There is a well known story in the bible about a husband and wife who made the decision to withhold part of the money they received in the selling of a piece of property they owned so that they could give the money to the apostles to help meet the needs of the early infant church. Here is the story found in the book of Acts chapter 5 …

“1But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, 2and kept back some of the [a]proceeds for himself, with his wife’s [b]full knowledge, and bringing a portion of it, he laid it at the apostles’ feet. 3But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the [c]proceeds of the land? 4While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not [d]under your control? Why is it that you have [e]conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men, but to God.” 5And as he heard these words, Ananias collapsed and [f]died; and great fear came over all who heard about it. 6The young men got up and covered him up, and after carrying him out, they buried him.
7Now an interval of about three hours elapsed, and his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8And Peter responded to her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for [g]this price?” And she said, “Yes, for [h]that price.” 9Then Peter said to her, “Why is it that you have agreed together to put the Spirit of the Lord to the test? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out as well.” 10And immediately she collapsed at his feet and [i]died; and the young men came in and found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11And great fear came over the whole church, and over all who heard about these things.”

Peter knew what they had done thru the spiritual gift of knowledge. God has given 9 spiritual gifts to the body of Christ. The gift of knowledge is just one of them. Yes, God told him thru the power of the Holy Spirit. Many years ago I met a man who had this spiritual gift. He started coming to our church and I befriended him. It was spooky and intimidating to be around him as one could not help but wonder what all he knows about me. He came to our church for awhile but then moved on which is what He told me He usually does. I don’t remember ever being around anybody else who had this spiritual gift.

I am pretty sure that there have been other people who have lied to God and were not struck down, but this story of Ananias and his wife surely got the attention of everybody and shook them up. It would make you think twice about being dishonest and withholding anything from God.

This passage is also proof that the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Holy Trinity (the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit) … that He (not it) is truly God. See verse 4.

Probably if they would have simply told the truth … that they kept a portion of the sale for themselves everything would have been alright and they would have both lived, but they chose to lie and tell Peter that the money was to total amount of the sale which they were now giving. That was a very high price to pay.

There is nothing that God does not know about us … what is going on in our lives … what we are thinking … our motives for doing what we do, etc. He is the ultimate multi-tasking Person. Scary, isn’t it? We should be afraid … very afraid … very respectful … always highly honoring Him. He is worthy!

According to Proverbs 6:16-19, God hates six things, which are: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, and a false witness who pours out lies. Additionally, He detests a person who stirs up conflict in the community.