Sanctification: Serving God, and not mammon

I have been speaking this year about having more of Messiah’s life in us and through us; or, being transformed more into the image of the Son of God.  This is sanctification.  It is life-long once we have been born-again by the Holy Spirit through our repentance and faith in the gospel.  We reckon our old life serving sin in all its forms as having been crucified with Messiah, and we live our new eternal life unto God and His righteousness.  This is what we testify to when we are baptized in water.  

Our Creator God has redeemed us from slavery to the rulers and gods of this world, in order that we would be His holy people, serving/worshipping YHVH, the triune God, only, and be given His rest, even in battle, in preparation for inheriting and possessing the promised land forever with our Redeemer and Savior, the Lord Yeshua the Messiah/Jesus Christ.  How good is that!

With this in mind, we cannot serve God and mammon.  Mt 6:19-34 

Before we knew God our Father personally, probably all of us sought education and jobs that would give us good salaries and opportunities to get even more.  Most of our parents encouraged us to pursue “success”.  Most of our decisions were based on “wealth acquisition” to some extent or other.  Of course, different cultures have different ideas of what that means, and what is required of those who pursue that path in life.  I can tell you as one who grew up in America, that was the “American Dream”:  wealth, health, and the pursuit of happiness, everyone with his own house and private car.  That “dream” was probably different in Russia and in Ethiopia, or it may only have been a dream, without real opportunities and possibilities of becoming realized.  That dream is America’s idol. 

In our recent visit to the US, I was again impressed by the all consuming pursuit of wealth and creature comforts that characterizes America.  So much wealth as a country, yet so much corruption and insecurity.  As a nation, they are not “happy”.  (In the latest 2025 “World Happiness Report”, the US ranks 23rd; Israel is 5th!).  So many advertisements promising safety and comfort; meaning, that people will need to pay much to feel safer and more comfortable; or, that people already do not feel safe and comfortable, and are prey to temptations of promises that are largely unable to be fulfilled, as ever, and are more and more exclusive to those who have “the money” anyway.  Yet, they fear death like everyone else, and are afraid of becoming “uncomfortable” – materially, emotionally, psychologically, physically.  Their hope is that their “money” will protect them in the day of trouble.  The Word of God in the Bible tells us that this is not so. (Pr 11:4)  It is living faith in the truth of who Jesus Christ is that is our righteousness, and is what delivers us from death and insecurity.

To be rich is not a sin; to seek to be rich is dangerous for our souls, and is idolatry:  we have placed money, and its promises, above worship of the one true God, in whom all [the real] riches are found in Christ. (Col 2:2-3)  The love of money is a/the root of all evil that can lead you away from the faith, and make your life, and those around you, miserable. In other words, money is not the key to happiness.  Being holy, because our holy God and Father commands us to be like Him (godliness; sanctification) is our contentment.  “Godliness with contentment is great gain.  For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.  And, having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.  But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition.” (1Tim 6:6-10) 

Part of the prayer which the Lord Yeshua teaches His disciples and His family to pray is “lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil”.  We often don’t think of that applying to the temptation and danger of pursuing or desiring to be rich.  Those who participate in the lottery are serving mammon; those who gamble are serving mammon. Those who are willing to work at a job that calls for exploiting and deceiving the poor and weak, and the naive and simple are serving mammon, and not God.  

If you accept a bribe in order to pervert sound discernment and good judgment, you are serving mammon.  Our Father God in Heaven does not take a bribe, and neither do His children! (Ex 23:8; Dt 10:17-18; 16:18-20; 1Jn 3:10)

If God allows you to be rich, praise the Lord.  And now you have a great responsibility regarding how you use your wealth, and for your own sense of importance and influence:  for yourself; for fame and power; or, being kind and merciful towards the poor and needy – first of all for those in the household of faith — glorifying the name of Yeshua the Messiah, and not drawing attention to yourself.  Blessed are those who are both rich and kind, honoring the Lord! 

Jesus owns everything, but made Himself poor like a slave – the Slave/Servant of His very wealthy Father in Heaven; and also a Slave/Servant to His disciples, and to others – so that the poor would not lack. (Ps 50:8-12; Mt 6:19-34; Rev 2:8-11; Phlp 2:5-9) 

You have heard of the “Prosperity Gospel”.  It is “another gospel”, and is not good news.   Under the Law, wealth was a sign of God’s blessing (Dt 7:12-15; 8:11-20; Lev 26; Dt 32).  He was speaking to the nation of Israel, not necessarily to each individual.  The poor are rich in faith, and the poor will always be with us. (Dt 15:1-11; Jn 12:1-8; Ja 2:5-9; Rev 2:8-9).  Under the Law of Messiah, wealth can be a blessing, but can also be a serious hindrance to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.  Jesus still says, to the astonishment of even His closest disciples, that it is harder for a rich man, who trusts in his riches, to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, than it is for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. (Mt 19:20-26)  They thought, according to the Law of Sinai, that the rich were sure to be saved, but that “the poor” were “lacking in faith”, or, “must be in sin”.  With God all things are possible, but He requires that we love Him more than anything else, including money and wealth, health and comfort.  Why believe and teach a ”gospel” that makes it hard to enter the Kingdom of Heaven?!

Would you rather be rich in faith, which has eternal benefits; or would you prefer the temporary – however beneficial – benefits of wealth, which are means of blessings, but that you can not take with you after you die?  The world wants us to think that our happiness is dependent upon our wealth and assets; but there are many testimonies of people, and not only of believers, who have learned that money can not buy true love or happiness, and that the evils that also can come with wealth – especially excessive wealth – can bring much misery.  The devil lies to us and says that if we will serve him, he will make us rich and secure, and even famous.  He may do so; and we lose our souls, too, in pursuit of his lies and our idols.  Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all that we need will be given us by our Father in Heaven.  

