Faith versus Money

Faith versus money

The word was out. A particular prison was highly successful in bringing inmates to Christ. An investigation was made, to find which prison ministry was responsible. After months of inquiry, they found out the prison ministry itself was wondering what was happening. At the end of the investigation they discovered that it was the warden who was responsible for turning the prisoners around. The warden was a man who feared God. He shared the gospel with his inmates and even prayed for them and with them.

Immediately, a Christian radio station arranged for an interview. The man shared his testimony giving Christ the glory for his success in turning these men around. When asked about a budget and planning. The warden almost exploded, “What are you talking about? Budget? Planning? Do you realize that budget is the biggest excuse people give to not do the work God is convicting them of. Budgets are also the excuse to do work we have no business doing. We do not have a budget. We have the word of God and the power of the Holy Spirit.” Speechless, the interviewer sheepishly went to a break.

What does God’s work need to go forward: money or the Holy Spirit? In today’s world all things require money. Even, church activities and programs run because there is money; hence, the need to always ask for money in our services. The dependence on money has replaced our dependence on the Holy Spirit. Time spent praying is now spent developing ways to acquire funds and planning activities and programs. Faith is replaced with either doubt or presumption.

There is no wonder the author of the lesson asks the questions, “How should we understand this saying? (Sell what you have and give it to the poor Luke 18:22,.) Was Jesus advocating a redistribution of wealth for all Christians in all times and places? What practical problems would arise if we literally carried out His injunction? Take any given community, in which all Christians have sold all their property and given the proceeds to the poor, what now is the economic status of those Christians? How do they support themselves and their own families? And how do they now get the means to carry forward the rest of Jesus' mission-to take the Gospel to new frontiers, for example?.”

The answer to that clearly is that if we live by faith as those in apostolic times did, we would not worry about money. As Christ told the disciples in Matthew 6:31-34,

Matthew 6: 31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
Matthew 6: 32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
Matthew 6: 33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Matthew 6: 34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

In their case God provided through others. They learned to live by faith. God spoke; they listened and believed His promises. They trusted that God would provide. They lived by the definition of faith that says, “Faith is the expecting the word of God to do what it says and the depending upon that word to do what it says.”

On some occasions living by faith meant for the brother or sister to work for money. Notice Paul, Aquila and Priscilla. They were tent makers (Acts 18:3). Paul was very candid about why he worked. He did not want to burden the brethren. Selling what you have and giving it to others does not preclude working. If indeed, it is what God wants you to do. In other words, a business or job may require as much faith as not working and depending financially from others. Working or running a business may expose you to others who need to hear the gospel.

David concluded in Psalms 20 that “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.” (Psalm 20:7 NIV). Zechariah reached a similar conclusion,
“So he said to me, "This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: 'Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the LORD Almighty” (Zechariah 4:6). Many trust in things this they have or have acquired. But, those who truly love God will trust Him.

Compassion Of God

The author of the week in review of our lesson suggests that one of the objectives should be to “sense a desire to experience the compassion of God on a daily basis.” At first sight this sounds as a lofty objective. However, if we pay closer attention it is deeper than what it seems. It begs to question: What is the compassion of God? Does God desire to sense or experience compassion or does it just happen? How does God sense or experience compassion? How can we experience it?

In the dictionary, the word compassion means: a. sympathetic feeling, b. mercy, c. pity, and d. an expression of sorrow for another’s loss, grief or misfortune. The word used in the Bible is splagchna, which indicates no ordinary pity but the deepest emotion one is capable of, an emotion that arises from the very depths of one’s being. It refers to "the inward parts," "the bowels," considered the seat of the emotions in the ancient world. Compassion goes beyond sympathy (which merely can be intellectual). Compassion comes from the inside, from the heart and even the very gut. It suggests an ‘intensive’ involvement with the other, like the love the father showed to the prodigal son (Luke 15:20) and the compassion exhibited by the Good Samaritan and what those who left the victim lying in the ground refused to feel (Luke 10:33). Both parables use the word splagchna, which is the compassion of God.

