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The Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30) Does NOT Endorse Capitalism

By Jeremy Myers
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The Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30) Does NOT Endorse Capitalism
https://media.blubrry.com/one_verse/feeds.soundcloud.com/stream/974704474-redeeminggod-parable-of-the-talents-matthew-2514-30.mp3

In this podcast episode, we will  discuss GameStop, answer a reader question about pornography and masturbation, and take a look at the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:14-30 to show why this parable does NOT endorse capitalism.

Someone was Right: The System is Rigged

show me the moneyIf you haven’t heard about what happened in the stock market this week with GameStop, AMC Theaters, Nokia, and a few other stocks, then you probably are listening to fake news.

In this podcast, I briefly explain what happened, and why this reveals that those in charge do NOT have your best interest at heart, and really only care about the rich and powerful, despite what they say with their words.

As “someone” on Twitter repeatedly said over the last four years, “The System is Rigged” against us.

It might be time as ants to rise up against grasshoppers. Not violently, but with our collective voices and actions.

A Question on Pornography and Masturbation

A reader sent in this question:

I have been having problems and struggling with pornography for years, even into my marriage. I would fall into that sin for very short periods of time, stop, repent and in most cases dispose of the laptop. Then somewhere down the road I would fall again, stop, repent, and get rid of the laptop or phone. This cycle would repeat over and over again for years. Just recently I prayed to God to forgive me and forsook pornography forever. And I do not own a laptop anymore. My phone I use has blockers on it so I can’t watch pornography. That is how I am able to send you this message. Because of my sin over the years I thought I was was never saved 20 years ago. So I made a new profession of faith to God and accepted Jesus into my life as Lord and Savior. The problem I have now is I’m confused with where I stand with God. Will He forgive me for my past sins? Was I saved 20 years ago a just backslide or was I lost? Am I saved now or am I still lost? I am really confused and worried about my salvation. Can you help me with my situation I’m suffering for. Thank you so much for reading my story and God bless you. One more thing, I asked my wife to forgive me and she did.

This question would be best answered in a one-on-one private conversation, but I get it a lot, and so in the podcast, I try to give some general guidelines that apply in all situations.

CS LewisThe basic truth when it comes to defeating pornography and masturbation is to remember that God always loves and forgives you, and you are always accepted and welcomed by grace. Also, God is not nearly as upset or disgusted with your behavior and you are…

Here are some of the links I mention in my answer:

  • C. S. Lewis on Masturbation
  • Is it wrong to masturbate?

The Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:14-30

In the last several years, there have been several politicians who have been elected to political office in the United States who call themselves Democratic Socialists, and they claim that this is where the United States needs to go. Many Christians and pastors have bought into this, and some are even going so far as to say that Jesus was a socialist. That the values and goals of socialism reflect the values and goals of Jesus.

This is absolute bunk. Socialism is completely contrary to the values and goals of Jesus. Those who claim Jesus was a socialist do not know the first thing about socialism or Jesus. I want to do some more teaching and writing on this in the future.

But before I do, I want to make sure you know that I also do not think Jesus was a capitalist. I have found some Christians say that Jesus was a capitalist, which is also complete bunk. Jesus was not a capitalist, and those who say so do not know the first thing about Jesus.

One of the passages in Scripture which many use to defend the idea that Jesus was a capitalist is the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:14-30 (or the Parable of the Minas in Luke 19:11-27). I have taught and written about this parable several times over the years (see here and here for example). In my recently recorded lesson on Judgment for the Gospel Dictionary Online course, I spent some time teaching on it again. Let me summarize for you some of what I teach in that lesson.

The timing on this is interesting as well because of what is going on in the stock market this week, as I briefly discussed earlier.

Parable of the Talents

In Matthew 25:14-30, Jesus tells the Parable of the Talents. Most people believe that the Parable of the Talents is about how Jesus will reward faithful and unfaithful servants at the Judgment Seat of Christ. The typical explanation of this parable is that just as the first servant and second servant turned their talents into more and were rewarded as a result, we also should do the same with what God has given to us. But we must never be like the lazy, unprofitable third servant, who simply hid his talent in the ground. If we do, we will be punished, just like he was.

This “traditional” understanding of the text is quite popular in materialistic, greedy societies. But it is likely the opposite of what Jesus meant or what His hearers would have understood. We live in a materialistically-driven culture, which is governed by greed and the accumulation of stuff. The Bible was written in an honor culture, where stuff and money didn’t matter. In an honor-shame culture, people want honor. Money is not an end in itself, but was a means to an end. Money and wealth was a tool which allowed a person to gain more honor. Of course, if they used their money unwisely, then they could lose honor. So in an honor-shame culture, someone might be insanely rich, but if they had no honor, they were not well-liked or respected.

