Turn together this morning to the end of Acts chapter 4. Acts chapter 4. We're going to begin our reading in verse 32 and then cross right over the chapter break through to verse 11 of chapter 5. So Acts chapter 4 verse 32 through Acts chapter 5 verse 11 is our text this morning. And before I read, I might just acknowledge that the passage deals with a lot of things that we're not going to be dealing with in the sermon this morning. It's really one of the more amazing passages that gives us some of the foundational texts from which we understand that the Holy Spirit is one of the members of the Trinity. He is God. I'm not going to be dealing with that this morning, but you'll see it there as we read when Ananias and Sapphira lie Peter makes it very clear, you haven't lied to men, you've lied to God. You've grieved the Spirit of God. So that's there, and there's many other things throughout this passage that we could spend time on, but I want us to consider a particular theme that I think comes out clearly in this passage. So let's give our careful hearing again to the reading of God's holy word. Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles' feet. And it was distributed to each as any had need. Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas, which means son of encouragement, a Levite, a native of Cyprus, sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the Apostle's feet. But a man named Ananias with his wife Sapphira sold a piece of property and with his wife's knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the Apostle's feet. 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? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men, but to God. When Ananias heard these words, he fell down, and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard of it. The young men rose and wrapped him up and carried him out and buried him. After an interval of about three hours, his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. And Peter said to her, tell me whether you sold the land for so much. And she said, yes, for so much. But Peter said to her, How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.' Immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. When the young men came in, they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. And great fear came upon the whole church. and upon all who heard of these things. Please bow with me in prayer. Father, we look to You now that You might feed us by Your Word. We are Your sheep. You are our shepherd. And we need You to tend to us and provide for us. And so, O God, Use your word. May it be nourishing to us. May it be convicting to us. May it be comforting to us. And may you be glorified in the way that we attend to it now. We ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen. The biblical writers never candy-coat the truth, nor Do they try to hide the fact that God's people, the church, is very often a pretty sorry lot? In fact, since the Christian faith is all about bad people, seriously bad people receiving grace and mercy, it should not be surprising to anyone that in the pages of scripture, the pages of scripture are populated profusely with really bad people. Indeed, when speaking about the church, Jesus warned the apostles early on saying that the church on earth would be like a field in which both wheat and tares grew together. In fact, it would be like a flock that was grazing in which there were both sheep and goats. The truth of the mixed nature of the church is right here in the passage that's before us. You see, Luke doesn't whitewash the history of the early church, only telling the stories of the signs and the wonders of the miraculous healings, of the amazing harvest of souls, this amazing growth that was happening in the early days of the Christian church. Rather, Luke is honest. He's even gritty at times. He gives us, frankly, the good, the bad, and the ugly. Indeed, the mixed nature of the church is inevitably always going to be a normal part of the story. It will be a normal part of all of our existence until Christ comes back. It will always be a characteristic of the church in this age. And while that is not a fun truth to hear, it is a necessary one. We can have unrealistic, indeed unbiblical expectations about the church. We can become overly scandalized or overly surprised when something isn't perfect in our own congregation. So whatever your understanding about the church is, you need to be able to account for this kind of wildly incongruous events that could happen within the church, like what we see here in the passage before us. First, the first thing we see is Luke tells us about, frankly, the idyllic, almost heavenly way that these first Christians in Jerusalem lived together in the early days of the church. But then, secondly, he basically brings us back down to earth by giving us two examples of actual real people in that church. Both weren't perfect. in how they lived. I want us to consider this morning the idyllic first. This beautiful picture of the generosity and love of these first Christians living together as the church in Jerusalem. So let's consider the church. Now, interestingly, in our New Testament reading this morning, just in God's providence, we read Acts chapter 2. And we had already heard and we had already seen in our time in the Book of Acts so far that the early church's understanding of fellowship goes far beyond what we think about fellowship. We think about fellowship, a couple cookies and coffee. To them, the concept of fellowship was deeply holistic, including even their possessions. and their money. Remember again what we just heard read just a few minutes ago in the service. This is Acts chapter 2 verses 44 and 45. