An Article With A Picture

The Undying Ananias and Sapphira

The early christians did not have their own possessions. As God`s servants, they entrusted
their lives to God, and therefore all their possessions belonged to God. Then one day,
Ananias and Sapphira sold their possessions but kept part of it. The problem was not the
amount of money they kept, but the fact that they now had their own possession. A few
people living self-centered lives with their own possessions will cause the darkness to spread
throughout the church like yeast. Thus Ananias and Sapphira died and all church began to
fear God. As a result of this, the fellowship was strengthened and the number of people who
believed and came to the Lord increased adding a multitude of men and women to the
church.

In our church, we often hear people`s testimonies; "I was Ananias and Sapphira." One would
probably say this realizing that he has lived his life for himself like Ananias and Sapphira.
However, if he really thought he were Ananias, then why did he not die like Ananias? This
does not mean he is not truthful in his testimony. His dying will have no significance to the
church. If the entire church lives a self-centered life like Ananias and Sapphira, then there is
no need for that one person to die.

We must realize that there is much of Ananias and Sapphira within us who refuse to die.
We do not entrust our lives to God like the early christians, nor do we serve God. We are
not quite the servants that they were. We do not center our lives around the Lord like they
did. We only offer a part of the money after selling the land, yet we feel that we love the
Lord. If Ananias and Sapphira of the Acts were here with us, then they would not have died
because we all live just like they do. We serve the Lord and make offerings, but we do not
offer all of our possessions and ourselves.

In the Old Testament, a person had to give an ordination offering to become a priest. In the
ordination offerings, a priest put the blood of a ram on the lobe of his right ear, and on the
thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. Through this process, God
wanted to tell the priest that his ears belonged to God and they should only listen to God`s
voice. The two hands and feet also belong to God and should work and move only for Him.
Then the rest of the blood was spread around the altar and on the priest and his clothes.
This means that all his possession now belongs to God. Even when his parents die, he
cannot cry nor be sad and leave the temple, but must serve God in His temple like any other
normal days. This kind of person is a true priest of God.

Today`s christians are spiritual priests. We also have the blood on our hand, foot, and ear,
and thus have become the Lord`s possession. The day we were born again, we became the
Lord`s possession regardless of our desires. But these days, many Christians think of their
hand, foot, and ear as their own and use their hands and feet on things not related to the
Lord. They also listen to many things that are not the voice of Christ. They live their lives
as if they were not priests of God: the priests who do not have the blood on the ears, hands,
feet, and clothes. These kinds of spiritual priests are Ananias and Sapphira. We must realize
that we are Ananias and Sapphira-the only difference is we are not dead. We need to reflect
on why Ananias and Sapphira of this age do not die.