$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
How did
Christ warn us against covetousness?
“At the
same time, he said to them: look, beware of covetousness, for the life of a
person does not depend on the abundance of his possessions” (Luke 12.15).
What
commandment forbids this sin?
“Do not desire“
(Ex 20.17).
What does
Paul call covetousness?
“Therefore
put to death your members on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil
lust, and covetousness, which is idolatry“ (Col 3.5).
What do
these sins bring on people?
“For whom
the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience” (v.6).
What two
services did Christ say a person cannot do at the same time?
“You cannot
serve God and mammon“ (Luke 16.13).
What
principle guided the rich man who had abundance in everything?
“And he said,
This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and
there I will gather all my bread and all my goods. And I will say to my soul:
soul! much good lies with you for many years: rest, eat, drink, be merry” (Luke
12.18-19).
What did
God say to him?
“But God
said to him: mad! this very night your soul will be taken from you; Who will
get what you have prepared?“ (v.20).
What
conclusion did the Savior draw from this parable?
“So it is
with those who lay up treasures for themselves, and do not grow rich in God”
(v.21).
What sin
were the Pharisees guilty of?
“The
Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all this, and they laughed at Him”
(Luke 16.14).
What did
Jesus say to them in response?
“He said to
them: you show yourself righteous before people, but God knows your hearts: for
what is high among people is an abomination before God” (v.15).
What was
the result of Achan's sin?
“Among the
booty, I saw one fine garment of Shinar and two hundred shekels of silver and an
ingot of gold... I liked this and I took it” (Josh 7.21).
What did
Judas' greed bring to?
“And Judas
Iscariot, one of the twelve, went to the chief priests to betray him to them.
When they heard it, they rejoiced and promised to give him pieces of silver.
And he was looking for a way to betray Him at a convenient time” (Mark 14.10-11).
How does
the Lord treat the greedy?
“For the
ungodly boasts in the lust of his soul, and blesses the covetous man, whom the
Lord hates” (Ps 10.3-5, English translation).
What
parable did Christ tell to correct the Pharisees' misconception that wealth was
a sign of God's special favor?
The parable
of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16.19-31).
What
danger, according to him, lies in wait for those who have wealth?
“And looking
around, Jesus said to His disciples: how difficult it is for those who have
riches to enter the Kingdom of God !.. Jesus again says to them in response:
children! How difficult it is for those who trust in riches to enter the
Kingdom of God !” (Mark 10.23-24).
Note. And
how difficult it is for those who have wealth not to hope for it!
What kind
of people tend to accept the gospel?
“Listen, my
beloved brethren: has not God chosen the poor of the world to be rich in faith
and heirs of the kingdom which He has promised to those who love Him?” (Jac
2.5).
How
difficult, according to Christ, is it for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of
God?
“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 10.25).
Why did a
rich young man who wanted to be saved not want to sell his possessions and
distribute to the poor, as Christ advised him?
“Hearing
this word, the young man departed with sorrow, because he had a large property”
(Matt 19.22).
What is
avarice?
“For the
love of money is the root of all evil” (1 Tim 6.10).
What evil
lies in wait for those who want to get rich?
“But those
who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and into many foolish and
harmful lusts that plunge people into disaster and destruction” (v.9).
Who gives
people the power to acquire wealth?
“But to
remember the Lord your God, for He gives you power to acquire wealth” (Deut
8.18).
How can
everyone, rich and poor, honor God?
“Honor the
Lord with your possessions and with the firstfruits of all your gains” (Prov
3.9).
What
warning does the Bible give regarding wealth?
“When
wealth increases, do not add heart to it” (Ps 62.10).
Can the
collected wealth be to the detriment of a person?
“There is a
painful disease that I saw under the sun: wealth saved by its owner to his
detriment” (Eccl 5.12).
What
exhortation is given to the rich?
“Exhort
those who are rich in this present age not to think highly of themselves and
trust not in unfaithful wealth, but in the living God, who gives us everything
abundantly for our enjoyment; so that they may do good, be rich in good works,
be generous and sociable, laying up for themselves treasures, a good foundation
for the future, in order to achieve eternal life” (1 Tim 6.17-19).
What helps
the rich to live without mourning?
“The
blessing of the Lord - it enriches, and does not bring sorrow with it“ (Prov
10.22).
How is true
wealth acquired?
“Humility
is followed by the fear of the Lord, riches and glory and life” (Prov 22.4).
How did
Moses regard the reproach of Christ?
“And he
considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth for himself than the treasures
of Egypt; for he looked to the reward“ (Heb 11.26).
What two
groups of rich people are mentioned in the Bible?
“Another
pretends to be rich, but he has nothing; another pretends to be poor, but he
has a lot of wealth” (Prov 13.7).
Note. Luke
12.16-20 mentions the first group of these people, and Acts 4.34-37 the second.
Why is life
going to be dangerous lately?
“Know that
in the last days there will be hard times. For people will be selfish, lovers
of money, proud, arrogant, blasphemous” (2 Tim 3.1-2).
What
serious warning is addressed to the wealthy, who in the last days have
accumulated wealth and oppressed the poor?
“Listen,
you rich ones: weep and weep for your calamities that are (on you). Your wealth
is rotten, and your clothes are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have corroded,
and their rust will be a testimony against you and will eat your flesh like
fire: you have stored up for yourselves treasure in the last days. Behold, the
wages you withheld from the laborers who reaped your fields are crying out, and
the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You lived
in luxury on earth and enjoyed; fed your hearts as if for the day of the
slaughter” (Jac 5.1-5).
Can silver
or gold save people in the day of the wrath of the Lord?
“Neither
their silver nor their gold can save them in the day of the Lord's wrath“ (Zeph
1.18, see Prov 11.4).
What will
the rich do with their money then?
“They will
throw their silver into the streets and their gold will be neglected. Their
silver and their gold will not save them much in the day of the wrath of the
Lord. They will not satisfy their souls with them, nor fill their wombs; for it
was an occasion for their iniquity” (Ezek 7.19).
Note.
One story
tells that on September 12, 1857, off Cape Hatteras, during a terrible storm,
the steamer Central America was wrecked with six hundred passengers on board.
Many of the passengers, who were miners returning from the California
goldfields, took off their belts to store their jewelry and poured the gold
onto the cabin floor to shed excess weight and avoid drowning. Anyone could
take this gold. Bags full of thousands of dollars lay untouched everywhere.
People, seized by the fear of death, opened their bags and poured the sparkling
metal right on the floor. One of the passengers opened the bag and shook twenty
thousand dollars worth of gold dust from it all over the cabin. He said that
anyone who is thirsty for gold can take it. But it remained untouched, like an
unnecessary thing.
It is also
said that when the steamer Arctic, about a collision in the ocean that occurred
on September 20, 1854, began to sink, one of the passengers was ready to pay
thirty thousand pounds sterling or one hundred and fifty thousand dollars so
that the lifeboat would return and take him away. Rescuers headed for him, but
he drowned before they reached him.
What are we
called to do as stewards of God's gifts?
“And I say
to you, make friends for yourselves with unrighteous wealth, so that when you
become poor, they will receive you into eternal habitations” (Luke 16.9).
“Serve one
another, each with the gift that you have received, as good stewards of the
manifold grace of God” (1 Pet 4.10).
