Is your faith real?
Matthew’s gospel records this incident between Jesus and a rich man,
“Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”
“Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.”
“Which ones?” the man inquired. Jesus replied, “ ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’’”
“All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?”
Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.
Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?”
Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:16-26.
Let me make something clear here. Having wealth is not wrong. The apostle Paul wrote,
“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” 1 Timothy 6:10.
Notice Paul states it is “the the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil”. Money in itself is neither good or bad it can be used for both purposes.
Jesus in the above incident is not telling the rich young man his money is evil. He is asking the young man what is his faith truly in, God, or his wealth. As it turned out it was his wealth because he was unwilling to give it up and put all his trust in God.
Jesus tells us,
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19-21.
Our faith needs to be entirely in God. Not our wealth. The writer of Hebrews tells us,
Question one: Do you truly have faith in God to provide for all your needs?
Question two: If God were to ask you to give up all your wealth and ask you to totally depend on Him, could you do it?
Please think about it.
Matthew’s gospel records this incident between Jesus and a rich man,
“Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”
“Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.”
“Which ones?” the man inquired. Jesus replied, “ ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’’”
“All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?”
Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.
Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?”
Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:16-26.
Let me make something clear here. Having wealth is not wrong. The apostle Paul wrote,
“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” 1 Timothy 6:10.
Notice Paul states it is “the the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil”. Money in itself is neither good or bad it can be used for both purposes.
Jesus in the above incident is not telling the rich young man his money is evil. He is asking the young man what is his faith truly in, God, or his wealth. As it turned out it was his wealth because he was unwilling to give it up and put all his trust in God.
Jesus tells us,
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19-21.
Our faith needs to be entirely in God. Not our wealth. The writer of Hebrews tells us,
“And without faith it is impossible to please God,
because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists
and
that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
Hebrews 11:6.
The writer defines faith as,
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for
and
certain of what we do not see.”
Hebrews 11:1.
That rich man believed there is a God. He’d obeyed the law of Moses. However he did not have the faith in God to provide for all his needs.Question one: Do you truly have faith in God to provide for all your needs?
Question two: If God were to ask you to give up all your wealth and ask you to totally depend on Him, could you do it?
Please think about it.
