Category Archives: Apologetics

Jesus Did Not Say That We Must Be Introspective

Apologetics, , ,

JESUS DID NOT SAY THAT WE MUST BE INSTROSPECTIVE

Oh, how we love to do post mortems on ourselves, endlessly examining our actions and motives in case we have offended God! Well, some of us do. I suppose it’s part of our natural inclination to put ourselves down – instigated by the deceiver, of course. If there are two people he loves to dishonour, it is God and us.

But didn’t Jesus say that the poor in spirit are blessed? Yes, He did, but He did not mean what we think He meant. As western philosophically-minded Greek-orientated thinkers, that’s how we (and the thousands of theologians who have written, taught or preached about the “Beatitudes” froma western abstract perspective) interpret the first beatitude.

Before we can say categorically, “This is what it means,” we must look at the Hebrew construction in which the Beatitudes occur. Jesus used a common Hebrew construction called a “chiasm” or “reverse concentric symmetry”. Don’t be put off by the fancy-sounding title. Let me explain.

A chiasm uses a unique pattern of repetition to clarify or emphasise a point. Instead of making a series of statements which go from point A to B to C, and end at point C, the teacher makes a preliminary statement which moves towards the central point of his teaching and then backs out, statement by statement to end where he began. Look at the following example and match the statements:

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

Chiasms are usually arranged in the same top-to-bottom form as they appear in the text:

A No one can serve two masters.
B Either he will hate the one and
C love the other, or
C′ he will be devoted to the one and
B′ despise the other.
A′ You cannot serve both God and Money.
(Matt. 6: 24)

If we do not recognise the chiastic structure, we will miss the point of the repetition. The thought is not that no one can serve two masters, God or money. We must look at the central point to get the thrust of Jesus’s teaching.

A and A’, B and B’ and C and C’ have similar themes, serving two masters, God or money, hating the one and loving the other. C and C’ are the centre point – the most important statement. This is not about a choice to serve God or money. This is about the devotion we give to the one we have chosen to serve.

The right thing to do is to serve God rather than money but the driving force of our service to Him is to be our devotion rather than our duty. When we serve God out of devotion to Him, nothing is too much to do or to give to Him. Our service is the outflow of our love, which is the most important thing. This takes us back to the greatest commandment to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength.

http://www.bible-discernments.com/oshua/whatisachiasm.html (Thomas B Clarke, retrieved March, 2015).

Although difficult to recognise, the so-called “Beatitudes” are an example of this rabbinic teaching method.

Matt. 5: 3-12 can be subdivided into three chiasms, verses 3 to 5, 6 to 8 and 9 to 12.

  1. Blessed are those who mourn . . .

The first chiasm, verses 3 to 5, can be represented this way:

A – Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven

B – Blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted

A’ – Blessed are the meek for they will in inherit the earth.

The central idea in this chiasm is B – Blessed are those who mourn.

Jesus was quoting here from Isaiah 66:

This is the one I esteem: the one who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word. (Isa. 66: 2b),

and from Psa. 37:

The meek will inherit the land and enjoy great peace. (Psa. 37: 11).

The Hebrew word for “poor” is aniy; and the word for “meek” is anav (remembering that Jesus would have spoken Hebrew, not Greek).  The words “poor” and “meek” come from the same Hebrew root, an. “Poor in spirit” can mean “poor in breath” or “poor in wind” here when ruach refers to a human being, from the Hebrew word ruach meaning “breath”, “wind” or “spirit”. One who is “poor in wind” is a person who is not puffed up or full of “hot air”, someone who is not full of his own importance.

The meek are the anavim, a word which is usually translated as the “lowly ones”.

“This word does not suggest weakness, but rather the recognition of one’s proper place in the universe before God. It is no self-effacing but reality-focused. The meek inherit the earth because they are grounded in the truth of reality.”

http://www.hebrew4christians.com/Scripture/BritChadashah/Beatitudes/beatitudes.html (from the article, “The Beatitudes of Jesus in Hebrew”, author unknown, retrieved March, 2015).

A paraphrase of these two thoughts would read something like this:

O how blessed and fortunate are those who are not full of their own importance and who can take their rightful place before God in submission to Him. These are the ones who have a place in God’s kingdom and who will receive their inheritance as His people.

Now let’s look at the central thought of this chiasm.

What have poverty of spirit and meekness to do with mourning? There are two possible ideas in this text.