Furthermore, honor-shame cultures believe that wealth and possessions are in limited supply. They believe in a zero-sum economy. In other words, if one person gained wealth, it was only at the expense of someone else. The only way someone could accumulate wealth is if they took it from someone else. The rich get richer only at the expense of the poor, which, in an honor-shame culture, was an extremely shameful way to live. This is one reason why honor-shame cultures had so many “Patrons.” As the rich accumulated wealth, they saw it as their duty and responsibility to give this wealth back to society in the form of music, arts, schools, hospitals, and other such humanitarian works. This way, the wealthy gained greater honor, but not necessarily greater wealth.

This is why Zacchaeus was so despised and rejected (cf. Luke 19:1-10, which immediately precedes the Parable of the Minas in Luke 19:11-27). Zacchaeus had not engaged in any criminal behavior, and yet had become extremely rich. People believed that he had robbed his fellow countrymen. Yet Zacchaeus had done nothing but what his earthly master wanted. He had taken the talents given to him, and multiplied them. As a result, Zacchaeus was praised and rewarded by his earthly masters. But he was despised and rejected by everyone else.

However, in our materialistic, economic-driven culture, the heroes are the servants who accumulate more stuff. Zacchaeus would be a hero. He would have books and seminars about how you too can become rich like he did. But in an honor-based culture, the people who accumulate stuff are the villains. Why? Because the only way they were able to get more stuff was by taking it from someone else. In an honor-shame culture, the hero of the story is the third servant who did not become rich, but instead was content with what he was given.

So in this second parable, who is the master? It cannot Jesus. Indeed, the master is nowhere equated with the “Son of Man” as in the Parable of the Ten Virgins (Matthew 25:13) or the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats (Matthew 25:31). The master behaves in ways that are opposite to Jesus. Therefore, the master represents the god of this age, the one who models and encourages the morally reprehensible behavior of stealing from the poor to make himself rich. The master is Mammon. Followers of Jesus should not behave in such ways. If they do, while they may receive the blessings and honor of the master of this world, that is all they will receive.

Parable of the Talents

So the faithful servants of Jesus are represented by the third servant in the parable. The third servant in the Parable of the Talents was content with what he had. He didn’t even put his one talent in the bank to collect “interest” (recall the prohibitions against “usury” in Exod 22:24; Lev 25:36-37; Deut 23:19; etc.). However, the master becomes angry at the third servant and tries to shame him by taking away (“stealing”) his possessions and giving it to the one who is already rich. He also calls this third servant “wicked and lazy.” However, since the master has already proven that his own behavior is wicked and shameful, his words hold no weight. He condemns the third servant to the darkness outside the earthly party (Matthew 25:30), but the third servant knows that the rulers of this world will not have the last word. Rejection by the evil rulers of this world is worn as a badge of honor by the faithful followers of Jesus.

There are numerous other lines of evidence for this view. For example, while the preceding and following parables clearly describes the kingdom of God (cf. “kingdom of heaven” in Matt 25:1 and “Son of Man comes in His glory” in Matthew 25:31), no such terms are found in this parable. While many English translations do have the words “kingdom of heaven” in Matthew 25:14, these words were added by the translators and are not found in the Greek. Furthermore, this parable begins by saying that the master went into a “far country.” This term was also used in the Parable of the Prodigal Son to indicate someone who is walking away from fellowship with God (Luke 15:13). All of this reveals that the Parable of the Talents is set in contrast to the surrounding two.

The parallel account in Luke 19:11-27, along with its surrounding context, also reveals that this is the proper way to read the parable. Luke’s account changes the details a bit, and also refers to the Talents as Minas, but the same understanding can be applied. This is especially true when it is recognized that the story of Zacchaeus immediately precedes the Parable of the Minas (Luke 19:1-10). Zacchaeus is the perfect example of a man who became rich by robbing and stealing from the poor.

If Jesus truly is the master in the Parables of the Talents and the Minas, then Jesus should have praised Zacchaeus for his wealth. If the traditional interpretation of the Parable of the Talents (and Minas) is accepted, Jesus had no right to tell Zacchaeus to give back the money he had received by doing his job (there was nothing illegal about what Zacchaeus did). But Jesus told Zacchaeus to regain his honor by giving away his wealth.

