Holiness: For the Will of God Is Your Sanctification – 1 Thessalonians 4:3 [Annotated, Updated]

by J.C. Ryle

Moses also refused riches. The treasures in Egypt is an expression that seems to tell of boundless wealth that Moses might have enjoyed if he had been content to remain with Pharaoh’s daughter. We might well suppose that these treasures would have been a mighty fortune. Enough is still remaining in Egypt to give us a little idea of the money at its king’s disposal. The pyramids, obelisks, temples, and statues are still standing there as witnesses. The ruins at Carnac, Luxor, Denderah, and many other places are still the mightiest buildings in the world. They testify to this day that the man who gave up Egyptian wealth gave up something that even our own minds would find it hard to calculate and estimate. Let us consider once more how great this temptation was. Let us consider the power of money for a moment – the immense influence that the love of money has in people’s minds. Let us look around us and observe how people covet it and what amazing effort and trouble they will go through to obtain it. Tell them of an island many thousand miles away where something may be found that might be profitable if imported, and at once a fleet of ships will be sent to get it. Show them a way to make one percent more of their money, and they will consider you among the wisest of people; they will almost fall down and worship you. To possess money seems to hide defects, to cover faults, and to clothe a person with virtues. People can look past much if you are rich! But Moses is a man who...