MONEY
MONEY AND GIVING
DR. JIM DIXON
NOVEMBER 11, 2007
1 TIMOTHY 6:6-10, 17-19
I’m holding in my hand a dollar bill. It doesn’t have the purchasing power that once it did. But have you ever wondered why a dollar is called a dollar? Now, maybe you’re not interested in etymology and you don’t care about the derivation of word meanings; but I think, sometimes, that God does. You go back to the book of Daniel in the fifth chapter, and you see the story of Belshazzar, crown prince and acting ruler of the Babylonian Empire. You see the judgment of God come upon him. The hand of God, that divine hand, writes on the royal banquet wall as Belshazzar and his lords are feasting. It’s the judgment of God, and it’s a three-word message: “Mene, tekel, upharsin.” But those words meant nothing to the king. They meant nothing to Belshazzar because they were simply monetary units. It was like God had written $10, $20, and $50 on the wall.
What did that mean? Belshazzar didn’t know. But God was thinking of the etymology. God knew the etymology of those words, and He knew that the word “mene” comes from a root word which means “to number.” The word “tekel” comes from a root word which means “to weigh.” The word “upharsin” comes from a root word which means “to divide.” These were simply monetary units. For society, these words had lost their meaning. But etymologically, these were the root meanings. God was saying to Belshazzar, king of Babylon, “Your days are numbered. You’ll be weighed. You have been weighed in the balance and found wanting, and your kingdom will be divided and given into the hands of the Medes and the Persians.”
Etymology. So how about the dollar? Does God care about the etymology of the dollar? Does He care about its root meaning, particularly since the meaning of “dollar” and the word “dollar” kind of go back to Jesus? Really, it all goes back to the grandfather of Jesus who, in church tradition, was named Joachim. Joachim was the father of Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ. In those early years, Saint Joachim was honored. A valley in Europe was given the name “Joachimsthal,” which simply means “Joachim Valley.” It was a valley named after the grandfather of Jesus.
Now, in that valley, over the course of time, they began to mint coins. Those coins were called “Joachimsthalers” because they were from Joachimsthal. But Joachimsthaler is kind of a cumbersome word. Who wants to call a coin a Joachimsthaler? So, they begin to shorten it to “staller,” and then the word “staller” evolved into “dollar.” And that’s how we get the dollar. It all goes back to the grandfather of Jesus, Joachim. And maybe that’s good. Maybe when you look at a dollar, you might think of Jesus. Maybe when we look at a dollar, we’ll realize that what we do with our dollars is very, very important to God.
We live in a world where most people who go to church do not want their minister to preach on money. People don’t want preachers to talk about money, but money is big in the Bible. Jesus told 38 parables (depending on how you define a parable), and 16 of those parables dealt explicitly with the subject of money—16 out of 38. And in the Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—one out of every 10 verses deals with the subject of money. For every verse in the Bible that deals with the subject of prayer, there are four verses that deal with the subject of money. This is a huge subject to God. If I, as a pastor, did not speak on the subject of money, I would not be faithful to God or His Word.
So, today and next week, we look at money. I would like us to do this in a unique way. I would like us to look at money in the context of four great areas of theology. I’ve never heard anyone do this, and I’ve never done this; but I felt led of God to do it today. So, I want us to take a look at money in the context of these four areas of theology—two areas today and then two areas next week. First, we look at money and soteriology.
Soteriology is a hugely important area of theology. How does money relate to soteriology? How does money relate to salvation? Soteriology comes from “sotirios,” which means “salvation.” How can we be saved? That’s soteriology. So, what is the relationship between money and salvation? Perhaps you’re thinking, “Well, there is no relationship.” Or perhaps you’re hoping there is no relationship between money and salvation. However, in the teachings of Scripture and the teachings of Jesus, money is very much related to salvation.
In Matthew 19:23, Jesus said that it’ll be easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get into heaven. Money and salvation. Through the years, some Christians have tried to lessen the impact and the meaning of the verse. Some have suggested, “Well, maybe the word ‘kamelos’ is really meant to be ‘kamilos,’ so that instead of ‘camel,’ it means ‘rope.’ Maybe Jesus isn’t talking about a camel going through the eye of a needle. Maybe He’s talking about a rope going through the eye of a needle. In that case, the image is less severe. Maybe we don’t have to be talking about camels here.” But there’s nothing in the early manuscripts that would suggest there’s any kind of a scribal error. The word is definitely “kamelos,” “camel.”
