Jesus is working to grow his church

Think about the sin that we see from Ananias and Sapphira. So we're told in verses 1 and 2 that this is something they plot together. They have full knowledge of the plan. And the plan is that they are going to sell some property. They're going to keep some of the money, but they're going to present the rest as if that was the full amount.

And when Peter begins to talk to them, it becomes clear that they could have kept it all if they wanted. They were under no obligation. Verse 4, didn't it belong to you before it was sold and after it was sold wasn't the money at your disposal?

But what they've done is that they have sinned against the Holy Spirit as they have lied in front of God's church. Isn't that striking to see again how closely God identifies with His church, with His people?

So Ananias was guilty of lying to the Holy Spirit. Later on, we're told in verse 9 that Sapphira too is guilty of conspiring to test the Spirit of God by keeping some of the money back, claiming they were giving the whole gift. That's what they did. Why they do it is important for us to think about.

And I think at root, the problem is hypocrisy. The problem is that they want to be seen as something that they are not in the eyes of others. They want the praise of others more than they care about being honest before God.

They want the reputation for generosity. Maybe they hear people talking about Joseph, giving up a whole piece of land and people admire and respect Joseph. They want a piece of that, but they don't want the discomfort of being sacrificially generous like him.

And so they're putting on a show. They are faking it spiritually before the church and before God Himself.

Again, a moment's honesty perhaps helps us to reflect on times where we are tempted to pursue the approval of others.

To do that good thing in the hope that somebody else is watching because that will make me feel better about myself.

And whenever we fall into that trap, we recognize that it's opposite to the way grace works. Grace is selfless.

We're invited to live forgetting ourselves to live to the glory of God.

Hypocrisy matters.

And so judgment comes.

And we recognize this is a unique event like what happened to Achan in the Old Testament.

But this unique event stands as a general warning.

That Jesus cares deeply for His church.

That judgment will fall to protect the church.

That this event shows us that God's holiness matters.

And our personal holiness matters within His church.

That the church, that we as a people, followers of Jesus, we become God's holy temple.

And so holiness really matters.

If we go back to the Gospels and to the life of Jesus,

the one group of people that frequently get Jesus' righteous condemnation is the Pharisees.

Why?

Because they are guilty of religious hypocrisy all the time.

And they're even polluting the temple.

Jesus cares for His church and He cares about holiness.

It's interesting, in a couple of verses, we see the response of the church to these events.

The church gets it right.

Verse 5 and verse 11, we hear the same thing.

Great fear seized all who heard what happened.

There is a right awe and reverence before the Lord who is holy.

And so we have in Acts chapter 4 and then in Acts chapter 5,

Acts 4 · chapter mention Acts 5 · chapter mention

a revelation both of God's active grace in saving, in transforming,

and His active wrath in judging.

So back to our question, wasn't that a contradiction?

How can you be loving and also wrathful?

I think in the end, the best way that we answer as Christians is by going to the cross of Calvary.

So if we think about what's happening to Jesus on the cross,

if we were to strip away the reality of God judging sin,

if we were to strip away the reality of God's wrath against sin,

if we were to take away the reality of hell as the consequence for people who never turn from sin,

then what happened to Jesus on the cross would become trivial and pointless.

He's not saving us from anything if those things are not real.

We cannot actually fully understand the love of the God of the Bible without seeing how seriously He takes sin and rebellion,

unless we see the wrath and judgment of God.

How loving is the God of the Bible?

He is so loving that He sent His one and only Son to endure the judgment and the wrath of God on our behalf.

He is so loving that He came to experience hell on earth upon the cross.

He is so loving as to take upon Himself the curse that our sin deserves.

The same God who punishes and judges sin is the same God who came in His Son, the Lord Jesus,

to absorb it for you,

to take it for you,

that by faith you and I might be healed and saved.

And the moment that we understand

that in our own hearts we too at different times are guilty of hypocrisy,

guilty of lies,

guilty of seeking glory for ourselves and not giving glory to God,

and as we understand that before a perfect God with perfect justice

we deserve to be condemned and punished,

that's the point

where the message of the Bible and the God of love becomes really good news.

as we understand that Jesus went to the cross for me,

for my sin,

for my selfishness,

that I can be forgiven and live free of fear because of His sacrificial love.

Let's return

to another summary

and to conclude almost where we began,

recognizing that Jesus is working to grow His church

in power.

So it begins there,

the apostles perform many signs and wonders among the people

and all the believers used to meet together in Solomon's

colonnade.

So in this summary I think we have like an encouragement at this point.

So we've just seen a really hard thing in the life of the early church

and we've heard of persecution and people being thrown in prison

but still

the church is worshiping and we're going to see

still the church is growing.

So no persecution

stops the work of Jesus

and no hypocrisy or failings

within the church stops the work of Jesus.

No scheme of Satan

prevents Jesus from building

His church, both in depth of faith

and in number.

And so again we see in this summary that Jesus

is continuing to work in power.

He sent the Spirit.

He's working through the apostles.

So verse 15 and 16 we see these dramatic

healings that are taking place.

People who had unclean spirits,

satanic influence

are being released

by the apostles in the name of Jesus

by the power of the Spirit.

Every time we read about the miracles

in the Bible

we're being shown

here's what the kingdom of God

will be like in the end.

It's like a preview.

Jesus said the kingdom of heaven is near.

And when Jesus the king came near

your illness, disease, demons, even death

would flee.

Giving us a preview

of what His coming kingdom will one day be.

And we see that the church is growing.

Nobody's taking this lightly.

So verse 13,

no one else dared join them

even though they were highly regarded.

Nevertheless, more and more men and women

believed in the Lord.

So some people are still staying at a distance

but others are being compelled

to trust in the God

who loved them so much

to send Jesus.

Jesus who died and rose again.

They're experiencing God's powerful grace

and they're being saved.

What's happening

in these two summaries

is a reminder

that God's loving kindness

through Jesus

is creating

a community of loving kindness.

where Christians

are now seeing

the poor and the needy

and they are responding to help.

Where the apostles

are seeing the sick

and the suffering

and their needs

are being powerfully met

in Jesus' name.

And again,

that's one of the great patterns

that you see

when you read about the early church.

So there's a great letter.

I think the guy

was called Aristides.

So he was sent

by Emperor Hadrian

to act almost like a spy

in the camp

to go and figure out

from the communities of Jesus

what's the secret

to their power?

Like Hadrian

was persecuting them,

throwing them in prison,

executing them

but numbers were growing

and growing and growing

and Aristides came back

and he said,

look, here's the answer.

Nobody loves

like the Christians love.

They love their own poor.

They love our poor as well.

And so Aristides

was trying to help the emperor

to see that God's love

creates this unstoppable force

that builds his church.

And that's what we see

in verse 14.

More and more men and women

believed in the Lord.

Isn't that what we want to see?

Isn't that what we pray for?

Here in Becloot,

here in Edinburgh,

around the world.

That Jesus would be working

in power to grow his church

and to establish

and to build this kind of community

of kindness

that would make an impact

in the lives of others.

Where does it begin?

It begins with personally

experiencing the love

of God ourselves.

Have we had that experience

where we know that God

loves us

and he gave Jesus

to die for us?

Have we received

his kindness

in sending his son

to be our savior

to forgive us

and give us eternal life?

That's where it begins

as we come to him

to experience his love

for ourselves

and then

as we experience

his love

by God's grace

we extend it to others.

To those who are

inside the church

and to those who are outside.

From hearts that are set free

to show selfless,

generous love

to the glory

of the Lord Jesus.

and to those who are