Pentecost—The New Church -- Acts 4:32-5:16 The Righteous and Gracious Provision for the Poor
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Pentecost-The New Church • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 2:16:53
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· 643 viewsContinuing our study through the doctrine of Economics in light of Acts 4:32-5:16, with emphasis on the Righteous and Gracious Provision for the Poor.
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The Temple Mount in AD 30
Here is the Temple Mount as portrayed in a painting by Artist: Balage Balogh, Archaeology Illustrated.com in the Rose Guide to the Temple written by Randall Price.
What I want you to see in this picture - is the view from where the artist is positioned in the upper Jewish Quarter, where the Apostles come from staying in the Upper Room.
As this event unfolds they presumably cross the from the Upper Quarter to the Temple Mount, via the bridge now know as Wilson’s bridge and arch named after the archaeologist who identified it in modern times.
Here is another view:
And another
Sunday March 10, 2024
Sunday March 10, 2024
Review
Review
We are examining the Doctrines of:
Scripture Based Prayer
Prayer When Facing Opposition
The Importance of Prayer
Last week we began a review, in Acts 4:23- of the prayer of Peter and John with their own in response to having been released by the Sanhedrin under the command to not speak at all nor teach in the name of Yeshua.
Acts 4:23
23 And being let go, they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them.
Interestingly, the word companions is not in the text, but is inserted by the translators to try to make more sense. The variously translate the single word [ιδιος — idios = their own] own with own company, own companions, own people, own friends, and mos accurately in the NET translation as “fellow believers” .
23 When they were released, Peter and John went to their fellow believers and reported everything the high priests and the elders had said to them.
The NET translator notes tell us “this phrase is most likely a reference to other believers rather than simply their own families and/or homes, since the group appears to act with one accord in the prayer that follows in v. 24.”
“At the literary level, this phrase suggests how Jews were now splitting into two camps, pro-Jesus and anti-Jesus.”
Biblical Studies Press, The NET Bible First Edition; Bible. English. NET Bible.; The NET Bible (Biblical Studies Press, 2005).
The book of Acts is beginning to break out the paradigm of of Jews who have embraced and are followers of Yeshua Moshiac, and those who are opposed to Yeshua Moshiac. Interestingly this tension will follow throughout the book, and also set the tone for what we read in many of the epistles.
Acts 4:24
24 So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord and said: “Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them,
So we find then, that the followers of Yeshua Moshiac are in agreement, in one accord. They appeal in the next verse to the Great Hallel of Psalm 46. Now remember that Hallels are Praise of God. הַלְלוּ־יָהּ Hallelu-Yah is Praise Yah = Praise YahWeh or Praise YHWH.
The main take awy from our study last week, is that the Hallel’s are a reference to the creator, speaking of the sovereignty of God.
In dealing with difficulties, we are to follow this example and raise the issue of God’s Sovereign Role and Position as we consider, prepare, and enter into prayer. It is also how we successfully walk in faith in our prayers - by concentrating on God’s Sovereign Role.
James 1:2-5 addresses this same perspective which is only possible by an awareness of the sovereignty of God.
2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,
3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.
4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
This particular Hallel that they reference in prayer is the beginning of the Great Hallel that runs from Psalm 146 to Psalm 150. This was used in the morning daily service. Peter and John were on their way to the temple for prayer at 3 pm which was the same time that the Lord Yeshua-Jesus had died. Interestingly the morning prayer time was when the Great Hallel was typically quoted.
Hallels
Hallels
Hallels
There are 150 psalms. The last five, 146-150, are called “the great Hallel.” There are a couple of different hallel groups.
There is the Egyptian hallel, which was sung at Passover— Psalms 113-118. We've mentioned this in our review of the Passover. But didn't note that they were called the Egyptian hallel. The Egyptian Hallel was recited during the first evening of the Passover supper and on occasions of great joy. These psalms were chanted in the temple during specific Jewish festivals of assembly, including the Passover, Pentecost, Tabernacles, and Dedication (Chanukkah). The Levites would chant these psalms verse by verse, with the people responding by repeating the verses or intoning “hallelujahs”. Jesus and His disciples likely sang these psalms during the Last Supper (Matthew 26:30 ; Mark 14:26 ).
30 And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
26 And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
Other groups of Hallel Psalms:
Psalms 104-106
Psalms 111-113
Psalms 115-117
Psalm 135
Psalms 146-150
In the synagogue worship, specific Hallel Psalms were used in the daily morning service.
Psalms 135-136
Psalms 146-150
In the final collection of Hallel praise psalms found in Psalm 146-150, we have our Psalm which the Acts 4 believers are praying:
Psalm 146:1
Psalm 146:1
1 Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul!
Praise the LORD, O my soul!” the author or reciter of the Psalm refers to himself, calling upon himself to praise the Lord and focus people's attention.
Then, there is a declaration of praise where the psalmist vows to sing praise to God.
Psalm 146:2
Psalm 146:2
2 While I live I will praise the Lord; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.
We can see that there is a synonymous parallelism here. The first line is mirrored in the second line.
Then having made his declaration or his vow of praise he begins to express in the next two verses his convictions about praise and why God is worthy of praise. This is seen specifically in vv. 3-5. Why is God worthy of praise?
Psalm 146:3
Psalm 146:3
3 Do not put your trust in princes, Nor in a son of man, in whom there is no help.
He is worthy of praise because only God is immutable and all-powerful. He is contrasted to the fallibility and finitude of human beings. Don’t put your trust in mortal man -- there is no salvation there. All the promises that politicians make cannot provide health and happiness. They can only do what the US Constitution says, and that is to provide an environment where the individual citizen in utilizing his volition can decide to pursue his path for health and happiness. The government can’t provide it.
Psalm 146:4
Psalm 146:4
The reason is explained. Psalm 146:4
4 His spirit departs, he returns to his earth; In that very day his plans perish.
Man doesn’t live forever. He is going to die, and his spirit will leave the body. Man is finite; he is only here for three-score and ten, as Moses said in Psalm 90. His life is like a vapor; his thoughts perish. This is not saying that there is no life after death, it is saying that as far as the impact that any of us is going to have on this earth it ends the day we die.
Psalm 146:5
Psalm 146:5
But in contrast. Psalm 146:5
5 Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, Whose hope is in the Lord his God,
The God of Jacob preserved Jacob's family by bringing them down to Egypt, where He had earlier brought Joseph. It is the God of Jacob who delivered the Israelites from slavery in Egypt and brought them back to the land, etc. “… Whose hope [confidence] is in the LORD his God.” So in vv. 3-5, the psalmist is saying that God, because of who He is, because He is omnipotent and infinite, is the one who is worthy of praise.
Then, the quote that Peter and John pick up in Acts chapter four. This God is defined. He is not just the God of Jacob. He is the God who made heaven and earth.
Sunday March 17, 2024
Sunday March 17, 2024
Review
Review
Based on Acts 4:23-31, we are examining the Doctrines of:
Scripture Based Prayer
Prayer When Facing Opposition
The Importance of Prayer
We reviewed the meaning last week of Acts 4:23 which is reflected best in the NET translation:
23 When they were released, Peter and John went to their fellow believers and reported everything the high priests and the elders had said to them.
This sets the stage for understanding the context of the prayer to come, which is based on the division between those who are Jewish follows of Yeshua Moshiac Yisrael, and those who are rejecters of Yeshua as Moshiac Yisrael.
This is the opposition that is being faced by the New Church. Understanding that this is being responded to by the Apostles and New Church by appealing to the sovereign God of Creation, and who is the covenant God of Israel.
But Israel is split, and the book of Acts is demonstrating for us the magnitude of that split which is not incidental, but is earth shattering. Remember that Yeshua Jesus himself said that he who is not with Me is against Me?
But you may not reflect in your thinking that this is entirely Messianic. But let’s check it out before we move forward, and understand what we are dealing with, seen in Matthew 12:22-30 , Mark 3:22-27, and Luke 11:17-23.
22 Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw.
23 And all the multitudes were amazed and said, “Could this be the Son of David?”
First, let’s look at Isaiah 35:5-6
5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, And the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
6 Then the lame shall leap like a deer, And the tongue of the dumb sing. For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, And streams in the desert.
This was a sign predicted for the Messianic Kingdom, and therefore fulfilled by Peter and John when they healed he-who-was-lame-from birth, and also fulfilled by Yeshuah-Jesus in the healing of the blind and mute man.
The Messianic Bible Study Collection B. The Casting out of a Dumb Demon
The act of casting out demons was not all that unusual in the Jewish world of that day. Even the Pharisees, rabbis, and their followers had the ability to cast out demons. But casting out demons within the framework of Pharisaic Judaism required one to use a specific ritual, which included three stages. First, the exorcist would have to establish communication with the demon, for when a demon speaks, he uses the vocal cords of the person he indwells. Second, after establishing communication with the demon, the exorcist would then have to find out the demon’s name. Third, after finding out the demon’s name, he could, by the use of that name, cast out the demon. There are occasions that Yeshua used the Jewish methodology, as in Mark 5, when He, being confronted with a demoniac, asked the question, “What is your name?” The answer on that occasion was, “My name is Legion for we are many.”
However, there was one kind of demon against which Judaism’s methodology was powerless, and that was the kind of demon who caused the controlled person to be dumb or mute. And, because he could not speak, there was no way of establishing communication with this kind of a demon; no way of finding out this demon’s name. So, within the framework of Judaism, it was impossible to cast out a dumb demon. The rabbis had taught, however, that when the Messiah came, He would be able to cast out this type of demon. This was the second of the three messianic miracles: the casting out of a dumb or mute demon. In verse 22, that is exactly the kind of demon Jesus casts out.
In verse 23 that raised the very question among the Jewish masses, which the miracle was intended to raise: And all the multitudes were amazed, and said, Can this be the son of David?
Was this not the Jewish Messiah? After all, He was doing the very things they had been taught from childhood that only the Messiah would be able to do. They never asked this question when Yeshua casts out other types of demons. However, when He casts out a dumb demon, they raised the question because they recognized from the teachings of the rabbis that this was a messianic miracle.
24 Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, “This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.”
25 But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.
26 If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?
27 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges.
28 But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.
29 Or how can one enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house.
30 He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.
Jesus is here revealing that there are two authority systems at work. Those who have rejected His Messianic miracles are under the authority and in harmony with the evil one. By virtue of proclaiming that He cast out demons by the power of Beelzebub, they revealed their inner darkness, the evil treasure that brings forth evil things Matthew 12:36-37 .
36 But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.
37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
It is quite revealing to our text in Acts 4, that although the leaders of Israel rejected the Three Messianic Signs which they themselves taught only the Messiah could produce, yet they still sought after a Messianic sign in Matthew 12:38-50. We won’t go there today, but do take note that Yeshua responded that the only sign remaining was the sign of Yonah/Jonah. As Yonah must have been a miraculous sign to the Ninevites, the resurrection of the Messiah would be to all Israel.
We now come back to Acts 4:24 , which quotes from Psalm 146:6, which is the pinnacle of Psalm 146, and we continue our review of Psalm 146.
24 So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord and said: “Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them,
As mentioned previously, the Hallel or Praise Psalms are all addressed to the creator, who is uniquely understood as the sovereign of creation. Praise then, is always a reflection of God’s sovereignty.
Let’s pick back up in verse 6, of Psalm 146.
Psalm 146:6
Psalm 146:6
Psalm 146:6
6 Who made heaven and earth, The sea, and all that is in them; Who keeps truth forever,
We have here an incredible overarching view of God’s role in relation to man. Peter and John go to this verse because it emphasizes the authority of God over His creation—which includes the Sanhedrin and the religious leaders in Jerusalem who are threatening them and are in opposition to them. But there is something else that goes on as we read through the rest of this psalm. We begin to see ten things that the psalmist emphasizes about what God provides for us. And this is an excellent lesson for us on how to pray from the psalms and be reminded of God’s character, His attributes, and connect this to other promises.
The first thing he says after he has made the identification in verse 6 is,
“… Who keeps faith [truth] forever.” That means He is faithful. He holds to the truth; He doesn’t vary. He is the one who keeps faith or keeps truth forever. The word emeth [truth] is a word that could mean faithful, meaning stable, non-changing, and truth also has that idea of that which is eternal and never changes.
This reminds us of Lamentations 3:21-23 , written by Jeremiah after the first temple was destroyed.
21 This I recall to my mind, Therefore I have hope.
22 Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not.
23 They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.
Hope doesn’t come from our emotions, it comes from what we are thinking about—eternal truth.
Psalm 146:7
Psalm 146:7
The next attribute mention is in the first part of Psalm 146:7 NASB “Who executes justice for the oppressed…”
7 Who executes justice for the oppressed, Who gives food to the hungry. The Lord gives freedom to the prisoners.
A reminder of Psalm 37:5-6
5 Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass.
6 He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, And your justice as the noonday.
The idea here is that there is the oppressed who are being treated unjustly but God is the one who will take a stand for us and bring forth our righteousness.
7 Who executes justice for the oppressed, Who gives food to the hungry. The Lord gives freedom to the prisoners.
The second thing: “…Who gives food to the hungry.” He provides the physical sustenance that we need. E.g., Elijah at the brook Cherith, the feeding of the five thousand, the supply of manna for Israel in the wilderness. Luke 12:22-23
22 Then He said to His disciples, “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on.
23 Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing.
Jesus said that we are to put our focus on spiritual food. Matthew 4:4
4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ”
7 Who executes justice for the oppressed, Who gives food to the hungry. The Lord gives freedom to the prisoners.
“…The LORD sets the prisoners free.”
This is what happens at salvation. We are freed from the tyranny of sin. Cf. Romans 6:6 ; Galatians 6:1 .
6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.
1 Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.
Psalm 146:8.
Psalm 146:8.
8 The Lord opens the eyes of the blind; The Lord raises those who are bowed down; The Lord loves the righteous.
Cf. Ephesians 1:18
18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,
8 The Lord opens the eyes of the blind; The Lord raises those who are bowed down; The Lord loves the righteous.
8 The Lord opens the eyes of the blind; The Lord raises those who are bowed down; The Lord loves the righteous.
…The LORD raises up those who are bowed down,” those who are depressed, overwhelmed by their circumstances. He is the God who encourages and gives us real comfort from His Word.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,
4 who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
8 The Lord opens the eyes of the blind; The Lord raises those who are bowed down; The Lord loves the righteous.
“The LORD loves the righteous.” His love is not based on who we are but on who He is.
8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Psalm 146:9
Psalm 146:9
9 The Lord watches over the strangers; He relieves the fatherless and widow; But the way of the wicked He turns upside down.
The Lord is the one who protects us. He watches over us and those who cannot protect themselves.
2 The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
3 I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised; So shall I be saved from my enemies.
3 Be my strong refuge, To which I may resort continually; You have given the commandment to save me, For You are my rock and my fortress.
4 Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked, Out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man.
Psalm 146:10
Psalm 146:10
10 The Lord shall reign forever— Your God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the Lord!
The focal point of the opening part of the prayer in Acts 4 is God’s power.
9 Remember the former things of old, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me,
10 Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things that are not yet done, Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, And I will do all My pleasure,’
When we say God is the God who created the heavens, the earth and the seas and all that is in them, that sets the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob apart from all other gods and goddesses that human beings invented, because this God is not a God of human invention.
Our Apostolic focus in Acts 4, after their encounter with the Sanhedrin is on who God is … on who God is AND that God is bigger than their problems.
Importance of Prayer and how we Pray
Importance of Prayer and how we Pray
As we are studying this tremendous prayer of the apostles following the arrest of Peter and John, their interrogation by the Sanhedrin, and their release by the Sanhedrin. Then, we saw that they came back to the other disciples, where they gave a report of what had happened. Once they had told everything that had happened—which emphasizes the importance of getting all the facts before we pray—they put together and thought through a prayer.
We do not always emphasize the importance of prayer as much as we should. Prayer is to characterize everything in our lives.
Colossians 4:2
Colossians 4:2
We have had commands like Colossians 4:2 that we are to devote ourselves to prayer, which means we are to make it a consistent priority in its habit pattern.
2 Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving;
It is something that we need to do to overcome a lot of distractions and a lot of things that come into our lives to interfere with prayer; we have to make that a point.
I Thessalonians 5:17
I Thessalonians 5:17
1 Thessalonians 5:17 says that we are to pray continuously.
17 pray without ceasing,
The purpose of the communication is:
To acknowledge sin. That relates to confession.
To express adoration and praise to God. This can be anything from just a rehearsal of His attributes that have impressed us to how God has answered prayer.
We should give thanks and focus on our gratitude to God for what He has provided us and how He has worked in our lives.
Interceding for others.
Praying on behalf of our own personal needs.
Our prayer that we are studying begins in verse 24 and extends through verse 30 is primarily a petition prayer.
It is a prayer of petition for God to strengthen them in terms of the mission He has assigned them in light of the adversity and opposition that they are experiencing.
So, there is no expression of thanksgiving here, not a confession of sin here.
There is an expression of orientation to God in terms of His character in the opening address, expressing it in terms of the sovereign authority of God over everything in creation. That is a passage that comes out of Psalm 146 and relates to one particular verse that is tied to the character of God, specifically God as creator.
