I'm Addicted to Shopping. Can the Bible Help?

I'm addicted to shopping. Can the Bible help me? That's just one of the questions we'll be answering on today's edition of CORE Christianity.

Well, hi there, and hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving with your friends and family. I'm 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 call us right now with your question. Here's the phone number. It's 833-THE-CORE.

That's 1-833-843-2673. If you get our voicemail, feel free to leave us your message, your question that way. You can also post your question on one of our social media accounts, and you can always email us at questionsatcorechristianity.com. Well, first up today, let's go to Selah, who's calling for Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Selah, what's your question for Adriel?

Hi, thanks for taking my call. My question is about a conversation I had with a loved one, and I kind of want to know your opinion of a Bible reference about Joseph's miracle cloak. I mean, it went on to talk about, they left the cloak there with somebody, and then it was healing them or something, and they ended up keeping it. I just want to know where in the Bible it says that, and then it's praying to Joseph's cloak, which is what kind of ended the conversation, that healing for healing of their own.

Is that demonic in the sense of taking us away from going to Jesus, which is the Almighty, the One who has all the power now, right? So I just kind of want your opinion on both of those, and if you ever even heard of the story of Joseph's miracle cloak. I've never heard of the story of Joseph's miracle cloak. I have heard of the story of the coat of many colors that Joseph's father, Jacob, gave to him because he loved him, and that story is in Genesis chapter 37, where you have Jacob, one of the patriarchs, giving this cloak. It wasn't a miraculous quote, it was just a gesture of his love towards his son Joseph, and it was this beautiful, ornate cloak that made his brothers jealous and was in part what led to their betrayal of him down the line, and they did seek to kill him. They sold him into slavery, and they took the cloak and basically faked his death.

They killed an animal, and they covered the cloak in blood, and they brought the cloak back to their father and said, hey, your son has been eaten by a wild beast, and for many, many years, Jacob thought that Joseph had died, and God was at work there, and you can read about it again in Genesis 37 and following, but God was at work using actually the betrayal of the brothers to lead Joseph into Egypt, where he would rise to power and later serve to deliver, to save all of his brothers and his father from a great famine, and the whole story is a wonderful picture of the gospel, a shadow of the gospel, if you will, where you have Jesus, the greater Joseph, betrayed by his brothers, but ultimately leading to the salvation of his people, and so there's a wonderful picture of the gospel there. Now, the second part of your question, Selah, well, what about praying to this cloak and seeking, you know, healing or something from it? I just think that that's not at all biblical. I mean, that's just out of the question, and so I'm not sure in this conversation what this individual was saying, you know, like we need to be praying to miraculous objects or something like that, but no, we go to God directly if we're seeking healing, you know, asking God to heal us of some sickness or disease.

You know, James in James 5 says, if anybody is looking for healing, let them go to the elders of the church and let them anoint that individual with oil and lay hands on them, praying for healing, and so we're not ever told to pray to cloaks or anything like that, but we are called to seek the Lord and to trust in him and to go to him, and so that's what I would say, and that's what I would encourage your friend with as well. Thank you, and I just want to encourage you, read Genesis 37 and following, really, I think one of the most beautiful sections of all scripture, a really amazing story, and like I said, just dripping with the gospel everywhere. I have never heard of that either, the miraculous cloak of Joseph. You know, sometimes it's interesting how you get these sort of side, I don't know, doctrines that people pull something out of scripture and then they develop some strange belief about it, and that's not the first time that's happened, is it? No, and just that's why I really appreciate that Selah called in, because it really is important for us to ask the question, is this practice, this thing that I'm doing, something that's rooted in scripture, or is this just made up? Is this something that someone told me, but there really is no biblical precedent or prescription for this. This is where I think a lot of people get led astray is because we don't have a solid understanding of the scriptures, and so people come along and we're susceptible to being deceived or being led into a kind of false worship, and so I think the encouragement here for all of us is, let's keep going back to the scriptures and asking ourselves that question, is what I'm doing, the way that I pray, the way that I seek the Lord, is this something that God has called us to? And if it isn't, if, you know, it's all these extra biblical traditions that have nothing to do with scripture and God has not commanded us to do, then then I think we should just, you know, say bye, you know, not do those things anymore, because there's the the real danger of being led astray.