How does God experience it? Probably, the same way Christ did. Christ probably experienced in His body a revolt or wrench in His gut or stomach. He experienced something strong and intense. It was something He could not ignore. It moved Him to respond toward what He saw. Sometimes the response was just prayer, other times it was speaking words of comfort, and other times it was healing those for whom He felt splagchna.

In the New Gospels, Christ is quoted feeling splagchna at least four times. In Matthew 9: 35,36 It says that Jesus felt compassion for the people “because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.” In Mark 1:40, 41 it said that moved with compassion He touched a leper to heal him. In Matthew 20:29-34 it says that Jesus, moved with compassion, touched the eyes of the blind men to heal them. In Luke 7: 11-15 Jesus again moved with compassion touched the bier -the frame on which dead bodies were conveyed to the grave – to resurrect the child to his mother.

Can we sense a desire for something that God experiences? Again another question is the answer. Does God desire to feel compassion? The probable answer is no. If splagchna is God’s compassion then it is born out of agape. One can only desire what one does not have. God is agape. This would mean that God feels compassion automatically. He has no need to desire it.

Can we sense or feel splagchna? Not unless God gives it to us. You can try all you want to sense it; if it is not there you will not sense it. The verb to sense has several meanings. According to the dictionary it can mean: the faculty of perceiving by means of sense organs; to perceive by the senses; a bodily function or mechanism (a sight, hearing, or smell) involving the action and effect of a stimulus on a sense organ; to be or become aware of; and / or to detect. What ever you are sensing is either in your body, pressing against it (If it is touch or taste), or is within your range of detection (if it is seeing, smelling, or hearing). When one feels splagchna it presses against your body, as any biological need. It requires attention and response. It can only be released by submitting to what the Holy Spirit would have you do in the moment.

Then what should you do? You should pray that God fills you with a desire to submit to His righteousness and let Him fill you with His agape. As the lesson says the single force that moved Jesus was agape – agape from the belly or gut. Splagchna, as a byproduct of this, will flow automatically. You will see others suffering and immediately you will feel in your body an intense feeling that will move you to respond in the person’s favor.

Why is Jesus different?

The celebrated wise ones of our world – Buda, Muhammad, Socrates, etc. - lived lives of introspection and self discovery. They were on a journey to discover a better way. When they thought they discovered this better way, they set themselves to work to achieve it. They taught others as they learned themselves about their journey and about this theoretical place where their journey would take them. It seemed that these masters never reached it. In most cases, it was one of their students who recorded what they learned. While they followed the master’s teaching, not one of them achieved what the master was pursuing.

Jesus was different than these renowned men. Jesus life was based on a document written more 400 years before His birth, we call it the Old Testament (OT). The New Testament (NT) writers and Jesus refer to it as the Scriptures (Mark 14:49; 15:28, Luke 4:21, John 13:18; 24:27, 32, 45). It was a document He co-authored (2 Timothy 3:16). The Bible says that Scriptures were inspired by the Holy Spirit, who is a third part of the God head, just as Jesus. In fact, this Holy Spirit filled Jesus with His presence (Luke 4:1).

While many wrote books about the renowned men of our world after they died, many wrote about Jesus thousands of years before He was born. The Scripture spoke of Him as the ultimate goal of what mankind should become. When Christ dwelt on Earth He embodied this goal. Christ was not on a journey to find His purpose, He already knew. He said in Luke 4:18 – 21,

Luke 4:16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.
Luke 4:17 And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,
Luke 4:18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
Luke 4:19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
Luke 4:20 And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.
Luke 4:21 And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.
Christ never pointed men into a direction they should go to become better people, He pointed to Himself. Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life …” ( John 14:6).

