‘Pursue Holiness, Not Hypocrisy
Main Text – Acts 5:1-11
One of our aims at Real Life Community Church, is that our church would be marked by Holiness. An oversimplification of the Biblical concept of Holiness is to be set apart from the world and to be set apart unto the Lord. At the end of Acts 4, we see a beautiful example of a godly man, namely Barnabas, who is walking in holiness. This example of holiness is then contrasted in Acts 5, with the (often avoided) story of Ananias and Sapphira. The Holy Spirit revealed this couple to be hypocrites, and this cost them their very lives.
Before we judge Ananias and Sapphira too quickly, we need to consider the tendency of our own hearts to be drawn to hypocrisy. In this week’s message, we learned what hypocrisy really is and how we can guard against it.
If you missed the sermon, catch it below:
Discussion Questions:
- Define both positional and practical holiness. (See 1 Peter 1:14-16 & 2:9).
- How would you define hypocrisy (within a Christian context)?
- Why Was God’s Judgment of Ananias and Sapphira so Severe?
- Why are Christians tempted to walk in spiritual hypocrisy?
- How can we guard against hypocrisy?