Furthermore, the final statements of the Parable of the Talents has the master demanding that his enemies be outcast and killed. Again, this does not represented something God will do, but foreshadows what will happen to Jesus Himself and those who follow Him when they stand up to the god of this age because “they do not [him] to rule over them” (Luke 19:27). This master wants his enemies slain before him. Immediately after this, Jesus sets his face toward Jerusalem where He knows He will be killed (Luke 19:27-28). When He arrives in Jerusalem, one of the first things Jesus does is clear the temple of those who were using it to enrich themselves by stealing from the poor (Luke 19:45-48). As a result, the wicked “servants” of the temple seek to destroy Jesus (Luke 19:47).

The Parable of the Talents

So when the Parable of the Talents is studied in its various contexts, we see that it does not describe life in the kingdom of heaven. Rather, it describes life in the opposite of the kingdom of heaven, which is the kingdom of this world. The Parable of the Talents is about what life is like for faithful and unfaithful servants in the kingdom of the world. The kingdom of the world has the opposite values and standards as the kingdom of heaven. And so while unfaithful servants will not experience the joys and blessings of the kingdom of heaven, they may do quite well for themselves with worldly joys and blessings. Meanwhile, those who choose to faithfully honor Jesus by loving and serving others will likely be shunned and rejected by the power brokers of this world.

If we are the “evil servant” in this parable, the world may praise us and we will be honored by some in this world. But if we truly live honorably (as the third servant did), the world will shame us and take away what we have and give it to those who are already rich.

God is Redeeming God, Redeeming Scripture, Redeeming Theology, z Bible & Theology Topics: capitalism, greed, Luke 19:11-27, masturbation, Matthew 25:14-30, money, Parable of the Minas, Parable of the Talents, podcast, porn, pornography, socialism

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Does Jesus tell the Rich Young Ruler how to earn eternal life? (Matthew 19:16-21; Luke 18:18-23; Mark 10:17-22)

By Jeremy Myers
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Does Jesus tell the Rich Young Ruler how to earn eternal life? (Matthew 19:16-21; Luke 18:18-23; Mark 10:17-22)
http://media.blubrry.com/one_verse/feeds.soundcloud.com/stream/530019786-redeeminggod-135-did-jesus-tell-the-rich-young-ruler-to-earn-eternal-life-matthew-1916-21.mp3

In the account of Matthew 19:16-21 (and the parallel passages of Luke 18:18-23; Mark 10:17-22), a rich, young ruler approaches Jesus and asks Him what he must do to have eternal life. (Luke also contains the account of a lawyer who asks a similar question Luke 10:25-28. I have written about the Rich Young ruler before here.)

Jesus points the young man to the law, and specifically to the Ten Commandments. The man responds that he has kept all of the commandments since he was a boy.

So Jesus says that the man still lacks one thing: he must go out and sell everything he owns, and then give the money to the poor.

At this, the rich young ruler becomes forlorn and goes away, because he was very rich.

What is the Story of the Rich Young Ruler about?

Many pastors and scholars point to this passage as primary evidence that good works and obedience to the commandments are required to receive eternal life.

believe in Jesus for eternal lifeBut there are numerous considerations from the text which reveal that this is not what Jesus is saying, and this is not how we should understand the passage.

1. We must first understand the meaning of “eternal life”

What is eternal life, and how is it gained?

To answer this, let me briefly summarize some of what I teach in my online course, The Gospel Dictionary.

There are three main truths to remember about eternal life.

First, eternal life begins the moment we believe in Jesus for it.

Since eternal life is the life of God given to those who believe in Jesus Christ, it begins the moment we receive Him (John 3:16; 5;24; 6:47; etc).

Eternal life is not some future possession, but is something we receive now, at the moment we are placed in Christ Jesus through faith.

Since eternal life is the life of God, and since this life is in Jesus, then anyone who shares this life with Jesus, also shares this life with God. To put it more succinctly, since Jesus is eternal life (cf. 1 John 1:2), we receive eternal life when we receive Jesus.

Second, eternal life is eternal.

In other words, everlasting life is everlasting.

This means that once you have eternal life in Jesus, you can never lose it.

Earl Radmacher used to say that “If you can lose your everlasting life, it has the wrong name.” Just as you cannot be unborn after you are born, so also, when you are born again into the family of God, you cannot ever go back and become unborn.

Once a person believes in Jesus for eternal life, they receive it permanently, and no matter what they say, think, or do in the future, their new birth into God’s family is a historical fact and cannot be undone.

Every single passage in the Bible which appears to teach that eternal life can be lost is not in fact talking about eternal life, but is instead referring to something else, such as physical life here on earth, inheritance and reward in the future, or to some sort of deliverance (salvation) from temporal catastrophe or disaster.

There is no verse in the Bible which teaches that a person can lose their eternal life.

Finally, since eternal life begins the moment we believe, and since eternal life is forever, this means that we can begin experiencing eternal life now.

