Would you turn back to Acts chapter
5? I've entitled this message, Keeping
Back. Keeping back. And I don't think any of us have
ever read this passage of scripture and not felt frightened when
we see what was done. And I couldn't help but thinking
about how many preachers have tried to use this passage of
scripture to inspire people to give more. Look in verse five, Ananias hearing
these words fell down and gave up the ghost and great fear came
on all them that heard these things. Verse 11, after Zephara died
and great fear came upon all the church and upon as many as
heard these things, and fear comes upon me as well." Now,
this story cannot be understood apart from the man named Barnabas. You'll notice verse one of chapter
five starts with a but. Well, we got to read these last
two verses of Acts chapter four and Joseph, who by the apostles
was surnamed Barnabas, which is being interpreted the son
of consolation or the son of encouragement to Levite and of
the country of Cyprus having land, sold it and brought the
money and laid it at the apostles' feet. Now, Barnabas heard the
gospel and he believed. And he was a man that gave so
much encouragement to the apostles that they gave him a new name.
He's no longer called Joseph, but Barnabas, a son of encouragement,
a son of consolation, a son of comfort. He was obviously a man
who is held in high esteem by the apostles. And then we see
this man selling his land. He wasn't required to. He wasn't
asked to. He did this out of the impulse
of a loving heart. He sold all that he had and he
took the price of what he had and he laid it at the apostles
feet. What trust this man demonstrated, but he sold everything and was
left with nothing. That's very significant. He didn't
keep back anything. He sold everything and was left
with nothing. He was like that widow who put
her two mites into treasury. And the Lord said, I say unto
you that this woman, two mites is not much, two cents. She has
given more than they all because she gave all her living, even
all that she had, and she was left with nothing but complete
dependence upon the Lord God to take care of her. Now, Barnabas
does the same thing. He gives all. He's left with nothing but complete
dependence. Now, a man does not trust Christ if
he has anything left to trust. Think about that. A man does
not trust Christ if he has anything left to trust. You only trust Christ when you're
completely dependent upon him. He does everything to save you
and you're completely 100% dependent upon him. Now, if you keep back anything,
that's not faith. In 2 Timothy 1, 12, Paul said,
I know whom I believed, and I'm persuaded that he is able to
keep that which I've committed to him against that day. Now, understand this, a belief
in works in any way is a failure to commit. You're not committed. If you look to anything, if you
keep back anything and trust that along with faith in Christ,
that is a failure to commit. You have only committed when
you look to him only. That's when you commit. It's
kind of like people have mutual funds and they say, well, if
this one doesn't work, this will work. And they put their money
in different funds. But then there's somebody who puts all
of his funds in one place and he commits to that. He doesn't
have mutual funds. He doesn't have a plan A or plan
B. He's completely committed to this one fund. If it's successful,
he's successful. If it fails, he fails. But he's
completely dependent upon that one thing. Now that's what it
is to trust the Lord Jesus Christ. You Look to Him only, and He
really is all you have. You have no other hope. Now let me show you another example
of this in Scripture. Turn with me to 2 Samuel 23.
2 Samuel 23. Now these be the Last words of David. These are
David's dying words, and that makes them so solemn. This is
what he's saying, knowing he's going to soon meet God in judgment. And look what he says in verse
five. He says, although my house be
not so with God. Yet in spite of that, he has
made with me an everlasting covenant. ordered in all things and sure
for this is all my salvation and all my desire, although he
make it not to grow. That's an unusual way to end
that verse, isn't it? Although he make it not to grow.
