What Is the Fear of the Lord? (Acts 4:32-5:11)

The PursueGOD Truth Podcast

The story of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 4:32-5:11) offends the modern reader, but it should help us to answer a timeless question: What is the fear of the Lord? Matthew 10:28

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What is the fear of the Lord?

• I remember hearing this phrase as a kid and I thought it was a bad thing
• Not supposed to be afraid of God, are we?
• I was told that it’s just talking about “respect”
• Respect God, like you respect a sweet old man
• Grampa Gene
• But then I read verses like this:

Matthew 10:28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

• (Gulp) This is not respecting a sweet old man!
• This is Jesus telling people to fear God. This is in opposition to someone who might say the fear of the Lord is just an Old Testament thing.

I bring up this question because today we’re covering Acts 4:32-5:11. It tells a terrifying story and then lands on this verse:

Acts 5:11 (NLT) 11 Great fear gripped the entire church and everyone else who heard what had happened.

• That’s a BAD thing, right? Wrong. It’s a good thing, and that’s what we’re going to be talking about today. Before we read it, let me ask you a question:
• Do you take God too seriously or too lightly? (put it on a spectrum)
• I think 99% of today’s Christians take him too lightly
• he is just a sweet old grandpa figure
• Today’s story will hopefully swing the pendulum back a bit
• Now let’s get to the text…

The Scary Story

Acts 4:32-35 (NLT) 32 All the believers were united in heart and mind. And they felt that what they owned was not their own, so they shared everything they had. 33 The apostles testified powerfully to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and God’s great blessing was upon them all. 34 There were no needy people among them, because those who owned land or houses would sell them 35 and bring the money to the apostles to give to those in need.

• Another general description of the early church
• More than that… it’s a setup for the two stories to follow…

Acts 4:36-37 (NLT) 36 For instance, there was Joseph, the one the apostles nicknamed Barnabas (which means “Son of Encouragement”). He was from the tribe of Levi and came from the island of Cyprus. 37 He sold a field he owned and brought the money to the apostles.

• There are lots of cool nicknames: “Air Jordan”, “The Rock”, “Billy the Kid”, but how cool would it be to have the nickname “Son of Encouragement".” Now that’s a guy I want to hang around. Do you have some encouragers in your life?
• This is almost certainly the same Barnabus who shows up three more times in Acts (9:26-7; 11:22-6; 15:37)
• A positive example of generosity in the early church
• (Pillar New Testament Commentary) Although only a field was sold, ownership of land was the principal source of wealth and social standing in the Greco-Roman world. Barnabas thus embodies the ideal of the 'servant-benefactor', well known in that culture…
• To contrast what’s about to come…

Acts 5:1-2 (NLT) 1 But there was a certain man named Ananias who, with his wife, Sapphira, sold some property. 2 He brought part of the money to the apostles, claiming it was the full amount. With his wife’s consent, he kept the rest.

• The big “but”
• There was Joseph… but there was Ananias (Which one are YOU?)
• Remember there were no chapters in the original manuscript. Luke starts verse 1 with “But”. He is specifically contrasting something about Barnabas with something about Ananias and Sapphira.
• Note: this wasn’t actually about the money, as we’ll see
• It was about the heart
• It was about wanting to look good (hypocrisy)
• Maybe they were hoping for a cool nickname with the bringing of this gift.

(We’re getting to the scary part…)

Acts 5:3-4 (NLT) 3 Then Peter said, “Ananias, why have you let Satan fill your heart? You lied to the Holy Spirit, and you kept some of the money for yourself. 4 The property was yours to sell or not sell, as you wished. And after selling it, the money was also yours to give away. How could you do a thing like this? You weren’t lying to us but to God!”

• You lied to the HS… to God
• More evidence that the HS is God!
• Side note: God’s attitude toward generosity
• The property was yours to sell or not
• The money was yours to give away or not
• 2 Corinthians 9:7 (NLT) You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.”

(Back to the text, and here’s the terrifying part…)

Acts 5:5-6 (NLT) 5 As soon as Ananias heard these words, he fell to the floor and died. Everyone who heard about it was terrified. 6 Then some young men got up, wrapped him in a sheet, and took him out and buried him.

