Money

Luke 16:13 (NIV) "No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and
love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve
both God and Money."

Mat 6:19-21 (TEB) "Do not save riches for yourselves here on earth, where moths and
rust destroy, and robbers break in and steal. Instead, save riches for yourselves in heaven,
where moths and rust cannot destroy, and robbers cannot break in and steal. For your
heart will always be where your riches are."

It is easy enough to "explain away" one or two verses to come to the conclusion we
want. But what you are about to read is more than one or two verses: Scriptural teaching
about money is clear, consistent, and radical. All is required, and the flesh must die to
obey.

Be Content With Your Needs Being Met - Beware Of Materialism

Heb 13:5 (RSV) "Keep your life free from the love of money, and be content with what
you have."

Ps 37:7,16 (NAS) Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him
who prospers in his way... Better is the little of the righteous than the abundance of many
wicked.

Prov 23:4-5 (NIV) Do not wear yourself out to get rich; have the wisdom to show
restraint. Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings
and fly off to the sky like an eagle.

The Test of Riches and The Test of Poverty

1 Sam 2:7 (NIV) The Lord sends poverty and wealth; he humbles and he exalts.

Prov 30:8-9 (NIV) ...Give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily
bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, "Who is the Lord?" Or I
may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.

If poverty is accompanied by physical dangers, prosperity is accompanied by

spiritual dangers. God will often move us through both for the purpose of testing us.

Phil 4:11-13 (Phi) ...For I have learned to be content, whatever the circumstances may be.
I know now how to live when things are difficult and I know how to live when things are
prosperous. In general and in particular I have learned the secret of eating well or going
hungry--of facing either plenty or poverty. I am ready for anything through the strength
of the One who lives within me.

Phil 4:12 (NAS) I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to
live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled
and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.

Phil 4:12-13 (Jer) I know how to be poor and I know how to be rich, too. I have been
through my initiation and now I am ready for anything anywhere: full stomach or empty
stomach, poverty or plenty. There is nothing I cannot master with the help of the One
who gives me strength.

Will We Follow if Jesus Asks Us to Enter Poverty For a Season?

Mark 10:21-27,31 (Jer) Jesus looked steadily at him and loved him, and he said, "There is
one thing you lack. Go and sell everything you own and give to the poor, and you will
have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me." But his face fell at these words and he
went away sad, for he was a man of great wealth. Jesus looked around and said to his
disciples, "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!" The
disciples were astounded by these words, but Jesus insisted, "My children," he said to
them, "how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to pass through
the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." They were more
astonished than ever. "In that case," they said to one another, "who can be saved?" Jesus
gazed at them. "For men," he said, "it is impossible, but not for God: because everything
is possible for God... Many who are first will be last, and the last first."

Is it likely, with all of his contacts and experience, that this man would have
remained poor for long? And yet he was unwilling to obey Christ with all these
advantages, even temporarily.

Loosening Your Grip

Acts 2:44-45 (Phi) All the believers joined together and shared everything in common;
they sold their possessions and goods and divided the proceeds among the fellowship
according to individual need.

Acts 4:32,34-35 (NIV) All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that
any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had... There were no
needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold
them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was
distributed to anyone as he had need.

God is calling all of us to let go of our possessions. We may even get to use them in
the future if we "loosen our grip". If we do not do this willingly ourselves, God will. It is
a sure sign that we are sons. We should thank the Lord when He wrenches a dangerous
thing from our hands. Maybe we could even cooperate a little! If we don't, moths, rust,
and thieves will do their job.
A.W. Tozer: "Never Own Anything--Get Rid Of The Sense Of Possessing!"

Luke 14:33 (Phi) "Only the man who says goodbye to all his possessions can be my
disciple."

Luke 14:33 (TEB) Concluded Jesus, "none of you can be my disciple unless he gives up
everything he has."

Luke 14:33 (RSV) "Whoever of you does not renounce all that he has cannot be my
disciple."

Luke 3:11 (NIV) John answered, "The man with two tunics should share with him who
has none, and the one who has food should do the same."

Luke 6:30 (Jer) "Give to everyone who asks you, and do not ask for your property back
from the man who robs you."

Jesus Gives Investment Advice...

