Real Riches

Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! Because these words are true, this day, every day, Christians give thanks for the redemption riches which are theirs in Jesus. We join with the hymnwriter and say: “Let us all with gladsome voice praise the God of heaven, who, to bid our hearts rejoice, His own Son hath given.” We acknowledge what He has done with the words: “To this vale of tears He comes, here to serve in sadness, that with Him in heaven’s fair homes we may reign in gladness.” By faith believers know, “We are rich, for He was poor; is not this a wonder? Therefore praise God evermore here on earth and yonder.” Here on earth and yonder, Jesus is our riches which are real. Amen.

In an attempt to make sure his membership knew something about the faith they were professing, a pastor made it his practice to give a basic Bible-knowledge test to anyone requesting membership at his church. Unfortunately, on the very morning such an interview was to take place, the pastor came down with the flu. Since his leaders had sat through a number of these interviews, and they remembered most of the questions which their pastor normally asked, they decided to proceed, pastorless, with the process. One of the leaders asked the potential member: “What part of the Bible do you like best?” The man replied, “The Book of Parables.”

Unfortunately, the leaders of the church didn’t know there was no Book of Parables in the Bible. That’s why, in ignorance, they asked the next, logical question: “And, sir, can you tell us your favorite parable?” The man hesitated, cleared his throat, and slowly began: “My favorite parable is: And it came to pass in those days, an Amalikite went down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell among thieves where the thorns grew up and choked the man. And the Samaritan went on into the wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights until he came upon Mary and Martha who said, ‘he stinketh,’ and he gave them 40 pieces of silver. And having stood in the fiery furnace, he got into his chariot and drove along stony ground which brought forth ten thousand fold. This he did until he came across a man who said, ‘Why do your disciples eat on the Sabbath, won’t you come in and eat with me?’ But he answered the man not for he had recently bought a field and taken a wife who was along the highways and the byways of Jerusalem. It was there, in that city where sinning was great, he met Queen Jezebel who sat on the ledge of a window. To one of her servants he gave ten talents and to another he gave five talents and to another servant he gave the command, ‘throw her down’ and the servant did as he had been ordered. And the servant threw the queen down seventy-times-seven. And the falling of that queen was great and the fragments which they picked up from her falling filled twelve basketsful.”

Before I go any further in this message, I need to tell all the Lutheran Hour listeners that this nonsensical parable is not found in the Bible. Yes, there are a lot of words which sound like they come from the Bible, but nothing like that story appears in Holy Writ. You should also know that I’m not trying to poke fun at church leaders. I’m not. Over the years I’ve met non-clergy men and women who knew the Bible far better than I. No, all I’m trying to say with that story is sometimes people may not know the Bible as well as they think they do.

As proof, let me give you an example. Here are six commonly known statements which many people believe are found in Scripture. Can you tell me which one is not found in the Bible? Ready? Here we go: Statement #1: “Cleanliness is next to godliness.” Is that found in the Bible? How about #2: “God helps those who help themselves.” Here’s #3: “Confession is good for the soul.” #4: “We are as prone to sin as sparks fly upward.” #5 reads: “Honesty is the best policy.” The last of the expressions is: “Money is the root of all evil.” Did you figure it out; were you able to identify which of those common expressions is not found in the Bible? If you said none of these ideas is in God’s inspired Word, including the one about money being the root of all evil, you would have been right.

The truth is, many of us don’t know as much about the Bible as we think we do. That is especially the case when it comes to what God and our Savior had to say about money and stuff. Which is why I’d like to speak to you this morning about money and stuff. That’s right, this message is about money and stuff and what Jesus had to say about them. I’m relatively sure that what I’m going to say isn’t what you expect me to say. I’m relatively sure of that, because I’m relatively sure you don’t know what Jesus said about such things.

In recent months I’ve heard a great many TV and radio preachers use a big percentage of their airtime selling holy handkerchiefs, inspirational incense, anointing olive oil, and sacred soil taken from the streets of Jerusalem. Like a broken record they repeatedly tell their listeners that if they send in a suggested donation, those supporters will receive the spiritual equivalent of a rabbit’s foot which they can use to compel God to give them money and stuff. There are other preachers who refuse to hand out such holy hardware. They tell their listeners to sow a seed offering and submit a substantial donation to support their ministry. Many do so believing that such an act of devotion will obligate God to help them win the lottery, pull their business out of debt, give them true love, grant their children good dental checkups, and reward their bribery of the Divinity with any other thing they might imagine.

