Faithful Financial Stewardship

"Jesus spoke more about money than he did about heaven and any other subject. Both the Old and New Testaments teach that God is the owner of all (Genesis14:19,22; Matthew 5:45; Acts 17:28), and that we are stewards or trustees and wholly accountable for everything (Luke 16:1-13). The key word in the dealing of believers with Mammon is 'faithfulness': a steward must be faithful (1 Corinthians 4:1f)" [source].

"The Bible cautions us against undue worry (Matthew 6:34) but also urges us to manage our affairs intelligently (the entire book of Proverbs). It is certainly true that there is no perfect security in the world, and if you try too hard to achieve security, you'll neglect other, greater goods. But foolishness does not become wisdom just because it comes out of the mouth of [a Christian], and God has never told us we're exempt from the laws of economics and arithmetic. I have heard people give bad economic advice and, confronted with the likelihood that it will turn out badly, they just smile and say, 'Don't trust the ways of man; trust God.'  That quickly becomes a universal excuse to ignore facts. it is silly and in my opinion violates Matthew 4:7 (Do not put the Lord your God to the test)" [source?].

"We need to be sensitively led by the Holy Spirit in the days ahead, both individually and corporately ... Led in our giving to those in need. Wisdom in all our dealings, particularly financial, as we experience the predicted economic meltdown. Get your debts paid, live sensibly, try to clear mortgages, plan your finances prayerfully. Buy things by faith and be led by the Holy Spirit, not by whims and fancies. Get rid of what you don't need. Sell it or give it to somebody in need. Steward properly what you have. So many Christians abuse and don't look after what they have. We are accountable and have to stand before God for our stewardship one day" [John Angliss, Newsletter, September 2011].

Borrowing and Debt

"Romans 13:8 exhorts us not to owe anyone anything. If we have borrowed money, we should repay it as soon as possible. One of the blessings that God promised the Israelites was that if they obeyed Him they would never have to borrow money (Deuteronomy 28:12)" [source].

"While most Christians today treat debt as part of the normal Christian lifestyle, it is foreboding to observe that, out of more than 50 passages which speak directly about debt - and more than 20 that refer indirectly to debt - there are no positive or even neutral references. They are all extremely negative! Moreover, the free use of debt has not been the historic position of the church until we entered the post-Christian era of the twentieth century. These facts should motivate any serious Christian to investigate carefully the topic of debt to be sure that we are pleasing Christ and protecting our family" [source].

"'Jesus commands us to lend (Luke 6:34-35), which proves that borrowing is not wrong. What's condemned in Scripture isn't borrowing, but not paying back what you owe (Psalm 37:21)'.  This defense of borrowing is only a half-truth. What is overlooked are the debt principles that describe when it's right to lend and borrow, namely, only for true poverty, only from a fellow-believer, only at no interest, and only for less than seven years. Without these biblical boundaries, borrowing plainly oversteps the moral will of God" [source].

"Debt is viewed universally in Scripture as a very negative thing. In Israel, needing to borrow money was a sign of God's curse for disobedience (Deuteronomy 28:43-45). In the 'Lord's Prayer' debt is used as a metaphor for sin in the petition, 'Forgive us our debts.'  In light of the whole of the Bible's testimony, why would any Christian voluntarily go into debt?" [source].

"Buying things on credit is just another way of borrowing and getting into debt. it is better to live without some gadget than to live without the blessing of God" [source].

"If one has been unrighteous in financial matters in his unconverted days, he cannot say after being converted, that since God has forgiven his past, he need not make any effort to set right his past wrongs. Money stolen must be returned as soon as possible after conversion. Debts must be repaid at the earliest too. Even if you have to skip a few meals and sell something unnecessary form your house, you must do that and settle such matters quickly. That is the way of discipleship. Perhaps you do not have enough money to make restitution. You could always start by paying back a little - perhaps just ten rupees - each month. God will honour those who honour Him. The Bible says that where the willingness is present, God accepts us according to what we are able to do (2 Corinthians 8:12). It was when Zaccheus promised to make restitution that Jesus said that salvation had come to him - not before that (Luke 19:9). God can never bless unrighteousness. it is because restitution has not been made by many Christians that they do not grow spiritually" [source].

