What Does it Mean that "Money is the Root of All Kinds of Evil"?

What does it mean that money is the root of all kinds of evil? That's just one of the questions we'll be answering on today's edition of Core Christianity. Well, hi, this is Bill Meyer, along with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. This is the radio program where we answer your questions about the Bible and the Christian life every day.

You can also leave a voicemail at that number, and you can feel free to email us anytime at questions at corechristianity.com. First up today, let's go to Ed from Missouri. Hi, Ed. What's your question for Adriel? Hey, how you doing? Doing well, Ed. Thanks for giving us a call. Hey, here's my question.

The name is 37. It says, Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he reveal his secrets unto his servants, the prophets. So the question is, if God decided to raise up a prophet in these last days, could he do that and still be within his rights?

Ed, thanks for that question. We believe that God can do whatever he wants, right? I mean, God is God. The question is, what is God doing ordinarily today? And what was the role and function of prophecy throughout scripture? If you're asking, would God raise up another Ezekiel or Jeremiah or Isaiah today, I would say that the answer is very clearly no, because those Old Testament prophets were a part of the theocracy in Israel, the theocracy in Israel. Israel is this political body in covenant with God called to obey the Lord, and when they wouldn't, God would raise up prophets, calling them to repentance and often calling the nations. Around Israel to repentance as well under the New Covenant. First and foremost, we look to Jesus Christ, our ultimate prophet, priest and king, who reveals to us the will of God for our salvation through Holy Scripture.

That's where we need to focus. My concern oftentimes when people bring up, you know, God raising up a prophet today is that we're dissatisfied with what God has already spoken so clearly in his word. I'm not saying that this is you, but I've seen this, and I've seen it even in my own life as a newer believer when I was a part of a church where we did believe, you know, that God raised up prophets and that some people in the church had the gift of prophecy. I was always looking for someone to give me a word, focusing on that specifically and not focusing on hearing what God had already said so clearly in the scriptures.

And so that's what we want to be careful with. Now, of course, you know, throughout the history of the church, there have been those who have said, you know, extraordinarily, if God wants to raise someone up who he uses providentially, miraculously, yeah, he can do that. But ordinarily, when we think about the ministry of the church, the prophet is not like an office in the New Testament church. You have elders and deacons. This is why Paul gives the qualifications for elders and deacons in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 and why in Ephesians chapter 2, he talks about the apostles and prophets being foundational for the church, Ephesians chapter 2, verse 20. We could say that God is free to work however he wants, Ed, with means or apart from means. But I would say ordinarily the way in which the Lord is working today is through faithful Bible teaching, local churches that are committed to the word of God, to ministry, to the fellowship, the breaking of bread, growing together as a body. And I think that's where we need to really focus and be committed as the followers of Jesus.

Thank you for giving us a call, brother. Just to follow up for you, Adriel, what about the biblical prohibition about adding anything to God's word? And when we have people that seem to be doing that, let's say they claim to be a prophet, they claim to be speaking for God, and they are then supposedly adding to scripture.

How do we respond? That's a very, very scary thing, isn't it? Throughout the book of Jeremiah, Jeremiah warned about the false prophets who said they had a word from the Lord, that they had been sent by God, and God says, actually, I never sent you.

And so that's a concern. When people say, Thus saith the Lord, and then they start trying to pretend as if what they're saying is the very word of God, I would say, if you have that going on in your church, that's a huge concern. And you probably want to find a church that's not looking to add to God's word, but looking to grow in what God has already said through his word.

Good counsel. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. If you have a question about the Bible or the Christian life, you can call us 24 hours a day. Here is the phone number. It's 833-THE-CORE.

That's 1-833-843-2673. Let's go to Debbie, who's calling in from Martin, Illinois. Debbie, what's your question for Adriel? Hi, Adriel. Thanks for taking my call.

I love your show. Revelations 22 verses 14 and 15. This is when heaven, we have the new heaven and the new earth is taken over. And it's mentioning that inside the city is everybody that's holy and that, but outside in verse 15, it says, are outside the city is the sorcerers and the whoremongers and the murderers and etc. Why are they outside the city, outside the gates? Why aren't they in the pit of hell?