What foolishness! God has no need of our money and stuff. In the book of Psalms (excerpts from Psalm 50) God says, “I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens, for every animal of the forest is mine… and the creatures of the field are mine…the world is mine, and all that is in it.” Do we need to bribe God to get His attention? Saint Paul tells us: “He (God) did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for all of us, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things? ” (Romans 8:31-32). Jesus, Himself says, “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” (Luke 11:13).

Scripture is plain: God thinks differently; He works differently than we do. We operate under the principle: you scratch my back, and I’ll scratch yours. We believe in order to get something you’ve got to give something. Bosses tell their employees: “If you want a paycheck, you need to give a day’s worth of work.” Parents tell their children, “If you expect an allowance, you’ve got to do your chores.” Spouses inform their mates, “We can go to visit your family for Thanksgiving, but only if we go to my family for Christmas.” We humans believe in barter, bribery, and bargaining; swapping, trading, compromising, and negotiating. God believes in giving. When Adam and Even sinned, God gave them His promise of a Redeemer who would carry their sins. When Abraham was childless in His old age, God gave the patriarch a son. When the Children of Israel were in slavery, God gave them a land flowing with milk and honey.

When the world lay dying and dead in sin, when we were condemned, unloved, homeless, “God sent forth His Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons” (Galatians 4:4-5). The wages of sin is death, but the Gift of God is eternal life which comes to us through our Lord Jesus Christ. That’s right, so we might not perish, God gave us a gift. So we might have everlasting life, God gave us the gift of His only Son. The Lord doesn’t need our money and stuff; but He does want us. He wants a faith response from those who have been delivered from the conviction and damnation of sin. For Jesus’ substitution and sacrifice, God wants our hearts our worship, our thanks. If you doubt me, listen to Jesus. He said it clearly when He spoke to a woman by the side of a Samaritan well: “… the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship Him. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:23-24).

Sadly, humans who make it a regular practice to lie to themselves, think Jesus must be doing the same when He says, “God wants your soul, not your stuff.” Now don’t get all upset when I say we lie to ourselves. We do. For example, if you ask someone, “What is more important, your family or your job?” those individuals will, almost without hesitation, reply: “Family.” But the truth is, most people seem to work harder at their jobs; seem to care more about their jobs and derive greater pride from their jobs than they do their families. You tell me, which is more important? Ask a person what is a higher priority, “Reading the Bible, or watching TV?” Although most religious people will say: “Reading the Bible is more important,” that’s probably not where they put their time. Inquire of any random audience: “What is more important, your soul or your stuff?” they’ll readily reply: “My soul.” That’s what they say, but how many of those folks who dedicate endless time and resources to fixing up their houses will spend half-a-minute thinking about their eternal home? You see what I’m saying? We lie to ourselves about the importance of money and stuff. Lying about our priorities is a human habit which Jesus says can be pretty dangerous.

That’s the point Jesus tried to make to a fellow whose story is told in the 12th chapter of the Gospel of Luke. The chapter begins with the Savior speaking to His followers about hypocrisy, hell, and how to be a witnessing disciple. That’s when somebody from the crowd called out a request… well, not a request, really, the man made a demand. He said, “Teacher, get my brother to divide my inheritance with me.” It sounds like a reasonable appeal, doesn’t it? Of course it does. But let me ask: do you hear, in anything the man says, any expression of grief, any bit of mourning at the death of his parents? Do you hear him asking about their eternal destinies, or how he might be sure he can get to heaven when it’s time to die? Do you hear the man express any concern of how the sad news of their parents passing might be effecting his brother? None of those thoughts, those feelings are there, are they? They’re not there, because the man was sick, having contracted a terminal case of affluenza, where his heart and mind were centered on, controlled and commanded by, a desire to get his share of the money and stuff he felt was coming to him. The unnamed man wanted his money and stuff. Indeed, he probably would like to have been given a bit more than the money and stuff which law said would be coming to him. The man wanted his money and stuff and he wanted Jesus to give the command to dole out the money and distribute the stuff.

And that’s when Jesus told a story. If you are among those who think Jesus never talked about money and stuff, you need to hear the story which has come to be known as the parable of the rich fool. The main character of the story is called a “fool” not because he was a stupid man. Indeed, he had made a success of himself by making some pretty shrewd moves. A first rate farmer, the man had bought the right seed and had planted that seed at the right moment. He had fertilized when his fields needed to be fertilized. If they had had pesticides, fungicides, and weed killers back then, he would have applied them at the right time, as well. The man sold his crop when the market was at its highest and had bought land when it was at its lowest. The man was good at what he did; and because he was good, he had a lot of money and stuff.