Then, the next verse talks about the God who executes justice for the oppressed, which is where they are. They are pulling out of a particular psalm which deals within the psalm with the problems that they are facing in terms of a government authority that has out-stepped its authority given by God.
End of 3/17/24
End of 3/17/24
Sunday April 7, 2024
Sunday April 7, 2024
I want to start today’s class with some clarification and review of the the differences between
The Inspection and Sacrifice of the Lamb at Passover in the Temple vs. in the Family Setting.
The Inspection and Sacrifice of the Lamb at Passover in the Temple vs. in the Family Setting.
During the Second Temple era, the Passover lamb (also known as the Korban Pesach) was a central feature of the Passover celebration. For clarification let’s explore the differences in the timing of inspection and sacrifice for personal use versus temple use:
Personal Use:
Inspection: On the 10th day of Nisan, each family would select a spotless, unblemished lamb or goat to be used for their Passover meal. This lamb was brought into their home for a period of four days.
Purpose: The four-day period allowed the family to carefully inspect the lamb, ensuring it met the requirements of being without any defects. This process emphasized the importance of selecting a worthy and pure offering.
Sacrifice: On the 14th day of Nisan, in the late afternoon, each family would slaughter their lamb. The blood was collected in a basin, and the lamb was roasted and eaten during the Passover meal at night.
Temple Use:
Inspection: The priests and Levites were responsible for inspecting the lambs brought to the Temple. These lambs were intended for the public Passover celebration.
Purpose: The inspection ensured that the lambs met the same criteria of being unblemished and pure. The priests and Levites meticulously examined each animal.
Sacrifice: On the 14th of Nisan, the priests would slaughter the paschal offerings in the Temple courtyard. The blood was caught in basins, and the lambs were prepared for roasting. This public celebration marked the climax of the Passover festivities.
Why the Four Days?The practice of bringing the lamb into homes for four days had several purposes:
Commemoration: It served as a memorial to the Israelites’ deliverance from Egyptian slavery.
Notice to Egyptians: Taking the Egyptian deity (the lamb) into their homes for four days was a bold act, ensuring that the Egyptians noticed and were reminded of the Israelites’ defiance of their gods. The Passover lamb symbolized redemption, freedom, and the covenant between God and His people. Whether for personal use or temple use, the lamb’s sacrifice held deep spiritual significance during this sacred festival. 🐑🔥🍞
Symbolism and Ritual:
The lamb symbolized **redemption** and **deliverance**. Just as the blood of the lamb protected the Israelites from the angel of death in Egypt, it represented God's saving grace.
Families participated in the **ritual** of selecting, inspecting, and sacrificing the lamb. This process reinforced their identity as God's chosen people and their connection to the Exodus story.
Emotional Attachment
Families likely did become **emotionally attached** to the lamb. It lived with them for four days, sharing their space and becoming part of their daily life.
The lamb was not merely a ritualistic object; it was a living creature. Children would have interacted with it, fed it, and cared for it.
The emotional attachment allowed families to **internalize** the symbolism. The lamb's innocence and purity represented their hope for redemption.
Anachronism?
While many view emotional attachment to the lamb as anachronistic, it aligns with the **human experience**. People throughout history have formed bonds with animals.
Ancient families were no different. They likely felt a mix of emotions—awe, responsibility, and perhaps even sadness—as they prepared to sacrifice the lamb.
Parental Role
Good parents would indeed explain the concepts to their children. They would emphasize the lamb's role in the Passover story and the greater purpose behind its sacrifice.
However, **shielding children from emotions** was not necessarily the goal. Instead, parents would guide their children through understanding the deeper meaning.
The impending death of the lamb was a **teachable moment**. It allowed parents to discuss themes of sacrifice, redemption, and faith.
In summary, the emotional attachment to the Passover lamb was both **natural** and **intentional**. Families grappled with the tension between attachment and sacrifice, ultimately connecting their personal experience to the broader spiritual narrative. 🐑❤️🔥
Review
Review
Based on Acts 4:23-31, we are examining the Doctrines of:
Scripture Based Prayer
Prayer When Facing Opposition
The Importance of Prayer
The prayer that we have been studying begins in verse 24 and extends through verse 30, and is primarily a petition prayer.
It is a prayer of petition for God to strengthen them in terms of the mission He has assigned them in light of the adversity and opposition that they are experiencing.
There is no expression of thanksgiving here, and no confession of sin here.
There is an expression of orientation to God in terms of His character in the opening address, expressing it in terms of the sovereign authority of God over everything in creation.
That is a passage that comes out of Psalm 146 and relates to one particular verse that is tied to the character of God, specifically God as creator.
Then, the next verse talks about the God who executes justice for the oppressed, which is where they are.
They are pulling out of a particular psalm which deals within the psalm with the problems that they are facing in terms of a government authority that has out-stepped its authority given by God.
We pick up our study in Acts 4:25-26.
Acts 4:25-26
Acts 4:25-26
25 who by the mouth of Your servant David have said: ‘Why did the nations rage, And the people plot vain things?
26 The kings of the earth took their stand, And the rulers were gathered together Against the Lord and against His Christ.’
We see that in vv. 25 and 26, they pull a quote from Psalm 2 which is the first great Messianic Psalm about the Triumph and Kingdom of the Messiah. The point of this is focusing on the fact that their argument—laying a foundation—is an appeal to God to intervene in their life in a certain way.
The next plank in the development of their thought is to say that God was the one who told us that we are in a battle, and ultimately the battle will end, but the character of the battle throughout history is that the kings of the earth will gather against Him.
There will always be this battle between human authority independent of Him seeking to control and dominate history. This focuses on hostility against God and His Messiah.
Still, ultimately He will have victory, but what the disciples were experiencing in Acts chapter four by application is part of that battle. They know that that battle will never cease until the Messiah returns. They are quoting the Psalm to emphasize to God that His revealed will is to put down the attack of secular powers against the Messiah.
Notice that they are praying in terms of what God’s revealed will is. A lot of times, we don’t know what God’s revealed will is. We are to pray according to His will. Still, we don’t know what that is, so in many cases, we can’t pray with as much certainty as here because here they are praying in terms of specific principles that God has laid down: that His revealed will is to defeat the secular powers that are arrayed against Him. This reinforces their sense of confidence, which is a major part of their petition: as they face opposition and hostility, they will have confidence and boldness to fulfil the mission that God has given them.
They state their petition in verse 26 which is a quote from Psalm 2:2.
Psalm 2:2
Psalm 2:2
2 The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together, Against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying,
—in the original psalm, it says that the rulers will gather together against the Lord [Yahweh] and against the Anointed one [Messiah]—their application is stated in verse 27:
27 “For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together
They are taking two or three concepts out of Psalm 2 and specifically weaving that verbiage into their appeal to God. They are laying a foundation, building a petition, for why God should answer their prayer. They build a biblical case for His intervention based on His Word, based on promises.
So when we get into passages like 1 John 5:14-15 , talking about
14 Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
15 And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.
This is how we know His will: if we can articulate our petition in terms of the promises and procedures that God has laid down in His Word, so that we are basically coming to God and using these passages from Scripture correctly within their contexts and applying them correctly and creating this kind of an appeal, that God would be honored and glorified.
Acts 4:28
Acts 4:28
28 to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done.
The paradox of this verse: on the one hand there are these human rulers who are antagonistic to God and are gathered together to oppose God, exercising their volition freely to oppose God, and yet what it is that they are doing actually is God’s plan.
Throughout the Scriptures, we find use of metaphor for the power of God. The Scriptures talk about the arm of God or the hand of God, and it is with our arm or hand that we do things. So, the arm or hand of God is usually a metaphor for God utilizing His power to intervene in human history. It is anthropomorphism, which means that it is using an aspect of human anatomy to relate something about God’s character or His attributes.
To paraphrase this, it is “to do whatever your power [or will] wishes to accomplish.” Then the second part of this is “Your purpose predestined to occur.”
Robby Deans, Dr. Dean says that Whenever we have the word “predestined,” something happens to people’s brains; they just have some spiritual seizure and either go off in one direction or another and immediately, there are all kinds of problems. Because the English word “predestined” has come to communicate something more in the order of fatalism, there is a certain course of action that has been set forth that we cannot deviate from in the plan of God. That really isn’t what the word indicates in Scripture or the original meaning of the English.
If we break down the word predestined, there is the prefix “pre,” which means beforehand, and the word “destined,” which concerns a destiny, goal, or objective. The basic meaning of the word “predestined” is merely to establish or to set forth a goal or an objective ahead of time.
We do that every morning when we make a to-do list for the day. That really captures the idea of the Greek word proorizo [προορίζω], which is translated into English as “predestined.”
προορίζω means to decide upon a course of action ahead of time, or prior appointment, to appoint something to a position beforehand.
Iπροορίζωt is a verb, a rare Greek word.
It is used six times in the New Testament: once in Acts and five other times by Paul. Where there are only five instances of a word, it is really difficult to nail down the specifics of the meaning.
This word is only used once in classical Greek literature, which we know of before the New Testament, and that was in the fourth century BC. The root idea seems to be the idea of appointing someone to do something ahead of time.
When we look at this word, we find no use for it in the Old Testament; it is not used in the LXX at all. It was used once by Demosthenes in the 4th century BC. He writes in the context of a court case document “Against Onetor” in which he was trying to recover in court a house that he had inherited but had been fraudulently taken from him by a man named Onetor who was attempting to steal this house from him.
So in court, Demosthenes wrote: “To prove that these statements of mine are true, that he [Onetor] even now declares that the land is mortgaged for a talent, but that he’d laid claim [προορίζω] to 2000 drachma more on the house.”
The question we should ask is, what does laying claim on something have to do with predestination?
When we look at such a well-known passage as Romans 8:29 it brings some insight into this use.
29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.
29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.
“For those whom He foreknew, He also LAID CLAIM {to become} conformed to the image of His Son…”
That gives a whole different focus on that passage now.
Hypocrites also used it in about the 3rd century AD to describe the early diagnosis of a disease, like a prognosis which is from the Greek word proginosko [προγινώσκω] meaning to know before hand—so a prediction about what the course of the disease will be. It was once used in the 3rd century in Egypt for a day set aside for a wedding day. So the basic idea of proorizo seems to be that as God plans ahead of time He appoints or sets aside certain people for certain tasks and certain objectives.
A related word, horizo [ὁρίζω] means to limit or to set a limit, or to fix or to appoint something, to establish it. proorizo would mean to establish it ahead of time. It is used in Luke 22:22
22 And truly the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!”
Acts 2:23 uses it in the same sense:
23 Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death;
We could say, “by the previously appointed plan and foreknowledge of God.”
So, God had a plan. Nobody has a problem with saying God has a plan. When God created the heavens, the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, He certainly had a plan.
42 And He commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify that it is He who was ordained by God to be Judge of the living and the dead.
It is the idea of God appointing Jesus to be the judge of the living and the dead. Acts 17 expresses it as well.
31 because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.”
In Romans 1:4, it is translated as “declared”—sometimes designated.
4 and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.
He predestined Him to be the Son of God with power. That is not the idea that is there in the text. It is important to understand that predestination does not reflect this Greek word well.
End of 1st Service 4/7/24
End of 1st Service 4/7/24
The Greek word aphorizein [ἀφορίζω] is used ten times in the New Testament with the idea of to separate—Romans 1:1 ; Galatians 1:15 ; Acts 13:2, to indicate that God is setting apart or separating something for a particular reason. Kittel’s Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (which always has to be evaluated on a somewhat cautious basis) says the word's core meaning is God marking something off for His purpose or for His service. That is the main idea; it is not predestination. It is God in His plan defining and determining something within a specific role.
1 Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God
15 But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace,
2 As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”
If we translate something along the lines of “previously appointed” it is the best idea in Acts 4:28 : that they were to do “whatever your power previously appointed to occur.”
28 to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done.
God’s plan was for the Messiah to be crucified, and as much as they went against God, nevertheless, God used it to bring about His purpose in the crucifixion. God did not violate their volition; they freely chose to rebel against God and to crucify the Messiah.
We know that God is the sovereign of the universe and has a plan for His creation consistent with His omniscience because His omniscience is always the same; it never increases or decreases. He always knows simultaneously and intuitively everything that is ever going to happen in all of eternity. So when He establishes a plan for creation, His plans take into account everything that He knows could possibly take place. So, it ends up being a perfect plan.
Isaiah 14:24 , 27 talks about this plan.
24 The Lord of hosts has sworn, saying, “Surely, as I have thought, so it shall come to pass, And as I have purposed, so it shall stand:
27 For the Lord of hosts has purposed, And who will annul it? His hand is stretched out, And who will turn it back?”
God has a plan and a purpose in history. That doesn’t mean there is no volition, but it means that God has constructed history, and so oversees history to bring about His purpose.
9 Remember the former things of old, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me,
10 Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things that are not yet done, Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, And I will do all My pleasure,’
11 Calling a bird of prey from the east, The man who executes My counsel, from a far country. Indeed I have spoken it; I will also bring it to pass. I have purposed it; I will also do it.
29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.
30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.
When we think of it, we see that as believers, we are appointed to a goal. God wants us to be conformed to the image of Christ. That is the destiny that He has established for believers. It doesn’t have anything to do with determining who will go to hell and who will go to heaven.
God’s plan includes appointing specific people for a specific task, and we could add two specific goals. Above all this involves appointing the Lord Jesus Christ to the task of carrying out and fulfilling our salvation.
The paradox in Acts chapter four is that, on the one hand, when we think of it, we see that as believers, we are appointed to a goal. God wants us to be conformed to the image of Christ. That is the destiny that He has established for believers. It doesn’t have anything to do with determining who will go to hell and who will go to heaven.
God’s plan includes appointing specific people for a specific task, and we could add two specific goals. Above all this involves appointing the Lord Jesus Christ to the task of carrying out and fulfilling our salvation. Rulers of the earth representing a foreshadowing of those kings of the earth in Psalm 2:2 are gathered together, but what they accomplish is exactly what God had determined would be accomplished in terms of salvation, the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Then we come to the petition. They have set up the rationale now for God to act a certain way and now they are going to call upon God to act in a specific way.
Acts 4:29-30
Acts 4:29-30
29 Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word,
30 by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.”
They are saying —validate what we are teaching by giving us power in terms of signs and wonders and miracles that you promised would validate the ministry.
The first thing that they are asking is for God to observe the threats, to be aware of the fact that they are facing opposition and to deal with that opposition and protect them while they carry out the ministry that God had commanded them.
Secondly, that God would give them the ability to speak the Word with confidence, with boldness. The Greek word here is parrhesia [παρρησία], to speak with boldness or confidence so that they would do what God had said to do per Acts 1:8 .
8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
The third thing is that God would give them the power in terms of signs and wonders and miracles that would go forth as their credentials.
We know from 2 Corinthians 12 that signs and wonders were the sign of the apostle; they weren’t something that every Christian did, only the apostles because it validated their message that God was working through them.
So their prayer is specifically related to these promises from the Old Testament and from the command that Jesus had given them just a few weeks earlier.
Praying in the will of God.
They knew exactly what God’s will was: for them to stand up against the rulers and the kings of the earth and to take the gospel to the ends of the earth. That is a great way to pray: look at a problem, a situation in terms of how does God say I am to act and deal with this kind of a situation; then pray that God will give the wisdom, the ability, the skill, the insight to do what I am to do in that circumstance, and at the same time that God is going to deal with whatever the other forces of opposition might be: I do my mission while God accomplishes His mission.
A lot of times we don’t have that kind of specificity. We can think of examples where we know that God’s will is contrary to what we are praying for.
For example, in 2 Samuel 12 Bathsheba had become pregnant, David had been involved in the conspiracy to get her husband Uriah killed, and going was going to discipline him.
God had already announced that part of that discipline would be that the child born from Bathsheba was going to die. David knows that is God’s will but David continued to petition God to let the child live.
David wasn’t wrong in doing that. James said we have not because we ask not. There are numerous examples in Scripture where God has answered prayer and changed what appeared to be a specific course of action due to petition.
In other cases we really don’t know what to pray for. Romans 8 says that the Holy Spirit intercedes for us. Romans 8:26-27
26 Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
27 Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
The “groanings” is inaudible from the Spirit to God. It can’t be articulated, we don’t know what it is but what the passage is saying is that when we don’t know what the specifics should be in terms of prayer the Holy Spirit does, and He straightens out our muddied-up prayer requests on the way to God.
Another example of the kind of general prayer that is the best we can offer is in Luke 18:13
13 And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’
He can’t even go beyond that, all he wants is God’s mercy. Sometimes that is the bets we can do in a prayer because we just don’t know we ought to pray. Paul has the same kind of prayer in Romans 1:10
10 making request if, by some means, now at last I may find a way in the will of God to come to you.
He tried to go to Rome several times and hadn’t gotten there. He still wasn’t sure when he would get there but was convinced that God would eventually get him there. But we just pray, Lord if it is your will hopefully someday we will accomplish this but it is in your hands.
Here though, in Acts chapter four, they are praying for something specific and it is in terms of what the Lord Jesus Christ commanded them in Acts 1:8 and what God had promised in terms of Old Testament principles. Now here is the answer.
Acts 4:31
Acts 4:31
31 And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.
Where else did this shaking happen? Act 2 is on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit comes. This is the same kind of thing.
