Topical Bible: Riches: Guilt of Trusting In

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The Bible consistently warns against placing trust in riches, emphasizing the spiritual peril and moral guilt associated with such reliance. Trusting in wealth is portrayed as a form of idolatry, diverting one's faith and dependence away from God and towards material possessions.

Old Testament Insights

The Old Testament provides numerous admonitions against trusting in riches. In Proverbs 11:28, it is written, "He who trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf." This verse highlights the transient nature of wealth and contrasts it with the enduring prosperity of righteousness. The Psalms also echo this sentiment, as seen in Psalm 49:6-7: "They trust in their wealth and boast in great riches. No man can possibly redeem his brother or pay his ransom to God." Here, the psalmist underscores the futility of wealth in matters of eternal significance.

The prophet Jeremiah further warns of the deceitfulness of riches in Jeremiah 9:23-24: "Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, nor the strong man in his strength, nor the wealthy man in his riches. But let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows Me." This passage calls for a shift in focus from material wealth to a relationship with God, which is of true and lasting value.

New Testament Teachings

The New Testament continues this theme, with Jesus Christ offering profound teachings on the dangers of wealth. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus declares, "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" (Matthew 6:19-20). This directive encourages believers to prioritize spiritual wealth over earthly possessions.

In the parable of the rich fool, found in Luke 12:16-21, Jesus illustrates the folly of hoarding wealth without regard for one's spiritual state. The rich man, who plans to build larger barns to store his surplus, is called a fool by God, who demands his life that very night. Jesus concludes, "This is how it will be for anyone who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich toward God" (Luke 12:21).

The Apostle Paul also addresses the issue in 1 Timothy 6:17-19, advising Timothy to instruct the wealthy "not to be arrogant, nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment." Paul emphasizes the uncertainty of riches and the importance of placing hope in God, who is the true provider.

Spiritual Implications

Trusting in riches is seen as a spiritual misstep that can lead to a hardened heart and a diminished relationship with God. The Bible warns that wealth can become a snare, leading individuals away from faith and into spiritual complacency. In Mark 10:24-25, Jesus remarks on the difficulty for the rich to enter the kingdom of God, stating, "Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."

The guilt of trusting in riches lies in the misplaced faith and the potential for wealth to become an idol. Believers are called to examine their hearts and ensure that their trust remains firmly in God, who alone offers true security and eternal life.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

Job 31:24,28
If I have made gold my hope, or have said to the fine gold, You are my confidence;
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Ezekiel 28:4,5,8
With your wisdom and with your understanding you have gotten you riches, and have gotten gold and silver into your treasures:
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

Faustus Asserts that Even if the Old Testament could be Shown to ...
... deny His divinity, and so either become infidels or incur the guilt of trusting
in man ... gathering what it has not brought forth, making riches without judgment ...
/.../faustus asserts that even if.htm

Two Fortresses
... you will make God your fortress"by trusting to Him. ... and you 'trust in the uncertainty
of riches.' Flash it ... shelter from all the sorrows and guilt and dangers ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture g/two fortresses.htm

A Blow at Self-Righteousness
... he sought to screen himself from the guilt of his ... been delivered from the great delusion
of trusting in yourselves ... this world only to procure the riches of the ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 7 1861/a blow at self-righteousness.htm

Faith and Unbelief.
... It is a trusting in Christ, a committing of the soul and ... mammon, who will commit
to your trust the true riches?" In these ... The guilt and ill-desert of unbelief. ...
/.../finney/systematic theology/lecture xxxv faith and unbelief.htm

Salvation Published from the Mountains
... boasting of morality and goodness, and trusting to his ... Neither man nor angel could
remove our guilt, communicate to ... the Apostle, speaking of the riches of His ...
/.../newton/messiah vol 1/sermon vi salvation published from.htm

The Word of the Truth of the Gospel
... it because he knows that there is guilt between him ... it is in such declarations regarding
the riches of God's ... conversion is not your warrant for trusting him. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/bonar/gods way of peace/chapter vii the word of.htm

Lii. Concerning Hypocrisy, Worldly Anxiety, Watchfulness, and his ...
... and trusting in earthly riches, and the wisdom of trusting in God, and amassing
heavenly riches, Jesus passes to ... There is a guilt of ignorance as well as of ...
/.../mcgarvey/the four-fold gospel/lii concerning hypocrisy worldly anxiety.htm

Evans -- the Fall and Recovery of Man
... The royalty of God was contemned; the riches of His ... their consciences; proclaim their
sense of guilt, and their ... absolution from sinful men, and trusting in the ...
/.../kleiser/the worlds great sermons volume 3/evans the fall and.htm

Job's Faith and Expectation
... They died, not trusting in themselves that they were ... He saves them from guilt and
wrath, from sin ... dangers, our knowledge of the unsearchable riches of Christ ...
//christianbookshelf.org/newton/messiah vol 2/sermon xxxix jobs faith and.htm

The Gift of the Spirit
... with a full realization of the load of guilt that was ... restriction on the part of
God that the riches of His ... will of our heavenly Father; it is trusting God in ...
/...//christianbookshelf.org/white/the acts of the apostles/lesson 5 the gift of.htm