In Acts 5:1-11, we see God bless the church with protection and purify the church in a shocking way.
Ananias and Sapphira where outwardly trying to look like Barnabas from Chapter 4 but, inwardly, they were the opposite. Where Barnabas was giving and generous, they chose to hold back for themselves.
A repeated story
After an intro sentence (verse 1)
Then an outro sentence (verse 11)
Pastor Erin’s theory
Erin’s theory is that Ananias and Sapphira were not Christians but, rather, trying to worm their way into the early church to cause problems and stop the growth of the church.
Proof #1 (verse 3) - Peter asks them way Satan has controlled their hearts to lie to the Holy Spirit. This seems to point to the potential that Satan was controlling them in order to give them influence and give Satan a way in to the church.
Proof #2 - When people are killed instantly in the bible, they are not God-fearing. In contrast, many God-fearing people are forgiven and restored by God (Peter, King David, etc.)
Proof #3 - Ananias and Sapphire are killed for their sin. Believers sins are already paid for by Christ’s death on the cross.
As believers, God gives us grace. Christ has already paid the penalty for our sings. God does, however, not want us to have one foot in the world and one foot in the church. He wants us to be all in for him.
