Harmony #70: You Cannot Serve God and Money (Luke 16:1-31)

In the past several weeks, we have been reading through a portion of Luke that’s been telling a story within a story: the Great Reversal in the Kingdom of God, where the Pharisees’ religious markers of importance and success gets flipped on their head. Specifically, this revolves around religious and social status: the poor, the sick, the outsider, the sinner, the lost are not only valued and loved by God, but they might be closer to the heart of the Father than those assumed to be tight with God. Let’s see how this theme has been building before tackling chapter 16.

·  Luke 10 -The Parable of the Good Samaritan (“Who was his neighbor? The one who had mercy.”)

·  Luke 11:1-13 - After teaching the Lord’s prayer and talking about the generous provision of earthly father, Jesus says, “If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” So, our true wealth is spiritual resource.

·  Luke 11:37-53 – The ‘woes’ to the Pharisees: “You neglect justice and the love of God…you love the important seats…you don’t lift a finger to help burdened people…you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering.” They don’t take care of others physically or spiritually.

·  Luke 12: 13-21 – the Parable of the Rich Fool: “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”

·  Luke 12:22-34 – “It is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

·  Luke 12:35-48 – two parables about faithful servants, concluding with, “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.”

·  Luke 13: After the run in with the Pharisees for healing on the Sabbath, he tells the Parable of the Narrow Door, in which people who thought they were wonderfully religious are told by God, “I don’t recognize you/I never knew you.” He concludes the parable with, “There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out. People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God. Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last.”

·  Luke 14: When Jesus notices people choosing the places of honor at a meal, he rebukes them. He concludes with, “For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your 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.” Then he tells the Parable of the Great Banquet, in which those assumed to be invited didn’t care to participate, and those assumed unworthy were eager to join.

·  Luke 15-  “He eats with sinners.” The three ‘lost’ parables: the sheep, the coin, the sons, focus on the incredible value of each individual person, with the Parable of the Two Sons echoes the Parable of the Great Banquet, in which those assumed to be invited didn’t care to participate, and those assumed unworthy were eager to join.

Today we are on Luke 16. Luke has not lost his stride. He is still on the Great Reversal: what we expect to happen by worldly standards gets upended by Kingdom standards.

·  The last will be first and the first will be last.

·  The societal/religious outcasts that are more eager to join God’s feast than are the religious insiders.

·   Those closest to the heart of God are not there simply because they keep religious rules (specifically those that impress other people); they are those who are merciful, generous, kind, and committed to justice.

And the measuring stick Luke keeps coming back to is money. What we do with our wealth, the provision God has given to us, reveals how close we are to the heart of God. The passage we are going to read today wraps up this focus with two parables about money, and Luke is going to be more blunt and sobering than ever.

Parable of the Clever Steward: Handling Money (Luke 16:1-13)

Jesus also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who was informed of accusations that his manager was wasting his assets. So he called the manager in and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Turn in the account of your administration, because you can no longer be my manager.’

“Then the manager said to himself, ‘What should I do, since my master is taking my position away from me? I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m too ashamed to beg. I know what to do so that when I am put out of management, people will welcome me into their homes.’

“So he contacted his master’s debtors one by one. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ The man replied, ‘A hundred measures of olive oil.’ The manager said to him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and write fifty.’ Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ The second man replied, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ The manager said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’

 “The master commended the dishonest steward (steward of unrighteousness) because he acted with clever trickery.[1] For the people of this age are more shrewd in dealing with those of this age than the people of light (in living as those with their eyes set on the age to come).[2] And I tell you, make friends for yourselves (of God) by how you use worldly wealth,[3] so that when it runs out you will be welcomed into the eternal tents (of Abraham).

“The one who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and the one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.[4] If then you haven’t been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will entrust you with the true riches? And if you haven’t been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you your own?

“No servant can serve two masters, for 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 God and money.”

This is jarring parable. At first glance, it sure looks like Jesus is commending a dishonest, conniving cheat for being smart enough to avoid the consequences of his cheating. It seemed to contrast with the challenge to faithful stewards of both a little and a lot. So, let’s chat.

I’ve been listening to and reading a dude named Marty Solomon a lot lately. He is really good at providing the cultural and Jewish context in which these parables (and Scripture in general) are written. I have found his explanation of the parable to make the most sense. He believes the parable is about learning to value people and relationships more than money. Let me explain (using his words).

The manager would have been taking a commission for administering the owner’s affairs: in this case, collecting debt. Much like complanies that help people pay off really high credit card debt, he would reduce the debt so it could be paid in a lump sum payment, then collect up to 20% or 25% of the debt collected. His boss gets money, he gets money, borrowers are happy. If he was really generous, he could wave his negotiating fee. That 25% can go toward the borrower, the boss, or a little of both.

Solomon thinks that is what is happening here. This manager has worked out if he sacrifices his commission for each of these debtors, then he can gain the payment of debts quicker for the owner. If that’s the case, this manager is not acting in some shady fashion to cover up his prior dishonesty. He is sacrificing his own commission to make things right, which is worthy of commendation. His rejection of the money he could collect does two very important things.

1. It builds the reputation of his boss. As far as the debtors know, this is the boss’s order. They would likely respond with gratitude and admiration, and the boss looks better than he ever has.

2. The manager will be popular with potential future employers. He wants to ingratiate himself into the townspeople’s homes so he can get a job in the town after this has blown over. Yes, he is a scoundrel, but he knows a clever way to set things right.

Basically (according to Solomon), he has figured out how to strengthen his relationships. He finally realized where the priorities ought to be: people, not things or money. Initially he was dishonest and greedy, but his solution is self-sacrificing in order to make things right. Now it makes sense for Jesus to commend him through this parable for finally seeing the light, so to speak.

To be sure, Jesus is clear that this is how “people of this age/generation” do things in contrast with the people of light. The manager’s life is not meant to provide is with a role model. However, even the pagan lover of money realized that, when push came to shove, it was his relational investment in people that mattered the most. The parable doesn’t say his heart changed in that he stopped loving money, but he eventually figured out how to use his access to money to strengthen his relationships rather than break them. Finally, right priorities.

Jesus, of course, moves it closer to home for his audience: If we are concerned about our well being in this life, how much more should we be concerned about our well-being in the next life?

“And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by how you use worldly wealth,[5] so that when it runs out you will be welcomed into the eternal tents (of Abraham).”

Or,

“Put yourself in a good position through your use of money, which so easily leads you astray, so that when this age is over God will receive you into his eternal dwelling.”[6]

I don’t think Jesus is trying to say that the wise use of money somehow buys our way into heaven. Remember, “Where our treasure is, our heart will be also.” Being generous and not greedy with our money is a sign that we know that the things of God are true treasure – and that’s where our heart is. What we do with our money is a sign, not a bribe.

Between today’s two parables sit Luke 16:14–18, which show Jesus rebuking the Pharisees for loving money, exalting themselves in self-justification, and ignoring the Old Testament’s authority. All three themes are woven into the next parable,[7] that of the Rich Man and Lazarus.

