Lying to the Church is Lying to God (Acts 5:1-16)

Are you tempted to put on a mask of spiritual hypocrisy [lying] in order to not expose who you truly are (Mt 23:5, 25; 2 Cor 5:12)?

• How important is unity (Ac 2:44; 4:32; Ps 133:1; Jn 17:21, 23; Eph 4:3; Mt 12:25; 1 Cor 1:10; 6:7; Jas 4:1)?
• Why was the hypocrisy dealt with publicly and harshly (Ac 5:5, 10)?
• Can you call out a hypocrite? How long can one live with hypocrisy? Are hypocrites in the church?
• Do you fear your sin being found out (Num 32:23)? How is the church affected (Mt 13:25)?
• If this happened today, would the church try to cover it up?
• Is killing people making an offering a church growth strategy (Ac 5:14; 6:7; 9:31; 11:21, 24)?
• Does God "kill" believers/Christians (1 Cor 11:30-32; 1 Jn 5:16; 1 Pet 4:17)? Why (Mt 5:8; 2 Cor 11:2-3; Rev 2:16; 3:19)?
• Should the church tolerate sin to make unbelievers feel welcome (Mt 18:15; 2 Cor 13:2)?

1. What's wrong with what Ananias did (Ac 5:1-4; Eph 4:27)? Why did he do it (Ac 4:34-37)? What was his motivation (2 Cor 8:12; 9:7)? What % of your total assets belong to Jesus? Why is lying a serious sin (Ac 5:5-6; Exo 20:16-17; Rev 21:8)? Other sins (Rom 6:23a)?

2. What did Peter ask Sapphira and why (Ac 5:8-9)? Did Peter kill her (Ac 5:10)? Are Ananias and Sapphira in heaven (Jn 14:21; Mt 7:21-23)? Why did "great fear" come upon all who heard about this (Ac 5:5, 11)?

3. How did this affect the church (Ac 5:5, 11)? What do you learn about the gravity of sin? The sacredness of the human conscience (Ac 24:16)? The necessity of church discipline?

4. Why did they keep gathering at Solomon's Colonnade/Porch (Ac 5:12; 2:46; 3:11)? Why did some not dare to "join" the Christians while others did (Ac 5:13-14; Jn 3:19)? Who were healed (Ac 5:15-16) Does God still grant miraculous healing today?

From the beauty of unity and sharing to the ugliness of dishonesty and lying:

• Sinful pretense (Ac 5:1-2).
• Spiritual perception (Ac 5:3-4).
• Swift punishment (Ac 5:5-10). Shockingly sudden, swift and severe.
• Solemn purging (Ac 5:5, 11; Mt 18:15ff). Holy terror, holy fear.

5 essentials of an evangelistic church. The purpose of the church in every age (Ac 1:8; 4:28; 520). 

1. Purity (Ac 5:5, 11, 13-14; Mt 5:8; 18:15; Lk 17:3; Eph 5:11; 1 Tim 5:20; Tit 1:13; 1 Pet 4:17; Rev 3:19). To be transformed you must know that God will deal with your sin. The purity of the church is critical to its evangelistic testimony.
2. Power (Ac 5:12, 15-16; 1:8; 2 Tim 1:7). 
3. Persecution (Ac 5:17-18) is inevitable and predictable.