Lending to Others

"We must certainly be willing to give to those in need, but we need to ask the Lord about it each time. ... When we meet someone who is genuinely in need, if we seek the Lord, we will get a witness in our spirit as to whether to give him money or not" [source].

Lending with Interest?

"Some people question the charging of any interest on loans, but several times in the Bible we see that a fair interest rate is expected to be received on borrowed money (Proverbs 28:8); Matthew 25:27). In ancient Israel the Law did not prohibit charging interest on one category of loans: those made to the poor (Leviticus 25:35-38). ... the law genuinely helped the poor by not making their situation worse. ... [and] the law taught an important spiritual lesson: for a lender to forego interest on a loan to a poor person would be an act of mercy ... gratitude to God for His mercy in not charging His people 'interest' for the grace He has extended to them" [source].

"[D]ebt principles that describe when it's right to lend ... only at no interest, and only for less than seven years. Without these biblical boundaries, borrowing plainly oversteps the moral will of God" [source].

Savings

"The Bible exhorts us to learn from the ant how to save for the future (Proverbs 6:6-11). The ants have no leader who exhorts them to save food for the winter season. They have wisdom to do that themselves. But many believers do not have such wisdom. When they suddenly have a large unexpected expenditure, they have to beg or borrow from others. There would have been no need to do that, if they had been careful with their expenditure in previous years, and saved something for the future. So it is good to have some savings" [source].

Tithes and Offerings

"God instituted a financial order which includes tithes (Leviticus 27:30-33; Matthew 5:20) and offerings (Romans 12:8; 1 Corinthians 13:3). It is noteworthy that tithing was before the Law; it was not of the Law. Offerings were to be abundantly and joyfully from the heart (2 Corinthians 8f)" [source].

The Love of Money...

"Money is not in itself evil, but the love of it is (1 Timothy 6:7ff). The first disciple to fall was over money, which he never lived to spend (John 12:4ff, 13:7-29); the first sin in the Church concerned the giving of money to the Lord (Acts 5:1-10); and the judgement of God upon the world finance system is symbolised by 666, which bestows the power to buy and sell (Revelation 13:16-18)" [source].

"'Thou shalt have treasure' (Mark 10:21-22). What he gave up on earth should be stored above, treasures should await him there ... The wealth which this young man was called upon to give up was in itself not wrong, the wrong was in his giving up his heart to it. It caused him to offend, it was to him what our Lord in the foregoing conversation had warned His followers against: the hand or foot or eye becoming a source of temptation. We daily pray against temptation; do we never mock our own prayers by wilfully setting up idols for ourselves? Things which are in themselves perfectly harmless, nay, even intended by God to be blessings, may, from the place we let them occupy in our hearts, become snares to us, which will cause our fall. Our possessions, whether great or small, are God's loans, and we but stewards, whose accounts He will reckon up Himself. Have we been faithful?" [source?].

Blessings and Cursings

"[T]here is an awful lot [in the Bible] about blessings and cursings on the use and abuse of money ... If one withholds what belongs to the Lord, one can expect to pay the consequences: a curse does not come without a cause (Proverbs 26:2)" [source].

National Fiscal Morality

"It is the task of a righteous government to care for the poor and disenfranchised, and also to resist injustice. His Grace is sick of hearing of how 'Government cuts' are 'destroying communities', 'harming family life' or 'making the poor poorer'. These 'cuts' (such as they are) are concerned with living within our means: it is simple cause and effect that the greater the nation's debt, the more interest is paid. And when a nation is spending billions of pounds on debt interest every year, those are billions which are not being spent on the poor, on healthcare, on welfare or on education. ... the only true and lasting solution is the one which pays down unsustainable levels of debt and balances the annual budget ... in a righteous financial order, debts are repaid and the books are balanced ... The pursuit of fiscal righteousness is undoubtedly painful, but that's because it demands discipline and we are just not used to living within our means" [source].

"There is [very] little [in the Bible] about taxation and nothing about state welfare" [source].

Thus saith the LORD,
Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way,
and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls
(Jeremiah 6:16)

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