Some seem to believe that eternal life does not begin until we die, at which point we will float around on clouds and play harps. When people have such an idea, it is no wonder they are not all that excited or thrilled about experiencing eternal life.

But once we understand that eternal life begins in this life, when we receive the life of God through faith in Jesus, it becomes much more thrilling to think about it.

To experience eternal life with God means that we live up to our full creative, adventurous potential as human beings, so that we begin to experience true life now.

It refers to experiencing “the age to come” here and now in this age. Eternal life is not just a future experience to be longed for, but is a way of life that can be lived here and now.

It is helpful to think of eternal life as a whole new life in a whole new world.

We pass through the doorway into this new this world by faith in Jesus Christ. And the doorway is not a revolving door. It is a one-way door. Once you are through the door and in the new world, you can never go back.

But once we are through the door, there is a whole world to explore. Those who sit at the entrance, bemoaning what they have left behind, have not yet begun to experience all the lies ahead.

Newcomers are encouraged to do more than just sit at the doorway, content that they have entered into a new life with Jesus Christ. Instead, they are encouraged to follow Jesus into all the beauty and adventures that awaits them in this new world. Jesus calls people who have entered into new life with Him to follow Jesus wherever He leads, to go higher up and further in.

In this way, it is not wrong to recognize that while eternal life is a free gift and a present expression, it not only refers to the quantity of life (life that never ends) but also the quality of life (the experience of God’s life that only gets better over time).

This clarification is extremely helpful when trying to understand various tricky texts in the Bible about eternal life, and especially in those texts that seem to imply that eternal life can be earned or inherited. Such texts are not talking about how we can earn or work for the free gift of eternal life, but are instead referring to the ongoing experience of eternal life here and now.

Let me summarize these three truths about eternal life:

Eternal life is God’s life in us so that we can have life with Him that never ends, and it is freely given to all who believe in Jesus, and experienced in greater degrees as we follow Jesus.

While it is an eternal possession that is received by faith alone in Jesus, it can also be a present reality that is experienced when we follow Jesus in discipleship.

Eternal life refers to both an eternal possession we receive by faith alone in Jesus Christ alone and a present experience we can enjoy here in this life as we follow Jesus by faithful obedience to His leading.

This brief study of eternal life helps us understand the story of the Rich Young Ruler in Matthew 19:16-21 (cf. Luke 18:18-23; Mark 10:17-22)

The Rich Young Ruler Matthew 19:16-21

2. Matthew 19:16-21 is about inheriting eternal life, not earning eternal life

First, the passage is clearly about inheriting eternal life, not receiving it (cf. Matt 19:29; Mark 10:17, 30; Luke 18:18, 30).

Support for this is found in the following context where Jesus says that it is difficult for the rich to enter the Kingdom of heaven (Matthew 19:23; Mark 10:23; Luke 18:24), and then equates the Kingdom of heaven with inheriting eternal life (cf. Matthew 19:29; Mark 10:30; Luke 18:30).

So the rich young ruler is not technically asking about how to receive eternal life, but how to inherit it, or experience it, in this life. Jesus answers accordingly.

The man felt that he should be experiencing eternal life because of his strict obedience to the law, but he also felt that something was lacking. So he asked Jesus about how to inherit, or experience, eternal life now. Jesus ran a quick diagnostic test on the man, and quickly determined two sources of the man’s problem.

First, the man was proud.

He thought he had perfectly obeyed the law. He said he has obeyed it from his youth.

This, of course, is completely impossible, as Jesus knew. Yet rather than challenge the young man on his perceived moral perfection, Jesus “upped the ante” on the man as a way to show the man that he was not as righteous as he thought.

Jesus told the man to do something which the man could not do. He should sell all his riches and give the money to the poor. Yet even this was not the end, for after he did this, Jesus told the man to “Come, follow Me” (Matthew 19:21; Mark 10:21; Luke 18:22).

The point of Jesus was that the young man would never “arrive.” The main thing holding the young man back from experiencing the life of God was his self-righteous spiritual pride. The words of Jesus were intended to begin dismantling this pride.

Rich Young Ruler

Second, Jesus recognized that wealth was the source of the rich young ruler’s problem.

This is why Jesus focused on the riches of this young man, instead of on some other area where the young man was blind to his own sin.

After all, even though Jesus asked about the commandments, there is no commandment or statement in the Mosaic Law to sell everything and give it away. So why does Jesus seem to shift from focusing on the commandments to giving up riches?

The answer is found within the law itself. The law promised wealth and riches to those who completely obeyed the law (cf. Deut 28:1-14). This young man was rich and wealthy at a very young age, which made him believe that he must have obeyed the entire law since his youth.

