Part 8
COVETOUSNESS
1. "Take heed and beware of covetousness"
Luke 12:15
2. "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven" Matt. 6:19-20
3. "Ye pay tithe and not leave (them) undone" Matt.23:23
4. "Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away" Matt. 5:42
5. "Give alms of such things as ye have"
Luke 11:41
6. "When thou makest a dinner… call not (invite) thy friends, nor thy brethren but call the poor"
Luke 14:12-13 [Taken out of context from a parable.]
7. "[Do not ...] Make yourselves friends of the mammon?"
Luke 16:9
This list is enough to stretch everyone just a little.
It covers everything from kids wanting more toys to church leaders desiring new carpet, pews, paint, etc., for the church, or even a new building. Yes, it even covers the ‘need’ to frequently buy new clothes, electronic toys, career advancement, investments, etc., etc. The personal costs in relationships and spiritual harm that comes from drive o have more – of any anything other than Christ is harmful to one’ walk with the Lord. You could preach on this for months!
G4124: πλεονεξία pleh-on-ex-ee'-ah. Greedy desire to have more, covetousness, avarice
Number two is like unto number one. If one works to lay up wealth and/or possessions here on earth and not lay up spiritual wealth in heaven, what does it profit you? You might be able to get buried in a more expensive casket? Oh yah, that’s sure to make one happier!
Now we come to a very controversial statement in number three: Out of context this statement has no meaning at all! Tithing was required only for the (food) support of the currently serving Temple priesthood, the poor and the destitute, not for the entire tribe of Levi. However this statement, opens up another modern-day doctrine (tradition) on tithing that is held in error by many. Go for it!
Number for relates to the desire (need) not only to gather in more and more, but to hold on to what one already has (selfishness).
Number four and five go together.
In number six we have yet another interesting command. It is part of a larger teaching by Jesus. Making a ‘dinner’ does not mean cooking supper. There is a lesson to be learned here. What is it?
Now we come to number seven. The text refers to ‘unrighteous’ mammon (worldly wealth). Now, how does this fit into the need to support one’s self and family? What about trying to make life a little easier from them? Is this another bag of worms?
This should keep everyone busy over the weekend.
Today, yet another hard subject:
HYPOCRISY
1. "Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy"
Luke 12:1
2. "Beware of the scribes, which desire to walk in long robes"
Luke 20:46-47
3. "Do not ye after their works" Matt. 23:2-3
4. "Make not My Father?s house an house of merchandise"
John 2:16
5. "Do not your alms before men, to be seen of them" Matt.6:1-4
6. "When thou prayest thou shalt not be as the hypocrites, to be seen of men, enter into thy closet and pray in secret" Matt. 6:5-6
7. "When thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; that thou appear not unto men to fast" Matt. 6:16-18
Hypocrisy can be defined as, “An expression of agreement that is not supported by real conviction.´ or as, “Insincerity by virtue of pretending to have qualities or beliefs that you do not really have.”
So, number one, what was the leaven of the Pharisees, which was hypocrisy?
What was the hypocrisy of the scribes, and why should one beware of them?
Number three is like number two.
In number four we have a real problem, i.e. we know the story concerning the money changers, but is this all to the lesson Jesus taught? Do we, tody, in our own way make the church a house of merchandise?
Number five is not so hard. A great many churches simply do not engage in alms giving either because they never think of it, or they don’t have any resources left after paying the church bills.
Does number six present an admonishment against corporate or public prayer? If not, what does it mean?
Last, but not least, is number seven. There is more to this one than just fasting. There is a broader implication/application.
So, how is everyone doing so far? Not to worry, we still have seven more topics to touch on.
Anyone keeping count of the number of instructions so far?
Another question I love to ask is this: For example, what did James teach on giving? What did Andrew teach concerning the problem of actually following after Jesus? Or, what did Bartholomew teach on prayer, and what did Lebbaeus teach concerning a disciple’s love of God?
If we are going to tell the world that we follow the Apostles’ teaching, I think it would be proper to actually know and adhere to their teaching, don’t you? But, how can we know with a certainty what they taught, when there is so little in the N.T. concerning what they actually said - to anyone? Or, is there? Actually, for those who have looked behind the curtain, you already have the answer, and you found it in exactly where you would expect to find it, right there in the N.T.
----------------------
Added note: An added note: The English hypocrisy in the Greek: the word is HupokrisiHs, meaning "The act of deceiving", or Hupokrites, which means the same as the above but also includes "pretender'