Session 70: Acts 5-7

The punishment of Ananias and Sapphira was harsh, (Death!) but:
a)Scripture doesn’t say they went to Hell, so maybe their eternal destiny was positive.
b) The Church had just begun, and the discipline needed to be more firm at the beginning.  (Think: Boot Camp in the military, or the 1st day of class in school.)
c) Their death was not because they didn’t give every penny to the Church, but because they LIED about it.  The “cover-up” was worse!

5:29  “We must obey God rather than men.”  We all have to make these choices daily!

5:41 “Rejoice” when you suffer for the sake of Jesus, as the Apostles did. (If you never suffer in some way for your Christian beliefs, you’re probably not doing much for the Kingdom!”)

6:5 The deacons were chosen because of something they had  in common (nationality) with the people they were serving.  (Who do you have something in common with that you can serve, especially in guiding them toward Christ?)

6:6 Another example of Apostolic Succession. 

6:8 Stephen was “filled with grace”, but not in the same sense that Mary was...different Greek words used for Stephen ( “pleres charitos”) vs., for Mary,   (“kecharitomene“ -has been, is now, and always will be graced.)  Protestants overlook this distinction.

7:58 “Saul”, later named Paul, was responsible for the murder of Stephen and other Christians, yet God used him to author more books of the Bible than anybody.  (So, if you think you are too “bad” for God to redeem you or use you, remember how He changed Paul’s life.)