Rich and poor

1. Society often divides people into three basic economic classes:

2. We hear about the rich, the poor, and the middle class.

THIS MORNING I WANT TO DO AWAY WITH THE SO-CALLED MIDDLE CLASS AND PUT PEOPLE INTO ONE OF TWO GROUPS: RICH OR POOR.

a) If we use this division, we may divide the rich and poor into four smaller groups.

b) We may be physically rich as well as spiritually rich.

c) We may be physically rich but spiritually poor.

d) We may be poor both physically and spiritually.

e) Or, we may be poor physically but rich spiritually.

2) Only two of these four sub-categories can get us to heaven.

3) If we are poor physically and spiritually, we will not spend eternity with God.

4) Those who are physically rich but spiritually poor will not make it either.

5) God warns about these problems by using the word “rich.”

a) For our Scripture reading we heard Mt. 19:23-25.

b) Jesus said it is “hard” for the rich to make it to heaven.

c) Hard is not the same as impossible; hard simply means difficult.

d) Some seem to have the idea that anyone who is wealthy is bad or corrupt.

e) There are those who seem to believe the rich, lie, cheat, steal and are generally immoral.

f) Jesus showed the fallacy of this type of thinking in Mt. 19.

6) The man in Mt. 19 was wealthy and he specifically asked about inheriting eternal life.

7) He asked the Lord what he had to “do” (verse 16).

a) Jesus told this man to keep the commandments.

b) Many commandments were associated with the Old Testament so the man asked which ones.

c) Jesus gave him a list - verses 18-19 – READ.

d) Here was a rich man, and he had not killed anyone.

e) He had not used his money to be involved with adultery, and his wealth had not come from theft.

f) He had not lied to get ahead.

g) Neither did he refuse to honor his parents (verse 19).

h) According to the man’s response, he was rich and he had kept all these commandments.

i) In the KJV the text says “from his youth.”

j) Luke’s account of this (18:21) also says from his “youth” in other translations.

k) We will stay with Matthew’s account and continue with verse 20 – READ.

l) This case shows that being rich does not mean a person is immoral or somehow ungodly.

8) Since we know the rich can be righteous, why is wealth a potential barrier to heaven?

9) Jesus gave the answer - people will often put their money before God – verse 21 – READ.

a) Here was a man who loved God and God was certainly on his list of priorities.

b) Unfortunately, God was not his first priority.

c) This is why Jesus was able to say riches can interfere with entering into heaven.

10) The man in Mt. 19 was rich physically but spiritually poor.

a) Some might not initially consider him to have been spiritually poor.

b) After all, he had been religious from his “youth.”

c) He had kept several of God’s commandments—every commandment Jesus listed.

d) How can we say a religious man such as the fellow in Mt. 19 was spiritually poor?

e) If a man (or woman) is not following Christ, he or she is spiritually poor.

f) This man, the Bible says, “went away” and he was “sorrowful.”

g) If he were spiritually rich, he would have been joyful and he would have followed Jesus

11) We never want to find ourselves in a position of being physically rich but spiritually poor.

12) A man in Lk. 12 tried that (he had lots and lots of material goods).

13) He tore down his barns to build bigger barns. He didn’t get to enjoy things for very long.

14) Jesus spoke about this man and others failing to be “rich towards God.”

15) Another Bible illustration of this point is found in Lk. 16 (the rich man and Lazarus).

16) We know what happened to that rich man.

17) Material wealth with spiritual poverty is a worthless approach to life. It yields nothing.

18) Earlier we mentioned a second possibility concerning money and spirituality.

19) There are examples of people being rich both physically and spiritually.

20) Zacchaeus (Lk. 19:2) was rich. He had a great job and a bunch of money.

a) He said (verse 8) he was ready to give half his “goods” to the poor.

b) Would we ever offer half our goods to the poor?

c) What if we looked at our bank account and said, “I will give half of it away.”

d) If some did that, they could not make the house payment or would have no grocery money.

e) Instead of half, maybe we could give 25% away or just give 10% of our net worth away.

21) In the life of this man we find an example of being wealthy spiritually and wealthy materially.

22) 1 Tim. 6:17 refers to the wealthy and says brethren can be “rich in good works” (verse 18).

a) Our ultimate example of richness in both categories is the Lord.

b) Jesus was as rich as rich can be.

c) 2 Cor. 8:9 specifically says Jesus was rich.

d) Jn. 1:1 says Jesus was in the beginning with God and “was God.”

e) In Jn. 16:15 Jesus said whatever the Father had He had.

f) All things were created through Christ (Col. 1:16).

g) Jesus was wealthy beyond what we can imagine, and He was spiritually wealthy.

23) No human has ever been closer to the Father than Jesus was in His earthly state.

24) There is only time I know of when Jesus said “our Father” (the model prayer).

25) Again and again He spoke of “my Father.”