The Rich Man & Lazarus (Luke 16:14-15, 19-31)

The Pharisees (who loved money) heard all this and ridiculed him. But Jesus said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in men’s eyes, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly prized among men is utterly detestable in God’s sight.

 “There was a certain rich man who dressed in purple and fine linen[8] and who feasted sumptuously every day. But at his gate[9] lay a poor man named Lazarus (“God helps”)[10] whose body was covered with sores, who longed to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. In addition, the dogs came and licked his sores. Now the poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side [at the banquet feast of the righteous].[11]The rich man also died and was buried.

 In Hades, as he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far off with Lazarus at his side. So he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus[12] to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in anguish in this fire.’

“But Abraham said, ‘Child,[13] remember that in your lifetime you received your good things and Lazarus likewise bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in anguish. Besides all this, a great chasm has been fixed between us,[14] so that those who want to cross over from here to you cannot do so[15], and no one can cross from there to us.’

 “So the rich man said, ‘Then I beg you, father—send Lazarus to my father’s house (for I have five brothers)[16] to warn them so that they don’t come into this place of torment.’ “But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; they must respond to them.’

“Then the rich man said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’ “He replied to him, ‘If they do not respond to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’ “ [17]

This is another Great Reversal: it is the poor beggar who was ushered into the feast, not the rich man. That was NOT what his audience of Pharisees expected to hear. For any beggars within earshot, it would have been the most hopeful teaching they had ever heard.

Before we get to a couple key points, I should note that I don’t think this parable was meant to help people build a theology of Heaven and Hell (Paradise and Hades). A couple reasons.

·  First, it starts like previous parable Jesus has told (“There was a certain man….”

·  Second, Lazarus is nowhere said to be righteous; he’s a beggar, that’s all. That hardly qualifies one for Heaven.

·  Third, nowhere else does the Bible teach that those in Paradise will watch those in Hades suffer and be so bothered by it that they will wish to help them. That hardly sounds like a Paradise characterized by joy.

I think this parable is the finishing touch on the previous 5 chapters. It’s a framework that uses the Pharisee’s beliefs to tell a Great Reversal parable to the Pharisees “who loved money” [v.14) that brings home the seriousness of this issue. This is about the state of their souls both now and into the age to come.

So, what shall we take away from this?

First, Jesus portrays money as a competing master, a faux god, an idol that people worship. Messing with our wallets and bank accounts might say more about us than we know.

Is money a means to an end or the end itself? And if it’s only a means (good start!), what is the end goal? Accumulating wealth, or stewarding the wealth God gives us to help those around us?

Do we think wealth = importance and value? Because if we do, we will judge the importance and value of ourselves and others by this measure. Even worse, do we think money reflects something about our importance and value in the eyes of God, as if wealth or poverty are moral markers in people’s lives? Oof.

I suspect our view and use of money has something to do with a test of trust and value: do we trust God or money to take care of us, and do we value people more than our money? Over and over, Old Testament and New – and in the past few chapters in Luke - we hear that how we use our resources in the generous care and service of others is a window into our hearts. Are we serving God or money?

Second, the first words out of the Rich Man’s mouth ought to have been, “Please forgive me Lazarus, for the way I treated you.” The issue is not his money; the issue is his attitude and action toward his neighbor, the poor, the underprivileged, the sick and the lame. 

“The true test can never be a simple dollar amount. It must be our sensitivity to the poverty and pain we find around us. A heart unwilling to help others—because it might be risky, or they might not deserve it, or it might cost us too much—is a heart unwilling to recognize the desperate help we ourselves need from God.”

(“Is the Rich Man and Lazarus a Parable?” Peter Gurry)

“What this parable attacks is wealth that does not see poverty and suffering. It attacks the idea that possessions are…owned without responsibility to God and other people… The parable does not tell us how the wealthy are to help the poor, but it insists the poor are brothers and sisters of the wealthy and that the injustice of the juxtaposition of wealth and poverty cannot be tolerated… 

Lazarus is still at the gate. Parables like this one insist that Christians must not be like the rich man who cares only for his own kind and cannot see the poor until too late. We dare not have a gospel with an evangelistic emphasis and no concern for the poor Any gospel that is not good news to the poor is not the gospel of Jesus Christ (see Luke 4:18-22)… 

Kingdom-driven decisions regarding possessions…would lead to the reduction of hoarding and consumerism, change how we view and attain security, enable various ministries, and relieve the plight of the poor. Economic decisions are not easy, but the church should not only lead the way but demonstrate by its use of money the reality of its gospel…God forbid that we not see, not care, and not act to alleviate the plight of the poor.” (Stories With Intent)

I don’t think Jesus is just warning people here, though he is clearly doing that. I think he is offering life as well. How does one store up the kind of treasure that heaven values? By being generous, by actively looking out for the poor and needy, by using money/stuff to build relationships with people in a way that displays the heart of God and the values of the Kingdom.

God loves to give good things to us, even when it is at great cost to Himself (as seen through the death of Jesus). The more we begin to find pleasure and even joy in giving of our material things, the more our heart aligns with God’s heart, and the more we begin to understand why  it is the Father’s good pleasure to give us the spiritual wealth of kingdom through Jesus.

___________________________________________________________________

[1] “The tricky cleverness, by which the steward had endeavoured at once to escape detection, and to secure friends who would help him in his need, was exactly what an Oriental landlord would admire as clever, even though he saw through it.” (Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges)

 “Prudently. I would suggest shrewdly… recognizing in it a skillful adaptation of the means to the end - affirming nothing in the way of moral approbation or disapprobation, either of means or end, but leaving their worth to be determined by other considerations.’" (Vincent’s Word Studies)

[2] “They make better use of their earthly opportunities for their own lifetime than the sons of the light (John 12:36; Ephesians 5:8; 1 Thessalonians 5:5) do for their lifetime; or even than the sons of light do of their heavenly opportunities for eternity.” (Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges)

[3] “Be good stewards even of the lowest talents wherewith God hath entrusted you, and particularly of your property. Make yourselves friends of this, by doing all possible good with it, particularly to the children of God.” (Benson Commentary)

[4] “There are rabbinic parallels to this principle. One notes that God “does not give a big thing to a man until He has tested him in a small matter; and afterwards He promotes him to a great thing.” The illustration is then given of Moses and David, who were faithful with sheep and so were given leadership over the nation.” (Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds of the New Testament)

[5] “Be good stewards even of the lowest talents wherewith God hath entrusted you, and particularly of your property. Make yourselves friends of this, by doing all possible good with it, particularly to the children of God.” (Benson Commentary)

[6] Stories With Intent, by Klyne Snodgrass

[7] There is a LOT of discussion about whether this is a parable or if Jesus is talking about an actual event. I think it’s a parable for a number of reasons. Ask me about it if you like J If it overlaps with real people, it’s probably still a parable that is stepping on the toes of some in his audience. See footnote #8 and #11.

[8] This is a description of the high priestly garments, according to Exodus 39.27-29.

[9] From Biblical Hermeneutics Stack Exchange: “In Jesus' story, Lazarus was laid ‘at the rich man's gate’ (Luke 16.20). This could refer to the gate that guarded the temple. Perhaps not coincidentally, Luke mentions another beggar at the temple gate in Acts 3.2, 10.”