They are praying in terms of Acts 1:8 ;
8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
God gives us boldness and confidence in the midst of opposition. So, God answers their prayer. The place is shaken just like on the day of Pentecost and they are all filled with the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:4
4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
This is not the word for filling that we have in Ephesians 5:18—a different Greek word, different preposition, and different grammatical construction. Here, “they were all full of the Holy Spirit.”
It is a genitive of content.
When this Greek word pimplemi [πίμπλημι] is used it is almost always followed by some speech event—with Zachariah the father of John the Baptist, Elizabeth the mother of John the Baptist, with Mary the mother of Jesus, with Peter in Acts 2.
This is not normative in any spiritual life, either in the spiritual life under the dispensation of Israel, with Elizabeth, Zachariah, or Mary, or with our dispensation; it is a supernatural act of God.
So they are all full of the Holy Spirit, and what is the result? They spoke; they spoke the word of God with boldness.
What was the prayer request? That they would all speak the Word with boldness. They have the confidence to witness and to go out into the community around them and continue to explain the gospel, the truth about Jesus’ resurrection, even though they know that the powers of the Sanhedrin are against them.
Acts 4:32
Acts 4:32
See how this works itself out. Acts 4:32
32 Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common.
They were unified in their motive to serve God and in their mission to fulfill the command that Jesus gave them.
The promised kingdom would not come until the Jewish people had turned to Christ.
That can’t be forced; it is going to happen on God’s timetable. But these first century, the first decade, first-year believers were so convinced that the times of refreshing were right around the corner that they understood that when the kingdom came, personal possessions and property rights were going to be all redefined in terms of the Mosaic Law and in terms of the redistribution of the property designations to the twelve tribes of Israel.
So property ownership to them was something that when (in their thinking) a few years from now Jesus was going to come back, everything is going to be different, and it didn’t matter what they owned or didn’t own.
Because of their sense of the imminency of Christ’s return and the coming of the kingdom they recognized it was not about them and their stuff, it is about the mission. Let’s make the mission happen. It was something that was motivated internally by each individual. The church didn’t say everybody needed to do this.
This isn’t socialism. Socialism is when the government taxes people to do things. In the Old Testament it is not the government’s responsibility to take care of the poor, it is the people’s responsibility.
The issue is genuine individual motivation. If it isn’t coming from the individual, to motivate them to help other people, the government is a sad, sad substitute for the inner integrity and virtue of the citizenry.
Acts 4:33-35
Acts 4:33-35
Notice the answer to the prayer. Acts 4:33-35
33 And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all.
34 Nor was there anyone among them who lacked; for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold,
35 and laid them at the apostles’ feet; and they distributed to each as anyone had need.
This not Marxism, it was all done voluntary by these individuals in a small community because they thought Jesus was coming back any moment.
End of 2nd Service 4/7/24
End of 2nd Service 4/7/24
Sunday April 14, 2024
Sunday April 14, 2024
Review
Review
Let’s review by reading our passage of context in Acts 4:31-35
31 And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.
32 Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common.
33 And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all.
34 Nor was there anyone among them who lacked; for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold,
35 and laid them at the apostles’ feet; and they distributed to each as anyone had need.
Divine Institutions and Economics. Acts 4:32
Divine Institutions and Economics. Acts 4:32
32 Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common.
First, before we enter into the study of Acts 4:32, I want to note that one of the responsibilities of a pastor is not only to teach the word but ultimately if we believe Romans 12:1-2 we have to teach our sheep how to think biblically.
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
The only other place that ἀνακαίνωσις -- anakainosis = make new, spiritual regeneration occurs is in Titus 3:5.
If you don’t have this passage memorized, you should be very aware of it. Titus 3:5 is the main passage that teaches us of the doctrine of regeneration.
5 not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,
Let’s read the passage in Titus for context. Watch as it follows the form of Romans 12:1-2: .
I will quote Romans, using an expanded translation, and show you Titus.
Present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is logical and reasonable to conclude, as in Titus 3:1
1 Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work,
Do not be conformed to this world, as in Titus 3:2-3
2 to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men.
3 For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another.
But be transformed by the renewing of your mind as in Titus 3:4-5 a
4 But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared,
5 not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,
demonstrating and proving through the supernatural life of Grace what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, as seen in Titus 3:6-7
6 whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior,
7 that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
Between these two passages we must see the spiritual benefit and transformation that comes by the Holy Spirit as the same that comes by means of the Word of God —Scripture, as seen in Ephesians 4:18 cf. Colossians 3:16 with the exact same fruit, or benefits, as seen by the list of active imperative verbs which are set in relationship to the commands to be filled by means of the spirit and to let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.
We also see that noun for regeneration, παλιγγενεσία -- palingenesia = rebirth, regeneration is used slightly differently in Matthew 19:28. The word occurs 3 times, twice of those in Romans 12:1-2 and Titus 3:5 in the same way, and then differently in Matthew 19:28.
28 So Jesus said to them, “Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life.
30 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.
Here it is in reference of the regeneration of all bodies. So this is a reference to glorification; in context specifically a reference to the glorification of the apostles as the rulers who sit on the 12 thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel during the Messianic Kingdom, under the regency of King David. But there will be surprises in the allocations of seats of power and the order of the rulership established by the Messiah.
Now as Pastor-Teachers, given to the body of Christ, as a unique gift that provides leadership, means of life, and means of correction to the body of Christ and to each local congregation, as an extension of the teaching authority of the Lord Jesus Christ and of the Apostles, we have to teach what the Word says; we have to teach from the explicit teaching of the Word and the patterns and examples given in Scripture. We have to teach the body of Christ to think as God has revealed that we should think according to His Word and not just on the basis of our own background, experiences, and prejudices.
Believers are not only directed but are even commanded to let the Word of God completely reshape our values and priorities regarding what we do. That means we have to learn to think and to exercise discernment. That is probably one of the most difficult aspects of the Christian life. And that is what we are here to do today.
I pray silently as I drive to church, as I step into the pulpit, as we engage in silent prayer. Lord, let not my words be spoken here, but yours. May you be the teacher here with authority and precision that matches your will. May you be the one who opens the hearts of those who listen that they might have clarity of thought and willingness to hear and obey your word.
As we enter into study, in prayer preparation, do you pray for the Lord to speak His will through doctrine in your listening? For His Holy Spirit to mold and make your mind anew, to regenerate your spiritual thinking, to revisit your norms and standards that you might exchange them with His?
Many people want to hear from the Bible what confirms and validates their own prejudices. They don’t want to hear the arguments set forth in the Word for taking certain positions, especially concerning controversial topics and issues that occur within history, including what is happening in the world today. Or in the body of Christ today. Or even what is or isn’t happening in our congregation. And yet, if he doesn’t talk about those things, a pastor really hasn’t done the job he maybe should be doing as a pastor.
End of First Service 4/14/2022
End of First Service 4/14/2022
8 For thus says the Lord of hosts: “He sent Me after glory, to the nations which plunder you; for he who touches you touches the apple of His eye.
The idiom “the apple of His eye” refers to the pupil, one of the most sensitive parts of the eye, an area that demands protection. So, the imagery here is of Israel as something that is prized by God but is in a vulnerable position that must be protected by God. That promise was stated when the Jews returned to the land from their captivity in Babylon. Many believe it also has a prophetic significance in that it focuses forward on the future restoration of Israel. All that is based on the promise of Genesis 12:3, the covenant with Abraham.
3 I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
These promises are true. The Jewish people, whether they are in a state of obedience or disobedience to God, are still God’s chosen people. The Jewish people have a unique role for the in God’s plan. God's promises to Abraham are not forgotten, even though it may seem God has put them on the shelf for a time.
One of the great applications of looking at how God has dealt with Israel over time is that no matter how chaotic things became, no matter how horrible things became in their lives, and no matter how defeated circumstances seemed to indicate that they were, God never went back on His promise.
This is the context for Jeremiah’s famous statement in Lamentations 3:21-23 as he is surveying the ruins of Jerusalem and the destruction of the southern kingdom after the Babylonian assault, and everything looks like the end of the Jewish people and the end of the promise of God:
21 This I recall to my mind, Therefore I have hope.
22 Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not.
23 They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.
God is always faithful to His promises. And He is always faithful to us in those promises. Even when it looks the darkest when we are going through the most difficult times, God never goes back on His promises; He is always going to be present there and will fulfill His promises. The same thing is true for Israel.
If we believe that God is the God of history and that God is a faithful God who is true to His promises and true to His covenant with Israel, then we believe that Israel today is important and that we as believers should be the most supportive of the Jewish people and of the state of Israel and understand what is going on in the world.
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Divine Institutions and Economics. Acts 4:32
Divine Institutions and Economics. Acts 4:32
32 Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common.
A biblical view of economics is based on reality—reality as God defined it. That doesn’t mean that we are not going to find economists out there who are conservative and in whose views of economics, money doesn’t fit a biblical pattern. It does fit, often because they are realists, not because they are biblical. But as Christians, we want to start with what the Bible says and then build our view of economics and money from the Bible because we want to be as closely aligned in our thinking to the way God actually created things, which means we want to be aligned to reality. We don’t want to live in a fantasy world, so we have to come to understand these things. As we have seen, the Bible isn’t an economic textbook, but it gives us a framework for understanding and evaluating everything, including economics.
The foundation is understanding the divine institutions. The first three occur before the fall—individual responsibility, marriage, and family. Each of these is established and instituted by God before sin. That tells us something. First of all, we have to recognize that the reason we have these things instituted has nothing to do with sin, controlling sin, or dealing with the consequences of sin.
They are instituted to promote productivity among the human race and to enhance the lives of human beings as opposed to restraining evil. The next two come in after the fall—government and nations—whose primary purpose is to restrain human evil.
But the first three are to promote productivity and happiness in the human race. Individual responsibility takes place when God created Adam, placed him in the garden, and gave him everything he needed for food, but there was a test. That test was a test of obedience, and he was not to eat of one tree, the tree of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil. But when Adam was placed in the garden, he had responsibilities. There was labor, but there was no toil. There is an important distinction there.
They had responsibility, and there was work to be done, and this is indicated by several passages. Genesis 1:26-28
26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
So God places Adam over all of the resources on the earth, and this idea of ruling isn’t the idea of being a tyrannical abuser over the planet. There is no sin or evil at this point.
Man is given the responsibility to rule, which means to govern, administer, and manage all of the resources that God has put on the planet. It is man’s job, then, to investigate the creation, to learn the properties of all of the resources that God has given them and how to properly and responsibly use them so that he can rule over the planet. He is not put there to exploit and destroy the resources that God put there.
Initially, because there is no sin, man is given all of the herbs of the field to eat, and all of the animals are omnivorous, not carnivorous. There is no death, and so there is the perfect environment. Man was to fill the earth and to subdue the earth. None of this was done within a context of evil or self-centeredness because it is a perfect environment.
Genesis 2:15
15 Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.
That was part of his responsibility. He was to labor as a steward, an administrator under God, over creation. But it is not toilsome.
After the fall, after sin, God addresses man, and He says:
“Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil, you will eat of it All the days of your life.”
Before the fall, there was non-sweaty, non-toilsome labor. It is not laborious, but there was responsibility to produce from the land; there was production involved. We see that the very idea of labor, being a craftsman, a worker, an artist, and creating things is part of what it means to be in the image of God.
There are a number of different aspects of the first divine institution that need to be brought out. First, there is the idea of volition. Man has an option. He can choose to obey God or choose to disobey God. Second is the idea of accountability: he is accountable to an authority over him for what he does with the resources given to him. And third, he is involved in responsible labor—serving God in terms of administering the planet under the authority of God.
Economics is the study of value, and that value is going to be impacted by the amount of labor that goes into producing things. So we see that from the very beginning, God places value upon human labor and work. This begins to lay a foundation for us to understand one of the core elements of economics.
In this section we face a passage that is perhaps one of the two or three passages in Scripture that most people will go to to try to argue and show that the Bible really does support some view of socialism or communal living. What we actually find is just the opposite.
At the core of the Mosaic Law’s theology of money is the idea of property, property rights and ownership rights. When we look at the Ten Commandments one of the commandments is, “Thou shalt not steal.” That would be meaningless unless people have the right to own property and to keep it for their own personal use, and to determine how to use that property however they wish.
Other people do not have the right to take that property. So that implies the theology of property rights which you have running throughout the Mosaic Law. There are also provisions in the Mosaic Law related to inheritance rights. There is a lot said in the Mosaic Law related inheritance rights, the accumulation of wealth and property, and how that is passed on from one generation to the next.
While there were taxes in the Mosaic Law, called tithes, and Jesus also in the New Testament recognizes the right of government to tax, the Bible never authorizes property tax. What property tax does is act as if the ultimate owner of the land is the government.
Biblically speaking the ultimate owner of the land and property is God. So property taxes are an intrusion upon divine prerogatives and the state arguing that they are the owner of the land over against the people. Property taxes also are an assault on the accumulation, preservation and the passing on of wealth from generation to generation.
And a study of the inheritance laws in the Mosaic Law reveal that what God intended as a nation prospered was for wealth to not only be accumulated but for it to grow within a family from generation to generation. So there is not an antagonism in the Scripture towards the accumulation of great amounts of wealth. What we do find is a criticism of the mentality that goes after wealth as a source of meaning, value and happiness, and that is described usually as covetousness.
When we get into the New Testament it does not contradict the economic principles of the Mosaic Law at all, but it transforms those laws in the Old Testament which were designed for a theocratic nation to a broader universal context because now there is no longer going to be a theocratic nation of Israel but God is going to be working through a new universal group of people, the church.
So there is a transfer of the nature of these laws related to money because of this new entity, the church, which is now trans-national. But in both the Old Testament and the New Testament the one thing that stands out is that money and the use of money and wealth is a personal responsibility, not a government responsibility.
In the Old Testament, when we look at the prophets, never was the government accused of not taking care of the poor—unless what was happening was that the tithes mandated by the Mosaic Law that were taken every three years for the care of the widows and orphans was being abused. The government was accused and condemned for misusing those funds.
But as we go from the Old Testament to the New Testament the government has the right to tax but the entity that is being judged on the misuse of money is always the individual. The emphasis in the Bible from the creation of man in Genesis chapter two on is always on individual responsibility. That doesn’t contradict our compassion and care for those who have misfortunes, those who don’t have money, or hose who are on the edges of financial collapse. But that is another principle.
Those responsibilities for care and concern and compassion to be personal and what we see in Scripture and in history is when governments take over those responsibilities to take care of people individuals give up their responsibilities and people have less care and concern for those who are elderly and those who are less fortunate. It is always the trend. The more responsibility we give up individually the less responsibility we feel for ourselves and for one another.
Scripture also has various things to say about money in terms of its use and priority. Money in and of itself is not evil or sinful, it is the mental attitude and the use. Jesus said: Matthew 6:19-21
19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal;
20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.
21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
If the focus is on the accumulation of wealth then there is nothing wrong with that but it shouldn’t be the ultimate focus. Because then it will always crowd God out and there is always the threat that money and possessions become a god unto themselves.
1 Timothy 6:10
10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
This doesn’t say money is evil; money is morally neutral. It is the love of money. The Greek word there is philaguria [φιλαργυρία]. The first syllable is philos which has to do with more of an emotional attraction to something, so it is a synonym for greed.
10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
The pursuit of money as the source of happiness, stability and hope is the path to self-induced misery.
Speaking of the latter days. 2 Timothy 3:2
2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
It is that focus on money that then becomes a root for the spread of evil in society.
2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
15 And He said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”
This is really important for understanding what happens in Acts chapter five. Life isn’t our possessions. In fact, Jesus will go on to say that they need to seel their possessions at times.
5 Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.
Covetousness and greed is idolatry; it becomes religious because you are replacing God as your priority in life to job, money, and that as the source of stability and happiness.
The value of labor and profit: 2 Thessalonians 3:10
10 For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat.
End of 2nd Service 4/14/20204
End of 2nd Service 4/14/20204
Sunday April 21, 2024
Sunday April 21, 2024
Review
Review
Acts 4:32-35
Acts 4:32-35
We are in Acts 4:32-35 and have begun to deal with the issues of the economics theory of the Bible.
Let’s re-read the passage:
32 Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common.
33 And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all.
34 Nor was there anyone among them who lacked; for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold,
35 and laid them at the apostles’ feet; and they distributed to each as anyone had need.
The reason we are reviewing the economic teaching of scripture is because this particular passage has been used extensively by those who advocate for socialist and communist views of how money operates. But this text, examined in the context of scripture, does not support that conclusion.
Much of the turmoil in society today is from those who hold to these same views. Not only do we have the obvious socialist advocates who are seeking to live off of others without doing work — often present in movements like the leaders of black lives matter who have been exposed as charlatans and fraudsters, buying expensive houses from funds donated to the cause.
We saw extensive references to it in the Jesus People revolution — the so called Charismatic movement as Christian communes popped up all over the west coast, with quite a concentration in Oregon, and even in our own southern Oregon area. There were even communes that were not Christian, but which pointed to this passage as justification for their philosophy.
We learned that money and both macro-economics and micro-economics are based upon the pre-fall understanding of the value that God places on labor and work, according to the economy he established of having dominion over creation.
