“Who Owns the Wool?”
by Dr. Paul Chappell
“What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
1 Corinthians 6:19–20
Dr. John Rice said that one of the sermons he heard as a young man had a powerful influence on his life. An old Texas preacher named Dr. J. B. Gambrell delivered a message entitled “Who Owns the Wool?” Dr. Rice remembered, “His argument was very simple. He who owns the sheep owns the wool. And if God owns the Christian, then He owns all his time. He owns all his money. He owns all his family. A Christian ought to say, ‘All I am, all I have belongs to God. I want to use it for Him.’”
There is no circumstance in which a Christian has a right to say “No” to God’s command. It is an act of defiance and rebellion to disobey what the Lord says we are to do—not to mention an act that demonstrates we do not love Him. Jesus said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15). Surely there have been times when people have misinterpreted Scripture and incorrectly claimed Divine support for a position. In those cases, it is not disobedience to God to do what He says rather than what men may declare God wants.
But where the Bible is clear, we must obey. We have no right to do otherwise. Because God owns us, both by right of creation and by right of redemption, everything that we are and everything that we have is His. We have a profound obligation to obedience because of the price that was paid for our salvation. A Christian who clings to his possessions without regard to God’s ultimate ownership is a disobedient servant.
1 Corinthians 6:19–20
Dr. John Rice said that one of the sermons he heard as a young man had a powerful influence on his life. An old Texas preacher named Dr. J. B. Gambrell delivered a message entitled “Who Owns the Wool?” Dr. Rice remembered, “His argument was very simple. He who owns the sheep owns the wool. And if God owns the Christian, then He owns all his time. He owns all his money. He owns all his family. A Christian ought to say, ‘All I am, all I have belongs to God. I want to use it for Him.’”
There is no circumstance in which a Christian has a right to say “No” to God’s command. It is an act of defiance and rebellion to disobey what the Lord says we are to do—not to mention an act that demonstrates we do not love Him. Jesus said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15). Surely there have been times when people have misinterpreted Scripture and incorrectly claimed Divine support for a position. In those cases, it is not disobedience to God to do what He says rather than what men may declare God wants.
But where the Bible is clear, we must obey. We have no right to do otherwise. Because God owns us, both by right of creation and by right of redemption, everything that we are and everything that we have is His. We have a profound obligation to obedience because of the price that was paid for our salvation. A Christian who clings to his possessions without regard to God’s ultimate ownership is a disobedient servant.
Today’s Growth Principle:
Remembering God’s ownership of our lives and all that we possess has a powerful impact on all we do.
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