This is why Jesus told him to sell all his possessions and give away all his wealth. It wasn’t exactly about the money. It was about the false sense of moral perfection that the money created in the man’s heart. When Jesus told the man to give up his wealth, He was saying that the man could not look to his wealth as a sign of God’s blessing.

In fact, it is quite possible that this young man did not keep the law as well as he thought. In the Ancient Mediterranean world, it was thought that wealth was a “zero sum game.” They believed that there was a fixed amount of material wealth in the world, so that the only way people gained more money and riches was if others lost it.

Of course, from a theological perspective, the only way someone would lose their riches and wealth is if they were sinful, and God displayed His displeasure by taking away their wealth and giving it to someone else who pleased Him.

But is this how the world really works? Is it only the righteous who are rich and only the wicked who are poor? No. Quite the opposite, in fact.

The same was true in biblical times as well, which is why some of the prophets wonder why the wicked prosper and the faithless live in ease (cf. Jer 12:1).

The sad reality is that the rich often (but not always) become rich because they murder, steal, and bear false witness, which are exactly the sins Jesus questioned the rich young ruler about (Matt 19:18; Mark 10:19; Luke 19:20). It is entirely possible that the rich your ruler became rich at such a young age because he, or his family, engaged in various practices which made them rich at the expense of the poor.

But this young man was ignorant or blind to such things, and thought that because he was rich, he was blessed by God, and therefore, obedient to the law. By telling him to sell his riches and give his money to the poor (who, according to this line of thought, were poor because they were sinners), Jesus was challenging this entire way of thinking.

So although eternal life is mentioned in this passage, the rich young ruler is not asking, and Jesus is not explaining, how to gain eternal life.

The rich young ruler isn’t asking about how to go to heaven when he dies. He is asking about the new world that God is going to usher in, the new era of justice, peace, and freedom God has promised his people. And he is asking, in particular, how he can be sure that when God does all this, he will be part of those who inherit the new world, who share in its life.

Jesus and the rich young ruler are talking about how to experience God’s life (eternal life) in this life.

While the commandments are mentioned, the instructions of Jesus are not even about keeping the commandments, but about spiritual pride and arrogance.

What is the Meaning of Matthew 19:16-21 and the Rich Young Ruler?

Therefore, when all the factors are considered, we see that the passage is primarily about how Jesus challenged the status quo theological belief that the rich are loved by God while the poor are under His judgment.

camel through eye of a needleJesus sought to reverse this entire line of thought, as the following contexts make quite clear (Matthew 19:23-30; Mark 10:23-30; Luke 18:24-30). It is difficult for the rich to enter the Kingdom of heaven because they rely on their riches as evidence that they are already living the life God wants for them.

Many of the rich people in the days of Jesus (and even many today) believe that their riches prove that they are under God’s blessing and are part of His family. Jesus is saying, “If you think your riches prove that you have eternal life, give up your riches. They don’t prove anything about eternal life one way or the other.”

Eternal life is received by believing in Jesus for it. And there is no amount of good works you can do to keep, earn, or prove that you have eternal life.

But once you have eternal life through faith in Jesus, you can gain a better experience of eternal life by following Jesus on the path of discipleship. This might require you to make some difficult decisions in life.

Bottom line: You DO NOT need to give away your wealth to receive eternal life … but you might need to be more generous with it if you want to experience the reality of God’s life in you.

Do you want to inherit, or experience, eternal life in this life? You first, of course, need to make sure you have received the free gift of eternal life through faith in Jesus.

But after that, to experience eternal life, you must not depend on your riches or worldly success, nor your self-deceived ability to obey all of God’s law (which doesn’t lead into love anyway, see Law), as signs that you are fully experiencing all that God has for you.

Instead, to live within the Kingdom of God and experience the joys and blessings of eternal life, you must humbly follow Jesus wherever He leads, even if it is into poverty and obscurity.

The Gospel DictionaryUnderstanding the Gospel requires us to properly understand the key words and terms of the Gospel. Take my course, "The Gospel Dictionary" to learn about the 52 key words of the Gospel, and hundreds of Bible passages that use these words.

This course costs $297, but when you join the Discipleship group, you can to take the entire course for free.

God is Redeeming God, Redeeming Scripture, Redeeming Theology, z Bible & Theology Topics: eternal life, everlasting life, gospel dictionary, Luke 18:18-23, Mark 10:17-22, Matthew 19:16-21, money, Rich Young ruler, riches

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Will You Partner with Me to help others see that God is better than they imagined?

By Jeremy Myers
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Will You Partner with Me to help others see that God is better than they imagined?
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In the last decade, I have published over 2 million words on this blog, and I am glad that you have found some of these words to be helpful and encouraging in your own relationship with Jesus.

