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These are my notes from a sermon at my church Lakewood Baptist Church in Pewaukee, Wisconsin.
If you would like to listen to the full sermon, you can do so here.
Everyone talks about unity these days. Politicians call for it. Corporations brand themselves around it. Musicians write anthems about it. But not all unity is the same. Some of it is shallow—it lasts only as long as a shared interest holds. Some of it is misguided, built on the wrong foundation. And some of it is outright sinful, like the unity at the Tower of Babel in Genesis or a mob celebrating what God calls evil.
Unity for its own sake is just proximity. It’s temporary at best and dangerous at worst.
But there is another kind of unity. It’s the kind that made the watching world stop and ask, “What do they have that I don’t?” That’s the unity we see in the early church in Acts—not manufactured, not forced, but flowing from a shared faith in Jesus Christ.
This study walks through Acts 4:32–5:11 and lays out four realities of life together as followers of Jesus. Each builds on the one before it. The goal is simple: to help us see what the early church looked like, what went wrong, and what it means for how we live today.
Acts 4:32-5:11 NASB
32 And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but all things were common property to them. 33 And with great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all. 34 For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales 35 and lay them at the apostles’ feet, and they would be distributed to each as any had need.
36 Now Joseph, a Levite of Cyprian birth, who was also called Barnabas by the apostles (which translated means Son of Encouragement), 37 and who owned a tract of land, sold it and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
CHAPTER 5
Fate of Ananias and Sapphira
1 But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, 2 and kept back some of the price for himself, with his wife’s full knowledge, and bringing a portion of it, he laid it at the apostles’ feet. 3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the price of the land? 4 While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.” 5 And as he heard these words, Ananias fell down and breathed his last; and great fear came over all who heard of it. 6 The young men got up and covered him up, and after carrying him out, they buried him.
7 Now there elapsed an interval of about three hours, and his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8 And Peter responded to her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for such and such a price?” And she said, “Yes, that was the price.” 9 Then Peter said to her, “Why is it that you have agreed together to put the Spirit of the Lord to the test? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out as well.” 10 And immediately she fell at his feet and breathed her last, and the young men came in and found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11 And great fear came over the whole church, and over all who heard of these things.
1. Real Community Starts with the Gospel
Acts 4:32–35 gives us a picture of what the early church actually looked like:
“Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.”
This kind of sharing didn’t come from a rule or a quota. Nobody forced it. It grew from something deeper—like a river that flows because there’s a lake upstream feeding it.
The source was their shared faith and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. These people believed the same things: that Jesus was the Messiah, that they were sinners who needed rescuing, that He died for their sins, rose from the dead, and ascended to the Father’s right hand. This is the same gospel Peter preached at Pentecost, when 3,000 were added to their number (Acts 2:41, 47). Through that message, they became new people.
Paul puts it plainly in 2 Corinthians 5:17: “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” And this new-creation work had been promised long before. In Ezekiel 36, God said, “I will give you a new heart and a new spirit I will put within you, and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”
That’s what happened to the early believers. The Holy Spirit changed them from the inside out, and it showed in how they treated one another.
Keep in mind who these people were. First-century Israel was not wealthy. Most were day laborers. Historians estimate only about 4–5% were upper class, maybe 10% middle class. On top of that, the early Christians faced persecution that made things even harder—lost jobs, lost housing, lost security. When believers sold property and shared the proceeds, it wasn’t a fundraising campaign. It was love with hands and feet, meeting real, urgent needs.
For us, the question is direct: Does our understanding of what Christ gave up for us loosen our grip on our own possessions? The early believers didn’t give out of guilt. They gave because the gospel had changed what they valued.
2. Love Shows Itself Through Generosity
Acts 4:36–37 introduces us to a man whose generosity became an example for the next two thousand years:
“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.”
Barnabas shows up throughout the New Testament as someone who lifted others up. His nickname even means “son of encouragement.” The Greek word behind it, paraklesis, is related to the word Jesus used for the Holy Spirit—the “paraclete,” the one who comes alongside.
Barnabas was a Levite from Cyprus, where many Jews were educated and well-off. He sold a piece of land—something especially notable for a Levite, since Levites had no inheritance in Israel—and handed the money over to the apostles to distribute. He didn’t manage how it was spent. He trusted the church’s leaders.
His action lines up with what Jesus taught. In Acts 20:35, Paul quotes Jesus: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven… For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19–21). Luke 12:33–34 echoes the same idea: “Sell your possessions and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail… For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
Barnabas let go. And his gift—given openly, not anonymously—has encouraged the church for two millennia, right alongside the widow’s two coins.
