God's Curse Upon Gambling!

One of the greatest hypocrisies that people are facing right now is the sin of legalized gambling. Why do I dare say it is hypocritical? It's because for one legalized gambling promotes all type of filth. We have laws against adultery but not against pornography, we have laws against stealing but not against gambling which is really a sin. Today, Christians must voice out not only against legalized prostitution and legalized pornography, they must also voice against legalized gambling. 1 Timothy 6:10 is true that in these days, the love for money is the root of all evil in the secular world plus gambling is mainly rooted upon the love for money. We ought to think that in every way, money is not evil but the love for it is really evil. Gambling in itself is fed because of the love of money. Pastor Mike Stahl a Baptist preacher had also revealed the ill effects of gambling, in truth it is a very lucrative business that sadly destroys lives. To be honest, gambling has been one of the many reasons why people refuse to accept the Lord. After witnessing to a gambling a gambler, she refused to get saved lest her gambling addiction be gone and she loved gambling. She was so obsessed with gambling that she chose to remain unsaved. The whole thing about gambling itself is sinful.

The inner values of gambling are materialism, greed, reliance on chance and not God, exploitation, laziness, covetousness and uncharitable attitude. How can I say it is so? For one, gambling is all about gain, most lazy people I know are gamblers because they want to earn money fast and they are selfish - these idiots only think about themselves. But to reality, money that is easy come is easy go. Everything about gambling is sinful and nothing can justify it. It leads to addiction, poverty (most gamblers go poor while casinos go rich out of the money they bet on it), crime (such as brawling and stealing), dishonesty, family strife that can lead to divorce or even murder, escape into alcoholism and exploitation of the poor. Also I have noticed that in the casinos, it's a place for all unhealthy gossip. The Bible warns in Ephesians 4:29 to let no corrupting speech come out of one's mouth. Casinos are one of the many places where backbiters gather to have fun which again also stirs up brawl. Also, crime really increases with gambling even murder is involved. I knew somebody who was killed by the loan sharks after he lost a lot in gambling.

The great Reformer, Martin Luther said,"Money won by gambling is not won without sin and self-seeking sin." How true indeed. Although Martin Luther upheld salvation is by faith alone, however he was a complete opponent of Antinomianism and insisted for faith to be authentic, it must result to good works. And with that in mind, gambling is definitely something a sensible Christian is usually against. How can I even start to accept somebody who claimed he was a Christian and yet he was a boozer, a womanizer and a gambler? Obviously, he was a false convert, his conversion was a sham to start with. John Calvin the Reformer outlawed gambling in Geneva, Scotland. Gambling was always antagonized by Christianity. Protestant preachers and Baptist preachers have had many to say against gambling. Perhaps some of the most famous among them was Protestant preacher Billy Sunday and the great Baptist preacher, Charles Haddon Spurgeon. Charles Haddon Spurgeon always made it a point that though salvation was by faith alone, it was never by a faith that is alone but rather, authentic faith brings forth works. In fact, no true Christian would ever condone to gambling much more be enslaved by it.

And to think of gambling, Charles Spurgeon said about gambling, "I can never look upon dice except with abhorrence. If you ask me why; I reply,— Because the soldiers at the foot of the cross threw dice for my Saviour’s garments, and I have never heard the rattling of dice but I have conjured up the dreadful scene of Christ upon 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 help to damn others, than gambling." He also said, "I hold (gambling) to be fraught with more deadly evils than anything else that could be invented, even by Satan himself. I saw an old respectable-looking man put down ten pounds. He won, and he received twenty. He put down the twenty; he won again, and he had forty. He put down the forty, and received eighty. He put down the eighty, and took up one hundred and sixty pounds. Then he put it all in his pocket, and walked away as calmly as possible. The man would lose money by that transaction, because he would go back on the morrow, and probably play till he would sell the house that covers his children’s heads, and pawn the very bed from under his wife. The worst thing that can happen to a man who gambles is to win. If you lose, it serves you right, and there is hope that you will repent of your folly; if you win, the devil will have you in his net so thoroughly that escape will be well-nigh impossible. I charge every young man here, above all things never have anything to do with games of chance. If you desire to make your damnation doubly sure, and ruin both body and soul, go to the gaming-table; but if not, avoid it, pass by it, look not at it, for it has a basilisk’s eyes, and may entice you; and it has the sting of an adder, and will certainly destroy you if you come beneath its deadly influence."