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all as any had need. Thus the opening words of our passage as we come into The end of Acts chapter 4, the opening words of our passage this morning are really just an echo of what we've already seen as far as how the church lives together. Look again at verses 32 through 35 and hear that echo. Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need." As we noted when we were in chapter two, what we have to get in our minds and be convinced of is that this is Christian koinonia. It's the Greek word for fellowship. This is Christian koinonia. This is Christian fellowship. This is not compulsory communism. But in saying that, and I know you all wanted me to say that, But in saying that, that doesn't make this passage any easier to hear and heed for affluent North Americans. In other words, just because this is not communism, that doesn't automatically mean that it is an endorsement of a materialistic capitalism either. Indeed, the Holy Spirit in preserving this account of the early church for us is not seeking to teach us an economics lesson. He's seeking to show us something about being part of the church of Jesus Christ. He's putting his finger, frankly, on our hearts. He's touching us where it really hurts, where we're sensitive. He's seeking to convict us. In fact, he's showing us what happens when love and commitment to the truth abounds so much in a church that that church can be described as being of one heart and soul. He's showing us how our priorities, corporately, our priorities, not just individually, but as a church, change when the main focus of the church is actually the proclamation of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In other words, when the focus is a gospel centered ministry that aims first and foremost at the salvation of souls. In fact, he's showing us the fruit of, as it says in the text, great grace, great grace being upon the whole church. You see, communism is a system invented by the corrupt minds of sinful men. It seeks to redistribute wealth by force. And every society that communism has ever been imposed upon ends up in pervasive poverty with more needy people than it started with. But I'm not here to defend Western materialistic capitalism. I'm here to defend Christian koinonia, true Christian fellowship. Christian koinonia, on the other hand, is the product of the Holy Spirit. It ends up helping those within the church who are in real need. And whenever the Spirit fills the church and pours out great grace upon us, the result is, as we read here, You see it right there at the beginning of verse 34, there was not a needy person among them. But let's, for a moment here, I want us to consider together, as we see it come out of the text, the characteristics of a church that abounds in true spirit rot, koinonia. What are the characteristics of that kind of church, this kind of church? the makeup of a church that abounds in this deep, holistic involvement in each other's lives within the church. Well, the first is that they are of one heart and soul. They are of one heart and soul. If you remember, now it's been read twice this morning, back in chapter 2, verse 42, we read that the whole church, do you remember, all of the church was together Unified together and we read they devoted themselves to the Apostles teaching and the fellowship to the breaking of the bread and the prayers Well here look at in verse 32. We read that the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul That is deep unity in the truths of the faith That's not a superficial and weak unity that has watered down the truth to get to a place of unity, but rather this is one that is soul and heart deep. This is not superficial. This is soul and heart deep because it is a unity in the most important truth of all, gospel truth. That's why they were of one heart. and one soul. This is the truth of the Christian faith. This is the truth of the apostolic doctrine. This is the truth of the faith that was once and for all delivered to the saints. You see, there is a unity that can be attained. We can get unity. There is a unity that can be attained at the expense of truth. But that's not the unity that's being described here. There's a type of unity that can bring people of different persuasions and even different faiths together in a common cause for a social good. There is that kind of unity, but that's not the kind of unity that's being described here. Rather, this is a unity that is wrought by the Spirit of God. This is a unity wrought by the Spirit of God which creates a single heart and soul united around the truth. And thus we read in verse 31, if you just look at the verse right before our passage, how did they have this unity? Because they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the Word of God with boldness. the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul. So this is a supernatural unity. It is unity based upon the confessed truth of the Word of God, and it is the work and it is the product of the Holy Spirit. In fact, there is no real and true Christian koinonia. There are social programs that abound, but there is not true Christian koinonia, what we're reading about here, apart from the Word and Spirit of