The Parable Of The Rich Man Series

The Parable of the Rich Man

(Rev. Barry Johnson and Rev. Rodney Johnson)

NOTE: New Light Faith Ministries and Barry Johnson Ministries, founded by Rodney V. Johnson and Barry O. Johnson, respectively, are partnering to offer Bible studies for Christians who are seeking to grow in their relationship with Jesus. This is a Bible study lesson, not a sermon. The Bible studies teach foundational truth that are designed to challenge, encourage and, most importantly, flame the fire of hunger in the Christian who wants to learn more about who they have become in Christ Jesus. The Bible studies you find on this site contains the written version of the lesson. However, these lessons also include a video and an audio file of the study, a PDF version of the lesson and a sheet for note taking. If you would like any of the additional resources for these studies, please email us at newlightfaithministries@gmail.com or bjteachingltr@gmail.com for more information or contact us at the email provided on both of our Sermon Central pages. Please visit our YouTube Channel (Barry Johnson Ministries; New Light Faith Ministries, Inc.) to watch or listen to these lessons as well as other available sermons. Be blessed.

Introduction

Good morning everyone and welcome to our June Bible study. Today we will be examining a parable that Jesus told about unbridled selfishness which has worked its way into the body of Christ. The parable we will be discussing in this lesson is the parable of the rich man. Before we start let pause for a word of prayer.

The 1970s introduced one of the most biblically unsound and demonic doctrines to ever reach the pulpit of the Christian Church – the “Prosperity Gospel.” Although there have been many ways this doctrine has been taught, the message is always the same. God wants you to have a large home. God wants you to have several nice cars. God wants you to have lots of money in your bank account. And do you know why He wants you to have all of this? God, your Father, wants this for you because you are His child and He wants the world to see how He takes care of His children.

And here is something that should really concern you as a child of God. If you do not have all the things that those messengers are telling you that is promised to you, then it is your fault. It is your fault because either you do not have enough faith for God to bless you, or you are not living righteously enough to warrant the blessing. Regardless, if you are not prospering financially, then you have no one to blame but yourself. There are many Christians who have bought into this lie and are feeling unworthy of God’s blessings and are working overtime in their attempt to earn it. And here is the thing that really gets under my skin: the so-called men and women of God making these proclamations are living off the backs of the poor (through their weekly tithes and offerings) and are living lavish lifestyles while a majority of their members are struggling to make ends meet.

It’s interesting to us that there is not one single verse in all of Scripture, when left in context, that supports this doctrine. For example, Luke 6:38 has been used to support the prosperity gospel by teaching you can give your way into becoming prosperous. The verse says, “Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.” (Luke 6:38) When the verse is interpreted in its context, we see that Jesus is not talking about finances, but about how we treat people, in particular how much mercy we willingly extend to those who have wronged us. And we see this in Jesus’ summary about His Father, and ours two verses earlier in verse 36. “Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.” (Luke 6:36)

Jesus says the more mercy we walk in – the more mercy we are willing to extend to others – the more mercy we will receive in return. But that is not how this verse is used in many Churches. In fact, you have probably heard this verse read or quoted when it is time to accept tithes and offering. Well, if you have, now you know that it has absolutely nothing to do with money.

Although there is not one single verse in Scripture that supports the prosperity gospel, there are passages that support the teaching that God’s sons and daughters are already prosperous – already blessed. In Second Corinthians 8:9 we read the following: “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.” Now turn to Second Corinthians 9:8. It says, “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.” In these two verses, we see that our prosperity, our wealth, is based on what happened in the realm of the spirit. It’s based on Jesus trading His heavenly abundance, and all that comes with it, for our natural poverty, and all that comes with it. The prosperity gospel says that we must give to receive from God, but Jesus says we must believe in Him to receive from God. And what is important to remember is that believing in Him means accepting Him as Lord and Savior and then getting into His Word to find out what He has promised you once you are saved. You must read the Word for yourself otherwise you will be like many who are blindly accepting teachings that are not verifiable in God’s word.