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