[10] Though Lazarus was a common name, the only other Lazarus listed in the NT is Lazarus, the brother of Mary Magdalene and Martha. (John 12:1–3; Matthew 26:6). See footnote #11 on the possibility of the Rich Man as Caiphus. Jesus may be giving them a hint that when he raises Lazarus from the dead, it won’t make a difference to Caiphus. See John 11.

[11] “The phrase probably alludes to a feast where guests reclined beside one another around a table. The place beside the host was the position of highest honor. Pious Jews expected to [be a part of this].” (Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds of the New Testament)

[12] “When the Rich Man…sees Abraham, he recognizes Lazarus. ‘Send Lazarus…’ Lazarus could have be forgiven for yelling out, ‘Oh, so you know me now, do you? ‘Clearly, Dives has known exactly who Lazarus was, he just chose to ignore him.” (Marty Solomon)

[13] “ ‘Child/son’ is [teknon] the equivalent of “my dear boy”. It is the same term the father used in in Luke 15, when faced with the elder son who has still not repented and is petulantly still holding out against what he knows he should do.” (Marty Solomon)

[14] “That gulf is fixed…by the justice of God and the obstinacy of the ungraced human heart. The rich man… cannot see - because he will not see it - that he is the cause of it…In this profound sense we can speak of God’s divine judgment as self-imposed. (“Is the Rich Man and Lazarus a Parable?” by Peter Gurry)

[15] Kenneth Bailey sees in “those who wish to come over from here to you will not be able,  a hint that there is, in fact, someone willing; specifically, Lazarus. If this is true, it speaks volumes about Lazarus’ long suffering and his willingness to forgive. In other words, the deplorable nature of the Rich Man did not give Lazarus a reason to stop having a heart of compassion for him.

[16] “Jewish historian Flavius Josephus stated that Caiaphas’ father-in-law Anas had five priestly sons; Jesus might have been stepping on some real toes (Israel Bible Center, https://weekly.israelbiblecenter.com/rich-man-lazarus-based-real-life) 

Also, see this. https://theopolisinstitute.com/the-parable-of-lazarus-and-the-rich-man/

[17] “The Pharisees believed in a future life and judgment, but did not live in conformity with that belief in the pursuit of wealth.” (Expositor’s Bible Commentary)

“When in Hades, the rich man begs that Lazarus be sent to his five living brothers to spare them the same fate. Abraham denies the request, pointing out that they already have the Scriptures. Even if someone were to rise from the dead they would not believe. The statement is a veiled reference to the religious leaders, who are presently rejecting the scriptural prophecies concerning Jesus the Messiah and who will continue to reject him even when he rises from the dead.” (Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds of the New Testament)

Harmony #64: Choosing Between Two Masters (Luke 12:13-21, 33-34; Matthew 6:19-21, 24)

Then someone from the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” But Jesus said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator between you two?” Then he said to them, “Watch out and guard yourself from all types of greed, because one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions. ”He then told them a parable:[1]

“The land of a certain rich man produced an abundant crop, so he thought to himself, ‘What should I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ Then he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to myself, “You have plenty of goods stored up for many years; relax, eat, drink, celebrate!

“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded back from you, but who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ So it is with the one who stores up riches for himself, but is not rich toward God.[2]

“Do not accumulate for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide yourselves purses that do not wear out—a treasure in heaven that never decreases, where no thief approaches to break in and steal, and no moth or rust destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

“No one can serve two masters, for 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 God and money.”[3]

* * * * *

 The Bible has a lot to say about money.

• Sixteen of the thirty-eight parables Jesus told deal with money and possessions.

• 10% of the Gospels deal directly with the subject of money.

• The Bible has 500+ verses on prayer and 500 - verses on faith, but 2,000+ verses on money and possessions. There are a LOT more sections addressing poverty/the poor.

So, let’s talk about how to see and use money through the lenses of Scripture.

1. The Money We Have Is From God’s Provision

“Every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, and has given him power to use it, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labor; this is the gift of God.” (Ecclesiastes 5:19)

You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.”  But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today. (Deuteronomy 18:17-18)

2. We Are Stewards

David praised the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly, saying, “Praise be to you, Lord, the God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting.  Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours.

Yours, Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all.  Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name.

“But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand… Lord our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a temple for your Holy Name comes from your hand, and all of it belongs to you. (1 Chronicles 29: 10-16)

3. Money’s Has The Potential To be Destructive

• Mark 10:24 - “How hard is it for those who trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!”

• Matthew 13:22 - “…the love of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word of God, and he becomes unfruitful.”

• 1 Timothy 6:10 - “For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith…"

• Hebrews 13:5 - “Let your character be free from the love of money, being content with what you have…”

• Ecclesiastes 5:10 “Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless.”[4]

Christian singer Steve Taylor wrote a song called Cash Cow. It’s a strange mini rock opera, to be sure, but you don’t hear many popular Christian songs calling out the danger of money. Here’s a taste.

It was a morning just like any other morning ...in the Sinai Desert ...1200 B.C. It glistened, it glowed, it rose from the gold of the children of Israel (and most of the adults): The Cash Cow.

The golden Cash Cow had a body like the great cows of ancient Egypt and a face like the face of Robert Tilton[5] (without the horns). And through the centuries it has roamed the earth like a ravenous bovine seeking whom it may lick. 

From the Valley of the Shadow of the Outlet Mall to the customized pet-wear boutique; from the trailer of the fry chef to the palace of the sheik, the Cash Cow lurks.

Who loves you, baby? Who'll give you good credit? Who says you'll regret it? "I was young and I needed the money." "I had money, and I needed more money." "I was filthy rich--all I wanted was love. And a little more money..."

Woe to you, proud mortal, secure in your modest digs. You think you're immune? I, too, was hypnotized by those big cow eyes the last time I uttered those three little words, "I deserve better!"

What are the warning signs, that money is becoming a problem? I like Tim Keller’s list.

You can’t give large amounts of it away. You get scared if you might have less than you’re accustomed to having.  You see people who are doing better than you, even though you might have worked harder or might be a better person, and it gets under your skin. And when that happens, you have one foot in the trap. Because then it’s no longer just a tool; it’s the scorecard. It’s your essence, your identity. No matter how much money you have, though it’s not intrinsically evil, it has incredible power to keep you from God.  – Tim Keller

4. Money Has Great Potential For Good

“Now, my brothers, we must tell you about the grace that God had given to the Macedonian churches. Somehow, in most difficult circumstances, their joy and the fact of being down to their last penny[6] themselves produced a magnificent concern for other people. I can guarantee that they were willing to give to the limit of their means, yes and beyond their means, without the slightest urging from me or anyone else.

In fact they simply begged us to accept their gift of supporting their brothers in Christ. Nor was their gift, as I must confess I had expected, a mere cash payment. Instead they made a complete dedication of themselves first to the Lord and then to us, as God’s appointed ministers.

