Acts Chapter Five and Faking Piety

We're all familiar with products which warn that misusing the contents may be harmful to our health. Is it not the same with spiritual matters? In the first-century church, God made an example of a lying couple and showed that the Holy Spirit is in fact part of the Godhead.

Acts 5:1 and 2 (BBE) introduces us to these scheming congregants. "But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, got money for his property, And kept back part of the price, his wife having knowledge of it, and took the rest and put it at the feet of the Apostles."

What was wrong with what they did? These two lied? Both said they gave all the money from the sale of the property to the church. We hear what Peter's answer was in Acts 5:3 and 4 (BBE). "But Peter said, 'Ananias, why has the Evil One put it into your heart to be false to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back part of the price of the land? While you had it, was it not your property? and after you had given it in exchange, was it not still in your power? how has this purpose come into your mind? you have been false, not to men, but to God.'" So the Lord struck Ananias dead on the spot.

The same thing happened to Sapphira a few hours later. Those young men must have been tired after burying two church members in one day.

Fear came upon those church folks and outsiders alike at the news of that couple's demise. They all realized that trying to trick God to get praise from  people led to two deaths.

Though the Lord doesn't strike down phoney Christians now, it's still dangerous to people's spiritual health to fake piety. Christ warned his audience in Matthew 6:1 and 2 (BBE), "Take care not to do your good works before men, to be seen by them; or you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. When then you give money to the poor, do not make a noise about it, as the false-hearted men do in the Synagogues and in the streets, so that they may have glory from men. Truly, I say to you, They have their reward."

And if our Master doesn't return by Saturday, I hope to post about the temptation to sell out and join the crowd of takers in this world.

Won't My Parent's Faithfulness Get Me Into Heaven?

Now that I've dealt with the thorny issue of infant baptism, I need to deal with the notion that one's family church registration is a guarantor of citizenship in heaven. Evangelist and author Corrie Tenboom wisely said that God has no grandchildren and here's why he doesn't.

I mentioned in my previous post about what Romans 10:9-10 says regarding how a person is saved. Unlike the notion of salvation through one's parents' church affiliation, God demands that all people obey his son through repenting and making him Lord of their lives.

Peter, speaking to the religious experts of his day, said in Acts 4:12 (KJV), "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." Therefore, no amount of piety by one's parents will do.

Neither will the wickedness of any one's parents be charged to their offspring. Look at what it says in Deuteronomy 24:16 (KJV,) "The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin."

It's abundantly obvious therefore that our supposed righteousness doesn't depend on our family's piety. Neither will we have to pay for the sins of our parents, as some folks believe. Each one of us must face the ultimate judge and give an account for what we've done in our threescore-and-ten existence.

Because one's eternal destination is the most important matter in life, I'm working on a book called You Think You're Going to Heaven? Each one of us must be responsible for where we end up after we die. We can't ride into heaven on the coat tails of our ancestors.