26) Jesus was so willing to share His wealth 2 Cor. 8:9 says “He became poor.”

27) Jesus was not poor but He became this way for us.

28) Most will find that physical wealth and spiritual wealth is a difficult combination.

29) Many have had both and lost their spiritual wealth, but that does not always happen.

SINCE THERE ARE TWO CATEGORIES OF WEALTH, WE MIGHT SUSPECT THERE ARE ALSO TWO CATEGORIES RELATED TO POVERTY.

a) This is exactly what we find in the Bible.

b) There are the physically poor who are also spiritually poor.

c) Physical poverty was a problem in Bible times.

d) People were often so poor they begged.

e) Even in Judaism, no program solved the problem of poverty.

f) Jesus said in Jn. 12:8 that “the poor” will always be in the world.

g) Even before Jesus said this Deut. 15:11 said the poor would never vanish.

h) At the present time everyone has their own definition of poor.

2) In some parts of the world, poor means no house, no food, and no clothing.

3) Here, if a person has an undesirable house, a limited selection of clothing and food, they may be “poor.”

4) America has its poor. Estimates are that half of all children now living are in poverty.

5) Studies say 246 million children are working to provide for their families.

6) Poverty is a major problem in this country and every other nation on the earth.

7) If physical poverty were the entirety of the problem, it would be bad.

8) Poverty is not limited to the physical realm – it is also spiritual.

9) Among the poor we find those who have no faith or an improper faith.

10) For instance, in Lk. 17 we read about some men who had the problem of leprosy.

11) Jesus and the apostles were on the way to Jerusalem.

a) Luke says the Lord entered into a “certain village” and was met by ten men with a dreaded disease.

b) These men “lifted up their voices” (verse 13) and pleaded for “mercy.”

c) Jesus was willing to help; He told them to go and show themselves unto the priests.

d) As these men left the Lord’s presence, they were cleansed.

e) Only one of the ten men came back to the Lord after the healing and “glorified.”

12) Here is what Luke says in verses 15-16 – READ.

a) Ten men were healed, and there is a reasonable way to infer these men were poor.

b) Leprosy meant these men were social outcasts.

c) No person would hire them for a job.

d) For all practical purposes, these 10 men were cut off from society.

e) At the end of verse 12 the text says these men “stood afar off.”

f) These fellows may not have faced abject poverty, but they were surely not rich.

g) In addition to having what must have been financial challenges, they were spiritually poor.

h) When a person is not thankful, and 9 of these men were not, he or she is spiritually desolate.

i) Imagine a person being healed of aids or cancer and there is no thankfulness.

j) Here God healed an illness for which there was no cure and only one man came back.

k) Only one man returned to say “thank you.”

l) Jesus referred to this man as a “stranger” (a Samaritan).

m) If by this the text is saying the other 9 were Jews, this is what we have:

n) Poor men who though Jewish, were spiritually poor.

13) Today a lot of people are in this very same situation.

14) People are poor, may have some Bible knowledge, but their knowledge is not used.

15) Physical poverty + spiritual poverty = destruction and it is so sad. It does not have to be that way.

16) Most of the world lives in physical poverty and we can’t help everyone with this need.

17) We can, however, help the physically poor become spiritually rich.

18) This is our fourth group of people.

a) There are two accounts of a woman who was very poor (Mk. 12 & Lk. 21).

b) Jesus was sitting down and “near the treasury” (Mk. 12:41).

c) Mark says there were some “rich” people in the area.

d) Not only were wealthy people in this place they were “casting in much.”

e) We are not told if these people were physically wealthy but spiritually poor.

f) Perhaps they excelled in both the physical and spiritual realms.

19) Both accounts say a “poor widow” came along.

20) She “cast in her living” (Mk. 12:44).

21) Jesus and the apostles met lots and lots of people.

a) Of all they met, only a very small amount of that number has been recorded for us.

b) Here is an unnamed woman who is named in 2 of the 4 accounts of the Lord’s life.

c) A woman was so poor physically, she had about as little as anyone can have.

d) Spiritually, she was so wealthy no one else could match her.

e) Even if she stayed dirt poor all her life, she was rich in the one way that counts.

f) Her life and choice causes us to look at our own lives.

g) There are really only four possibilities, and one of these 4 apply to each one of us.

22) What if someone asked if we are physically rich or physically poor – what would we say?

23) If we have food, clothing and shelter, we can and should regard ourselves as rich.

24) Even if we think of ourselves as poor, what about a second question?

a) Are we spiritually rich or spiritually poor? This is the only question that really matters.

b) Is our Christian life a success or is it a dud?

c) How sad it is to be physically poor in this life and spiritually bankrupt for eternity.

d) How foolish to be materially rich but to have nothing in our spiritual bank account.

e) Jesus came so that we might have life and have it abundantly.

f) Have we found that abundant life? Are we spiritually rich? If not, help is available.

g) We can take the first steps and become a Christian.