Others have said, “Well, maybe the eye of the needle had a figurative meaning. Maybe there was a gate in the wall of the city of Jerusalem that was called “the Eye of the Needle.” Maybe people could readily pass through the gate, but camels were just a little too big. Maybe you had to squeeze and push to get a camel through. So, the image isn’t so bad.” But there’s no historical evidence that there was ever such a gate in the walls of Jerusalem called the Eye of the Needle.
Some have suggested, “Well, maybe there was a gorge or a valley that was so narrow, so confining, that an animal or a camel couldn’t walk all the way through that gorge. Maybe Jesus was talking about such a valley.” But again, there’s no evidence that there was any valley called the Eye of the Needle. No, the simple truth is that, in the time of Jesus, the camel was the largest animal known to Palestine; and the smallest opening known to men in that culture was the hole in a threading needle. So, Jesus is comparing extremes—the largest animal and the smallest opening—and He’s saying that it’s easier for that large animal to go in through a threading needle’s hole than for a rich man to get into heaven.
Well, that’s a scary thought for the disciples. Money and salvation. The disciples thought that the rich people were the people blessed of God. In Judaism and in that 1st century culture, it was believed that the people who were richest were most blessed of God; poor people were cursed of God. So, if the rich, those blessed of God, couldn’t get into heaven . . . wow, everybody’s in trouble. So, the disciples said to Jesus, “Who then can be saved?” And Jesus replied, “You know, things that are impossible with men are possible with God.”
So, there’s hope. But you have this kind of scary link between money and salvation. Money can put salvation at risk. You look at that statement of Jesus in Matthew 19:16-22 contextually, and you see that immediately before Jesus made the statement, a rich guy had come up to Jesus. This rich guy is further described in Mark’s Gospel and Luke’s Gospel. We know that he’s not only rich, he’s also young, and he’s a ruler. So, he is a rich young ruler. He comes up to Jesus, and he says, “What must I do to inherit eternal life? What must I do to get into heaven? What must I do to be saved?” This is a soteriological question. And Jesus takes him to the Old Covenant, takes him to the covenant that God had made with Abraham and with Moses. He takes him to the Decalogue; He takes him to the commandments.
This rich young ruler says, “I’ve given my life to the Old Covenant, and I’ve honored the covenant that God made with Moses. I’ve kept the commandments from my youth.” Jesus looked at this young ruler, and He was moved with affection. The Bible tells us that Jesus loved him. There was something about this rich young ruler that Jesus liked. Jesus said to the rich young ruler, “Well, there’s one thing you lack. If you would find eternal life, you must go sell all that you have. You must go and sell all that you have and give it away. Give it to the poor, and then come and follow Me. You’ll have treasure in heaven.” The Bible tells us that this rich young ruler turned around and walked away, and he was exceedingly sorrowful—for he was very, very rich. That’s a tough passage.
Through the years, many Christians have given it this interpretation: They’ve said, “Well, Jesus kind of looked into the heart of this rich young ruler, and Jesus saw that this rich young ruler had a problem with money—he was living for it, trusting in it. I don’t have a problem with money, so Jesus tells me I can keep everything I’ve got.” That’s what a lot of Christians do with this. That’s really bad exegesis. That’s a bad interpretation of the text, particularly when you look at Luke 12:33. In that verse, Jesus is talking to His disciples, and He says to them, “Go and sell all that you have and give it away.” He didn’t just say it to one of His disciples, He said it to the 12—“Go and sell all that you have and give it away.”
That’s kind of hard to apply, and it doesn’t seem to fit with some other passages in the Gospels. Maybe there’s some inconsistencies here? After all, when Jesus would go and visit Mary and Martha and stay in their home, He didn’t condemn them for owning a house. When Jesus went and stayed in the home of Simon Peter in the house that belonged to Peter’s family, Jesus didn’t condemn Peter’s family for owning a house. And did not Jesus and his disciples have a company purse? And didn’t they use that money to buy goods, food, and supplies and to give alms to the poor? So, how are we to apply all this?
