Chapter 5 Discussion

1
Chapter 5 Discussion

• Chapter 5 Verses 1-16
• What is the root of the sin Ananias and Sapphira
  committed?
• They self-seeking pride wanting credit and honor
  similar to Barnabas. Covetousness produces only
  negative results like theft, lying, murder,
  harmful lusts, and apostasy. Only sorrow comes
  from covetousnessand eventually death, if it is
  allowed to dominate a person's mind.
• What did Satan do?
• He moved them toward self-satisfaction to the
  point (the actual sin) that they lied to take
  credit for a greater sacrifice than they actually
  made. This is Satans modus operandi. He will
  always move us in the direction of
  self-satisfaction at the expense of obedience to
  God, service to God, or service to others, so
  that we elevate ourselves over the others.
• Was GODs judgment harsh?
• Peter did not think so. He spoke of the sin as
  inspired of Satan, and the passage makes clear
  that both Ananias and Sapphira were fully aware
  of what they were doing (verses 2, 9). Conscious
  deceit is spiritually disastrous because trust is
  completely violated. They should have known
  better. God interpreted their action as tempting
  Him, seeing how much they could get away with.
  Their way of reaching their goals is so opposed
  to the gospel that God could not allow it to go
  unchallenged it would have set the whole mission
  of the church off course. Honesty and integrity
  are the standard of God's way of life. Sin is no
  light thing with God.

2
Chapter 5 Discussion

• Chapter 5 Verses 1-16
• How should we give-2 Cor 96,7
• Each man should give what he has decided in his
  heart to give, not reluctantly or under
  compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
• How should we manage giving? Mt 61 and Luke 14
  13,14
• Keep acts of generosity private - away from
  public observation, and avoid giving recognition
  to those who do give out of generosity
• Is the God of the 1st century different in his
  doling out punishment than the God of today?
• No-its only a timing issue as to when Gods
  judgment will be seen but we must understand
  Gods measurement of our performance is very
  high.
• Compare the actions of Ananias and Sapphira with
  Christians today. Did they go to Hell?
• Not necessarily but it shows that God has a high
  standard for us as well and will hold us to
  account for our actions.

3
Chapter 5 Discussion

• Chapter 5 Verses 1-16
• How should we give-2 Cor 96,7
• Each man should give what he has decided in his
  heart to give, not reluctantly or under
  compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
• How should the church manage giving? Mt 61 and
  Luke 14 13,14
• Keep acts of generosity private - away from
  public observation, and avoid giving recognition
  to those who do give out of generosity
• Is the God of the 1st century different in his
  doling out punishment than the God of today? See
  also Lev 102 and Jos 725 and 2Sam 67
• No-its only a timing issue as to when Gods
  judgment will be seen but we must understand
  Gods measurement of our performance is very
  high.
• In 53 we see Satan again. Can you give similar
  examples.
• Read 513 There was great fear because of what?
  Discuss.

4
Chapter 5 Discussion Continued

• Chapter 5 Verses 17-28
• Lets look at the Angel of the Lord . Who / What
  is the angel of the Lord? The angel of the Lord
  is mentioned in the Bible fifty-nine times in
  fifty-eight verses, and is found throughout
  eleven books of the Old Testament and three of
  the New.
• The precise identity of the "angel of the Lord
  is not specifically give in the Bible. However,
  there are many important "clues" as to his
  identity. The angel of the Lord speaks as God,
  identifies Himself with God, and exercises the
  responsibilities of God (Genesis 167-12 21
  17-18 2211-18 Exodus 32 Judges 21-4 523
  611-24 133-22 2 Samuel 2416 Zechariah 112
  31 128). In several of these appearances,
  those who saw the angel of the Lord feared for
  their lives because they had "seen the Lord."
  Therefore, it is clear that the angel of the Lord
  is a theophany, that is an appearance of God in
  physical form.
• Sanhedrin consisted of 70-100 (probably 71) and
  they were considered the supreme Jewish court.
• When they saw the apostles teaching in the
  courtyard again, what was the reaction of the
  captain of the guard
• Fear that they would be stoned by the crowd and
  probably fear of God as well because here were
  the men that escaped from the jail by some
  unknown means.

5
Chapter 5 Discussion Continued

• Chapter 5 Verses 29-42
• Gamaliel was a well known teacher of the Law and
  who even taught the apostle Paul before he was a
  believer. What was his thought process.
• The success or failure of a movement would
  reflect its validity.  It was difficult for a
  rational moderate like Gamaliel to easily dismiss
  the claims of the Apostles in view of the
  miracles being done under his very nose.
• Judas the Galilean may have been the leader that
  started the Zealots. Jesus, Theudas, together
  with Judas' (grand)son Menahem, were called
  Messiahs. Note the grouping of all three and
  that two of them died without any verification of
  their being the Messiah
• The Apostles were flogged (39 lashes) and then
  did what?
• Left rejoicing and again disobeyed the Sanhedrin
  and continued to preach
• Acts 238 gives two basic requirements for
  receiving the Holy Spirit-What are they?
• 1) repentance and 2) faith in the sacrifice of
  Christ. (Baptism is an outward confession of this
  faith in Christ's sacrifice.)

6
Chapter 5 Discussion Continued

• Chapter 5 Verses 29-42
• What is repentance?
• Repentance is a deep and genuine feeling of
  remorse over having committed sins, bringing
  about the suffering and death of Jesus Christ. It
  is accompanied by an urgent desire to make the
  necessary changes in our life so we avoid
  committing the same sins again. In other words,
  true repentance brings about an earnest desire to
  obey God. In turn, this earnest desire causes us
  to begin to make changes in our lifestyle to
  conform to God's commandments.
• A truly repentant person will immediately begin
  striving to obey God. The changes that the
  individual makes in his life are the "fruits"
  that demonstrate that his repentance is genuine.
  This does not mean that the repentant sinner
  obeys God perfectly.
• What does the obedience mentioned in this
  scripture (532) refer to- obeying God's command
  to preach the gospel, rather than obeying God's
  laws.
• Proponents of this explanation argue that Peter's
  statement came about because the authorities
  called the apostles into account for disobeying
  their command not to preach about Jesus. This
  derives from Peter's comment in verse 29, "We
  ought to obey God rather than men.
• There are a number of problems with this
  interpretation. First, it ignores the clear
  requirements God lays down for receipt of the
  Holy Spiritrepentance and faith in the sacrifice
  of Christ. Nowhere in the Scripture does God
  require the preaching of the gospel as a
  prerequisite for receiving His Spirit. Rather,
  the power of the indwelling Spirit of God
  inspired and motivated the apostles to preach the
  gospel after they had received the Spirit (Acts
  24). Furthermore, this interpretation ignores
  the overall thrust and context of Peter's
  statement (Acts 530-31).