• Wait… what?! Does this sound like the God you know?
• A lot of Christians want to skip over this story, hard to explain
• Doesn’t sound like “Your Best Life Now” that is promised by those modern-day preachers
• Well I’m not going to explain it away.
• It really happened.
• It really was God’s doing.
• And it freaked everyone out

But there’s more…

Acts 5:7-10 (NLT) 7 About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8 Peter asked her, “Was this the price you and your husband received for your land?” “Yes,” she replied, “that was the price.” 9 And Peter said, “How could the two of you even think of conspiring to test the Spirit of the Lord like this? The young men who buried your husband are just outside the door, and they will carry you out, too.” 10 Instantly, she fell to the floor and died. When the young men came in and saw that she was dead, they carried her out and buried her beside her husband.

• This is a great story to remind us of a couple things:
• God is all-powerful
• We are not

Acts 5:11 (NLT) 11 Great fear gripped the entire church and everyone else who heard what had happened.

• This is the proper response to God
• Too many people in today’s culture (and church) forget this
• So let’s answer the question: What is the fear of the Lord?

Reverent Awe

The fear of the Lord is a reverent awe of God.

• So much more than just “respect”
• Recognizing his transcendence, holiness, power, judgment
• Not just being afraid of what he can do to you
• But that’s definitely a part of it
• That’s why “great fear” gripped the church in Acts 5
• Ex: Kenzie disobeyed, said, “That’s OK…”
• But it wasn’t OK. And I disciplined her. Then she didn’t simply “respect” me like a sweet old man anymore.
• Belles: It’s not a walking on eggshells kind of fear that God might lash out at any moment. I feared my dad’s authority. I feared his power. I loved him and knew he loved me. I didn’t fear unjust punishment or random unkindness, but I feared when I had done wrong and knew I would have to answer to him.

Building Block

The fear of the Lord is the building block for knowledge.

• Let me say it another way: You can’t really know anything in this life until you see God for who he is and you see yourself for who you are… and you acknowledge the infinite gap between the two positions.
• Even simpler: If you think you’re on the throne of your life, you’re a moron.
• Fear of the Lord is not a building block for knowledge. It’s the building block.
• Once that block is in place, you can start learning.
• Because you say, “You know it all. I know nothing.”
• Like at the end of Job: “I’ll shut up now and let you speak.”
• Can you imagine:
• Helping Michael Phelps with swimming
• Or helping Elon Musk with making money
• Or helping God with the rules in the Garden (“Did God really say…”)
• Defn of sin: trusting and acting on your own opinions and feelings instead of on God’s truth. (ie, not fearing God)
• You have nothing to offer God until you see the gap between you and him
• This is fear of the Lord, and it’s the building block for knowledge.
• The first chapter of Proverbs makes it clear:

Proverbs 1:7 (NLT) 7 Fear of the LORD is the foundation of true knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.

• “What the alphabet is to reading, notes to reading music, and numerals to mathematics, the fear of the LORD is to attaining the revealed knowledge of this book.” (Waltke)
• Beginning has the sense of “the first and controlling principle, rather than a stage which one leaves behind; cf. Eccl. 12:13.” (Kidner)
• Fools don’t just lack knowledge. They despise it. They purposefully choose to reject wisdom. Current examples:
• Gender issue (People testifying before congress that men can have babies.)
• abortion (a drunk driver who kills a pregnant woman can be charged with two counts of vehicular manslaughter in many states, but some of those same states allow abortion.)

Close

So how should we think about this God described in Acts 5? Is he worth following?

• “Aslan is a lion - the Lion, the great Lion." said Mr Beaver. "Ooh" said Susan. "I'd thought he was a man. Is he - quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion"... "Safe?" said Mr Beaver … "Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you.” ― C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

1 John 4:18 (NLT) … perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love.

• What about the many passages of Scripture, Old and New Testament (such as Ecclesiastes 12:13 and 1 Peter 2:17), which tell us we should fear God? The fear John writes of here is not the appropriate reverence we should all have of God, but the kind of fear which involves torment – that agonizing kind of fear which robs our soul of all joy and confidence before God. It is the fear that is the opposite of boldness in the day of judgment.

The justice of God met the love of God at the cross. When we trust Jesus for salvation, we can fear God without being afraid of judgment.