GAMBLING
When a man
takes to the gaming table, it seems as if his whole soul ran out at the sluice,
and his entire life is just nothing to him. Wife, children, substance – all
must go at the throw of the dice or be staked at the running of a horse.
Sermons, 43.597.
The soldiers
at the foot of the cross threw dice for my Savior’s garments. And I have never
heard the rattling of dice but I have conjured up the dreadful scene of Christ
on his cross, and gamblers at the foot of it, with their dice bespattered with
his blood. I do not hesitate to say that of all sins, there is none that more
surely damns men, and worse than that, makes them the devil’s helpers to damn
others, than gambling.
C.H. Spurgeon
Sermons, 45.319.
Does the Bible explicitly
condemn or forbid gambling? No. However, I do believe there are certain principles
that militate against it.
1.
Gambling is poor stewardship. The believer’s
responsibility is to use wealth to promote the kingdom of God. The emphasis in
Scripture is never on the use of money with a view to increasing one’s personal
fortune but on putting our money to use in the service of those who are in
need. It simply is not wise and responsible behavior to take what God has
graciously bestowed and entrust it to circumstances over which we have no
control (Pr. 12:11).
2.
The biblical command is that the believer should obtain
money by faithful and diligent exercise of God-given talents in work. Gambling
is an attempt to obtain money that promotes sloth and is often an excuse for
not working.
3.
Gambling promotes covetousness and greed, whereas the
Word of God encourages contentment (Phil. 4:11-12; Heb. 13:5). If one is seven
times more likely to be struck by lightning than to win a million dollars in a
state lottery, why do people continue to buy tickets? Greed!
4.
Gambling appears to create a condition in which one
person's gain is necessarily another person's loss. In other words, in
gambling, someone always loses. If so, it would seem to violate brotherly love
and justice.
5.
There is a fundamental flaw in the character of any
government that seeks to capitalize financially on the moral weakness of its
members.
6.
Gambling appears to violate our belief in the sovereignty
of God.
7.
Gambling has such a powerful potential for enslaving
those who participate that it may well violate the admonition of Scripture that
we not be mastered by anything or anyone other than the Holy Spirit (1 Cor.
6:12).
Sam Storms
Gambling, November 6, 2006. Used by Permission.
But didn't the OT endorse the casting of “lots”? Yes, but
casting of lots “is a biblical illustration not of gambling (for no money or
other value was placed at risk in hopes of greater gain) but of individuals
trusting a sovereign God to direct the ‘chance’ disposition or direction of the
lay of the lots. People used ‘chance’ to understand God's will. Their faith was not in chance but in God” (Rogers, CRJ, p. 21-22).
Be it noted, also, that subsequent to the casting of lots in Acts 1 the
practice is nowhere mentioned (or endorsed) in Scripture. It would appear that,
with Pentecost and the coming of the fullness of the Holy Spirit, God has
dispensed with all such forms of ascertaining His will.
Sam Storms
Gambling, November 6, 2006. Used by Permission.
We are followers of Jesus. He had no place to lay His
head and did not accept the demonic temptation to jump off the temple for the
jackpot of instant recognition. The Calvary road is not paved with Powerball
tickets, but with blood. The Church was bought once by One
who refused the short cut of instant triumph. It will never be bought by those
who dream of riches.
John Piper
Don’t Play the
Lottery for Me! January 1, 2003, www.DesiringGod.org, Used by
Permission.
It is wrong to wager with a trust fund. And all we have,
as humans, is a trust fund. Everything we have is a trust from God, to be used
for His glory. “[God] Himself gives to all mankind life and breath and
everything” (Acts 17:25). Faithful trustees may not gamble with a trust fund.
They work and trade: value for value, just and fair. This is the pattern again
and again in Scripture. And when you are handling the funds of another, how
much more irresponsible it is to wager!
John Piper
Don’t Play the
Lottery for Me! January 1, 2003, www.DesiringGod.org, Used by
Permission.