|
|
......................
......................
Pastor's Pen
......................
Memorization
......................
......................
......................
Thank you
for visiting.
Please send spiritual
comments to
Pastor's Pen
......................
Please e-mail all
other comments
to
WindJammer
......................
Ambassador Baptist Church
1926 Babcock Blvd
Pittsburgh, PA 15209
(412)477-3210
|
|
|
|
| Question:
Where in the Bible does it speak against gambling? How are the lottery
and investing in the stock market different?
|
|
Response:
Please allow me to give you an outline that I preached on this subject.
Gambling is both the Fruit and the Root of sin.
-
I. By Fruit, I mean that gambling is the result of sinful thinking and
attitudes.
-
A. Covetousness causes men to gamble. Exodus 20:17 is the Commandment
that forbids covetousness. It is intersting to note that the first nine
commandments are external, but the final one is internal. This shows
that God is interested in man's thinking, and not just his actions.
Psalm 119;36 states: "Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to
covetousness." Proverbs 1:19 speaks against those who are "greedy of
gain". Proverbs 21:25-26 states: "The desire of the slothful killeth
him,for his hands refuse to labour. He coveteth greedily all the day
long..." Colossians 3:5 states that covetousness is idolatry, and verse
6 says that people who act like this are behaving like the unsaved.
Ephesians 5:5 repeats this idea of covetousness being idolatry, and
states that this type of man has no inheritance in the Kingdom of God.
Since coveteousness is a sin, and common sense tells us that men gamble
because of a desire to have more stuff, gambling is a fruit of this
sinful thinking.
-
B. The love of money causes men to gamble. I Timothy 6:6 tells us
that we should learn to be content in our financial situation. Verse 9
shows the result of a desire to be rich, which certainly motivates men
to gamble and play the lottery. It causes men to "fall into temptation
and a snare and into many foolish and hurtful lusts which drown men in
destruction and perdition". Verse 10 then teaches that the love of
money is the root of all evil and because of this men have "erred from
the faith and pierced themselves through with many sorrows." Verse 11
then concludes by telling us that a man of God will flee these this.
-
c. Poor stwardship causes men to gamble. I Corinthians 4:1-2 tells
us that we are stewards of what God has given us. Matt 6:24 tells us
that we can not serve both God and money. Our money is to be used for
God's work, and is not to be wasted on selfish wants.
-
II Gambling is a Root of sin.
By this I mean that gambling causes men
to commit other sins. We know that the love of money can cause men to
commit all kinds of sin. Men will murder, cheat, steal, and do any
number of (in fact all) sinful activities to get money. It will cause a
man to fail to provide for his family in violation of I Timothy 5:8. It
will also cause a man to be lazy and slothful as far as work is
concerned, which is a violation of Genesis 3:19, I Thes. 4:11, and II
Thes. 3:10-12.
Two arguments used to support gambling are 1) that they cast lots in the
Bible, and 2) investments. First of all, casting lots was not gambling
with or for money. There was no risk involved. This was simply an
attempt to determine the will of God by people who at that point did not
have the completed canon of Scripture. Please note that the casting of
lots for Christ's garment at the foot of the cross is NOT the same
thing, but was probably something like a "heads I win, tails you win"
situation. As far as investments are concerned, this is not based upon
chance as gambling is. It is (or should be) based upon diligent study
of a corporation, its product and its employees. Also note that in the
parable of the talents in Matthew 25, the servants were praised for
bringing a return on the masters money. The one who did nothing was
told that at least he should have invested the money so that the master
would have received interest (25:27). Proverbs 21:5 states that "the
thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness, but of every one
that is hasty only to want". This means tht a diligent man will plan
ahead. This certainly would include financial issues, for the man who
doesn't prepare winds up in want.
Hope this helps. May the Lord bless you.
|
By Dr Mark Montgomery
Ambassador Baptist Church
1926 Babcock Blvd
Pittsburgh, PA 15209
(412)477-3210
|
|
|