Well, I think it all becomes clear when you look at Luke 14. In Luke 14:33, Jesus makes this statement: “Unless you renounce all that you have, you cannot be My disciple.” We looked at that passage a few months ago. It’s a powerful and scary passage. When you look at it contextually, Jesus demands that we relinquish everything if we would be His disciple. We must relinquish even our families, even our children if we would be His disciple. We must relinquish all.
The issue is lordship and the meaning of “Lord.” As Christians, particularly as evangelical Christians, we like to summarize the gospel by saying that people need to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. If people accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, they find salvation. And this is true, biblically. But sometimes, when we use the word “Lord,” we don’t really understand what it means. We view the title, Lord, as some kind of honorific title. The truth is that the root meaning of the word “Lord” in the Greek, the word “kurios,” means “owner.”
In the time of Jesus, people who were called lords were owners. They owned property, they owned lands; they were lords. To say that Jesus is Lord of lords is to say that He owns everything. When you come to Jesus and you receive Him as Lord, you are renouncing everything from that point on. You acknowledge that you own nothing; you relinquish all of it. If you don’t do this, Jesus said, you can’t be His disciple.
From the point you come to Jesus and take Him as Lord, you know He is your owner. He owns your children, He owns your house, He owns your bank account, He owns every dollar in your wallet. He owns it all. He owns your soul. You’ve made Him Lord, and you’ve now become a steward. At the end of your life, you’ll stand before Him. He will evaluate what you did with His property, His children, His dollars, His souls. You’ll give an account. This, I tell you, is the gospel. So, he who does not renounce all that he has cannot be His disciple. It’s about ownership and stewardship.
This must be your new worldview. I promise you, if you don’t have this worldview, you’ll never use money in the way that Jesus wants you to use money. If I don’t have this worldview, I’ll never use money in the way that Jesus wants me to use money. In Luke 16:19-31, Jesus tells the story of the rich man and Lazarus. Lazarus is a poor guy who’s begging at the rich man’s gate. Lazarus is ulcerated and afflicted; he’s starving and impoverished. He’s begging at the gate of this rich guy who owns this lavish estate.
Jesus tells us that the rich man was eating sumptuously, and the poor guy would gladly have eaten the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Jesus tells us that, in the course of time, the two die, the poor man and the rich man; and they have different destinies. The poor guy goes to Abraham’s bosom, paradise, and the rich guy goes to Hades. This is, in a sense, a soteriological passage, right? This has something to do with salvation, and it has something to do with money.
Of course, there’s a deeper issue. Clearly, the deeper issue is the soul. Something was wrong in this rich guy’s soul. He viewed himself as owner. He actually believed himself lord of his property, lord of his soul. He viewed himself as an owner and not a steward. He didn’t realize he was going to have to give an account. It’s kind of a scary passage.
In Luke 12, Jesus tells the parable of the rich fool. Jesus says that there’s this rich guy, and he’s getting richer and richer, accumulating more and more. Pretty soon, he has so much, he has to build more homes and more buildings to store his stuff. He’s so rich, and he begins to feel pretty secure. He says to his soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years. Take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.” But God says to him, “You fool. This day your soul is required of you; and the things that you’ve accumulated, whose shall they be?” Jesus said, “So shall it be for all who are rich towards themselves and not rich towards God.” Are you rich towards God? Am I rich towards God? How is your soul? How is my soul? Is Jesus my Lord? Is Jesus your Lord? Are we stewards, knowing that someday He’s going to evaluate us?
A few years ago, I preached a sermon that was really controversial. Every once in a while, I preach a controversial sermon, and I get in trouble. People fire off emails and write me letters. In this sermon, I said that there are people who claim to be Christians but go through their whole life without giving anything to the cause of Christ. I mean, they claim to be Christians and they do not give any of their money to the church or even to parachurch ministries. They give nothing to the cause of heaven on earth.