 I don’t want you to read this as an order. It is only my suggestion, prompted by what I have seen in others of eagerness to help, and here is a way to prove the reality of your love. Do you remember the generous grace of Jesus Christ, the Lord of us all? He was rich beyond our telling, yet he generously became poor for your sakes so that his poverty might make you rich." (2 Corinthians 8:1-9)

When we realize that others are in need, and we have the resources to alleviate that need, we should generously and joyfully do so. It is a sign of the reality of our love for God and others. God does not prosper us so we can indulge ourselves. God prospers us so we can extend the gift of generous grace to others.

“All the believers were one in heart and mind.  No one claimed that any of his possessions were all his own, but they shared everything they had...it was distributed to anyone as he had need.”  (Acts 4:32-35)[7]

This is not government-mandated communism or socialism; this is Holy Spirit inspired, voluntary communalism. This is the financial implication of covenant community. We are part of a community that needs our contribution from the blessing God has given us. That could manifest in many ways, but here we see one clear and practical way: take care of each other’s physical needs.[8] The early Church Fathers were uncomfortably blunt on this issue.

• Didache (100s) “Share everything with your brother. Do not say, “It is private property.” If you share what is everlasting, you should be that much more willing to share things which do not last.”

• Irenaeus (130-200) “Instead of the tithes which the law commanded, the Lord said to divide everything we have with the poor. And he said to love not only our neighbors but also our enemies, and to be givers and sharers not only with the good but also to be liberal givers toward those who take away our possessions.”

• John Chrysostom (300s) “Not to enable the poor to share in our goods is to steal from them and deprive them of life. The goods we possess are not ours but theirs.”

• Basil the Great (300s) “The bread in your cupboard belongs to the hungry man; the coat hanging in your closet belongs to the man who needs it; the shoes rotting in your closet belong to the man who has no shoes; the money which you put into the bank belongs to the poor. You do wrong to everyone you could help but fail to help.”

• Ambrose (300s) wrote, “The things which we cannot take with us are not ours. Only virtue will be our companion when we die…The bosoms of the poor, the houses of widows, the mouths of children are the barns which last forever... You are not making a gift of your possession to the poor person. You are handing over to him what is his.”

5. Generosity is meant to be an act of worship, not a legalistic transaction followed by angry, begrudging givers. We will either worship wealth, or worship with our wealth.  Here’s how to worship with our wealth.

 “The important thing is to be willing to give as much as we can—that is what God accepts, and no one is asked to give what he has not got. Of course, I don’t mean that others should be relieved to an extent that leaves you in distress. It is a matter of share and share alike….

At present your plenty should supply their need, and then at some future date their plenty may supply your need. In that way we share with each other, as the scripture says, ‘He who gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no lack’…

Let everyone give as his heart tells him, neither grudgingly nor under compulsion, for God loves people who give cheerfully. After all, God can give you everything that you need, so that you may always have sufficient both for yourselves and for giving away to other people. As the scripture says: “He has dispersed abroad, he has given to the poor; his righteousness remains forever.”

The more you are enriched by God the more scope there will be for generous giving, and your gifts, administered through us, will mean that many will thank God. For your giving does not end in meeting the wants of your fellow-Christians. It also results in an overflowing tide of thanksgiving to God.

Moreover, your very giving proves the reality of your faith, and that means that people thank God that you practice the Gospel that you profess to believe in, as well as for the actual gifts you make to them and to others. And yet further, people will pray for you and feel drawn to you because you have obviously received a generous measure of the grace of God. Thank God, then, for his indescribable generosity to you!” (Excerpts from 2 Corinthians 8-9)

6. In giving back to God, we reorient our hearts.

The NT does not mandate a tithe amount. Along with its many encouragements to be generous, it says this about the heart of the giver:

Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. (2 Corinthians 9:7)

God’s not interested in a legalistic approach to generosity. Setting a number like 10% too easy; it lets us avoid our hearts. I suspect that God wants to use our relationship with our money like a fire in our lives (to use imagery from last week.  Do I think of what I have as mine, or am I a steward of what is God’s? Is my money merely for me and my family, or have I been given a resource that has communal obligations attached to it?  What does it look like to simultaneously be responsible for myself and my family while trusting God that I can be generous in ways that might even make me financially uncomfortable at times?  What should bring me greater joy: watching my retirement account grow, or watching my financially desperate brother and sister have their needs met?

“I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare. If our giving habits do not at all pinch or hamper us, I should say they are too small. There ought to be things we want to do but cannot do because our giving expenditures exclude them.” – C.S. Lewis

This, I think, is where our hearts get exposed. We love the stories of followers of Jesus who were radically generous with their money, trusting God to take care of them. We know it’s admirable. It’s just….really, really hard to think of doing that ourselves.

But God does a fiery work of purification through our love of generosity and kindness. There is something soul-transformative in giving. It frees us from the power of money, and it frees us to celebrate how God’s provision for His people (as a group) helps us to take care of each other.

I think we learn something about the heart of God, who is lavishly generous to us, when we are generous to others. Some ideas for generosity:

• the church (for our spiritual mission and our benevolence fund)

• your neighbor (Who is your neighbor? Everybody.)

• missionaries/missions organization (His House, VidaNet, Esperanza, Sal, Heather and Mila Sanchez, the Ducrozet family)

• organizations that work with those in need (locally, think Goodwill Inn, Father Fred, Single MOMM, Thrive, Freedom Farm and Affirm Ministries, Peace Ranch, Touching Hearts, Thomas Judd)

It doesn’t have to be much compared to others around you. We all have different amounts of resources. But being generous is part of God’s good plan to bless His people, both the giver and the receiver. 

___________________________________________________________________

[1] This parable has a parallel in Ben Sirach 11:18–19: “One becomes rich through diligence and self-denial, and the reward allotted to him is this: when he says, ‘I have found rest, and now I shall feast on my goods!’ he does not know how long it will be until he leaves them to others and dies.” (NIV First Century Study Bible)

[2]  Scripture warns against merely storing grain when others were hungry (Pr 11:26).

[3] The Testament of Judah 19:1 (second century b.c.) reads, “My children, love of money leads to idolatry, because once they are led astray by money, they designate as gods those who are not gods. It makes anyone who has it go out of his mind.”

[4] Proverbs 11:28 - “He that trusts in his riches will fall…”

Psalms 62:10 - “If riches increase, don’t set your heart upon them.”

Luke 18: 24-25  Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

Hebrews 13:5-6  “Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have because He has said, “I will never leave you; I will always be by your side.” 6 Because of this promise, we may boldly say, “The Lord is my help - I won’t be afraid of anything. How can anyone harm me?”

[5] A prosperity gospel televangelist. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Tilton

[6] Deuteronomy 15:11 There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land.

[7] Perhaps they were taking their cue from Proverbs: One person gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. People curse the one who hoards grain, but they pray God’s blessing on the one who is willing to sell. (Proverbs 11:24-26)

[8] “The Dead Sea Scrolls community also tried to live simple lives, and they were critical of wealth. Josephus claimed not one member of the sect had greater wealth or possessions than another. Upon joining the community, a person’s possessions were handed over to the leaders and became communal property.” (NIV First Century Study Bible)

Harmony #24: Choosing A Master (Matthew 6:19–34; Luke 12:22-34)

19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

22 “The eye is the lamp of the body.[1] If your eyes are healthy (generous? sincere?), your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are unhealthy (stingy?), your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness![2] 24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.[3]

25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?

