In Acts 5, we learn that two Christians, Ananias and his wife Sapphira, were
intending to copy the example of Barnabas and other saints by selling a plot
of land and bringing the proceeds to benefit the needy of the Jerusalem
church. However, unlike Barnabas, this couple covets the notoriety of such a
gift but does not want the pain of charity to afflict them so severely. Ananias
and Sapphira conspire to pretend they are giving all when they are really only
giving part of the proceeds. Truly, it was their option to give as they chose,
but they endeavored to deceive their brethren into thinking they had done
more.
The apostle Peter accuses the husband of his sin, claiming he had "not lied
to men but to God (verse 4)." Maybe that was news to Ananias. Maybe he
thought he could gild the lily and look like a big man and no one would ever
know. Had Peter not possessed a prescient gift from the Holy Spirit, he might
have gotten away with it. But honestly, God would have always known the
truth anyway.
Ananias was struck dead and his unwitting wife soon joined him in
eternity. They perished simply because they pretended to have piety when in
fact, they were just going through the motions.
Our offering to God must be more than financial, of course. Money is only
a part of the Lord's work and what he demands and deserves from his
children. The Hebrew writer tells us that he also should receive from us "the
sacrifice of praise to God, the fruit of our lips (13:15)." Is God listening to our
songs? As surely as he beheld the sacrifice of bulls and goats in Moses's day,
he is beholding the notes and words of our songs today. Paul describes our
song service as "singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord (Col. 3:16)." Our
songs are directed toward heaven and they are received there.
For our songs to be a pleasing aroma to God, they must be sincere. The
most avowed atheist could sing Amazing Grace on stage for money, but God
would not be worshipped because the grace was not in his heart. We must
worship in spirit and in truth (John 4:23-24); that is, our songs must be
authorized by God and sincere from the heart. If you don't mean it, don't sing
it. If you don't mean it, God won't accept it.
What if God calls our songs as evidence in the great day of reckoning? Will
they have reflected the thoughts and purpose of the heart and body? Or will
they be evidence of hypocrisy and vain worship?
We have promised God over and over that we will Take Time To Be Holy
(Hymns For Worship, #118) by speaking oft with him and feeding on his
word. We must ask how regular our prayer and study habit is. Or will the
Judge convict us of singing insincerely?
When we sing This World Is Not My Home (#230), do the words emit from
a heart secretly bowing at the altar of covetousness and the evil things of this
world? Should God believe we are just a-passing through when we are busy
heaping up treasure on earth and accruing nothing where we are supposedly
headed for eternity (Matt. 6:19-21)?
We love to sing Blest Be the Tie that binds our hearts in Christian love
(#302). Do we mean it? Do we live it? Or do we not even consider one
another and forsake the encouragement of the assembling together (Heb.
10:24-25)? Do we live to gossip and backbite? Do we count the tie that binds
a noose around our libertine necks?
Into Our Hands the gospel is given, we sing (#555). "Haste, let us carry
God's precious message, Guiding the erring back to the right." But how can
we say we mean it if we never utter the name of Jesus outside the security of
the meeting house? Why should God accept that song from us if we horde
the gospel like it might somehow be used up?
"Every time I sin on earth, I feel that I'm the one," we pronounce in I'm the
One (#549). How can we even utter the words if we sin like we are sure of
tomorrow? Unless we truly hate sin and intend to rid it from our lives, we had
better not sing this song--we don't mean it yet!
"Would you be free from your burden of sin? There's Power in The Blood
(#276)." Why then do we lust after the premiums offered by denominations
like amusements, banquet halls and dramatic sketches? If we truly believe
there is power in the blood, why flirt with anything less?
Tell Me The Story of Jesus (#156). How dare we attempt to sing that in
God's presence when we never pick up a Bible to find the story in the first
place? How dare we sing such words when we neglect Bible class?
We pledge allegiance to God beneath The Banner of the Cross (#133):
"Marching on and on! Marching on and on!" Where are we going? Are we
marching into our communities, families and workplaces like Christian
soldiers or have we declared neutrality in the world war with the devil? If your
faith never leaves the pew--you leave it there on Sunday afternoon and pick
it up next Sunday morning--don't sing like you plan to march under the
Christian standard all week.
"Make me as Clay in the Potter's Hand (#111)." Singing this means you
intend to truly be a disciple of Jesus, a person who is sincerely like Christ. That
requires that your life be molded and shaped by the word and will of God.
Will you read it? Will you apply what you read to your own life?
Then there's the best one of all: "Are you Sowing the Seed of the Kingdom
brother? (#85)". You had better be broadcasting the seed of faith yourself
before you start asking about your brother's habits (Matt. 7:1-5).
Conclusion
Christians must start listening to their songs and learning from them. God
is listening. And if we are giving him a blemished sacrifice or keeping back
part in pretense, we will be held accountable for it. What part of that offering
might we be withholding? Is it the spirit or the truth? Could it be both?