Then I made this statement: I said, “Most of them are going to hell.” I got emails and letters. But I tell you truly, I believe it as much today as ever I did. I believe it because it’s true, and it’s in the Bible. The issue really isn’t money. You know, the issue’s the soul. I mean, it’s not that people abuse money and therefore they can’t go to heaven. It’s not that people don’t give their money and therefore they can’t go to heaven. No, it’s not that. It’s that these people really don’t belong to heaven. They’re not of heaven, they’re not citizens of heaven; therefore, they don’t give their money. They don’t serve heaven on earth. They think they’re lords and owners, not realizing it’s all His.
People don’t like sermons on money. I’ve said that. People don’t want me to preach on money. Think about it. Not a lot of Christian music has anything to do with money. We don’t sing a lot of money hymns. There’s not a lot of money praise songs. We don’t sing about giving out money. We don’t sing songs like that, do we? You might think, “Well, what about ‘Bringing in the Sheaves?’ Is that about money?” I’ve seen some of those old westerns where they’re in a church and they’re taking an offering while the congregation is singing, “Bringing in the sheaves . . . We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.”
That song really didn’t have anything to do with money. It was written by a guy named Knowles Shaw, and he wrote that song in 1874. Four years later, after writing “Bringing in the Sheaves,” he died tragically in a train wreck. The train had derailed. Two guys that were in the same coach with him and survived said that before the wreck, before the tragedy, he was talking to them about how much he loved evangelism. He was talking about how much he loved to tell people about Jesus and how much he loved to see people come to faith in Jesus Christ. The irony is that that is what “Bringing the Sheaves” is about. That’s what that song is about. It’s about the fields being white for harvest. It’s about the spiritual harvest of souls through the gospel. It’s not about money.
But I was thinking, there is a song that I’ve sung that has to do with money. I think it’s a song that many of you have sung too. The song was written in 1922 as a poem. Then, in 1930, a young man who was 21 years old took the words of the poem and converted them into a song. He also wrote the music. This 21-year-old young man was named George Beverly Shea. He had just been on a radio program with Fred Allen, and he had a chance to sing before the entire nation. In the aftermath, he was offered contracts, which could have made him very rich and famous. But he found this poem, and he wrote the music to “I’d Rather Have Jesus.”
George Beverly Shea is 98 today and still singing. When Ruth Graham died, George Beverly Shea sang at her funeral. (Of course, George Beverly Shea, Cliff Barrows, and Billy Graham have ministered together for 60 years.) Here are some of the words to that song “I’d Rather Have Jesus”:
“I’d Rather Have Jesus than silver or gold.
I’d rather be His than have riches untold.
I’d rather have Jesus than have houses and land.
I’d rather be led by His nail-pierced hands
Than to be the king of a vast domain
And be held in sin’s dread sway.
I’d rather have Jesus than anything
This world affords today.”
I think, today, Christians hear those words or hear that song, and they think, “Well, yeah, I want to have Jesus; but I also want silver and gold. Why can’t I have it all? Why can’t I have Jesus, silver, gold, houses, and lands? Why do I have to make a choice? Why can’t I have it all?” They don’t understand the gospel. “Unless you renounce everything you have, you cannot be my disciple.” You have to make a choice. If you have Jesus, you have nothing else. You relinquish it all. He owns it all. If you take Jesus, you’ve got nothing else. You give it up, and you become a steward.
To some of His disciples, those who followed Him as He went around Palestine from village to village, He said, “Hey, take and sell it all. Give it away. Follow Me. We’re going to be going from village to village, town to town. By the law of the Jews, we can eat off the fields and the orchards. We will rely on hospitality, and we’ll have a small company purse; but go and sell everything and just come follow Me. It’s Mine. You just do what I tell you. It’s not yours anymore. I’m the Lord. Just do what I tell you.” Christ allowed other disciples to keep their homes and keep their possessions, but He reminded them that none of it was theirs. It all belongs to Him. They’re just stewards now; and they’re going to have to give an account of what they do with every dollar. It’s the gospel.
Well, time is short; but there’s a second theological category, and that is eschatology. (We’ll look at two more categories next week.) What does money have to do with eschatology? We’ve seen its relationship to soteriology. What about the eschaton? What about the last things? Eschatology is the study of the end of the world, the consummation of the age. What does money have to do with the end of the world? And what does the Bible tell us is going to be true of money when we approach the end times?
