THE BIBLE AND ECONOMICS

1. THE BIBLE AND ECONOMICS Dr. Jobe Martin Biblical Discipleship Ministries Rockwall, Texas

2. GENESIS 2:15 • “And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.” (KJV) • “Then the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it.” (NASB) • God ordained work for Adam before sin entered the Garden of Eden at the Fall .

3. 2 THESSALONIANS 3:10-12 • “For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat. For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies. Now them that are such we command…they work and eat their own bread.”

4. THE BIBLE AND PRIVATE PROPERTY • THOU SHALT NOT STEAL!In the 10 Commandments (Exodus 20:15) God gives His okay to private property. • Why would God say “Thou shalt not steal” if no one owned anything that could be stolen? • Private property can be stolen!

5. EXODUS 20:17 • “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house,… nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is thy neighbor’s.” • In this commandment God endorses ownership of private property. • The neighbor has things that belong to him and him alone. (Notice: Possessives)

6. EPHESIANS 4:28 • Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.

7. 2 SAMUEL 24:24 • “And the king said unto Araunah, Nay; but I will surely buy it of thee at a price: neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the Lord my God of that which doth cost me nothing. So David bought the thresh-ingfloor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.” • David bought and owned this property!

8. PROVERBS 24:27 • “Prepare thy work without, and make it fit for thyself in the field; and afterwards build thine house.” • It is not unbiblical to work hard and to build a house and to own it. • To Abram: “I am the Lord that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit.” Genesis 15:7

9. THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT: LAND, SEED, BLESSING • Land: The Palestinian Covenant (Deut. 28-30) amplifies the land aspect of Cov. • Seed: The Davidic Covenant (2 Sam. 7:8-17) amplifies the seed aspect of the Cov. • Blessing: The New Covenant (Jer. 31:27-37; Ezek. 36:22-32) amplifies the blessings aspect of the Abrahamic Cov.

10. THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT: LAND • Deuteronomy 28:11 • And the Lord shall make thee plenteous in goods, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, in the land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers to give thee. • God says ownership of goods, cattle and land is OK.

11. ECONOMICS IN THREE VARIETIES • Capitalist Economy: Free market and private property, voluntary philanthropy • Interventionist Economy: Limited Free Market, private property but heavy taxation and tariffs, voluntary and invol- untary philanthropy. • Socialist Economy: Abolition of private property, coerced philanthropy, taxation

12. ABOLITION OF PRIVATE PROPERTY • Karl Max believed that ownership of private property was the source of all evil. • Because he believed in the inherent goodness of man, when no one owned anything there would be no greed and mankind would live in peaceful coexistence.

13. KARL MARX: THE COMMUNIST MANIFESTO: • “You are horrified at our intending to do away with private property. But in your existing society, private property is already done away with for nine-tenths of the population; its existence for the few is solely due to its nonexistence in the hands of those nine-tenths. (Collected Works, NY:Internat’l Pubs., 1976, vol. 6, p. 500).

14. SOME PEOPLE SAY THERE IS COMMUNISM IN ACTS • Acts 2:44,45: “And all that believed were together, and had all things common; and sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men as every man had need.” (KJV) • “And they began selling their property and possessions, and were sharing them with all as anyone might have need.” (NASB)

15. ACTS 2:44, 45 • Some of the Jerusalem believers in the Lord Jesus began a community effort and came together to help each other. • This coming together was voluntary!! • They sold possessions and goods as people had needs. (NO GUN TO THE HEAD) • The Scripture does not say they all sold all their possessions and goods. (Jerusalem)

16. ACTS 2:44, 45 • This Scripture passage does not say that these early Christians had some sort of common fund by which they all pooled their resources, although this has been assumed from the statement “had all things common”+“laid $ at apostle’s feet” • What they actually did is more clearly stated in Acts 4:32.

17. ACTS 4:32 • “And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.” (KJV) • “…not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own; but all things were common property to them.” NASB

18. ACTS 4:32: commentary by Prof. Robert McBurney: • “Here we have a declaration indicating that the common effort was not a legal pooling of resources in a communal fund but rather a feeling of unity in dealing with common problems so that no man ‘said’ his possessions were his own but developed and used them…to fill the needs of the group as well as himself.”

19. THE JERUSALEM CHRISTIANS • A REASON FOR THE COMMUNAL ATTITUDE IN JERUSALEM: • Matt 24:2: “And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.” • “Sell it all, destruction is coming to us!!!!

