Evening star., 1909-02-06
"a ZAN ~
|1'|''|'|||||',,) - - - |
CNSXdg

s,S -, 'ne person OF Jesus. That thought
niied all longing and excluded whatever
nisnt divide. Hence. the people were or
one one neart and one soul. Beautiful EXHIBIT
.'on or unity Psalms. .cxxxiii:D, probably
nexer Witnessed before or since, althoush
remembered and commended in the Ie,
ters or the apostles to the churches tRo-
mans. xv:6). \'-o
SPIRITUALITY Verse s0.-Tb.
on on',y Just described was not merely social
of a porai; sIpo1s .,n neither was it the product
force 1t was spiritual (Eph. iv.s1 tbs
result or that Divine influence which car,s
upon them (Ch.. ii:D, which fingered with
II the Treat ,hn, grace was upon ALL" BY
sn,ritma, thhousands ho were fused into a
a., as every true church will BE- fCcIE
ll:loo spiritual company will aIwav. h.
powerful Its members will develop and
@ wonderful enf 'sIshf' aItb v,!t q Cor: sii:sn i'
MID and ease as well as delight one err.
cages IN Christian work In the midst OF
tnose who are In accord with him Such
stSe Wdek ns, Is usually most successful the out
pressed. Hence. with great power eav.
os me dposties witness Of the resurrection
VI Jesus. They would have been duii
men men mad they not been mighty under such
nov, ,'nsus Many modern ministers.
oecome eloquent and useful II surrounded
oy thousands all Of whom were in fun
sympathy with them and their teachinre
...t. tSOMMUNIsM lverses 34-sO.-Daly
nrs's ,msseLnss were held in the temple and in
private houses. (Ch.. v:I2. Most Of the
disciples suspended secular pursuits 70 en-.
gage IN religious matters, so great wa,
the interest. But many were Door and
an ,,n,ons emerseney sssae arose; to meet which
The neu1 r,cS system en1a OF charity was devised.
brought the proceeds to the apostles. who
!ormed Imed common store out Of which dis
naaIs .raDHtions might be made to meet the
needs or all. Thus the whole company
was on an exact equality. no one claimed
awning, neither did any one lack. One
OF nose who thus entered the church. de-
so.Ins MS property. Joses or Barnabas.
sr,oay aI.e,ward became prominent AS the
xlh:2) he rendered valuable service al
Antioch and other mission fields. This
community of goods served an important
tifup at the time It furnished beau
or equality. made the utmost consecration
POSSIBLE. ana displayed the power of the
gospel Valuable for the time, II was not
intended to be permanent feature of the
81 soc,al system IN which work is enjoined
as the scripture duty UI Thess., ili:lO.l2)
HYPOCRISY Werses 1-0.-when-
ever any virtue is attained by a sumcient
number to render 1t conspicuous some
utterly destitute Of 1t. desire to be recog-
n,aea aee as possessing 1t. This is one OF the
voting, OF human inflrmities. but high
tribute to the work of goodness. while
otner rich men were converting their
properly into money and casting tho
one rich man. desiring to enter the fold.
put unwilling to become poor Matt.
xix:2D. was anxious to appear like hio
prethren. Ananias stood over against
Ear narnanas: a.s moved by another spirit. Hin
Iney came with part Of their money.
claiming 1t was all. Having hidden away
part for other uses. they laid the re.
mainder at the apostles feet Tho de-
ception practiced at such a time revealed
the state Of their hearts. Probably thew
supposed that the secret would be In tteir
own minds, that they could come into felA
,owship with the saints as truly as II they
had related no falsehood, and that the
honor and profit and pleasure az fhefv
new relations would be unimpaired
EXPOSURE (Verses S-D.-Ananias
couio not conceal his sin Numb. xxxil:
2S). Perhaps something in his voice or
man manner BETRAYED him. Perhaps the man
who purchased his possessions reported
the amount paid Possibly the real value
was known and the reported price seemed
SO small as to awaken suspicion. At any
rate the secret was known to Peter Per-
haps the Holy Spirit had disclosed II to
him. Waiting for a suitable opportunity.
the apostle confronted the offender. This
he did In the boldest manner. "Why hath
satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy
GhostT The nature and the cause of the
transgression are here included Ananias
had lied to God. He had done this under
satan's influence. He was responsible be-
cause he had allowed satan to control
him Uames. iv:O. But why? What mo.
tive could have induced him? Having
asked the question. Peter proceeded to
show Ananias that there was no occasion
for his sin. The property was his own;
ne need not sell 1t. II he sold 1t he might
ho
give all he need not lie about 1t. part
would have been acceptable with the
truth Oh Cor. ix:O. All this revealed the
heart OF the man. He stood exposed in
all the hideous deformity Of hypocrite.
PUNIsHMENT.-The words of Peter
may have been designed to secure re-
pentance. At any rate. they might have
been so employed. A gracious opportuni-
ty was offered to Ananias Il John. i:9).
But he did not accept It.. Having heard.
he made no confession or apology, but
fell down dead (verse 81. The young men
carried him out and buried him (verse g..
Two explanations have been given for
this sudden decease. II has been said
that on seeing his guilt and experiencing
the modification he was Mortified beyond
endurance. Without doubt a full view Of
ones sinfulness Is shocking (Rom., vii:24)
enough to affect the bodily powers
(Psalms. xxxii:3. ~. For every convicted
sinner there Is the only alternative-re-
pentance or death. But another explana-
ton Is more common. Ananias fell under
the direct power Of God. cut down in an
instant Of time. as unworthy to Hive
Luke. xiii:O. This punishment, seeming
ly severe. was Just. The man had In
vaded the secret precincts at a time when
his spirit and example would work ser-
Gus results In the church unless the julg-
ment OF God interposed. His sin was
like that OF Achan JOSH, vii:2D in its
power to corrupt His death filled all
with fear and made them know the ne
cessity Of holiness.
COMPLETELY Oversees 7-1D.-He
who originates An evil scheme Is pri-
marily responsible, but all who afterward
enter into 1t share the guilt and deserve
the punishment (Proy., i:1O). In some in
stances the latter are most at fault. Sap
phira. the wife Of Ananias. was privy to
his hypocrisy (verse p. without her he
would hardly have gone through with his
deception. Three hours after his death
she came In. not knowing what had oc-
CURED. to be confronted by Peter Tho
same question was put and the same an
swer given. The same charge of false
nouncement was made that she, too.
must die. Immediately she shared ths
fate OF her husband and was buried by
his side. -
CONCLUSIoN.-Thel lesson commit
q contrast between true and false giving.
The subject Is legitimate. He gives right
ly who gives cheerfully prov. xi:25).
He who gives to be seen OF men Matt.
vi:D only gratifies his pride. But our
lesson has other truths which must not
be overlooked. We see how evil men may
lnsinuate themselves into the church. how