31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the nations run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. Luke 12:32 “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions, and give alms; provide yourselves with purses that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. 

34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness[4], and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Heads up: I want to unsettle us this morning like Jesus unsettled his original audience. What he is offering here is an extended look at the connection between money, worry, and trust. Let me explain some of the imagery first, then we are going to try to let the weight and importance of what he said get into our souls.

THE EYE IMAGERY

The Jewish community used “good eye” to describe people who were morally sound, and often associated it with generosity:

'He who has a bountiful eye will be blessed, for he shares his bread with the poor' (Proverbs 22:9).

Sirach, a Jewish book of ethical teachings written about 200 years before Jesus was born, declares: 

Evil is the man with a grudging eye; he averts his face and disregards people. A greedy man's eye is not satisfied with a portion, and mean injustice withers the soul. A stingy man's eye begrudges bread, and it is lacking at his table.  (Sir 14:8–10)

The book of Tobit (which is included in the Catholic and Orthodox Bible), written a little before Sirach, notes this:

Give alms from your possessions to all who live uprightly, and do not let your eye begrudge the gift when you make it.. If you have many possessions, make your gift from them in proportion; if few, do not be afraid to give according to the little you have. So you will be laying up a good treasure for yourself against the day of necessity. For charity delivers from death and keeps you from entering the darkness; and for all who practice it charity is an excellent offering in the presence of the Most High. (Tobit 4:7–11)

Jesus is using imagery his audience understood. If the eye is healthy, it shows that someone is sincere, generous and helpful. When the eye turns bad, the person is stingy and envious, even to the point of wishing that the wealth of others be destroyed.[5]

After that image, Jesus describes those two contrasting kinds of people as serving two masters. In the final paragraph we read, note that all the sources of worry could be solved financially (food, water, clothes).

All this leads me to believe our Sermon on the Mount portion today is specifically about trusting God over our money and with our money. Though the application can be expanded, I want to keep our focus narrow this morning on how wealth competes with Jesus for our loyalty and trust.

Jesus is putting it on the line.. Either money will matter the most and you will let it order your life, or God will matter the most and you will let God order your life. You will live for one or the other. You will fix your eye on one or the other. Where your treasure is, there your heart will be. This isn’t the only time Jesus made this connection.

17 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?” 18 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not kill, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’”  

20 And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have observed from my youth.” 21 And Jesus looking upon him loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing; go, sell what you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 At that saying his countenance fell, and he went away sorrowful; for he had great possessions. 

23 And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it will be for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!” 24 And the disciples were amazed[6] at his words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25 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.” (Mark 10:17-25)

The issue is not that the man has money. Plenty of other people with whom Jesus interacted had money, and he didn’t call them on it. He’s calling out something in the ruler that was deeply attached to his money.

·      Was he wealthy because he wasn’t generous?

·      Did he find his security in his money?

·      Was it a point of pride?

·      Was he building trust in himself rather than in God?

The text doesn’t say. We just know that he was seriously committed to following God, but he had a huge blind spot that was keeping him from following God like he thought he was. Lest we think he was an outlier, the disciples immediate response is telling:

And they were exceedingly astonished (“dumbfounded to the point of emotionally ‘shutting down’), saying among themselves, "Then who is able to be saved?" (Mark 10:26)

It hit a nerve. Prosperity was often linked to God’s blessing in the Jewish community; now Jesus is warning that, if you aren’t careful,  prosperity might be the very thing that hinders you from fully following God. Jesus told a parable that riffs on a similar theme.

“Take heed, and beware of all covetousness; for a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” 16 And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man brought forth plentifully; 17 and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ 18 And he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns, and build larger ones; and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 

19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; take your ease, eat, drink, be merry.’ 20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you; and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ 21 So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” (Luke 12:15-21)

Jesus is not forbidding successful farming. He is calling out the pride that comes with arrogant self-reliance and the lack of generosity in the farmer’s heart. And as he points out in the end, what does it matter if you gain the world and lose your soul? [7]

Here’s where I note that Jesus never said that wealth itself is inherently evil, or that financial planning reveals a lack of trust. Money, wealth, and possessions have purposes in Scripture. The Bible: 

·      requires people to provide for relatives if they are capable (1Timothy 5:8)

·      commends work and provision for the future (Proverbs 6:6-8),

·      encourages us to enjoy the good things that God has given us (1 Timothy 4:3-4; 6:17)[8]

·      cautions not to hoard riches in the last days (James 5:2-3), which suggests it is a good thing to have accumulated resources to share.

·      Commands generosity to those who are in need, and that generosity comes from resources.[9]

Wealth is a tremendous gift if used properly, and a terrible master if not. Paul combines the upside and downside of wealth in his letter to Timothy:

“As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.” (1 Timothy 6:17–19)

You know I like Adam Clarke’s commentary. Here’s an example of why that is so:

“A heart designed for God and eternity is terribly degraded by being fixed on those things which are subject to corruption. "But may we not lay up treasure innocently?" Yes. First, if you can do it without setting your heart on it, which is almost impossible; second, if there be neither widows nor orphans, destitute nor distressed persons in the place where you live. 

"But there is a portion which belongs to my children; shall I distribute that among the poor?" If it belongs to your children, it is not yours, and therefore you have no right to dispose of it.  

"But I have a certain sum in stock, shall I take that and divide it among the poor?" By no means; for, by doing so, you would put it out of your power to do good after the present division: keep your principal, and devote, if you possibly can spare it, the product to the poor; and thus you shall have the continual ability to do good. In the mean time take care not to shut up your bowels of compassion against a brother in distress; if you do, the love of God cannot dwell in you.” (Adam Clarke)

I suspect God’s work of freeing us from the tyranny of the love of money – and freeing us from all the worries associated with it - is deeply intertwined with practicing generosity.  I want to bring this together by looking at what Paul wrote the church in Corinth about generosity.

2 Corinthians 8:1-9

 “Now, my brothers, we must tell you about the grace that God had given to the Macedonian churches. Somehow, in most difficult circumstances, their joy and the fact of being down to their last penny themselves produced a magnificent concern for other people. I can guarantee that they were willing to give to the limit of their means, yes and beyond their means, without the slightest urging from me or anyone else…     

 Now this had made us ask Titus… to complete his task by arranging for you too to share in this grace of generosity. Already you excel in every good quality—you have faith, you can express that faith in words; you have knowledge, enthusiasm and your love for us. Could you not add this grace to your virtues?  

     I don’t want you to read this as an order. It is only my suggestion, prompted by what I have seen in others of eagerness to help, and here is a way to prove the reality of your love. Do you remember the generous grace of Jesus Christ, the Lord of us all? He was rich beyond our telling, yet he generously became poor for your sakes so that his poverty might make you rich." (2 Corinthians 8:1-9)

The Corinthian church had going for it: faith, knowledge, diligent obedience, and agape love. Awesome! But there is a virtue missing from this list: generosity.  A couple things stand out in this portion of Paul’s letter.

