© 12 Colin Melbourne
What is the Christian view of Gambling?
Q: Can I buy a lottery ticket? Where does it say in the Bible that gambling is wrong?
A: No Bible verse overtly states gambling is sin, but you find lots of scripture teaching us by implication that gambling is most definitely sinful.
Even the unsaved have the common-sense to see that gambling is dangerous. That is why most countries have strict laws regulating gambling.
Some nations licence gambling in approved premises, such as; horse-race betting shops, casinos, and slot-machine arcades.
Buying lottery tickets, football pools, stock-market share trading, and currency speculation, are plainly forms of gambling too.
Why is Gambling Harmful?
Gambling is dangerous because it is compulsive and addictive.
Gamblers lose self-control.
Gambling gradually destroys; individuals, marriages, and relationships. It leads to; debt, bankruptcy, child abuse, alcoholism, drug-addiction, prostitution, infidelity, theft, divorce, and suicide.
Why is Gambling Addictive?
Demons and demonic power incite people to gamble.
Their aim is to destroy people made in the image of God.
So Satan encourages children, youths, and adults to gamble by making it seem attractive; you’ll impress people, it will make you rich, it’s thrilling to take risks, the more risk, the more excitement, and so on.
We are all familiar with the subtle thoughts seducing demons instil in the minds of those who rebel against the light of God.
Why is Gambling Wrong?
Gambling is sin because it is rebellion against God.
Rebellion is the same as the abominations of witchcraft and idolatry. 1 Sam. 15:23a KJV;
For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.
Why Gambling is Sin
When you comprehend the motive, you will see it is unequivocally condemned in God’s Word.
God is our Creator, sustainer, and provider. He repeatedly declares to us, under both Covenants, that if we walk with Him, in loving trust and obedience, we will want for nothing. Deu. Ch. 6,8, Mtt. Ch. 6, Lk. 11:9-10, Ch. 12.
His Gospel of redemption has been sent to the ends of the Earth for the last two millennia.
It is no secret what we need to do to please our Maker, to be protected, and supplied with all we need for life, godliness, and happiness.
God provides for those who trust in Him: Father looks after His children perfectly.
He fed a million Jews in the Sinai desert every day for forty years.
He commanded Ravens to feed Elijah at the brook Cherith.
So He knows how to look after you.
Gambling is the opposite of trusting in Almighty God.
Can you see that?
Instead of relying on God, the gambler trusts in; chance, fate, fortune, and his own foolish ideas.
Rather than obey God, and do as he is told, he rebels, goes his own way, walks in the darkness, and falls into a pit.
God invites, “Come and receive the gift of life!” The chancer rejects God’s invitation, so that he can live as he chooses, indulging his lusts and ego. He wants to live his way, not God’s.
We were created to be dependent upon God, whereas gamblers depend on what they call “luck’.
They think it is random, pot-luck, but nothing is by chance. Prov. 16:33 KJV;
The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD.
Cast a lot, buy a lottery-ticket, roll the dice, spin the wheel of fortune, deal the deck, but know that Almighty God has full control over what happens.
Trust in luck, and you will pay for what you get, in the end.
Anyone who rebels against God’s word is certain to perish, sooner or later.
Everyone who trusts in God’s word is sure to be blessed.
Keep in mind also that greed and covetousness are factors in gambling, and they are also idolatry. (Col. 3:5).
God’s Word on Gambling
Here’s some scriptures teaching us to trust in God, not in luck, fate, or fortune. Pro. 3:5-6, Ps. 1:11, Ps. 37:3, Is. 26:4 KJV.
Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Ye that fear the LORD, trust in the LORD: he is their help and their shield.
Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.
Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength:
Those who trust in fortune, luck, chance, fate, and probability are rebelling against God’s commands to trust in Him.
It should now be obvious why all gambling is sin.
Gamblers lose control
Gambling is a seductive slippery slope of greed, sinners slide into addiction, and become compelled to gamble.
The trap is real, the power is demonic and deadly.
It doesn’t have to be gambling for money.
Two Asian parents recently became so addicted to computer game gambling, that they neglected their baby. It almost perished from malnutrition before welfare authorities rescued the dying child. The parents were playing for points, not money!
Saints of God are commanded to be self-controlled, sober, and temperate in all things, Gal. 5:23, 1 Th. 5:6,8, 1 Tim. 3:2, 1 Pe. 5:8, 2 Pe. 1:6 KJV.
For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
Ti. 2:11-12 KJV
We are to master our will, and chose what is right in God’s sight.
Those who ignore God’s command, walk in darkness, and are soon mastered by sinful compulsions. They become slaves to the evil power.
The Holy Ghost wrote, through Peter, warning of tempters and temptations, 2 Pe. 2:18b-19 KJV;
…they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error. While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.
Demonic forces aim to tempt man to sin through lusts of the flesh, and ultimately to overcome the man’s will and keep him locked in bondage to sinful habits.
Instead of being free to serve God, they are slaves to sin.
Look into the eyes of; a drug addict, a gambler, an alcoholic, or homosexual, and you will perceive they are shackled to their doomed lifestyle.
Only the Lord Jesus Christ can set them free.
We are to be masters of ourselves, not under the power of compulsions, 1 Co. 6:12 KJV;
All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.
Is your life tainted with gambling, are you a chancer, a risk-taker, under the power of any compulsion?
Does dealing the poker deck, the sound of gambling chips, or clatter of the roulette wheel, give you an irresistible thrill?
Come to Christ now, and be set free from those shackles of sin.
Summary:
- Where does the Bible say gambling is wrong? All the way through. Gambling is the sin of rebellion against God’s Word.
- The Bible commands us to trust in Almighty God our Creator, Redeemer, and Provider: Not in chance, luck, or fate.
- Only the power of God’s Spirit can set you free from gambling addiction.
Understanding the Anointing: Christians are instructed by the Holy Spirit to anoint the sick with oil and pray the prayer of faith for them to be healed. The oil symbolises the real anointing that is by God’s Spirit.
Does your fellowship teach what the Bible says about the anointing? This wonderful book covers all aspects of the anointing of God’s Spirit.
© 12 Colin Melbourne