Good Example or Terrible Warning

When reading the story of Ananias and Sapphira, and the judgment that came upon them for their hypocrisy and lying to the Holy Spirit, the ending was not as we would have expected. Today we would have expected mercy to be shown so that repentance could have been achieved.

But that’s not what happened. Instead, God’s judgment was meted out as Ananias and Sapphira were immediately struck down.

Peter declared God’s judgment saying, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit … Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.” (Acts 5:3-4)

And upon the pronouncement of God’s judgment, it says that both to Ananias and Sapphira, fell and breathed their last (Acts 5:5, 10).

And then it goes on and says, “So great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things.” (Acts 5:11)

Was this a good example for the church at this stage of its development, or a terrible warning of hypocrisy and lying to the Holy Spirit.

Maybe both. God’s judgment is not meant to be random or capricious, but to be an example for others not to do the same. It is meant to illicit fear, but not fear as we know it, but the fear of God, or a godly fear, leading to confession and repentance.

I’ve heard it said, don’t cover up what God has called for us to confess and repent. If not, we run the very real danger of missing out on God’s kingdom.

In the case of Korah and his clan, they rebelled against God’s leadership, Moses, and in the end were swallowed up by the earth. It says that they “went down alive into the pit; the earth closed over them, and they perished from among the assembly.” (Numbers 16:33)

So, as I thought about this, I think it was both, and good example and a terrible warning.

Dennis Lee is Senior Pastor at Living Waters Fellowship, Mesquite, Nevada. He presently has two books, “From Here to There: A Journey to Spiritual Transformation,” and “Wells of Living Waters,” He also writes a religious column for a local newspaper entitled, “Rediscover the Bible for Life,” along with daily devotionals and thoughts that he posts on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Living Waters Fellowship’s Website