Welcome to the For the Gospel Podcast, where we provide sound doctrine for everyday people. I'm your host, Kasti Hinn. And whether you're listening to this on your favorite podcast platform, maybe Apple or Spotify, or if you're watching on our YouTube channel, thanks for joining me. Today I'm wrapping up our Christian Liberty series, and we're looking at an area that affects every single one of us. It is money, or maybe you want to just call it possessions. I would refer to this as buying or spending. And it's one of the most common questions I get asked about as a pastor and online. Questions like: Is it a sin to buy a new car? Is it a sin to live in a beautiful home? Is it a sin to be wealthy or a millionaire or a multimillionaire or a billionaire? Is it a sin for me to own a second home, a beach house, a cabin, or to buy the top model of something? If you like to golf, if you buy a purse, if you get a pair of shoes, are you more spiritual because you got those at the rack or at Kohl's? Or what if you paid full price for something? Important questions, very common ones. But underneath all those questions, it's the real one. When does buying something become sinful? I think that's what you're asking. Certainly what I would want to be asking. Well, we need to understand what the Bible says about money. And so, first, money's not a sin. Possessions are not a sin. Nice things are not a sin. Wealth in and of itself is not a sin. Wealth is a responsibility. We want to use it, and wealth doesn't just refer to being rich or having a high net worth. Wealth is any measure of possession or provision that God has given you. It's something that God gives. It is also something God governs. It is not inherently evil. We can't call money evil. It's love of money. That's what Paul emphasizes in 1 Timothy 6, where he's talking about that the love of money and the balance of possessions and looking at these things properly. If you're wealthy or you have a lot, you're not to trust in riches, you're not to obsess over riches. Timothy's to instruct the rich to be rich in good works, generous, ready to share, but not to trust in their riches. The issue is never simply what we own. The issue is what owns us. Jesus speaks to that in Matthew 6, 21, where he says, where your treasure is, that's where your heart is going to be. So if you want to know what you love, follow the money trail. I have talked to you a great deal about money, about all sorts of other different topics related to this, but in particular, I've never done an episode on spending or buying and Christian liberty. And so I think it's really important that we have a biblical understanding so that you are not strapped down with legalism if you've got a lot of money or possessions and you begin to see, well, I'm I begin to feel guilty, or people are judging me because I have something nice or because I bought this or bought that. On the flip side, if you're a Christian who's been given great resources provisionally, monetarily, you need to be using those the right way. And you do need to be careful because Jesus spoke about money being a problem and spiritual health being an issue for rich people far more than the poor. And that's because money will grab onto our heart. Jesus was explaining in Matthew 6 that what we treasure inevitably reveals where our hearts truly are. Throughout Scripture, God entrusts wealth to his people. Abraham, Job, David, Solomon all possessed great wealth. So we don't flip to the other side, and now it's not the prosperity gospel, but it's the poverty gospel. The good news that, you know, if you're really spiritual and love Jesus, you'll have nothing and be happy about it. No, Scripture does not ever condemn any of the wealthy patriarchs or heroes of the faith for what they have or being wealthy. They're just called to honor the Lord in it. In Genesis chapter 13, Abraham's wealth is actually presented as God's blessing, not a moral compromise. And so we need to really embrace that. And yet we need to heed scripture's consistent warnings that money has a spiritual danger attached to it and that a deep desire for it will lead people into what Paul says, many temptations or pangs. They've they've pierced themselves with many pangs. Paul's saying basically you skewer yourself, you pierce yourself when you obsess over getting more money. That will damage you. Jesus addresses money because it's very frequent that it can become an issue. And it's competing for his lordship in our lives. We don't want to be lorded over by our money. We want to own our money. We want to direct our money. We want to look at it as gods and us as managers. Christ is our Lord, nothing else. And Jesus explains that also in Matthew chapter 6 and verse 24, where he says, No man can serve two masters. You're either going to love one and hate the other, or hate the one and love the other. So no one can serve both God and wealth as masters. Money will reveal your allegiance. Now, we also need to say, well, what does the Bible not say? It's important for me to unpack that. The Bible does not teach that all believers are going to have the same economic level. So this isn't like communism or socialism. And well, now we all aren't allowed to have stuff simply because loving money is evil. Paul addresses the differences that are within the church in 1 Corinthians 7. He emphasizes faithfulness in one's calling rather than just uniformity and circumstance. He unpacks this in other places throughout his epistles, but in particular, you think about the book of James and him talking about when a rich man enters into your assembly. In other words, the church is going to be filled with the rich, the poor, many different economic situations. Scripture also does not equate poverty with holiness or wealth with wickedness all the time. In Proverbs chapter 30, verses 8 and 9, the writer prays for neither poverty nor riches, but for a heart protected from spiritual distortion in either direction. The Bible does not even still treat money as spiritually neutral. So you can't