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Introduction
There are few sins more culturally normalized than lying. We assume that everyone tells lies sometimes—and as long as you’re not lying about anything too serious (or you can avoid getting caught), it’s no big deal. However, Scripture teaches that lying is a really big deal to God, and should be a really big deal to us too.
Let’s look at the story of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5. We might think this story is fairly straightforward—but I’d like us to read it with fresh eyes. It teaches a critical lesson about how Christians ought to live, especially if we hope to be effective in evangelism.
Acts 4:32-37
Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
The context of this story is very important. It takes place early in the church’s growth, when it was still centered in Jerusalem. Many new Christians who had traveled there for Pentecost were now staying much longer after their conversions. There was great financial need among the Christians, and the church was figuring out how to deal with this. Lots of people were selling their possessions in order to provide for the needs of others.
The story
Acts 5:1-11
But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, and with his wife’s knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles’ feet. But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but to God.” When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard of it. The young men rose and wrapped him up and carried him out and buried him.
After an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. And Peter said to her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for so much.” And she said, “Yes, for so much.” But Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.” Immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. When the young men came in they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things.
To understand the basics of this story, let’s find the answers to three questions:
- What precisely was the sin that they committed?
- What motivated them to do this?
- Why was the consequence so severe?
What precisely was the sin?
Peter calls out two things in verse 3:
- Lying to the Holy Spirit
- Keeping back a portion of the money
Is it one or the other, or both? He makes it clear that there was nothing wrong with keeping some of the money:
- Before the property was sold, it was Ananias’. Nobody coerced him into selling it. He did it on his own.
- After the property was sold, the money was his to do with as he wished. Nobody asked him to give any or all of the money to the apostles.
The sin is the lie. Ananias concocted a plan to have his cake and eat it too. He wanted the money, but he also wanted to be seen as someone who didn’t want the money.
What motivated them to do this?
Perhaps Ananias and Sapphira were looking to get some recognition. Imagine the buzz that would have gone around the church: “Did you hear what Ananias and Sapphira gave?” “So generous!” Maybe they were hoping that this act of “generosity” would make them popular with the apostles or other Christians, or give them some kind of importance in the church.
Let’s consider another possibility:
- It’s clear from chapter 4 that this kind of thing was already going on. Lots of people were selling their real estate and giving the proceeds to the apostles. What Ananias and Sapphira did would have been noteworthy, but not exceptional.
- If they’re expecting people to be impressed by how much they’re giving, holding back some of the money works against that. They said the property was worth less than it really was. They seem to want to be seen as giving a lot sacrificially, not monetarily. They care that people believe they’re giving 100%, not a specific
dollardenarii amount. - They’re concerned about how this act will be perceived, but maybe they’re more worried about being judged as “less-than” rather than impressing others. They feel like they have to make a show of giving to measure up. Perhaps their motivation is a fear of looking bad, not a desire for recognition.
Ultimately, we’re not told whether they were trying to be impressive or just trying to avoid looking bad. Maybe it was a bit of both. But it’s obvious they were motivated by a concern for their reputation, rather than a concern for their brethren.
Why was the consequence so severe?
Ananias and Sapphira are struck dead! Does that feel like a proportionate response to you? They just lied about some money. Sure, that’s not good, but wouldn’t a stern scolding have sufficed? It’s shocking that the consequence of this is “simple” sin is death.
Why were the consequences of their sin so severe?
Setting an example
This pattern repeats throughout the history of God’s people. When a new chapter in their journey has begun, inevitably someone rebels against God. Usually there’s a severe consequence, often involving a few people, that sets a warning example to the rest of God’s people.
| Nadab and Abihu | Consecration of the priesthood | Leviticus 10 |
| Achan | Entrance into the Promised Land | Joshua 7 |
| Korah | 40 years in the wilderness | Numbers 16 |
| Uzzah | Ark entering Jerusalem | 2 Samuel 6, 1 Chronicles 13 |
| Adam and Eve | The Garden of Eden | Genesis 3 |
Similarly, this is the beginning of the church—we shouldn’t be surprised that this act of defiance is met with severe consequences in order to set an example for the rest of the church. They got the message:
Acts 5:11
And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things.
Going deeper
Okay, so this is is setting an example to everyone else. But that begs another question:
Why was this the sin that met such severe consequences? What was the example being set?
Is the example just “don’t disobey God”? That’s definitely a takeaway—but it feels a little shallow. Nadab and Abihu, Achan, Uzzah—all three of those examples violated very specific commands that were contextualized to the time and scenario that they were in. For example, Nadab and Abihu are violating the instructions God had just given for how the priests were supposed to practice their consecration. But there’s no obvious, contextually specific command that Ananias and Sapphira are violating—they’re simply lying. That’s a pretty generic sin.