The Macedonians gave as much as they were able  - and beyond.

The Macedonians could have said, "Don't talk to us about the problems in Jerusalem. We’ve got our own problems." Paul says that their lack of resources became a motivation for giving. They determined what they could comfortably contribute - and then went beyond this figure.  Basil (329-379), bishop of Caesarea, preached a blunt sermon on Jesus’s parable of the Rich Fool. In it he said,

“The bread that you hold back belongs to the hungry. The coat that you guard in a chest belongs to the naked. The shoes that you have left wasting away belong to the shoeless. The silver that you have buried in the ground belongs to the needy. In these and other ways you have wronged all those you were able to provide for.”[10]

1500 years later, Charles Spurgeon (1800s) received an invitation to preach at his rural church as a fundraiser to pay off some church debt. The man who contacted him told Spurgeon that he could use one of the man’s three homes (he had one in the country, the town, and by the sea). Spurgeon wrote back, "Sell one of the places and pay the debt yourself."

When we realize that others are in need, and we have the resources to alleviate that need, the Bible states that we should generously and joyfully do so. It is a sign that the Holy Spirit is at work in our lives.

Of course, it will cost something. David wrote in Psalms, “I will not give God sacrifices that cost me nothing.” The story is told of a man who was giving money for a good cause, and he said to a friend, “I think I can give $100 and not feel it.”  His friend said, “Why not give $200 and feel it?”

It’s a daunting challenge, but one that God uses for our good.

2. They gave entirely on their own, by a free choice.

They were not pressured into giving. Paul did not use guilt to motivate them.  It was gratitude in response to the grace of God. The actual amount is not mentioned. That’s because it wasn’t about the amount; it was about the heart. They didn’t even wait until they had a lot to give God; they gave from what they had. God is good with that approach.

“Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”  (Mark 12:41-44) 

God cares about motives more than amount. God does not want you to be generous out of fear or because you are concerned about what people will think. You can’t buy favor with God, and you shouldn’t try to buy favor with others. These Macedonians gave because their hearts were moved by the generous grace of God through Jesus, and wanted to pass it on in a practical way.

Did you know that Paul never commands Christians to tithe? It is not a New Testament teaching. The tithe functioned much like a tax on the Jewish people (as much as 20% tithe some years, and perhaps higher). There is no tax on the New Testament.

This does not mean our money is ours. The opposite is true. God is no longer laying claim to 10%; He is laying claim to all of it. We are stewards of what we have, not owners. 10% is too simple. It allows us to pay our tax to God and then do whatever we want with the rest. When we do that, we miss the point.

The question is no longer, “How much do I get to keep after I give God his tax?”  The question is, “How much am I able to give back into the service of the Kingdom of God?”

10% let’s us off the hook. There is no need to analyze the thoughts and intents of our heart, to see if money is an idol, to be honest about if we are greedy or if we have placed our trust in material things rather than God.

10% lets us avoid how we think about money in our souls.  Jesus constantly moved The Law inside. It’s not just, “Do you kill people or cheat on your spouse?”  It’s, “What do you desire in your heart? What do you want to have happen? What are you really thinking?” We are to give generously and voluntarily as we understand and are moved by the grace and generosity of God.

Here’s my challenge this week: re-examine your relationship with money in light of God’s Word. Examine your heart. This isn’t about whether you are rich or poor; it’s not about amounts; it’s not about how you are doing compared to your neighbor.

It’s about whether our money is a tool we use for God’s purposes or a master that controls us. It’s about checking where our trust, our hope, our assurance is grounded.

Then, consider what God’s call is in your life to commit to generosity. I’m not going to tell you what that is, because I don’t know your situation or how God will lead you. You get to wrestle with God about what responsible stewardship looks like as you balance responsibilities at home and responsibilities in the church and community.

But one thing I know, because the Bible makes it clear: there are treasures of the Kingdom waiting for those who can let go of the love of treasures on earth.

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[1] “The good eye looks to God as its “master” (v. 24) and fills the person with the “light” of God’s will. The bad eye looks to “treasures on earth” (v. 19) and admits only the “darkness” of greed and self-interest. The person’s whole life will be determined by the kind of “light” the “eye” lets in.” (Reformation Study Bible)

[2] “The eye (similar to the “heart” in Jewish literature) is a lamp that reveals the quality of a person’s inner life. A healthy eye (clear vision) suggests loyal devotion to God. A bad eye (impaired vision) suggests moral corruption.” (ESV Global Study Bible)

[3] Materialism may be God’s greatest rival competing for the allegiance of human hearts, not the least because constantly striving to secure one’s life via possessions produces anxiety. (NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible)

[4] By definition includes sharing one’s surplus with fellow Christians who lack the basic necessities of life or the ability to acquire them. When God’s people worldwide do this, “all these things” (food, drink, clothing) will be given to them as well. This is not a promise that faithful believers will never starve to death, but there need never be any poor among them (Deut 15:4)” (NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible)

[5] A contextualised reading of Matthew 6:22–23: 'Your eye is the lamp of your body.' Francois P. Viljoen. School for Biblical Science and Ancient Languages, North-West University, South Africa

http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0259-94222009000100023

[6] “Dumbfounded to the point of emotionally ‘shutting down.’” (HELPS Word Studies)

[7] His warning in Matthew 16:26?

[8] Expositors Bible Commentary

[9] See “Bible Verses About Generosity,” biblestudytools.com

[10] I found this anecdote in John Dickson’s Bullies And Saints.

Patterns of Gracious Love (1 John 3: 11-18)

John just finished writing about practicing righteousness rather than sin. He moves right into this.  

11 The central truth—the one you have heard since the beginning of your faith—is that we must love one another. 12 Please do not act like Cain, who was of the evil one. He brutally murdered his own brother. Why would he do something so despicable? Because his life was devoted to evil and selfishness, and his brother chose to do what is right. 

This is like saying to us, “Please don’t be like Charles Manson.” To John, murdering a biological family member is on par with not loving a spiritual family member. He’s building on Jesus’ teaching that one who kills and one who hates have the same heart in the eyes of God.[1] So whatever follows is going to be a big deal. The stakes are high.

13 Brothers and sisters, don’t be shocked if the corrupt world despises you.[2] 14 We know that we have crossed over from death to real life because we are devoted to true love for our brothers and sisters. Anyone who does not love abides in death (“lives among corpses”). 

John compares those who don’t love to someone who lives in a cemetery. This would have been unimaginably impure to John’s Jewish audience (and probably creepy to his Gentile readers). Living without love is like living among the dead. So unloving people are 0-2 here: they are like murderers of family who hang out with their dead victims. 

15 Everyone who hates other members of God’s family is a murderer. Does a murderer possess the eternal, beautiful life that never ends? No. 16 We know what true love looks like because of Jesus. He gave His life for us, and He calls us to give our lives for our brothers and sisters. 

