The Deceitfulness of Riches
October 10, 2010

"And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word, And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful" (Mark 4:18-19)

There is currently a widespread teaching among evangelicals that material prosperity is a right which accrues to the Christian who will do certain things. This "prosperity gospel," however, is merely a false front for the old-fashioned sin of "covetousness, which is idolatry" (Colossians 3:5).

The Lord Jesus, in His parable of the sower, warned that this "deceitfulness of riches" along with "the cares of this world" and then "the lusts of other things" could soon choke out whatever place the Word of God might once have had in the believer's life. In no way does the Lord ever promise material wealth to a Christian, but the desire for money and its power has surely crushed the spiritual lives and testimonies of multitudes. "They that will [i.e., desire to] be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts. . . . For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows" (1 Timothy 6:9-10). If, by His grace, the Lord does enable a Christian to acquire wealth, it should be regarded as a divine stewardship and opportunity for ministry.

The apostle Paul, who died penniless in this world but with great treasures laid up in heaven, expressed it thus: "Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come" (1 Timothy 6:17-19). HMM

For more . . . .

This is amazing coming from Olaadegbu a prosperity/tithe gospel adherent. It proves there is still hope for lost souls.

KunleOshob:

This is amazing coming from Olaadegbu a prosperity/tithe gospel adherent. It proves there is still hope for lost souls.

OLAADEGBU:

The Deceitfulness of Riches
"They that will [i.e., desire to] be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts. . . . For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows" (1 Timothy 6:9-10). If, by His grace, the Lord does enable a Christian to acquire wealth, it should be regarded as a divine stewardship and opportunity for ministry.
For more . . . .

Are you a faithful steward for the ministry?

^^ What has "wealth" got to do with Christianity?

To love this World is to , ?

@poster,

Me I no understand O! Are you saying that Christians should be poor?

ogajim:

^^ What has "wealth" got to do with Christianity?

To love this World is to , ?

The love of money is the root of all evil, if the love of the Father is in you your wealth will be used to promote and propagate the gospel, being a good steward with your wealth.

Mai Suya:

@poster,

Me I no understand O! Are you saying that Christians should be poor?

No. What the Scripture is saying is that you should not be coveteous but be content with what you have. When our people get wealthy they lose their head and souls with it but those who love God are good stewards with their wealth using it to store up treasures in heaven.

KunleOshob:

This is amazing coming from Olaadegbu a prosperity/tithe gospel adherent. It proves there is still hope for lost souls.

You got it all mixed up there. The fact that I believe in faithful stewardship of God's resources does not equal coveteousness that prevents you from giving your tithes and offerings.

^^^^^I am a disbeliever according to Christianity. Please, all christians should send their wealth to people like me who is "coveteous". I will use it help myself in this world. What, where, how to whom are not your concerns, christian people. Just give your monies, properties, and wealth to this muslim.

You will get what you will get in this life and in the day of Judgement, you will get what is coming to you for what you have stored up in treasure, based on Trinity, in the Godhead of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Olaadegbu be my mouth piece and urge your people to cough up the Euro, BPS, the USD, Roubles, Naira, etc. I want all of them InshaAllah, the ones in circulations now, and the ones that will be coming from the mints.

Encourage the Exchequers; Treasury secretaries, ministers, etc, in christiendom to give them all to this muslim. Discourage the jews, the hindus, the buhhdists, etc of the world from even participating in the loot.

Thinking in my heart: I am hoping that Olaadegbu and his people will take the bait.

@nopuqeater,

It is not news that you guys worship Mammon, but what would it profit you if you gain the whole world and lose your soul?

Is Allah like you?

http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/1058/1058_01.asp

OLAADEGBU:

Are you a faithful steward for the ministry?

It depends on what you mean by "ministry". the true ministry of christ is to take care of the poor and the needy around us. If that is what you mean by faithful steward of the ministry then yes i am a very faithful steward of the ministry. but knowing you well i know you preach emptying my pockets to a supposed man of God who claims to have a ministry and is supposedly using the money to "spread" the gospel is being a faithfull steward o the ministry. I still fail to find any direct teachings in the bible that even says christians should 'fund' the ministry of any preacher. the great apostle Paul worked to susutain himself whilst ministrying yet he achieved much more for the kingdom than any tithe collecting pastor can ever attest to in ten life times so what is the delusion all about.

If, by His grace, the Lord does enable a Christian to acquire wealth, it should be regarded as a divine stewardship and opportunity for ministry.

