The Christian And Riches Series

The Christian and Riches

Matthew 6:19-24

The tragedy of riches is that it not only affects the rich, but it affects the poor as well. Because of a love for money the rich often place all their faith in their riches and center their life around obtaining more. With the poor or the not so rich we can often find them spending all their time trying got get rich or tying to hoard up money for a future time. There is nothing wrong with money nor with having money, but when we begin to worship money, then we immediately violate God’s law.

I. The Gathering of Treasure

A. Negative. Not to lay up treasures on earth.

1. They simply fade with time.

a) Clothing will be eaten by moths.

b) Material goods will decay

c) Metals will rust.

d) Only your soul is eternal.

2. They are quite often taken from you by greedy people.

a) There isn’t much to steal from a poor man

B. Positive. Lay-up treasures in heaven.

1. We first must secure a robe of righteousness that can never be moth eaten or damaged.

2. We need to lay aside or in store the soul of men that we have told about Christ.

3. We need to stockpile deeds done for the glory of Christ.

Note: Someday we will be paid in heavens coin by the hand of the King.

4. We never have thieves taking from us our riches in heaven.

C. The result of your storing up treasure in heaven is the fact that heaven will then become the center of your interest.

Note: We need to be both heavenly minded and hearted and this will occur when we have something in heaven waiting for us.

II. A Singleness of Purpose

A. If we have our eye and heart set on Christ, then our whole being will be Christ centered.

1. When one eye is looking to Christ and the other eye to the things of the world, then we have confused our entire being.

B. Even worse then having our vision split or divided is to have our eye entirely on the things of the world.

1. If what you consider light is darkness, how utterly dense that darkness becomes because even you do not realize it.

C. Man cannot be faithful to two all-consuming purposes.

1. God requires all our attention and when divide this we are turning from God.

a) A man cannot have freedom and slavery.

b) A man cannot love good and evil.

c) We must hate one and love the other.

2. We cannot serve God and the god of riches.

a) They are both jealous and require all our attention.