Rather than taking life (like Cain), love gives its life. Rather than living in places of death, love lives in and points toward the beautiful life that never ends. Once again, note the language of murder. John does not want us to take this lightly.

17 If a person owns the kinds of things we need to make it in the world but refuses to share with those in need,[3] is it even possible that God’s love lives in him? 18 My little children, don’t just talk about love as an idea or a theory. Make it your true way of life, and live in the pattern of gracious love.

One could have read up to the last paragraph and thought, “I have not killed anyone and don’t hang out with dead people. I think I’m good.” John basically says, “Are you, though?” And he gives one example that hits close to home: our pocketbook. Lest this seem abruptly out of place, John is just highlighting a topic that Jesus highlighted.[4] Jesus talked about money more than he talked about heaven and hell. 1/3 of the parables are about money. The only topic he talked more about was the Kingdom of Heaven.  

Straight up: this is going to be an uncomfortable sermon about money. It’s going to make you uncomfortable like it has me, but that’s John’s fault. I encourage you to table all the excuses you are going to think of and just let the core teaching settle in. Then come to Message+ and we can unpack the nuance that ought to follow. 

John says if we don’t want to live like murderers – his analogy not mine – we must love of neighbor with “the kinds of things we need to make it in the world.” This is another way of saying “livelihood,” the material objects that sustain life: food, clothing, and shelter.[5]  Giving sacrificially for the needy around us is ‘righteous practice’ for laying down our lives in honor of what Jesus did for us. In fact, what we do with our money might reveal just to what extent we actually would be willing to sacrifice for them – or for God. 

“Here is a test of this love; if we do not divide our bread with the hungry, we certainly would not lay down our life for him. Whatever love we may pretend to mankind, if we are not charitable and benevolent, we give the lie to our profession. If we have not bowels of compassion, we have not the love of God in us; if we shut up our bowels against the poor, we shut Christ out of our hearts, and ourselves out of heaven.”  (Adam Clarke)

I want to (briefly) walk you through how this has played out in church history just so you can see how seriously followers of Jesus have taken this, and then talk about what it looks like for us today.  

• The early church practiced this kind of love right away was through agape feasts or "love feasts."[6] The meal provided an opportunity for congregations to give practical expression to their love through action (Acts 6:1 - 6; 1 Corinthians 11).[7] It was usually hosted by someone wealthy who provided food for all. Sharing material goods replaced possessing the goods as a value for Christians.[8] Possessions weren’t wrong; they just understood that God expected generous stewardship of what He gave. We are not our own;[9] neither is our stuff.  

• The Shepherd of Hermas (100 to 150 AD), a popular book in the early church, states that the wealthy should “assist widows, visit orphans and the poor, ransom God’s servants, show hospitality, help oppressed debtors in their need… the Master made you rich for this purpose that you might perform these ministries for him.”[10]

• Ignatius of Antioch (died in 108 AD) characterized heretics not in a theological sense but a practical one: they “have no regard for love; no care for the widow, or the orphan, or the oppressed; of the bond, or of the free; of the hungry, or of the thirsty.”

• By around 1100 or so, Canon Law (church law) had developed guidelines for giving alms: “the quality of the beggar[11], the capacity of the donor. . . the reason for the demand, . . .[and] the quantity being requested.”[12] This allows some ‘outs’ that aren’t necessarily spelled out in the Bible, but I there is an argument that stewardship includes not only sacrificial generosity but wise generosity.

• The Catholic Church became a societal hub of charity by the Middle Ages. While they encouraged helping people personally, over time charity became largely channeled through the church, who gave that money to the needy.

• With that much money, there was bound to be problems (giving counted as an indulgence; money intended for the poor made the clerics wealthy rather than helping the poor). Martin Luther, as part of his Reformation, wanted to reform the corruption that crept into that process.[13] He began the movement of shifting the care of the poor to the government,[14] which he thought was better suited to distribute it.

 So, followers of Jesus were taking this seriously. There were some problems because greed crept in, because the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.[15] But it was a central focus in the life of the church. 

This brings us to the first attempt to create an Acts-style community in the history of what we now call the United States. This is my last (and longest) example. 

John Winthrop was with the Massachusetts Bay Company, part of a group that established a Puritan community in New England. Winthrop was the governor for nearly twenty years. His 1630 speech, "A Model of Christian Charity"[16] provides a record of how Puritans (who wanted to “purify” the Church of England) sought to form bonds of Christian community in line with what the Bible has to say about doing life together such that they would fulfill the biblical mandate to be a light in a dark world. 

"A Model of Christian Charity" became one of the most well-known Puritan works ever printed. Over time it became thought of as sort of a prophecy because of its famous line about MBC being “a city on a hill,”[17] which has, for 350 years, been applied to the potential for America.

However, Winthrop’s ‘city on a hill’ was not a national vision. He wasn’t thinking of making a nation. He was thinking of a church-based community united by Christ’s love expressed in taking care of each other financially. It’s what the entire speech is about; it’s why the charter was drawn up. I can’t stress the enough: the entire premise is that when Christians take care of each other financially, they will be the city on the hill that shines the light of God’s Kingdom into a dark world. 

Now, John Winthrop was just a dude, so don’t hear what follows as sacred Scripture. He built on Scripture, which is good but not the same. I just want us to hear how, in our very specific history in the United States, people we admire as godly founders thought to build communities that made Christ and his Kingdom compelling. 

THE PRINCIPLES

• First, Winthrop assumed there would be rich and poor (as the book of Acts assumes), and Winthrop thought that was fine.[18] His emphasis was not on equality of living but on communal[19] living, with the wealthiest and most prosperous members of society freely giving to the poorest members. 

• Second, Winthrop points out that the interests of God must come before any person's interests, and God's instructions are clear: "If thy brother be in want and thou canst help him, thou needst not make doubt of what thou shouldst do; if thou lovest God thou must help him… We must love brotherly without dissimulation, we must love one another with a pure heart fervently. We must bear one another's burdens. We must not look only on our own things, but also on the things of our brethren.” 

• Third, individual households are intrinsically connected in Christian community: "It is a true rule that particular estates cannot [be maintained] in the ruin of the public." In other words, individual households might prosper more than others, but the community cannot prosper if there are individual households that fall into ruin. Think of the body analogy in 1 Corinthians 12. 

• Fourth, he describes the structure of the church in the book of Acts, where "44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” (Acts 2) As with a body, each individual part serves the whole.  The members of the community are united toward a common goal—serving God—and therefore should work to support and protect God’s family.

THE PRACTICAL

• First, a person is responsible to make provision for one's family and the future, but the overriding principle is: "if thou lovest God thou must help [thy brother]."

• Second, charity consists of providing money and material goods to others who need them. Material things "are subject to the moth, the rust, the thief," and therefore should not be held in excess of what one needs for one's own self and family. 

• Third, charity can be exhibited by forgiving a debt that is owed. When a person can repay, it’s just business, not charity. When approached by people who can’t or probably won’t repay a loan, Christians should simply give the person whatever he can afford instead of lending it. 

