The Greater Inheritance (Part 1)
In the modern church we have lost the concept of our eternal promise. We sing about heaven and claim that
we believe in our inheritance in heaven, but when it comes to living out faith, the lives of most Christians
contradict these claims of faith. The church has lost sight of what it means to sacrifice. We have no concept
of denying ourselves in this life for the promise of the life to come. People will gladly sacrifice eternal
blessings for worldly goods and pleasures and even claim that this is the blessing of God. Christian TV and
radio is filled with teachers who claim to be living in God’s lavishness and teach others that wealth and
health is the measurement of spiritual maturity. This is in spite of the clear teaching of scripture. 1 Timothy
6 addresses this very issue:
3 If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our
Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which accords with godliness,
4 he is proud, knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words, from
which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions,
5 useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that
godliness is a means of gain. From such withdraw yourself.
6 Now godliness with contentment is great gain.
7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.
This passage uses strong language against these teachers. The Bible says that these teachers are proud and
know nothing. They have corrupt minds and don’t have the truth of God, they believe that godliness
produces gain and we are commanded to withdraw from such teachers. Instead of withdrawing, people are
flocking to them. Why? It is because people love the world and do not love God. These teachers promise to
fulfill what our human nature wants and anyone who loves the world more than God will choose a false
teacher over the truth of God. Look at these passages:
1 John 2:15
Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father
is not in him.
Matthew 6:24 "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or
he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.
This is not a new phenomenon. When God’s people in the Old Testament began to turn from Him, leaders
rose up who taught this same message. God condemned such leaders in Isaiah 56:
10 His watchmen are blind, They are all ignorant; They are all dumb dogs, They cannot bark;
Sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber.
11 Yes, they are greedy dogs Which never have enough. And they are shepherds Who cannot
understand; They all look to their own way, Every one for his own gain, From his own territory.
The watchman and shepherd are the ones who are supposed to lead others and keep watch over the spiritual
health of God’s people. Because of the absence of sound doctrine, teachers arose who were self-serving and
completely blind to the truth of God. The Bible warns that the greedy person trouble’s his own house.
Proverbs tells us not to put our eyes on money. Riches are temporary and will fly away as if it has wings.
When wealth disappears, those whose hope is in wealth will fall with it. People who lose sight of Jesus
Christ will seek out anyone who promises fulfillment of their selfish desires. On the surface it seems
unbelievable that people will invest their money in `miracle spring water’, `prayer cloths’ and countless
other gimmicks these teachers will conjure up to market for money. When these gimmicks and the promise
of God’s blessing fails, they claim that it isn’t the `faith formula’ that is in error, it is the fault of the person
wanting the blessing. They either claim, "You don’t have enough faith to receive" or they use Buddhist or
New Age doctrine which teaches that negative thoughts or words overcame the good. And if the claim that
I can send $1000 and get $5000 in return is true, why aren’t the preachers who claim this doing the same?
Why don’t they give $1000 to every charity and needy person and let God flood them with cash? People
are not deceived by these gimmicks. People are deceived by their selfish desires.
A couple of years ago I watched a woman speak out against a telephone scam. She was called and told that
she had unclaimed money available to her. The crooks only needed $500 to process the paperwork and fees
and she would get thousands in return. She later said that she knew it was a lie, but the thieves told her
what she wanted to hear and it sounded too good to pass up. People who are deceived submit to anyone
who will promise what they already want to hear. Spiritually, deception is always a rejection of truth. There
are people who want God, and there are people who just want what God can give them. Those whose
reward is God already have what they want. Those whose love is for things and not God, will be tossed by
deception until they get discouraged or realize that the truth is more valuable than the all the world if they
could gain it.
Understanding Our Reward
Instead of investing our hope in a world that will be judged and destroyed, the true believer’s hope is in
eternity. One basic principle that we must all understand is that the blessings of God is not our reward. God
is our reward. Anyone who seeks to find fulfillment in anything other than God has created a false god.
You will never be satisfied with anything - even blessings - if God is not the ultimate focus. Ecclesiastes 5
warns us of this:
10 He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver; Nor he who loves abundance, with
increase. This also is vanity.
Wealth untold will not make a person happy for long. Solomon wrote this statement after spending years
pursuing pleasure. Solomon is believed to be the richest man who ever lived. He had over 1000 wives and
every pleasure the world had to offer. He also made the statement that he didn’t deny himself anything. If
he saw a pleasure he pursued it with all his heart. He fell away from God and even pursued other gods. At
the end of his life, he returned to his senses and wrote the book of Ecclesiastes. He said that he denied
himself nothing, but found that life was empty and meaningless - vanity.
We are shown what the greater reward is. Look at these passages:
Genesis 15:1 After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, "Do not
be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward."
