“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?” Acts 5:3
After I gave my life to God in the late 1970’s and became a Christian, I have enjoyed listening to Christian Rock from that era. I absolutely love that era of Christian music, which includes Larry Norman, Randy Matthews, Sweet Comfort Band, Phil Keaggy, etc. But one of my favorites was Resurrection Band. I would enjoy rocking out in the car on the way to work. Over the years I have become more interested in the lyrics of these songs rather than simply the music. So, as I was focusing on the lyrics, the following stood out like the proverbial sore thumb.
“The promises you made, are they still the same ones you keep? Hey, once upon a time you heard the call, but when it comes time to giving your all you run.”
These lyrics are from their song “Ananias and Sapphira” which is on their first album “Awaiting Your Reply” which in my opinion is one of the best Christian Rock albums ever. However, I want to focus on these lyrics for a moment and look at what they are saying in the context of our lives today. But first, I want to tell the story of Ananias and Sapphira.
In Acts 5, we read the sad story of a couple who claimed they were Christians, selling property and giving proceeds to the apostles to meet the needs of the poor along with those who required assistance. Here is the story.
“But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, and kept back some of the price for himself, with his wife’s full knowledge, and bringing a portion of it, he 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 some of the price of the land? “While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.” And as he heard these words, Ananias fell down and breathed his last; and great fear came over all who heard of it. The young men got up and covered him up, and after carrying him out, they buried him. Now there elapsed an interval of about three hours, and his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. And Peter responded to her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for such and such a price?” And she said, “Yes, that was the price.” Then Peter said to her, “Why is it that you have agreed together to put the Spirit of the Lord to the test? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out as well.” And immediately she fell at his feet and breathed her last, and the young men came in and found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband.” Acts 5:1-10.
They were not required to do this but were compelled out of love to help their brothers and sisters. Ananias had promised God he would give all the money from the sale of his property for that purpose. However, at some point he decided to hold back some of the money and was able to convince his wife Sapphira to go along with this scheme. Therefore, when he brought the proceeds to the apostles, he acted as if it was all He had received. But Peter, being in constant communication with the Holy Spirit, was not fooled. He called Ananias out on it, saying he did not need to lie, but could have given what they chose to without deceiving them. And because of this, he was struck down by God. And when his wife arrived and supported the lie, she also was struck down.
God was not angered simply because Ananias and Sapphira did not give all the proceeds to the apostles. He was angry because they believed they could deceive God along with the apostles. They tried to have it both ways, essentially to keep some of the money and receive recognition for such a generous offering. Many had sold property and gave the money to the apostles. He wanted to be in that company without the complete sacrifice. How many times do we think that way?
Now back to the lyrics. The first part says, “The promises you made, are they still the same ones you keep?” We all have made promises to God. Either to Him directly, or indirectly through agencies and people He uses. How many of us have ever said something like, “God, if you get me out of this situation, I will serve you all my days.” If you made that promise, did you keep it? Are you serving Him or did you forget about it? It is better not to make a promise to God then to make one and renege on that promise. Think of the promises made to you that were not kept. I have a slew of them. Many times, it hurts when a promise is not kept. And it may not be just feelings that are damaged, it could be much worse. Maybe you relied on someone to pay you what they promised, then they decided not to. This happened to me several times when I had my own business, and when times were tough, this made it much harder.
However, the second part of the lyrics is where I want to focus, “Hey, once upon a time you heard the call, but when it comes time to giving your all you run.” Giving your life to Christ and accepting the salvation He provides means giving your all in service to Him. When you accepted the salvation offered by God through the death of His Son, did you declare Him Lord? Romans 10:9-10 says,
“that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.” Romans 10:9-10.
So, if you declared Him Lord, this means your life is not your own, it is now Christ’s. You have pledged your entire self in service to the one who died for you. Have you fully given your life to Him? Are you willing to do everything He says no matter how difficult, humbling, menial or outside of your comfort zone it is? Are you willing to sacrifice ‘your’ lifestyle for God’s? Are you willing to sacrifice all your possessions for Him? Are you willing to leave all you are for Him? He may not ask this of you, but are you willing to do it if asked? Do not answer this flippantly. Truly look inside yourself and see if there is anything that is more important to you than serving God with all your heart. If so, than you have broken your promise to God to make Him Lord. (Now if you never made that promise to make Him Lord, you have more issues, potentially salvation issues.) God requires your undivided allegiance. If He is your Lord, than nothing or no one else can be. And if you have told Him that He is your Lord, then He is your Lord exclusively. I encourage you, if you have reneged on the claim of making Him Lord, to renew that promise. It will be the best decision you could make at this time. His yoke is easy, and His burden is light. He will never require anything of you that He will not equip you for and work through you to accomplish. But He does require your entire life. Not 50 percent, 70 percent, or even 99.99 percent. It must be all, if He is to be Lord. If we make a promise to God to make Him Lord, and to give our life in service to Him, and to give up our own life by dying to ourselves, taking up our cross daily in humility and earnest, than that is a promise we must keep, no matter the cost. If He is truly our Lord, than our life is His and He can use us in any way He chooses. Do we, as Ananias did, say one thing and do another? Do we, as Sapphira did, go along with others in the charade they are acting out? God takes these things seriously, maybe not to the point of taking our life, but He will not let us be if we truly want to be in right standing with Him. Do not harden your heart by thinking you can deceive God or His servants. For one thing, you cannot. And secondly, you will not be at peace if you try. Keep your promises, to God and everyone else. It is part of our new nature in Christ.
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