God. And when the Spirit brings the church to a unity of belief and works those truths deep down into our lives, we are changed. Jesus said, as he prayed to the Father, sanctify them by thy Word. Thy Word is truth. The truth is what changes us. It's God's Word. that ultimately brings about change. It brings about a change like we see here. You see, the normal impulse that we all have is wanting to hoard and to keep our stuff for ourselves. But when the Spirit of God changes us, He changes that normal impulse that says, this is mine. This money is for me. And he changes that and it gives way to an unnatural love and generosity, which then leads to the second characteristic of a church abounding in spirit rot, koinonia, and that is that they hold their stuff with an open hand. They hold their stuff with an open hand. I want you to note in verse 32, there's a It's a very key phrase. It was a key way that Luke writes it. And it's confirmed, actually, what he says here. And the point I want to try to make right now, it's confirmed throughout the rest of the Book of Acts. It's confirmed throughout the rest of the New Testament, in fact. And that is what we read at the end of verse 32. And I'm going to emphasize it. And no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, that they had everything in common. In other words, it is not so much the actions, but the attitude that is being emphasized here. Again, it's not so much the actions, it is the attitude that is being emphasized here. They did have, I mean, what is assumed in this is that they did have things that belonged to them, but they had the spirit rot attitude of not considering those things to be their own. They had things, they had things like houses and stuff, but with that they had this spirit rod attitude, but those things are not my own. In our household we talk about holding the blessings and we often mean those material blessings. We talk about holding those blessings that God has given us with an open hand. You ever heard that phrase, hold those blessings with an open hand? It sounds like a contradiction. How do you hold it with an open hand? Well, it's an attitude. It's an acknowledgment. He gave them. He gave us these things in the first place. And therefore, they are not really our own, or at least for ourselves alone. But they are to be used for His glory. They are to be used in service of his kingdom. And when the church, when the people of God actually believe this, if we would believe the things we have are not my own, that's when the church begins to express true spirit rot, koinonia, true Christian fellowship. But think of it the other way. If you think that you, and I'm talking to you now, not just talking theoretically, if you think that by your own power, by your hard work, by your amazing skill, you have gotten all your stuff, you will naturally seek to retain that stuff, to hoard it, to keep it for yourself because you got it for yourself. Indeed, we need to note that this is kind of giving that's going on here, by the way, is not at all the kind of giving that we hear about in the news from like a Bill Gates or a Warren Buffett who give away fortunes that they couldn't spend if they had 10 lifetimes. This is Christian giving, and Christian giving always costs the giver. This isn't giving out of your excess. I've got two houses. I'll sell one and give it away. It's giving out of your need. It's giving out of not excess. It's giving out of what I've actually been given. That's a supernatural generosity. If you feel the pain of something like this as we talk about it, that's totally normal. Because we don't naturally want to give our stuff away. We don't naturally want to work for something and then give to someone who's in need. That's the work of the spirit. But it is also a fruit of a particular prioritization of the church. And that brings us to the third characteristic this morning. They focus, a church that is abounding in spirit rot, koinonia, is a church that focuses on the proclamation of the gospel. And I think it's important because this is not the way we think. It's important to notice that generous sharing of goods and care for the poor was not in conflict with the powerful proclamation of the gospel. I mean, do you see that there? It's not that they said, okay, we're going to be a church and we've got to figure out what kind of church do we want to be. Do we want to be a church that's really into the word, the ministry of the word, or do we want to be a church that really cares for the poor? Do you see? It wasn't in conflict at all. In fact, too often we think we need to replace that gracious gospel of salvation for sinners with what is called the social gospel that seeks to remedy social sins. And we think we need to do that if we are going to deal with the real issues of poverty and injustice. Those are real. It's no better to put our head in the sand and pretend like it doesn't exist. Those are real social issues. But I think what we need to see is this glimpse of the apostolic church here shows that an emphasis on the proclamation of the word resulted in, it did not retard, it resulted in a concern for the poor. And if we're going to be a congregation, if SRC is going to be a congregation that truly practices biblical koinonia, we do not need to lose our priority on the proclamation of the word. Again, the unity of heart and soul that we should long for, that's the product of a mutual love of the truth as it is in Jesus. As Christ is exalted