Should I Sell All Of My Possessions? Should You?

Have you ever read a passage of scripture and suffered a knee-jerk reaction to it that feels an awful lot like true conviction, only to later find out that it was a simple misunderstanding? I have. It carries a bit of panic with it, sometimes even shame. But, as I said, it subsides once I spend a little more time with plenary scripture. Although those moments are further and fewer between nowadays, it can and does still happen from time to time.

I’ve learned to use conviction as motivation to dig my heels into the Bible. If something doesn’t “sit” right in my soul, I take it as an opportunity to learn. After all, doctrine is like a puzzle in the sense that if one piece is occupying the place of another, sort of jammed into place through human will/desire/error, it means two absolute things, minimally. First, there are now two pieces out of place and second, the big-picture perspective is marred. It’s really important that we use moments of confusion and/or conviction to adopt the Berean attitude (Acts 17:11).

Let me give you a perfect example of a passage that seems to give even the most devoted believers “fits” from time to time.

And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need.
The first question any well-intentioned believer is going to consider is the obvious one - should we sell all of our possessions and give to the poor? I suppose, at first glance, one might conclude that since the early church members did such things that it ought to stand, throughout all of human history, as the prototype example of living a life that brings glory to God. Before we take that leap of faith, let’s consider some more Holy Scripture.

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal.
But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.
And Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”
If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.
But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.
At one time or another in my life the above passages have stirred my soul and caused a bit of consternation in me. In every case, I was stricken with an immediate, lasting desire to ensure righteousness before God. Even if I was unprepared to make changes in my life, I at least wanted to understand if my heart was disoriented to my Lord. It turns out that this last thought is the key to unlocking the truth, which subsequently always releases me from my anguish.

God is after our hearts. Since the beginning of time, He’s wanted our affections, our devotion. You see, that’s what stands out, in context, in our initial passage, Acts 2:44-45. If you take just those two verses out of context, it’s easy to be falsely convicted by the actual acts that are recorded in the Bible. I think this is a grave error a lot of Christians make, and it’s the cause for unnecessary grief.

Context is key!

For example, instead of focusing on what the early church was convicted to do at the time, the righteous perspective is to consider their hearts. We find this perspective immediately when we consider the verb translated, “filled [pleroo in Greek],” in Acts 2:4, “And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit,” coupled with the action verb that translates, “continually devoting [proskartereo in Greek],” in Acts 2:42, “They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” What we may conclude is that the Holy Spirit was upon their hearts to “do” the will of God. This is what Jesus embodied, “Jesus *said to them, 'My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work'” (John 4:34).

Our affections for the Lord, when expressed, are what fill us up. It doesn’t matter what we do, only that whatever we do, we do as unto the Lord. “Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father” (Colossians 3:17).

Jesus Christ was completely “filled” with the Holy Spirit, always “doing” the will of His Father. No one has ever been more devoted to righteousness, for He is described as, “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14b). As such, there are several questions worth pondering in our self-induced times of doubt. Why wasn’t Jesus convicted to sell everything to feed the poor, to deny every last possible indulgence, to stop and heal every last maimed beggar, or solve world hunger (to get lofty for a moment)? I mean, He certainly witnessed all of these issues during His incarnation, right???

Again, the key is context. His Father had unique plans for Jesus, just like He has unique plans for each one of His children (that’s you and me). To take recorded actions from the Bible out of context and automatically assume them as appropriate for ourselves is an awful mistake, one that results in self-induced agony, doubt, and condemnation. Religious folks love to oppress others with their own so-called asceticism, pointing to their acts of giving. And yet Jesus had little tolerance for the religious crowd of His time (cp Luke 11, 18).

We are Christ’s sheep. He is after our affections. Since works vary greatly from sheep to sheep, we cannot presume that we are called to sell all our possessions like the early church did (ala Acts 2). Since this is absolutely true, we ought never fall prey to the temptation to doubt our own personal convictions to live a life as Jesus, our true Prototype, did. His heart was perfectly righteous before our Father in Heaven and He decided not to help every person He ever met with an apparent need.

If we are motivated out of affection for the Lord, we should help others. But in doing so we mustn’t ever sacrifice our commitment to integrity, lest we begin doing things with wrong motivation. Each of our lives has a unique context to it. As Paul wrote, “Each man must remain in that condition in which he was called” (1 Corinthians 7:20). If you, personally, are convicted to sell all your possessions and give to the poor, then by all means, do it! But, do not attempt to enslave others by supposing, and even publicly expressing, the need for all believers to follow suit, for this is surely not God’s will. The Son of Man has proven this to us.

At the end of the day, we must extinguish any/all doubts about the fruit we bear as believers. A good place to start is the first of the ten commandments (“You shall have no other gods before Me” - Exodus 20:3), for it embodies the affection our Creator desires we each have for Him. If our motivations are oriented to this commandment, our fruit will be righteous, for our true affections will be well placed.

You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
Is my heart sickened by the fact that I haven’t sold all of my possessions and given to the poor? No. Why not? Because I love the Lord and His Spirit hasn’t convicted me, personally, to do so. Ahhhh…freedom from religion and its fleshly bondage, “It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1). Do yourself the same favor and remember to read your Bible in context, never allowing the flesh or anyone else to place you into bondage to guilt and condemnation that isn’t yours to keep.

Love in Christ,

Ed Collins