This is again affirmed when Israel was dividing up their inheritance of the Promised Land after being freed
from the bondage of Egypt:
Exodus 10:9 Therefore Levi has no portion nor inheritance with his brethren; the LORD is his
inheritance, just as the LORD your God promised him.
In the first passage, Abraham was given many blessings, but God made it clear that He was Abraham’s
reward. The tribe of Levi was given the same message when the Levites were set apart to be the priests of
Israel. God did not give them land or possessions. God said that He was their inheritance. From the human
perspective, there is no way to comprehend how marvelous this is. We as Christians are not promised the
world as our inheritance. We are promised the Lord. Of course in the end, the believer who chooses the
Lord as their reward will also inherit the earth and everything the Lord possesses, but the possessions are
not the focus.
Making a Sacrifice
Those who teach that our reward is in this life have to avoid or explain away many scriptures that
contradict their teaching. It is true that many times we will benefit in this life, but many times God will also
call us to sacrifice. Obeying God does not always put you in the path of worldly gain. In fact, many times
we are forced to choose between our gain and our obedience to God. Psalm 19 tells us that we should desire
the law of the Lord more than fine gold. Only a Christian who finds their reward in God can chose
obedience when it requires us to sacrifice the things of this life. The scripture addresses this as well. Look
at Hebrews 10:
34 for you had compassion on me in my chains, and joyfully accepted the plundering of your
goods, knowing that you have a better and an enduring possession for yourselves in heaven.
35 Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward.
36 For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive
the promise:
37 "For yet a little while, And He who is coming will come and will not tarry.
38 Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him."
39 But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of
the soul.
Consider the powerful truth in this passage. To understand this, we must look back at the persecution many
in the church endured. The early church was persecuted by both Israel and Rome. Verse 34 says they
"joyfully accepted the plundering of their goods". Does this fit the `wealth gospel’? Today, teachers claim
that losing wealth is a punishment from God, but the Bible teaches that it is a joy to endure this when we
stand upon truth. Their confidence `has great reward’ and their `enduring possessions’ are in heaven.
Clearly the reward was not in this life or the possessions they were losing. It was the eternal reward and the
promise of God yet to be fulfilled. Those who focus on prosperity will fall into the warning of verse 39 -
they will draw back to perdition. Drawing back to perdition means abandoning the faith and returning to a
life as an unbeliever.
Why is it that some people in the early church endured with joy when their possessions were robbed and
others became discouraged and returned to the world? One group looked for the true promise; the other
group looked at this life as though it were the promise. It is not. When people expect God to give them the
world, they will be disheartened and believe that God has let them down. In Luke 6, Jesus confirms what
Hebrews teaches:
22 Blessed are you when men hate you, And when they exclude you, And revile you, and cast out
your name as evil, for the Son of Man’s sake.
23 Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For indeed your reward is great in heaven, for in like
manner their fathers did to the prophets.
24 " But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.
Rejoice and leap for joy? If a man or woman truly believes God, nothing is counted as a loss in this life.
God has promised to abundantly restore anything that we lose for His sake. Therefore, persecution becomes
a joy. It is no longer a loss, but a gain. Those who can’t see this will turn back when the going gets rough.
They will take the consolation prize of this life at the expense of their eternal reward God longs to give
them.
Consider Hebrews 11:
24 By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter,
25 choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures
of sin,
26 esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the
reward.
Compare the faith of Moses to the definition of the `Word Faith’ movement. The prosperity doctrine of the
Word Faith movement teaches that speaking words of faith produces blessings and wealth. Yet Moses’
faith produced just the opposite. He had all the wealth and power of the greatest nation on earth during that
day. Moses was next in line to the throne. Humanly speaking, it would make sense to claim the wealth and
power and then use it for God’s purposes. Spiritually speaking, God didn’t not call Moses to inherit Egypt.
God called Moses to leave everything behind, humble himself and identify with the affliction of God’s
people. Instead of descending down on the problem from a position of power, God’s plan for Moses was to
surrender all and rise from the depths of humility by God’s power and overthrow the enemy from below.
Instead of Moses being a mighty deliverer, Moses was a humbled man and God was the mighty deliverer.
It takes true faith to lay aside every claim to this life and surrender all to Jesus Christ. It may seem to make
more sense to use the world’s approach, but as the Bible states, "the message of the cross is foolishness to
those who are perishing, but to those who believe, it is the power of God". By faith, Moses gave up
everything that the prosperity gospel teaches that we should be obtaining. Moses was never given the
power he gave up. Moses never had the wealth he gave up. By faith, he refused these things because he
understood that the greater inheritance waited for Him beyond this life. He forfeited the consolation for the
true reward.
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