Luke 16:9-11 (Phi) "Now my advice to you is to use 'money', tainted as it is, to make
yourselves friends, so that when it comes to an end, they may welcome you into the
houses of eternity. The man who is faithful in the little things will be faithful in the big
things. So that if you are not fit to be trusted to deal with the wicked wealth of this world,
who will trust you with true riches?"

Play Money

Luke 16:9-12 (NIV) "I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that
when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings... If you have not been
trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you
have not been trustworthy with someone else's property, who will give you property of
your own?"

Luke 14:12-14 (NIV) "When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends,
your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and
so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the
lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be
repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."

Mat 6:24 (NIV) "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the
other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God
and Money."

Luke 12:33 (NIV) "Sell your possessions and give to the poor... "
He Who Dies With The Most Toys... Loses!

Luke 12:15-21 (Phi) ..."Be on your guard against covetousness in any shape or form. For
a man's real life in no way depends upon the number of his possessions... A rich man's
farmland produced heavy crops. So he said to himself, 'What shall I do, for I have no
room to store this harvest of mine?' Then he said, 'I know what I'll do. I'll pull down my
barns and build bigger ones where I can store all my grain and my goods and I can say to
my soul, Soul, you have plenty of good things stored up there for years to come. Relax!
Eat, drink, and have a good time!' But God said to him, 'You fool, this very night you will
be asked for YOUR SOUL!...' That is what happens to the man who hoards things for
himself and is not rich in the eyes of God."

Luke 16:19-31 (NIV) "There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen
and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus... The beggar
died and angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died... In hell, where he
was in torment, he looked up... 'I am in agony in this fire.' But Abraham replied, 'Son,
remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received
bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony...' 'Then I beg you... I have
five brothers... warn them so that they will not come to this place of torment.' 'They have
Moses and the Prophets, let them listen to them.'"

Ps 49:16-19 (NIV) Do not be overawed when a man grows rich, when the splendor of his
house increases; for he will take nothing with him when he dies, his splendor will not
descend with him. Though while he lived he counted himself blessed--and men praise
you when you prosper--he will join the generation of his fathers, who will never see the
light of life.

Ecc 5:10-15 (NIV) Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is
never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless. As goods increase, so do those
who consume them. And what benefit are they to the owner except to feast his eyes on
them? The sleep of a laborer is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance
of a rich man permits him no sleep. I have seen a grievous evil under the sun: wealth
hoarded to the harm of its owner, or wealth lost through some misfortune... Naked a man
comes from his mothers womb, and as he comes, so he departs...

Prov 11:4,28 (NIV) Wealth is worthless in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers
from death... Whoever trusts in his riches will fall...

Money as An Insulation From God

Christians hope in eternal security, and God would have us give up "carnal security"
to get it. The flesh wants the security of money. It wants to be in control, to be master, to
"be god". So we dream of and cling to money because we don't want to be totally
dependent on God...
Job 31:24-25,28 (NIV) [Job:] "If I have put my trust in gold or said to pure gold, 'You are
my security,' if I have rejoiced over my great wealth, the fortune my hands had gained...
then these also would be sins to be judged, for I would have been unfaithful to God on
high."

Encore, Encore!

C.S. Lewis writes in Perelandra, "This itch to have things over again, as if life were
a film that could be unrolled twice or even made to work backwards... was it possibly the
root of all evil? No: of course the love of money was called that. But money itself--
perhaps one valued it chiefly as a defense against chance, a security for being able to
have things over again, a means of arresting the unrolling of the film."

Eze 28:2-10 (NAS) ..."Thus says the Lord God, 'Because your heart is lifted up and you
have said, 'I am a God...' yet you are a man and not God, although you make your heart
like the heart of God... You have acquired riches for yourself... and your heart is lifted up
because of your riches--Therefore, behold, I will bring strangers upon you... and they will
draw their swords... and defile your splendor... and you will die... Will you still say, 'I am
a god,' in the presence of your slayer, although you are a man and not God, in the hands
of those who wound you?'"

What in The World is Wrong With The Televangelists?

1 Thes 2:5 (Jer) ...Never at any time have our speeches been simply flattery or a cover for
trying to get money.

2 Cor 2:17 (NEB) At least we do not go hawking the word of God about, as so many do...

2 Cor 2:17 (NIV) Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit.

2 Cor 2:17 (LB) We are not like those hucksters--and there are many of them--whose idea
in getting out the Gospel is to make a good living out of it.