Great caution for all of us. Thanks for that, Adriel. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. We pray that you're having a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend. If you have a question about the Bible or the Christian life, you can email us this weekend. Feel free anytime.

Here's the email address. It's questions at corechristianity.com. Just the word questions at corechristianity.com.

And Adriel, here's a question from one of our listeners named Mona. She says, I'm wondering if you can explain the following verse. First John 5 17. All wrongdoing is sin, but there is a sin that does not lead to death.

What does this mean in its full context? And then she adds this. I love the blessing that you've been to me and answering questions that I've never thought about before. I'm a fairly new Christian of about four years, and I'm still learning. Well, Mona, may God just bless you and fill you with His Spirit and give you endurance as you continue to follow Jesus.

And thank you so much for this question, a really good question. And a passage of scripture that has caused a lot of concern for people. I'll start in verse 16. If anyone sees a brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask and God will give him life to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is sin that leads to death.

I do not say that one should pray for that. All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that does not lead to death. And so the concern, Mona, that people have is, well, have I committed a sin that leads to death?

Am I separated from the Lord? Or if I see somebody who's struggling with a pattern of sin, you know, how do I differentiate between, well, is that sin a sin leading to death? Or, you know, should I pray for that? Because John says, you know, don't pray about this sin that leads to death. I do not say that one should pray for that. So how do we make sense of this?

Well, two things. One, note that those verses, verses 16 and 17, are sandwiched in between a real assurance that John gives to his audience. In verse 13, earlier, he said, I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. In other words, he's not trying to get them to question their salvation here. And then, in verse 18, he says, we know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him.

And so here's what I would say. One, if you believe in Jesus and you have eternal life, you've been born again, this sin unto death does not apply to you, cannot apply to you. And that's precisely what John says in verse 18. We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning. In other words, doesn't continue down that path, but the Lord is at work in their life. I take this sin unto death to be apostasy, abandoning the Gospel, not having faith, now, of course, the question is, well, what about our friends who have left the Church? We still want to pray for them.

I think the reality is we don't know when somebody has hardened their heart to the point of no return. So we should always pray. But in the context of 1 John, John is writing to a group of Christians who had just experienced a kind of schism in the Church, where a group who had bought into false teaching about Jesus and about sin had left the Church. And I think they're the ones who he's identifying as those who are committing this particular kind of sin.

Back in chapter 2, he says of those people, I'll start in verse 18 of chapter 2, Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that Antichrist is coming, so now many Antichrists have come, therefore we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they went out from us, but they were not of us. For if they had been of us, they would have continued with us, but they went out that it might become plain that they all are not of us. And so there was a group that had embraced false teaching, a false understanding also of who Jesus is. They had imbibed the doctrine of the Antichrist, false teaching about the Gospel, and they had left the Church. They had committed apostasy. I think that's what's in reference in chapter 5, and the comfort for you and for all believers in Jesus Christ who have trusted in Christ, who are born again, is that you have eternal life and that you don't, you won't, commit the sin unto death.

Why? And this is so wonderful. Again, verse 18, He who was born of God protects Him. Now I take that to be Jesus, the eternally begotten Son of God who keeps all of His sheep, His children. Jesus protects His own, guards them.

As He says, I don't lose one of my sheep, and that's the comfort that we have. That's the comfort, I think, that through faith in Christ, you have Mona. God bless.

Something to be really thankful about this Thanksgiving weekend. Thanks for that, Adriel. This is CORE Christianity. Just a reminder that the CORE is a listener supported ministry, so we count on people just like you to help us pursue our mission, and that's to share the Gospel and to equip believers and to answer the tough questions of non-believers on this program. We attempt to do that every day with God's help, and if you'd like to make a gift of this ministry, you can easily do that by going to corechristianity.com and clicking on the donate link. You can also learn more about becoming an ongoing member of what we call our inner CORE. Yeah, if you have been blessed by the work that we're doing here at CORE Christianity, answering your questions every day about the Christian faith and the Christian life, would you consider partnering with us?