You will ask, “Did not His followers write about Him after His death?” Yes, they did. And, here is another difference between Christ and the Worlds men of renown: As we see above, The New Testament writers always referred to the OT writings to refer to Jesus. They referred back to the OT to show how Jesus fulfilled what the OT said. Jesus Himself quoted extensively from the Scripture to talk about Himself.

Jesus did not only practice what He preached, He was what He preached. And, His goal is for us to become like Him: the One who continually yielded to His Father’s will. Christ sends to us Whom fully indwelt Him, so we can become like He was. We will not be God in the likeness of sinful flesh and yet never sinned, but the Holy Spirit will be God dwelling in our sinful flesh and we will conquer sin as Christ did, if we yield to Him. This is a big difference between Christ and His followers and other great men and their followers. The followers of Jesus can become as Christ was.

Talking in Ephesians 4:13 - 15 about the reason that we are given Spiritual gifts Paul says that it is so that, “we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ.”

Faced with a decision

Years ago the president of the Puerto Rican Olympic Committee (PROC) also occupied Puerto Rico’s seat of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). For so many years this was the case, that many thought that Puerto Rico’s seat belonged to the president of PROC, be default. One year the old president was retiring, so the presidency was open and so was the seat at the IOC. A new president was elected. However, to the surprise of many, the IOC elected someone else to occupy Puerto Rico’s seat. Many protested, but the president of the IOC responded, “The members of the IOC are not representing their country in the IOC; on the contrary they are representing the IOC in their country.” It was a different perspective.

When Christ was here on Earth, He represented God to man. But, now that He dwells in heaven He represents us there. It is a different perspective. Yes, He is the same Man. But, there are two different positions. Sister White agrees with his concept, “Christ came to reveal God to the world as a God of love, full of mercy, tenderness, and compassion.”—Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the 8 Church, vol. 5, pp. 738, 739. Since He is God’s representative, whatever concept we have of God, it should be corrected when we encounter Christ.

This is the challenge that many face: to change our perspective of God. They have to make a choice that goes against their preconceived ideas of God. In the times of Jesus, the Jews had a false concept of God. When they encountered Christ their original notion was challenged. They saw a man – made lower than the angels that “hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him” (Psalms 8:5; Isaiah 53:2). To the Jews Christ was so much made in the likeness of Sinful flesh, born of a woman, made of no reputation, in the form of a servant, made in the likeness of men, being found in fashion as a man, and made like unto his brethren that they could not conceive Him being God (Romans 8:3; Galatians 4:4; Philippians 2:7 -8; Hebrews 2:17). So, they had two options, 1. Reject Jesus to continue with the comfort of their pet idea, or 2. Change their concept of God to fit Christ.

Currently, man’s struggle is that he conceives Christ to be too divine to “be made like unto His brethren” (Hebrews 2:17). To many in our day, no man can be full of mercy, and with tenderness, and compassion for all. To these Christ dies for only for those who believe and are trying their best to be moral, not for the whole world as John 3:16 clearly states. To many man is incapable of these attributes because of Sin and God – although fully capable - chooses not to be like this will all because of His law. God only has these qualities for those like themselves. This is how they see God so this is how they see Christ, also. They see salvation as a reward not an undeserved gift. Anyone who does not believe like they do is an enemy of God; therefore God will pour His wrath upon them. Somehow this is true of all who deny that in one way or the other Christ came in the flesh (1 John 4: 1 – 3).

As with the Jews in Christ days, when we encounter Jesus we must opt between one of three options: 1. Reject Jesus to continue with the comfort of our pet idea, 2. Change our concept of God to fit Christ or, 3. Reject Jesus and God altogether.

Where do you stand? What choice will you make? Will you accept Jesus as a Man that loved and died for all mankind– including you – even while we were yet His enemies? Will you do it even if this contradicts your previous ideas of God? Remember you are not alone. Let the Holy Spirit change your mind to accept God’s perspective.