i've been made to see gambling or anything similar to it as a bad practice. indecent. The kind of family i come from abhores it completely cos it can be addictive. But what i don't understand is how to view it as a christian. So what’s wrong in placing a bet on EPL matches with money you earned legitimately, since you're not going to manipulate the outcome of the match?

pls back your opinions with the scripture where you can cos i'm seriously considering online sports betting.

IMO: nothing wrong but too much of anything is not good and gambling is known to be addicting.

friend,

at least two underlying principles of betting / gambling being unbiblical, and thus contrary to GOD and HIS holy word, are that (1). It requires putting one's trust in something else (teams' performance, another person, luck, etc),  other than in GOD, where it ought to be as a Christian / child of GOD. Legitimate work that is GOD given is a blessing, but gambling is another.  "But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day." - Deut 8:18

(2). When it (gambling) becomes addictive, and it can, and it does - it then truly becomes one's god, and essentially an idol in which one really trusts, and loves, implicitly and explicitly.  "And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment." - Mark 12:30

If one's objective is to earn a little extra money to pay bills, then pray for wisdom, and perhaps take a second job or additional honest work to supplement your income.  If the objective is to be rich, then it is error. - "But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.  And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. 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 Tim 6:6-10
--------
"Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding." - Prov 3:5 

"It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man." - Psa 118:8 

"Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD." - Jer 17:5

Consider this: Whose money do you hope to gain? Is the person happy for the loss? Betting is a parasitic relationship, if you ask me.

@HISChild

Sorry, but you are a foool. When you make investments, who do you out your trust in?

HISchild:

friend,

at least two underlying principles of betting / gambling being unbiblical, and thus contrary to GOD and HIS holy word, are that (1). It requires putting one's trust in something else (teams' performance, another person, luck, etc),  other than in GOD, where it ought to be as a Christian / child of GOD. Legitimate work that is GOD given is a blessing, but gambling is another.  "But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day." - Deut 8:18

(2). When it (gambling) becomes addictive, and it can, and it does - it then truly becomes one's god, and essentially an idol in which one really trusts, and loves, implicitly and explicitly.  "And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment." - Mark 12:30

If one's objective is to earn a little extra money to pay bills, then pray for wisdom, and perhaps take a second job or additional honest work to supplement your income.  If the objective is to be rich, then it is error. - "But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.  And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. 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 Tim 6:6-10
--------
"Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding." - Prov 3:5 

"It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man." - Psa 118:8 

"Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD." - Jer 17:5

[b]Are you trying to say that when I say to a friend "Nelson I trust in you. I believe you can do it", that I committed a sin because I trust in Nelson. God have mercy with the kind of quotation you guys display.

As for your number 2 quotation, I still don't know what you mean. A person that loves football and wants to become a footballer, commits most of his/her time in training. He/she love it with passion. Does he sin against God because he love playing football?

You said we brought nothing in this world, that quotation has caused a lot of christians to be as lazy as they come.

Please be careful of what you quote because it might render some guys useless.

Anyway poster, this is how I see betting.

It is a kind of business where you put a little and expect more gain. Why do I call it a business? You invest your money in it and hope to make a profit return by the outcome of the result.

Any business in life is betting. I will prove it to you.

Let's take sports for example. In the game of football, someone bought the team, paid the coach and the players and can only earn from the result and success of his club. Since he does not know the outcome/future of the club, he is betting on it.

Second example, a Nigerian man imports goods from China, pays for it and waits and pray for good outcome. Since he does not know whether the business will be successful or not, he is betting on it.

And the list goes on.

Ask yourself this question, if the club owner and the business man know that they will lose, they won't even try to engage in such business. While did they engage in the business? Of course to make profit

Betting becomes a sin when you neglect all your obligations as a person and starts committing crime because you are too eager to win. The same rule apply to other business. [/b]

beejaei:

@HISChild

Sorry, but you are a foool. When you make investments, who do you out your trust in?

Don't call him a fool. I think he got his quotation wrong.

Let us not over-spiritualise things. The bible says let your moderation be know to all men.

I personally do not see anything wrong in gambling as long as it is in no way impacting your ability to meet your family obligations. Sorry but sometimes gambling is similar to investing in the stock market in the sense that if you buy the shares of a company, you are "betting" the company will be profitable and will not go bankrupt. Not too different from gambling in my opinion. However your odds of making an income are much higher if you invest in the stock markets because your stocks may pay dividends and are very unlikely to go bankrupt. In the case of gambling, it is totally dependent on luck and may not be an educated investment strategy.

In other words, investments and gambling are similar but investing in securities is far better than gambling because the odds of winning in the national lottery is practically zero. So if you spend £1 buying a lottery ticket every week, I do no think that is a sin, but it is not a wise way of spending your money.

Betting is gambling and gambling is greed. So decide for urself if it is one quality a christian should possess

Gambling is not investing. It is trying to get rich quickly without hardwork. God does not support shortcuts to quick wealth which has no foundation he has not ordained.

