Gambling
Put To Death Immorality • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Greetings…
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5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming. 7 In these you too once walked, when you were living in them.
8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. 11 Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.
History Of Gambling
History Of Gambling
It Is Nothing New.
It Is Nothing New.
As “the preacher” wrote in Ecclesiastes…
9 What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.
Homer, in 850 BC, wrote in his Iliad & Odyssey about knuckle bones of sheep being marked on four-sides and rolled like dice.
The Romans gambled on chariot races, gladiator battles, and just about any and everything else.
From a historical “Christian” perspective, until recently gambling has been considered sinful.
Tertilliun wrote in circa 200 AD…
“If you say that you are a Christian, when you are a dice player, you say what you are not, because you are a partaker of the world.”
Summary
Summary
Gambling and human fascination with it is not new, but Christians seemingly lack of concern for it as sinful is rather new to our more recent times.
It should not be and as we will see, Christians should have nothing to do with it.
But before we get into that let us first examine…
What Gambling Is Not
What Gambling Is Not
It Isn’t Taking A Chance.
It Isn’t Taking A Chance.
It is often stated that the reason gambling is sinful is that it is not a guarantee way of making money.
That there is a “chance factor” or “luck” factor to it.
However, there are several notable and worthy ways to make money that are based on “chance.”
Farming is based in many ways on “chance.”
Stock Market’s are based in many ways on “chance.”
Even God tells us that “chance happens to us all.”
11 Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all.
It is important to understand that…
It Isn’t The Games.
It Isn’t The Games.
If you remove the money and the coveting of such you remove the gambling.
The game “poker” or “black-jack” or the like are simply games until the money exchanges.
As we mentioned before, you can gamble on anything and everything, but what is gambled on is not necessarily sinful to do just because someone has gambled on it before.
Today, people gamble all the time on sports but there is nothing wrong with participating in sports.
Summary
Summary
As Christians, we must make wise and discerning decisions and determine if playing a game that might be or is linked to gambling is wise or unwise.
Again wisdom must be followed here.
So knowing that let’s look at…
The Bible’s Say
The Bible’s Say
Covetousness.
Covetousness.
The word covet or covetousness is not a word we hear people using a lot anymore but it is a very common word in the bible and found in very profound passages.
Exodus 20:17 (ESV)
17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.”
Luke 12:15 (ESV)
15 And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”
Romans 1:29 (ESV)
29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips
Why is covetousness sinful?
Colossians 3:5 (ESV)
5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.
Covetousness can be defined by lexicons as…
“to take advantage of someone, usually as the result of a motivation of greed” (Louw Nida)
“having more, receiving more, and wanting more with a reference to power” (Kittle)
The idea being covetousness “is wanting what someone else has and doing what it takes to try and get it from that person or persons.”
So how is covetousness and gambling linked?
Covetousness & Gambling.
Covetousness & Gambling.
Simply put when someone gambles they are trying to “win” someone’s else’s possessions.
There is no gambling if someone is not losing possessions and someone else gaining those possessions.
By definition this is covetousness.
Things people often say to try and justify their gambling.
With the lottery they say things like, “I am helping the economy by gambling.”
If that was the “soul” purpose and not the hope of winning all that money from all the other people who bought tickets hoping to win your money” then just go give money to the government.
With casinos people say things like, “you don’t go gamble to make but just to have fun.”
I have only heard this from those that loose money not win money. If money is not the focus then why not just play the games with no money involved?
Others say things like, “if I’m not taking money from my families mouth it is not wrong.”
Yet they literally are literally taking money away from their family by do this in a wasteful manor.
Now let me be clear…
NO ONE GAMBLES HOPING TO LOSE!!!
By that very reality it establishes gambling as covetousness.
How has God authorized us to acquire possessions?
By laboring for it.
Genesis 3:19 (ESV)
19 By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.
Ephesians 4:28 (ESV)
28 Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.
2 Thessalonians 3:10 (ESV)
10 For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.
By investing our possessions to grow more possession.
Betting is not investing because there is an exchange of goods.
If with the bank you are investing wherein there is an exchange of goods in that they can lone money using money like yours in the bank and you can receive interest.
If with stocks there is an exchange of goods in that you are investing capital in a company so that if the company grows financially you can receive a return on that capital.
In the parable of the talents we see this illustrated by Jesus.
27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest.
By way of gifts of generosity.
1 Corinthians 16:1–3 (ESV)
1 Now concerning the collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do. 2 On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come. 3 And when I arrive, I will send those whom you accredit by letter to carry your gift to Jerusalem.
7 Or did I commit a sin in humbling myself so that you might be exalted, because I preached God’s gospel to you free of charge? 8 I robbed other churches by accepting support from them in order to serve you. 9 And when I was with you and was in need, I did not burden anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied my need. So I refrained and will refrain from burdening you in any way.
Summary
Summary
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Conclusion
Conclusion
I’m reminded of the a quote that has be around for a long time, though I could not find the original source for it.
“Gambling is stealing by mutual consent” because “Gambling promises the poor what prosperity performs for the church.”
From God’s point of view, which is the only valid point of view, it is sinful to covet what someone else has and gambling, at its core, is covetousness.
Christians are not therefore to gamble.
Invitation
1 Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear; 2 but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.
6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent,
32 “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. 33 But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.
8 in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,
3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.
