Sermon Cloud

WPM, 1/16/08, CLC

Abraham – Righteous and Chosen or Money Grubbing Sinner?

With all the attacks on the prosperity message, we have to examine the scriptures to see what God thinks about it.  According to some misguided people, money is evil.  They also think that there’s something wrong with the people that have it.  They definitely think that there’s something wrong with people that want more money.  With this line of thought in mind, we examine Abraham, the father of Israel.  He was extremely wealthy.   Money is just a tool.  God told him that He was going to bless him so that he would be able to be a blessing to all the nations of the world.  We are to be blessed, like Abraham, so that we can be a blessing to the world as well.

NT references to Abraham

Romans 4, Galatians 3, and James 2 say Abraham was made righteous through faith.

Galatians 3:14  in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

Heb 11 – Abraham’s faith is mentioned twice in the “hall of faith”

There were 20 generations of man from Adam until Abraham (see Luke 3:34-38), yet, God always refers to Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  This all began with Abraham.  So we need to look at Abraham. 

Terah (Abraham’s father) left UR of Chaldeans where he was from, with the purpose of entering into the Canaan land, but he stopped short.  We’re not known as the descendants of Terah (the one who didn’t go all the way), but as decedents of Abraham.  The man that would go all the way, do all that the Lord had told him.  That he would teach his children.  (Genesis 18:19)

If you figure each generation from Noah on had 5 kids, at the time of Abraham, there would be nearly 1 million people on the earth at the time of Abraham, yet God looked over all those people to choose Abraham to cut covenant with. 

Abraham was chosen by God.  God chose a rich man, and made him richer.

If being rich is bad, God should have really chosen someone else to set up His Covenant with.  Evidently, no one told God that it’s wrong to be wealthy.  Evidently, God had a purpose for all that money that He blessed Abraham with.  (to be a blessing to all the world)

See Genesis 11:27 through Genesis 25 to see the whole story of Abraham.

John 10:10  "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have [it] abundantly.