say, well, it really doesn't matter. You know, well, no, it does. The Bible completely makes it clear that our life does not consist in the abundance of possessions. And so we can accumulate a lot and then be deceived in heart. Now, the big question that you're asking is, when is it a sin to buy something? That's really the main question. Well, let me just tell you this biblically. I've laid out and formulated this through study and making a list. And when you look across the whole of Scripture, I think there's some wisdom and some principles that we can look at and attach them to what God's word teaches. Buying something becomes sinful when it violates biblical principles that govern the heart. That's why it's Christian liberty, because we've got to look at Christian principles. We've got to look at our life, our heart, all of our things, or what we earn, and then ask ourselves important questions and assess certain truths. Number one, when it flows from covetousness and not contentment. Well, we know that covetousness is a sin. So if you're purchasing something and it's driven by they have that, I want that, or we're competing with other people, we're not content. Coveting is not simply wanting something, it's craving what God has not given. And now we're resenting others for what he's given them. Covetousness can also be attached to a heart that has the ability to buy something. And every time someone else buys that type of thing, you go, I can buy that, and you go buy it just to show that you got it. My buddies and I call this the flex in life. Could be a car, could be a house, could be something good that you buy, you purchase, you earn, or invest in. And instead of buying it for wise purposes attached to God's directives and wisdom on how to use money and invest wisely, it becomes a flex. So-and-so did this. Yeah, I'm gonna do that. Or, oh yeah, you got that, please. Never mind. Talk to me when you're on this, and all of a sudden it's a cheeky, worldly competition. That's how you know your purchase was rooted in sinful covetousness. God has not given us this spirit of competition with one another to resent what he's given. We're to be celebrating God's blessings in the lives of others and not looking at our own life and having a degree of jealousy or envy towards others. Paul directly addresses the heart of contentment in Philippians 4, 11 to 13. He explains contentment is learned through trusting Christ. He says godliness is a means of great gain, and that having contentment is the key to joy and lasting joy. That's the theme of the book of Philippians. And when you think about that, you realize, yeah, isn't comparison the thief of joy? Isn't covetousness a robber? Sending your heart, your mind, your emotions places that afterwards you go, yeah, that's sinful. I don't want to feel that way towards people. I want to celebrate what God's doing in their life. And you really know if you love someone and you've got a genuine friendship and a genuine care for them, if when God blesses them, their win is your win, not because you're gonna benefit from what they have, but because you're so excited. You celebrate the goodness of God versus see it and say, whatever, I could get that, I could have that, or I'm gonna work hard because I'm gonna this. You have a problem. And it's a heart problem, not a money problem. Covetousness is sin. Now, we don't need to acquire more in order to fix the issue in our heart. The writer of Hebrews actually reinforces this in Hebrews 13, 5, instructing believers to be free from the love of money and then satisfied with God's provision. Where does your contentment come from? Having stuff or God working in your heart to be thankful with what he's given. And you now are satisfied, although you work hard and you earn well. Well, that's not really what defines you. It's all about God and his glory for you. So when desire is fueled by comparison or dissatisfaction or covetousness, your spending has crossed from liberty, which you're allowed to enjoy, into sin. Number two, when trust in God is overshadowed by trust in stuff. Money becomes spiritually dangerous when it begins to function as a source of security. Solomon warns about this in Proverbs 11:28, explaining that those who trust in riches are gonna fall, but those who trust in the Lord will flourish. You'll see all over the Proverbs wealth has wings, cease from striving after it. It's always gonna leave. The rich man thinks his wealth is a hedge of protection. I mean, Jesus speaks to this in Luke chapter 12, talking about the illusion of financial security, where he tells the parable of the rich fool. I took you through a series uh about a year plus ago on about 10 parables, and we looked at the rich fool and how his soul was called to the mat. But he was so full of himself. He said, I got, I'm gonna, I'm gonna build bigger barns. I got so much stuff. Look at my life. And then God says to him, You fool, this very night your soul is required of you. In other words, you're gonna die. You're coming to answer to me for all that you've done and how you've lived. Congratulations, you got big barns full of stuff. Guess what? You have not prepared for eternity, even if you have done well financially. Buying stuff becomes sinful when possessions take the place of God as our refuge. Number three, to the question, how do you know if buying something is sinful? When it compromises faithfulness or obedience. Some purchases are sinful because of what they require us to neglect. So you materialize your life in a lavish way and you're so generous with yourself, but you're cheap with the kingdom of God, that's sinful. If you don't like that or that bothers you, it ain't me who put that truth out there into the world. It's God through his word. When his kingdom is not first, you and I, we have heart issues. That's sin. The Bible says in Matthew 6, 33, seek ye first his kingdom. So if you're seeking first your kingdom, well, you're missing the mark. That's the definition of sin. You're out of God's will, you're in sin. That's what it