One commentator suggests that this is the “godly sorrow” that leads us to repentance. In other words, when we recognise that we have left God’s way and become lost in the desert, we need to shuv – “return” – to the way of Yahweh so that we keep going in the right direction in order to reach Mount Zion where He has placed His name. When we have the humility to admit that we are wrong and return to the way, we shall experience the true happiness of following God’s path again.

Another way of looking at this passage is to recognise that there are others around us who have needs. We are called to forget ourselves and identify with those who are experiencing the grief and pain of loss. It takes humility and inner strength to come alongside those who are in deep emotional pain and to mourn with them.

Perhaps Jesus was teaching His disciples that there is true blessing and happiness when we are willing to give ourselves away to others. In this way we invite God’s comfort on our own lives because He always gives back what we give away.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we have received from God. (2 Cor. 1: 3-4)

Part of the Jewish mourning process was to “sit shiva” for seven days, supporting the mourner with one’s presence without saying anything. Another form of support was to wear sackcloth, a rough type of fabric, to throw ashes on one’s head, and to tear one’s robe as a sign of identity with the mourner.

The ancient rabbis viewed the heavy curtain that separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place as God’s “robe” which hid Him from view. When Jesus died, God tore His “robe” as a sign of His grief. Now that the Father has suffered grief, He is able to comfort us as we extend comfort to others in their sorrow and loss.

There is something cyclical about the way God treats us. As we share with others in their grief, laying aside self-importance and self-interest, God will comfort us as we have comforted others. This is part of the essence of the way God’s kingdom works.

O the blessedness of those who are self-forgetful, setting themselves and their needs aside to identify with those who are suffering through loss and hardship. God will comfort them in their own loss just as they have identified with and comforted those who have suffered loss.

(Quotation take from “Learning to be a Disciple” © Luella Campbell 2015, Partridge Publishing, pages 78-82)

This is the disposition of the disciple who “hungers and thirsts for righteousness”, seeking God’s kingdom and His righteousness above self-interest, yearning to do the right thing in every situation. God’s promise is that he shall receive the same comfort from God as he has given to those who grieve.

Oh what a difference when we approach the Bible from a Hebrew perspective and read it the way it was meant to be understood and not from our own worldview!

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Have you read my first book, Learning to be a Son – The Way to the Father’s Heart (Copyright © 2015, Partridge Publishing)? You’ll love it!

ISBN: Softcover – 978-1-4828-0512-3,                                                                              eBook 978-4828-0511-6

Available on www.amazon.com in paperback, e-book or kindle version or order directly from the publisher at www.partridgepublishing.com.

My second book, Learning to be a Disciple – The Way of the Master (Copyright © 2015, Partridge Publishing), companion volume to Learning to be a Son – The Way to the Father’s Heart, has been released in paperback and digital format on www.amazon.com.

To order your 0wn copy of either book, contact

Toll free – 0800 990 914 (South Africa)

orders.africa@partridgepublishing.com

www.partridgepublishing.com/africa  or

+44 20 314 3997 (outside South Africa)

ISBN: Hardcover – 978-1-4828-0891-9                                                                                     Softcover 978-1-4828-0890-2                                                                                                              eBook 978-1-4828-0889-6

Check out my Blog site – www.learningtobeason.wordpress.com

 

Jesus Did Not Say That We Must Be Doormats

Apologetics, , ,

JESUS DID NOT SAY THAT WE MUST BE DOORMATS

If there is one area in which Jesus is seriously misunderstood, it is in the area of humility. “But,” you say, “Jesus even said He was humble in heart.” Yes, He did and He was but He was also no push-over. But what about His instruction to “turn the other cheek” and “go the second mile”? Didn’t He mean that we must not resist those who wipe their feet in us? It would seem like it at face value. But, once again, we must read His words from a Hebraic perspective.

You have heard that it was said, ’Eye for eye, tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. (Matt. 5: 38-41)

Before we are offended by the thought that Jesus permits people to treat us how they like, there is another side to this issue which will bring balance to Jesus’s words. For a third way of responding to injustice, the New Testament scholar, Walter Wink, in his books, Engaging the Powers and The Powers that Be, suggests the following explanation of Jesus’s words:

Jesus specifically stated that, if one is struck on the right cheek, he is to turn the other cheek. There are two ways to strike a person on the right cheek – a backhanded slap with the right hand or a flat-handed slap with the left hand. In the culture of that day, one did not slap another with the left hand because it was used for “unclean” purposes. To receive a left-handed slap was the height of insult. A backhanded blow was the way a superior treated an inferior. Either way, Jesus implied that a superior was beating an inferior.

