The Attack on Integrity

Acts 5:1-42

I remember the day well. Back in the mid 1990?s in Oregon we had a visitor who came to live in the state?a very large killer whale by the name of Keiko. Keiko (star of the Free Willy movies) had been kidnapped as a baby off the shores of Iceland, brought to a Mexican water amusement park and there languished. Transported to Oregon, Keiko was placed in a large tank at the Oregon Coast Aquarium and rehabilitated.

Someone had the bright idea that this killer whale could actually be brought back to Iceland, further rehabilitated, then set free. The United States Air force was enlisted to fly Keiko from Lincoln City, Oregon to the Westmann Islands of Iceland. I had the pleasure(?) or accompanying them on their test flight.

I remember getting up into this giant cargo craft and sitting on the side in a webbed seat like some guy taking off for the D-Day invasion. They closed the doors and went off down the runway and I thought, ?Okay, I guess I?m along for whatever ride they want to take me on.? As it turns out the plane didn?t go to Iceland, it went to North Carolina to fix a battery problem ? what they didn?t have an Interstate Battery shop nearer? We did eventually get to Iceland but got stuck by high winds at Keflavik Air Force Base.

I bring this up because of that feeling of strapping yourself in and not really knowing what kind of ride to expect. I wonder if the disciples didn?t start to think that same thing. After Jesus left and the Holy Spirit came, it was just like one incredible adventure after another?and not all of them pleasant (like my plane ride).

I think we have some sort of idea of what the Christian life should be like?just a big time of fellowship and potlucks and worship and Bible study and prayer. But in reality you have signed up in an army against an enemy who takes no prisoners.

I mentioned last time that as the Apostles went to church one day a man was healed and it got them in all kinds of trouble. That?s nothing with what happens next as we?ll see in Chapter 5. Here the enemy broadens his attack, and it gives us some insight into how he will try to blunt the work of the Holy Spirit in your life.

It?s a story in two acts. Act 1 is the attempt to destroy from within, Act 2 is the attempt to destroy from without.

1 ? 11 Ananias & Sapphira

The problem was not whether or not land was sold, nor was it about the price or how much was given. The problem was saying you had done something when in fact you had not?lying pure and simple. Ananias and Sapphira apparently saw the reaction when Barnabas gave his gift in chapter 4 and wanted to be seen in that way and impress people.

So they sold a piece of land for, say, $150 then came to the church and said ?we sold this land for $100 and are giving all the proceeds of the sale to the church. Aren?t we impressive, aren?t we holy??

This is another one of those first things. This is an attempt by Satan to infiltrate this new church with the flesh and turn what Jesus started into something the Pharisees would be proud of?a bunch of people who look good on the outside but are filthy on the inside.

The Holy Spirit saw right through it and revealed it to Peter. Needless to say, this couple were called home prematurely to answer for what they had done.

This is job one of the enemy?try to bring rot into the Christian to make them weak and unable to be a witness for the Lord by ruining their integrity from the inside.

How do you combat this?

The first and best way is to ask the Holy Spirit to regularly inspect your life (Psalm 139 ? search me oh God).

Be in regular Bible study as well, and spend time in the Word. The more you know the character of the Lord the more things that are out of that character will be obvious.

Be in fellowship and accountability with others. Many times, we can admit our feelings to another trusted person and then they can provide feedback and prayer (?iron sharpens iron? Proverbs 27:17).

The main idea is to look for envy, the competitive spirit, hurt feelings, a sense of unfairness towards others, and the need for power and recognition.

Hebrews 12:1-2 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. ESV

The more we focus on eternity the less the values of this world hold us!

12 ? 16

God worked miracles through the Apostles to verify the validity of the gospel. He is building a foundation here and so the foundation stones must be big and strong, so the miracles are big and strong.

It was done in full view of the Jews and Jewish religious leaders, the disciples didn?t stop going to Temple (not until the outreach to the Gentiles was there a break)

After the incident with Ananias & Saphira, and the earlier persecution after chapter 4, those who were not serious about their faith stayed away. It?s amazing when we realize how seriously God takes salvation and his saints that it separates the real from the make-believers.

All this did not go unnoticed, and here we see the enemy begin to try to chip away at the church from without.

17 ? 26

As I mentioned before, the Sadducees did not believe in the supernatural and so to have God work miracles to attest to Jesus (they didn?t believe in a literal Messiah either) would have rankled them for sure. But it says they were ?jealous? which is interesting. What were they jealous of? The power, the fact that people respected the apostles though they were common people, or perhaps they were jealous of the fact that people were actually believing in Jesus despite their best efforts.

The thing is, no matter what the world offers as a solution to life, it is ineffective outside of Jesus. Only Jesus offers real healing and life and hope. He alone is efficacious when it comes to dealing with sin. The way of the Sadducees led to death because it led to rejecting Jesus.

The Sadducees demanded respect for themselves, while the Apostles sought respect for God.

Now you might think ?I am stepping out for God and this is how I?m repaid, by going to jail?? Living life as a visible Christian definitely has its risks, but just imagine what might have happened if these men had not been willing to take any consequence if it meant people would find this new life too.

Just as no dead philosophy can hold the gospel hostage, no jail cell could hold these men. An angel won?t appear to miraculously open the prison doors every time you are in a jam, but anytime you are sharing the truth of Jesus, the power of the gospel will not be stopped.

It was like the angel was giving them a sign?keep speaking this truth, don?t let anything stop you. And so they did.

27 ? 33

Peter had already told these guys that they could not stop speaking. Just because someone in authority doesn?t like the message and says to stop doesn?t mean they should prevail. They were afraid they?d be held responsible for the death of Jesus. Peter basically says, ?yep, you are responsible.? In Matthew 27:25 the people (including these very leaders) said that the blood of Jesus should be on their hands. And so it was.

But they missed the point. In reality we all put Jesus to death by our sin making it necessary for him to come and die to free us from eternal death. They needed to take responsibility and repent. Instead they want to kill them but then something very unusual happens.

34 ? 42

Gamaliel brings this dose of sanity and reality to the group. I think this is significant not only in what he said, for it was true, but in who he was. Gamaliel, you see, was the teacher of Saul of Tarsus. Saul, who would become Paul the Apostle, was at first a terrible enemy of the church, but I?ve got to believe that Gamaliel taught Saul to respect the Scriptures and when he learns the truth that Jesus is the Messiah revealed in the Bible, he turns completely around?doing exactly what the Sadducees refused to do.

Despite Gamaliel?s plea they beat the apostles but the ministry did not stop ? both organized and public (in the temple) and casual (house to house).

Conclusions

Church history can actually help us understand what happened later on. The enemy has continued his attacks of rotting Christians from the inside and we see a multitude of examples of that through the centuries.

But interestingly, when attacks from the outside have come, the church gets stronger. When there are no attacks, the church gets lazy and more subject to internal rotting.

God is serious about his church and His salvation

From coming down hard on Ananias and Saphira, to the powerful healing ministry that intimidated and enraged those who watched, God is sending a message: this is not a fad or a club or something to taken lightly. Don?t be impressive, just available.

Are you strapped in and ready for the adventure God has for you?

What are the hallmarks of that adventure? Boldness in speech, power in ministry, open doors for the gospel, and opposition and attacks from within and without. Can we be like the disciples who rejoiced ?because they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name??