Join the inner CORE. It's a monthly donation of $25 or more, and as a thank you for joining the inner CORE, we'll send you a copy of the book by Dr. Michael Horton, CORE Christianity, a great resource to encourage you in your faith, and let me just say to all of our inner CORE members, those who listen, thank you for your support and thank you for your prayers. If I could just ask all of you, whether you're in the inner CORE or not, would you pray for us? We really have such an awesome opportunity to get to talk about Jesus through the radio airwaves, some podcasts, really such a blessing to use technology for the glory of God, and we want to see people grow in their relationship with Christ, in their understanding of the word of God. We want to see people listening on the radio who maybe just tune in and are flipping through the stations, but something they hear causes them to stop and they hear the gospel and they come to faith in Christ. That's what we long to see, and so partner with us to that end, and pray for us that God would make it happen. Thank you for your support. We'd love to have you consider joining the inner CORE, and you can find out more by going to corechristianity.com forward slash inner CORE, just all one word, corechristianity.com forward slash inner CORE. Maybe you could perfectly consider that this Thanksgiving weekend, or as we approach the end of the year, your end of year would always be appreciated here at this ministry.

Well, we do have listeners from all over the world, and we received this voicemail from one of our listeners in Dublin, Ireland. His name is Michael. 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 1, it says that money is a root of all kinds of evil, and so I'm just wondering how us as people living in the 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?

Bill, I don't think that was Michael from Dublin, but it was a good question nonetheless. What I would say to that question, because it is an important question, is that money is not inherently evil. Money in and of itself can be used for evil.

The problem is the human heart. It's the fact that we are infatuated with or become lovers of money. That is what is forbidden, and that's what Paul tells Timothy in 1 Timothy 6-10, the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs, but then he goes on to say, and this is just proof that money and having money isn't necessarily a bad thing or an evil thing. He says in verse 17, as for the rich in this present age, and what do you think he's going to say next? Command them to feel bad about having money or whatnot? No, listen to what he says, 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. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share. That's what we all need to cultivate in our hearts, whether we feel like we're rich or poor. God, help me to be rich in charity, in good works, in love for you and for my neighbors. Whether you bless me with resources or maybe I don't have a lot with whatever you bless me with, help me to give you thanks and to honor you in all things. As we do that, I think we give glory to the Lord. Thanks for that question. Great. Well, now we do have that voicemail from Michael in Dublin, Ireland. Here's Michael's question. I just want to first of all thank you for your faithful ministry and the work that you guys are doing, Pastor Elijah.

Bill, it doesn't go unnoticed, so truly thank you from the bottom of my heart. Something as a Christian I'm struggling with at the moment is addiction, I feel, buying electronics, more precisely mobile phones. This has been going on for quite a while in my Christian life. I find that it's having a big strain on my marriage with my wife and stuff. I stop for maybe six weeks and then I have that urge again. My problem purely is that it keeps me away from the Lord. It keeps me away from God.

Also, financially, it's a hindrance on me. I'm pretty much just looking for any encouragement from you guys or any resources that you could recommend, maybe could help me with this struggle that I'm going through. It's even shameful to acknowledge, but I appreciate all that you guys are doing and continue to do the great work of Christ.

Thank you guys. Michael, God bless you, brother, in your desire to honor the Lord and to pursue the Lord and to have a strong and healthy marriage, you know, where things like this don't get in the way. I'm just encouraged by you and thank you also for your encouragement. Anything, really anything, can become an addiction, something that we have a sort of unhealthy relationship with that keeps us from having healthy relationships, both with God and with the people around us, our loved ones, our spouses specifically. I think it's good to acknowledge that, to be able to realize, okay, this is something that's really got a hold on my heart. Especially when a pattern of behavior is associated, when there's a lot of guilt, there's a sense of shame, there's this reality that, okay, this is really beginning to get in between me and my wife or marriage. It's also an issue. This is where you see things like shopping addictions really become a problem, where I'm just buying things that I don't need and it's putting us in a financial crisis.

And so these kinds of things, if we don't deal with them, can really destroy a life. And certainly, I think we've all seen and heard those stories. And so the fact that you're acknowledging this and saying, God, give me help, I think is a really good thing. And just know that the Lord is for you, that He forgives all of your sins, that He lifts your burden, and that He's for your marriage and for, I think, enjoying the good gifts that He gives to you, but not being controlled by them. And I was just in 1 Timothy 6 already with the previous question. And again, so thinking about it, maybe in a different light, again, verse 17, as for the rich in this 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. And so there's something about God's provision in our life and the fact that He gives to us and that we're able to and allowed to enjoy those gifts that He gives to us.

