Sermon Tone Analysis

Overall tone of the sermon

This automated analysis scores the text on the likely presence of emotional, language, and social tones. There are no right or wrong scores; this is just an indication of tones readers or listeners may pick up from the text.
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Agreeableness
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Tone of specific sentences

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Emotion
Anger
Disgust
Fear
Joy
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Language
Analytical
Confident
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Social Tendencies
Openness
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Anger
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Main Idea
The Gospel comes with two sharp edges
This passage of scripture and the formulation of the main idea of the text got me thinking about swords.
I love swords… even at age 40.
All kids love swords.
I bet you did when you were younger.
Want me to prove it?
Think back to when you were in elementary school and you were out playing in the woods or on the playground with friends.
When you found a nice, sturdy stick, what did it automatically become?
That’s right… when you picked it up off the ground, that simple stick was instantly transformed into one of the mightiest swords in all the land!
You know it’s true.
So, it got me wondering about the nature of a double-edged sword.
As you know, there are many single-edged swords like the katana, so what were the reasons for making one with two sharp edges?
Better for thrusting attacks
better penetration of armor
keeping the enemy from grabbing the blade
allows the user to swing both ways
This also made me think of Hebrews 4:12, which says:
So, we see that the Word of God has some of the advantages listed above.
It thrusts to the core of our being, separating good from bad, holiness from sinfulness, and truth from error.
It is also dangerous to the enemy, so as to be cut by its power, no matter where they attempt to grab it.
And, as we will see today, the passage of scripture will do just that.
Outline & Passage
- The Penalty for Lying to the Spirit [vv.1-11]
- The Restoration and Healing from the Spirit [vv.12-16]
The Penalty for Lying to the Spirit
Ananas & Sapphira lie about their giving.
The very first word used here is BUT.
Why you ask?
Well, have you said to your spouse, “I love you, but...”?
How did that work out for you?
Yea, that’s what I thought.
The word but connects this section with the section before it.
Meaning, as opposed to the generosity, genuineness, and honesty of Barnabas, these two were doing something different.
As many were doing at that time, they laid the proceeds at the feet of the Apostles.
This would have been another example of radical generosity, however, they decided to keep part of the profits for themselves despite telling the Apostles that it was 100% of the profits.
Why did they do this?
Who knows!
Perhaps they needed some of the money to live on.
Nothing wrong with that.
We all need money to put food on the table.
Perhaps they also wanted to show their generosity to the community.
Again, there isn’t anything technically wrong with that, however, doing that will always muddy the waters.
Purposefully showing your gift-giving begins to reveal the true motivations of the heart.
When you start to show your giving to others, there is an easy temptation to make the gift about yourself, rather than about meeting the needs of others and honoring God.
Unfortunately for these two, they went to the extreme and lied about their giving.
What they did was sell their property for X amount of money, then present less than X amount of money to the Apostles while saying that it is the full X amount.
This clearly shows that they wanted the praise of the people and recognition of being overly generous.
It was selfish giving meant to attain praise for themselves rather than glory to God, which was no different than the Pharisees belting long-winded prayers in public for their own glory rather than God’s.
This was a boneheaded move.
And, as we see, this was a far worse offense than the Pharisee’s prayers, because it was a bold-faced lie… not just to the Apostles, but to God Himself.
Peter calls Ananias to the carpet through a miracle.
We often overlook this miracle in the Bible, because it is so subtle.
Peter knew this couple was lying.
The implication from the text is that the Holy Spirit made this known to Peter.
How?
Because Peter (and the others) were about the business of being filled with the Spirit.
As a result, He imparted supernatural knowledge in this particular instance.
Knowing they were lying, he quickly called them on it, saying, “Why, bro?
Wasn’t the property yours to do whatever you wanted with it?
Wasn’t the profit yours to do whatever you wanted to do with it?”
The Penalty Shows The Reality of the Human Heart
Then, Peter’s comments reveal two important truths about the human heart:
1- Satan can influence it.
“Why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit?”
These are heavy words.
Peter knows all about how this works.
In his zeal to protect his Master and attempt to stop Jesus’ arrest, Jesus’ reply was, “Get behind me, Satan!”
Peter also knew that Satan had influenced Judas to betray Jesus for money.
And here, the Spirit is showing Peter that the same Enemy is at work here, only this time, the price Ananias must pay for this lie is his own life.
Notice, however, that Satan didn’t make him do it, but rather, Satan influenced his heart.
There was a spiritual attack that targeted the passion and desire of the heart.
2- Your sin can influence it.
Though Satan played a role, Ananias was still held responsible for his actions.
Peter made this clear by saying, “Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart?”
This shows us that we are still inclined to act upon our own sinful desires.
At the end of the day, Ananias lied because he wanted some of the money from the sale, and he wanted praise for being generous.
Period.
So, Ananias can’t simply say that ‘the devil made me do it’ and he can’t claim human error in miscalculating the real profit.
The Spirit has revealed the true intentions of his heart and his judgment was swift and final.
The Penalty Called People to Fear God
Ananias was struck dead and immediately buried.
At face value, this seems rather harsh.
The man lied and he dies for it?
Dude.
There is no escaping the difficulty of this passage.
This was divine judgment.
Peter didn’t pronounce a curse on Ananias.
When Peter called him out on his lie, he immediately fell to the ground as dead as 3-day-old roadkill.
This causes us to ask some serious questions.
Why was his judgment so severe?
Isn’t this just a little unfair?
Why didn’t he have a chance for repentance?
The only answer we are given is this: “You have not lied to man but to God,” and in His perfect judgment, He decided to act immediately.
Maybe Ananias was to serve as an example of God’s complete hatred of sin and wrath against it.
This is certainly possible, given the crowd’s reaction.
Great fear came upon the whole church, so this was meant to communicate to them specifically.
What we do see is a swift burial, that is just as immediate as his death.
Clearly, the rest of the crowd acknowledged this as a judgment since they wasted no time in putting him 6 feet under.
It was over in less than 3 hours!
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