ABC Extra – Unbaptized Money | Pastor Zach's Blog

ABC Extra – Unbaptized Money

July 18, 2011 at 5:15 am Leave a comment

Though I’m almost sure it’s apocryphal, Martin Luther is credited with saying, “There are three conversions necessary – the conversion of the heart, of the mind, and of the purse.” Regardless of whether or not Luther actually spoke these words, this quote can serve to remind us of the importance our Lord places on faithful stewardship. What we do with money matters.

In his book The Money Map, Howard Dayton writes, “When the Crusades were fought during the twelfth century, the Crusaders purchased the services of mercenaries to fight for them. Because it was a religious war, the Crusaders insisted that the mercenaries be baptized before fighting. As they were being baptized, the soldiers would take their swords and hold them up out of the water to symbolize that Jesus Christ was not in control of their swords, that they retained the freedom to use their weapons in any way they wished.” Like Crusaders wielding swords in whatever unbaptized way they saw fit, many people wish to use money in whatever unsanctified way they see expedient. But God wants our money to be “baptized,” so to speak, in that He wants us to steward our money faithfully and well. And first and foremost, stewarding our money faithfully and well means being generous with others even s God has been generous to us.

In our text from this past weekend, Solomon writes, “A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed” (Proverbs 11:25). God wants us to be generous and refreshing toward others. Notably, the Hebrew verb for “refreshes” in this verse is rawah, meaning, “to water.” In Hebrew, this word is in the Hiphil mood, which is an intensive form of the Hebrew verb. Thus, when Solomon encourages us to “refresh others,” he encourages us to do so intensively. That is, we are to be as generous as we possible can be. And as we do so, we ourselves will “be refreshed.” This phrase “be refreshed” is in the Hophal voice, another intensive Hebrew verbal form. Thus, as we intensively refresh others through our generosity, God will intensively refresh us through His generosity.

Money that is not baptized by the gospel only causes harm and grief. Judas, when he sells his Lord for thirty pieces of silver, despairs and commits suicide (Matthew 27:1-5). Hezekiah, when he shows off his temple treasury to envoys from Babylon, seals the demise of his nation (Isaiah 39). And Ananias and Sapphira, when they duplicitously hold back some money from the sale of a field, claiming that they had given all the proceeds to the Church, are struck down by God (Acts 5:1-11). Money used apart from the purposes of God ends in disaster. Conversely, money that is “baptized” by the gospel can be used to illustrate the gospel itself! The apostle Paul writes, “You were bought at a price” (1 Corinthians 6:20, 7:23). What is this price? It is the price of Christ’s blood. The monetary picture of a price is used to describe our redemption. Indeed, the very word “redeemed” is monetary, for it describes how Christ purchased us “from the empty way of life” (1 Peter 1:18), that is, from the empty ways of sin, death, and the devil.

Do you allow the money with which you have been entrusted to be used at God’s pleasure and for His purposes? Or, are your finances an area in which you remain functionally “unconverted,” holding your pocketbook out of the water while the rest of you is baptized into Christ, too afraid to heed Christ’s invitation to steward your finances in a way that is commiserate with His Kingdom values? True financial joy and freedom is found only when your money is brought under the authority of Christ. Jesus has been generous enough to give you all that you have. Do you trust Him to be wise enough to use the money you have for your good and His glory?

Want to learn more? Go to
www.ConcordiaLutheranChurch.com
and check out audio and video from Pastor Tucker’s
message or Pastor Zach’s ABC!