For us, the challenge is practical: What might God be asking us to release? It could be money, but it could also be time, comfort, or control. Generosity moves our hearts toward things that last. It shapes us into people who encourage others the way Barnabas did.
3. Generosity Can Be Faked—and God Sees Through It
Right after the example of Barnabas, Luke gives us the opposite—and it’s one of the most jarring stories in the New Testament.
Acts 5:1–10 tells the story of Ananias and Sapphira:
“But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, and with his wife’s knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles’ feet… Peter said, ‘Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but to God.’ When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last… After an interval of about three hours his wife came in… Peter said to her, ‘Tell me whether you sold the land for so much.’ And she said, ‘Yes, for so much.’ But Peter said to her, ‘How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.’ Immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed his last.”
Notice what Peter says clearly: the property was theirs. The money was theirs. Nobody required them to give anything. Their sin wasn’t keeping part of the money. Their sin was pretending they gave it all—performing generosity for the approval of others while holding back in secret. It’s a kind of embezzlement of praise, and it echoes the sin of Achan in Joshua 7.
Peter identifies the source: Satan had filled their hearts. This parallels Luke 22:3, where Satan entered Judas before the betrayal. Ananias and Sapphira weren’t demon-possessed. They yielded to a temptation—a desire to look generous without the cost of actually being generous.
And they lied not to people, but to the Holy Spirit—whom Peter equates with God Himself.
God’s response was immediate. No second chance. No time to repent. Both died on the spot.
Hypocrisy, at its core, is play-acting—putting on a show for human approval while robbing God of the honesty He demands. Jesus had strong words for it. In Matthew 23, He compared hypocrites to whitewashed tombs. In John 12:43, He said some people loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.
This challenges us to look honestly at our own motives. We may not be outright frauds, but most of us know the pull of wanting to appear more devoted, more generous, or more spiritual than we really are. That kind of habit hardens over time. It trains us to perform instead of worship.
4. God Guards the Purity of His Church
Acts 5:5 and 5:11 both record the same response: “Great fear came upon all who heard of it.”
This fear wasn’t panic. It was something closer to reverence—the kind that makes you stop pretending and start taking God seriously. It drove the church toward honesty, repentance, and a deeper awareness of who they were dealing with.
Up to this point, the enemy’s attacks had been external—arrests, threats, persecution. Those attacks only made the church stronger. So the strategy shifted. Satan moved to the inside, planting compromise and deception within the community itself. Paul warned about this kind of warfare in Ephesians 6:12: “We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against… spiritual forces of evil.”
God’s swift judgment on Ananias and Sapphira wasn’t cruelty. It was protection. Left unchecked, hypocrisy spreads. It rots a community from the inside. God acted to keep the church honest and healthy.
Several truths come into focus here. God is holy (1 Peter 1:15–16: “Be holy, for I am holy”). Sin carries real consequences—if not now, then later. Not everyone who claims to follow Jesus actually does (Matthew 7:21–23: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom”). And God is willing to discipline His own household first (1 Peter 4:17).
For us, this is a call to guard against the small compromises that add up—the half-truths, the image management, the slow drift from honesty before God.
Three Lessons for Growing in Faith
1. Examine yourself honestly.
Is your faith real, or are you going through the motions? If you find gaps between what you show and what you actually believe, that isn’t the end—it’s the starting line. Repent and bring it to God. First John 1:9 promises that “if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Then do the work of growing: prayer, time in Scripture, honest friendships where you can be held accountable.
2. Choose honesty over image.
Psalm 139:23–24 is a prayer worth borrowing: “Search me, O God, and know my heart.” Live with the awareness that God sees everything—what the Reformers called living coram Deo, before the face of God. Hebrews 4:13 puts it directly: nothing is hidden from Him. That should shape how we carry ourselves—not out of fear, but out of respect for the One who knows us fully and loves us still.
3. Give with purpose.
Follow the example of Barnabas—and ultimately of Christ, who gave everything. Give to support the people around you. Give to advance the gospel. Give for God’s glory, not your own reputation. The more you practice generosity, the more it loosens the grip that money, comfort, and control have on your life.
Conclusion
The early church was far from perfect—the story of Ananias and Sapphira makes that clear. But in its best moments, it was a community where people shared their lives and their resources freely, not because someone told them to, but because the gospel had changed what mattered to them. That kind of community still attracts attention. It still makes people ask, “What do they have that I don’t?”
The invitation is the same for us: Build honest community. Give freely. Drop the act. And trust that God is at work—not just in the world, but in His church, keeping it clean and pointing it toward something that lasts.