Men, husbands and fathers, we are responsible for providing for our wives and our children.  To not do so is to be worse than an infidel and an unbeliever! (1Tim 5:8)  If you are poor, learn to be content with what you have, trusting our Father in Heaven.  As Asaph the priest and worship leader wrote:  “Lord, do not give me to much, lest I forget and deny You; and do not give too little, lest I steal or become a beggar.” (Pr 30:7-9; Dt 8; Heb 13:5-6)  If God increases your wealth, remember from where you have come; and do not presume that His favor upon you is greater than it was before:  If you loved Him, He showed His graciousness to you also when you were “poor”, before you became “rich”.

God also tells His people to give tithes and offerings to Him and to those in need.  All the “money” is His (Ps 24), and He wants us to “donate and to invest” in His business of evangelizing and of building up the saints, and making provision for His laborers and for the poor.  By doing so, it is a guard against our own greed or stinginess.  It is better to give than to receive.  And as we learn from the lesson that the Messiah gave to His disciples about the giving of the rich to the Temple, and of the giving of the poor widow to the work of God, it is not as much about how much you give, but of how much you have left.  How much are we willing to sacrifice of our “money” in obeying the Lord?  We give from what we have, not from what we do not have.

Yeshua makes it very clear that we cannot serve both God and mammon, meaning that is a spiritual choice, with eternal consequences at stake.  It is a matter of worship, of whom or what we serve and make as our goal in life:  to be rich in this world, with its kingdoms opposed to the Kingdom of God; or to be with the Lord in His kingdom forever.  They both have value systems:  what are our values:  what the “world” values; or what our Father in Heaven values?  Different religions and cultures may share some common values, but may differ greatly on how to live by them, or seek their fulfillment. (Ja 4:1-6; 1Jn 2:15-17)  For example, Judaism, Christianity, Islam all say:  “Love your neighbor as yourself.”  But, how do each define and express what is “love”; what is “mercy”; who is our “neighbor”?

I will give two fairly recent examples regarding serving God or serving mammon/money that have been in the news in recent months:  two Jewish Israeli citizens spied for Iran in exchange for money.  They betrayed their own country, during a war with their chief external enemy, Iran and her proxies, for some money because they were in financial debt.  That “money” is “mammon”:  unrighteous gain; unclean.  Being in debt led them into grievous sin and dishonor. 

The other example is US President Donald Trump, a professing Christian, who loves the benefits and pleasures of wealth and power.  He is a man who has achieved the “American Dream”!  He was easily tempted by Qatar, an enemy of the US, and of Israel, and who funds terror and sows seeds of deceit and destruction.  While on his Middle East tour in May to jihadi Islamic countries who want the destruction of both the US and Israel, and all of the western Christianized countries, the leaders offered him an airplane for his presidential use, and for his personal presidential library after his term.  It is designed like a palace inside.  He accepted it, despite all of the security risks and ethical,even legal, issues involved.  And he derided those who questioned the motives of the givers of the “gift”, saying that they were “weak”.

His love of wealth and power led him into accepting a gift/bribe, “mammon”, based on his ego, covetousness, and the love of money, the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and of the pride of life.  “You cannot serve two masters:  for either you will hate the one and love the other; or else you will be loyal to the one and despise the other.  You cannot serve God and mammon!” 

The riches of God’s Kingdom do not compare with the value of things here and now:  gold is extremely valuable here, and used to be the standard measure of “wealth” and the financial standard for world banking:  how much gold was undergirding a nation’s financial currency.  In the New Jerusalem, gold is the pavement of the streets, like asphalt is today.  Clearly, gold is enduringly beautiful, but we would never use it as road pavement!  Diamonds are precious and an indication of love, and the value of a bride; but in the New Jerusalem, with all of her precious stones, diamonds are not among them (according to the two major original Greek texts of the New Testament).  And that city is described as being a beautifully decorated Bride, with all manner of valuable jewels, but no diamonds!  God’s sense of eternal value and worth is different than the world’s and ours.  Do we value what He does more than what the world and the devil and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life do? 

Sanctification is becoming more like our Father in Heaven:  like the Son of God; more of Messiah/Christ in us and less of me and us and of this world of corruption through lust.

Our measure of sanctification now and tomorrow has serious implications:  when the antichrist requires that everyone take his mark of the beast, without which no one can buy or sell, will we fall to the disastrous temptation to take it in order to eat, or to hold on to wealth and health and personal “comfort” and privilege; or, will we refuse because we serve and worship the one true living God, who has promised us a better resurrection and eternal life if we are willing to lose everything here – even to be killed — if need be, for His sake, for the gospel’s sake, for His kingdom’s sake, for our own eternal sake. (Rev 2:8-11)  The Word of God and the Holy Spirit are preparing us to stand in the day of evil – “lead us not unto temptation, but deliver us from the evil” – that fighting the good fight of faith, we will fight it believing and obeying the will of God in the power of the Holy Spirit and the blood of the Lamb, and come out standing victoriously to the praise of our heavenly Father and our Lord and Savior! (Eph 6:10-13; Rev 12:10-12)

Our God is a jealous God; and He will not agree that we serve any other gods and idols!

If we love one another we will “be our brother’s keeper”, and encourage each other to stay on the narrow road that leads to life everlasting, and not follow the deceitfulness of sin and evil, regretting it forever and ever.