The highest goal of our lives is to glorify God through our Savior, Jesus Christ. Since that is our goal, then our outward behaviors and inward character will have a drastically different shape than the culture in which we live.
God emphasizes that we are to live faithfully. That is, if we are going to profess to be children of God, then God expects us to act like His children.
In Acts 5, we have the wrath of God expressed, what we are familiar with from the OT, but now expressed against Christians who do not live lives of integrity! Let’s study the passage…
A & S TEACH US THAT SIN LOVES COMPANY – 5:1-2:
A & S conspired to be hypocrites. If S had been the Christ-follower she ought to have been, she would have said, “Honey, you know that’s not right. Let’s not do that.” There has been more than one occasion where Rachel has pulled me back from something that would not have glorified Jesus Christ.
We will have a powerful impact on our community if we are careful about the company we keep. Jesus associated with sinners but His associations did not draw Him away from Christ. Let us be careful that our associations do not hurt our influence for Christ.
A & S TEACH US THAT SIN STARTS IN THE HEART – 5:3-4:
The Bible puts a great deal of emphasis on keeping our hearts pure. Just listen to these passages from King Solomon, who knew something about having a pure heart, or rather an impure heart: Prov. 4:23; 23:7!
We will have a good influence on our community and be the Christians God wants us to be when we keep our hearts in tune with Jesus Christ and touch others with His love and compassion.
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A & S TEACH US THAT SIN MUST BE PUNISHED – 5:5-10:
The holiness of God repels sin out of His presence. Physical death, as we see here, is a visible illustration of the spiritual repulsion that happens because of sin.
Ananias and Sapphira teach us that God will one day repel Christians from His presence if they have consistently lived lives that were not reflecting Jesus Christ. We have a choice. We can either reflect the holiness of God in our lives or we can choose not to. If we choose not to, we cannot choose the consequences of that choice because sin must be punished.
In order to live faithful lives, lives of integrity, we need to let God’s word, the Bible, be the source of our ideas of what is “good.”
When we do that, we are going to love the right things: good things, positive things, holy things, helpful things.
We are going to believe in what truly matters. Christianity answers all of life’s important questions. Let us “stick” to what the Bible teaches; let’s hold on to it tenaciously and courageously, but lovingly and patiently when we’re trying to share it with others.
Finally, let us be very careful that we also live what we believe. When you go to work or school tomorrow, you will carry with you, in your heart, a vision of what is right and good, generous and beautiful, in your relationships and your sphere of influence. Do your best to reflect that vision, that Christ-inspired vision, through your life with those around you.
You will be a force for good when you believe what is right and love as Jesus loved, and live with integrity.
Paul Holland