New Testament texts that discourage seeking wealth, wanting to “get rich,” trusting in riches, unjust/shameful gain, bribe-taking, luxury built on oppression, coveting, or profiteering from ministry. Scope: Protestant NT (27 books), ESV as base text. I privilege explicit discouragements (e.g., “cannot serve God and mammon,” “desire to be rich,” “love of money,” “greed/pleonexia,” “shameful gain,” “set your hope on God, not riches”). Neutral statements about provision are excluded unless the desire/pursuit/trust itself is warned against.
Exegesis (original-language snapshot)
-
mamōnás (μαμωνᾶς “mammon/wealth as a rival master”): Matt 6:24; Luke 16:9–13.
-
ploutos / plouteō / plousios (πλοῦτος/πλουτέω/πλούσιος “riches/be rich/rich person”): Matt 13:22; 19:23–24; Mark 4:19; 10:23–25; Luke 6:24; 8:14; 12:16–21; 18:24–25; 1 Tim 6:17; Jas 1:10–11; 5:1–6; Rev 3:17; 18:3, 11–17.
-
philargyria / philargyros / a-philargyros (φιλαργυρία “love of money” / “money-loving” / “not money-loving”): 1 Tim 6:10; Luke 16:14; 1 Tim 3:3; Heb 13:5.
-
pleonexia / pleonekteō (πλεονεξία “greed/covetousness” / “take advantage for gain”): Mark 7:22; Luke 12:15; Rom 1:29; 1 Cor 5:10–11; 6:10; Eph 4:19; 5:3, 5; Col 3:5; 2 Cor 2:17; 7:2; 12:17–18.
-
aischrokerdeia / aischrokerdōs (αἰσχροκερδεία “shameful gain” / “for shameful gain”): 1 Tim 3:8; Tit 1:7, 11; 1 Pet 5:2.
-
autarkeia (αὐτάρκεια “contentment/sufficiency”): 1 Tim 6:6; Phil 4:11–12; Heb 13:5.
-
apatē tou ploutou (ἀπάτη τοῦ πλούτου “deceitfulness of riches”): Matt 13:22; Mark 4:19.
Bible quotations assumed ESV (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2016). References are given without reproducing full text for brevity.
Catalogue by book
(Contiguous verses shown as ranges; separate ranges indicate distinct occurrences within a chapter.)
Matthew —
5:3, 6:19–21, 6:24, 6:25–34 [treasure on earth; cannot serve God and mammon; anxiety about material gain rebuked]; 13:22 [deceitfulness of riches]; 16:26 [gain whole world, lose soul]; 19:21–26 [rich young ruler; difficulty for rich].
Mark —
4:19 [deceitfulness of riches]; 7:22 [pleonexiai—greeds]; 8:36–37 [gain world, forfeit soul]; 10:17–31 [rich young ruler; hindrance of riches]; 12:41–44 [widow’s offering—commendation of sacrificial giving over surplus wealth].
Luke —
1:53 [God sends the rich away empty]; 3:13–14 [tax collectors/soldiers: no extortion for gain]; 6:20, 6:24–25 [blessing on poor; woe to rich]; 8:14 [riches choke the word]; 11:39–42 [greed within condemned]; 12:13–21 [rich fool parable]; 12:15 [guard against all covetousness (pleonexia)]; 12:22–34 [seek kingdom, not possessions; give alms]; 14:12–14, 14:33 [use wealth for the needy; renounce all]; 16:9–13 [unrighteous mammon; cannot serve God and money]; 16:14 [Pharisees lovers of money]; 16:19–31 [rich man & Lazarus]; 18:18–30 [rich ruler; hindrance of wealth]; 19:1–10 [Zacchaeus renounces unjust gain]; 21:1–4 [widow’s mites contrasted with surplus giving].
John —
2:16 [house of trade rebuked—commercialization of worship]; 6:26–27 [work for food that endures, not perishable]; 12:4–6 (esp. v.6) [Judas: thief; greed exposed].
Acts —
2:44–45; 4:32–37 [voluntary redistribution/generosity vs. hoarding]; 5:1–11 [Ananias & Sapphira—deceit tied to money]; 8:18–23 [simony rebuked]; 20:33–35 [Paul coveted no one’s silver or gold; “more blessed to give”].
Romans —
1:29 [greed among vices]; 7:7 [law exposes coveting]; 13:9 [commandment: you shall not covet].
1 Corinthians —
5:10–11 [do not associate with anyone called brother who is greedy]; 6:9–10 [greedy will not inherit the kingdom]; 10:24, 10:33 [seek others’ good, not own advantage].
2 Corinthians —
2:17 [not peddlers of God’s word for profit]; 7:2 [we took no advantage—pleonekteō]; 8:9 [Christ’s poverty vs our riches—ethical paradigm]; 9:5–11 [liberality vs covetous grasping]; 11:7–12 [Paul refused pay to block accusations of profiteering]; 12:14–18 [I seek not what is yours but you; not taking advantage].
Galatians —
2:10 [remember the poor]; 5:19–21 (incl. orgies/envy) → greed adjacent; 6:7–10 [sow to Spirit; do good—generosity orientation].