It is a privilege to write about something I am passionate about, which is helping people see that they caFn have a personal relationship with God without the manipulation, control, guilt, fear, and shame that is central to all religious systems.

free from religionBut I have recently encountered a big problem on this blog: Blogging starts to get expensive. Very expensive.

Running this blog is expensive

Blogging, like anything else in the world, costs money to do it right.

As my blog has grown, it has also become more expensive to run. When I first started blogging, it cost me about $100 a year to run this blog. That expense was worth it for me.

But within the last year or two, as my blog readership has exploded, so have my expenses. This month, people will read about 250,000 articles on my blog. I am thrilled with the impact this blog is making in the world!

But it is also costing me over $400 a month (about $5000 annually) to keep the blog up and running.

Why does blogging cost so much?

There are “free” or “low cost” ways of blogging (for less than $100 per year). While I used to use these methods, they often crashed under the weight of my readership, and so I have had to steadily upgrade to better web hosting, email service (for my email newsletter), and podcast hosting (for my podcast) so that my site doesn’t crash.

This is a good problem to have because it shows that this blog is helping millions of people around the world each and every year.

I get emails every day from people in various countries who have been helped by the content of this blog. Many of them struggle under the bondage of religion, have questions about the character of God, and desperately need help about how to understand Scripture in light of Jesus Christ. They write to me from all over the world telling me how thankful they are to have found my blog. This blog and my writings are helping liberate thousands of people every month from the shackles of religion so they can enter into the genuine relationship with God they have always desired.

I know that you might have been encouraged by this blog as well.

So I want to do whatever I can to keep my blog up and running.

The problem, however, is that the costs are becoming unsustainable.

While I love blogging and writing to encourage others, the costs are getting to the point where I simply cannot afford it, and I am not sure what to do.

To help defray the cost of blogging, I have tried various things.

I have tried using affiliate links, writing books, and selling advertising.

While each one of these activities brings in a little bit of money each month, they do not even come close to covering the total cost of running this blog.

Monthly Costs: Monthly Income
$150 – Domain and Hosting $15 – Book Sales
$40 – Podcast Hosting $60 – Advertising
$100 – Membership Area $90 – Membership Income
$70 – Email Newsletter
$80 – Miscellaneous
Total: $440 Total: $165

As you can see, the domain name registration and hosting fees are the largest expense. I have numerous blogs, and (as explained above) I have too many readers to go with entry-level hosting (a good problem to have). Also, I cannot host my podcast files on my site, because the number of downloads I receive would crash my blog. The Membership area expenses include the software and shopping cart features I use to create a secure members-only area on my website. I use an email service to send out my email newsletter and keep track of all the thousands of subscribers. The miscellaneous item includes one-time fees for things like book design and publishing expenses, and software or equipment upgrades.

So altogether, I have about $440 in monthly expenses and $165 in monthly income.

blogging expenses

So, I need your help.

I have already cut costs everywhere I can without causing this website to crash, which means I have to find new ways to cover the costs of blogging. Here are my only options:

  1. Accept Donations
  2. Put new blog content in a members-only area and charge a small monthly fee for access.
  3. Make weekly or monthly pleas for people to buy my books so that the blog content can remain free.
  4. Close down this site and cancel the podcast.

Obviously, option 4 is out of the question. I am going with Option 1 and Option 2. Let me tell you about Option 2 first.

Option 2: Membership Area

I recently started a Members-Only area of the website. There is a Free Member’s area (the “Faith” Membership level) which grants you access to all sorts of free eBooks, online theology lessons, and audio downloads.

But the real benefit comes in the Paid Membership levels, which is the “Hope” and “Love” Membership levels. These levels help support the work I am doing here at RedeemingGod.com, but also provide you with numerous benefits as well. I want to thank those who support my work, and so these membership levels provide a way for me to do this.

Among these benefits are more free eBooks and free online theology courses. More benefits and courses are coming soon. Go here to become a Member of RedeemingGod.com.

Nevertheless, some people just want to give and do not care too much about receiving the extra benefits of membership. If so, you can make a donation below…

Option 1: Accepting Donations

While I am not a non-profit organization (I am not a 501c3), I have decided to accept financial gifts from those who appreciate how my writing has helped them gain a clearer picture of God and a deeper understanding of how to follow Jesus outside of religion, and who want this same message to continue to be freely offered to others.

I am not asking for donations to cover the time I spend on this blog. I put my blood, sweat, and tears into this blog because I am passionate about showing people a way to break free from the shackles of religion and see God in a whole new light.

Yet I am happy to accept your help in covering the growing expenses of this work.

