“Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and breathed his last. So great fear came upon those who heard these things.” Acts 5:5
We have here one of the most intriguing stories in the New Testament. This is a story of the death of a believer for lying to the Holy Spirit. It appeared that he had lied to Peter, but Peter said it was God to whom he had lied. As a result of this lie Ananias fell down dead. My question is this. Who killed Ananias and later his wife, Sapphira? The issue in this story is not about the amount of money involved or even giving it to God. It is about presenting something to God and telling Him this is all I have when I know there is more I am not giving. There is much grace in God’s compassion or there would be many more deaths in the church for lying to God. “I don’t have time.” “That’s all I can do.” “I can’t do all things through Christ Jesus.” “I can’t afford to give more.” If I know that I am not giving my all, but tell God I am doing the best I can is that not lying to the Holy Spirit. Don’t promise God something and then not do it. Be careful about making vows and not keeping them. Are we immune to what happened to Ananias and Sapphira? Again I ask the question, who killed Ananias? Did God kill him? Was it the devil? Or, did he commit suicide?
Today’s sermon, “Who killed Ananias?”