The above if another fraudulent, unbiblical and deceptive 419 claim being used to defraud believers. What the bible preaches is that we should use our wealth to be of help to others. Even early church collections [Acts 4:32-35] was used to take care of the poor and the needy and not for spreading any gospel as is falsely claimed today. Any ministry that does not make taking care of the needy and less priviledge a core activitiy is certainly not a ministry following in the foot steps of our lord Jesus christ. As i have always told you i am not against giving, infact i am very much in support of true biblical giving it is the fraudulent manipulation of biblical giving by preachers to favour themselves that i am very vehemently against.

PS: Kindly note that the timothy scripture on love of money you quoted was addressed to a bishop [timothy] warning him against the love of money and making a personal gain from the gospel. It is more of a warning to preachers than even the congregation, the sad thing is that today preachers are not only refusing to heed this warning some of them like Olaadegbu above are now turning round to use it to preach to christians to hand over all their money to the ministry, how pathetic

@Olaadegbu
On second thoughts i decided to reproduce the whole of the timothy passage to expose your manipulation. It should be clear that is is preachers that is being addressed in the passage and the teaching there is still very relevant to preachers today who distort scriptures for the love of money.

1 timothy 6:3-11
6:3 Whoever teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the true words of our Lord Jesus Christ and with the teaching of our religion

6:4 is swollen with pride and knows nothing. He has an unhealthy desire to argue and quarrel about words, and this brings on jealousy, disputes, insults, evil suspicions,

6:5 and constant arguments from people whose minds do not function and who no longer have the truth. They think that religion is a way to become rich. [reminds me of prosperity teachers and adherents]
6:6 Well, religion does make us very rich, if we are satisfied with what we have.

6:7 What did we bring into the world? Nothing! What can we take out of the world? Nothing!

6:8 So then, if we have food and clothes, that should be enough for us.

6:9 But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and are caught in the trap of many foolish and harmful desires, which pull them down to ruin and destruction.

6:10 For the love of money is a source of all kinds of evil. Some have been so eager to have it that they have wandered away from the faith and have broken their hearts with many sorrows.

6:11 But you, man of God, avoid all these things. Strive for righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness.

KunleOshob:

It depends on what you mean by "ministry". the true ministry of christ is to take care of the poor and the needy around us. If that is what you mean by faithful steward of the ministry then yes i am a very faithful steward of the ministry. but knowing you well i know you preach emptying my pockets to a supposed man of God who claims to have a ministry and is supposedly using the money to "spread" the gospel is being a faithfull steward o the ministry. I still fail to find any direct teachings in the bible that even says christians should 'fund' the ministry of any preacher. the great apostle Paul worked to susutain himself whilst ministrying yet he achieved much more for the kingdom than any tithe collecting pastor can ever attest to in ten life times so what is the delusion all about.

Since you are the only one involved in true ministry what have you done to be a faithful steward? Judas had the same excuse in giving to the poor but we now know that he was a thief who wanted sudden riches. Faithful stewards are willing to spend and be spent for the gospel of Christ, they give if required 100% to God's cause, not to man but you strain at the gnat of just 10%, how does this make you a faithful steward?

KunleOshob:

The above if another fraudulent, unbiblical and deceptive 419 claim being used to defraud believers. What the bible preaches is that we should use our wealth to be of help to others. Even early church collections [Acts 4:32-35] was used to take care of the poor and the needy and not for spreading any gospel as is falsely claimed today. Any ministry that does not make taking care of the needy and less priviledge a core activitiy is certainly not a ministry following in the foot steps of our lord Jesus christ. As i have always told you i am not against giving, infact i am very much in support of true biblical giving it is the fraudulent manipulation of biblical giving by preachers to favour themselves that i am very vehemently against.

The only 419 concept that is in the Bible is in Psalm 41:9 where your model betrayed his master for filthy lucre, so don't tell me that you are that interested in caring for the poor when the Scriptures has exposed your real intention.

KunleOshob:

PS: Kindly note that the timothy scripture on love of money you quoted was addressed to a bishop [timothy] warning him against the love of money and making a personal gain from the gospel. It is more of a warning to preachers than even the congregation, the sad thing is that today preachers are not only refusing to heed this warning some of them like Olaadegbu above are now turning round to use it to preach to christians to hand over all their money to the ministry, how pathetic

So you think that that Scripture is binding on you because you are not a bishop Is this why you are so tight with your tithe that you don't want to let go? The love of money is the root of all evil applies to all and sundry, even including you.

KunleOshob:

@Olaadegbu
On second thoughts i decided to reproduce the whole of the timothy passage to expose your manipulation. It should be clear that is is preachers that is being addressed in the passage and the teaching there is still very relevant to preachers today who distort scriptures for the love of money.