Now hear what David, the man after God's own heart has to
say. He could have been thinking on his deathbed, I'm the man
who killed Elias that God used to save Israel. He could have
been thinking on his deathbed, I've become by God's grace, the
mightiest king in the world. I'm the most powerful man in
the world. He could have thought on his deathbed, I'm the sweet
psalmist of Israel. I'm the one God has used to write
the Psalms. He could have said on his deathbed,
God called me a man after his own heart. What a title. He could
have thought things like that. Or he could have thought about
what happened with Bathsheba and how he had her husband murdered. He could have thought about how
he went into the land of the Philistines for 14 months and
acted like he served the king of death. There's all kinds of
things he could have thought about. He could have remembered
what happened when he numbered the children of Israel without
the atonement money and the Lord killed 70,000 people as a result. He could have thought a lot of
bad things on his dying bed. He could have thought a lot of
good things. You could have thought a lot of bad things, but I love
the instruction he gives us. First thing he says is, although
my house be not so with God. Now, I realize that this could
certainly be reference to his children, his relatives, and
he certainly had a dysfunctional home. to say the least. He had brothers or his sons murdering
other sons. One of his sons raped his daughter.
You could go on and on. He had all kinds of problems.
He had Absalom going against him. And after that, he had another
guy, one of his other sons rise up against him. I mean, he had
all kinds of problems in his home. He had problems with his
wives. Although my house be not so with
God, and God told him. After that, situation with Uriah
and Bathsheba, he said the sword is never going to depart from
your house. You're going to have this the rest of your life. And
so that might have been what he was talking about. But I think
more than anything else he's talking about this house. This house. Although this house
be not so with God. He looked at his own sinfulness
And he said regarding himself, I think he would have entered
in with Paul when he was talking about this house, this body,
although it be not so with God. He knew exactly what Paul meant
when he said, oh, wretched man that I am, who shall deliver
me from the body of this death? That's the house he was talking
about. Although my house be not so with God. Would you have to
make that confession? Be honest. Although my house
be not so with God. Yet, yet, in spite of that, nevertheless,
although my house be not so with God. That's talking about total
depravity, isn't it? That's what he's talking about more than
anything else. Total depravity. His own total depravity. Not the
doctrine of total depravity, but his total depravity. That's
what he was thinking about. Although my house Be not so with
God, yet hath he made with me an everlasting covenant. You know what that is? That's unconditional election. Yet, although there's nothing
about me that would cause him to make this choice, my house
is not so with God, yet hath he made with me everlasting covenant. Unconditional election. And what
does he say next? Ordered in all things and sure. Now what made it sure? The blood
of the everlasting covenant. That's mentioned in Hebrews chapter
13, verse 20. This is why this covenant is
sure. This is why it's ordered in all
things because of the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. He shed
his precious blood for everybody included in that covenant and
they must be saved. Their salvation is sure. Somebody that Christ has died
for, they can't run the risk of the hazard of the possibility
of being anything but saved. It's Christ that died. What else
seems to be said? It's ordered in all things. There's
Christ's effectual atonement. And you know what he says about
this? Look, he says, and this is all my salvation. It's all my salvation. It's all
my desire. All my salvation is found in
this. And it's all I want. It's all I desire. That's irresistible
grace. That's what God did for him.
He made, he saw this is irresistible. Oh, this is irresistible to me.
This thing of knowing that my house is not so with God, yet
he made with me an everlasting covenant ordered in all things
and sure by, this is irresistible. And then he makes this last statement
that I think is kind of an unusual statement, though he make it
not to grow. though he make it not to grow.
And you know what David said when he made that statement?