among us, we're drawn to him and we're actually drawn closer to each other. Think about it this way. When we are convinced that the person that sits to my right or to my left, when I'm convinced that they are a true blood-bought brother or sister in Christ, my hands will naturally open to care for them when they are in true need. The same way my heart would go out for my own family, my heart goes out to my spiritual family. And an emphasis on the gospel will create that kind of attitude and conviction within us personally and within us as a congregation. You see, if the church's priority is preaching the gospel and ministering the word of God and a devotion to apostolic doctrine, that's what the early church was about. If that becomes our priority and we keep that first and foremost, if we are all desiring together the pure milk of the Word, then that creates a climate that helps assure us that at least most of those within the church are here for the right reasons. It helps ensure that my brother and sister in need is actually here because they're endeavoring to glorify God in their life. They're not just here to freeload. And so when a hard providence happens like will inevitably happen and has happened often. Someone loses their job or is hit with an expensive medical ordeal or something like a broken down car. Our hands and our hearts will be open to helping our spiritual family. But all these beautiful characteristics will only become a reality for us when we learn to live under the grace that they did. That brings us to the fourth characteristic I want us to see here. Again, comes right out of the passage in verse 33, as they lived under the principle of grace. In verse 33, we read, and great grace was upon them all. Now, this might not be very interesting to you, but there is actually a debate as to how this phrase is to be taken. And here's the kind of three options out there, in the end, I think they can all be harmonized, but does this mean that they were gracious to each other as an expression and as was being expressed in their generosity to each other? So was great grace just a part of the life of this church as they were generous to each other? Or does it mean great grace was upon them? In other words, they were granted favor from their neighbors there in Jerusalem, their friends and neighbors thought very highly of them. They were esteemed by all. That theme is also already talked about in the Book of Acts. Or is it that God's grace was upon them and thus all these characteristics were fruits of His grace? I think any of these understandings could fit in that context here, but it does seem likely that they lived, this is a church that lived consciously under the grace of God to them in Christ Jesus. That that was the pervasive principle that if you cut this church at any point, it bled this. God's grace. They had received grace and thus they were gracious to each other. They were a new society, and what marked this new society was grace permeated it. Sinners found forgiveness here. The hungry were fed here. The needy found help here. The principle of grace permeated it all. And where that is the case, when believers are living By that principle of grace, koinonia, biblical koinonia, biblical, true, holistic, biblical fellowship is going to be a reality. The church is never perfect in this age. We should strive in the spirit for this kind of love and generosity to be expressed in our midst. But at the end of the day, the church is still and always will be this side of glory. It will be a mix. Do you notice, coming right out of this amazing picture of the church, Luke immediately provides two contrasting examples of church members who either embodied these characteristics or who contradicted them. And those two members were Barnabas and Ananias, together with his wife, Sapphira. Look there for a second. This is going to be brief. I'm not going to treat this long. We'll be done here in a moment. But the connection of this ideal picture of the church with Barnabas as a godly example and Ananias as a bad example, it's made with a repeated phrase that you'll see there. Look at verse 35. And look at verse 37. And then look again at verse 2 of chapter 5. And that phrase is, laid it at the Apostles feet." You'll just see how that connects all of these together. Look at verses 36 and 37. They tell us that Barnabas sold his property and brought the money and laid it at the Apostles feet. That is, he was Barnabas. Luke is putting a face on it, not just talking in platitudes and Theoretically, he says there was really, look, here was an example of this. Barnabas is the very embodiment of biblical koinonia. He is a great example of the extent of the generosity and grace that was being extended in the early church there in Jerusalem. But the church is a mixed bag. And on the other hand, as we come into chapter 5, verses 1 through 11, tell us of Ananias, sold his property as well, but then lied about how much he had sold it for, and we're told about the fact that he only laid part of the money at the Apostle's feet. That is, and what Luke, by the Spirit, is doing for us, is he's giving us kind of an anti-example. This is, he was not a good example of biblical koinonia. He shows a begrudging attitude towards others, and he shows a love, not of God and the church, but a love of material possessions. He shows a heart bound by greed, not constrained by the love and grace of God. Now, do you notice as you read through this account, and again, we're