The Curse of Pretended Piety
Published on Facebook, March 2, 2011
By Bud Powell
"But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira
his wife, sold a possession, And kept back part of the price, his wife also
being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles’
feet. But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the
Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? Whiles it
remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own
power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied
unto men, but unto God." --Acts 5:1-4
All
Ananias wanted was to be thought of as a holy man, both he and his wife.
People were bringing the price of houses and lands to the apostles for the
relief of the poor in Jerusalem and they didn't want to be left out of the
culture of piety that developed.
So
they sold a piece of land, kept some of it and gave the rest, representing to
the apostles that they had given all of the price of the land. They
pretended to be moved by love for the brothers, that is, by the Holy
Spirit. It was a lie. It was not only a lie to the Holy Spirit [who
is a witness to all that we do], but a lie about the Holy Spirit, for they
pretended that what they did was moved by deep spirituality. It was a
terrible lie, because what was really done to be seen of men and to receive the
praise of men was attributed to the Holy Spirit. God struck them down for
this lie, which was the result of Satan filling their hearts, not the Holy
Spirit. It is an unpardonable sin to attribute the work of the Holy
Spirit to the devil; it must also be a terrible thing to attribute the
works of the flesh to the Holy Spirit.
The
devil was in their hearts; the Holy Spirit was in Peter. When they lied
to Peter, they lied to the Holy Spirit, and Peter knew that it was the devil
speaking in them, not the Holy Spirit.
They
were not required to sell the land, as Peter said. They were not required
to give it to the apostles, as Peter said. It was their own and they
could have retained all of it or none of it. It was a matter of liberty
to them. But they wanted to have credit for a piety that they did not
have, and so pretended and faked it. It was a lie to and about the Holy Spirit,
a most grievous sin. The Lord is showing us that it is a terrible sin to
pretend to be more holy and dedicated than you are.
How
much religiosity is pretended piety, attributed to the Holy Spirit, when it is
in reality a work of the flesh, to be seen of men, to be praised of men, to
receive an earthly reward? Only God knows, because we do not have the
knowledge of men's hearts, but we must look into our own hearts and ask the
tough questions if we are to be innocent of the awful blasphemy of Ananias and
Sapphira. If we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged.
How
many speak as if they were prophets of God, but speak from their own hearts and
attribute it to the Holy Spirit. How many do foolish things and claim
they were led by the Spirit? How many fake the fruit of the Spirit and
afflict people with fake love and phony joy? How many sin against the
commandments of God and say, "I was led by the Spirit"? How
many do pretend miracles? How many speak in gibberish and attribute it to
the Holy Spirit? How many interpret other people's gibberish and pretend
it is from the Holy Spirit? Only God knows, but this minister is certain
that there are a great many of us guilty of this transgression. Honesty
is not only the best policy, it is the only safe one. Honesty is not even
a policy; it is the fruit of a pure heart.
God is
not the author of confusion. Confusion is the result of the wisdom that
is from below, not from above [James 3] He spoke through the prophets in
the language of the people. On the day of Pentecost people heard the
wonderful works of God in the intimate language of their youth. The New
Testament was written in what was then the universal language of the western
world to which the Gospel first went. God speaks our language, and knows
every word in every language of the world [Ps. 139]. He doesn't need an
interpreter.
Some
of those who read this post will become very angry at me, perhaps. They
will also, perhaps, attribute that anger to the Holy Spirit. They might even
afflict me with some more of that phony love and concern, for the Scripture
convicts them. May God have mercy on all of us, and teach us to have
honest and pure hearts.
"For
the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us
that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly,
righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope,
and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ; Who
gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto
himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. Titus 2:11-14