is. And so you got to get back to kingdom first priorities. When God gets a small tip, but your desires get the lion's share. When spending is fun, but giving is frustrating. If spending undermines generosity and obedience, family responsibility, it's no longer neutral. It's sinful. I remember not long ago, it was actually in 2025. It was in April when the market took a huge dive, and President Trump was loading up on tariffs, and there was this whole issue in China and all these things. And the market dipped big time. And all of the investment experts, of course, were debating do you buy the dip? Is there something fundamental going on? Are the companies that are experiencing a slide in their stock actually experiencing a breakdown in their story and the fundamentals, or is this some other issue? And I have found almost like a hobby kind of mentally, I enjoy like old men, we get old and we read the newspaper. For me, I finally figured out how the stock market worked one day. And I thought this is fascinating, the way the world and geopolitical problems. For me, it's even a glimpse into the spiritual state of the earth and how leaders and politics and companies and everything, and how people really put a big stock in the stock market and then their wealth and how human nature causes people to freak out and panic when just small things happen, micro dips. Well, I posted online if you're more excited to buy the dip than you are to give to your church, you're in sin. And let me tell you, my phone blew up, I was getting hit from all sides. I thought it was just a simple, helpful, like one of those moments where you just go, I've been meditating on this and thinking about it. And even in my own heart, as I assess things in my life and you assess things in yours. We have thoughts pastorally, and I put that out there. And let me tell you, there were people losing their minds. I mean, solid, longtime Christians that were so mad at me. They were sending me messages, they were telling their friends to tell me this, that, and the other. I was getting DMs. And I obviously hit a nerve. And I didn't mean to. I'm in charge of shepherding the flock that God has given me to serve and steward. But all I was saying is if we're looking at a dip in the market, or you're looking at a discount in the store, and you're going, Yes, final. Oh man, I'm gonna get rich from this one. I'm gonna buy low. Oh, what a great opportunity. Oh, I've got to buy these. I they're never 20% off. And then it comes time, which by the way, there's nothing wrong with that. You're being a good steward, saving some money, buying something or investing at a lower price. You see foreclosures in the market and you tag it. Well, okay. But if that gets your dopamine fired and your endorphins are flowing and you're absolutely top of the mountain, coming in, yelling at your wife or your husband, you're never gonna believe it. And it comes time to give to the kingdom of God and advance the gospel or support your local church, and that's an issue for you, and you're not excited to invest in the kingdom of God, you're in sin. And guess what? I would be in sin as well. God's word tells us to balance it out. It's not neutral. If we're so excited to feed and fuel our kingdom, but we're not pumped about advancing God's kingdom, we are like the man who's got lots of stuff in his barns but has forgotten about eternity. Number four, when it feeds pride, status, or self-glory. Honestly, when you have to have it in order to feel a sense of accomplishment, when your house is your identity, when that outfit is your flex, or that trip is gonna show off all that you do, when you're posturing to show others what you can accomplish with your wealth, when you're competing with your wealth as a way of structuring or establishing a pecking order, brother, sister, that is when buying stuff has become sinful. It's taken over your heart. When wealth tempts us to self-exaltation. God warns Israel of this. In Deuteronomy chapter eight, the children of Israel, they've gotten a little cocky. In verses 17 and 18 of Deuteronomy chapter 8, one of my favorite passages tied to wealth, God cautions Israel not to credit their prosperity to their own power, but rather to God's provision. And he confronts them and he says, Do not forget, it is I who have given you the ability to earn wealth. Jesus confronts the same prideful display and flaunting in Matthew 6, 1. He's telling the Pharisees and these rich people, you're just doing all that you do to be seen by others. This isn't about participating in kingdom work. You're forfeiting your spiritual reward when you toot your own horn. When buying or spending is motivated by our image and recognition and superiority, it has drifted into sinful pride. And let me just speak to that for a moment. For those of you, maybe you get involved with nonprofit work or somebody thanks you for your gift or what have you. Listen, there's nothing wrong with showing gratitude. Jesus speaks a great deal about that. So does Paul. We want to give honor to whom honor is due. We can say thank you to someone for their generosity. We don't need to not thank somebody. They treat us to lunch. We go, well, I don't want to exalt them. No, no, you can thank people for their faithfulness. But in our heart, when we know we're doing things to be recognized, we're chasing the recognition, not the faithfulness, the spending, the flexing, the investing, the buying. Well, it's really just flaunting and it's sinful. Number five, how do you know when your buying is sinful? When your money controls you instead of you controlling it. Christian liberty always includes self-control. We talked about this with drinking. We've talked about it with gambling. We've talked about it with recreating and playing and resting. Same thing when it comes to spending or buying. All things are lawful, not all things are profitable. Believers must not be mastered by anything. And Peter urges restraint. He calls the church in 1 Peter 5:8 to watch out for their unchecked desires. They're going