Committing Sin in God’s Name?

Introduction

        The title of today’s article sounds incredulous but there are those would follow this line of reasoning without admitting the same. In Matt. 6:24 Jesus states, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” The word ‘mammon’ is used to denote riches. What Jesus is saying here is, according to Albert Barnes:

        “ye cannot serve the true God, and at the same time be supremely engaged in obtaining the riches of this world. One must interfere with the other.”

If I Win…

        One of the main discussions in our society today is winning the lottery. Whether it be the standard State Lottery, Powerball, or Mega Millions; when the amount gets over 500 million everyone plays and everyone at work talks about what they plan to do with the money. Everyone, that is, except me. Sure I’d like the money, same as them, but not at the cost of my own soul. Jesus said in Matt. 16:26, “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” Playing the lottery; even the simple little ‘Scratchers’ cards is selling your soul for a piece of the world. If you want to go to heaven, that should be a sufficient enough goal that you wouldn’t want to desire any of the materialistic wealth that Satan has to offer. Besides that, it’s hard work in earning your pay that is noted rather than having money thrown at you. As Paul wrote in 2 Thess. 3:10, “…we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat.”

But I Could use the money for Good

        There are many who believe that while gambling is a sin, if they had that money they could help so many people. They believe if the money is used for the right reasons, God will approve of it or simply look the other way. This goes back to what Jesus said about serving God and mammon; it can’t be done!

        Let’s go back to the old testament and look at an example in Lev. 10:1-3, Then Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it, put incense on it, and offered profane fire before the LORD, which He had not commanded them. So fire went out from the LORD and devoured them, and they died before the LORD. And Moses said to Aaron, "This is what the LORD spoke, saying: 'By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy; And before all the people I must be glorified.'" So Aaron held his peace.

        The first question to ask is, “What was profane about the fire that they offered?” The answer is that it wasn’t from the source that God commanded them to get it from. The next question asked is, “Is there something magical about the fire that they were supposed to offer?” And the answer is, “No!” The fire from the location where God wanted it from and the location where Nadab and Abihu got theirs is, most likely, the same fire. That is to say it’s the same flames; burns the same temperature, same colors, etc.

        The difference between the two fires is that God commanded that they obtain the fire from a specific source. Using any other source of fire is strictly prohibited. This is why you can’t play the lottery and give the money to the local church; you’re trying to obtain the money in a sinful way to pay homage to God. God will not accept it! Furthermore, if the congregation stands for the truth, they won’t accept it either.

Robbing Peter to Pay Paul

       This phrase is known by most people. The meaning of it is that in order pay back someone, you steal the money from someone else. Let’s use a different example. Suppose a local congregation has need of a new van to transport the elderly from the senior center to the church building. I don’t have any money to buy one but I decide to steal one off the lot and give it to the church. Yes, stealing is a sin but since I gave it to the congregation, I did good. Wrong! The sin is still there as I didn’t make any restitution in regards to stealing it from the car lot. Just because I donated it to the local church, I haven’t cleared the sin which I committed in the first place.

        The right thing to do is to return the van and admit stealing same and suffer the consequences that go with. Even if I suddenly come up with the money to pay for the van, I still have the sin of stealing on the books and have to make restitution for it. And that most likely would mean jail time.

Conclusion

        Whether playing the lottery or stealing a van; even if it used for the purpose of furthering the gospel, the sin is there and won’t be forgiven unless you do the right thing. In the case of the lottery, return the money and repent of that sin by never playing again. Remember what John wrote in 1 Jn. 2:15, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”