Jesus came down hard on the Pharisees because they thought they were better than other people. He taught His disciples never to despise other people or think themselves better. His yoke was humility – viewing themselves in their rightful place in God’s world. However, at the same time, He did not allow socially inferior people to be treated with contempt.

A non-violent way to protest such treatment would be to “turn the other cheek”, forcing the assailant either to stop the abuse, or to recognise that the one he treated unfairly was really his equal. The only way he could continue beating him was to admit that they were equals.

The following two examples emphasize the same point.

A Roman soldier was permitted to force a civilian to carry his pack for one mile. To prevent abuse, more than one mile was prohibited. Jesus advocated that, rather than to protest or refuse, the soldier be put in a difficult situation by carrying his pack for two. He would be forced to take it from you or face retribution, making him appear like the oppressor.

It was lawful to confiscate a peasant’s tunic for non-payment of debt. His only other garment was his cloak which doubled as a blanket at night. If he gave away his cloak as well, he would be left naked and cold. Jesus said, “Give him your cloak,” which would force his creditor to leave the peasant naked. Nakedness was not a sin but to look at a naked person was regarded as sinful. Hence the poor person would expect to be treated with dignity and mercy.

http://dharmagates.org/other cheek.html (from the article, “The True Meaning of Turn the Other Cheek”, by Marcus Borg, retrieved March 2015)

I love the way Eugene Peterson paraphrases Jesus’ words in Luke 6:30b-31.

No more tit-for-tat stuff. Live generously. ‘Here is a simple rule-of-thumb for behaviour: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you; then grab the initiative ad do it for them.’ 

I think there is humour in Jesus’ words. Can you imagine the reaction of someone who acts aggressively towards you; say, a Roman soldier who grabs you by the scruff of the neck and demands, “Carry my pack!” Instead of protesting and resisting, you pick it up cheerfully and whistle a merry tune while you tote his pack for a mile. Then, instead of dumping it down and skipping the scene, you carry on walking and whistling as though you don’t have a care in the world. What would he make of that? Wouldn’t he think twice about doing it to you again in case you got him into trouble for abuse?

Or what about someone to whom you owe money? When he demands your cloak, you strip and hand him your tunic as well. How embarrassed and ashamed he would be to see you standing stark naked before him. He would quickly return your clothes lest he be blamed for your nakedness!

The bottom line it, don’t put yourself above other people and don’t allow others to put you down if you happen to be on a different social or economic level from them. In God’s eyes we all stand on level ground.

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Have you read my first book, Learning to be a Son – The Way to the Father’s Heart (Copyright © 2015, Partridge Publishing)? You’ll love it!

ISBN: Softcover – 978-1-4828-0512-3,                                                                              eBook 978-4828-0511-6

Available on www.amazon.com in paperback, e-book or kindle version or order directly from the publisher at www.partridgepublishing.com.

My second book, Learning to be a Disciple – The Way of the Master (Copyright © 2015, Partridge Publishing), companion volume to Learning to be a Son – The Way to the Father’s Heart, has been released in paperback and digital format on www.amazon.com.

To order your 0wn copy of either book, contact

Toll free – 0800 990 914 (South Africa)

orders.africa@partridgepublishing.com

www.partridgepublishing.com/africa  or

+44 20 314 3997 (outside South Africa)

ISBN: Hardcover – 978-1-4828-0891-9                                                                                     Softcover 978-1-4828-0890-2                                                                                                              eBook 978-1-4828-0889-6

Check out my Blog site – www.learningtobeason.wo

 

 

 

Jesus Did Not Say That He Had Come To Do Away With The Law

Apologetics, , ,

JESUS DID NOT SAY THAT HE HAD COME TO DO AWAY WITH THE LAW

Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law and the Prophets. I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, no the last stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear for the Law until everything is accomplished. (Matt 5:17-18)

It all depends, you see, on what Jesus meant by “the Law and the Prophets” and “fulfil”. The Greek-thinking, western-orientated, philosophically-minded thinker (that’s most of us) understand His words differently from a Hebrew-thinker, especially the contemporaries of Jesus. The Law, according to Hebrew understanding, which is what our Bible translators have called the Torah or the first five books of the Bible, is not about commandments like those which are issued by a military commander to his troops, or by the government of a country to its citizens, (and any infringements of these commandments is punishable by appropriate measures).