So if you believe in the impact my blog and podcast are having on others around the world and you would like to partner with me to keep it going, I would greatly appreciate any support you can provide below.

A monthly gift of $10 or $20 would be of great help, or a one-time gift of $50 or $100. Please note that since I do not have 501(c)(3) non-profit status, these gifts are not tax deductible. (I looked into becoming a 501(c)(3), but it would cost even more money I do not have…)

If you benefit from this blog, know that it also benefits thousands of others around the world every single day. But since it is not free to run this blog, would you please consider how you can support this site?

Thanks for reading, and for partnering with me in any way you can. You can make a one-time or a monthly gift through the form below.

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God is Redeeming Life Bible & Theology Topics: Blogging, donations, ministry, money, writing

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How Christians Perform Magic with Salt Water

By Jeremy Myers
29 Comments

How Christians Perform Magic with Salt Water

Have you heard that Christians practice magic with salt water?

It is the most remarkable thing to observe. The magic of salt water turns an ordinary, everyday Christian into some sort of super-apostle of the Gospel.

If you have been feeling that something is missing in your Christian walk, I suggest you look into having the magical rite of salt water performed on you.

And I know it works. I have seen it done with my own eyes on multiple occasions during the past few years.

salt water magic

Here is how the magic of salt water works:

Step 1: Find a person who is relatively ineffectual in living out the Gospel in their hometown.

They probably attend church quite regularly, and have numerous friends and acquaintances at church, but have hardly any meaningful relationships with neighbors, coworkers, or acquaintances outside of church.

It really doesn’t matter what kind of home life they have. If it’s a man, he might be a great husband and father, but he also might ignore his children and neglect his wife.

It doesn’t matter if the person has a job. They could be the CEO of a Fortune 500 company, or they could be permanently “unemployed.”

Personal diet and discipline don’t matter either. Nor do Bible knowledge or theological understanding.

The magic of salt water works on all kinds of people from all different backgrounds.

The main type of person it works on though, is the person who is at the church building every time the front doors are open (Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night, at a minimum), but because they are at church so much, they don’t have enough time to build quality relationships with anyone outside the church.

Now, take this person, and watch the magic of salt water do its thing:

Step 2: Send this person overseas (that’s the salt water).

If you take the person described above, and send them across an ocean, they magically go from being an ordinary Christian to a person who is to be praised and glorified.

It also helps if you call this person a “missionary.”

overseas missions

The Salt Water Transformation

It is shocking to observe the transformation that takes places in how this person is viewed by those who remain behind.

The person suddenly is elevated in the eyes and minds of other Christians to a near god-like status. Everything they say and do is now more holy and biblical. Every trial in life they experience (which is normal life for you and me) becomes a direct attack from the devil to stop them from doing “the Lord’s work.”

Most shocking of all, the average Christian in the pew now gets the overwhelming urge to throw obscene amounts of money at this person. While the person may have been living on $50k here in the United States, they now get people to give them $100k or more per year so they can go live in a country where the average annual per capita income is less than $5k. (That’s equivalent to making $1 million here in the States.)

Now that they are living like kings in this foreign country, they are able to hire servants and maids to do their shopping, cooking, cleaning, yard work, and child-rearing. They can afford to put their children in the best schools. And to top it all off, they don’t have the normal, everyday expenses that you and I have. No, they get cars, vacations, and medical treatment all paid for by supporters.

And all of this miraculously happens because they crossed a body of salt water!

Do not Misunderstand! I Love Missionaries!

Please, do not misunderstand. I really do love missionaries. My sister is a well known missionary. I have many good friends who are missionaries. They like to bring their cooler from Survival Cooking List of Best Coolers when they go on their missions.

But here is my only point: Christianity doesn’t need celebrities, whether they are in a pulpit or overseas.

Every Christian is a missionary, which means that no missionary (whether at home or across an ocean) should get special status, privileges, or recognition.

Peter wrote about the priesthood of all believers (1 Peter 2:5), and I think that if he were writing today, he would write about the missionaryhood of all believers.

Praise the Missionaries All Around You

missionary superheroNext time you are tempted to think more highly of someone because they crossed a body of salt water to serve Jesus, first take a look around in your own town and your own community to praise because rather than crossing the sea to serve Jesus, they crossed the asphalt in their neighborhood to love others like Jesus.

Maybe it will be a pastor who has made the hard decision to stay in a small and struggling church for 23 years and faithfully teach and disciple the people in that church even though he could have made more money and earned more praise elsewhere. (I know someone like this. He’s my father.)

Maybe it will be a man who doesn’t “attend” church at all, but who goes out to the “least of these” in his city on a regular basis to the homeless and hand out cups of cold water on hot days and warm jackets and hot soup on cold days. (I know someone like this. He’s my friend, Sam Riviera.)

