- horse racing
- punchboards and pulltabs
- fund raising events such as casino nights, bingo, raffles, amusement games
- contests of chance operated by charitable and nonprofit organizations
- card rooms
- the lottery
- casinos and bingo halls operated by Native American tribes.
I. GAMBLING VIOLATES LEGITIMATE ECONOMY.
A. Three Legitimate Means Of Transferring Property:
1. Law of labor: Money is earned by effort expended.
2. Law of love: Where money is given w/o expectation or desire for return. -Gambling does not qualify in any of these.
B. God Recognizes These Principles Of Economy And Authorizes Them.
1. Labor - Eph. 4:28; 2 Thess. 3:l2; Luke 10:7.
2. Buying & selling - Matt. 13:44; Matt. 25:27 - Investment.
II. GAMBLING VIOLATES DIVINE LAW.
A. It Violates Private Industry Which God Ordained For Man & Makes Him Unfit For This Mission In Life - Gen. 3:19.
1. One’s income is to come from his own hard work:
a. 1 Ths. 4:11-12 - Work...Have need of nothing.
b. 2 Ths. 3:10 - If one won’t work, not a charity case!
B. The Essential Motive For Gambling Is Covetousness (Greed).
1. It seeks the rewards of another man’s efforts. (Get rich quick!)
2. "To fix passion upon," "To long inordinately for."
C. Gambling Is Accompanied By Other Evils.
1. Matt. 7:16 - Know by its fruits. (Jas. 3:11-12)
2. Fruits of gambling: Greed, broken homes, theft, organized crime, murder, drinking, suicide.
D. Gambling Is Opposed To The Good Of Society.
-Economic liability; Attracts the criminal element. (Creates a lawless environment); gov’t creates bureaucracy to oversee it. (Prov. 14:34)
E. Gambling Does Not Promote Godliness.
1. Phil. 4:8 - Can these things be said of gambling?
2. l Thess. 5:22 - Abstain from appearance of evil.
F. Neither The Amount Of The Wager Nor The Benefactor Of Your Losses Changes Gambling Into An Innocent Activity.
1. The amount of the wager does’t change its nature...gambling -- sin. (cf. Lottery)
2. "It’s for a good cause" (cf. bingo for a church, a school, Whatcom County Crisis Council) does not change that it violates God’s will!
Conclusion
Gambling is evil for secular & spiritual reasons. The child of God must not practice gambling in any way, shape or form!!
(Adapted from article by Gene Frost, GOSPEL ANCHOR, Vol. 7, No. 8, pages 25-27)