The Torah was God’s directions for the journey through life which His people were to follow in order for them to reach their appointed destination. In the Torah, God taught them in very practical and detailed terms, how to relate to God, to their fellow Israelites and to the foreigners who chose to live among them. His purpose was to teach them how to live in such a way that the nature of their God would be reflected in their everyday lives as a witness to the surrounding nations that their God was loving but also holy.

God sent His prophets to help them understand the Torah, not as a set of rules and regulations to control their behaviour but as directions for living to guide their hearts. Their kings were supposed to lead the way by living and governing their people according the instructions of God’s Torah. It was also the responsibility of parents to teach their children how to live according to God’s Torah.

Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching (torah). They are a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck. (Prov. 1: 8-9)

Unfortunately God’s people both misunderstood His intention and rebelled against His instructions. Instead of understanding His directions in the light of God’s character, their sages hedged the Torah around with hundreds of additions so that, by the time of Jesus, the spirit of God’s Torah was obscured by burdensome rules which were never God’s intention.

“Jesus claimed that His purpose was to “fulfil” Torah. This was the technical term for interpreting the Scripture so that it would be obeyed correctly. To “destroy” Torah was to misinterpret Scripture so that it would not be obeyed as it was intended. This was Jesus’s intention, to interpret and obey Torah correctly as a model for His disciples to follow. By His words and actions He would show them that the right attitude and motives of the heart were as important as the right actions.” (Learning to be a Disciple, Luella Campbell, Partridge Publishing, © 2015, page 54)

“Since Jesus was steeped in the teachings of God as a faithful Jew and a recognised rabbi, His textbook would be the Torah. Instead of simply passing on the opinions and interpretations of the ancient rabbis, preserved in the Talmud, He would teach them His own interpretation of the Torah based on His yoke of mercy and compassion. As a rabbi with s’mikhah, authority, He could permit (loose from restriction) and forbid (bind to a restriction) what His yoke represented, based on its Torah-compliance. (Learning to be a Disciple – page 77)

“What is the relevance for us today? God’s Torah is, in its broadest sense, the expression of His nature. It is timeless and indispensable. It is His way to live in order to arrive at the destination He has set for us. If we support and uphold His teaching by obeying Him, we walk in His way ourselves and we keep the path open and blaze the trail for others to follow.

Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfil them. (Matt. 5: 17)” (Learning to be a Disciple – page 28)

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Have you read my first book, Learning to be a Son – The Way to the Father’s Heart (Copyright © 2015, Partridge Publishing)? You’ll love it!

ISBN: Softcover – 978-1-4828-0512-3,                                                                              eBook 978-4828-0511-6

Available on www.amazon.com in paperback, e-book or kindle version or order directly from the publisher at www.partridgepublishing.com.

My second book, Learning to be a Disciple – The Way of the Master (Copyright © 2015, Partridge Publishing), companion volume to Learning to be a Son – The Way to the Father’s Heart, has been released in paperback and digital format on www.amazon.com.

To order your 0wn copy of either book, contact

Toll free – 0800 990 914 (South Africa)

orders.africa@partridgepublishing.com

www.partridgepublishing.com/africa  or

+44 20 314 3997 (outside South Africa)

ISBN: Hardcover – 978-1-4828-0891-9                                                                                     Softcover 978-1-4828-0890-2                                                                                                              eBook 978-1-4828-0889-6

Check out my Blog site – www.learningtobeason.wordpress.com

 

 

 

Jesus Did Not Curse The Fig Tree Because He Was In A Bad Mood

Apologetics, , , ,

JESUS DID NOT CURSE THE FIG TREE BECAUSE HE WAS IN A BAD MOOD

The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to find out if it had any fruit. When He reached it, He found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for fruit. Then He said to the tree, ‘May no one ever eat fruit from you again.’ And His disciples heard Him say it. (Mark 11:12-14)

Well, Jesus, I didn’t know that you were also given to bad moods! But wait a minute. Had He ever given evidence of being in a bad mood before? No-o-o-o. So what’s this all about, then? Surely He knew that a fig tree in leaf was an indication that it was not time for fruit. What a capricious action! Was it just an outburst of frustration because He did not get what He wanted or was there something deeper in His action?

