Satan’s Strategy for Your Life #21: Believe the Lie

“But 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 that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.’ When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard of it. The young men rose and wrapped him up and carried him out and buried him.”—Acts 5:3-6

Lies—perhaps Satan’s most often used and most effective tactic. He is a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44), and in our passage for today we see how Satan can convince us that we can get away with sin by claiming to have done more than we really have. Ananias, a Christ-follower, had sold a piece of property and laid the money he made from the sale at the apostles’ feet, but had kept back a portion of the sale for himself, while falsely claiming that he gave the entire amount to the church. Peter, by the Spirit, recognized this deception and the power behind it and asked a series of probing questions,

“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 that you have contrived this deed in your heart?”

Peter’s question revealed the state of Ananias’ heart—he had chosen to believe the lie that it was okay to pretend to do something and be something that he was not—a godly giving man who had given all of the money from the sale for the furtherance of the gospel. And he may have been considered exactly that if he hadn’t pretended that he had given everything. Satan had filled his heart to believe that he would be considered godly while being worldly at the same time. It wasn’t his keeping a portion of the amount that was sin; it was his claim that he had given everything and not just a portion. Peter, by the Spirit, saw through the lie and exposed it for what it was—not a lie to men, but a lie to God. And God will not tolerate such a blatant disregard for His name. Such a sin in the face of God demands immediate action—in this case, Ananias’ death.

God the Spirit acted immediately, bringing about Ananias’ death, and though He may still do that today, we are not privy to the Spirit’s workings within the hearts of men. We don’t know of those who died for doing the exact same thing. Some may die immediately, or they may experience the Spirit’s conviction and discipline by a variety of other means. And while there is much we do not know about the Spirit’s workings, we do know that God has given this passage for us so that we might have a healthy “fear” of God (cf. Acts 5:11).

What lies are we choosing to believe? Has Satan filled our heart so that we claim to do much more for God than we actually have? Are we lying to those around us in order to make us look better and godlier than we really are? We are not lying to men, but to God. We must repent before the Lord, humbling ourselves, knowing that we are what we are only because of God’s working and grace in our lives. May God be honored and glorified in our repentance and may He be seen and not us. Amen.