Money is the means of quantifying and exchanging work and the resultant benefit of labor and industry.
Most people want to emphasize giving to the poor. This is a Christian value.
But this is a Christian value also: if people won’t work, they won’t eat. And this is exhibited throughout the Mosaic Law.
In the Mosaic Law there was a provision that was to be made that when a farmer harvested his grain he was to leave some grain in the field. He wasn’t to leave ten per cent in the field and take it to the welfare market so that it would then be distributed to the poor while they sat at home as couch potatoes.
They still had to work for it. They had to go out in the fields and glean for the grain that was left in the fields. It wasn’t free.
God was the originator of the idea that there is no such thing as a free lunch. In all the provisions that are given in the Mosaic Law there is a responsibility of labor to get that which is that provision.
To demonstrate the virtue of understanding the value of labor, let’s turn to Proverbs 31.
Proverbs 31, the virtue of understanding the value of labor
Proverbs 31, the virtue of understanding the value of labor
The focus of Proverbs 31 is a godly, virtuous wife. It begins in Proverbs 31:10. We have looked at it in other doctrinal views, but today it will be a primer for us on the doctrine on the value of labor as a virtue, an ideal to be sought after, and to be cultivated.
10 Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies.
So immediately there is a positive value association with a precious jewel to the value of a productive wife.
11 The heart of her husband safely trusts her; So he will have no lack of gain.
She is going to take care of things within her realm of responsibility that enables him to be more productive and to make more money so that they together can be more prosperous. This is how she is a blessing to the home.
verse 12 seems self explanatory
12 She does him good and not evil All the days of her life.
Yet we find that the next verse has set the context. Good and evil are bringing the benefit of labor and profit to the family, verses the evil of bringing debt or being a burden.
Proverbs 31:13 She is involved in the labor.
13 She seeks wool and flax, And willingly works with her hands.
So she is involved in also bringing profit into the family from her labors.
15 She also rises while it is yet night, And provides food for her household, And a portion for her maidservants.
So it is because of her work and how she prospers that she is able to take care of those and provide jobs for those around her.
16 She considers a field and buys it; From her profits she plants a vineyard.
So she is good at real estate investing. She buys and sells later for a profit, and that is a good thing. So this supports a free market society. What the principles of the Bible support are more consistent with a free market based economic system because that emphasizes personal responsibility as opposed to government responsibility.
17 She girds herself with strength, And strengthens her arms.
18 She perceives that her merchandise is good, And her lamp does not go out by night.
She is industrious.
Proverbs 31:19
19 She stretches out her hands to the distaff, And her hand holds the spindle.
She spins and weaves as part of her labor, presumably for a profit.
20 She extends her hand to the poor, Yes, she reaches out her hands to the needy.
Her profit is not taken selfishly. She is not just accumulating wealth for herself but she recognizes that as God has blessed her with financial resources then she has a responsibility to use that to help those less fortunate.
She doesn’t say the government needs to tax me more so that it can use my money to help the poor.
It is individual responsibility, not government responsibility that is in view here.
Acts 4:32-35
Acts 4:32-35
In Acts 4:32-35 we have a general description and also part of the response to the prayer that they had uttered in vv. Acts 4:24-31 .
32 Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common.
This isn’t mandated; it is not required. It was something that came out of their own desire for the Lord. So we have this description of power that God gives to the apostles and their authority as indicated through the signs and wonders. They gave up their physical possessions, their lands, their houses, and they brought the proceeds and laid them at the apostles’ feet.
33 And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all.
34 Nor was there anyone among them who lacked; for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold,
35 and laid them at the apostles’ feet; and they distributed to each as anyone had need.
There is the summary here of the fact that the apostles are growing in terms of their authority, there are confirmatory miracles, and the people have a unity where they are so devoted to one another that they willingly sell their real possessions and give that to the apostles.
Notice that nowhere else in the New Testament does this happen. Nowhere else in all of the history of Christianity does anyone ever try to do this, it doesn’t happen. This is a unique situation and it is related to the fact that Acts is a transition book.
The next thing that happens as one instance of the generosity that they have is that Barnabas, a Levite from the diaspora, had land, sold it, and laid the money at the apostles’ feet. That sets up as the introduction to what happens in chapter five.
Acts 4:36-37
Acts 4:36-37
36 And Joses, who was also named Barnabas by the apostles (which is translated Son of Encouragement), a Levite of the country of Cyprus,
37 having land, sold it, and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
Acts 5:1-11
Acts 5:1-11
In Acts 5:1-11 we have the episode of Ananias and Sapphira. Ananias and his wife sell a possession (one piece of property) and from that they gain a good price. But they decided they wanted to have the same respect and the same notoriety that they see these other believers having—and remember, nobody mandated that they sell anything or give anything—and they also want the money. Nobody said they had to give it all to the church, so it is all their decision. They are making a series of wrong decisions. Ananias kept back part of the proceeds though he gives money to the church. He doesn’t take into account of the apostolic authority and that the prophets of the Old Testament have now been replaced by apostles who are the spokespeople for God and they have a hotline to heaven. So he comes in and lies about it and Peter knows the truth.
Acts 5:3-5
Acts 5:3-5
3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself?
Some people believe that Ananias was possessed by Satan, but that is not the sense of the language there. His heart is not filled with Satan. Satan influences him to lie and so he lies to the Holy Spirit. Lying to the church which is the body of Christ formed through the baptism of the Holy Spirit is lying to the Holy Spirit.
Acts 5:4-5
4 While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.”
5 Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and breathed his last. So great fear came upon all those who heard these things.
This was an act of divine discipline, the sin unto death.
Acts 5:9
Acts 5:9
But why didn’t God do this to everybody else who has lied to the churches? We have to look at the context. It is always important to consider the context. His wife Sapphira isn’t with him. She is about to come but before she arrives they wrap Ananias up, carry him out and they bury him. About three hours later his wife Sapphira comes and she has no idea what has happened, and Peter now is going to test her.
9 Then Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.”
Acts 5:10-11
Acts 5:10-11
Notice “the Spirit of the Lord,” identified back in verse 3 as the Holy Spirit.
10 Then immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. And the young men came in and found her dead, and carrying her out, buried her by her husband.
11 So great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things.
Acts 5:12
Acts 5:12
Then we have an addendum. Acts 5:12
12 And through the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people. And they were all with one accord in Solomon’s Porch.
We compare this with Acts 4:32, where the breathren “were of one heart and soul; and Acts 4:33, where we are told that “with great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.”
32 Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common.
33 And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all.
Those two statements bracket this episode. And what are those two statements focusing on? They are focusing on the authority of the apostles now over the church. This isn’t about what happened to Ananias and Sapphira, it is about God protecting the authority of the new institution, which is the apostles. They are the new leadership.
Acts chapter five : how the believers in the early church were handling their property.
Acts chapter five : how the believers in the early church were handling their property.
Acts chapter five talks about how the believers in the early church were handling their property.
What they did was a matter of their own personal volition, as it is for any of us when it comes to giving.
This is really an example of giving in the early church but it fits within a specific context and it is often distorted in numerous periodicals, speeches or political statements.
And this is one of the key passages to try to support some kind of idea that Christianity and Jesus really supports some kind of socialism, some kind of communal property; and that couldn’t be any further from the truth.
The Bible is not an economics textbook, history textbook, or a textbook on science, but it reveals a lot of universal creation truths that God embedded in His creation. God, as the sovereign creator over all of His creation, has revealed these principles to us, and we can deduce them from His Word. The Bible presents us with a unified view of reality—it is God’s view of reality. The Bible was written by over 40 different authors, but they all present one consistent, unified viewpoint on everything that they touch. There are no contradictions within the Scripture.
The Scripture gives us a framework for thinking, and again and again, we have an emphasis on thought in Scripture. This applies to every area of life. Too often, Christianity comes to things somewhat superficially, not so much in the historical development of Christianity and theology but in our contemporary times. We think of application in very narrow, personal ways.
Much of this has to do with how our culture has changed over the last 100 years and how we look at what we call religion or Christianity. It has become personal, private, and subjective. It has become your opinion: what works for you is fine, but over here, it may be a little bit different, and so that is fine. But this destroys the whole concept of truth and any sense of absolute, so how can the word “true” even have any meaning in that context?
This is the attack of our culture on Christianity today. It is only going to get worse because as the percentage of unbelievers in the culture increases, they gain great courage from being associated with others who are coming out of the closet, as it were, and their anti-Christianity, including a number of people who have always been in the church of some kind just because it was the socially acceptable kind of thing, but they never were believers.
We have a struggle because our culture was founded on Judeo-Christian absolutes, and the founding fathers and their generation understood these things and that they had a biblical source. They were the beneficiaries of a tremendous heritage of thought that was handed down to them by the English Puritans and Presbyterians.
Because in the context of the bitter battles that took place between the Roman Catholics and the Protestants, in England especially—to some degree on the Continent but more specifically in England and Amsterdam. They were trying to rebuild their culture from the bottom up, based on biblical truth, and so they thought profoundly and deeply about a lot of issues that today are usually not thought of as coming out of the Scriptures, including things like economics.
Part of understanding this is going back to the whole topic of divine institutions—one of the most helpful tools when thinking about culture, thinking about what is going on in the world around us, and how to analyze, especially when it comes to politics.
The divine institutions are for everyone, whether they are believer or unbelievers, and they were established by God for the purpose of giving stability and productivity to the human race and also for restraining the negative consequences of sin upon society.
In the 1600s, they (the Puritans especially) clearly understood these as divine institutions in the sense that we teach them.
The term “divine institutions” has been used by Christians to speak of certain absolute social structures that God embedded into the nature of human existence from the instant of creation. They were designed for the stability and support of the human race and its perpetuation, so it is for all human beings. This is something that was designed so that the human race can function.
Modern paganism views them as byproducts, evolutionary developments, and the results of trial and error procedures.
By learning about these things, man was able to come together and somehow organize himself socially so that he could achieve things a little more effectively.
Therefore, within the human viewpoint pagan framework, these divine institutions are not seen as absolutes, but they are seen as being relative and that they can be tinkered with, changed at will, and society itself can be experimented with and restructured according to the thinking of any culture and it won’t destroy the culture.
That thought can only be the result of the thinking that God is not in control, and there aren’t universal absolutes—everything is the product of time plus chance, and man is truly the master of his destiny and his culture.
The world views these institutions as human conventions. They become culturally accepted cultural norms, but they are not true for every culture or every person throughout all time and space. The Bible views them as institutions, as something God establishes that has universal application and is, as it were, a universal social law.
There are five divine institutions
The first is individual responsibility,
the second is marriage,
the third is family,
the fourth is government or judicial authority,
and the fifth has to do with nations.
Human responsibility, marriage, and the family were all given prior to the fall. Therefore, they are not given to the human race in relation to sin; they were provided to somehow control the new sinful direction of the human soul. They were given before sin ever came so that within the structure of these three, the human race can take what God originally gave them and make it productive.
That idea of productivity is a core element within an understanding of economic system: that man is supposed to be productive. From the very beginning God designed man to be productive. This was built on three things: individual responsibility—each individual is responsible and accountable to God.
Each divine institution has an authority structure. Authority is embedded within the Godhead. God the Father is the authority, and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit follow that authority. They are equal in essence, but there is an authority structure because authority is necessary to get anything done, and it has nothing to do with equality. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are equal in terms of their essence or being, but they are distinct in terms of their role or their function.
Second, we have marriage. Genesis 1:27
27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
This shows that there is a corporate sense there related to marriage in fulfilling the creation mandate. He didn’t give it to Adam but separately to Eve. It is really important that in a culture today that is so far removed from that, we have vast numbers of people in our culture and nation who are single, where everything is atomized to the individual. But that is not the structure we see here; everything was grounded on this corporate union of marriage and family. That didn’t mean that there was no individual responsibility. Individual responsibility, each individual being responsible to God, makes the corporate union of marriage work. It takes two to make marriage work, two people who are positive to God, ideally within the Christian marriage; it only takes one who rejects divine absolutes to make the marriage a failure.
Third, there is family, designed to promote productivity—and advance civilization from the very beginning.
Then, two more come into play. There is a government that was established in the Noahic covenant. When God made the covenant with Noah, this was the first time on record that He delegated judicial authority to the human race, saying that whenever man sheds man’s blood, then man should shed the blood of the criminal himself. So, he established a judicial authority, a governing authority. But it is not a nation yet. The national division doesn’t come in until God divides the human race through the imposition of languages at the tower of Babel. So, the fourth and fifth divine institutions are designed to restrain evil. When we talk about economics we learn a lot from the first three because that is designed to promote productivity and the advance of civilization.
Each divine institution has an authority structure. In the first divine institution, the authority is God. In the second divine institution, marriage, the authority is the husband. In the third divine institution, the authority is the parents. In the fourth divine institution of human government, the authority is the executive, whatever that might be and in whatever form that might take—in a monarchy, the king; in an oligarchy, it would be a group of the elite, etc., but there is some group or individual that is the ultimate authority within that nation. Then, when we come to national entities, the ultimate authority once again is God because each nation is accountable to God. Deuteronomy states that God has established the boundaries of the nations, and Paul reiterates that fact in Acts chapter seventeen.
But the key to really understanding economics is analyzing, drilling down on this idea of individual responsibility as it is laid out in Genesis chapters two and three. In chapter two God commands to Adam what he is responsible for, and chapter three shows what changes as a result of sin entering in to the human race.
There are three elements to individual responsibility. The first is spiritual or individual accountability. Each person is accountable to God. The second is labor or productivity. He is to serve God responsibly. The third has to do with private property. We have chosen to use the terminology “individual responsibility.” Others have called it simply responsibility, volition, personal responsibility, responsible dominion, and responsible labor. A number of different pastors have focused on different aspects within this so we can see by this listing of those different terms that all of these different elements are seen as part of what is communicated in Genesis chapter two. “Individual responsibility” gets at the main thrust. God gives tasks, responsibilities to Adam and Eve in the garden and they were to be held accountable for that together and individually. The main idea here is that we are responsible for our choices and how we utilize the resources that God gives us.
That takes us back to the basic definition of economics. Remember it comes from the Greek word oikonomia [οἰκονομίαν]—house law literally, but it has to do with administration.
Economics has to do with how we administer and manage our resources. From that comes the idea of economics and, on a broader scale, how groups of people and cultures manage the resources they have in raising food and what they do with the excess produce they have. All of these things relate to the management of resources. This whole idea goes back to Genesis 1:26-27 and Genesis 2:15 .
26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
15 Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.
Acts 5:13
Acts 5:13
13 Yet none of the rest dared join them, but the people esteemed them highly.
So it is all about developing respect for the leadership of the new church. Then in verse 14-16 there is another progress report.
Acts 5:14-16
Acts 5:14-16
14 And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women,
15 so that they brought the sick out into the streets and laid them on beds and couches, that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on some of them.
16 Also a multitude gathered from the surrounding cities to Jerusalem, bringing sick people and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all healed.
This whole section has to be understood as a whole and it is all about establishing the authority of the apostles and establishing this infant organism called the church so that it isn’t going to be torn apart by a lot of people who are self-centered and more concerned about their own wellbeing than they are about the context of the church.
Observations/principles to help us understand what is going on in Acts 4-5
Observations/principles to help us understand what is going on in Acts 4-5
1. We always have to remember that Acts is a transition book.
Things are changing, removing from the age of Israel to the church age. There is a transition from the dispensation of the Mosaic Law to the dispensation now of grace. It was transition from a time of incomplete or partial revelation, and incomplete canon, to the time of a complete revelation. Within 60 years of this event the New Testament canon would be completed; revelation would come to a close. The Old Testament was a time which anticipated the coming of the Messiah and this is a time which is announcing that He has come and that of the Jewish people will turn to Him then the times of refreshing will come. So there is an expectation that the kingdom is within historical sight.
2. Acts is a narrative.
It is telling a story of what happened. It is describing what they did; it is not prescribing what they did. It is telling us this happened to the apostles, it is not saying this is what every church needs to do. This is restricted to a unique time within this transitional period. Never again in the New Testament period or in church history would anything remotely resembling these events take place. It wasn’t supposed to be duplicated; it was historically conditioned. Another thing that is important to understand is that when they are giving up everything, selling their properties and giving their money to the church, they are not starting a commune. But what happens when you divest yourself of all of your property. You are free; free to move. You can go anywhere.
3. The most important aspect of this transition is that it is a transition of authority and worship.
Up to this point the focal point of worship has been at the temple. Because of that it gave additional value to the real estate in Jerusalem. There were three times a year where the population of Jerusalem would triple as all of the people came to visit to go to the feast days. A lot of people in Jerusalem would just rent out their spare bedrooms to the pilgrims who were coming to town. It gave them an additional source of income and it also gave their property as a source of income additional value. And Jesus told them in Matthew 24:2 and Luke 21:5-36 that it wouldn’t be long before judgment would come to Jerusalem and no stone would be left unturned of the temple. If you were to believe Jesus completely and totally and you owned real estate in Jerusalem, would you want to sell now or wait? This is also part of the background. Jesus is building a new organism (the church) that is built on the foundation of the apostles, and so God is showing their authority. When Peter and Ananias and Sapphira had this encounter and the consequences of that were seen the result was that people were afraid. There was respect for the authority.