Sure, his crops had been blessed by rain, and he had been given a suitable number of sunny days, but he didn’t worry much about those variables. The man’s confidence was in himself, his wisdom, his consistent and successful accomplishments, the money he had managed to accumulate, the stuff he had stored in his barns. Confident in himself the man had no reason to think things would ever be different. But, at least according to the story Jesus told, things got different. The year finally came when the man wasn’t going to bring in a good crop; he was going to be blessed with a bumper crop, a once-in-a-lifetime crop, the kind of crop that other farmers could only dream of.

Doing some mental calculations, the first-class farmer realized he had too much crop and too little storage. Being the shrewd businessman that he was, the farmer realized: I’ve got a problem here, but it’s the kind of good problem which is easily fixed. He said: I’m going to tear down my small barns and build bigger barns, barns big enough to sore all my grain, my goods, my stuff. Then, when everything is done, I’m going to say to myself, “Congratulations, self! You’ve all the money and all the stuff you’re ever going to need. It’s time to kick back, relax, to eat, drink, and be merry.” Now, if this was a made up fairytale, an animated cartoon, the man’s story would have ended with the words scrolling across the screen: That’s what he did and he lived happily ever after. But this story isn’t a fairy tale, and the man didn’t live happily, or unhappily, ever after. Jesus finished the story of the rich fool, and made His point about money and stuff with this ending: God said to the first-rate farmer: Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be? The man wasn’t a fool because he was smart, or because he was rich. He was a fool because he thought being smart, making money and getting stuff was the beginning, middle, and end of life. It’s a thought which sounds great until death, like a wet blanket shuts it down.

Of course, you might say, “Pastor, that’s a story, a parable. You and I both know things don’t actually happen that way.” Really? Several years ago, construction workers were laying a foundation for a building outside the ancient city of Pompeii. There they found the corpse of a woman who appears to have been overcome by the rain of ash which fell from the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD. In the woman’s skeletal hands were jewels, perfectly preserved gems. She still held on to the jewels when death grabbed hold of her. She learned the time will come when money and stuff doesn’t do the job.

Was Jesus’ parable a mere story? Years ago I read a narrative told by the chief accountant of one of the wealthiest men who ever lived: John D. Rockefeller, Sr. Mr. Rockefeller was a very smart, shrewd fellow. You can get some idea of his attitude toward money and stuff from a little anecdote which is supposed to have happened. When someone asked him: “How much money is enough money?” John D. is said to have replied: “Just a little bit more.” Well, this rich Rockefeller fellow, like all of us, eventually passed away. As his vast estate was being settled, someone inquired of his accountant: “Just how much did he leave behind?” Without a moment’s hesitation, the accountant answered, “Everything!”

That you are, someday, going to leave everything behind, including your money and stuff is a truth which cannot be denied. That’s why Jesus wants you to know that having money and stuff is OK as long as it doesn’t displace God from your heart. That’s right, there’s nothing wrong with stuff. But don’t, not for a moment, think that being rich in money and stuff can be a suitable substitute for being rich in your relationship with the Savior. Don’t delude yourself into thinking that whatever you have accumulated here will be with you in heaven or hell. Don’t lie to yourself as did the rich fool.

Money, my friends, is not the root of all evil. Love of money, love of stuff, love of anything which displaces God; which overshadows the Savior; which overpowers His grace; which overrides His plans and His life-giving intentions for you, is the root, trunk, branches, and leaves of all evil. If you doubt me, read the Scripture, look at your neighbors, watch tonight’s evening news. Take a close look at the rich, the powerful, the famous, and ask: Do these who possess everything the world can offer, possess anything of permanence? Who can argue that, on the Day of Judgment, fame and fortune, influence and affluence, will be forgotten and having Jesus as your Savior will be everything. This Lord’s Day the Holy Spirit calls you away from the sinful folly of following money, stuff, anything which says it can substitute, supplant, and supersede the Savior; from any lifestyle which says God is deserving of your leftovers. Today the Holy Spirit encourages you to look at Bethlehem’s lowly manger, Calvary’s bloodied cross, and the Savior’s empty grave. Behold and believe on God’s Son who took your place under the law so you might have a place in heaven; who resisted Satan’s temptations so you might be given Divine redemption; who died so you might live; who lives so you might never die. By the Holy Spirit’s power be given faith in Jesus Christ, God’s great Gift, Your gracious Redeemer. This is the truth of Scripture. That is the message of The Lutheran Hour. Having Jesus as your Savior, as your Redeemer, is real riches indeed. Amen.