So there's nothing wrong with enjoying these things. It's only a problem when they begin to get in the way of, as you said, your relationship with the Lord and your relationship with your wife. And so as you've confessed your sin to God and as you have this conversation with your wife, I think it's walking in the freedom that Christ has given to you. And then really thinking about strategically, okay, what does it look like for me to take steps toward not getting into this pattern again, fighting against this particular issue?

Sometimes it's being a part of a support group. Sometimes it's maybe just having more open lines of communication with your spouse and saying, look, whatever purchase I make, electronic purchase I make, it's gonna be something that you and I really, we need to talk about it first. And I wanna be able to talk about it first with you so that I'm not making these impulsive decisions that do hurt our family financially.

Bill, would you add anything? I know just as a counselor, for people who are struggling with different kinds of addiction, what are some other helpful resources or steps that can be taken? Well, you know, it's interesting what he said. He said, you know, he's kind of ashamed about talking about this, but actually it's fairly common in our culture. It's one of the anxiety disorders similar to compulsive disorder. And the formal term for it is oniomania, which comes from the Greek onios, which means for sale and mania, which means basically insanity. And it's an anxiety disorder. And so there's something going on beneath the surface that causes a person to act this compulsively.

And it's usually something that they, you know, the anxiety builds up, then they go through with that compulsive behavior, whatever it might be in this case, shopping, then they feel a sense of relief, but there's then also the guilt that's from, well, I spent all this money and I, you know, did this thing that made my spouse angry, as he said, and now I feel more anxiety and then they act out again. So you mentioned groups and that's one of the best things a person can do. If they're struggling with one of these anxiety disorders, go to a group.

And I'm hoping and praying there'd be one available for him there in Dublin. If not, maybe there are some online groups, some Zoom groups that he could join for people that, you know, struggle with this sort of behavior and that could really be helpful. And Michael, let me just add, you think about the fruit of the Holy Spirit that Paul talks about in Galatians, and one of the fruits of the Spirit being self-control. We can get into these patterns of compulsive behavior, which is sort of act on a whim and, oh, you know, I do this, I didn't want to do it, and then I did it. And just praying, here's the prayer, God, fill me with your Spirit and help me to have that fruit of self-control. It doesn't mean that, you know, you can't enjoy things or buy certain things, but it's just being wise about those things, a good steward with the resource that God has given to you, resources that God has given to you on the same page with your spouse in all that you do seeking to honor the Lord. And we all need that, we all need the fruit of the Spirit, we all need self-control.

It may not be in the same area, it could be in other things, it could be in how we eat, in temperance, you know, how we treat alcohol. I mean, there's so many different areas where we as the people of God need to exercise self-control for the glory of God, and that's one of the fruit of the Spirit. And so I just want to, I'm so encouraged by your question, grateful for you, want to offer up a prayer to the Lord, invite our listeners to pray for you and for your family as well. Father, thank you for Michael, thank you for his family, thank you for his desire to honor you, Lord, and we know that that desire in and of itself is pleasing to you. I pray, Lord, that you would grant him a sense of your great love and forgiveness in his life, that he would not be weighed down by guilt and shame, that this struggle, Lord, would in no way define him, but that he would walk as one of the freed children of God and that you would fill him with your Holy Spirit so that he would have self-control, so that when he feels that urge, Lord God, your Spirit would guide him, he would have conversations with the people around him, with his spouse specifically, that you would bless their marriage, their relationship, and Lord, any other avenues of help that would be beneficial for him, that he would be able to engage in those and that you would just be with him and bless him in this. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen.

Thanks for that, Adriel. So important to remember that God can help us in all of our struggles. Yeah, that's what we want each of you to know, that the Lord is for us in all things as exemplified by his son, Jesus. Thanks for listening to CORE Christianity. To request your copy of today's special offer, visit us at corechristianity.com and click on offers in the menu bar or call us at 1-833-843-2673. 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.