Seek the Holy Spirit's counsel to guide you for in the last days, a lot of sins will be legalised making them look normal & ok to do. Ask the Holy Spirit for divine direction.

@Slap1, You can place ur points without calling some others names
Be decent, even in NL (If you can, that is)

nsiadi:

@Slap1, You can place your points without calling some others names
Be decent, even in NL (If you can, that is)

My brother, you've made me go through my post severally in search of who I called names, or where I did that. Do you mind helping me out?

HISchild:

friend,

at least two underlying principles of betting / gambling being unbiblical, and thus contrary to GOD and HIS holy word, are that (1). It requires putting one's trust in something else (teams' performance, another person, luck, etc),  other than in GOD, where it ought to be as a Christian / child of GOD. Legitimate work that is GOD given is a blessing, but gambling is another.  "But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day." - Deut 8:18

(2). When it (gambling) becomes addictive, and it can, and it does - it then truly becomes one's god, and essentially an idol in which one really trusts, and loves, implicitly and explicitly.  "And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment." - Mark 12:30

If one's objective is to earn a little extra money to pay bills, then pray for wisdom, and perhaps take a second job or additional honest work to supplement your income.  If the objective is to be rich, then it is error. - "But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.  And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. 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 Tim 6:6-10
--------
"Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding." - Prov 3:5 

"It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man." - Psa 118:8 

"Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD." - Jer 17:5

The bible is so big and most people can always manipulate it to favor them but both your arguments are flawed.

1) Going by your first argument, buying stocks would be a sin. Waking up and going to work will be a sin, in fact getting an education should also be a sin because I'm doing something towards making money other than sleeping all day and trusting in God for money. Nothing in life is for certain 100% and everything can be described as a gamble.

2) When does gambling become addictive? why shouldn't you do someting you love doing more often if you're successful at it. And again, Almost everything can be addictive, Internet, Video games, Investing, TV, computers, BB

slap1:

Consider this: Whose money do you hope to gain? Is the person happy for the loss? Betting is a parasitic relationship, if you ask me.

Its a game, someone wins - someone losses just like project fame, idols and gulder ultimate search (these involve money too).

BCuZiMBlaCk:

Betting is gambling and gambling is greed. So decide for urself if it is one quality a christian should possess

Greed is not peculiar to gambling. you can be greedy without gambling while you can also be gambling without being greedy.

Confusion! Check Quran for clarification. Good bye

alienvirus:

Confusion! Check Quran for clarification. Good bye

why not just give us the quranic verse,if u do really know it!

The answer is in the Quran,check Quran 2 verse 219:They ask you [Prophet] about intoxicants
and gambling: say, 'There is great sin in both, and
some benefit for people: the sin is greater than the
benefit.' They ask you what they should give: say,
'Give what you can spare.'

Betting is good business.i have to say God should not determine the business you do or you dont.naija christains are some of the most stupids i see everyday.#use your sense#I AM KINGSLEY

More verses from the Quran: 5:90 You who believe, intoxicants and gambling,
idolatrous practices, and [divining with] arrows are
repugnant acts—Satan's doing: shun them so that
you may prosper. 91 With intoxicants and
gambling, Satan seeks only to incite enmity and
hatred among you, and to stop you remembering God and prayer. Will you not give them up?

Betting to me is not a sin ( don't ask me to back it up with a portion in the scripture,as I don't think its everything that you find in there,its just like smoking which is not also a sin but just a morally bad habit,its detrimental to ones well being that is why it is not advisable to indulge in it,cos when you get addicted it becomes a problem to quit which can mare you.

@slap1, I am v sorry. Please 4give the error. The offence was committed by baba suwes brother-see below

@beejaei, Please stop causing confusion in NL
Your post, (Sorry, but you are a foool. When you make investments, who do you out your trust in?)
isnt proper. You can always put your points across without being abusive

naija4:

Betting is good business.[b]i have to say God should not determine the business you do or you dont.[/b]naija christains are some of the most stupids i see everyday.#use your sense#I AM KINGSLEY

May God grant you an insight into what you have just said & the repercussions if you do not seek Him in all that you do.

I'm a born again christian, in fact I speak in tongues as well.
Guess what? I just won £300 with £50 on bet365.com from the chelsea - liverpool match

apoti:

I'm a born again christian, in fact I speak in tongues as well.
Guess what? I just won £300 with £50 on bet365.com 

If u mock the word of God, u are mocking God.
If u mock God, u are provoking God.
If u proke God, u know the outcome, becareful with what u say!!
@Op u ve gotten some good posts from @BCuZImBlack and @renewnaija
My best answer is that of: Posted on: Today at 03:02:15 PM Posted by: renewnaija
The Kuran qouter also gave some good points:

