The Shrine Of Mammon

Mar 10:21  Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.

Mar 10:22  And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions.

At this, the man's face fell, and he went sadly away because he had Many possessions.

You see what the defect was in this young man. He did not possess the faith which overcomes the world. 

He wished to Unite two utterly Irreconcilable things: the Love of GOD, and the Love of Money. 

He wanted to serve Two Masters: GOD, and Mammon.

It was not open vice and profligacy that kept him from salvation.

It was the more decent and reputable sin, of Supreme Attachment to Worldly Things. 

He could give up many sins, but he could not give up his Besetting sin--Supreme regard for Wealth. 

He could do many things, but he could not give up All to follow Jesus.

He could give up open vice, but he could not deny himself and take up his cross. He had many good qualities, but he Lacked one thing.

If open vice has slain its thousands, then Worldliness has slain its tens of thousands!

Of all the false gods, the Shrine of Mammon is most resorted to.

It is from that Idolatrous Temple, that the broadest and most beaten path to the Bottomless Pit will be found.

Included in the crowd which press along that broad road that leads to destruction, are not only the blasphemous, the murderers, the liars and cheats, the proud, and the immoral.

But also those who follow things which are just, and honest, and true, and reputable.

Yet they rise no higher than to be the Worshipers of this sordid deity, Money!

Yes, even Mammon can boast of devotees who hate all that is vile, dishonorable and unjust.

In the Broad road which leads to destruction, there is a path for the Lovers of Money--as well as for the Lovers of Heinous Sins!

Luk 16:13  No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye Cannot serve God and mammon.

~J. A. James

IF Our HEARTS Are GLUED To The WORLD!

Run for your lives! Do not look back, and do not stop anywhere on the plain! Flee to the mountains, or you will be swept away

Gen 19:17  And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.

But Lot's wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

Gen 19:26  But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

When the time to leave Sodom arrived, Lot's wife Could Not Tear Herself Away From It. 

She had always lived in Sodom, and had Loved it, and Delighted in it.

Lot's wife never had any spiritual life; and now, when she is called to leave Sodom, she showed her True Character by a Deliberate Disobedience to God, and risked her all--to give a lingering Love-glance at the Doomed city. 

And so she Perishes. Dreadful doom! 

On the Verge of Mercy--to be Slain by Justice; on the Brink of Salvation--to be the Victim of Eternal Wrath!

This is the subject of our discourse: The love of the world is a soul-damning sin. 

Those who cling to it must perish, be they who they may.

To be Separated from the Ungodly world, its Trifles, its Maxims, its Motives, it's Aims--is the Mark of a True Disciple of Jesus. 

So our Lord implores us to, "Remember Lot's wife!" 

She is to be a Caution to us all, for God will deal with us, as He did with her--if we Share her Character.

If our hearts are Glued to the world, then we shall Perish with the world. 

If our Desires and Delights look that way, and if we find our Comfort in it, then we ourselves will be Consumed with it in the Day Of Judgment. 

Separation is the only way of escape. 

We must either Flee from the Ungodly world, or Perish with it.

I fear that the number of True Christians is very much less than most suppose. 

We are surrounded by a host of people who call themselves Christians, but are as much of the world as other people, whose Pleasure is in the world, whose Speech is worldly, and who are Altogether of the world!

Remember Lot's wife! Whoever tries to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will preserve it. 

Luke 17:32  Remember Lot's wife.

Luke 17:33  Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.

~Charles Spurgeon