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?  (NKJV)

All sin is hated by God, but the Bible gives us an example of a sin that must have enraged God so much, that 2 people died because of it… Chapter 5 of the Book of Acts reveals the untimely death of a man named Ananias, and his wife Sapphira… The couple had sold some land that they owned, and had supposedly given all the profits to the Apostle Peter…

Apparently the couple had decided to keep part of the profit from selling the land, which was not a sin in itself…  But they must have promised the Lord that they were going to give ALL of the money away, and didn’t…  This sin of greed, possibly boasting, and the lie that followed, was caused by Satan; as we see in the opening scripture…

Peter then went on and told Ananias that he didn’t lie to men, he had lied to God (Acts 5:4b)… God is in control of each of our lives… God must have decided enough was enough with Ananias, because God took the life of Ananias, as we see in the next verse…Acts 5:5… Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and breathed his last. So great fear came upon all those who heard these things.  (NKJV)

Scripture tells us that men came in and grabbed Ananias’ body, wrapped it up, and buried it… Three hours later Ananias’ wife came in, not knowing what had happened to her husband; and Peter gave her a chance to admit that she and her husband had lied because they kept part of the donated profits from the land… Sapphira backed up the lie her husband had already told, and Peter asked her why she and her husband had decided to test the Spirit of the Lord…  Just like her husband Ananias, Sapphira immediately died at Peters feet, and was taken out and buried with her husband…Acts 5:10…

As Christians, our integrity is something that should be of utmost importance to each and every one of us… The Apostle James gives us this scripture…James 5:12… But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let your “Yes” be “Yes,” and your “No,” “No,” lest you fall into judgment.  (NKJV)

Scripture is filled with the fact that deceitful lying is a sin…Proverbs 12:22…  Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, But those who deal truthfully are His delight.  (NKJV)

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

All sins committed by the Christian will grieve the Holy Spirit; and must be confessed and repented of in order to be realigned again with the Lord…1 John 1:9… If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  (NKJV)

“Our word is our bond” is a phrase that comes to mind, that my research shows has been around since the 1500’s… I am sure most people have heard about business deals in the “old days” that used to be done with a handshake, instead of a litigation of contracts with a lot of fine print… As Christians, what comes out of our lips should be the truth… The words that come out of our mouth shows others who we are and what we believe…  This defines our character, our dignity, and our level of integrity… Any promises that we make to those around us should be kept, or we should contact the person we have made a commitment to beforehand, with a reasonable excuse; and not wait to be tracked down in anger…

And for sure, we should never make any promises to God… There is absolutely no promise we can make to the Lord that we can be 100% sure will not be broken, except the promise that we will sin… I for one don’t want to end up like Ananias and Sapphira, being carried out feet first for burial…

Here is a link for an audio sermon on “My Word is My Bond” by the pastor of “Valley Bible Church” in Grand Junction, Colorado…

http://www.valleybiblegj.com/component/sermonspeaker/singlesermon/10037

Heavenly Father, please help all of Your children understand that how and what we speak to those around us determines what is in our hearts (Matthew 15:18)… Help us to listen to the Holy Spirit with-in us, and to always do our best to live in Your will for our lives… I pray for this inner strength and a commitment for all of Your children, to live our lives in a way that will be pleasing to You…in Jesus’ most precious name and for His sake…Amen…

written by bruce r mills