The Doctrine of Nonaccumulation

In this chapter, we look at the second of the two primary commands on which the doctrine of nonaccumulation is built. But before I give you the reference for this verse, please take a little test regarding your Bible knowledge. In chapter 4 we discussed how we are to know which of Jesus commands are for us to obey today. We answered, based on the authority of Matthew 28:20, that they consist of those commands that Jesus gave (in a teaching context) to His disciples. Therefore, we could divide all of Jesus’ commands into two categories: those he gave to His disciples (category 1 commands) and those he gave to other people (category 2 commands). Category 1 commands, such as those given in the Sermon on the Mount, are binding on us today. Category 2 commands, such as those given to the blind man or to the woman at the well, do not (necessarily) apply to us today. Here, then, is the test. When I quote the words of a particular command of Christ, try to identify it as a category 1 or category 2 command without looking it up. Ready? Here’s the command: Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Was your answer “category 1” or “category 2”? If you are like most Christians, you said that this is a category 2 command. You recognized it immediately as the command given to the rich young ruler. Because, then, it was given to someone other than Jesus’ disciples, it must not apply to us today. Correct? Actually, wrong. You see, I was not quoting from the story of the rich young ruler (found in Luke 18, Matthew 19, and Mark 10). Rather, this quote comes from Luke 12:33, and Jesus was speaking to none other than to His disciples! This command reads, depending on which translation you use, as follows: Sell that ye have, and give alms (KJV). Sell your possessions and give to the poor (NIV). Sell your possessions and give to charity (NASB). Whether we like this command or not, there it is, in the same Bible you’ve been carrying to church with you every week. And if you are like many Christians I’ve talked to, this may well be the first time you’ve really noticed this command. Whatever it is that Jesus means by this command, we can know for sure that it was given to us by God Almighty. Whatever it is that He means, it is just as much a command as “Love your enemies” or “Swear not at all.” Whatever it is that He means, disobedience to this command is just as much disobedience as adultery or murder. Whatever it is that He means, Christ’s question to those who ignore this command is, “Why call ye me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” (Lk. 6:46). _______________________ This second main command is also found in Matthew 6, although different wording is used to communicate essentially the same message. Jesus has just given the negative command “Lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth.” Now He tells us: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven (Mt. 6:20). In today’s terminology, then, He is telling us to accumulate wealth in Heaven, to invest in Heaven, to save for retirement in Heaven. He is telling us, in essence, to make investments in Heaven in much the same way that people of this world make investments on earth. But how do we do this? What do we physically have to do to lay up treasure in Heaven? Luke 12:33 gives us the answer. Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth. So it’s by giving alms that we can make a real investment in a real place called Heaven! And this investment is totally secure from all the problems (thieves, rust, recessions, inflation, and stock market corrections) associated with earthly investments! What’s more, the rate of return is far better than that which any mutual fund manager has ever been able to consistently produce (“a hundredfold” according to Matthew 19:29). _______________________ The doctrine of nonaccumulation, therefore, means more than simply “don’t accumulate.” It also means, according to Luke 12:33, that we are to practice lavish generosity. There are many people who don’t accumulate earthly wealth, but at the same time do not really practice Biblical nonaccumulation. Perhaps because of either laziness or else excessive spending, they simply do not have any resources available to accumulate. Maybe they have even read Jesus’ command not to lay up treasures on earth, and in response have cut back on their work, or have started to live in luxury, or have otherwise begun to squander those funds that they formerly had been putting into a savings account each month. In other words, they have stopped laying up treasures on earth, but have not started laying up treasures in Heaven. They simply are not laying up treasures anywhere. But that is not Biblical nonaccumulation. This doctrine, rather, urges us to behave in many ways just like the people around us who are diligently saving for earthly retirement. We should work just as hard as they do (provided, of course, that our other responsibilities do not suffer). We should limit our personal spending just as they do. We should sell off poor investments, just as they do, to free up money to invest in something better. The primary difference is where we invest our money once we have it available to invest. Instead of putting it on earth, as they do, we make our investments in Heaven. And this is done through our giving. _______________________ Most Christians, even very wealthy ones, would state emphatically that they would be willing to sell their possessions and give away the proceeds if God asked them to do so. In no case would they walk sadly away from Christ as the rich young ruler did. In other words, they