End of 4/21/2024
End of 4/21/2024
Sunday April 28, 2024
Sunday April 28, 2024
Review
Review
We are in Acts 4-5. This whole section has to be understood as a whole and part of that is about establishing the authority of the apostles and establishing this infant organism called the church so that it isn’t going to be torn apart by a lot of people who are self-centered and more concerned about their own wellbeing than they are about the context of the church.
Last week we began an
Observations/principles to help us understand what is going on in Acts 4-5
Observations/principles to help us understand what is going on in Acts 4-5
1. We always have to remember that Acts is a transition book.
Things are changing, removing from the age of Israel to the church age. There is a transition from the dispensation of the Mosaic Law to the dispensation now of grace. It was transition from a time of incomplete or partial revelation, and incomplete canon, to the time of a complete revelation. Within 60 years of this event the New Testament canon would be completed; revelation would come to a close. The Old Testament was a time which anticipated the coming of the Messiah and this is a time which is announcing that He has come and that of the Jewish people will turn to Him then the times of refreshing will come. So there is an expectation that the kingdom is within historical sight.
2. Acts is a narrative.
It is telling a story of what happened. It is describing what they did; it is not prescribing what they did. It is telling us this happened to the apostles, it is not saying this is what every church needs to do. This is restricted to a unique time within this transitional period. Never again in the New Testament period or in church history would anything remotely resembling these events take place. It wasn’t supposed to be duplicated; it was historically conditioned. Another thing that is important to understand is that when they are giving up everything, selling their properties and giving their money to the church, they are not starting a commune. But what happens when you divest yourself of all of your property. You are free; free to move. You can go anywhere.
3. The most important aspect of this transition is that it is a transition of authority and worship.
Up to this point the focal point of worship has been at the temple. Because of that it gave additional value to the real estate in Jerusalem. There were three times a year where the population of Jerusalem would triple as all of the people came to visit to go to the feast days. A lot of people in Jerusalem would just rent out their spare bedrooms to the pilgrims who were coming to town. It gave them an additional source of income and it also gave their property as a source of income additional value. And Jesus told them in Matthew 24:2 and Luke 21:5-36 that it wouldn’t be long before judgment would come to Jerusalem and no stone would be left unturned of the temple.
2 And Jesus said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”
5 Then, as some spoke of the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and donations, He said,
6 “These things which you see—the days will come in which not one stone shall be left upon another that shall not be thrown down.”
7 So they asked Him, saying, “Teacher, but when will these things be? And what sign will there be when these things are about to take place?”
8 And He said: “Take heed that you not be deceived. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and, ‘The time has drawn near.’ Therefore do not go after them.
9 But when you hear of wars and commotions, do not be terrified; for these things must come to pass first, but the end will not come immediately.”
10 Then He said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.
11 And there will be great earthquakes in various places, and famines and pestilences; and there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven.
12 But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons. You will be brought before kings and rulers for My name’s sake.
13 But it will turn out for you as an occasion for testimony.
14 Therefore settle it in your hearts not to meditate beforehand on what you will answer;
15 for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist.
16 You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death.
17 And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake.
18 But not a hair of your head shall be lost.
19 By your patience possess your souls.
20 “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near.
21 Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her.
22 For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.
23 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! For there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people.
24 And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
25 “And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring;
26 men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
27 Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
28 Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.”
29 Then He spoke to them a parable: “Look at the fig tree, and all the trees.
30 When they are already budding, you see and know for yourselves that summer is now near.
31 So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near.
32 Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all things take place.
33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.
34 “But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly.
35 For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth.
36 Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
If you were to believe Jesus completely and totally and you owned real estate in Jerusalem, would you want to sell now or wait? This is also part of the background. Jesus is building a new organism (the church) that is built on the foundation of the apostles, and so God is showing their authority. When Peter and Ananias and Sapphira had this encounter and the consequences of that were seen the result was that people were afraid. There was respect for the authority.
So, we end our review, and pick up here on
Observations/principles to help us understand what is going on in Acts 4-5
Observations/principles to help us understand what is going on in Acts 4-5
4. In the broader context Jesus had predicted that Jerusalem would come under judgment and be destroyed in their generation.
So it is not a good idea to own property in Jerusalem. Part of their thinking was that they didn’t need to be tied down to their property.
5. They also lived with an expectation that the kingdom would come soon.
There would be judgment and then the kingdom would come. And when Messiah returned to the kingdom all the land God promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob would be there and the property lines for the different tribal allotments would all be redrawn, so why should they have all their resources bound up in their property when everything was going to change soon?
They developed an eternal perspective in relation to their temporal resources.
6. The authority of the apostles is in focus.
In the transition the focus is on the authority of the apostles and why it is dangerous to go against their authority, because they are the divine representatives on the earth.
There may be those who falsely try to make authority claims about themselves or ministries. Notice that these claims will include apostolic authority, or claims of gifts that are intended to authenticate apostolic authority. But the authority we are talking about was transitional and ceased with the apostles. Understanding this is Key to grasping the context of the Charismatic/Pentecostal gifts debate. Those who want to claim the non-cessationism of the gifts must attack this concept of authority. But this is the week link in their view and
7. In Acts 4:35 we are told that the people who sold their property brought the proceeds and laid them at the apostles’ feet.
35 and laid them at the apostles’ feet; and they distributed to each as anyone had need.
Then we are told in verse 36, Acts 4:36 that Barnabas sold land and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
36 And Joses, who was also named Barnabas by the apostles (which is translated Son of Encouragement), a Levite of the country of Cyprus,
They didn’t throw it at the apostles’ feet because this is a formal orientation where they are submitting to the authority of the apostles and giving all that they have to the apostles for the apostles to do with as they will.
They were recognizing their authority. Then in Acts 5:2 Ananias brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
2 And he kept back part of the proceeds, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
Three times there is this phrase about laying it at the apostles’ feet. This shows that they were submitting to the authority of the apostles. The problem with Ananias was that he wasn’t submitting to the authority of the apostles.
8. Think in terms of the flow of the events in Acts.
The events in chapters 3 & 4, the healing by Peter and John of the man lame from his mother’s womb, preaching in the temple, arrest by the Sanhedrin, admonishment to stop proclaiming the name and resurrection of Yeshua Moshiach, the prayer for boldness and the gathering together in unity happened fairly close to one another, close to the beginning, probably within the first three or four months after the day of Pentecost.
These events were probably some six months to a year later, we don’t know how much time went by, and then there is going to be some more opposition by the end of chapter five when Peter and John are going to be arrested again.
In chapter six something happens. There is all of the wonderful love and unity at the end of chapter four, but what happens in chapter six?
Now there is a problem because distributing the money to the poor is not that efficient. The Hellenistic widows are being neglected in the daily distribution of resources.
This led to a further development in the administration and they appointed seven men. We are introduced to Stephen who gets arrested and brought before the Sanhedrin.
He preaches a message of confrontation and condemnation in chapter seven and he is stoned. Then in Acts 8:1
1 Now Saul was consenting to his death. At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.
What happened in Acts chapter five? They all sold their property. Now they get kicked out of town. We see the sovereign hand of God behind all this.
This isn’t just we are going to give our money to the church. That is part of it but it is broader than that. They understand what God is doing in that time in history and they want to be aligned with God’s plan and purpose and not opposing it. This is also a tremendous act of trust. This is also the establishment for the office of the deacons
9. The transfer of their personal wealth to the apostles and to the church was a manifestation of their trust in God.
The apostles represent God. Previous to this time they are trusting in their own personal wealth and possessions to give them stability in difficult times.
Now they give it all to the church, a manifestation of their trust in God.
They have no trust in the long term stability of Judea because they understand that Jesus prophesied the destruction of Jerusalem and Judea. They give up financial independence and replace it with total dependence upon God. They are not valuing their physical assets over the spiritual assets; they realize that they need to be laying up treasures in heaven and not treasures on the earth.
Principle: They trusted God as the ultimate source of their security in life.
10. The consequences of their actions.
In the immediate future we learn that there was no economic need in Jerusalem and they are taking care of each other. They have all of the financial resources they need to face whatever problems and difficulties they had.
But this situation doesn’t last. By the time we get to Acts chapter eight there is a persecution that arises and they are scattered.
By the time of Paul’s second missionary journey, another fifteen years down the road, a famine comes which is part of God’s judgment and discipline on Judea at this time.
Paul is out establishing churches among the Gentiles and now is collecting money from the Gentile churches to bring back to Jerusalem, and the way the church in Jerusalem survived was on Gentile generosity.
So we are seeing the transition from the focus on a Jewish church to a more Gentile church, the transition from Israel to the church at this time in history. Romans 15:25-26, 1 Corinthians 16:1-3 .
25 But now I am going to Jerusalem to minister to the saints.
26 For it pleased those from Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor among the saints who are in Jerusalem.
1 Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given orders to the churches of Galatia, so you must do also:
2 On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come.
3 And when I come, whomever you approve by your letters I will send to bear your gift to Jerusalem.
During this time the church in Jerusalem became economically dependent on Gentile churches.
11. As word of this spread it became a powerful testimony that something radically different was taking place with this community of Christians.
They were trusting in God in ways that nobody had seen before. So it was a testimony to the grace of God, His provision for them, and it is also a witness to the dispensational transition.
12. It is not motivated by any form of utopianism or a reduction in their view of the total depravity of man.
They don’t have some high view of man where they were all just going to sell everything and go off and live in the desert, and we are all going to take care of each other and bring in a utopia.
That is the root of the idea of modern socialism from the beginning of the 19th century. It is always associated with we are going to solve all of man’s social ills and social problems, and we are going to bring in social justice by confiscating wealth from the wealthy and giving it to the poor. It doesn’t work, and that is the essence of both socialism and communism.
This is the essence of the big lie … that people are inherently good, but that circumstances are the problem. The liberals take this lie … and attack the divine institutions using the inversion of priorities. This is Satan’s policy - reverse and upside down God’s design.
13. This transfer of property, this giving of their wealth, was not mandated by the apostles.
It wasn’t a requirement; it wasn’t an obligation; it was something that was done on a pure private, voluntary basis. What we will see in this issue over what the Bible teaches about how to handle money versus modern views of communism and socialism is this emphasis on collectivism versus private responsibility. That is really the bottom line. Do you believe in individual responsibility or do you believe in collectivism? And what are the implications?
End of 4/28/2024 2nd Service
End of 4/28/2024 2nd Service
Sunday May 5, 2024
Sunday May 5, 2024
Review
Review
We have been working outwards from some very large doctrines that come from our text in Acts 4:32
32 Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common.
We listed a number of considerations hat had to be recognized that keep us from making ignorant or ill informed presuppositions about the meanings of the text.
If you need, those, printed copies are on the back table. More can be printed if we ran out.
Overview of Systems of Economics
Overview of Systems of Economics
Some of the passages in the Gospels that are used to support the idea of a Christian socialism are the same passages that are used to support replacement theology. This is because a number of those are used to relate to God’s plan for Israel and they are not talking about society at large or an economic theory per se but they are talking about specific circumstances related to Israel. But when we look at those passages within this grid of amillennial theology that dominated Roman Catholicism—which was much of European Christian thought for more than a thousand years—we realize it develops into different types of interpretation, one of which leads to replacement theology and it the seed bed for the anti-Semitism that characterized much of European history. Also, another fruit of that approach to utilizing Scripture leads to the same idea of Christian socialism.
Economics.
Economics.
The Bible establishes the fact that money in and of itself is not evil. It is the love of money that is evil—1 Timothy 6:10 .
10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
How are we going to define economics?
How are we going to define economics?
The basic word for “economics” comes from the Greek word oikonomia [οἰκονομία] which is also where we get the Greek basis for the term “dispensation.”
According to the lexicon oikonomia refers to a manager of a household; the position, work, responsibility or arrangement of an administration, as of a house or of a property, either one’s own or of another.
It is a spiritual dispensation, a management or an economy. It has to do with the management of a household, a country, an estate, and the management of those resources that are in the house, in the estate or whatever.
To give you another view, picture a conductor leading an orchestra, carefully coordinating each section to produce a beautiful symphony. Oikonomia, as expressed in the Bible, is like the conductor's role - it involves the careful arrangement and coordination of various elements to bring about harmony and beauty in God's plan.
You may wonder how we use the word to mean dispensations then?
Think of oikonomia from a composer’s view, as different musical movements within a symphony. Each movement has its own rhythm and melody, but they all come together to create a harmonious piece. Similarly, each dispensation in God's plan has its own unique characteristics, but they all come together to fulfill His divine purpose for humanity.
We, then, understand the dispensational view of oikonomia as the way in which God manages the progressive revelation of His plan, including His grace protocol plan for mankind. Across each era of dispensation.
Thomas Sowell, quoting from Lionel Robins: “Economics is the study of the use of scarce resources which have alternate uses.”
Take, for example, time. If we spend an hour in the afternoon taking a nap what is the value of that nap? Well the value of that nap is relative to the value of other things you could accomplish during that hour.
So economics is the study of the use of scarce resources—food, energy, etc.—whatever the resource may be and how we could utilize alternatives in place of that scarce resource.
In the parable of the talents, taught in the Mount Olive Discourse, in Matthew 25:14-30 and Luke 19:11-27 Jesus teaches about the responsible use of scarce resources.
The master entrusts his servants with different amounts of money, expecting them to invest wisely. This mirrors how economists study the use of scarce resources with alternative uses, seeking the most effective ways to utilize them.
Many in our day use a replacement theological framework and make the parable about how Christians are to work for their Lord, and how economic theory applies to eternal rewards. However this Mount Olive Discourse passage is actually a reference to how the Jews will be rewarded in the Messianic Kingdom by their sovereign King. It is not a parable about how God will reward Christians. It is not even a treatise on economics, although it illustrates our need to understand scarcity.
About this parable, Tommy Ice, President of the Pre-Trib study group founded by himself and Tim LaHaye tells us “ This parable [of the talents] relates to Israel’s accountability before God for their stewardship that will occur in conjunction with Christ second coming.”
https://www.pre-trib.org/an-interpretation-of-matthew-24-25/message/an-interpretation-of-matthew-24-25-part-38/read
He continues: “In keeping with previous parables in Christ’s Discourse, this one deals with the issue of faithfulness. How will a true son of the kingdom act during the time of his master’s absence? Will he be faithful to his lord or will he be a worthless servant? The servants were evaluated for how they dispensed their responsibilities during the absence of their master. Upon the return of the master, those servants that were faithful in the execution of their duties were rewarded with greater responsibility and wealth during the future reign of the king. "So here the heirs of the kingdom will receive greater blessing, while the ones who do not inherit it will be shut off from even an opportunity for entrance," notes Dr. Toussaint. "Those who do receive rewards will be rewarded according to their faithfulness and not the measure of their work."
Dr. Toussaint tells us:
The last three parables give practical instructions in the light of the King’s coming to judge and to reign. The principle which underlies each is the same one which was given in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 7:16–21). The fruit of faithfulness and preparedness would indicate the character of those living in the days before His coming. In each parable, character is manifested by works. This thought forms the key to the following passage which deals with the judgment of the nations. (Matthew 25:31–46)
Ice concludes: “In this parable Jesus portrays Himself as the Master of a house who is set to embark on a journey and He gives various responsibilities to His servants. This parable contains all of the basic elements dispensationalists teach are related to the testing of the various ages within God’s plan for history.”
Theology. A religious order or system, conceived as divinely instituted, or as a stage in a progressive revelation, expressly adapted to the needs of a particular nation or period of time, as the patriarchal dispensation, Mosaic (or Jewish) dispensation, the Christian dispensation; also, the age or period during which such system has prevailed;
Oxford English Dictionary, s.v. “dispensation (n.), sense II.6,” March 2024, https://doi.org/10.1093/OED/9613401598.
Charles Ryrie
Dr. Ryrie formulates the following description and definition of dispensationalism:
Dispensationalism views the world as a household run by God. In this household-world God is dispensing or administering its affairs according to His own will and in various stages of revelation in the process of time. These various stages mark off the distinguishably different economies in the outworking of His total purpose, and these different economies constitute the dispensations. The understanding of God’s differing economies is essential to a proper interpretation of His revelation within those various economies.
Dr. Ryrie notes the following characteristics of a dispensation as viewed by dispensationalist:
two parties are always involved
specific responsibilities
accountability as well as responsibility
a change may be made at any time unfaithfulness is found in the existing administration
God is the one to whom men are responsible
faithfulness is required of the subordinate party
a stewardship may end at any time
dispensations are connected with the mysteries of God
dispensations and ages are connected ideas
there are at least three dispensation (likely seven).
When we compare the dispensations with the specific characteristics of this parable we note the following: Each dispensation begins with a responsibility given to the steward. In this parable the stewards are the slaves (25:14) and their responsibility is faithful stewardship (25:19). While this parable pictures some who were faithful, each dispensation within God’s plan ends in failure, as depicted by the unfaithful servant (25:18, 26). Thus, each age ends in judgment, as God holds his stewards responsible for their actions, which is see in the unfaithful slave who is cast "into outer darkness" (25:30).