Well, the Bible’s pretty clear. In 2 Timothy 3, the Bible says, “In the last days . . .” and the Bible then begins to describe the last days. It describes people in the last days. It says they will be characterized by “philarguria.” “Philarguria” means “the love of money.” In the last days, people will be lovers of money. In that same passage, the Bible uses “philautos,” “lovers of self,” and “philodonos,” “lovers of pleasure.” In fact, that passage says they will be lovers of pleasure rather than “philotheoi,” “lovers of God.” So, in the last days, people will love money, self, and pleasure rather than God.
Now, you might be thinking, “Well, hasn’t this always been true of people? I mean, haven’t people pretty much always loved self, money, and pleasure more than God?” And, perhaps, that’s always been true. But in the last days, this will be true to a greater degree. In the last days, this will be more critical because you’re approaching the end of all things. You’re approaching the end of the world, and people are tied up with themselves, with their pleasure and with their money.
Really, it’s all about love—lovers of money rather than lovers of God, lovers of self rather than lovers of God, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. It’s all about love. That’s why in our passage of Scripture for today, 1 Timothy 6:10, we’re told, “The love of money is the root of all evil.” It doesn’t say, “Money is the root of all evil.” It says, “The love of money is the root of all evil.” It’s all about love.
In the last days, there’s just going to come a crisis in the realm of love. I mean, you look at Luke 18:8. Jesus said, “When the Son of Man comes again, will there be faith on the earth?” Good question. Will there be faith on the earth? Then you look at the Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24:12. Jesus says, “In the last days, the love of mankind will grow cold.” So, there’s a crisis in this realm of love in the last days. We love the wrong things. We don’t love the Lord.
As Jesus continues with the Olivet Discourse, His whole focus is on the end times and the last things. He tells the parable of the talents, and He tells the parable of the sheep and the goats. In the parable of the talents, He’s talking about money. When you look at the parable of the talents, the lord entrusts his servants with bags of gold—five bags to one, two bags to another, one bag to another. He gives them talents of gold.
Then this lord, who represents Jesus, leaves with the promise that one day he’ll return and he’ll judge what you do with it all. And of course, when he returns, there’s one servant who did not use his gold or his money to serve the master. And so, the lord says to him, “Cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. There, men will weep and gnash their teeth.” It has to do with soteriology and eschatology, and it has to do with money.
Of course, the bags of gold in the parable of talents represent more than money. They represent everything that’s been entrusted to us. One day we have to give an account; this will be true eschatologically. Really, the parable of the talents has to do with how much you love the master. The parable of the sheep and the goats has to do with how much you love people. It’s all about love. There’s a crisis at the end with regard to love, as well as the way that money and love interplay in terms of what we love.
Now, as we close, I want to mention the Battle of Jericho. I know most of you have read Joshua chapters 6 and 7, where Joshua fought the Battle of Jericho. You know the story. One of the stories that comes out of the Battle of Jericho is the story of Rahab. You know that Rahab was a non-Jew. She was a Gentile, and she was a prostitute. But Rahab had heard about the God of the Israelites, and she had heard about how the Israelites had crossed the Red Sea as if upon dry ground. She had heard about how the Egyptians, when they tried to do the same, drowned. She thought this God must be great. She’d heard about how the Israelites had defeated the Amorites and had cast down two Amorite kings. She’d begun to believe in Yahweh, Elohim, the God of Israel.
So, she began to aid and abet the Jewish spies. As they were seeking the conquest of Jericho, she began to help the Jews. In the aftermath of the Jewish victory by the hand of God, she became a hero. In Matthew chapter 1, you see the genealogy of Jesus Christ. Incredibly, you see that Jesus is descended through the line of Rahab the harlot. She has become such a hero that through her line comes the Son of God. What a story of amazing grace and amazing mercy.
In the course of my life, I’ve heard many people preach sermons on Rahab because it’s about mercy and grace. We love sermons about mercy and grace. But in the same chapters, Joshua 6 and 7, there’s a story of another person, Achan. Achan is of the tribe of Judah. Achan misuses God’s money, and the judgment and wrath of God descend from heaven. I’ve never heard anybody preach a sermon on that. We don’t like sermons on judgment and wrath. In the aftermath of the battle, there was the treasury of Jericho just sitting there. The Jews knew that it was devoted to the Lord. The treasury was devoted to the Lord. But Achan went and stole some of the silver and gold for himself, bringing the judgment of God upon him.
