Subheadings and the gospel

Have you ever been reading along in your Bible when you come to a break in the text, not a new chapter, but a break within one chapter, and there’s a little subheading that supposedly gives you an idea of what the next little section is about?

For years I did not have a Bible with those subheadings and I always wanted one, thinking it would help me understand better what I was reading. I thought the subheadings must be like little dividers that show where one thought ends and a new one begins. They tell you what’s coming, right?

I figured that, just like with a textbook, I could scan the upcoming subheadings and get a quick overview of what was covered. It’s one of the good study habits I was taught in my first year of college, and it worked pretty well back then. I assume textbooks are written the same way now; it’s been a lot of years since I’ve read one hallelujah.

So when I got my current Bible a few years ago, subheadings were one of the things I was looking for. I also wanted the kind where the text is laid out in one wide column rather than two narrow ones. All that back-and-forthing of my eyes was suddenly exhausting. Has this happened to anyone else in their fifties? No? Just me?

And I wanted the words of Jesus in red, and paper that was not glaring white (I have issues with my eyes, y’all), and lots of space in the outside margin for notes. I also wanted cross-references, but this is a lot of things to ask for and as Mick Jagger says, “You can’t always get what you want.”

So I settled for Nelson’s “Journal Edition,” which has almost everything I was looking for except the cross-references. If I were really smart and well-connected, I would design the exact Bible I want and become a Bible publisher and make a killing, but we have a few other things going on in life right now, so that’s unlikely to happen.

Anyway, we were talking about subheadings. But first let me throw my standard disclaimer in here: I am no Bible scholar, so take everything you read with a grain of Himalayan salt.

I was reading in Acts 4 and 5 this morning and made a realization I have never made before in 41 years of Bible reading: the subheadings (and sometimes even the chapter divisions) do not always help. Sometimes they are a hindrance. They get in the way. They break up into two sections one larger section that is supposed to be together, and they keep you from making connections you are supposed to make.

Here’s how I figured that out.

At the end of chapter 4 in verses 32–37, it’s talking about “the multitude of them that believed”—brand new Christians—and how they sold their stuff and brought their money to the apostles, who distributed “unto every man according as he had need.” It says, “they [the multitude of them that believed] were of one heart and of one soul.” What an amazing group to be part of!

That’s where chapter 4 ends. Then chapter 5 begins with the story of a married couple, Ananias and Sapphira, and how they sold a possession (a piece of land) but they didn’t bring all the money, only part of the money, to the apostles. They lied about how much money they made on the sale of the land. Ananias comes first and Peter knows immediately that he’s lying. Peter tells Ananias that he hasn’t lied to men, but to God. Ananias falls over dead and they carry him out and bury him.

Then Sapphira comes in 3 hours later, Peter questions her as to how much money they got for the land, she agrees with what her husband said, and she, too, falls over dead and they carry her out and bury her by her husband.

If we’re not careful, we might think this story is completely unrelated to the end of chapter 4. I didn’t make this connection until today, and I’ve been reading the Bible for 40 years. Maybe I’m just exceptionally slow, but I’m guessing I’m not the only one. (This seems to be a theme in my life. Someday I’m going to write a book and title it I’m Not the Only One.)

But here’s what occurred to me today: Ananias and Sapphira were counted among the “multitude of them that believed” up in chapter 4. It wasn’t surprising to anyone that they sold a possession and brought money to the apostles. They fit right in with all the other believers. Their two minutes of fame in chapter 5 is a continuation of what was going on in chapter 4 with all the other new converts.

Yet Peter calls them out three times:

v 3: “Why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost”

v 4: “Thou has not lied unto men, but unto God.”

v 9: “How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord?”

It’s amazing to me how quickly the narrative goes from a bunch of new Christians having one heart and one soul to a married couple dropping dead because they’ve lied to God.

Maybe they were believers and maybe they weren’t. It’s often hard to tell, isn’t it? We always think we know, but there’s that whole “man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart” thing.

What if we are sitting in church every week, sharing a pew with someone who we think is among the multitude of them that believe but they’re really not? They look like a Christian. They talk and act like a Christian. Dress like a Christian. How do we know?

The answer is we don’t. Belief can’t be seen on the outside. We can make our best guess, but only God knows that person’s heart. I think the best thing we can do is make sure we are always ready to give a reason for the hope that is in us, whether it’s to someone we think is a believer or someone we are so sure is not. We can share the gospel—the good news of what Jesus did for us—with anyone. Believers will love to hear it again, and unbelievers need to hear it.

Everybody has a “religious” switch they can turn on and off at will. I had one when I was an unbeliever and I used it quite a few times before I understood that my forgiveness was bought by what Jesus did on the cross, and it was done. Nothing left for me to do. But I was surrounded by people who thought I was a Christian already. I fooled them all.

Don’t you be fooled. Don’t be the one who didn’t tell Ananias and Sapphira the truth. Tell your friend the gospel. Tell your pew-mate. Tell your Sunday school teacher. Tell your pastor. There’s no one who doesn’t need to hear about Jesus.