Thanks, Debbie, for that question. Well, I'm currently preaching through the book of Revelation. I would say first, you know, it's important to understand what we're looking at here is this visionary prophecy. The idea of being outside the city means being cut off from the covenant people. Outside, strangers to God's gracious promises, his mercy, his forgiveness.

And so that's what's being communicated. These people who are outside, it's not just like, you know, you have this heavenly city and then there are people who didn't make it who are outside and they kind of are living on the outskirts of the city. No, they face the judgment of God. They do experience the second death. And that's actually made clear in the previous chapter, Debbie, in Revelation 21, verse 8, where you have this group again listed. But as for the cowardly, John wrote, the faithless, the detestable, as for the murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death. And so I take those two groups to be the same.

The group there in Revelation 21, verse 8, and then the group that's described in Revelation 22, verses 14 and 15. The focus, again, just being the language of being outside the city or cut off is this picture of being separated from God and his gracious promises for his people. And so that's what's being communicated in this visionary prophecy. And that's what we need to understand.

Not reading it literalistically, per se, but understanding it in the context and what being cut off and outside the city would have meant for these people. Debbie, thanks for the question. You definitely don't want to be one of those people. No, no sir.

No, not at all. And I mean, it really is a sobering warning and something that I think we should take very seriously. I mean, you look at these warnings throughout the book of Revelation. One thing I've been noticing, Bill, as I'm preaching through it, is you have this refrain where you get these trumpet blasts and these calls to repentance, and yet people continually harden their hearts against the Lord. And so, man, God give each one of us, help us to hear his word and to receive it and to turn from our sins and to lay hold of that grace and mercy and forgiveness that are found solely in Jesus Christ.

Amen. By the way, we have a great Bible study on the book of Revelation. You can find that by going to corechristianity.com forward slash studies. Again, corechristianity.com forward slash studies.

Look for our excellent Bible study on the book of Revelation. Let's get back to the phones. Billy's on the line from Tennessee. Billy, what's your question for Adriel? Is Billy there? I'll call you right back. Yeah, I am. Hey, Billy, thanks for giving us a call. Sorry to interrupt your other call. How are you doing? It's okay with my work phone. Okay.

What's your question? So recently, I was reading through Hebrews chapter six, you know, and kind of start with a little backstory here. So I've been a Christian really just a believer for the latter part of my adulthood years.

I'm 31 now really about in my mid 20s. I came to know Christ and for a few years. I back slid deep into a life that I was living in. So, you know, and most recently really over the last few months from the ways I was living.

I got heavily convicted and it drove me into depression and severe anxiety. And through that I really started calling the name of Jesus for healing and understanding and and man, he's done some wonders in my life, but back to the whole of it. I was reading through Hebrews chapter 6 verses really 4 through 6 that really hit me and and I've been a little conflicted about them trying to find peace in them, but I'm not really really sure what the what the take from it there. So I was hoping that that maybe you guys could really just give me a little bit of enlightenment or or help me to understand that a little better and really it just it goes on to say that those who have been It's impossible for those who have been what's been enlightened who have tasted the heavenly gift who have shared in the Holy Spirit who have tasted the goodness of the Word of God and the powers of the coming age and who have fallen away to be brought back to repent. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting things to public disgrace. That hits deep and I was hoping you guys just could share how you feel on that or what you would think of that.

Absolutely Billy. First let me just say I thank the Lord for his work of grace in your life for drawing you to himself in your 20s and bringing you back even through I mean it sounds like a season of you said backsliding you know not walking with Christ as you know you should have been and coming again under the conviction of the Holy Spirit and calling upon the name of the Lord. You do the right thing and I think you know that that can happen we can experience the grace of God but then we can read a text like this and think is that real? I mean did my backsliding my falling away make it so that I'm basically forever condemned now I can't come back to the Lord I can't be forgiven because of what I've done and you read some of the text.