Billy Sunday said, "Listen, 1905, Kansas City voted out 250 saloons, 200 gambling houses and 60 houses of prostitution. They worried if they voted out the saloon they would ruin their economy but that wasn't the case. Next year bank deposits increased $1,700,000. Court costs went down $25,000. And new starts, building starts, new businesses, new homes went up 209%. Now before they voted out the saloon they were getting ready to add a new addition to the jail, but after the saloon's closed the jail doors swang idle on their hinges and even the poor house began to empty. The next year was 1906 and 600 children between the ages of 12-18 entered school for the first time in their life, because they didn't have to stay home and support a drunken father." Gambling is a very bad ruin to the economy, from the lottery to the casinos they ought to be shut down. Also he said, "Jesus taught that all would be lost who did not believe on Him. I have seen multitudes of saved people, but I have yet to see one who did not get his salvation by believing on Christ. Find the place in this world that comes the nearest to being like hell itself, and you will find it filled with those who are haters of Jesus Christ. You can't argue it. Go into saloons, gambling hells, and such places, and the people you find there are all haters of Jesus Christ, and the more of them you find the more the place in which you find them will be like hell itself." Billy Sunday continued his ministry as one of the most hated men for the wrong reasons. He was hated because he was against sin.

John F. Macarthur of Grace to You Ministries, called gambling the anti-thesis of charity. He defined gambling as, "Something valuable is placed at risk, something belonging to someone else is staked as a prize and an element of chance supposedly determines the outcome." He also stated, "In all gambling, wealth is either lost or changes hands; no new wealth or other benefit is created. Gambling violates every biblical principle of economics." Calling it an economic fraud was also pretty good indeed. His five reasons are quite true which are because it denies the reality of God’s sovereignty (by affirming the existence of luck or chance), it is built on irresponsible stewardship (tempting people to throw away their money), it erodes a biblical work ethic (by demeaning and displacing hard work as the proper means for one’s livelihood), it is driven by the sin of covetousness (tempting people to give in to their greed) and it is built on the exploitation of others (often taking advantage of poor people who think they can gain instant wealth). In fact, it's very right to call it the anti-thesis of charity like the other preachers before him like his favorite Charles Haddon Spurgeon to whom he (and me) love to quote from. After he was blasting Joel Osteen's prosperity theology which is utterly heretical, he also has done good in attacking the evils of gambling. In fact, aside from going against booze and other evils, I am glad that he had also exposed gambling as a heretical evil while most pastors in America might be guilty of gambling like those pastors who participated in the utterly confusing world of Evangelicals and Catholics Together. I'm glad for preachers like him and Paul Washer who are blasting out gambling even when Billy Sunday and Charles Spurgeon have long joined the Lord Jesus in their Heavenly Home.

In fact, false religion in itself is also linked to gambling, friends. I've known how gambling managed to really breed idolatry. I remembered somebody who was a religious Roman Catholic and a gambler. She had declared herself a Christian but obviously, she was not. How in the world can I buy a Christian who is a habitually sinful person? That I cannot for Titus 2:11-14 is clear, God's grace leads to a changed life of good works and the true converts blossom in good works, false converts are just pretenders. In fact, I've known some people who have been consulting occultists before they go gambling to "ensure their win" only to end up losing in their gambling which can be safely said that gambling also arouses superstition one way or another. And in fact a love for gambling is also another reason why I see so many religious but lost people refuse to leave their religion, because most of their gambling mates are with their religion. Maybe one could remember how some Roman Catholic bishops while supposedly condemning gambling were guilty of consenting to gambling by still allowing infamous gambling lords and gamblers to still continue attending masses with them, saying that they'll change with these foul sinners attending masses but it just got worse because this is all show business. Enslaved by gambling? Forsake the works salvation system which only adds hypocrisy to hypocrisy. Trust in Christ alone, repent of your sins and surrender therefore to Him, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords and He will get rid of that gambling habit. The choice is yours, don't let the love for sin stop you from trusting the Savior. You must CHOOSE between sin and the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.