March 18: The Point of No Return.

Acts 5:3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself?

The story of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5 is something to be reckoned with. It’s an event that has no precedence except maybe the story of Rachel lying about the goods she stole from her father’s house and later (much later) dying during child birth. (see Genesis 31 and 35). There was a commandment in the Old Testament related to lying, but the punishment was nowhere as severe as the other sins and they had the chance to be forgiven through trespass offering (Lev 6).

So, what changed between the Old Testament and New Testament in relation to lying? Well, the one key difference was the presence of the Holy Spirit with those who believed in Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit (as the name suggests) is holy and pure, but also gentle and sensitive. According to Ephesians 4:25-32, the Spirit of God can be grieved through our actions. And the first of those in the list given is lying!

“Therefore, putting away lying, “Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,” for we are members of one another.” (Eph 4:25)

In this scripture, lying was placed alongside anger, bitterness, stealing, etc. But one would have thought that lying isn’t that bad of a sin compared to stealing or being angry. How many times have we not spoken the complete truth, or hidden part of the story in order to save ourselves from getting in trouble or doing it “for the greater good”. In fact, we see a few prominent people lie in this manner – Abraham lying about his wife Sarah when they were in Egypt, Jacob lying that he was Esau and stealing his brother’s blessings, King David lying about his identity as he was running away from King Saul. It’s almost like God let them get away with their lies and still bless them.

So, why so harsh on this couple in the New Testament? They did do some good after all. As was the trend of the time, they sold their land and donated some of that money to the apostles. Granted they did not give the full money as donation, and that was perfectly fine too as Peter himself told Ananias: “While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control?” But this seemingly insignificant lie was so grave that they did not even have time to repent or ask for forgiveness. They simply drop dead as a result of their lie. It was like they had crossed the point of no return.

Is there anything such as that? The point of no return? Yes. Jesus said so, and it has all to do with the Holy Spirit.

In Mark 3:28-29 Jesus said: Truly I tell you, people can be forgiven all their sins and every slander they utter,  but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin.”

This statement was made by Christ when the Pharisees around Him started saying that He was doing miracles with Satan’s power, essentially calling the Holy Spirit an evil spirit. And that was a boundary that was not meant to be crossed. Jesus was very forgiving, and He demonstrated that even while on the cross praying for His persecutors. But sinning against the Holy Spirit by blasphemy towards Him was unforgivable. It was a point of no return.

We don’t fully know the sequence of events in the lead up to Ananias and Sapphira’s death, but one thing is apparent. They lied to the Holy Spirit. Peter declares to Ananias that “You have not lied to men but to God.” Later to Sapphira he says “How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord?” Based on these two verses, it appears that the couple had thought through this very well. In this context, it is certain that they were Christ followers too. Which means they most likely had the Holy Spirit with them and inside of them. And when they were scheming out how they were going to handle the money from their land sale, the Holy Spirit would have convicted them reminding them to be truthful. Clearly, they did not heed those convictions. Rather they hardened their heart to the point of completing ignoring what the Holy Spirit had to say to them. They started believing their own lies and justified their actions as sincere. They went past the point of conviction. It was the perfect throne for Satan – the father of lies. But also a recipe for their own demise.

Did you know that Satan is called the father of lies? And he is also extremely crafty and cunning? He has the ability to twist the lie and make it appear like truth. It might take some work from both sides, but eventually it is possible to live a lifestyle that is intertwined with lies. We might even have Bible verses to justify those lies. Just like the devil does. But beware. It’s a dangerous place to be in.

The good news is, if we have breath inside of us, we have the opportunity to repent. We can ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to us anything that might be grieving Him. And when He does, sincerely seek for God’s forgiveness and ask His help to overcome that lie. It might take a few attempts. But do not worry. Eventually you will come out of it. And when you do, you can look back and thank God for His mercy and grace of not leaving us to drop dead, but to stand and live on for the glory of God.