Ephesians —
4:19 [greedy practice every impurity]; 4:28 [work, so you may share]; 5:3, 5 [covetousness/greed not even named; covetous person is an idolater].
Philippians —
2:3–4 [look to others’ interests]; 3:7–8 [counted gain as loss for Christ]; 3:18–19 [mind earthly things]; 4:11–13 [contentment in all circumstances]; 4:17 [not seeking the gift (money) but fruit].
Colossians —
3:2 [set minds on things above, not on earth]; 3:5 [greed (pleonexia) = idolatry].
1 Thessalonians —
2:5–6 [no pretext for greed; not seeking glory/benefit from people]; 4:11–12 [quiet work ethic vs parasitic gain].
2 Thessalonians —
3:6–12 [work, not sponging off others—corrects disorderly material dependence].
1 Timothy —
2:9–10 [modesty, not ostentatious wealth display]; 3:3 [overseer not a lover of money (a-philargyros)]; 3:8 [deacons not greedy for dishonest gain (aischrokerdeis)]; 6:5–10 [those who desire to be rich fall into snare; love of money root of all kinds of evils; pursue godliness with contentment]; 6:17–19 [charge the rich: set hope on God, be generous, store treasure for the future].
2 Timothy —
3:2 [people will be lovers of money]; 4:10 [Demas loved this present world].
Titus —
1:7 [overseer not greedy for gain]; 1:11 [false teachers for shameful gain]; 2:10 [no pilfering; integrity with resources]; 2:12 [renounce worldly passions].
Hebrews —
10:34 [joyfully accepted the plundering of property—non-attachment]; 11:24–26 [Moses chose reproach over treasures of Egypt]; 13:5 [keep your life free from love of money; be content].
James —
1:9–11 [rich will fade; boast in humiliation]; 2:5–7 [God chose poor; rich oppress]; 4:1–4 [passions at war; friendship with the world]; 4:13–17 [presumptuous profit-planning rebuked]; 5:1–6 [woe to the rich: hoarding, luxury, withheld wages].
1 Peter —
3:3–4 [adornment not external wealth]; 5:2 [shepherds not for shameful gain (aischrokerdōs)].
2 Peter —
2:3 [false teachers in greed exploit]; 2:14–15 [hearts trained in greed; Balaam loved gain].
1 John —
2:15–17 [do not love the world or things]; 3:17 [closing heart to a brother in need while having world’s goods condemned].
Jude —
11 [Balaam’s error for pay]; 16 [gain advantage by flattery—opportunistic greed].
Revelation —
2:9 [poverty—yet spiritually rich]; 3:17–19 [Laodicea: “I am rich”—self-deception rebuked]; 18:3, 7, 9–20 (esp. 11–17) [Babylon’s luxury/commerce condemned; merchants mourn the collapse of luxury trade].
Theological analysis (concise)
-
Arminian/Provisionist & Dispensational synthesis: The NT squarely forbids the desire to be rich (1 Tim 6:9), love of money (6:10; Heb 13:5), and serving mammon (Matt 6:24; Luke 16:13). Discipleship re-orders the heart toward contentment and generosity (Phil 4:11–13; 1 Tim 6:17–19). In Dispensational terms, while Israel’s civil code is not directly binding on the church, the NT ethical core—no covetous desire, no trust in wealth, no ministry for profit, no exploitation—remains explicit and universal.
-
Calvinist/Reformed contrast (for clarity): Reformed voices agree on the moral content, often emphasizing the bondage of the will to mammon apart from grace (e.g., idolatry language Col 3:5). Convergence is substantial: greed = idolatry; contentment + generosity = obedience.
Historical context (brief)
Greco-Roman society normalized patronage, sumptuary display, latifundia wealth, and commercialized religion. The NT counters with kingdom economics: non-rival master (God vs mammon), almsgiving, shared burdens, ministry free from profiteering, and communities that honor the poor (Acts 2; Jas 2; Luke 12, 16).
Scholarly insight (no quotations)
For conservative evangelical exegesis of these themes:
-
Craig L. Blomberg, Neither Poverty nor Riches: A Biblical Theology of Possessions (Downers Grove: IVP, 1999).
-
D. A. Carson and Douglas J. Moo, An Introduction to the New Testament, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2005), selective book-level ethics notes.
-
Thomas R. Schreiner, New Testament Theology (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2008), chs. on discipleship and possessions.
-
Ben Witherington III, Jesus and Money (Grand Rapids: Brazos, 2010).
Practical application (succinct)
-
Reject get-rich aims (1 Tim 6:9–10); 2) Cultivate contentment (Phil 4:11–13; Heb 13:5); 3) Use wealth to do good (1 Tim 6:17–19); 4) Refuse shameful gain in ministry/work (2 Cor 2:17; Tit 1:11; 1 Pet 5:2); 5) Dethrone mammon—serve God as sole Master (Matt 6:24).
Notes on “exhaustive”
The list above collates every clear, directly relevant NT text warning against desiring/ seeking / trusting in wealth or gaining it unjustly, including ministry-profit motives.