He said, I'm just as bad as I ever was. I've not grown better. I'm just
as bad as I ever was. You know, not many people will
make that admission. Now, I have something that I
didn't have. I've got a new heart that loves
Christ. and I wanna follow him, I love
him, I love his person, I do. I'm not saying I'm no different
in that sense. I love the Lord Jesus Christ. There was a time
when I didn't. But I know that my old man is just as bad as
it ever was. It's not grown, it's not become
better. And the reason that I need to be preserved by God is because
of this. I've got to have him preserve
me. in order for me to persevere, because look at me. You know,
in that statement, David really gives what we call the five points
of grace, or the doctrine of grace, right there in that statement. Now, David, he didn't look anywhere
but Christ. On his dying bed, he wasn't looking
anywhere else. He was looking to Christ This
is all my salvation and it is all my desire. What do you have
to recommend you to God, David? After all, you're a man after
God's own heart. You're the sweet psalmist of Israel. You're the
giant killer. You're the beloved. What do you
have to recommend yourself to God? Nothing. All my salvation
and all my desire is found in the everlasting covenant He made
with me for Christ's sake. ordered in all things, and sure,
because of the blood of Christ. If you would have asked David,
what's your hope before God? He'd say with the songwriter,
when from the dust of death I rise to take my mansions in the skies,
even then shall this be all my plea. that Jesus lived and died
for me. Now that is the hope of every
believer. When Barnabas gave all, he was
left with nothing but complete dependence, same dependence that
David had. He kept back nothing. Back to our text in Acts chapter
5. Now Ananias and Sapphira saw
how Joseph was esteemed so highly that the apostles gave him another
name, Barnabas. And they thought, I want that
honor. I want that praise. I want the
high opinion of the apostles. They saw this and they thought,
this is exactly what I want. They coveted the esteem and the
approval and the praise of men. They didn't have a new heart,
I don't think. They did want the praise of men. They didn't understand that song
that we sing, Rich as I heed not, nor man's empty praise,
Thou, my inheritance, now and always, Thou and Thou only, first
in my heart, High King of heaven, my treasure thou art." They didn't
understand that. They were of that number who
loved the praise of men more than the praise of God. They
were that number that sought the honor of men and didn't seek
that honor that comes from God only. They saw the honor that Barnabas
received and they tried to counterfeit it so they would receive the
same honor. They tried to buy favor. You see that? They tried to pay
for favor. If I do this, then I'll get that. It was an act of deception, but
this is law. They were trying to by favor. And so they sold their property.
Let's say they got $200,000 for it and they laid $100,000 down
at the apostles feet. But it was an act of deception.
They were telling the apostles we sold this property for $100,000
when in fact they'd sold it for $200,000 and they kept back part
of the price. Now, look what Peter says to
them in verse 3 after this act of deception. Wouldn't you hate it if you were
living in the apostles' times and the apostles could look into
your heart and see what you're doing? I thought, I'm glad we don't
have to deal with that now. I'm happy about that. You know, Paul
said he had strength or the ability to deliver such a one to Satan
for the destruction of the flesh. Well, I wouldn't want to be around
Paul. I'm glad nobody has those gifts now, aren't you? I'm real
glad about that. But they had it back then. And
I guess that would have scared everybody to death. I mean, everybody,
when they saw him drop down dead, fear came upon everybody. But
look what Peter says. But Peter said, Ananias, Why
hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost and
to keep back part of the price of the land? Now while it remained,
Was it not thine own? Nobody told you to sell that
land. And after it was sold, was it not in thine own power?
You could have given $15, you could have given $1,500, you
could have given anything you want. There wasn't any law put
on you as to how much you were to give nor were you ever required
to give the entire price of the land. Nobody asked you to do
this. Why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? Thou
hast not lied unto men, but unto God. Now here is a passage of
scripture where God the Holy Spirit is called God. When you
lied to the Holy Ghost, you did not lie unto men, you lied unto
God. Now the sin which they committed
was the sin of hypocrisy, pretense. pretending to give all when they
really did not so that they could have the approval of men. They were seeking to pay for
this position. They desired, that's law, isn't
it? They were seeking to buy, to earn this position. All that
is is salvation by works. We will do this and pay this
in order to have this high standing. Romans chapter four, verse four
says, to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace,
but of debt. If salvation is in any way dependent
upon anything you or I do, God is our debtor. He owes us and
that shall never be. They were hypocrites. They were
actors. They were pretending to be what they really were not.