1 timothy 6:3-11
6:3 Whoever teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the true words of our Lord Jesus Christ and with the teaching of our religion

6:4 is swollen with pride and knows nothing. He has an unhealthy desire to argue and quarrel about words, and this brings on jealousy, disputes, insults, evil suspicions,

6:5 and constant arguments from people whose minds do not function and who no longer have the truth. They think that religion is a way to become rich. [reminds me of prosperity teachers and adherents]
6:6 Well, religion does make us very rich, if we are satisfied with what we have.

6:7 What did we bring into the world? Nothing! What can we take out of the world? Nothing!

6:8 So then, if we have food and clothes, that should be enough for us.

6:9 But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and are caught in the trap of many foolish and harmful desires, which pull them down to ruin and destruction.

6:10 For the love of money is a source of all kinds of evil. Some have been so eager to have it that they have wandered away from the faith and have broken their hearts with many sorrows.

6:11 But you, man of God, avoid all these things. Strive for righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness.

Let me give you a simple advise. If you are to read and study the scriptures, apply it to yourself first before remembering how it applies to others, that way you will be able to remove the log from your own eyes before noticing and alerting others of the mote in theirs.

@KunleOshob,

Since you are so much fixated on finances, I'll suggest that you learn more about faithful Christian stewardship in the thread posted below.

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria?topic=493922.0

@Olaadegbu: « #9 on: October 11, 2010, 12:50 PM »
[Quote]@nopuqeater,

It is not news that you guys worship Mammon, but what would it profit you if you gain the whole world and lose your soul?

Is Allah like you?

http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/1058/1058_01.asp[/Quote]It is new to me. I know what I worship. Mammon is not in the Quran. Allah is Who I worship.
Your moon god was found in Palestine. Until Umar bin Khattab (RA) opened Jerusalem, Islam was not there. What you had there were Christians and Jews. If Muslims cleared the Ka'aba of idols, there will not be a reason for them to enter Jerusalem and Palestine as a whole to worship a god there. There is no period in Islamic history that they allow an idol to remain in a place they control.

Afghanistan is a very good and recent example how unkindly Islam looks at idols. Remember the blowing up of giant Buhhdda?

Now lets go back to Palestine; Your Bible accused Solomon of worshiping foreign gods. Solomon was before Jesus. Jesus was before Muhammad by close to 600 years. Now tell me, when did Muslims worship idol in Jerusalem? Please give me time, in the history of man. We already know that muslims do not worship idols in Makka and Madina, the first two places of importance before jerusalem is mentioned.


I want you to entrap yourself. You ask for it. I will make it easy for you to get it. Folks; watch Olaadegbu how he will divert the attention to something else. This big kafah will not learn a thing. Will the Jews go to your heaven, while you call them the people of salvation, they hate Jesus who you said must be believed in order to receive salvation.

Houston, Olaadegbu has a problem.

@nopuqeater,

If you do not believe the Words of Jesus who you claim is your prophet will you then believe the words of allah which says in Surah 10:54 :

"Every soul that has sinned, if is possessed all that is on earth, would fain give it ransom",

You can see that if you possessed the whole world and offered it to God as a sacrifice for your sins, it would not be enough to provide atonement for your sins.

Love that Money!

[flash=500,400]http://media.chick.com/preview.swf[/flash]

How to get rich and keep it.

http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0087/0087_01.asp

find out why Nigerians should leave Juju alone -- www.thenigerianarchive.

KunleOshob:
@Olaadegbu
On second thoughts i decided to reproduce the whole of the timothy passage to expose your manipulation. It should be clear that is is preachers that is being addressed in the passage and the teaching there is still very relevant to preachers today who distort scriptures for the love of money.

1 timothy 6:3-11
6:3 Whoever teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the true words of our Lord Jesus Christ and with the teaching of our religion

6:4 is swollen with pride and knows nothing. He has an unhealthy desire to argue and quarrel about words, and this brings on jealousy, disputes, insults, evil suspicions,

6:5 and constant arguments from people whose minds do not function and who no longer have the truth. They think that religion is a way to become rich. [reminds me of prosperity teachers and adherents]
6:6 Well, religion does make us very rich, if we are satisfied with what we have.

6:7 What did we bring into the world? Nothing! What can we take out of the world? Nothing!

6:8 So then, if we have food and clothes, that should be enough for us.

6:9 But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and are caught in the trap of many foolish and harmful desires, which pull them down to ruin and destruction.

6:10 For the love of money is a source of all kinds of evil. Some have been so eager to have it that they have wandered away from the faith and have broken their hearts with many sorrows.

6:11 But you, man of God, avoid all these things. Strive for righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness.

I love this bro..you understand the true church..these thieves be going on and on about tithing and promoting a church building instead of the true church of God...Im blessed to have read your write up and to think you wrote this 9 years ago...wow God indeed has His remnants..