Imagine you’re a Christian in Jerusalem who knew Ananias and Sapphira. You heard about what happened to them. Maybe you were even present at the gatherings where they died. What’s the one thing you are absolutely, definitely not going to do? LIE!
God is setting an example for His people in this new and penultimate chapter, just like in eras past. But is this what we would expect Him to emphasize? The examples of Nadab and Abihu or Uzzah focus on proper reverence and worship. Don’t offer the wrong sacrifices. Don’t touch the ark. At the establishment of the church, maybe we would expect someone to be struck dead for partaking of the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy manner. But what’s the warning example this time? Christians must not lie.
Why?
Christians tell the truth
Notice again the ultimate result of these events in verse 11: everyone is afraid. Not just the Christians, but everyone who heard about what happened. Think very practically about the kinds of things unbelievers would be saying:
“Did you hear about Ananias and Sapphira? I heard they joined up with those Christians and God struck them dead!”
”Struck them dead?! Why?”
”They lied about some money.”
”That’s it?”
Now everybody knows: Christians take telling the truth very seriously. That’s important because:
The apostles and other Christians are testifying that Jesus is the Christ! There’s nothing more important than that the testimony of the Christians is heard and believed!
This event establishes something both within the church and in the culture around them: say what you will about the Christians, but they don’t lie.
To this day, the trustworthiness of the apostles’ testimony is critical to the historical witness of Christianity. Many secular critical scholars deny the resurrection. But the scholarly consensus is also: there’s no denying that the apostles and disciples of Jesus in the first century truly believed what they were preaching. They argue that the apostles were mistaken, that someone stole the body, that Jesus did not rise from the dead. But they do not argue that the apostles were lying.
This story teaches us something very important about the kingdom of God. Citizens of the kingdom tell the truth. Citizens of the kingdom must tell the truth.
Christians tell the truth. Christians do not lie. Christians must not lie. Christians tell the truth because our entire identity is based on fact and truth: that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that He died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and was raised on the third day, according to the Scriptures. Our lives are about bearing witness to the truth! We want those who believe lies about Jesus to hear the truth and to know the truth.
If the gospel truly changes our lives, we will not lie. Practically speaking, because lying damages our witness of the gospel. There are many ways in which we could damage our gospel witness—for people to say “Christians are arrogant.” “Christians are greedy.” “Christians are sexually immoral.” But it’s hard to imagine anything being more harmful than “Christians are liars.” Let unbelievers say, “Say what you will about Christians, but they tell the truth”—so they will know without question we speak the truth about Jesus.
Lying to God
Pay particular attention to the kind of lie Ananias told. Ananias was not lying to unbelievers—but the lie that he told is one kind of lie that can be the most dangerous to our witness of the gospel.
Ananias and Sapphira thought they were only lying to people, but Peter says that they “have not lied to man but to God.”
What does that mean?
They were trying to present themselves as someone they were not. They wanted to be perceived as people with generous and selfless hearts, when in fact, that’s not really who they were. They weren’t offering genuine service to God; it was just for show.
Peter describes this as lying to God. I doubt Ananias and Sapphira thought of it that way. They probably just thought they were fooling their fellow Christians. But they were living a double life. They weren’t just lying about the money; they were lying about who they were. Peter says if you’re living a double life, you’re lying to God. You’re claiming to be a Christian, but not living like it. You’re outwardly presenting the marks of sanctification, but your heart is filled with sin. Your subconscious thought is, “If I look like I’m doing good works on the outside, God won’t notice the darkness in my heart.”
How we do this
We can fall prey to the exact same temptations as Ananias and Sapphira. Sometimes, we pretend to be people we’re not, in order to be seen as godly and righteous in the eyes of other people.
Have you ever felt like you didn’t belong in a church? It’s easy to look around and feel like everyone else has their life together more than you do. It feels like everyone else has deeper knowledge of Scripture, a better prayer life, an easier time with temptation. Nobody else seems to ever feel discouraged, struggle in their faith, or have a bad week where they gave in to temptations.
This can make us feel like we need to put up a front. We need to make sure that we appear to have it all together, so that no one will find out about all the chaos going on inside us.
- We talk/dress/act how we feel we should when we’re around other Christians, but when we’re around unbelievers, we act just like them.
- When we’re alone, we turn to pornography, alcohol, drugs, or other vices—but always keep it hidden.
- We gossip about people behind their back. We hold grudges and do not forgive. We harbor envy and resentment. But in public, we’re all smiles.
- During the week, our thoughts are consumed by selfishness, materialism, and worldly concerns, but we show up to church three times a week.
- Or perhaps, we simply hide discouragement. We’re struggling with doubts in our faith, we’re going through mental health issues, or simply a trying time—but when people really ask, we still say, “I’m good!”
- We know there’s a strong temptation that’s been plaguing us, but we’re careful not to let anyone find out.
We act like “good Christians,” even though that’s not really who we are. We want to look like we’ve been changed, but we don’t want to be changed.
