To the Christian Rich - Faith is Better than Gold

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls. -- 1 Peter 1:3-9

To the Christian Rich - Forget Yourself; Remember the Poor

"Wealth brings many friends, but a poor man's friend deserts him. . .A poor man is shunned by all his relatives--how much more do his friends avoid him! Though he pursues them with pleading, they are nowhere to be found." - Proverbs 19:4&7

Do the poor not have enough trouble without you also forgetting them? Is their lot not a sufficient burden without being forsaken not only by their family and friends, but even by the strangers most able to give relief? Be a part of the solution, and the redemption. Be the difference-maker to the forgotten, avoided, and shunned.

"He who gives to the poor will never want.

But he who shuts his eyes will have many curses." 

Proverbs 28:27

To the Christian Rich - Financial Prosperity; At Least as Dangerous as Sexual Immorality

Jon Bloom gets it. As a part of his article here, he writes:

In fact, if we take the Bible seriously, material prosperity should frighten us, in some sense, because the Bible says frightening things about it:

• Jesus: “Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” (Mark 10:24–25)
• Paul: “The love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. But as for you, O man of God, flee these things.” (1 Timothy 6:10–11)
• James: “Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire.” (James 5:1–3)
  
  Not to diminish the dangers of sexual sin (1 Corinthians 6:9–11), but have you ever noticed that the New Testament issues more dire warnings against the spiritual dangers of material prosperity than sexual immorality? Jesus didn’t say it’s harder for a sexually immoral person to get into heaven than a camel to squeeze through a needle’s eye. He said it about rich people. And most people who read this live in one of the richest nations in the history of the world. Do we tremble? Why is it that prosperous Christians aren’t forming accountability groups like crazy to help us keep our lives free from the love of money (Hebrews 13:5)? . . 
  

  
  

  
  

Outgrowing Christianity

Writing on what Jesus means when He blesses the poor in spirit (Mt 5:3), Blair Smith comments,
    
       "This stands in contrast to so much of what we see. The spirit of our age tells us to "express" ourselves and "believe" in ourselves. We are about self-reliance, self-sufficiency, self-confidence, and so on. The counter-cultural truths of the Beatitudes say, "Empty self so that God can come in." When we are full of self, we miss the blessing of God's presence. If we are always full of self, we are not even Christian.
      We never outgrow this first beatitude. It is the basis upon which we ascend to the others. If we outgrow it, we outgrow our Christianity."

Taken from "Blessed are the Poor in Spirit," Tabletalk Magazine, June 2017 Edition, pages 14-15.

". . . For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted," - Jesus the Lord, Luke 18:14.

To the Christian Rich - Your Sister Sodom

"Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy. They were haughty and did an abomination before me. So I removed them, when I saw it."

The LORD God, Ezekiel 16:49-50

To the Christian Rich - Your Number is Exceedingly Large, and Exceedingly Small

Significant time has passed since I first began pursuing the Christian Rich. I suppose it's time to define my terms. When I say "Christian Rich," I don't mean millionaires only. I mean something closer to what perhaps the Bible means. I mean those of you who have significantly more income (and normally possessions) than you need. I mean those who, when you think about money, it is largely a contemplation regarding your next purchase or investment. It is not about how you will make the house payment, fuel your vehicle, keep your utility services, secure a haircut, or stock your pantry. I mean those of you who could give away much more money than you do, and even sell some of your possessions to generate more cash, and your lifestyle would not change significantly. I mean those of you who continue to stockpile wealth and stuff while giving the bare minimum (if that), and measure your generosity not by what you have left over after you give, but by whether you meet the basic 10% standard. And hey, 10% is commendable. I'm for 10%. But finding yourself in a position to do so much more, perhaps you should. Yes, you should. Fight greed - give. Relieve suffering - give. Be a blessing - give. Be generous - give. Love the poor - give. Change lives - give. Be an answer to prayer - give. Consider others more significant than yourself - give. Be courageous - give. Live with eternity in mind - give. Trust Jesus -give.

The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. As it is written,

“He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor;
    his righteousness endures forever.”

He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God. For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God. By their approval of this service, they will glorify God because of your submission that comes from your confession of the gospel of Christ, and the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others, while they long for you and pray for you, because of the surpassing grace of God upon you. Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!

2 Corinthians 9:6-15

This text is particularly instructive because in it the Apostle Paul is not dealing with the tithe. He is writing of contributing to an offering he is collecting to relieve the poor believers in Jerusalem. I think he means for the Corinthians to tithe and add to his collection. The way Paul talks here about giving money is not the way the tithe is taught elsewhere. Some argue that Paul is describing the New Covenant way of giving, that the tithe is obsolete after the resurrection of Jesus. To write on why I think that's wrong would take many pages which no one would read. So suffice it to say I see two different kinds of giving in both Testaments - tithing and then other gifts. Second Corinthians 8 & 9 describe, I think, reasons and ways to give offerings (though I do believe giving your tithe to relieve the poor is also acceptable).  

Every believer is required to tithe, and then should offer other gifts, though the demand is not quite the same. Those of you with wealth, just imagine, together, out loud, with your family around the dinner table, the extravagant good and relief and hope and help and transformation and joy and love you can provide, if you would only open your hearts, and then your hands. I assume almost none of you will. But if I can move just one, my efforts will not have been wasted.

By the way, if by "rich" I meant only the millionaires, I would not write to the "Christian" ones, because I'm not sure there are any of them.  

To the Christian Rich - Trade NOW for THEN

^{But woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full.} 

^{Woe to you who are well-fed now, for you shall be hungry.} 

^{Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.} 

^{Woe to you when all men speak well of you,} 

^{for their fathers used to treat the false prophets the same way.}

^{Jesus the LORD, Luke 6:24-26}

To the Christian Rich - Repent.

When the preacher for whom this blog is named was approached by crowds asking him how they might bear fruit keeping with repentance (Lk 3:1-22), he spoke to them regarding the relationship they had with their material possessions, their money, and their income. (Terribly interesting I think, and frightening). He told them to share their property, deal honestly in their businesses, be content with their income, and refuse to bully or otherwise intimidate in the pursuit of  financial gains. Now, let's go and do likewise.

To the Christian Rich - It is More Blessed to Give than to Receive

It just is, as the Apostle Paul says when he quotes Jesus (Ac 20:35), which is quite rare. A person is more blessed when he or she keeps less to give away more. This is a unique design within the kingdom of God, along with related realities like dying to live, and losing to gain, and being last to finish first, and serving to attain greatness, etc. Embrace the paradox. Open your hands.