And Christ hates hypocrisy. He hates it. I want you to think
of the difference with which the Lord treated the leper. When he comes into Christ's presence,
falls down, Lord, if you will, you can make me clean. Scripture
says he was moved. with compassion. What about that
woman who was taken in adultery in the very act? He said, well,
woman, where are those non-accusers? Hath no man condemned thee? Neither
do I condemn thee. What about that woman who was
a sinner and was weeping at his feet and broke the ointment? Your sins, which are many, are
forgiven you. Think about the way he was with
the thief on the cross today. Today, you'll be with me in paradise. You gotta think of the way he
was. I've tried to picture this in my mind. When Zacchaeus was up
in that tree, and he looked up in that tree at Zacchaeus, I
know the scripture doesn't say this, but I kind of think he
smiled. Zacchaeus, this is somebody I elected. This is somebody I
came to save. I can see him smile. Zacchaeus,
you make haste, right there, come down. For today I must abide
in my house. Now you think of the way the
Lord talked with so many people like that, but look at the way
he talked to the Pharisees. You hypocrites, you generation
of vipers, How can you escape the damnation of hell? That's
the way he talked to them. There wasn't any gentleness. There wasn't any slack for those
fellows. The Lord hates that. Now hypocrisy is the driving
force behind man's religion. You see, you have this word in
the scripture, feigned. It means hypocritical. You have
feigned sinners. famed sinners. Are you a sinner?
Well, sure, I'm a sinner. Everybody's a sinner. Tell them
how God saves sinners and say, that's not fair. I don't agree
with that. That's not fair. That's not fair
for God to choose some and pass by others. That's not fair for
Christ to only die for the elect. That's not fair. And when we
make that statement, that's not fair. What we're saying is he
owes that to us. We don't really, if it's not
fair, You don't really believe you're a sinner. You're a famed
sinner. You're not a real sinner. You're a famed sinner. You're
a fake sinner. You're a pretend sinner. You're a hypocrite sinner.
You're not the real thing. Because if you were the real
thing, you would not say that's not fair. You would believe whatever
he does to you is fair. You believe that. If God sends
me to hell, it's so fair, it's so right, it's so just. I don't want him to, but if he
does, what righteousness, what justice he displays. God is right. Famed sinners, fake sinners.
And then there's famed faith. Fake faith. You look to Christ
only? Yes, I look to Christ only. No
doubt. I have no other hope but Christ. I look to him alone. I say that,
but when it comes to assurance of salvation, well, how good
am I doing? I look to myself, I look to my
works, I look to my fill in the blank, whatever it is. That's
called feigned faith. It's not real faith because real
faith looks to Christ only. It doesn't look anywhere else.
You really believe that the only hope you have, here's what you're
relying on, is that everything God requires of you, he looks
to Christ for. There's feigned love, fake love. Sure, I love God. would describe
his character, and you find that real quick, that they don't really
love that God. Huh, not that God. Well, I love God, but not
that God, not your God. Well, that's called feigned love. It's fake. Hypocrisy. Now, do you know a sure gauge
of hypocrisy? The surest gauge of hypocrisy
is judging other people. That lets me know of the Pharisee
within me right now. The surest mark of hypocrisy
is you feeling qualified to sit in judgment on anybody about
anything. I think of what the Lord said
to his people, to his disciples. He was speaking to his disciples
at this time. And he said to them, judge not
that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge,
you shall be judged. And with what measure you meet,
it'll be meted out to you again. And why beholdest thou the moat
that's in thy brother's eye, and you don't see the beam, the
log that's in your own eye? Hypocrite. Well, it speaks powerfully,
doesn't it? Hypocrite. I'm the one he's speaking to.