are waiting for some sort of “triggering event,” a “voice from the Lord,” so to speak, telling them to sell and give. Although they don’t really expect this triggering event to happen, if it ever should happen, they say, they would obey willingly without any delay. Perhaps this describes your attitude. If so, then I commend you for your willingness to do anything for Jesus. I only urge you to stick with this commitment if this triggering event should ever come to pass. I do have one question, however. What exactly would qualify as a triggering event? If a voice from the sky thundered out, “Sell and give,” would that qualify? If you saw a hand writing “Sell and give” on the wall above your head, would that be enough to convince you that God is speaking? What about Luke 12:33? Would reading that verse for the first time qualify as a triggering event? _______________________ Are we saying, then, that Jesus’ command to us (Lk. 12:33) means exactly the same thing as the command He gave to the rich young ruler? Perhaps not, because there are differences with the language used in these two commands. On the other hand, perhaps so, because these differences are extremely minor. As we compare the Luke 12:33 command with the command given in the story of the rich young ruler (Matthew 19, Mark 10, and Luke 18), here is what we find. The command given to the rich young ruler in Matthew’s account is virtually identical to the command (given to us) in Luke 12:33. The commands given to the rich young ruler in Mark and Luke, however, contain the added word “all” that thou hast, or “whatsoever” thou hast. Does this added word, then, prove a significant difference between that which God expects of us and that which he required of the rich young ruler? Was Jesus telling the rich young ruler to sell and give everything he owned, whereas He wants us only to sell and give part of what we own? I’m not sure that I’m ready to answer this question once and for all. I will suggest an explanation, however, that seems to resolve this question and deal fairly with all the Scriptures involved. It seems that Jesus, in both His command to us and His command to the rich young ruler, is telling us to distribute whatever possessions we do not currently need. In other words, sell and give those possessions that are clearly of an investment nature (as opposed to a “tool”). Sell and give those possessions that clearly qualify as “riches” (as opposed to basic needs such as food, clothing, shelter, and transportation). For someone as wealthy as the rich young ruler, this included virtually everything he owned. For someone who owns only two coats (Lk. 3:11), this would be only half of what he owns. _______________________ Whatever it is that Jesus means by His command in Luke 12:33, He does not intend for it to bring us into bondage, but rather to set us free. If we will but submit ourselves to this command, it becomes a doorway into some of the most wonderful opportunities we could possibly imagine. Once Jesus has set us free from the idea (produced by the society in which we live) that we need to be building up our earthly wealth, and has explained to us that giving to charity is actually an investment rather than an expense, we will begin to look at giving in an entirely new light. The opportunities in almsgiving are far more varied and exciting than earthly investing could ever be. Here are just a few examples of those opportunities: • Christian Aid Ministries is able to get one Bible printed and delivered to a Christian in China for the small sum of $2. The revival going on right now in that country has produced far more Christians than there are Bibles. It has been estimated that for every Bible that goes into China, potentially 10 people will give their lives to Christ. • Gospel for Asia can print and distribute eight New Testaments to India and surrounding countries for a donation of just $4.00. That’s only $.50 each! • Christian Aid Ministries has a program in which nearly $300 worth of material aid can be distributed for each dollar contributed. (This is because of the medicine and other products that manufacturers are willing to donate provided CAM pays for the shipping and handling costs.) • Lighthouse Publishing prints a booklet, Loaves and Fishes, which is distributed for free in prisons around the country. The hunger for this sort of reading material is great, and there are enough requests that thousands more of these booklets could be passed out each year if funds would be available. One dollar is enough to print and ship one booklet to a spiritually hungry prisoner. • Mount Zion Literature has recently had some wonderful opportunities open up in Cuba and Latin America for distributing gospel literature. (Remember that the impact of one book or tract is much greater in places such as these where God’s Word is restricted than it is in America where we are saturated with Bibles and Christian books.) This ministry provides subsidies so that this literature can be taken to these countries and either given away or else sold at greatly reduced prices. • Christian Aid Ministries’ Seed Project is used to distribute vegetable seeds and gospel literature for free to needy individuals in poverty-stricken countries. A contribution of $25 to this program provides 15 families with enough seeds to produce a semi truck load of vegetables! This is just a sampling of giving opportunities we have available, but they are enough to make the words of Jesus come alive when He said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Could there possibly be any earthly investment opportunity as exciting as those I have listed?