1 Tim 6:5 (Phi) ...among men of warped minds who have lost their real hold on the truth
but hope to make some profit out of the Christian religion.

1 Tim 6:5 (TEB) ...They think religion is a way to become rich.

1 Tim 6:5-9 (NIV) ...men, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that
godliness is a means to financial gain. But godliness with contentment is great gain. For
we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food
and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into
temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin
and destruction.
1 Tim 6:10-12 (NIV) For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people,
eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves through with
many griefs. But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness,
faith, love, endurance and gentleness.

The Nobility of Poverty?

James 1:9-11 (Jer) It is right for the poor brother to be proud of his high rank, and the rich
one to be thankful that he has been humbled, because riches last no longer than the
flowers in the grass; the scorching sun comes up, and the grass withers, the flower falls;
what looked so beautiful now disappears. It is the same with the rich man: his business
goes on; he himself perishes.

James 1:9-11 (Phi) The brother who is in need may be proud because God has raised him
to the true riches. The rich may be proud that God has shown him his spiritual poverty...
Just as surely will the rich man and his ways fall into the blight of decay.

The Risks Of Wealth...

Mark 4:18-19 (Phi) "Then there are the seeds which were sown among the thorn bushes.
These are the people who hear the message, but the worries of this world and the false
glamour of riches and all sorts of other ambitions creep in and choke the life out of what
they have heard, and it produces no crop in their lives."

Luke 8:14 (Phi) "And the seed sown among the thorns represents the people who hear the
message and go on their way, and with the worries and riches and pleasures of living, the
life is choked out of them, and in the end they produce nothing."

Luke 9:25 (NIV) "What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet lose or forfeit
his very self?"

The Prosperity "Fat Cats" Bite The Dust...

Many of us have been fervently praying that God would turn the church upside
down and vigorously shake it (Heb 12:25-29). When this happens, those who love money
and have lost their grip on the truth will be the first to fall.

1 Cor 4:8-21 (NIV) Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! You
have become kings--and that without us! How I wish you really had become kings so that
we might be kings with you!.. We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We
are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored! To this very hour we
go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless... Up to
this moment we have become the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world. I am not
writing this to shame you, but to warn you, as my dear children... I will come to you very
soon, if the Lord is willing, and then I will find out not only how these arrogant people
are talking, but what power they have. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but
of power. What do you prefer? Shall I come to you with punishment, or in love and with
a gentle spirit?

James 5:1-3,5 (TEB) And now, you rich people [see James 2:2-7], listen to me! Weep and
wail over the miseries that are coming upon you! Your riches have rotted away, and your
clothes have been eaten by moths. Your gold and silver are covered with rust, and this
rust will be a witness against you, and eat up your flesh like fire. You have piled up riches
in these last days... Your life here on earth has been full of luxury and pleasure. You have
made yourselves fat for the day of slaughter.

Jer 5:27-29 (NIV) ..."They have become rich and powerful and have grown fat and
sleek... they do not plead the case of the fatherless to win it, they do not defend the rights
of the poor. Should I not punish them for this?" declares the Lord.

Advice on Security Investing

1 Tim 6:17-19 (Phi) Tell those who are rich in this present world not to be contemptuous
of others, and not to rest the weight of their confidence on the transitory power of wealth
but on the living God, who generously gives us everything for our enjoyment. Tell them
to do good, to be rich in kindly actions, to be ready to give to others and to sympathize
with those in distress. Their security should be invested in the life to come, so that they
may be sure of holding a share in the life which is real and permanent.

Luke 12:29-34 (Phi) "You must not set your heart on what you eat or drink, nor must you
live in a state of anxiety. The whole heathen world is busy about getting food and drink,
and your Father knows well enough that you need such things. No, set your heart on his
kingdom, and your food and drink will come as a matter of course... Sell your
possessions and give the money away to those in need. Get yourselves purses that never
grow old, inexhaustible treasure in Heaven, where no thief can ever reach it, or moth
destroy it. For where your treasure is, you may be certain that your heart will be there
too!"