to be vulnerable spiritually. And the devil is like a roaring lion. He's he's roaming around, he's always looking for somebody to take captive through stuff. And so if a purchase controls your emotions, if it controls all of your decisions, you become very obsessed, or it robs you of peace, your money, your spending has no longer served you as a tool, it has become your master and you are serving it. So can a Christian be wealthy? Yes. But scripture makes it clear that wealth brings heightened accountability. And so just like I'm a pastor, James 3:1 says, let not many of you become teachers lest you incur a stricter judgment. Being a leader means more responsibility and more accountability. Well, so too does being wealthy. Wealth brings heightened accountability. It's freedom, yes. And freedom brings what? Responsibility. Leadership brings freedom. You can direct people, you can guide. You take this initiative to steer things a certain direction. Well, that means heightened responsibility and accountability because where that thing ends up is going to be the result of your leadership, where your life goes and where your money directs you. Well, you might have a problem. But if you're directing it and not led by your emotions, and you're viewing wealth as something God's given and you want to be accountable for the way you use it, he's going to entrust you with more. He's going to reward you for your faithfulness. Paul in 1 Timothy 6, 18 to 19, instructs wealthy believers to use their resources for generosity and eternal investment, and that they are allowed to enjoy their lives and the good gifts God brings, but not to enter into self-indulgence. Wealth is never condemned in the Bible. The love of it is. Wealth is never considered a sin in the Bible, so long as it is commissioned towards kingdom purposes. So, like every episode, I'm going to wrap it up here with diagnostic questions for spending and buying. Here we go. Before making any significant purchase, consider these questions through the lens of scripture. Number one, can I genuinely thank God for this? Your actions, your purchases should be done in gratitude to God. Number two, is this rooted in contentment or comparison? You need to examine your own work. You need to assess your own life and not base your purchases on others. Number three, will this hinder faithfulness to my responsibilities? Well, if you're faithful in small things, God will entrust you with more. How are you doing? Number four, does this compete with kingdom generosity? If giving reflects my heart and my purchasing and materialized life begins to prohibit me from being faithful or generous with God's money, well, I've got a spending problem. But if you are enjoying life and being a wise investor and you're being generous, well, stay in balance. Number five, am I willing to let this go if God redirects me? Are you holding on to your stuff and you're not going to let it go? Or can you submit your plans to God's will? The Lord will lead you in different ways, maybe to give something, maybe to withhold, maybe not to purchase something just yet. Whatever that looks like, God will lead you. You through his spirit, but you've got to be asking the question. Number six, does this cultivate gratitude or entitlement? Am I thankful? Or do I suddenly feel like I've arrived? Or do I make a purchase and go, yeah, what's the big deal? I'm not going to be questioned about this. What is this? Legalism? I'm entitled to this. No. Do you have a gratitude-filled heart? Number seven, would wise believers affirm this decision? Wisdom comes from counsel. So seek it out. Find somebody who's ahead of you financially or spiritually more mature and get wisdom for your spending. Finally, number eight, am I acting as a steward or an owner? Stewards must be found. Faithful owners act like they can do whatever they want. Those questions will help you guard your liberty and use your wealth wisely. So is it a sin to buy a new car, a beautiful home, a second property, the best version of something? You know now we've walked through it together. Not automatically a yes. No, not necessarily. But scripture does teach that every purchase tests the heart. So we want to be thinking what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? Are my spiritual priorities in order? Christian liberty has been given by God, but so has the wisdom from the Word of God for me and you to apply it. I hope that's helpful for you. And that is the series on Christian liberty. I hope that it spurred you on. It's it's been some deep stuff and important topics. I'm grateful for all your feedback. And I'm glad that these episodes are being well received. These are resources that you can use and share over and over again. I want them to shape you. And of course, that shaping comes from the power of God's word. And that's our goal here for the gospel. That's why our ministry tagline is sound doctrine for everyday people. I want people from all walks of life to know the truth. And I want to present that truth to you in easy to understand ways. So thanks for listening. Thanks for watching. Thank you for your support for the gospel. I know so many of you are living what I just taught you or told you about from the Word of God, whether that's your monthly partnership, your one-time gifts, all of those go straight to creating these resources. And they allow our staff and our team to produce the way we do. And our reach in 2025 alone was over 73 million individual users online in multiple languages, now Spanish, because of your generosity to help us launch that as well. And so your giving is making a difference, and we're so thankful to get to be stewards of what God has given to this ministry through you. So if you're new, be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel. You'll get free resources every single week, actually, every single day. And if you're not following us on social media, you'll find a lot of edification every single day on a variety of different platforms. I'll be back next Monday with another episode.