Now, the Jews took that story of Achan, and they applied it to the tithe. The rabbis would say to the people, “The tithe is the Lord’s. It’s devoted to the Lord. If you steal from the tithe, you invite the judgment and wrath of God.”
Here we are today. Here we sit. Today, here I stand. We’re Christians, followers of Jesus. I still believe the tithe is the Lord’s. I don’t believe the tithe was revoked or repealed in the New Testament. There’s not one shred of evidence that the tithe is canceled by the New Testament. The only place where Jesus deals with the tithe is when He’s talking to the Pharisees. He calls them hypocrites because they tithe minutiae. They tithe mint, dill, and cumin, and they ignore mercy, love, and justice. Jesus says to the Pharisees, “You should live lives of love and mercy and justice, while not ignoring the tithes. Do this without ignoring the other.” Jesus doesn’t repeal the tithe. I believe the tithe is the Lord’s. I believe we’re robbing God. I believe the church of Jesus Christ, as we approach the end, is robbing God.
It’s about love. It’s really about love. Forty percent of our congregation gives nothing to the church. I hope (literally, I hope to God) you’re giving somewhere, and I hope you’re giving radically—because it isn’t yours. He’s the Lord. We’re stewards. Surveys show that most Christians give only 2% of what they make, and we’re the rich of the world. You know, the average income in our zip code where our church resides is $130,000 a year. We’re in the upper percentile globally. Even when you take into account relative costs of living, it’s a scary thing, 2%. The strange tragedy is this: as Christians make more and more money, the percentage they give to Christ is less and less.
I get tons of Christian and secular periodicals. It’s very evident that we have a crisis in the Christian world, particularly in the Western world where the number of Christians is diminishing. People in our culture and in our nation are moving into pluralism, syncretism, other religions, and atheism. Christianity Today, just this week, claims that less than 20% of the people in America are true believers in Jesus Christ. Truly, God only knows; but something’s wrong eschatologically, as we’re moving towards the end.
We’re loving the wrong things. And it’s the church, it’s Christians. We’re the ones loving the wrong things. We’re lovers of self rather than lovers of God, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, lovers of money rather than lovers of God. Our share of the pie is shrinking. The Christian world is getting into crisis. It’s getting smaller, and it’s all because we Christians think we’re lords when He’s the Lord. He owns it all. We renounce it all, and we are now stewards.
I volunteer in some ministries. I volunteer over at Valor, and I serve on their board. I volunteer over at Colorado Christian University on their board. I’m on the National Advisory Board for Fellowship of Christian Athletes. I serve with different things locally. I feel like I would be a hypocrite if I asked you to volunteer your time if I wasn’t volunteering my time. I tithe. I feel like I’d be a hypocrite if I asked you to tithe and I didn’t tithe. As Barb and I have been blessed, we try to go beyond tithe and give more. I’d be hypocrite if I asked you to do that if we weren’t doing that.
There are thousands of ministries out there. I could volunteer in any one of them, except I don’t have time to volunteer in thousands of ministries. But there are thousands of wonderful ministries out there, and they all need money. They all need money, but they don’t get it. It’s not that we who follow Jesus Christ don’t have it. We have the money to fuel all of these ministries, but the Christian world is hurting because we think we’re lords. We think we’re owners. We don’t understand that we’re stewards and it’s all His. We’re loving the wrong things.
We’re loving the wrong things. Jesus is watching. In Mark chapter 12, Jesus is sitting outside the treasury in the city of Jerusalem watching the Jews give their money to the cause of heaven. They’re putting their money into 13 different trumpets, which went into 13 different boxes. Jesus is watching. Wow. He sees this widow woman come and give all that she has. Jesus turns to the disciples and praises her.
He’s watching today; He’s still watching. He watches everything we do with every dollar. I have to tell you, for Barb and I, I’m convicted. This is scary stuff. So, what are we living for? Next week, we’ll look at money in the context of the Church and our global mission. We’ll look at money in the context of ecclesiology and missiology. It’s very, very important. Let’s close in a word of prayer.