My husband used to sing a corruption of an old song, “I talk to the trees, that’s why they put me away.” And here’s Jesus talking to a tree! Perhaps He needed to be put away. After all, He often did very strange things like spitting on the ground and making a mud ball to smear on a blind man’s eyes. Wasn’t he blind enough already without getting mud in his eyes?

But Jesus never said or did anything without a purpose. What could His purpose possibly by speaking to a tree?

One of the rules of interpreting the Bible is called “the law of first mention.” The meaning of something that is mentioned for the first time in Scripture governs its interpretation every other time it is mentioned thereafter. Where, in the Bible, are fig leaves first mentioned? Way back in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve tried to cover their nakedness with fig leaves. We often joke about it, but it was their puny attempt to cover up their disobedience. It did not work and God was not impressed. He had to sacrifice a lamb to provide His own covering for their nakedness.

The fig tree was often used in Scripture as a symbol for Israel. Was God saying that, like the leaves that offered no covering for the first pair, their puny efforts at trying to make right by their rules and rituals offered no solution to their sin. Just as God had provided a lamb for Adam and Eve’s nakedness, so He would provide His Lamb to cover the sin of His people.

Jesus used a perfectly natural situation to drive home the point for His disciples. They, of course, didn’t get the message at first. They were astonished when they saw the dead tree the next day. What on earth happened to it? It had shrivelled up and died for no other reason than that Jesus had spoken to it.

In the morning, as they went along, they found the fig tree withered from the roots. Peter remembered and said to Jesus, ‘Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!” ‘Have faith in God,’ Jesus answered. (Mark 11: 20-22).

The plot thickens, as they say. What had Jesus’ reply to do with a dead tree? What was the connection? The fig-leaf covering the first pair used to try to obliterate their sin did not work. They could not fool God with their self-effort. Union with God by faith was the only answer to their plight.

How did Jesus connect the response of the fig tree to His words about prayer? Adam and Eve had destroyed their union with God by their disobedience. They tried to cover it up and pretend it didn’t happen but they could not fool God. What would have happened had they confessed their sin and come clean with God? Instead they played the blame game and were driven from the presence of God to go it alone in the world. They made their own rules and thoroughly messed up their lives and the lives of their descendants.

Was Jesus implying that, once again God would provide a Lamb, Himself, as a covering for the sin of His people? This time His blood, not the skin of the lamb, would not only cover but remove their sin forever, reconnecting them with God and re-establishing their union with the Father. Out of this oneness with God they would be able to fulfil their mandate to rule over the earth. Whatever got in the way of God’s purposes would dry up and disappear as surely as the tree dried up in response to Jesus’ command.

This is the kind of “authority” Jesus intended His people to have – not the “name it and claim it” kind of faith so that we can get everything we want to make our lives cushy and comfortable, but the faith partnership with God which gets rid of the obstacles that hinder the doing of God’s will on earth.

Jesus’ instruction to “speak to the mountain” implies that our union and intimacy with Him will produce such confidence in Him that we allow nothing to interfere with the His desire to reveal His glory through us to the world, not even, or should I say, especially the notion that somehow our pathetic efforts to gain His approval will contribute to His purpose.

The “fig tree” approach to our lives as believers in Jesus will just not work. Self-effort must die just as the fig tree died and give way to the only way in which the life of Jesus in us will make any impression on a rebellious world – the “vine” image.

I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15: 5)

Only intimate union with Him will produce the kind of faith that can remove obstacles with a word. No, Jesus was not having a “bad hair day” when He cursed the fig tree. He was using a spur-of-the-moment opportunity to teach His disciples a profound lesson. Did you get it?

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Have you read my first book, Learning to be a Son – The Way to the Father’s Heart (Copyright © 2015, Partridge Publishing)? You’ll love it!

ISBN: Softcover – 978-1-4828-0512-3,                                                                              eBook 978-4828-0511-6

Available on www.amazon.com in paperback, e-book or kindle version or order directly from the publisher at www.partridgepublishing.com.

My second book, Learning to be a Disciple – The Way of the Master (Copyright © 2015, Partridge Publishing), companion volume to Learning to be a Son – The Way to the Father’s Heart, has been released in paperback and digital format on www.amazon.com.