The scenario in this parable provides a paradigm for how God manages human history based upon His revelation (the Bible). In spite of Satan and the unbelieving world, God knows what He is doing throughout history. He is in control and even though we currently live in a time when God is allowing mankind to go their own way and do their own thing, judgment day is coming when He will hold mankind accountable for their stewardship towards God.
Now let’s return to Sowell as he writes on economics:
“Economics is not about the financial faith of individuals; it is about the material wellbeing of society as a whole. It shows cause and effect relationships involving crisis [value], industry and commerce, work and pay [responsible labor], and the international balance of trade…”
Trade has to do with the exchange of goods which is property
“… all from the standpoint of how this affects the allocation of scarce resources in a way that raises or lowers the material standard of living of the population as a whole.”
End of 1st Service 5/5/2024
End of 1st Service 5/5/2024
Beginning of 2nd Service 5/5/2024
Beginning of 2nd Service 5/5/2024
As we look at his expanded definition of Lionel Robins’ short definition we notice that both of these definitions bring in the idea of how these finite resources are managed or administered.
Whether the people in a given economy are going to be prosperous or whether they are going to be in poverty all depends on how those resources are managed.
If the resources have to be managed, what does that tell us?
It tells us that somebody, some group, some entity is managing how those resources are being allocated. It implies that there is someone, some group, some entity that has control or ownership over those resources. The implication that somebody has control over the resources implies ownership, control and ownership of those resources.
Whenever we talk about property right and ownership and about determining how certain resources are allocated we have brought in two critical elements: property rights and responsibility.
That is fundamental to any discussion on economics, on management, on any sort of business—who is responsible and who has ownership of the resources. If we develop our thinking a little more we see that there are some questions that ought to come to our mind when we think about this basic definition of the use of resources. Who owns the resources in a given economy? How is ownership determined? Different economies are going to determine ownership in different ways, e.g. the Soviet Union compared to the USA. Another question: Who has authority over the resources and who determines their allocation?
Another question we ought to address is the way in which ethics—right and wrong, justice and injustice, fairness and unfairness—relate to the allocation of resources.
Often we hear politicians talk about the tax code in terms of “everybody needs to pay their fair share.” But what does that fair share mean? As soon as we say that we imply a set of values in order to determine what fairness is. For some fairness is that everybody pays and equal percentage of their income for taxes. For others fairness is on a progressive scale so that if you have less you will pay a lower percentage and if you have more you will pay a higher percentage. But who is it that determines where those lines are? What is the basis for making an evaluation of where poverty is and where rich is? Rich used to be several million dollars; rich today has been lowered to a couple of hundred thousand dollars.
Who among us has the right to make the decision as to what is an appropriate amount of income and what is inappropriate?
What is it that gives anyone the right to say you have made so much money, you are classified as rich? Does anybody have that right?
Because if they have that right they have the right to determine a lot of other things affecting the individual’s freedom.
We need to ask these questions as we think about the idea of scarcity of resources.
This implies that there is a scale of values related to the degree of scarcity. In Minnesota there is a lot of water; in Arizona they don’t have a lot of water. So who is going to assign a value to the resource of water? In some places it is less valuable; in some places it is more valuable because of its presence. Some places it is easy to get to; in some places it is harder to get to. So that is going to bring in the whole idea of labor, and how you get to the resource to develop the resource.
Question: Is value intrinsic or is it assigned?
So then we have to ask the question: On what basis, then, do we assign value? In Minnesota there is an abundance of water; in Arizona there isn’t, so the value assigned to water is imputed by the people who need it. How we answer some of these questions determines how a society prospers.
As Thomas Sowell points out in Conflict of Vision the most fundamental presupposition that governs people’s answers to questions has to do with their view of the nature of man.
So if the nature of man affects how you answer these questions—whether man is basically good or man is basically flawed or sinful—that implies also a certain view of God and a certain view of ultimate reality.
We start thinking about God and man and nature which are all addressed in some way by the questions we ask related to the economy and we come back to the basic elements of theology.
So economics, like every other area in God’s creation, is going to be impacted by how we understand God, man and nature.
Everything ultimately goes back to religious assumptions. Whether people have thought about it or not is a totally different issue. But philosophers and theologians through the centuries have all recognized that our view of God, man and nature or creation impact our view of politics, law and economics.
The Bible is not an economic textbook but it does tell us true things that relate to these issues of economics. It says a lot about money, values, property. Property is a crucial element in relation to an economy; it is integral to how we think about economy. The freedom to own property and to dispose of that property as you will, without interference from government, is integral in experiencing freedom. If you don’t have freedom to your property then you don’t have freedom or liberty at all.
The Mosaic Law gives us much more detailed information and a divine perspective within a government framework—on labor, on the value of labor, on financial obligations, the ethics related to labor and how to treat servants, and the use of wealth.
At the very core of the Mosaic Law’s theology of money and value is property rights.
In the Ten Commandments, Thou shalt not steal recognizes the right of property ownership and that it is wrong for someone to abrogate illegally property ownership and property rights. The New Testament doesn’t contradict any of the things said in the Old Testament. It doesn’t address them in the same way because the church is the focal point and the church isn’t a national entity, it is a trans-national entity, and so the focus is different. But the principles that are seen in the New Testament are still consistent with those in the Old Testament.
Many of the parables relate to a property owner and a steward, and that the property owner (not the government) has the right to set wages and determine how much he will pay.
We often hear today that the problem with capitalism is that it is motivated by greed. There are a lot of people who want to better themselves and that may be classified as greed. There are some who just accumulate a lot because they value possessions and money and are going to be happier, more secure by what they have. That would be classified as Greed, and the Bible condemns greed.
So whereas one person can be motivated by personal greed to amass great wealth another person can be motivated by a desire for social approbation, and his greed is not for money, for things that money can buy or for property; his greed is for social approbation and recognition. So the path that his greed takes is to try to legislate some of the property and the wealth of the one person to redistribute it to those who don’t have—just as much an aspect of greed as the greediest capitalist. Greed doesn’t have to be greed for money. It can be greed for recognition, for power, for approbation, and any number of different objects. Often materialism is camouflaged by some sort of socially justified position but who is to say that their greed is better than the greed of the CEO or the property owner.
Basic definitions
Basic definitions
Capitalism:
Capitalism:
Capitalism has a variety of definitions but generally it is defined as an economic system where the means of production—property, land, machinery—are privately owned, operated for profit from investment and in competitive markets.
(There is no such thing as basically a free market economy. That is what we would strive for but it doesn’t exist and hasn’t really existed anywhere. The closest it came was maybe a few years after the United States was founded, but since the rise of central banking and the use of tariffs prior to the War Between the States, there has been government control. When you have government control to produce certain economic results you no longer have a free market.)
It is operated from profit. There is a legitimacy to making a profit. If there weren’t people making a profit and people who made a lot of profit, then just think how culturally impoverished we would be as a nation. When the government comes in and tries to pick the winners in the competition you start having problems. This happens in a lot of different ways—agricultural subsidies paid to farmers who are paid not to grow rice, corn, etc. If those restraints were taken off [it is feared] and they grew all the rice and corn they wanted it would so upset the balance of economics that we couldn’t survive it. So the government has to control it by paying subsidies. So a lot of tax-payer dollars are paid to people for not growing certain things.
Question: Who has the omniscience in any government to make those kinds of decisions? It is a manipulation of the market place.
Communism:
Communism:
This is the other end of the spectrum.
Communism is technically defined as a social and political economic movement that aims at the establishment of a classless and stateless communist society structured upon common ownership of production.
This means nobody owns any property; the government own the property, the means of production, the factories. This destroys all competition and guarantees that people will quit trying hard. Communism tries to guarantee the results. When the government guarantees results it destroys incentive, any kind of desire to improve.
Socialism:
Socialism:
The last stop before you get to communism.
Socialism is an economic system in which the means of production are commonly owned or controlled cooperatively.
The government either owns or controls the means of production. In a lot of situations the government doesn’t own the companies but by legislation and regulation it controls the production. And the government through taxation is the only entity that comes out ahead. Modern socialism originated from 18th century intellectual and working class political movement that criticized the effects of industrialization on society.
Every one of these systems has to do with private property, the ownership of private property.
The Democratic Socialists of America: They believe that both society and the economy should be run democratically, to meet public needs, not to make profits for just a few.
The only way to accomplish that is for the government or some entity to control all of the forces of the economy to guarantee the results.
They have to be able to control the outcomes and the results. This means people can’t really own things, and by ownership is meant the right to determine how those resources are going to be used for themselves or for others.
End 2nd Service 5/5/2024
End 2nd Service 5/5/2024
Sunday May 12, 2024
Sunday May 12, 2024
Review
Review
Understanding God to Understand Economics
Understanding God to Understand Economics
As Christians, we have to start with the Bible. Part of the problem we will see is that most economic theories in human practice start with experience as opposed to God.
That doesn’t mean they don’t have the same amount of truth. Some end up with more truth than others do. Still, we should remember that most of these human systems we talk about—whether it is capitalism, socialism, Marxism, or whether we are talking about different schools within capitalism—all start with an analysis of what is happening in culture. They are not starting with the Word of God as the starting point. As Christians, that is where we have to start.
Man was created in the image of God as a reflection of God—Genesis 1:26-27 .
26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
The word “likeness” or “image,” depending on your English translation, has to do with the idea that man was a reflection of God’s basic makeup, a finite representation of God so that he could have a relationship with God and was, in turn, to reflect God to that which he was set over.
To understand Economics we have to start with who God is.
To understand Economics we have to start with who God is.
We know He exists as a Trinity. We want to bring in some ideas here, where we start focusing on economics. Although we don’t always understand it as we learn it, we know that God is one in essence, yet three in person. We realize that what can be said of the Father can also be said of the Son. What can be said of the Son can also be said of the Holy Spirit. They are one in a unity comprising three separate persons, and we can’t quite grasp all that means.
Trinity - Social Dimension
Trinity - Social Dimension
But there is a social dimension to the trinity that does not exist in other views of God.
This dimension is missing in other systems of monotheism that we would call unitarian monotheism because they have an eternal deity that is solitary.
There is no object for his love, and he is not love.
This is seen in its worst-case scenario with Allah in Islam because Allah has no one to love. So either he creates an object for his love—which means that he is dependent upon his creatures to show love—or he isn’t love.
That is the reality in Islam because Allah is never said to be love. The word “love” is never applied to God in the Quran at all. In solitary monotheism, the god depends on a creature to express that attribute.
And if God is self-sufficient and independent, He is either a loving God with a plurality of persons within His Godhead or He is not God because He would depend on His creation.
So this brings to bear the social dimension of the Trinity.
Trinity Economic Dimension
Trinity Economic Dimension
There is also an economic dimension to the Trinity.
We probably never thought of using the term “economics” that way, but this is how God administers His plan. Remember,
Economics has to do with the management and administration of resources. So, this is how God administers His plan—for example, the plan of salvation.
God the Father is the architect of the plan of salvation,
God the Son carries it out,
and God the Holy Spirit is the one who reveals and applies the plan of salvation.
They have distinctive roles. In theological literature, these will be described. The social aspect is often called the ontological Trinity, but that is a tricky word for many people to process, so we’ll just call it the social dimension. This sounds theoretical, but if we don’t start here and build on this foundation, everything else really falls apart.
What we see here is that in God, as the creator, the supreme being who creates the heavens, the earth, the seas, and all that is in them, the social dimension and the economic dimension are inseparable. We can’t have social one way and economic another way. What is the application of that? How many times today do we hear somebody say, well, I’m a social liberal but an economic conservative? You can’t be that and hold to a Trinitarian view of economics.
Suppose you hold to a Trinitarian view of economics and reality.
Your view of society and relationships must be consistent with your view of the Godhead's function, role, and operation. Your social view must match your economic view, and vice versa.
If you have them in conflict, then you have a conflicted and inconsistent God. All things have to hold together ultimately in a unity in the Godhead. Social issues and economic issues are not separable. You can’t say you are going to follow this view on social views and this view on economic views. Ultimately, they have to be consistent, and they have to be built on the same foundation.
Another thing we know from observing the passages in Genesis 1:27-28 is that God created man with a purpose.
27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
He gave him a role, a function, and things to do. Verse 28 contains five commands.
Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, subdue the earth, have dominion over all life.
This isn’t something that is said after the fall. And that is really important because this has to do with man’s mission to rule over all of the planet.
He was to take dominion over all of the resources that God put on the planet. Adam and Eve, as finite creatures, could not ever do that. It would be impossible for just two people to fulfill the original creation mandate here. So, they are told to fill the earth and subdue it.
The idea here is that they were to have children and were to teach their children, and the human race was to serve under the authority of God, exercise dominion, and develop the resources of the planet. This planet has gold, silver, petroleum, animals, trees, and all kinds of natural resources that were untapped, undiscovered, and unused. It was part of the human race's responsibility to discover all of the qualities of these resources and then to exploit them in a positive sense—to use them.
Then, in Genesis 2:16, God gave another command to the man (not to Eve) because he is the head of the team.
16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat;
God put the man in the garden to cultivate it, per Genesis 2:15 .
15 Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.
This is the Hebrew word that means to work, to serve, and to guard. There is a negative also. In Genesis 2:17 they are not to eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
But in the process, God gives another responsibility: naming all the animals. This begins the process of looking at the natural resources and understanding them.
The first resource God directs Adam to is the animals, to name them. What is involved in that? Genesis 2:19-20
19 Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name.
20 So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him.
(It is not all the animals at this point; the term used here would relate to the domestic animals that would populate the immediate garden)
He has to start observing and then make conclusions and name them.
Notice that verse 19 and 20 are in parentesis, or should be. God created man with a mandate in vers3 15 - tend and cultivate the land. Don’t eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Then He went to create Eve. But verse 19, and 20 give a parenthetical view of the work that God had established for man, that would actually require mankind.
Then God had to create a helper to help Adam manage these resources that God had set up, a helper in fulfilling the mandates to be fruitful, to multiply, fill the earth and subdue it, and rule over it. That is the management idea. Together, they are going to serve and guard in the garden.
So what we see here is individual accountability, labor, and productivity; man is going to enjoy the rewards of his work, and there is private property—they are put in charge of a specific piece of real estate.
Who owns the real estate?
God owns the real estate.
This is important because when we get over into Exodus and look at the Mosaic Law God is going to give the Israelites the land of Canaan, and this is going to be their promised land. When we read through the Mosaic Law, we see that they have an income tax, a set income tax, and a flat-rate tax of ten percent. There are three of them—not progressive, though; it was to be equitable.
What is the keyword that we want for law?
It should be just or righteous.
God defines righteousness in the pattern of His law. That law came from God; it is perfect and can’t be improved upon. That means that anything that changes is not improved. So, progressive taxation is a violation of the pattern that God established in the Law.
There are two types of taxes we have today that were not in the Mosaic Law.
There was no inheritance tax. Why? Because God wants people to be productive and to amass wealth generationally. We can’t do that if there is a penalty for accumulating wealth called an inheritance tax.
Secondly, there was no property tax. Property tax implies that the ultimate owner of the real estate is the state. But who owns the land? God does. So that sees man as a steward and man as a responsible manager who is given land that he is to do something with.
In the Mosaic Law, the state doesn’t have the right to come in and tax that because the state doesn’t own it, God does. But what happens in an autonomous state that has rejected the role of God in terms of the ownership of His creation is that the state comes in and says it really owns all of this land, you are just a tenant and are going to pay us X-number of dollars a year for property tax.
Now just because we live in a nation that has property taxes and that is not a genuinely, consistently biblical idea, it doesn’t mean we don’t pay our property taxes.
We still render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s. However, we need to eliminate the property tax and the inheritance tax because these violate the principle of productivity.
They hold us back, and they just put more money in the hands of the government, so what happens is that the government takes over more and more arenas of responsibility that belong to the individual, the marriage, or the family.
They are usurping control and bringing it under their own area because they want to control the resources or the money.
Labor, then, should be defined as responsible service to God. God put man in the garden to serve God. Labor is responsibly serving God, and it was a pleasurable and enjoyable activity.
It provided an opportunity for the creature to develop and expand through his initiative and creativity, the resources that God had given him under God’s authority.
What makes a person creative is that they are not restricted by boundaries. A person who is creative is not going to be bound by tradition or convention or what has been done; he wants to find a new way to do it, a new way to express it. So, something within the nature of creativity pushes some boundaries. The trouble in a fallen world is that you can’t change some boundaries.
Observation: People who are extremely creative also have a very difficult time with authority, and they have a very difficult time with the authority of God because part of this thing about being creative has something to do with pushing boundaries, doing something new, doing something in a different way, and not being able to recognize what boundaries can be crossed and what boundaries can’t be crossed; and the divine institutions are boundaries that can’t be crossed.
A creative person wants to think outside the box, which is great as long as the box isn’t the creation ordinances of God and moral absolutes.
So labor is responsible service and it is up to man to exploit (in a good sense), use or develop what God has provided in terms of raw material and then to explore all of its properties and qualities and to build and develop things with it. As he does that, the things developed have use and value to the culture.
Economics is the study of values: the value a market imputes to a person’s productivity. From the time of the garden, there has been an assignment of value to what people produce—at least, potentially.
So, we should raise the question: Is value determined objectively or subjectively?
If we read Genesis chapter two, we realize that on the surface of the earth, there were places where gold, silver, and precious metals could be found that have great value today.