• Fourth, charity can be shown by offering love to others without expecting anything in return. Just as a truly loving mother gives love without any expectation of receiving something in return, so must a Christian freely dispense love and mercy to other Christians in need. 

• Fifth, the amount of help given should be regulated only by one's own most basic needs. Under normal circumstances, people should give away whatever they do not reasonably need.[20] Clearly, giving up all of one's wealth is not required,[21] but Winthrop encourages Christians, especially in times of emergency, to help "beyond our ability rather than tempt God in putting [others in need of] help by miraculous or extraordinary means." Winthrop refers to this as a "duty of mercy." 

Winthrop believed that if the MBC could do this, “we shall be as a City upon a Hill, the eyes of all people are upon us; so that if we shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken, and so cause Him to withdraw His present help from us, we shall be a by-word through the world." 

In his own diary, Winthrop reported the frustrations and failures. "As the people increased, so sin abounded." By the late 1600s, the material success of MBC had killed the dream. Too many people wanted the city upon a hill to be just another mercantile colony. What was left was just the shell of Winthrop's model.[22] In other words, though we love his vision of the United States as “the city on a hill,” Winthrop himself was convinced it collapsed long before there were states to unite because people loved money more that God.

And yet, his speech and his vision have remained, and I think rightly so. There is something compelling about this kind of community. Why? Because it’s a community model taken from the Bible. Winthrop quoted our text today in his speech: 

“ If a person owns the kinds of things we need to make it in the world but refuses to share with those in need, is it even possible that God’s love lives in him? Don’t just talk about love as an idea or a theory. Make it your true way of life, and live in the pattern of gracious love.”

______________________________

So, what’s the big takeaway here from John’s text and the way in which the church has tried to live out this reality? What’s the practical implication for our lives? 

•  Those who love God love others.

• Self-sacrificially loving people do self-sacrificially loving things. 

• We practice dying for others by dying to self and living for others. 

• Let’s start with our money, which Jesus and the writers of Scripture seem to emphasize as kind of a barometer for how much we are actually ready to sacrifice for others. If we get this one right, the rest of the sacrifices will probably fall into place.   

I’m not saying you have to give more here at CLG. This is not a sermon to guilty you into raising your tithe (though we will never complain if you do J). If you want to give to the Benevolence Fund here, we will distribute it within our church family as we see needs arise. However, you don’t need us as a mediator. Odds are good you know someone who needs financial help. Or that you know someone who would be encouraged by a gift card or an anonymous donation. I encourage you to think locally first, then think more broadly. Practice showing love by being generous. 

“Make it your true way of life, and live in the pattern of gracious love.”

__________________________________________________________

[1] Matthew 5:21-22

[2] “This was a lesson to the Church, preparatory to martyrdom. Expect neither justice nor mercy from the men who are enemies of God.”  (Adam Clarke)

[3] Let’s get this out of the way. Are there boundaries to this command? Yes. But don’t worry: there are plenty of opportunities that remain J “IF A MAN WILL NOT WORK, HE SHALL NOT EAT” (3:10)….The Greek text makes clear that Paul is not speaking about the inability to work but rather the refusal to work (the text literally reads: “If someone does not want to work...”). While the church must continue to care for those who genuinely need help (3:13, “never tire of doing what is right”), it must not tolerate those who are unwilling to work. The Didache, an early Christian manual of instruction, makes the same point in its teaching on how to deal with visitors “who come in the name of the Lord”: “If the [visitor] who comes… wishes to settle among you and is a craftsman, let him work for his living. But if he is not a craftsman, decide according to your own judgment how he shall live among you as a Christian, yet without being idle. But if he does not wish to cooperate in this way [i.e., to work], then he is trading on Christ. Beware of such people.” (Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary Of The New Testament)

[4] “ Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?” (James 2:15) In some Jewish traditions, withholding goods from someone in need made you complicit in starving them.  Also, this from Jesus: 19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth…20 but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven...21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, (fixed on good treasure –the things of God) your whole body will be full of the light of God’s will. 23 But if your eyes are unhealthy (greedy or envious for things they see), your whole body will be full of the darkness of greed and self-interest.[4] If then the ‘light’ within you is darkness, how great is that darkness![4]  (Matthew 6:19-23

[5] The Bible has plenty to say on how we should treat the poor among us:

 “Because the poor are plundered and the needy groan, I will now arise,” says the LORD. “I will protect them from those who malign them.” (Psalm 12:5) “I know that the LORD secures justice for the poor and upholds the cause of the needy.” (Psalm 140:12) “Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.” (Proverbs 14:31) “If there is a poor man among your brothers in any of the towns of the land that the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother. Rather be openhanded and freely lend him whatever he needs. ... Give generously to him and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to.” (Deuteronomy 15:7–8, 10)

[6] 1 Corinthians 11 links it with a celebration of the Lord's Supper, but it eventually became something done separately.  Jude warns about protecting it: “ These people are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm—shepherds who feed only themselves. They are clouds without rain, blown along by the wind; autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted—twice dead.”  (Jude 12)

[7] New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology

[8] https://openbookreligion.org/read/early-christians-speak/section/22728118-08ad-470e-8705-276290e2f001

[9] 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

[10]https://place.asburyseminary.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1074&context=firstfruitspapers

[11] Probably based on biblical passages like this: 

·      Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise!  It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest. How long will you lie there, you sluggard?  When will you get up from your sleep?  A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest—and poverty will come on you like a thief and scarcity like an armed man. (Proverbs 6:6-11)

·      For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you.  We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you to imitate. For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.” 

·      “We hear that some among you are idle and disruptive. They are not busy; they are busybodies. Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the food they eat. And as for you, brothers and sisters, never tire of doing what is good.”  (2 Thessalonians 3:7-13)

[12] https://digitalcommons.hamline.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1040&context=dhp

[13] See the addendum at the end.

[14] Some see this as the beginning of what has turned into the ‘welfare state.’

[15] 1 Timothy 6:10

[16] Read the whole thing here, in all of its confusing1600s English language glory:https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/A_Model_of_Christian_Charity

[17] JFK used that line in 1961, and Reagan quoted the "city upon a hill" passage as part of his Presidential inaugural speech in 1981 and is on record saying it at least 30 times as President.

[18] A Model of Christian Charity" begins with the following proclamation regarding inequality in human society: “God Almighty in His most holy and wise providence, hath so disposed of the condition of mankind, as in all times some must be rich, some poor, some high and eminent in power and dignity; others mean and in submission.”

[19] Not the same as communism, in which the government forces economic equality. In communalism (see the book of Acts) individuals voluntarily take care of each other from their abundance. 

[20] As for saving wealth to be prepared for disaster or tragedy. Winthrop argues that a man who gives will be taken care of by God, and that all those he helps will stand as witnesses of his generosity and mercy when his day of judgment arrives. In addition, Winthrop notes that physical objects of wealth "are subject to the moth, the rust, the thief," and that they can cause a person's heart to lose sight of the true treasure of serving God.

[21] "There is a time when a Christian must sell all and give to the poor, as they did in the Apostles' times." But, he is clear, not all the time.

[22] All my information on Winthrop is from https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/educational-magazines/model-christian-charity