Matthew 19:16-22 Then a man came to Jesus and said, “Teacher, what good deed should I do to gain eternal life?” Jesus said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you want to enter into life, obey the commandments.” “Which commandments?” the man asked. Jesus said, “Never murder. Never commit adultery. Never steal. Never give false testimony. Honor your father and mother. Love your neighbor as you love yourself.” The young man replied, “I have obeyed all these commandments.
What else do I need to do?” Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, sell what you own. Give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then follow me!” When the young man heard this, he went away sad because he owned a lot of property.
It is very easy for the rich to make money dishonestly.
Psalm 62:10-11 Don’t trust in violence; don’t set false hopes in robbery. When wealth bears fruit, don’t set your heart on it. God has spoken one thing make it two things that I myself have heard: that strength belongs to God,
1 Timothy 6:9-10 But people who are trying to get rich fall into temptation. They are trapped by many stupid and harmful passions that plunge people into ruin and destruction. The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Some have wandered away from the faith and have impaled themselves with a lot of pain because they made money their goal.
Luke 12:15-18 Then Jesus said to them, “Watch out! Guard yourself against all kinds of greed. After all, one’s life isn’t determined by one’s possessions, even when someone is very wealthy.” Then he told them a parable: “A certain rich man’s land produced a bountiful crop. He said to himself, What will I do? I have no place to store my harvest! Then he thought, Here’s what I’ll do. I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. That’s where I’ll store all my grain and goods.
1 Corinthians 6:9-10 Do you not know that the unrighteous and the wrongdoers will not inherit or have any share in the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived (misled): neither the impure and immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor those who participate in, Nor cheats (swindlers and thieves), nor greedy graspers, nor drunkards, nor foulmouthed revilers and slanderers, nor extortioners and robbers will inherit or have any share in the kingdom of God.
Never accepting Christ: They trust in their riches
Proverbs 11:27-28 Whoever eagerly seeks good searches for good will, but whoever looks for evil finds it. Whoever trusts his riches will fall, but righteous people will flourish like a green leaf.
Psalm 49:5-8 Why should I be afraid in times of trouble, when slanderers surround me with evil? They trust their riches and brag about their abundant wealth. No one can ever buy back another person or pay God a ransom for his life. The price to be paid for his soul is too costly. He must always give up
Mark 8:36 For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?
Idolatry: Riches is their God
Mark 4:19 but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.
Matthew 6:24-25 “No one can serve two masters, because either he will hate one and love the other, or be loyal to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and riches! “That’s why I’m telling you to stop worrying about your life—what you will eat or what you will drink—or about your body—what you will wear. Life is more than food, isn’t it, and the body more than clothing?
They’re of the world: Living for worldly things
1 John 2:15-17 Stop loving the world and the things that are in the world. If anyone persists in loving the world, the Father’s love is not in him. For everything that is in the world—the desire for fleshly gratification, the desire for possessions, and worldly arrogance—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world and its desires are fading away, but the person who does God’s will remains forever.
Psalm 73:11-14 They say, “How would God know? Does the Most High know anything?” This is what the wicked are like— always free of care, they go on amassing wealth. Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure and have washed my hands in innocence. All day long I have been afflicted, and every morning brings new punishments.
Closing your eyes to the poor
Proverbs 21:13-15 If you stop your ears to the cries of the poor, your cries will go unheard, unanswered. A quietly given gift soothes an irritable person; a heartfelt present cools a hot temper. Good people celebrate when justice triumphs, but for the workers of evil it’s a bad day.
1 John 3:17-18 Whoever has earthly possessions and notices a brother in need and yet withholds his compassion from him, how can the love of God be present in him? Little children, we must stop expressing love merely by our words and manner of speech; we must love also in action and in truth.
