Pastor Tom Johnson, November 13, 2011
As of last week, Silver is worth about $34 per ounce. Gold is worth about $1790 per ounce. They are valuable because they are rare and precious metals. They are shiny and malleable. They have been made into jewelry and art for centuries. Because of their value and light weight, silver and gold have also been used as a currency. Molded into a round piece of metal, it is much easier to enter the marketplace with a coin in your pocket than a cow on a leash.When you go to market with your silver or gold, you have some convincing to do; the other party must believe that the metal is of the same or greater value than whatever they are selling—silver and gold—for animals, grain, goods, or services; both have placed their faith in the value of these metals. Money can buy anything. So it seems. Our text from Zephaniah says neither silver nor gold will be able to save us from the day of the Lord’s wrath. What our Scripture is trying to do is not threaten us with God’s anger but for us to stop putting our faith in silver and gold.
Think about how vulnerable silver and gold make us. Silver and gold are two elements on the periodic table. As soon as someone no longer believes that silver and gold are worth anything, the metals are useless. And if that is true about rare and shiny metal, how much more true is that of our modern currency? Think about how much faith is required to believe that paper money has value…or checks…or credit cards. They’re just paper and plastic. The prophet wants us to see that our money is hanging on a thin thread of faith in the value of the almighty dollar.
In these few weeks, we have been leading up to our Consecration Stewards Sunday which is next week. The program mandates that I preach about money today. I was pleased when I looked at our appointed Old Testament reading for this morning a few weeks ago, and it said it so simply: “Neither silver or gold can save you.” This morning, God invites us to sit back and reflect on what money is, or rather, what it is not. Money is not a savior. Jesus alone is Savior. Scripture warns that money is the root of all sorts of evil (1 Tim 6:10). Silver and gold cannot deliver us from danger, the prophet tells us. Silver and gold cannot feed empty stomachs. Silver and gold cannot protect from hail and storm. Silver and gold cannot cure an illness. And even more importantly, we cannot buy ourselves out of our sin and brokenness.
Only the Word of God is the Bread of Heaven will satisfy our spiritual hunger. Only the righteousness of Christ will spiritually clothe us. The Lord alone is the strong tower who shelters us from storm and battle. The water, Word, and Holy Spirit of baptism alone make us spiritually clean. Money cannot buy a clear conscience. It cannot right any wrong. It cannot deliver us from temptation. It cannot bring us the assurance of God’s forgiveness and love. We may love money but money does not love us back. We love the Lord because he first loved us. That is not to say that money is useless. We should remember that even money is the Lord’s. He put the silver and gold deep within the earth to be mined. God is the one who provides us with resources, jobs, and money for our daily needs. He answers our prayer, “Give us this day our daily bread.”
And so Scritpure reminds us that money should always be understood and used in the context of God as our Creator and Sustainer. Our money is really our stewardship of God’s resources in the context of his mission to spread his Kingdom and good news on earth. 1 Peter chapter one says, “You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish” (1 Peter 1:18,19). The only currency that is of true value and power is the precious blood of Jesus. It is even more rare than silver and gold. It is even more priceless. It is even more powerful.
And here is the most astounding thing: what is costly to Jesus—what cost him his life—is free to us. Jesus died and rose again to answer our prayer, “Forgive us our debts and we forgive our debtors.” He has paid off all our debts and has purchased a place for us in the Kingdom of Heaven not with silver and gold but with his own life. We are now clothed, fed, housed, and royal citizens by the rare and priceless blood of Jesus.
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