God’s Viewpoint
The Bible does not discuss gambling in detail. Nevertheless, it does provide us with principles that help us determine how God views gambling.
Experience has shown that gambling reflects greed. The Bible strongly condemns greed, warning that ‘no greedy person would have any inheritance in God’s kingdom.’ (Ephesians 5:5) Greed is seen even when gamblers lose. According to one authority, the gambler “tries to win back what he has lost—looking for the ‘big hit.’ If he does win big, he bets bigger, and eventually loses his ‘big hit.’” Yes, greed is certainly a part of gambling.
Gambling is used by some as a means of feeding their pride. One survey conducted with compulsive gamblers showed that 94 percent considered gambling to be an “ego building activity,” and 92 percent said they felt like a “big shot” when they gambled. Yet, God says: “Self-exaltation and pride . . . I have hated.” Thus, Christians are urged to cultivate modesty and humility.—Proverbs 8:13; 22:4; Micah 6:8.
Gambling may also induce laziness, since it seems like an easy way to make money without the effort involved in working. But God’s Word clearly incites Christians to diligent, hard work.—Ephesians 4:28.
Moreover, what they call luck is so important to some gamblers that they become obsessed with it, making it their god. This is similar to the Bible account about men who were “setting in order a table for the god of Good Luck.” Because of their idolatrous action, they were destined “to the sword.”—Isaiah 65:11, 12.
No, gambling is not for Christians. As one magazine editor put it, ‘not only is gambling wrong but it is also a poor bet.’
, in all,while gamblin is not outrightly stated in d bible,certain godly principles helps us avoid it, becos everytin associated wit gambling does not originate wit God but originates with d devill, wether love for money,greed,pride and egotism, all dont ryhme with Gods will, shikena!!

God’s Viewpoint
The Bible does not discuss gambling in detail. Nevertheless, it does provide us with principles that help us determine how God views gambling.
Experience has shown that gambling reflects greed. The Bible strongly condemns greed, warning that ‘no greedy person would have any inheritance in God’s kingdom.’ (Ephesians 5:5) Greed is seen even when gamblers lose. According to one authority, the gambler “tries to win back what he has lost—looking for the ‘big hit.’ If he does win big, he bets bigger, and eventually loses his ‘big hit.’” Yes, greed is certainly a part of gambling.
Gambling is used by some as a means of feeding their pride. One survey conducted with compulsive gamblers showed that 94 percent considered gambling to be an “ego building activity,” and 92 percent said they felt like a “big shot” when they gambled. Yet, God says: “Self-exaltation and pride . . . I have hated.” Thus, Christians are urged to cultivate modesty and humility.—Proverbs 8:13; 22:4; Micah 6:8.
Gambling may also induce laziness, since it seems like an easy way to make money without the effort involved in working. But God’s Word clearly incites Christians to diligent, hard work.—Ephesians 4:28.
Moreover, what they call luck is so important to some gamblers that they become obsessed with it, making it their god. This is similar to the Bible account about men who were “setting in order a table for the god of Good Luck.” Because of their idolatrous action, they were destined “to the sword.”—Isaiah 65:11, 12.
No, gambling is not for Christians. As one magazine editor put it, ‘not only is gambling wrong but it is also a poor bet.’
, in all,while gamblin is not outrightly stated in d bible,certain godly principles helps us avoid it, becos everytin associated wit gambling does not originate wit God but originates with d devill, wether love for money,greed,pride and egotism, all dont ryhme with Gods will, shikena!!

i'm the Poster and i'm sincerely grateful to everyone who's contributed so far. i've gained alot and what i'm now thinking is if i'm not sure how God sees it, better i leave it so as to keep my conscience clear; but i haven't quite made up my mind completely on that. More contributions will certainly help.

What of lottery ,and raffle draws?

is anything bad in Christianity ? is there even sin anymore in Christianity, half nude pastors, gay bishops the list is endless. abeg i

What of lottery ,and raffle draws?

the over christianized would call that praising from the lord

betting is not bad, its ur money do what you want with it

kay-one:

i'm the Poster and i'm sincerely grateful to everyone who's contributed so far. i've gained alot and what i'm now thinking is if i'm not sure how God sees it, better [b]i leave it so as to keep my conscience clea[/b]r; but i haven't quite made up my mind completely on that. More contributions will certainly help.

that's the most important thing. It would be a sin if you gambled while thinking it's a sin. the bible is clear on that one.

It is a sin, the sin of Covetousness.

Though gambling is not mentioned any where in the Bible, it falls under the sin of Covetousness.

According to the Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology, Covetousness is a strong desire to have that which belongs to another.

Hear Jesus speaking "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."

If you are Heavenly minded, and you desire it by all means and at all cost, then stay away from gambling.

Anybody who invest money in any venture (like the stock market for example) hoping to make profit on his initial investment is basically gambling. Now the stock market investor may say he is making an educated gamble, but gambling is gambling.

Betting or gambling should be done in an "educated" or "informed" manner. I really cant see what religion has to do with it

omaojo1:

It is a sin, the sin of Covetousness.

Though gambling is not mentioned any where in the Bible, it falls under the sin of Covetousness.

According to the Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology,Covetousness is a strong desire to have that which belongs to another.

Hear Jesus speaking "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."

If you are Heavenly minded, and you desire it by all means and at all cost, then stay away from gambling.

That says it all, and gambling doesn't fall under covetousness.