All believers in the early church were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions as their own, but they shared everything they had. With great power, the apostles continued to testify about the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace worked so powerfully in them all, that there were none needy among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and laid it at the feet of the apostles, and it was distributed to all who had need. (Acts 4:32–35).
Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet. (Acts 4:36–37).
The believers in the early church walked in unity (Acts 4:32a).
True unity brings blessings from the Lord (Psalm 133).
They shared all they had (Acts 4:32b). There wasn't one needy among them
(Acts 4:34–35). This lifestyle didn't last very long because of our sinful nature, see The Book of John. There were people who saw this generosity as an opportunity to avoid working. The church couldn't sustain this kind of lifestyle.
Apostle Paul had therefore to come with a rule about this:
". . . if any would not work, neither should he eat . . ." (2 Thess 3:10–12).
Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold some property. With his wife’s full knowledge, he withheld some of the money for himself, but took the rest with him and laid it at the apostles' feet. Then Peter said: "Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God." When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened. Then some young men came forward, wrapped his body and buried him. About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. Peter asked her: "Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land?" She answered: "Yes, that is the price." Peter said to her: "How could you conspire to test the Spirit of the Lord? Listen! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also."
At that moment she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband. Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard of these events. (Acts 5:1–11).
You can be a true born again believer and still have a heart influenced by Satan, filled with his lies, by giving in to the desire of your sinful nature. It doesn't mean being possessed, see Exorcism in Miracles of Jesus. Believers in general today are somewhat naive about how easily sin can gain foothold in their lives (Eph 4:26–27).
The mistake of Ananias and Sapphira wasn't withholding some of their money.
It was their property and they could use it as they pleased. The mistake was that they lied about it and said that they had given all the money for their sold property. It wasn't correct, they kept some of the money for themselves. They should have said that they gave some of the money and kept some of the money. They lied because they wanted to look good in the eyes of the people, which was their motive for giving. This is an example of hypocrisy. With generosity comes sacrifice (2 Sam 24:24). The principles of proper giving in the New Covenant are described at the end part of The Book of Corinthians. Ananias and Sapphira
pretended to be a generous couple, something that they weren't. They wanted to be admired for being generous givers (that maybe Barnabas above became) without having to pay the price for it, and both lied to the Holy Spirit about it.
Peter probably found this out by using the "the Word of knowledge", see
Spiritual Gifts. Peter confronts Ananias about his giving; that he had lied about it to the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:3). Peter also said that they hadn't demanded that they give all this money (Acts 5:4). When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died, and great fear seized all who heard what had happened (Acts 5:5). Peter then gave Sapphira
the opportunity to do the right thing and confess their lies, but she didn't
(Acts 5:7–9). She also died, and great fear seized the whole church and all who heard of these events (Acts 5:10–11).
This is an example of a deliberate act of hypocrisy that had serious consequences for Ananias and Sapphira. Many of the other people gave because of the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives. It was a sign of the unity among them. That wasn't the reason and motive for the giving of Ananias and Sapphira. They wanted to get personal benefits from their giving and they lied about it.
Their motive for giving was to get something out of it themselves.
This is one reason why "Seed Faith Giving" is unbiblical. It makes people give with the motive of receiving. See Seed Faith Giving in Word of Faith Movement in the U.S. God sees our motives. When we do something for the Lord, we should do it with the right motive, or perhaps not at all.
See also the following answer if they lost their salvation:
- Time 21:54–29:09 in Acts 4 (Part 2) :32-37 - Acts 5 (Part 1) :1-11 . . ..
- Time 26:33–28:35 in Bible Q&A With Pastor Paul │ May 2023.
- Time 39:06–40:28 in Bible Q&A with Pastor Paul │ November 2023.
- Time 11:39–14:16 in Luke 13 (Part 1) :1-17 • A time to repent.
The apostles performed many signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers used to meet together in Solomon’s Portico. No one else dared join them, even though they were highly esteemed by the people. Yet more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number. As a result, people took the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter's shadow could fall on some of them as he passed by. Crowds also gathered from the cities around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by impure spirits, and all were healed. (Acts 5:12–16).
See also The Book of Acts.
