirituality, or genuinely to be what God wants us to be? Even in the churches of Revelation we dont see believers being killed or threatened with judgment. And fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD. In Acts 5:9-11 why does Peter dispense immediate judgment? As mentioned previously, the first church in Acts had members who willingly and sacrificially sold their possessions so as to support others in the church even though no one was mandated to do so. I think God recognised their strategy and brought it to an abrupt end. Only, Ananias was not at all happy in his approach to Peter's feet that day. The soul is the conscious life force in man, his personality, consisting of his mind, emotions, and will. Were Ananias and Sapphira saved and went to heaven? She may have been off on a shopping spree, spending some of that money they had deceitfully misappropriated. Jude also calls these kinds of people waterless clouds, swept along by the winds. 303ff. Jesus often would use the contrast between the rich and poor as a metaphor for those who were most likely to receive the Kingdom. And certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, Therefore, when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and dispute with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them should go up to Jerusalem, to the apostles and elders, about this question. It was no grandstand play with him. So why is this event so important to the Church in the New Covenant? Why were Ananias and Sapphira not given a chance to repent? Acts 5 (Part 1) -Ananias and Sapphira. We may even be tempted to accuse God of overreacting with undue harshness. Perhaps we might wish to contemplate the end of the previous chapter (Acts 4). 6. Acts 5:4 indicates that they could have sold the land and offered a portion of the proceeds to the apostles, and not present it as the full amount; which was the sin of lying. quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; 32 He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, And he who rules See again my book, Set Free!, pp. Acts chapter 4:32 closes by stating that the first followers of Jesus did not consider their possessions to be their own but rather held in common, in order to use what they had on behalf of those in want. When one Christian sees another Christian getting away with it, he finds it easier to try it himself. Acts 5:1-11. Richard, was a 1954 graduate of Wheaton College, and received his Th.M. Barnabas was one who sacrificed everything (Acts 4:36, 37). And we can be grateful for that! Look finally at the significance of their discipline. It is only by God's grace that we are spared today. Are good deeds required for Heaven? When we admit our true feelings and motives to someone else, when we acknowledge our faults for what they are and ask someone to pray for us, it provides a helpful incentive to claim Gods power to change. And with great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of He merely exposed Ananias hypocrisy by the insight God gave him. You are assuming Ananias/Sapphira were saved. They are part of a larger unit called the Body of Christ (Eph. Lukethe Spirit-inspired historian who wrote the Book of Actstells us in Acts 5:1; But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession (Acts 5:1). [2][3][4], Darrell Bock concludes that the episode emphasises the seriousness of sin, as well as the graciousness of God who often defers judgment. Until then we see Gods mercy in effect, not giving people what they deserve but patiently holding back judgment to allow time for unbelievers to repent and come into Christ. This would set a precedent to say that God can and may still judge unbelievers for their sins now. Peter asked her, Tell me whether you sold your land for so much? And she said, Yes, for so much. Then Peter said to her, How could you two have agreed together to put the Spirit of the Lord to the test? (Luke 16:19-31, Luke 18:18-30). It seems reading Scripture that the Early Church was continually the target of pagans, gnostics and religious Jews trying to corrupt the Gospel and lead people astray. Lets commit ourselves to absolute straightforwardness and transparency. More specifically on the second point, Reidhead commented that the introduction of sin would destroy the unity that the early believers had in the Holy Spirit, and would thus remove God's blessing on the body. Therefore, it is not true there is no evidence Ananias and Sapphira were not saved as some may claim--Peter had stated as much when he declared Satan had filled their hearts, rebuking their blasphemy of the Holy Ghost. Had God permitted Ananias and Sapphira to continue their charade, it would have destroyed the witness of the early church. What are Christians generally most prone to mask from each other? belonging to him was his own, but all things were common property to them. While warning the church to protect itself from these kinds of people, Jude describes some of their characteristics whereby we might recognise them. It is possible to fall from grace, but this is a drastic step and should not be equated with individual sins. 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. If Ananias and Sapphira were born again believers and God judged them for their sin, it means that even though Jesus was judged for sin, God still judged them for their sin. 2021 New Nature Ministries All rights reserved. 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. I think this story is about religious Christian impostors (non-believers) that may have been trying to gain influence in the Church of Christ. Ananias and Sapphira may have agreed together in their deceitful plan, but evidently they never admitted the sinfulness of it to one another or to God. 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. If Ananias and Sapphira were never saved and only counterfeit Christians, the church would not have been seized with fear, for what happened to them would be non-related to Christians. Ananias and Sapphira yeah certainly an interesting story. What's the difference between a power rail and a signal line? However, it is not clear at all from the terse narrative of Ananias' and Sapphira's deaths that this couple received salvation. She gave everything. Given the particularly heinous nature of their sin and their brazen attempt to cover it up even under the cross examination of Peter, Ananias and Sapphira are often considered to be the first interlopers to have pretentiously associated themselves with the Church. Threatened with judgment Acts 4:36, 37 ) would use the contrast between the rich poor. To their names ( Ananias- God is gracious ; Sapphira- beautiful ) of. How to serve with purity: Remember that God looks at your heart than. 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