LUTHERAN HOUR MAILBOX (Questions & Answers) for Aug 6, 2007
TOPIC: Offense of the Cross – part 3

ANNOUNCER: And now, Pastor Ken Klaus returns with more “offensive” material regarding “the offense of the cross.” I’m Mark Eischer.

KLAUS: Hello, Mark.

ANNOUNCER: We got to the point in our discussion last week where we said the doctrine of the “offense of the cross” was not something new.

KLAUS: We for sure said I hadn’t invented that doctrine.

ANNOUNCER: That’s right. We talked about Saint Paul, and about the early church. I’m wondering if today we could go back and see what others in the church have said about the “offense of the cross.”

KLAUS: Yes, because this might seem like a new concept for some of our listeners.

ANNOUNCER: And so it might be. Before you begin though, give us a quick summary of what we’ve said so far.

KLAUS: I can try. First, a quick background in case somebody missed our earlier discussions. Christians are not supposed to offend or scandalize others. We are supposed to reflect to others the love we have received from the Savior. There is one thing that we cannot do: we can’t pretend the cross didn’t happen. Even if somebody is scandalized by the fact that God’s Son would be crucified to save us.

ANNOUNCER: And, do you find this “offense of the cross” spoken of by other preachers?

KLAUS: Yes, I did some research. Here’s a quote from a preacher named George Morrison. George Morrison lived from 1866 to 1928. He preached in Glasgow, Scotland. People had to get to his church an hour before service time if they wanted to get a seat. This is what he said: “…in spite of his (Paul’s) yearning to see Israel saved, that was the one theme Paul would not ignore. God forbid, he says, that I should glory save in the cross of Jesus Christ my Lord. There is a great lesson there for Christian teachers, and for all who are trying to advance Christ’s kingdom. The more earnest and eager they are to have men saved, the more willing they are to go all lengths to meet them. And that is right, for we must be all things to all men… but remember, there are a few great facts we cannot yield, though they run counter to the whole spirit of the age. It were better to empty a church and preach the cross, than to fill it by keeping silent like a coward. It were better to fail, as Paul failed with the Jews, than to succeed by being a traitor to the cross.”

ANNOUNCER: Words almost a hundred years old, but they could have been spoken yesterday. And that is basically what we were talking about last week. We can’t pretend the cross is not important, even if people want us to do that. We can’t take the cross down, even if it might mean, in the short term, bigger numbers.

KLAUS: Exactly. Here’s another preacher whose name might be more familiar to our listeners. His name was Charles Spurgeon. He was sort of the Billy Graham of his day. Spurgeon said, “I will tell you what Satan’s favorite scheme is nowadays; it is not to oppose the cross, but to surround the cross, and try to get the cross to alter its shape a little. Men who hate the doctrines of the cross, say: We, too, preach the Gospel. They alter it; they misshape it; they make it another gospel, which is no gospel at all …We would rather he did not believe it at all than he should conceal his real sentiments. Such men, who hide the truth, prove that they are as much offended with the cross as if they openly tried to refute its doctrines.”

ANNOUNCER: So there you have statements from two great preachers of another century who believed it was necessary to always share the cross. Two preachers who lived long ago, and we might add, they were not Lutherans, either. So, this is not just a “Lutheran thing.” They also thought the cross was indispensable.

KLAUS: Yes, and just because I haven’t quoted Lutheran scholars, please don’t think that we can’t. The sainted Reverend Doctor Ted Graebner of Concordia Seminary in St. Louis wrote: “There is an offense which every Christian must give and which he cannot refrain from giving without sinning. This is called in the New Testament “the offense of the cross,” (Galatians 5:11; 1 Peter. 2:8; Romans 9:33). The unbelieving world … does not want salvation by the merits of another, and their reason does not tolerate the idea of redemption through the sacrifice of God’s Son. As certain as it is that we must preach the doctrine of the cross, so certain it is that we will thereby cause an offense to human pride and philosophy.”

ANNOUNCER: So, in summary, the “offense of the cross” is not something you invented here on The Lutheran Hour.

KLAUS: Absolutely not. I didn’t invent the “offense of the cross.” On the contrary, I, like tens of thousands of clergy who are committed to the cause of Christ, know they must give this offense. Christ’s message, crucified and risen, must be proclaimed.

ANNOUNCER: Thank you, Pastor Klaus. This has been a presentation of Lutheran Hour Ministries.

Music selections for this program:

“A Mighty Fortress” arranged by John Leavitt. Concordia Publishing House/SESAC