DUNCAN/Don’t fall in love with money

Please turn to Hebrews 13:5-6. The Puritans used to say that a Christian loves the Lord and uses the world, but a worldling loves the world and uses the Lord. You can tell much about a person's spiritual state from what his or her heart is set on. Are his or her affections set on the Lord or is his or her heart set on the things of this world? That is one of the great mistakes of the health and wealth gospel. It has turned Christianity into using the Lord to get something that you want more than the Lord, which is material blessing and physical health and general prosperity and influence and reputation. In contrast, the author of Hebrews tells us to generously use the resources that God has given to us, but he also tells us to love the Lord instead of using the Lord to get us the temporary things of this world. As such, the author gives us two exhortations in verse 5. The first exhortation is about the love of money, and the second exhortation is about contentment. In relation, the author of Hebrews does not just tell us what to do, he tells us how to do it. Specifically, he tells us to believe in God's providence in verse 5 and to believe in God's sovereignty in verse 6.

I. Live Free from the Love of Money.

In verse 5, the author of Hebrews says, "Keep your life free from love of money." In a time of decision, you will go with what you love the most. And so the author is saying, "Do not love money," even to a congregation in which there are people who have had their possessions plundered because of their fidelity to Jesus. Notice he does not say, "Money is bad." The problem is not money, it is the love of money that is the issue. Paul delivers the same message in 1 Timothy 6:10 where he says, "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils." So notice again that the prohibition here is for the love of money. The author of Hebrews knows that those who love the world will not stand firm in a storm which asks them to choose you this day whom you will serve - the Lord Jesus or your money. This is not a theoretical question for us today, even here in the United States of America. We are already seeing Christians in our culture lose their jobs and businesses because of their fidelity to Scripture. Do not think that this will not be practical for you and me. So the author of Hebrews is saying before that test ever comes, you have got to be clear in your heart about what you love. Do you love Jesus or do you love the world? Thus, he tells us to keep our lives free from the love of money.

II. Cultivate Contentment.

In verse 5, the author of Hebrews also says, "and be content with what you have." In other words he tells us to cultivate contentment. Not only do you and I need to look at our heart and ask, "What do I really love?" but we also need to ask, "Am I content in the condition in which I find myself?" This is not saying all ambition is bad. It is a question of attitude. And once again the issue is that our contentment is a witness to our brothers and sisters and to the world that we treasure Jesus more than anything. If we are discontent, clearly we think that contentment is only going to come from something that we do not have. We already have Jesus if we are believers. He must not be enough. Kent Hughes says, "Those who always want more will turn away from God when their Christianity brings material subtraction rather than addition. On the other hand, those who are content who have found their ultimate treasure in the unflagging presence and care of God will sail on. Contentment says to our fellow Christians and to the world that Christ is with us, Christ is for us, and Christ is enough, more than enough."

III. Believe in God's Providence.

At the end of verse 5, the author tells us to believe in God's providence. Referring to Deuteronomy 31:6 and 8 and Joshua 1:5, he says, "For he has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.'" That is very interesting because the continual struggle of the children of Israel in the wilderness was that they continued to ask "Is God going to provide for us?" So the author of Hebrews says, "Look back at Moses and Joshua and remember that the Lord said, ‘I will not leave you nor forsake you. I will be present with you and I will provide for you." In Romans 8:32, Paul says, "He who spared not His own Son but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him freely give us all things?" Paul tells us that God will give us everything we need. So the author is saying to us, "Until you believe in God's providence, you will never ever master the contentment thing." That is why the Bible keeps coming back to us and telling us the same thing over and over again because we need to hear it. Thus, the author reminds us to trust God's providence.



IV. Believe in God's Sovereignty.

In verse 6, the author of Hebrews quotes from Psalm 118 and says, "‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?" Do you see how concerned God is to help you in your fight against the love of money and in the battle for contentment? He reminds you, "I am your Helper." This truth is revealed in the hymn entitled "Abide with Me: Fast Falls the Eventide." Specifically, the hymn writer, Henry Lyte says in the first stanza, "Abide with me, fast falls the eventide. The darkness deepens; Lord with me abide!" What is he asking for? He is asking for the Lord's presence. And then listen to what Lyte says, "When other helpers fail and other comforts flee" - who is the Lord? "He is the help of the helpless." And what does he ask Him to do? "Abide with me." He is speaking of God's presence, providence, and sovereignty. Because the Lord is our Help and nothing in the world can challenge Him, we can truly say, "What can man do to me?" May God grant that we would so believe in His providence and sovereignty that we would love Him above all else and that we would be content in His provision.