Maybe it will be a neighbor who was forced to choose between attending church on Sunday or staying home to care for his shut-in wife, and chose the latter, even though his pastor said such a decision would displease God. (I know someone like this. He’s my neighbor, Leroy.)

Maybe it will be the mother of several young children who sacrifices all of her time, energy, and personal desires to do what is so rare and so difficult these days: to raise up her children so that they love God and love others. (I know several women like this, among whom are my wife and my mother.)

I could go on and on about the many heroic missionaries I know who have never been called a “missionary” because they never crossed a sea, but who will, I believe, be praised by Jesus when they stand before Him, for accomplishing more in His Kingdom than many of those who currently receive praise, honor, and glory for being “missionaries.”

missionary heroThese people … my father, my friend, my neighbor, my wife, and my mother … have understood the mission to which God called them, and they selflessly carry out this mission year in and year out, and for that, they are “missionaries” just as much as those who have gone overseas.

More impressive still, they carry out their mission with no recognition or praise or banquets or fundraising efforts or conferences or special speaking engagements or book deals or radio interviews or plaques or awards or prayer newsletters or any such thing. They carry out their mission without a paycheck, without support letters, and without donors.

To me, this makes their service in God’s Kingdom that much more impressive and praiseworthy.

If you are a “Missionary”

If you are an overseas missionary, please don’t take anything I have said as a slam on you. I honor and praise what you are doing. Truly I do. I know you have made sacrifices of your own which people who stay in their home countries cannot fully understand. But also please consider that God has called every one of His children to be a missionary, and being a missionary does not require a person to cross the sea. And some people are fantastic missionaries right in their home, their neighborhood, their work places.

And maybe next time you are called to speak at a missions conference, rather than talk about everything you are doing for Jesus overseas, you could take some time to praise the people in the pews for everything they are doing for Jesus on this side of the sea. Tell them there is no magic in salt water. Tell them that they are missionaries too. Tell them that it often takes more courage and boldness to cross the street than it does to cross the sea.

If You Plan a Mission’s Conference

And if you are a pastor of a church or are on the planning committee for a mission’s conference, maybe this year, instead of inviting the overseas missionary to speak, you could invite up the mother who is raising her children at home. Maybe she will share with your congregation how the very first missionary front is the home front, and how the entire world would have been converted by now if parents had just brought up their children at home to love God and love others.

Or maybe you could bring in the pastor of a small local congregation to praise him for how he faithfully served God without giving in to the lure of a larger congregation and a larger salary elsewhere. He could tell you about the pain and struggles and heartache and loneliness of being a small-church pastor in a mega-church world.

Or maybe you could bring in that person who no longer attends your church, but is reaching those in your community (who will never attend church) better than a church-attender ever could. He could tell you about why people leave the church, and how outsiders view the church, and what you and I can do to be the church in the world.

Salt Water has No Magic

If you are feeling that something is missing in your relationship with God, don’t be tempted to think that to be effective in His Kingdom, you need to cross a body of salt water. You don’t.

In fact, it could easily be argued that there are people within 10 feet of you right now who have a greater need for the love of Jesus than anybody you could possibly reach 1000 miles away.

The people God wants you to love are the people who are near you right now. Until the church understands this, we will always fail to understand how the Kingdom of God works and how the Kingdom of God spreads upon the earth.

God is Redeeming Church Bible & Theology Topics: 1 Peter 2:5, Discipleship, evangelism, missionary, missions, money

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You will never believe how Jesus spent $3,150,000,000 in 2014!

By Jeremy Myers
51 Comments

You will never believe how Jesus spent $3,150,000,000 in 2014!

billions of dollarsArthur Sido recently brought to my attention that in 2014, United States churches spent $3,150,000,000 on church buildings.

$3,150,000,000

And this amount is down 80% since 2002!

I wrote about this in one of my books (I cannot recall which one), and I have written previously on this blog about how churches spend money. See:

  • Money, Missions, & Ministry
  • How Churches can Solve the World’s Water Crisis
  • Tithing $50,000,000,000

But it recently occurred to me that since Christians are the representatives of Jesus Christ on earth, since we are His ambassadors, since we are the “Body of Christ,” this means that when we spend $3,150,000,000 on church buildings in one year, it is Jesus Christ spending this amount of money in one year.

We are spending HIS money.

And it really made me wonder … If Jesus had $3,150,000,000 to spend, do I really think He would spend it on church buildings?

Somehow, I really, really doubt it…

God is z Bible & Theology Topics: church, church buildings, Discipleship, ministry, missions, money, Theology of the Church, tithing

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