Money Really Matters

- Pastor Corey Erman 

If you are willing and obedient, You shall eat the good of the land — Isaiah 1:19

“Well, I’m not rich..., but it really doesn’t matter. Right?” Wrong. In this day and hour, financial prosperity isn’t simply a luxury. It’s a responsibility. For the committed believer who cares about the eternal destiny of others, money really matters.

You may not think money is a very spiritual issue. You may have been taught that as far as God is concerned, it doesn’t matter if you are rich or poor. But it really matters. Your not having enough money to finance the gospel won’t keep you from going to heaven, but it could keep others from going.

Prosperity is not a frivolous thing with no eternal consequences. It is a serious issue. If you want to know how serious, consider this: Right now, in areas such as the Middle East, there are people who have never heard the Gospel. For years, the doors of their nations have been locked to it. But at this moment, the Body of Christ has the opportunity to preach the word of God from one end of that area to the other. Money, or lack of it, can determine whether someone in a area like that hears the Gospel or not. That makes our prosperity as born again believers an important issue—extremely important.

If we prosper, we’ll have enough not just to meet our own little needs, but to send the Word of God around the world. If we don’t, we won’t. It’s that simple. But you may say, “We can’t all be rich.” Yes, we can. Prosperity is not an accident. It is not a function of circumstances or the economy. According to God’s Word, prosperity is a choice. It is a personal decision and a spiritual process. Most people don’t know that. Failing to prosper is part of the curse that came upon the earth when Adam sold out to Satan in the garden of Eden. The curse described in detail in Deuteronomy 28:15-68 and it includes every kind of sickness, sin, tragedy and lack. That passage says when you’re living under the curse, “You shall be only oppressed and robbed continually... You shall carry much seed out into the field, and shall gather little in” (v. 29, 38).

Do you ever feel like that? We had been redeemed from the curse. According to the Word of God, we don’t have to put up with any of those things listed in Deuteronomy 28:15-68, because: “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree"), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith” (Galatians 3:13-14).

Look at the last part of that scripture again. It says the blessing of Abraham has come on the gentiles through Christ Jesus. There are many people who say God’s blessings are only spiritual and they don’t include finances. But that can not be true, because the Bible says we have the blessing of Abraham and that blessing brought him great wealth. Genesis 24:35 makes that quite clear.

There Abraham’s servant says: “The LORD has blessed my master greatly, and he has become great; and He has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male and female servants, and camels and donkeys.”

God caused Abraham to be extremely prosperous in every way and God will do the same for you, if you’re a born-again child of God.