Money Is the Root of All Evil
Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 335 viewsA biblical look at money and what the Bible really says.
Notes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
Introduction:
People often misquote the Bible and claim that money is the root of all evil. One quote I saw online that was quoting Mark Twain said that actually the lack of money is the root of all evil! Some of us can relate!
What does the Bible actually say? Well, one word makes all of the difference. So tonight we are going to examine what that one word is and how powerful it is as we look at some biblical principles for dealing with wealth.
Read text. Pray.
Now, we should be able to evaluate this statement just by thinking about it for a moment. How many of you know sins that are committed that have nothing to do with money? What about Satan with Adam and Eve in the Garden? They didn’t need money and money wasn’t what they were tempted with. The same can be said of many of us. Money is not our driving force to sin. However, let’s take a little bit of a deeper look at this often misquoted verse and the context that surrounds it and see what Paul really says.
1. Have Godliness with Contentment (v.6)’
1. Have Godliness with Contentment (v.6)’
Paul basically tells the church to be happy with what they have and live out their faith in godliness. He says godliness with contentment is great gain. In other words, it is better than all the money in the world! We ought to be content with what we have and we ought to be godly.
Let’s take a look at a few Old Testament passages that show us this.
Better is the little that the righteous has than the abundance of many wicked.
Better is a little with the fear of the Lord than great treasure and trouble with it.
So repeatedly the Bible tells us to be godly and to be content with what we have. We will live restless lives when we cannot be happy with what we have. We will not enjoy the things we actually do have, because we will constantly be lusting after what we don’t have. We also will never be happy until we live under God’s law and are obedient with godliness.
Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
2. Recognize the Temporal Nature of Money (v.7)
2. Recognize the Temporal Nature of Money (v.7)
And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”
As he came from his mother’s womb he shall go again, naked as he came, and shall take nothing for his toil that he may carry away in his hand.
3. Focus on Your Necessities (v.8)
3. Focus on Your Necessities (v.8)
Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me,
4. Recognize the Temptation and False Promises of Money (v.9-10)
4. Recognize the Temptation and False Promises of Money (v.9-10)
5.
5.
Do not toil to acquire wealth; be discerning enough to desist.
As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.
And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.
You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’ ”
And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.”
And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”
Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
Conclusion:
As we have examined this topic tonight, it is important that we pay attention to details. We need to understand that money is just an object and it can be used for good or evil. We will be judged by what we do with the money that God has given us.
Ultimately when we love money more than we love God, we will have problems with our faith. We will find ourselves pursuing our lustful desires instead of the Kingdom of God. We will also find ourselves restricted in what we will allow ourselves to do for the Kingdom of God. We will lack faith and be discouraged.
Much about the Christian faith does not line up with human wisdom. Much of the faith is a paradox. What seems would be true is not true. God loves these paradoxes to test our faith and help us learn to trust in God. If we will focus on God, we will find ourselves reflecting on His greatness and we won’t worry about money. We won’t worry about having enough.
And this evening, for the person that is so consumed with wealth that their own soul is on the line, I want to speak clearly to you. You need to understand that your money will not last forever. Your stuff will tear up and break down. You will one day leave all of the wealth that you have behind, no matter how much or little that is, and you will stand before the Judge of the Earth. Will you have sold your soul for the dollar or will you follow the words of Jesus.
Jesus said in
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
That field is waiting for you to purchase