To order your 0wn copy of either book, contact

Toll free – 0800 990 914 (South Africa)

orders.africa@partridgepublishing.com

www.partridgepublishing.com/africa  or

+44 20 314 3997 (outside South Africa)

ISBN: Hardcover – 978-1-4828-0891-9                                                                                     Softcover 978-1-4828-0890-2                                                                                                              eBook 978-1-4828-0889-6

Check out my Blog site – www.learningtobeason.wordpress.com

 

 

Jesus Did Not Say That Wealth Is A Sign Of God’s Blessing

Apologetics, , ,

JESUS DID NOT SAY THAT WEALTH IS A SIGN OF GOD’S BLESSING

In fact, He told His disciples exactly the opposite. From where, then, does the idea come that being wealthy and being blessed are synonymous?

This was the dilemma that Job struggled with when his wealth and possessions were ripped from him in one day. What did God have against him that he was stripped of everything, even his children, and finally even his health? He was not aware of the dialogue that had taken place behind the scenes between God and Satan, in which Satan accused Job of being opportunistic in his relationship with God.

“Strip him to the bone,” he sneered, “and see what he will do then.” Satan accused Job of the worst possible motive for worshipping God – selfishness, what he could get out of it. Would Job still honour and worship God if He took away all his material blessings? In two encounters with Satan, God replied, “Try him, and you’ll see that his love for me is genuine.”

Satan did just that; he stripped Job of everything. Even Job’s wife turned against him. He was reduced to a pathetic shadow of himself, sitting on the ash heap and utterly miserable, bereft even of the fellowship he had with God. His friends accused him of secret sin which Job vehemently denied. His dilemma was clear – he thought that his prosperity was the evidence of God’s favour on him, according to the philosophy of the day; it was stripped from him when he had done nothing wrong. Why? And God refused to speak to him.

In spite of God’s eventual response to Job’s questions, the philosophy still persists in the church today, and especially among the pastors and preachers who build the superstructure of their lives on the same erroneous supposition – and boast about it – that their wealth and acquisitions are the sign of God’s favour.

What did Jesus have to say about the matter?

On one occasion, a rich man approached Him with a question. “What one thing must I do to be assured of eternal life?” He believed he was “righteous” because he claimed to have kept all the commandments from his youth. But he was aware there was still something missing. He had the idea that he could secure his entrance into eternal life by doing one good deed that would earn him God’s acceptance once and for all.

He sounds like so many today who are offered eternal life if they “accept Jesus as their personal Saviour” or answer an “altar call” or even sign a “decision card”. What they are actually wanting is an insurance policy so that they can get into heaven when they die. They can go on living as they like right now because they “have” eternal life as though it were a product they could keep in their pocket to produce like a passport to get into heaven.

Jesus’ response was unnerving, to say the least. “Get rid of the very thing you consider to be the evidence of God’s favour – your money.” But why should he do that? How could he repudiate the reason for his confidence in God? The disciples were baffled when Jesus commented that it was hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. That was not what they were taught and what they believed. After all, wasn’t their ancient ancestor Abraham a very wealthy man, and he was called a friend of God?

Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, 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.” When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, ‘Who then can be saved?’ Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.’ (Matt 19: 23-26)

What was the core of Jesus’ response to the young man’s question? “Get rid of your money because it stands between you and me!” It was not his money that was the problem. It was what he did with it that showed where his heart was.

Money in and of itself is amoral. What we do with our money is evidence of who we really love. Jesus taught His disciples a very important lesson.

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. (Matt. 6: 24).

Jesus used a rabbinic teaching method called a “chiasm”. The central thought is flanked, in this chiasm, by a supporting thought which leads up to and away from the main idea. The main idea in this teaching is not that it is impossible to serve two masters at the same time but that you will serve the master you love.

The rich man in this incident showed clearly by his response that he loved his money more than God because he refused to use his money to serve God by sharing his wealth with the needy. Generosity with his money and possessions would have shown Jesus where his allegiance lay. Zacchaeus had acquired his wealth through dishonesty but, when he met Jesus his heart was so transformed that he willing let go of his money for the privilege of following Jesus. Not this man!

When a preacher of the gospel claims that his wealth, which is often milked from his congregation or TV viewers through guilt, is the evidence of God’s blessing when he uses it to acquire things and live in luxury through it, he has got it all wrong. The Apostle Paul had a serious warning for those who used the gospel to run after money:

If anyone teaches otherwise and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, they are conceited and understand nothing. They have an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions and constant friction between people of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain.

But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. (1 Tim. 6: 3-10)

He had serious counsel for wealthy believers:

Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant or to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life. (1 Tim. 6: 17-19)

How important that we be careful of those who preach “prosperity” as a cover-up for their own greed. The way we handle our money is the ultimate test of who we really love.

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

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