1. Victorious over being plastic
#9 Acts (5:1-11)

2. Introduction Question 1 Question 2
Note: Pastor Tan away today on a happy occasion
How many have been untruthful / lie / dishonest in some way in the past year
How many think you are basically a person with integrity?

3. Introduction
Today, about being real people in the church of Jesus Christ
Troubling story of the death of Ananias and Sapphira
It is not about a hair trigger conscience
There is a vital message for everyone regardless of where we find ourselves on the integrity curve
Note: Pastor Tan away today on a happy occasion
How many have been untruthful / lie / dishonest in some way in the past year
How many think you are basically a person with integrity?

4. The story
Acts 5 5 Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. 2 With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet.
They were following the actions of some else – barnabas

5. The story
Barnabas 36 Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means “son of encouragement”), 37 sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet.
1. “put at disciples’ feet” is an expression meaning that the money was a total sacrifice, like whole burnt offering in the OT.
2. Early Christians were already feeding the poor widows through their earnings as daily wage workers. Galileans who would quickly run out of money. The well-to-do in Jerusalem come in with money.

6. The story
Barnabas 36 Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means “son of encouragement”), 37 sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet.
Barnabas, visiting from Cyprus also comes in with money he sold from a field he owns and gives it all up to the disciples
Barnabas eventually became a very prominent person in the leadership. He became an apostle = missionary and sent to work with Gentiles
A & S want to be like Barnabas
Barnabas in contrast to Ananias and Sapphira

7. 3 Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? 4 Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.”
We are not told how Peter knew. Probably revealed by the Holy Spirit to Peter
Important: Nobody was ever asked to give up everything
Ananias lied to the Holy Spirit

8. The story
5 When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened. 6 Then some young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him.
1. Peter did not condemn him to die, only exposed his sin. It was the work of God that killed Ananias
2. Great fear “concerning this new group and probably Peter himself.”
3. Young men – not in contrast to old men, but in contrast to professional undertakers.
4. Burial within the same day was normal.
5. Note: Body not burned – a sign of eternal judgment for the Jewish people

9. The story
7 About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8 Peter asked her, “Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land?”
“Yes,” she said, “that is the price.”
This was a deliberate question, a chance to be honest
Sapphira insisted on the lie.

10. The story
9 Peter said to her, “How could you conspire to test the Spirit of the Lord? Listen! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.”
Fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud was two different charges
E.g. Bank robbery and conspiracy to commit bank robbery
Now Peter pronounces the dead sentence on Sapphira because the Holy Spirit had indicated the penalty of the deception.

11. The story
10 At that moment she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11 Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events.
The sad event of the death of Sapphira also
Great fear: in church and outside church

12. The result of the incident
13 No one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people. 14 Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number. 
Seems like two contradictory statements!
The congregation stopped growing as outsiders stopped coming out of fear
Those who are already in the group continued to make their commitment
There was definite slow down in the growth of the church’s membership roll

13. What is the sin of A & S?
The moral dilemma of the passage – harshness.
We do not start on a justifying mode. Why?
We do start on an understanding mode. Why?

14. What is the sin of a&s? The sin of practical atheism
It is the heinous lie (failure lie vs gain lie)
It is the sin of Judas (leadership based on a lie)
3. Pretending to be loyal, but selling out for money from the start.

15. What is the sin of a&s?
It is the sin of the Pharisees (hypocrisy | plastic)
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. (Matthew 23:27)

16. What is the sin of a&s?
It is the sin of Achan (stealing the consecrated at the inception of a new beginning)
7 But the Israelites were unfaithful in regard to the devoted things; Achan … of the tribe of Judah, took some of them. So the Lord’s anger burned against Israel. (Joshua 7)

17. What is the sin of a&s? The sin of practical atheism
It is the heinous lie to gain
It is the sin of Judas (leadership based on a lie)
It is the sin of the Pharisees- hypocrisy
It is the sin of Achan-stealing the consecrated at inception
3. Pretending to be loyal, but selling out for money from the start.

18. 5 lessons on Christian integrity
We lose integrity when we rationalize away truthfulness
Cheating in golf by moving the ball?
The use of the FUDGE
My examples of psychological testing on honesty from Dan Ariely, well known psychologist about honesty.

19. #1 We lose integrity when we rationalize away truthfulness
HONESTY DISHONESTY

20. #1 We lose integrity when we rationalize away truthfulness
HONESTY DISHONESTY
FUDGE

21. #1 We lose integrity when we rationalize away truthfulness
e.g. of the Fudge. Compare illegal download vs other non-payment
distance | dislike

22. 5 lessons on Christian integrity
We sear our conscience each time we lie
Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. (1 Timothy 4:2, NIV)

23. #2 We sear our conscience each time we lie
Men will tell lies and make people believe they are something when they are not. These men will have made their hearts so hard that they will not know they are doing wrong. (1 Timothy 4:2, WE)

24. #2 We sear our conscience each time we lie
CT scans on the lying mind
The case in point: undercover / spy
The heart adapts to guilt
The baseline integrity (what-the- heck phenomenon)
The searing / desensitizing of the conscience

25. 5 lessons on Christian integrity
We must completely reject the intolerable poison of the cover-up lie within the church
E.g. Cover up of sexual abuse in the RC Church
Never cover-up a wrong in the church
The blasphemous excuse: “For God’s glory.”
The church at inception

26. 5 lessons on Christian integrity
God’s way to my integrity is to remind me
I have hidden your word in my heart     that I might not sin against you. (Psalm 119:11, NIV)
The result of the experiment of the reminder before opportunity to cheat.
The church needs this reminder!
Dan Ariely: recalling the 10 commandments | atheist swearing on the Bible. No / or hardly any cheating.

27. 5 lessons on Christian integrity
God can change my baseline integrity if I am willing
You can change when you are reminded before the event
Therefore, read / memorize God’s word in the mornings
The goal: a new personal baseline
The goal: a new church baseline
Before: signing declaration before and after makes a difference!
Church baseline: Ariely’s experiment with Carnegie Mellon vs Pittsburg cheater.
Danger of Ananias to the church!

28. 5 lessons on Christian integrity
We lose integrity when we rationalize away truthfulness
We sear our conscience each time we lie
We must completely reject the intolerable poison of the cover-up lie within the church

29. 5 lessons on Christian integrity
God’s way to my integrity is to remind me
God can change my baseline integrity if I am willing

30. Conclusion There is a healthy fear of God I ought to cultivate
If my integrity baseline is off, I have the serious spiritual problem of a seared conscience and a pretense at integrity
If I have a seared conscience, I must correct it today
I can change if I will let God’s word remind me each day of my need for integrity