{"id":1417,"date":"2020-10-23T13:22:04","date_gmt":"2020-10-23T13:22:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/revfosu.com\/?p=1417"},"modified":"2020-10-23T13:24:21","modified_gmt":"2020-10-23T13:24:21","slug":"the-church-facing-opposition-from-within-by-rev-dr-john-kwasi-fosu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/amazinggbc.de\/de\/2020\/10\/23\/the-church-facing-opposition-from-within-by-rev-dr-john-kwasi-fosu\/","title":{"rendered":"The Church facing opposition from within, by Rev. Dr John Kwasi Fosu"},"content":{"rendered":"

Einleitung<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The fact remains that Satan is still attacking the believers, and as he does, he uses a dual plan: deception from within (Acts 5:1-16) and persecution from without (Acts 5:17-34). Satan is a liar and a murderer, and we see him operating in both spheres in this chapter. The main purpose for this material is to do an expository study on Acts 5:1-16 with an emphasis on reflecting on the opposition within. Here, we see Satan operating as the serpent, using believers within the assembly to hinder the work of the Lord.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sin of deception (verses 1 \u2013 2)<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Ananias and Sapphira wanted to gain the reputation for being more spiritual than they actually were. When the others brought their donations (4:34 \u2013 37), these two were jealous and wanted the same recognition. Please keep in mind that their sin was not stealing money from God, because Peter stated in verse 4 that it was in their own power to use the money as they wished. Their sin was hypocrisy, trying to appear more spiritual than they really were. They had wanted others to believe they had sacrificed everything when they had only given a portion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 <\/a><\/h5>\n\n\n\n
The Spirit of discernment at work (verses 3 \u2013 4)<\/span><\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Peter was a man with Spirit – given discernment.  Sin is always discovered in one way or another. This couple had not mentioned anything openly, but the terrible sin was in their hearts. They had lied to the Spirit of God who was graciously working in the hearts of the believers, leading them to sell their belongings and share with others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 <\/a><\/h5>\n\n\n\n
The consequence of deaths (verses 5 \u2013 11)<\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

This was not a case of \u201cchurch discipline\u201d since God dealt with the sinners directly. The two deaths illustrate the kind of judgment the Messiah will exercise during the kingdom (Jeremiah 23:5 and Revelation 19:15). Unlike local church discipline, where the pastor and the church investigate a matter, give an opportunity for repentance and forgiveness, and seek to restore the erring ones, this was a definite case of divine judgment. It is interesting to compare this chapter to Joshua 7, where the covetous Achan tried to hide sin from God and was killed. Great fear fell on the church (verse 11) as people saw the hand of God at work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

The testimony (Acts 5:12-16)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The assembly was now unified and magnified, and it therefore multiplied. This will always happen when an assembly is purged of sin. Satan works inside the church and tries to divide it, disgrace it and destroy it.\u00a0 But if we let the Spirit work, we will detect the devil\u2019s operation and avoid church problems. A local church must have standards and must let the Spirit lead. Note that Peter is the key man at this period of church history.\u00a0 Even his shadow was thought to bring healing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Schlussfolgerung<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Satan still opposes the work of the church from within. Paul warned the elders that wolves would come in from the outside to attack the flock.  Also, men would arise \u201cfrom among you\u201d to harm the church (Acts 20:29 \u2013 30). The greatest danger the church faces today is not so much opposition from without, but sin from within. Thus, it is important to seek God\u2019s guidance in receiving new members and in disciplining those who stray.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Questions<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. In which practical ways does Satan oppose the Church from within?<\/li>
  2. To what extent can the sin of hypocrisy in the form of seeking attention hinder the growth of the local Church?<\/li>
  3. How does the phenomenon of divine judgment in Acts 5:1-16 compare with that of church discipline practiced in some local Churches?<\/li>
  4. Is it possible to lie to the Holy Spirit in the local Church and in which ways can that be possible?<\/li><\/ol>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Introduction The fact remains that Satan is still attacking the believers, and as he does, he uses a dual plan: […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62474923,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_templately_pack_id":"","_templately_imported_at":"","_templately_source":"","_templately_import_session_id":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"{title}\n\n{excerpt}\n\n{url}","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[25826],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1417","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bible-studies"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4q0JC-mR","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3172,"url":"https:\/\/amazinggbc.de\/de\/2025\/04\/12\/christs-death-and-resurrection-by-rev-dr-john-kwasi-fosu\/","url_meta":{"origin":1417,"position":0},"title":"Christ’s Death and Resurrection, by Rev Dr John Kwasi Fosu","author":"revfosu","date":"April 12, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Amazing Grace Baptist Church, Hamburg, Bible Study Material on Christ's Death and Resurrection IntroductionIn Christianity, the death and resurrection of Christ serve as the cornerstones of the faith. 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