Let me just read it again. It is impossible, this is verse 4, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, enlightened there could be a reference to baptism oftentimes in the early church especially illumination or enlightening was a reference to receiving baptism. And he says who have tasted the heavenly gift probably a reference to the Lord's Supper and have shared in the Holy Spirit and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come and then have fallen away to restore them again to repentance since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt. Now what is falling away in the book of Hebrews we're not talking about you know going on a bender with regard to sin for a period of time just you know struggling with sexual immorality or something like that or what specifically is the issue in the book of Hebrews is rejecting Jesus Christ and placing our trust in the you know the Hebrews what they were being tempted to do is go back to the sacrificial system of the old covenant trusting in the blood of bulls and goats for the forgiveness of sins the types and shadows of the old covenant. This isn't just struggling with sin backsliding it in that sense this is a turning away from the gospel rejecting the forgiveness that is found in Christ by saying it wasn't sufficient. Jesus's blood is insufficient I got to go back to the blood of bulls and goats and that's why the author of the Hebrews is pulling out his hair saying look if you do that if you reject the gospel if you're if you're not having faith in Christ.

Well then you are condemned there's no hope and so for you Billy as you're saying man I'm calling on the name of Jesus I know that I need Jesus I know that I don't have any hope apart from Jesus this would not apply to you as someone falling at the feet of the cross. The problem with with the Hebrews is that they were turning away from that even after everything that they had heard and this is what the author of the Hebrews goes on to explain further he gives a little parable we might say in verse seven and it helps to explain what he had just said for the land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it and produces a crop useful for those to those for whose sake it is being cultivated receives a blessing from God. But if it bears thorns and thistles it is worthless and near to being cursed and its end is to be burned. Now the land here in this parable is a reference to the church there that the author of the Hebrews is writing to and he says you guys have had the rain of the gospel pouring on you. You've tasted of the heavenly gift you've been enlightened you've heard the truth of the gospel but that rain the water of the gospel isn't leading you to repentance in Christ you're turning away from him you're not bearing fruit you're bearing thorns and thistles of unbelief. And this is again why he warns earlier you know in Hebrews chapter 3 beware brothers lest there be in any of you an evil unbelieving heart leading you to fall away from the living God that's what he's talking about Billy. It doesn't sound to me like that's that's you you're not turning away from Christ in unbelief seeking to put your hope and trust in other things you're you're realizing Lord I know I have not been and wasn't walking like I should have been walking so I'm turning to you and saying God be merciful to me a sinner and Billy let me just say to you when you do that in faith God is merciful to you and he does forgive you when we cling to the promises of the gospel we do experience that grace. And that mercy and I hope that God confirms you in that and just gives you a sense of comfort knowing that his goodness is for you you think of the parable of the prodigal son in Luke chapter 15 who right is in the household and then and then leaves and goes on a bender and.

And sells everything that you know the or loses everything that his father gave him his inheritance basically you know shakes his fist at his father wishing that he was dead you know just give me my inheritance usually get your your inheritance when when when the father dies give it to me now I wish you were dead essentially and he goes and he lives however he wants and he realizes what a fool he was and when he turns back. What happens his father sees him at a distance and boy you know runs toward him and embraces him Billy that's what that's what our good father does for you as you turn to him and may the Lord bless you and strengthen you and keep you brother as as his own and comfort you with his grace mercy and forgiveness thanks for giving us a call. Hey Billy thanks so much for calling in for your honesty we appreciate you this is core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez hey Thanksgiving coming up just a few days away and we have a wonderful free resource that we think will be a huge blessing to you this Thanksgiving. Yeah Bill is a holiday season begins to ramp up we have a free resources you said that our listeners can download it core Christianity dot com called five biblical reminders for Thanksgiving really important because we often see posts on social media or wall art in our friends homes that instruct us to be grateful and give thanks maybe you have one of those hanging up in your house but how do you truly do that. How do we really according to scripture give thanks to the Lord that's what we want to do not just around this time of the year but throughout the year every day and in all that we do and so get a hold of this resource to free download over core Christianity dot com called five biblical reminders for Thanksgiving.

Why don't you get that this week and maybe read it with your family maybe read it to your kids this would be a great reminder to them of what Thanksgiving is all about five biblical reminders for Thanksgiving you can find that by going to core Christianity dot com forward slash offers again core Christianity dot com forward slash offers while you're there check check out some of the other resources we have we've got a lot of great ones, many of them absolutely free that will help you grow in your faith. Well, let's get to the phone lines. We have a voicemail that came in from one of our listeners. This is Michelle in Utah.