20. ACTS 5:1-11: ANANIAS AND SAPPHIRA • They decided to sell a piece of property that they owned. • Scripture does not say they sold everything • They decided to keep some of the money. • They gave what was left to Peter, but ap- parently led him to believe that it was the total profit. They lied=not good, not smart

21. PETER TEACHES BIBLICAL ECONOMICS, ACTS 5:4: • Peter to Ananias: “While it remained, was it not thine own? And after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? Why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? Thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God. (KJV) • “While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? (NASB)

22. PETER TEACHES BIBLICAL ECONOMICS, ACTS 5:4: • Peter teaches that the property of Ananias and Sapphira belonged to them. • Their property was not required for some sort of communal fund. • To keep or sell their property was their own private business. • The property money was theirs to control

23. PETER TEACHES BIBLICAL ECONOMICS, ACTS 5:4: • The property money could be kept, spent or contributed to the common good. • If Ananias and Sapphira decided to give the money to the church it was a free-will, voluntary offering, no coercion. • Under communism: possessions are con- fiscated or expropriated and given to others by the dictator or committee.

24. DUMMELOW’S BIBLE COMMENTARY: • “The church of Jerusalem recognized the principle of private property. A disciple’s property really was his own, but he did not say it was his own; he treated it as if it were common property.” • Many early Christians kept title to their property but “said” it was for the benefit of all. You need a donkey? Use mine!

25. DR. ADAM CLARK’S BIBLE COMMENTARY: • “If there had been a community of goods in the church, there could have been no ground for (collections)… as there could have been no such distinction as rich and poor, if everyone, on entering the Church gave up his goods to a common stock.”

26. MATTHEW 25:14-30 • Property was not owned in common • (each servant had their own property) • Property was not owned in equal quantities • (three servants had differing amounts) • People are to enjoy their private property and make profitable use of it before God.

27. 1 CORINTHIANS 16:1,2 • “Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye. Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store as God hath pros- pered him,….” • Christian Capitalism: Give to the needs of the Church as God has prospered you!

28. GET OUT OF DEBT!!!!!!! • Romans 13:8 • “Owe no man anything, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.” • Being free of all debt is liberating: You are ready at a moments notice to serve our Lord Jesus in any place or way He calls you---you can pick up and go!

29. SOMEONE HAS SAID: • “Earn all you can!” • “Save all you can!” • “Give all you can!”

30. EARN, SAVE, GIVE ALL YOU CAN • This is only possible in a “Free Market-Capitalistic economic system.” (Biblical) • A Socialistic system establishes minimum and maximum wages. • Minimum wages put people out of work and on welfare. When a company is forced by law to increase its minimum wage it must increase its prices. price and decrease demand.

31. RENT CONTROLS • A socialistic government imposes maximum fees a property owner can charge clients. • Low rent is supposed to help the poor. • But Government controlled rent forces property owners to sell apartments as condominiums (therefore less apartments available), or maintenance is sacrificed and a slum is generated.

32. LAND CONTROLS • A socialistic government attempts to control all land resources. • Farmers are told what crops to grow and how much land to use or not use. • Land owners are restricted in the use of their property because of “wet-lands” designation or a protected animal or fish is supposed to live on their property.

33. BIBLICAL ECONOMICS • Ownership of private property. • Good stewardship of private property. • Free market with good stewardship creates wealth as well as opportunities for economic advantages for others. • McDonald’s, Wendy’s, etc. not only pro- vide entry level jobs for the unskilled, but a cheap outing for Dad, Mom and the kids.

34. BIBLICAL ECONOMICS • “Further, the competition in a free market works according to the principle of comparative advantage, which affirms the inherent worth of every individual.” (Dr. David Noebel, Understanding the Times, p. 714.) • “Capitalism is also more socially just than socialism. While the socialist calls

35. for economic equality, capitalism respects the Biblical requirement of equality before the law. This does not, as the socialist contends, cause the rich to get richer and the poor poorer. Rather, it encourages the rich to create more wealth, thereby aiding all of society. The policies of redis- tribution, including welfare systems, only multiply the problems for the poor--creating needless bureaucracies and con-

36. centrating too much power in the hands of the government. Conversely, capitalism en- courages freedom in the political sphere. This removes the danger of granting sovereignty to the state instead of to God. In practice, capitalism proves the only workable system. Socialism leads to op- pression, while capitalism offers unparal- leled freedom and economic opportunity.. Socialism ignores man’s inherent sinful-

37. ness; capitalism works to stifle man’s sinful tendencies and to turn even selfishness to service. Clearly, the Christian who accepts the Bible must also accept democratic capitalism or free enterprise as the system most compatible with his worldview.” (Understanding the Times, p. 714-715)

38. 1 Timothy 6:17-19 • “Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not high-minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; that they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to com-

39. 1 Timothy 6:17-19 • municate; laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.”