Hypocrisy

16/10/11 Malachi 3-4; Psalm 148; Acts 5

S: Acts 5:1-5 But there was a certain man named Ananias who, with his wife, Sapphira, sold some property. He brought part of the money to the apostles, claiming it was the full amount. With his wife’s consent, he kept the rest. Then Peter said, “Ananias, why have you let Satan fill your heart? You lied to the Holy Spirit, and you kept some of the money for yourself. The property was yours to sell or not sell, as you wished. And after selling it, the money was also yours to give away. How could you do a thing like this? You weren’t lying to us but to God!” As soon as Ananias heard these words, he fell to the floor and died. Everyone who heard about it was terrified.

O: Barnabas had received much praise because he sold a piece of land he owned and gave all the money to the church for the welfare of others.

Ananias and Saphira wanted to receive the same kind of praise, but were not willing to sacrifice all the money they made. So they lied about it. Peter made it clear that the issue wasn't the money, it was the lying and hypocrisy.

A: Elsewhere, Jesus taught us that we are not to boast about our charitable giving. It's a good thing this teaching is there, because when i do a good deed, it is so tempting to boast about it.

Let us do our good deeds out of a pure motive, and not hypocritically to get praised!

P: Father, help me to resist the temptation to boast and to do my good deeds out of a pure motive. In Jesus' name, amen.

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Note: this is using the SOAP method. For more information, see this page (not written by me.)