1 Tim 6:8-10 (Phi) Surely then, as far as physical things are concerned, it is sufficient for
us to keep our bodies fed and clothed. For men who set their hearts on being wealthy
expose themselves to temptation. They fall into a trap and lay themselves open to all sorts
of silly and wicked desires, which are quite capable of utterly ruining and destroying their
souls. For loving money leads to all kinds of evil, and some men in the struggle to be rich
have lost their faith and caused themselves untold agonies of mind.

Jer 9:23-24 (NAS) Thus says the Lord, "Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom... let not
a rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this, that he
understands and knows Me... "

Now You Know...

1 Jn 3:16-18 (Phi) We know what love is because Christ laid down his life for us. We
must in turn lay down our lives for our brothers. But as for the well-to-do man who sees
his brother in want but shuts his heart against him, how could anyone believe that the
love of God lives in him? My Children, let us love not merely in theory or in words--let
us love in sincerity and in practice! (2 Cor 8:9)

Luke 12:47-48 (NIV) "That servant who knows his master's will and does not get ready
or does not do what his master wants will be beaten with many blows. But the one who
does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows.
From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one
who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked."

Prov 28:20 (NIV) The faithful man will be richly blessed, but one eager to get rich will
not go unpunished.

Rev 3:17-19 (Phi) [Jesus] "While you say, 'I am rich, I have prospered, and there is
nothing that I need,' you have no eyes to see that you are wretched, pitiable, poverty-
stricken, blind and naked. My advice to you is to buy from me that gold which is refined
in the furnace so that you may be rich, and white garments to wear so that you may hide
the shame of your nakedness, and salve to put on your eyes to make you see. All those
whom I love I correct and discipline. Therefore, shake off your complacency and repent."
Money & The Bible
What The Bible says about money

Where do material blessings come from?

Deuteronomy 8:18 NIV
"remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you the ability to produce wealth."

Can money get in the way of more important things? Jeremiah 9:23-24.
Wealth can become the center of our life and take God's place.
"This is what the Lord says: "Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of
his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he
understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and
righteousness on earth, for in these I delight," declares the Lord."

Wealth can give us wrong attitudes about material things, Luke 12:15 NIV
"Then [Jesus] said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life
does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."

You cannot serve both God and Money.

I Timothy 6:9, NIV
"People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful
desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction."

Though not impossible, it's difficult for the rich to enter heaven - God's
kingdom. Mark 10:23-25, NIV.
"Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of
God!" The disciples were amazed at His words. Then Jesus said, "Children, how hard it is to
enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich
man to enter the kingdom of God!"

The love of money leads to evil. I Timothy 6:10, NIV.

"For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have
wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs."

Greed often accompanies prosperity and can lead to crime.James 4:1-2,

"What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Isn't it because there is a whole army of evil
desires within you? You want what you don't have, so you kill to get it. You long for what others
have, and can't afford it, so you start a fight to take it away from them. And yet the reason you
don't have what you want is that you don't ask God for it."

tithing . . .

the more you give, the greater your heavenly reward. Luke 12:33-34, NIV
"Sell your possessions and give to the poor: Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out,
a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

God asks us to return tithe [10%] and offerings to Him and in return He
promises unlimited blessings.
Malachi 3:8-10, NIV.
"Will a man rob God?" Yet you rob Me. "But you ask, "How do we rob You?" In tithes and
offerings." Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house. Test Me
in this," says the Lord Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and
pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it."

Christ endorsed tithing.

Matthew 23:23, NIV.
"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices,
mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law - justice,
mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former."

How may all, rich and poor, honor God?

Proverbs 3:9, NIV.
"Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled
to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine."

investment . . .

What investment strategy does God recommend? I Timothy 6:17-19, NIV.

"Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in
wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything
for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and
willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the
coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life."

Christs teachings don't advise investements that are safe or investments of limited liability. His
teachings always encourage stepping out in faith but always coulpled with wisdom. In fact there is
no safe investment.

Contentment is not related to amount of money or possessions. Philippians

4:12-13, TLB.
"I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of contentment
in every situation, whether it be a full stomach or hunger, plenty or want; for I can do everything
God asks me to with the help of Christ who gives me the strength and power."

A valuable reminder for property owners.

Leviticus 25:23, TLB
"And remember, the land is Mine, so you may not sell it permanently. You are merely My tenants
and sharecroppers!"

If we put God first, He will take care of all our needs. Matthew 6:33, NIV.
"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as
well."