Hypocrite. Look what Paul says in Romans
chapter two, verse one. Let's start in verse 29 of chapter
one, being filled, he's describing these people being filled with
all unrighteousness, fornication. wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness,
full of envy, murder, debate. Deceit, malignity, whisperers,
backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of
evil things, disobedient to parents, without understanding, covenant
breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful, who knowing
the judgment of God that they which commit such things are
worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in
them that do them. Now, would you agree that anybody
described like that, they're bad people? Sure you would. Sure you would. Therefore, thou
art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest. For wherein
thou judgest another, you condemn yourself, for you the judge do
the same things. What is the surest sign of being
a hypocrite? Being a judge. Now, anytime I believe myself,
I guess I don't believe this very often. I say I do, but anytime
I really believe myself to be a real sinner, I feel unqualified
to make a judgment with regard to anybody about anything. Now I realize people take, you
know, if you hear a gospel that's a false gospel and you say it's
a false gospel, you shouldn't be so judgmental. No, you should
be. You should be, and that's it. The Lord did say, judge righteous
judgment. And I have to judge whether what
I'm hearing is the truth. There's no doubt about that.
But with regard to looking... in moral superiority over anybody
at any time. If I know myself to be a sinner,
I know I'm totally unqualified to do that. And when I am judging
somebody at that time, I'm a feigned sinner. And I have fake faith. It's contrary to the gospel.
Now, what were Ananias and Sapphira guilty of doing when they put
down half the, however much money it was. Lying? Yeah, they were
guilty of that. Hypocrisy? Yes, they were guilty
of that. Trying to buy favor? Yes, they
were guilty of that. Works mongers? Yes, they were
guilty of that. But I believe the main problem
is seen in this second verse. Verses one and two, but a certain
man named Ananias with Sapphira, his wife, sold the position and
kept back part of the price. The only other time this word
is used is translated purloining. Servants purloining, that means
stealing, loafing on the job, stealing time, stealing money,
embezzling. That's what the word means. Now, faith in Christ holds on
to nothing. It's faith alone. It's not faith
and, it's faith alone. You don't keep back anything
when you truly look to Christ alone. Now, what is meant by
faith alone? Well, turn to Hebrews chapter
11. Now faith, verse one, faith is
the substance of the ground of things hoped for. Now, let me
tell you what I'm hoping for. I'm hoping that on judgment day,
God looks at me and sees me as somebody without sin, without
hypocrisy. Like we were looking this morning
in Psalm 24, somebody with clean hands and a pure heart that's
never lifted up his soul into vanity nor sworn deceitfully.
That's what I'm hoping. It's called justification. I'm
hoping I stand before God justified. And the only ground of that is
what Christ did. And look what he says next. Faith
is the substance, the ground of things hoped for, the evidence
of things not seen. Now, I cannot see that that's
my standing before God. I cannot look at myself and say,
yep, clean hands and pure heart. No, the opposite is true. Filthy
hands and an impure heart. That's the way I feel about myself.
What's the evidence that I do have clean hands and a pure heart?
What is the evidence that I am justified before God and sanctified? Faith in Christ. Looking to Him
only right now while I'm talking to you, looking to Him only as
the only reason God would accept me. Ephesians 4.32, Be ye kind,
tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God, for Christ's
sake, hath forgiven you. You can't look at things that
you see. You can't think, well, I'm doing better. I'm getting
this victory over sin, and I'm suppressing this sin, and I'm
starting to do this thing better, and I'm becoming a better Christian.
If you come up with a conclusion like that, you'd miss Christ
altogether. You don't even know what faith is in the first place.
Faith is the evidence of things not seen. You look to Christ
only. It's not what you believe about
yourself, it's what you believe about Him. Whoso believeth that Jesus
is the Christ is born of God. I love that verse of scripture.
I've had somebody say, well, that's just making it too easy.
No, it's the hardest thing in the world to simply look to Christ.
It's easy, but it's hard. It's hard to get your eyes off
yourself and look to him only. The hardest thing you and I are
called on to do is to look to Christ only and nothing else. Verse two, for by it, by faith,
The elders obtained a good report. They got a good report card.