I've always had trouble getting the answer to this. I'm wondering how are we supposed to live a godly life and be more like our Savior if money and greed is the main thing that the world runs on greed and money are supposed to be so evil like in Timothy one that says that money isn't is a root of all kinds of evil. And so I'm just wondering how us as people living in a day and age we're living in now and the world running on money and greed. How do we go ahead and get ourselves to look past that and still be Godly people. Michelle I really appreciate this question because I think we don't often think about the sin of greed right.

That's not one of those sins that many people confess other things lust lying so on and so forth. But you don't hear a lot of people saying man I really been struggling with greed lately and yet as you know in our society today this is such a huge issue. Now we need to distinguish between greed and the love of money and just money as it is. Money as it is is not evil inherently it is the love of money that that I think is destructive and that's precisely you mentioned first Timothy that's precisely what first Timothy says in first Timothy chapter six verse nine. Those who desire to be rich fall into many temptations into a snare into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction for the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierce themselves with many pangs.

And so this is something that each of us as followers of Jesus need to be on guard for. It's one of the qualifications for officers in the church elders and deacons not being a lover of money that is not not being tempted and so longing desiring to be rich and and you know loving money that it keeps you from pursuing the Lord and loving the Lord and loving your neighbors as you should because you're greedy and stingy. But again it's not that being rich is evil or having money is evil or money is evil it's it's really how you view it and what you do with it. And that's why the author of the Hebrews is going to go on to say in verse seven excuse me the Paul in first Timothy six is going to go on to say in verse 17 as for the rich in this present age charge them not to be haughty nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches but on God who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. In other words I mean listen to what Paul is saying there you know to the rich in this present world he's not saying you should really feel bad about yourself you know you're you're you know that's bad that you're that you're rich per se he's just saying look don't focus on being rich in that sense focus on being rich in good works on using what God has given you to bless others to do good to richly provide for others because God richly provides for you.

Everything that you might enjoy it I mean isn't that isn't that beautiful in other words it's not guilt in shame. And he goes on to say in verse 18 they are to do good to be rich in good works to be generous and ready to share thus storing up treasure for themselves is a good foundation for the future so that they may take hold of that which is truly life. How do we how do we do this well I mean going back to what Jesus says in in the Gospels don't store up treasure for yourself here on earth where moth and rust destroy. Focus on that heavenly treasure the the treasure that God gives to all those who trust in him and follow him that's where our ultimate treasure is as the people of God and so I think that's a question that we ought to ask ourselves. And Michelle this is you know how do we how do we have the right priority the right focus I would say whether you have money or whether you don't what is your ultimate treasure.

There are people who don't have a lot of money who can still have a love for money and greed and there are people who have a lot of money who who aren't ruled by it and who use it for good to serve others. And so any of us whether we're rich or poor can fall into the sin of greed we have to be careful and ask ourselves Lord what is my ultimate treasure. And we ought to be able to join Asaph the psalmist in Psalm 73 where as he's considering you know the prosperity of the wicked and he's really wrestling with this guys they seem so blessed Lord I don't feel very blessed.

He realizes he comes to his senses as he's in the temple of the Lord worshiping and he says whom have I in heaven but you and on earth there is none that I desire besides you. In other words God you are my ultimate treasure you are my portion the hope of my life you know my flesh and my heart might fail me but God is the strength of my life and my portion forever. We want to be able to say that as the people of God and so asking ourselves that question what is my treasure is a really good one I think as the followers of Christ. Boy God a great reminder there Adriel for all of us to keep our eyes on the Lord and really I guess re-evaluate our priorities and what's most important in life right? Yeah absolutely you know it's so interesting because Jesus had no problem talking about money and possessions. He says where your treasure is that's where your heart will be also and so the way in which we think about money and possessions I think is helpful in terms of you know that sort of spiritual litmus test where am I at? Now of course none of us is going to be perfect in this but we're all growing we're seeking to draw near to the Lord and to use the gifts that he's given to us whatever those gifts are for his glory and for the good of our neighbor and so may God help each of us to do just that. 833-843-2673 that's 833 the core. When you contact us please let us know how you've been encouraged by this program and be sure to join us next time as we explore the truth of God's word together.