⚓ Floatie: Why Have You Lied to the Holy Spirit?
Acts 5:3–5 (3)But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? (4)While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but to God.” (5)When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard of it.(ESV)
The story of Ananias and Sapphira is not about fundraising strategy. It is about holiness so fierce that God Himself executed judgment in the middle of a worship service.
✒️ Forge: Echoes of Achan, Holiness in the Camp
This story is a New Testament echo of Achan in Joshua 7. At the founding of Israel’s conquest, God struck down the one who secretly kept back what was devoted to Him. Now, at the founding of the church, God does the same.
The issue was not stinginess. Peter makes clear the land and money were theirs to use. The sin was hypocrisy—a pretense of total devotion while secretly hedging against God. They lied not to Peter, not to the congregation, but to the Holy Spirit. In covenant terms, this was treason within the ranks.
⚒️ Anvil: God Still Defends His Holiness
If God judged so fiercely at the church’s birth, do we imagine He has gone soft now? He may not always strike down liars on the spot, but the warning stands: hypocrisy in His people invites judgment. Lying about our devotion, pretending to be surrendered while secretly clutching self-preservation, is not a minor offense—it is a sin against God Himself.
The offense is clear: God does not need your offering, but He demands your honesty. He does not strike at the half-hearted unbeliever, but at the believer who dares to corrupt His Spirit-filled community with deceit.
💉 Softening Exposure: How It Became a Stewardship Sermon
Modern churches reduce this to a financial appeal—“don’t lie in your giving.” Pastors use it to scare members into writing honest checks. But the story was never about money. It was about lying to God. By making it about dollars, churches dodge the real horror: that God takes hypocrisy in His body so seriously He will enforce holiness by death if He chooses.
🔥 Ember: My Witness
When I read this passage, my first instinct is fear. Not fear of being struck dead mid-service, but fear that I, too, have played the hypocrite. I’ve sung surrender with lips that hid rebellion. I’ve prayed words that didn’t match my heart. This passage reminds me that my duplicity is not “safe”—God sees, and He may call me to account before I take another breath.
🌿 Covenant Triumph: A Pure and Holy Bride
The church is called to be the spotless Bride of Christ. That purity is not maintained by committees or polished branding but by the jealous fire of God’s Spirit. The judgment of Ananias and Sapphira was not a relic of a harsher time but a glimpse of Christ’s end-time cleansing. He will return for a holy people. Our call is not to give more money but to give true devotion—to walk in honesty, without guile, before the God who will not be mocked.
[⚓ Floatie] [✒️ Forge] [⚒️ Anvil] [🔥 Ember] [🌿 Covenant Triumph]
This post follows the Forge Baseline Rule—layered truth for the discerning remnant.
Walking With Christ 
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