Now how in the world is Jacob a deceitful man? I mean, he swindled
his brother. He demonstrated so much unbelief,
such deceit, such greed, such covetousness. How's he going
to get a good report card? What about Lot? I mean, you look
at Lot, you wouldn't even think he's saved by his conduct. How's he going to get a good
report card? And what about Solomon? Solomon, the wisest man to ever
live, dies in such a way as you would think he wasn't even saved.
He seemed to be dying idolatry. How could these fellas get a
good report card? By faith. They look to Christ
only as everything in their salvation. They look to Christ only. Verse
three, through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by
the word of God so that the things which are seen were not made
of things which do appear. You know, we understand all the laws of physics, not
that we understand the mechanism behind them, but we understand
God's in control. We know he framed the world. By his own word and everything
that's brought into place by faith, we understand it's him
that did it. That's our only understanding. By faith. I don't
understand how he did it, but I know he did it. Verse four. By faith, Abel offered unto God
a more excellent sacrifice than came, by which he obtained witness
that he was righteous. God testifying his gifts and
by it, he being dead yet speaking. What's the one thing Abel brought?
The sacrifice of Christ. Nothing else. Now, it is only
by faith that these Old Testament believers received a good report
card. And it's only by faith in Christ,
me and you are going to receive a good report card. Now, somebody
is thinking, do you mean that our lives are matters of indifference? As long as we look to Christ,
everything's fine. You can take it that way if you
want to. I know I want to honor the Lord, but I know this, the
only way I honor him is by faith in Christ. The only way I honor
him is by looking to Christ only, is by righteousness before God.
That's how I glorify him. Now, I think of that scripture,
the just shall live by faith, but if any man draw back, if
any man slacken the sails and don't go quite so looking to
Christ only, if any man draw back God said, my soul shall
have no pleasure in him. Let's go back to Acts chapter
five. It was interesting, um, in reading
this passage of scripture, about Ananias and Sapphire. I read
several commentators on it, and there were disagreements as to
whether or not Ananias and Sapphire were saved. Well, maybe they
were saved. Well, I don't know for sure that
they weren't, but if they were keeping something back in this
thing of faith, they weren't. But which of you can look at
what they did and think you're not capable of that, and that
you're above that? Could you do something as hypocritical
as Ananias and Sapphira to impress men? Sure you could. Sure you
could. Sure I could. I don't have any
doubt about it. The point behind this is not, are Ananias and
Sapphira, could they possibly have been saved? I guess if I
could be saved, they could be saved. I don't know about that,
and when I look at what they did, I know how easily I could
and would do the same thing apart from the grace of God. I don't
look down on them, but we have this beautiful picture of faith. Barnabas and Ananias and Sapphira
contrasted against each other. gave all to where he was left
with nothing but Christ. That's faith. You don't have
anything else. You've committed. You've committed. Full commitment. People try to
put, well, that means I'm really committed. I didn't know. You're
committed when you look to Christ only. And before then, you're
not committed. Barnabas was committed. Ananias
and Sapphira held back. Verse 11. Chapter 5, great fear
came upon all the church, and as many as heard these things,
when they saw these two people killed, great fear came upon
the church. And you know when you really
fear God? When you are afraid to look anywhere but Christ.
That's when you fear God. You're afraid to look anywhere
but Christ. Now we're going to absorb, observe
the Lord's table today, tonight. And one of the things I was thinking
while we're taking this bread and this wine, thinking about
the broken body and shed blood of
Christ, truly we're keeping nothing back. This is our only hope. His broken body. and his shed
blood. We're not looking to anything
but him. And that's what we're celebrating
in taking the Lord's tape. Let's pray together. Lord, we ask in Christ's name
that by your grace, you would enable us to keep nothing back,
but to look wholly to your son. and look nowhere else. And Lord,
as we prepare to take this table in remembrance of thy dear son, Lord, what a blessing that our
worthiness is his broken body and his shed blood. Enable every one of us to realize
that. as we do this in remembrance
of Him. In His name we pray, amen.