Tag: Treasure

Living in the Image of God, What The Lord Has Given Us

Wealth, Treasures, and Compassion

Living in the Image of God M06S10

This bible study discusses Christ teaching regarding wealth, treasures, and compassion; to cap this year’s study series on using “what the Lord has given us” to provide for “needs that he will show us.” Christ gives the teaching in responding to the same question in two separate events. In each event, he was asked what an individual must do to inherit eternal life. In one event, Christ responds with the Parable of Good Samaritan. In the other event, he responds with the analogy of the “rich versus the kingdom of God.” We discuss the two responses to understand that they are the same. Although, the specific information that Jesus provides in each response is different, the responses convey exactly the same message: apply the wealth that God has given you to provide for needs that he will show you and he will grant you eternal life in the Kingdom of God.

This bible study ends the series on “what the Lord has given us;” with a discussion of Christ teaching regarding compassion, God’s purpose for personal wealth, and the role of compassion and wealth in human interactions and relationships. He provides the teaching as a response to the same question in two events. In one event, a teacher of the Law asked what a person must do to inherit eternal life [Luke 10:25]: “On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. ‘Teacher,’ he asked, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?’” Jesus responds with the Parable of Good Samaritan. In another event, the same question was posed by an ordinary citizen [Matthew 19:16]: “Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, ‘Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?’” Jesus responds with the analogy of “the rich versus the kingdom of God.”

We discuss the two responses to understand that they provide the same message. The two responses convey a message regarding compassion, God’s purpose for wealth, and the role of compassion and wealth in human interactions and relationships: apply the wealth that God has given you to provide for needs that he will show you and he will grant you eternal life in the Kingdom of God.

Program Note

The 2025 program year of the Banking Blessings Ministry ends with this bible study session. We will take a break to prepare for the 2026 program year, which we pray will start during the last week of February. Thank you for participating with us this year. We look forward to welcoming you and many others to the program next year.

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Living in the Image of God, What The Lord Has Given Us

Managing Personal Wealth—Christ Teaching in Sermon on the Mount

Living in the Image of God M06S08

The series on “what the Lord has given us” takes us this month to a Christ teaching in the Sermon on the Mount on managing personal wealth. God blesses individuals with personal wealth to be applied towards providing for needs that he will show them. Christ addresses personal wealth in the Sermon on the Mount through the teaching of “Treasures on Earth or In Heaven.” The teaching describes two alternatives for managing personal wealth. One alternative is to divert your wealth to building treasures on earth and risk losing all to circumstances you cannot control. The other alternative is to apply the wealth to provide for needs that God will show you and earn blessing as you do. Your earned blessings accumulate for your benefit and cannot be lost. The teaching leads to understanding the relationship between wealth and treasure and understanding blessing as a permanent promise of God.

This bible study discusses Christ teaching in the Sermon on the Mount regarding the management of personal wealth. He presents two alternatives: In one alternative, you divert your personal wealth to building treasures on earth and risk losing all to circumstances you cannot control: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal” [Matthew 6:19]. In the other alternative, you use your personal wealth as God intended, to provide for needs that he will show you. You earn blessings as you do and the blessings you earn accumulate for your benefit and cannot be lost [Matthew 6:20]: “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.”

The teaching conveys an understanding of the relationships between wealth and treasure. We will learn that owner’s intent is the primary feature that distinguishes wealth from treasure. God gives wealth but the owner (an individual person) can decide to divert the wealth to treasure by changing his/her intent regarding the wealth. Second, the teaching conveys an understanding of blessing as a permanent promise of God. You earn blessing when you use your personal wealth as God intended. The blessing you earn accumulates for your benefit and cannot be taken away or destroyed. As we discuss in previous studies (e.g., M02S06, Accumulation of Blessing; M02S07, Blessing Does Not Seek Perfection): blessing and punishment are parallel promises of God, may coexist for a person, do not trade-off against each other, and will be fulfilled separately by God’s schedule as if for different people. One exception is that God can forgive a promise of punishment if the recipient repents and asks for forgiveness.

Additionally, we discuss Paul’s message in a letter to Timothy: his message of banking blessing by using what the Lord has given you to provide for needs that he will show you (1 Timothy 6:17–19).

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The Apostles

Fear of God, Parents, and Others

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Fear of God

This bible study is focused on understanding the fear of God as referenced through an event in Ephesus during Paul’s ministry. As a result of the event, Jews and Greeks in Ephesus were filled with fear, the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor, several people openly confessed their sins, many gave up their practice of sorcery, and the gospel spread widely and grew in power. What is fear and how did it make people turn to God?

© Kimscreativehub | Dreamstime.com
© Kimscreativehub | Dreamstime.com

Generally, fear arises out of recognizing an extraordinary power to cause or drive events that inflict physical or emotional pain or bodily harm. If one responds by keeping away, hiding, or succumbing to the source of power, then that is negative fear. Christ discourages us from such fear through his teaching in Luke 12:4. If, in contrast, one responds to recognition of such power by seeking to please God, then the fear is positive and is the fear of God. Christ encourages us to fear God through his teaching in Luke 12:5. We discuss the events in Ephesus and several other similar events described in the bible to share an understanding of the fear of God. Also, we make a case that we can learn the nature of fear of parents by understanding fear of God and use the relationship in attempting to understand aspects of parent-child interactions.

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