Are gold and silver intrinsically valuable, or is it that, as a culture, we just assign value? That is important because what do we just do when we assign value to gold?
We imputed value. That is the term. Doesn’t this have something to do with the gospel here and imputation? It is interesting how all these things relate to one another.
Returning to the question, is the value inherent in the thing itself? If you are stranded out on some plains with a lot of gold but not much food or water, what is more valuable, a ton of gold or a couple of gallons of water? It is relative. The value of gold is going to be determined by what it can help you get; the value of food and water happens to be much greater. So, when we talk about value, we need to think in terms of what makes something valuable.
How do we understand value?
1. God evaluated labor in Genesis chapter one and said it was good.
He evaluated it; He assigned a value to His creation and said it was good. This doesn’t mean that God said this was righteous. It isn’t being used in a moral sense; it is being used in a functional sense. He had a blue print and a work order, and the work order said on day one you’re going to do this. At the end of day one, He did this; he accomplished the task; it was exactly what He wanted; it was good. At the end of the week, God looked at everything. He had completed the entire project and said it was very good. In Genesis chapter two, God said it was not good for man to be alone. If good is a moral term, then the implication is that it is not morally good for a man to be alone. There’s a little problem with that. God is saying that it is not according to His plan for man to be alone.
2. The creation is good because God says it is good.
He is the ultimate standard. The creation conforms to His standard and what He intended.
3. Therefore, from Genesis chapter one, God imputed value to His creation.
4. God created man in His image, and so man will do certain things in his life as an image bearer that reflects God’s character and mission for Him.
5. Divine institution #1 states that man is responsible to God, therefore man does not operate independently of God but man is to operate dependently upon God.
He is to think in terms of the categories and the structure that God has assigned him, but within those categories and structure, there is room for development for man to think in terms of the ability that God has given him.
6. Man is given certain tasks to perform—like naming the animals, classifying them, and categorizing them—and so he begins to exercise his dominion over creation.
7. This value assignment then begins laying down the basic principles that govern our view of economics.
How we assign value for the process of trade and exchange.
8. This relates to a fundamental question of economics which is, how do we assign values?
Is it intrinsic, which would be objective? Or is it extrinsic, something that is relative to how it is used within a culture? The objective view of value is a theory that there is intrinsic value in gold, silver, or diamonds. In the late 1870s, economists developed a theory called the marginalist theory of value or the subjective view of value.
That has to do with the idea that there is an imputation of value. Ludwig von Mises was one of the major proponents in the 20th century of a subjective view of value.
What have we talked about? We have the Godhead, a social structure, and an economic structure. We can’t separate them. God creates man and puts them in the garden; they fail. What do we have as a result of failure? We have personal problems now; we have conflicts.
This develops throughout history, and all of a sudden, we have trade wars, terrorists, and all of these other things that relate to economics.
So we have this brilliant statement by the founder of the Austrian School of Economics (Related to Christianity): “We may leave aside the genuine dogmas such as creation, incarnation, the Trinity, as they have no direct bearing on the problems of inter-human relations.”
Did you catch that?
This is why the fundamental issue is, how do you know what you know?
What is your ultimate view of reality?
Here is a guy who is the founder of a school of economics, and the point is not to single him out here. Rather, this is the flaw of human thought, the flaw of empiricism.
He says to forget the Trinity, forget the incarnation, and forget that God is the creator, which has no bearing on the problems of inter-human relations. That means you can’t start with the Bible to get to the truth; you can only start with empiricism. That is a flawed methodology from the get-go, but it is not unique to him. Now, he came to a lot of really good decisions, as do others, but it is not because they are consistent with their foundation; it is because they happened to stumble on some creation truth and they stuck with it.
Value is assigned, but there are exceptions. This is why we have to stick with the Scriptures. For example, we take the Bible as a book and Playboy Magazine as a book. In a decadent society or in certain sub-cultures within that society, the Bible has no value in the marketplace, but there is great value placed on pornography. Which is intrinsic value? The Bible does because it is God’s Word. The Scripture says it is more to be desired than gold. So, some things have intrinsic value? But what are they? They are the things that relate to eternity, to the Godhead. That is where the ultimate value lies. So once again, if we think in terms of economics, we have to break it down in terms of the creator-creature distinction, the role of the creator, and the role of the creature. Value is assigned by God, so that at the cross where the eternal second person of the Trinity pays the penalty for sin, God imputes a value to that. That value, then, in turn, gets imputed to every human being who trusts in Christ for salvation. That is an understanding of justification.
End of May 12, 2024
End of May 12, 2024
Sunday May 19, 2024
Sunday May 19, 2024
Review
Review
We have been working our way through
Economic Doctrines established in scripture:
Right of Personal Labor Rewards
Personal Responsibility Accountability
Imputation Value
Private Property according to the Sovereignty of God
Validity of Wealth Accumulation without limit
Personal/Individual Compassion as Primary Safety Net
Tithing: Limited Safety Net
Property, Responsibility, Taxes
Property, Responsibility, Taxes
It has been said that a government can only guarantee equal opportunity of freedom before the law;
Indeed, that is all that a government can guarantee. Nothing more.
When a government starts manipulating circumstances to try to give everybody the same equal circumstances, it is destructive to families and cultures because no one else—no government, no committee—has the right to come in and say, “I really think you ought to do it this way. This is what I find works for me, and you have to do it this way.”
That is a loss of freedom. We see this happen again and again and again, no matter how much we might think some action, activity, or way of eating—diet, health practice, or injurious health practice—is good or negative. What gives any of us the right to say someone else needs to do that and has to do it the way we think it ought to be done? Yet we have a culture today that is loaded with self-righteous people both on the Left and on the Right who try to dictate so that everybody does it their way.
Individual responsibility is a key elements of any economic system: an emphasis on the individual's responsibility.
One other thing we need to note when we talk about personal responsibility is that if you are responsible for your success, to take whatever it is that God has given you and make a success of it in order to be truly free in utilizing those assets and be free to succeed you have to be equally free to fail.
We learn more from failure than we do from success, and yet part of utopian socialism comes in, and we want to protect people from the consequences of their bad decisions.
And yet, throughout Scripture, there is an emphasis on learning from our bad decisions. Most of us learn more from our bad decisions and falling on our faces, learning that we can’t do it our way; we can only do it God’s way, and when we come in and try to protect the circumstances so that we can’t fail then we are also limiting our opportunities to succeed. To the degree that we are able to fail that same degree, we are able to succeed. The only way we could level the playing field would be to take away from those who are successful so that we can limit the negatives of the people who fail.
So, to have true responsibility and freedom, we have to be able to freely succeed or freely fail. Freedom always involves responsibility. In fact, it is more important to talk about responsibility than it is to talk about rights. Scripture doesn’t emphasize our rights; it emphasizes our responsibility. If we have freedom, we have responsibilities and are responsible to someone; we are accountable to God.
At the beginning we saw that God established responsibility for man. He was to work, but it wasn’t toilsome; it wasn’t burdensome; it didn’t give him despair; it was joy because this was serving God. He had responsibility for all of the planet. Who owns the planet? God does. The foundational principle in a biblical view of economics is that God owns the resources. This has great implications if we want to divert to thinking about the environment.
Leviticus 25:23
specifically talks about the land that God gave the Israelites but the principle there was just a derivative of the overall principle, which is the land. The planet is owned by God. This is the foundation for all of the parables that Jesus talks about in the New Testament when He says, “There was a landowner.” That’s God. And He sends His son, a steward or representative. It always has to do with the landowner, and that represents God.
23 ‘The land shall not be sold permanently, for the land is Mine; for you are strangers and sojourners with Me.
God ultimately owns the resources; Man, the human race, is like a tenant farmer. We can buy and sell, but if we think we are the ultimate owner of our resources, we get in trouble. When we look at passages dealing with giving, we always look at man as a responsible steward or administrator of land, property, and financial resources that all come from God. This is what truly separates a biblical view of economics from any secular system out there. No matter how accurate they may be in places, there are elements within a biblical worldview that make it very different, and this is one of them: the land, the property, the business, the financial resources, whatever it is we own, it is simply on loan from God. God is the ultimate owner of all the resources and tells us how they are to be used and how we are to think about the things we own.
The Bible has intrinsic value because it is the Word of God. God has intrinsic value, and Jesus Christ has intrinsic value; there is no imputed value to the Scripture or Jesus Christ. Everything within creation has an imputed value, but that which is related to God has unchangeable, eternal intrinsic value.
17 Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’: “Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life.
The ground is judged. Before, the ground was not judged; the ground was unhindered and ready to produce bountifully, and we can’t even imagine what that must have been like. But now the ground is going to fight the farmer. That is why work, serving God, becomes laborious, dreary, toilsome, and negative because now there is resistance from creation because it is under a curse. The word translated as “toil” in that verse is a word that brings in the physical and emotional difficulties of work. It was not that way before the fall.
18 Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, And you shall eat the herb of the field.
So now the soil is not only cursed but it is going to produce things that also make it more difficult to be involved in positive production and utilizing the resources that God has given us.
19 In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return.”
So, we get a new concept of labor. Labor is no longer the unhindered work and service to God that brings us pure joy in serving Him in utilizing and developing creation; it now becomes burdensome.
To understand the Mosaic Law, we have to get into its structure. There are basically three components to the Mosaic Law; the first is the Ten Commandments, which are a summary of the primary principles that underlie everything else that is in the Law. The approach to law that we find in the Mosaic Law is called case law, where God doesn’t say everything there is to say about every kind of situation. Still, He gives parameters, the principle, and then He will go into specifics—e.g., “Thou shalt not steal”—on what happens when there is theft, what the principles are, and the different types of theft. He doesn’t cover everything, but He gives enough specifics there to where something that comes up that doesn’t fit that scenario can be thought through by man.
When we look at the Ten Commandments, three of them have to do specifically with property. The fourth commandment, Exodus 20:8-11
8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
The word “holy” means to keep it set apart; it is distinct, and there is something unique about that day; keep it separate from what you do on the other six days. “Six days you shall labor and do all your work…” “Labor” is the same word used in Genesis 2:15 when God put Adam in the garden and said he was to keep the garden and guard it.
15 Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.
9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
The Hebrew word is a broad word; it can mean work, service, or even something more laborious. “… but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God; {in it} you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you.” The word “work” is from the Hebrew word which can mean work. Still, it has a more specific meaning regarding craftsmanship and dealing with your property. It can refer to the activity of working itself, the skills related to work, or the results that is produces. It emphasizes skill and benefit—the skill of production and the benefits of working well.
That word takes us back to the pattern of God’s creation, where He worked for six days, looked at His creation, was satisfied that everything was according to plan, and rested—ceased His labor and creative work on the seventh day.
10 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates.
11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.
This is a pattern of labor, that God is blessing labor. This is a command to labor, to work for six days. So, the fourth commandment emphasizes labor and enjoying the results of your own productivity. Your neighbor doesn’t get to enjoy them in the sense of a socialistic environment where we all own the same property so that you make it, and they enjoy it.
The next verse that talks about property is Exodus 20:15.
15 “You shall not steal.
This is a short command, but stealing means that there is some property that we do not have a right to; someone else owns it. So, this command recognizes personal, private ownership of property and that it is wrong for one person to take that property that another person owns for themselves or give it to someone else. There is a principle there that private property must be respected.
Passages we are going through in the New Testament are not being looked at in terms of their overt lessons—this one in Luke 12, yes, more than others. Various parables that we will look at are the fact that for the parable to work it has to assume the legitimacy of certain business practices. If those aren’t legitimate, then the parable wouldn’t work, and Jesus would be using something illegitimate to try to teach truth, which is irrational. In Luke 12, Jesus has a large multitude of people who gather together to hear Him teach, and they are about to trample one another, so they are an unruly crowd. It doesn’t mean they can’t be believers; even Christians can become unruly.
1 In the meantime, when an innumerable multitude of people had gathered together, so that they trampled one another, He began to say to His disciples first of all, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
He is addressing His disciples first.
13 Then one from the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”
This is like a line out of the “Occupy Wall Street” movement, isn't it?! Make them share it with us! Who can tell that to any person who has worked for a reward? Nobody has the right to set a standard of wealth and say that anybody who makes more than that is wrong. Who are you to say that? Who has the right to put a limit on somebody else’s productivity? Historically, the people who have made tremendous wealth have used that to endow and invest in many different institutions. Here, one of the crowd wants Jesus to dictate to others to give their inheritance.
14 But He said to him, “Man, who made Me a judge or an arbitrator over you?”
Jesus recognizes that it is not for one human being to impose acceptable income levels on others. He recognizes what the real issue is. It is just plain old greed and envy. The problem isn’t that the person who has isn’t sharing with the person who doesn’t have. Jesus never de-legitimizes the wealthy person. He addresses, though, the poor person, the one who doesn’t have, and He addresses his greed and his covetousness.
15 And He said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”
He will address the lust for possessions as having the key to meaning in life. Jesus isn’t saying it is wrong to possess things, that it is wrong to be wealthy. He is saying it is wrong to think that possessing things and wealth is the key to happiness and meaning in life.
Then Jesus spoke a parable. Luke 12:16-21
16 Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully.
17 And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’
18 So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods.
19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.” ’
20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’
21 “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
The recognition is that everything that we have is temporary. God is the ultimate owner of everything and everything we earn in life. Life is not guaranteed to have any kind of equality in terms of our circumstances. How dull would that be!
God says not to put your hope in the things that you have; that is not what gives you meaning in life because that is temporary. Never once in this entire parable is there any indication that it is wrong to have wealth. It is wrong to have wealth and use it wrongly; it is wrong to have wealth and use it as if it is the means of life and to hold it. Because God gives it to us as a test to see how we will utilize it for others, but it is an individual decision; it is not a decision that anyone else, even the government, can make for someone. Nowhere in Scripture, even in the Mosaic Law, when it talks about tithing and caring for the poor, is it done through a government mechanism. It is an individual responsibility.
Whatever we have in this life is simply to be a means, something that God gives us to enhance our spiritual life and/or the spiritual life of others—missionaries, orphanages, hospitals, whatever it may be to enhance life ministry.
Jesus goes on in the next verses on how we are to think about the details of life.
22 Then He said to His disciples, “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on.
23 Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing.
24 Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds?
He goes on to discuss how God will provide for our logistical needs. So, ultimately, you can’t disconnect what he says in verses 13-21 from what he says in verses 22-34. He will end at verse Luke 12:34 , saying, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
There is nothing negative about having treasure or wealth; it is having it and using it wrongly that is the problem. It is not money that is the root of all evil; it is the love of money and covetousness that is the root of all evil.
So we see here that in the foundation of the Ten Commandments, we recognize property rights to the degree that we should not even want what somebody else has, in the sense that taking what they have away from them so that it becomes “ours.” Scripture is based on the principles of individual volition, value that is imputed by man, and property rights.
Property, Tithing and Taxes
Property, Tithing and Taxes
We have been working our way through
Economic Doctrines established in scripture:
Right of Personal Labor Rewards
Personal Responsibility Accountability
Imputation Value
Private Property according to the Sovereignty of God
Validity of Wealth Accumulation without limit
Personal/Individual Compassion as Primary Safety Net
Tithing: Limited Safety Net
Stealing occurs under socialism when a person does not have the right to determine what to do with their own productivity. It happens when a government comes in and abuses its authority of taxation by taking what it has not produced and engaging in a social experiment to redistribute wealth. “You shall not steal” recognizes that there is the right to private ownership of property.
Then the tenth commandment, Exodus 20:17
17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.”
This focuses on a mental attitude of jealousy, envy, and lust for what is not yours. This we see in a number of different movements like “Occupy Wall Street.” While they are out on the street accusing and being critical of corporations for their “excessive greed,” on the other hand they want all student loans to be wiped out. Well, that is just their form of greed. They just want to substitute their form of greed for what they perceive to be in various corporations. It is just one form of evil fighting another form of evil, one form of greed fighting another form of greed, and neither is righteous.
We go to the parables not to look at the message of the parable at the time that Jesus gave it, but as He gives the parable, He is validating certain economic practices and principles. That is what we are looking at. Luke 20:9
9 Then He began to tell the people this parable: “A certain man planted a vineyard, leased it to vinedressers, and went into a far country for a long time.
The certain man here is the landowner. He plants the vineyard, he owns the land, he plants a crop, and he has the right to earn a living from the land. He is going to do it through tenant farming.
Luke 20:10 :
10 Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that they might give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the vinedressers beat him and sent him away empty-handed.
He wants to enjoy the benefits of his production, which he owns because he is the landowner. He owns the factory and the corporation, and so he has a right to that corporation's profits.
10 Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that they might give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the vinedressers beat him and sent him away empty-handed.
But when he sends his assistant to pick up the profits, the employees, the tenant farmers, beat him and send him away empty-handed. What has happened? They want to keep the products for themselves. That is a violation of the eighth commandment,
Exodus 20:15 :
15 “You shall not steal.
They are stealing. They don’t own the means of production or the production results; they are merely the workers. This is not unlike Marxism or what happens in many labor unions. So here we have this situation where the workers want to own what is not theirs.
Luke 20:11-13 :
11 Again he sent another servant; and they beat him also, treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed.
12 And again he sent a third; and they wounded him also and cast him out.
13 “Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son. Probably they will respect him when they see him.’