This isn’t the same thing as “acting yourself into a new way of feeling.” When our lives are being changed by the gospel, those changes will feel unnatural at first. We have to push through that unfamiliarity and discomfort in order to “renew our minds” into a new way of thinking. That’s not what Ananias and Sapphira were doing; they were trying to appear like they were changed by the gospel, without having to actually change.
We may think that we can get away with living this kind of double life, fooling everyone, including ourselves. But God isn’t fooled, and given enough time, people will see the truth too. When we’re hiding our sin and pretending to be righteous, we’re lying to ourselves, to one another, and to unbelievers about the truth of the gospel. Unbelievers can often be the quickest to spot this kind of double identity. When they see us claiming to be Christians, but acting in ways that are ungodly, it hurts the gospel. They will say, “Christians are two-faced. Christians are hypocrites. Christians are liars.” Our alter-egos damage the cause of Christ.
A call for honesty
We can all fall into the trap of performative righteousness. Sometimes, it may be that we want to do something to impress people. Other times, we may be thinking that people will judge us if we don’t measure up. Either way, we’re actually worried about how we’re going to be perceived. How can we escape this trap?
Hiding our sins and struggles is lying about the gospel.
First, we must understand what we are doing when we cover up our sins in order to look good to others. Hiding our sins and struggles is lying about the gospel. When we try to look righteous, we’re sending a false message: “God’s kingdom is for people who are already righteous, and I’m righteous.” We’re telling a false version of the gospel story that’s about how righteous we are. That’s a lie!
1 John 1:8-2:3
If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.
The truth of the gospel is:
- That we are all sinners
- That Jesus is faithful to forgive our sins and cleanse us from unrighteousness
- That if we sin, Jesus is our advocate
- That Jesus paid the price for our sins
- That Jesus paid the price for the sins of the whole world
Let’s not be like Ananias and Sapphira, who wanted to look righteous. Let’s tell the truth about the gospel to each other and to the world: we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. Let’s tell the truth about who we are, who He is, and what He’s done for us.
Confess your sins
Christians tell the truth, and that means telling the truth about our flaws, too. James wrote,
James 5:16
Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.
This is one of the hardest commands to keep, and I don’t like it. It’s not fun. But it’s one of the most important areas that we should tell the truth. We have to be honest with one another about our sins, so that we can pray for one another and be healed. Being honest about our sins is not about rejoicing in our sinfulness. The point of such honesty is to deal with our sins and actually change—not just master how to look righteous on the outside. Being honest about our sins is scary. This isn’t a complicated command. It just takes sitting down with another Christian and telling them the truth: “These are the sins I’ve been committing. These are the ways I’ve failed. These are the temptations that I’m fighting.” It’s simple, just not easy. But James says this leads to healing.
Let’s not be a church where everyone pretends to have it all together while we’re assembled, while keeping our struggles secret. Let’s not be a church that pretends we don’t deal with temptation. Let’s not be a church that pretends we never find our faith shaken. Let’s be a church that tells the truth to one another, so that we can pray for each other.
Ephesians 4:25
Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.
Jesus sets us free to tell the truth
Being honest and confessing our sins is scary, but Jesus empowers us to speak the truth even when it is hard.
John 8:31-36
So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”
Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
When you lie, do you feel the shackles you entangle yourself in? You’ve hidden the truth—and now you must continue to make sure that nobody finds out the truth, or the fact that you covered it up. Now you must always be on the alert to keep your secret hidden—and keeping that secret often leads to more lies.
Sin always multiplies. Adam and Eve eat the fruit, then shift the blame when they are caught. Cain kills Abel, then lies about it to God. One sin never solves the problem; you must always be committing more sin in order to keep your head above water.
Jesus is speaking in this passage about truth setting us free—not just from the sin of deceit, but from all sin. We don’t need to cover up our sins with lies anymore, because the truth is Jesus has taken our sins away. We do not need to fear speaking the truth anymore, because story of the truth is not simply the unspeakable darkness that lurks in our hearts. It’s also that Jesus came to fix the darkness in our hearts and to wash us clean.
Tell the whole truth, to others, and to yourself. You were once a slave to sin, but now the truth has set you free indeed.
Do you tell the truth?
Ask yourself: what kinds of lies are you telling?
- Being well-behaved around fellow Christians, but acting differently around unbelievers or in private.
- Manipulating people to get your way (not outright “lying”).
- Keeping secret sins of the heart—envy, bitterness, lust, etc.
I exhort you: tell the truth, always.
- Confess your sins to one another. Find someone who you will be honest with, and tell them about the temptations you’re fighting, and the temptations you’ve given into. Expect this to feel scary. Do it anyway.
- Tell the truth even in situations where it feels unimportant. Christians must tell the truth about everything, so everyone can trust that we are telling the Truth about the most important thing: Jesus.
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