48
The Acts of the Apostles
sacrifice his possessions to the general good. He had acted from choice.
But in attempting to deceive the disciples, he had lied to the Almighty.
“It was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not
knowing what was done, came in. And Peter answered unto her, Tell
me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so
much. Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together
to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have
buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out. Then
fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and
the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth,
buried her by her husband. And great fear came upon all the church,
and upon as many as heard these things.”
Infinite Wisdom saw that this signal manifestation of the wrath
of God was necessary to guard the young church from becoming
demoralized. Their numbers were rapidly increasing. The church
would have been endangered if, in the rapid increase of converts, men
and women had been added who, while professing to serve God, were
worshiping mammon. This judgment testified that men cannot deceive
God, that He detects the hidden sin of the heart, and that He will not
be mocked. It was designed as a warning to the church, to lead them
[74]
to avoid pretense and hypocrisy, and to beware of robbing God.
Not to the early church only, but to all future generations, this
example of God’s hatred of covetousness, fraud, and hypocrisy, was
given as a danger-signal. It was covetousness that Ananias and Sap-
phira had first cherished. The desire to retain for themselves a part
of that which they had promised to the Lord, led them into fraud and
hypocrisy.
God has made the proclamation of the gospel dependent upon the
labors and the gifts of His people. Voluntary offerings and the tithe
constitute the revenue of the Lord’s work. Of the means entrusted to
man, God claims a certain portion,—the tenth. He leaves all free to
say whether or not they will give more than this. But when the heart
is stirred by the influence of the Holy Spirit, and a vow is made to
give a certain amount, the one who vows has no longer any right to
the consecrated portion. Promises of this kind made to men would be
looked upon as binding; are those not more binding that are made to
God? Are promises tried in the court of conscience less binding than
written agreements of men?