not going to get detailed here, but as you read through it, it seems so clear that there was absolutely no compulsion for Ananias to sell his property and give all the money away. It's just not there at all. It was his own, as Peter affirms. This was yours to do with it as you wish. And so it seems that he sold his property for the wrong reason. Maybe he wanted to look good in the eyes of others. In other words, a false piety. And since it was not a true spirit generosity, he wasn't willing to give it all. He wanted people to believe that he was giving it all. That's what he wanted everyone to think. I sold it for X amount, here's X amount. He wanted to look good, and thus he lied about it. But that was not merely a little mess up. a little white lie, something he could do privately between him and his wife, and it wouldn't affect anything. Now, the text tells us this was satanic, and it had deadly consequences. In congregation, we need to take this matter as seriously as it is presented to us here in this passage. The love, it's not money. The love of money is the root of all evil. We underestimate the hold that material things have upon us, and we need to come to grips with how potentially destructive materialism can be in our lives and to our souls. This passage is hinting at the fact that the way that you handle your money, what you spend it on, how generous you are with it, how often you give what you give, the whole matter of tithing even, that's an indication of the state of your soul. Money can be a great blessing or it can be a great curse. Money is not a separate issue which has nothing to do with your soul. We're not allowed to just compartmentalize our lives and say, that just has nothing to do with my Christian faith, my actual walk with God. As is the case here, the handling of money involves spiritual issues. The Holy Spirit is involved. And to be frank, it is more important than any of us are comfortable admitting. I would urge you. to begin by God's enabling grace to free yourself from the love of money. The most effective way to free yourself from, as far as an action is concerned, is you start giving it away. Seek grace to not be so dependent on material things for your happiness. If you find that The only way I can be happy is by, and then you fill in the blank. And there is a deficiency in your spiritual life. Not that things aren't given so that we can take pleasure in them, but if that's the only way, and that's the primary way that you find pleasure, there's something wrong. It's a wake up call. Ask God to make you delight in him and in giving to his people. The Lord said, it is more blessed to give than to receive. Jesus says, it is more blessed to give than to receive. Now let me ask you, do you believe that? Do you really live like that? You need to come to see that in the end, I mean, they always say this, but they don't always say the second part. They always say, you can't take it with you. What this passage is telling us is, It just might take you with it. How do we really progress in being more generous and abounding in true biblical koinonia? It's not just a matter of saying, I'm going to just stop doing that. I'm going to pull myself up by my bootstraps. I'm going to do better in this area. The answer to this is the same as the answer to everything. that answer is ultimately going to be found in Christ. Paul, and I have a little bit of the passage for you, Paul really brings our focus to where it needs to be in this regard, as he recounts the Macedonian's generosity and grace in 2 Corinthians 8. And I want us to end this morning just by hearing these words. Hear these words, the word of God penetrating deep in your soul and taking you exactly where you need to be, to who you need to go to, for these graces to begin to become a reality in your life. How do I become more generous? How do I become more open-hearted? How do I develop this attitude that the things that I have are not my own? Well, the ultimate answer is by conformity to the image of Christ. And you'll see exactly why as I read this. We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia. For in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints. And this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then, by the will of God, to us. But as you excel in everything, in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you, see that you excel in this act of grace also. I say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine. And here it is. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that by His poverty you might become rich. In this matter, you are being called to nothing other than Christ-likeness. He gave for you. He who was rich became poor, so that in Him, you might become rich. That is the key to the whole matter. That was first and foremost in the early church's thinking. They were passionate about seeking Christ. They wanted to be conformed to his image and likeness. And that was why they lived like this. Let's pray together. Our Father in heaven, thank you for the gift of your Son. When you looked to us in our need, you did not withhold, but you gave all. You gave your one and only begotten Son. O Lord, May Your grace so permeate us, be so great upon us, that our lives begin to reflect something of Your nature in this way. And so, Lord, continue to stir our hearts up today. Show us, by Your grace and by the enabling of Your Spirit, how in this area we can become more like Christ. We ask it in His name.