Of course, we know this is designed to teach the principle that God is the owner of everything on the planet, especially the land of Israel. He has sent His servants the prophets many times with messages, and they have been rejected, so finally, God sent His Son.
Luke 20:14 :
14 But when the vinedressers saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.’
Their motivation is to steal the property of the one who owns it. Remember the main idea of inheritance is property ownership, so what they want is for the inheritance, the property to be theirs.
Luke 20:15 :
15 So they cast him out of the vineyard and killed him. Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do to them?
So they want to steal what belongs to the owner. In this case, it is God, so they want to steal the planet from God. That is essentially the viewpoint of those who are unbelievers and those who are not following God’s Word. They want to run the world according to their views and standards, not God’s.
So, we pick a few principles and an illustration of covetousness. It is envy. Taking something that isn’t ours, something that we haven’t earned.
The validity of wealth accumulation: the validity, if not the righteousness, of wealth accumulation with no limits. Think about that. How often have we heard that it is okay to make a couple of million dollars or twenty million or thirty million, but if you are making 20 billion or 30 billion, that is just too much money? Who has the right to say that? What human being has the right to limit another person’s ability to produce? Because that is what it is. Somebody who is smart enough and talented enough to produce something valuable to the rest of the human race and make unbelievable amounts of money ought to reap the rewards of their work. Each one has the right to enjoy everything they produce, except for legitimately taxed.
Proverbs 13:22 :
22 A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, But the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous.
A good man leaving an inheritance to his children’s children means that someone who is wise and mature and operating on biblical wisdom will be so productive that he will leave property and money and valued goods to his children’s children. Some say they want their money and life to run out simultaneously. That is not biblical. What is biblical is accumulating as much as you can and preserving it so that that wealth is transferred to the next generation. But what we hear from the world today is, let everybody start at the same place and we’ll tax that inheritance so that nobody gets a head start. That is a fraudulent idea; it is not biblical; it is not the righteousness that the Old Testament extols. That is unrighteousness.
The idea that is often heard today is that we want everybody to pay their fair share. Fair share does not mean that the more you have, the more you give in taxes. That is not fair; that is not righteous, according to the biblical standard; that is unrighteous; that is theft on a biblical basis.
The divine viewpoint on this is that property was to be accumulated over the generations so that one generation would pass on more property and more wealth to the next generation. What does this develop? This develops and allows the next generation and the generation after that to go through a prosperity test. Sadly, we know that no group of people and no culture has passed the prosperity test. But that is what this was for, to put them in a position where they were prosperous. Why was that a test? Because the second greatest command in the Torah was to love your neighbour as yourself. You can’t give if you have nothing. If you have much wealth then you have much to give, and so it becomes a test of generosity, a test of grace. So, with wealth comes the prosperity test, and with that comes the test of grace and compassion for those less fortunate.
Sometimes people may be less fortunate because they have made bad decisions, they have been lazy, irresponsible. Is that a reason not to extend grace to them? Sometimes, we talk like it means that. That wasn’t a reason for God not to extend grace to any of us! We have to draw a line between what we see in the Scripture and being responsibly helping people and irresponsibly helping people. But helping people who will still abuse our help is not a reason not to help them. That is clear from Scripture.
2 Corinthians 12:14 :
14 Now for the third time I am ready to come to you. And I will not be burdensome to you; for I do not seek yours, but you. For the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children.
The economic principle there is that it is the responsibility of the parents to set aside wealth that is later passed on to the children. It is not the responsibility of the children to go out there and have a good job so that they can take care of you in your senior years.
It is great when that happens, but that is not the standard of Scripture. The standard of Scripture is that we should so responsibly use what God gives us and save that we are not a burden to our children but, in fact, when it is all over with, they have been blessed with extra.
Tithing, the limited safety net.
When we look at how culture was in biblical times, when we look at the Mosaic Law at that time, there was a certain vulnerability that widows and orphans had that men did not have. So God provides for them, and He does this through the tithe.
There were three different tithes in the Old Testament. The tithe was basically a tax system in the Mosaic Law to provide for the nation's needs. So it recognizes the legitimacy of a nation to tax the citizens a certain amount. But a tithe was a flat tax, ten percent for everybody, whether a person was poor or filthy rich. That is righteous by God’s standard.
If we say we need to have a progressive tax system and the rich should pay more percentage-wise than the poor, that is unrighteous according to the Word of God, foolish, and it is destructive to a nation, the poor in the nation, and the people in the nation. Because it teaches people who have less to be dependent upon those who have more, and it destroys their pride, self-esteem, and desire to labor and work for what is theirs. But God did recognize that there was a need to have a minimal safety net.
Deuteronomy 26:12 :
12 “When you have finished laying aside all the tithe of your increase in the third year—the year of tithing—and have given it to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, so that they may eat within your gates and be filled,
This was a tithe that was taken up every third year. It was a tithe that was to be given to the Levite because he had no possession of the land.
The stranger is the alien, the immigrant, the non-Jewish resident within the land; the orphans, those whose fathers had been killed in war or had died from disease.
In that culture, the father provided everything, and the women did not necessarily produce. The widow was sometimes left destitute. Sometimes, they had property, but notice that is no distinction here between the fatherless who have property, the widow who had property, and those who didn’t. The assumption from the text is that without this, they wouldn’t eat, so this is distributed to those who otherwise would not eat. So, there is a minimal safety net there.
Deuteronomy 14:28-29 :
28 “At the end of every third year you shall bring out the tithe of your produce of that year and store it up within your gates.
29 And the Levite, because he has no portion nor inheritance with you, and the stranger and the fatherless and the widow who are within your gates, may come and eat and be satisfied, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do.
In other words, if you are not taking care of the Levites, the fatherless, the widows, then God is not going to bless you. That is really clear. The nation needs to care for those who can’t care for themselves, but it is a limited safety net.
The next two tithes were taken every year. Numbers 18:21-26 :
21 “Behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tithes in Israel as an inheritance in return for the work which they perform, the work of the tabernacle of meeting.
22 Hereafter the children of Israel shall not come near the tabernacle of meeting, lest they bear sin and die.
23 But the Levites shall perform the work of the tabernacle of meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity; it shall be a statute forever, throughout your generations, that among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.
24 For the tithes of the children of Israel, which they offer up as a heave offering to the Lord, I have given to the Levites as an inheritance; therefore I have said to them, ‘Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.’ ”
25 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
26 “Speak thus to the Levites, and say to them: ‘When you take from the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them as your inheritance, then you shall offer up a heave offering of it to the Lord, a tenth of the tithe.
Is this a free gift? No, they are working, not just getting a handout.
One tithe went to the Levites.
The role of the Levites was that they were the government workers. They were the ones who took care of the theocracy. God was the ultimate authority over the nation, and the place from which He administered His rule was the Tabernacle. Those who took care of the Tabernacle and stood as the intermediaries between God and the people were the Levites, so they were worthy of pay and earning an income from their work. That was the purpose of this tithe.
Deuteronomy 14:22-23 :
22 “You shall truly tithe all the increase of your grain that the field produces year by year.
23 And you shall eat before the Lord your God, in the place where He chooses to make His name abide, the tithe of your grain and your new wine and your oil, of the firstborn of your herds and your flocks, that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always.
Party time! Every year, they were going to take ten percent of their gross national product. Think about this. One year, you are having a party: the finest wine and prime beef that money could buy. Everything is cooked by the finest chefs. Ten years later, you are eating stringy old chicken; the vegetables are overcooked, the cooks that are there haven’t done it much, and the wine is a little flat. This is a visual example of how something has changed. What has happened? What caused that? This is a concrete example that when the Israelites were obedient to God, God would bless them, and they would have this enormous party and not go into debt. They weren’t spending money they didn’t have.
So one tithe supported the theocracy or the bureaucracy, one tithe hosted a party every year, and one tithe was taken every third year to care for the widows, orphans, strangers, and Levites. One principle we learned about taxation is that to be fair or righteous, it had to be an equal percentage; it was a flat-rate tax.
Does that mean that today, it would be wrong to have a consumption tax, like a sales tax, instead of other things? That is not necessarily the right conclusion, but it is the right conclusion that a progressive income tax where the more money you make, the higher percentage of tax you pay is unjust and unfair. And to turn it around and say that it is unjust for the rich, or those who are so-called rich, should pay the same as a poor person pays and say that it is unrighteous is exactly the condemnation that the later prophets—Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel—came along and said would happen. People were coming along and calling good bad and bad good. They reversed the polarities of what is right and wrong. And that is exactly what we see in this nation—people at the government level and all over, demagogues saying that we need to tax the rich more. On the basis of what the Hebrew Scripture says that is unrighteous and it is evil, and it will lead to the destruction of a nation.
So we see that God had a minimal safety net regarding the tithe, but the primary safety net is personal responsibility and personal compassion. The basic principle for this is laid down in Leviticus 19:18 .
18 You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.
They were to love their neighbor as themselves. It was each citizen in Israel's responsibility to care for one another. The second basic principle is grace orientation. Grace orientation means good, kind, and generous things are done to undeserving people.
Deuteronomy 15:7-8 recognizes this principle.
7 “If there is among you a poor man of your brethren, within any of the gates in your land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart nor shut your hand from your poor brother,
8 but you shall open your hand wide to him and willingly lend him sufficient for his need, whatever he needs.
Maybe he is a failure, but there is not that qualification in there. Does that mean you throw common sense out the door? No. if all he does is abuse it, then maybe there is a need to put some stipulations on this. God did that in Leviticus 19:9
9 ‘When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest.
What is the principle? It is not a free handout. They have to get up, go out, and work for it. They are still working for what they are given. So the principle in Deuteronomy 15:7-8 doesn’t mean you can’t stipulate the gift you are giving to help somebody.
End of 2nd Service May 19, 2024
End of 2nd Service May 19, 2024
Sunday May 26, 2024
Sunday May 26, 2024
Review
Review
We have been working our way through
Economic Doctrines established in scripture:
Right of Personal Labor Rewards
Personal Responsibility Accountability
Imputation Value
Private Property according to the Sovereignty of God
Validity of Wealth Accumulation without limit
Personal/Individual Compassion as Primary Safety Net
Tithing: Limited Safety Net
This morning we are moving on to look at
Acts 4:32-5:16 The Righteous and Gracious Provision for the Poor
Acts 4:32-5:16 The Righteous and Gracious Provision for the Poor
Acts 4:32-5:16 The Righteous and Gracious Provision for the Poor.
There are some key principles that are laid down in Scripture.
In Genesis, we find the foundation of everything.
In Exodus, God gives the Jewish people, the Israelites, a legal constitution, which will be the basis for their political society when they enter the land.
We come to understand that there are certain patterns that are embedded within God’s creation. This is not to say that we should apply the Mosaic Law per se to the present environment. That is not the principle. The point is that there are certain principles and patterns that were there before the Law that were given specific application of these principles within the Law that set up a sort of pattern or a model.
It is not that any other nation should take those laws directly and specifically because the constitution that God set up for Israel was because they were a unique people who were called out by God through who all the nations of the world would be blessed.
But by studying the laws within the Mosaic covenant, we can come to understand certain principles and patterns that should be present within any sound economic system. These principles hold relevance in our modern economic systems.
In ancient Rome, boundary stones called 'Termini' were placed to mark property lines, just like fence posts today. These were not just simple markers; they held significant religious and legal importance, offering a glimpse into the cultural and historical context of the time.
The term ‘Terminus’ derives from the Latin word for boundary marker. It was also the name of a Roman deity, associated with Jupiter, who played a pivotal role in safeguarding both property and state boundaries.
These boundary stones were often represented in half-statues or busts. They were considered sacred and were the focus of an important Roman festival called the 'Terminalia.’ This festival was held annually on February 23, which marked the end of the old Roman year. During this festival, sacrifices were performed to sanctify each boundary stone.
The practice of placing these ‘Termini’ originated from the worship established by Numa, the legendary second king of Rome. The stones served as markers for property limits, much like how we use fence posts today to demarcate property lines.
So, the ‘Termini’ were not just physical markers. They symbolized respect for boundaries and the rule of law and were part of ancient Rome's religious practices. They were a testament to the Romans' organized approach to land division and ownership.
As long as an economic system fits within scriptural demarcations, we are in bounds, and prosperity will result from obedience to these establishment or universal laws. Whether you are a believer or an unbeliever doesn’t matter because these laws were given to a nation comprised of believers and unbelievers, and they reflect eternal laws that God embedded within the structure of His creation.
So, the first was personal responsibility and accountability.
That personal responsibility included work and service to God, not work in the sense of labor but responsibilities that were to be accomplished by Adam and Eve in the garden. This included the right of the creature to enjoy the rewards of his own personal labor.
Then, we studied the imputation of value: that things have a value that is imputed or assigned to them, and that only God and that which is directly related to His character have implicit value. That is because He is the only one who is eternal. Everything else is created; it is finite, and therefore, it has finite value and imputed value.
We have seen that there is a recognition of private property under the sovereignty of God, that God is the one who owns all things and that man’s position as an image bearer of God is a steward or responsible manager of property.
But ultimately, the property is God’s. It is not the state’s—no nation is the ultimate owner of real estate—it is to be utilized by each individual owner, and private property must be recognized. This is seen in many passages, the clearest of which is in the prohibition of theft; it recognizes individual ownership.
Then, there is the validity of wealth accumulation.
The Bible never criticizes people for being wealthy simply because they are wealthy. In fact the Bible supports and encourages the accumulation of wealth and passing down wealth from generation to generation. In Proverbs, we read that the wise father preserves an inheritance to pass down to his children and his children’s children. God is not against the accumulation of wealth. He is against the accumulation of wealth for wealth’s sake and for thinking that wealth is designed to bring happiness; it does not.
Behavior of Wealth:
Behavior of Wealth:
But there are things that are accomplished by those who have money that cannot be accomplished by those who do not have money.
The Bible emphasizes compassion, grace, and generosity from individuals to provide for those who are impoverished or cannot care for themselves.
The principle is laid down in Leviticus 19:18 .
18 You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.
Jesus defines the “neighbor” as anyone who comes into our periphery. So, this becomes the foundational principle for dealing with the less fortunate: widows, orphans, and the poor.
A principle that applies to that which runs throughout all of the Law is the principle of grace orientation.
It is mercy, undeserved kindness to those who don’t necessarily deserve it. Leviticus 25:35
35 ‘If one of your brethren becomes poor, and falls into poverty among you, then you shall help him, like a stranger or a sojourner, that he may live with you.
The “you” there is in the singular, not in the plural. It is not talking to Israel as a corporate group; it is addressing them as individuals.
Deuteronomy 15:7-8
Deuteronomy 15:7-8
7 “If there is among you a poor man of your brethren, within any of the gates in your land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart nor shut your hand from your poor brother,
8 but you shall open your hand wide to him and willingly lend him sufficient for his need, whatever he needs.
Deuteronomy 15 deals with the cancellation of a debt during the sabbatical year. Israel’s calendar was set up so that every six days, they worked, and on the seventh day, they did not.
Why? Because the pattern was set by God: in six days, God made the heavens, the seas, and all that is in them, and on the seventh day, He rested. If those days in Genesis chapter one were not literal 24-hour days, then some shift student of the Word could come along and say: Well, if those days in Genesis one were million-year geological ages, then that would mean that we work for 6 million years and then take a million years off!
That doesn’t make any sense. The whole sabbatical principle goes out the door if you change the length of days in Genesis chapter one. The resting of the seventh day was to show that they were resting in God’s provision and that God would supply and God would take care of things.
Then that was extended to the sabbatical year, so they would work six years and then rest the seventh year. During the sabbatical year, they would not put the land into production; it would lie fallow for the year so that it could be restored to its natural vitality and be productive for the next seven years.
Then, every seventh cycle (49th year), there would be a sabbatical year, and the fiftieth year was a jubilee year. It, too, was a sabbatical year. At that time, every fifty years, they would have a double sabbatical year—49th and 50th year—and then they would start over again.
This was important because God was also teaching them principles of finance that were different.
Remember, we saw that when we look at the biblical pattern of economics in the Mosaic Law, it is not something that should necessarily be applied across the board to every nation. There are unique aspects of this that are related to God’s purpose for the nation Israel, and this is one of them. But it shows how economics is ultimately grounded in a trust in God.
Deuteronomy 15:1
Deuteronomy 15:1
1 “At the end of every seven years you shall grant a release of debts.
There are a couple of different interpretations that have been suggested for this. One which is unlikely is that the debt wasn’t completely erased or canceled; it was just that you didn’t ask for payment during the seventh year because if nobody was working, they couldn’t produce anything to pay off the debt, so they just put it on hold for the seventh year and then continue to repay the loan the next year. But that doesn’t really fit the context. What does fit the context is that the debt was completely eradicated.
Deuteronomy 15:2
Deuteronomy 15:2
2 And this is the form of the release: Every creditor who has lent anything to his neighbor shall release it; he shall not require it of his neighbor or his brother, because it is called the Lord’s release.
This is the form of the release.
Deuteronomy 15:3-4
Deuteronomy 15:3-4
3 Of a foreigner you may require it; but you shall give up your claim to what is owed by your brother,
In other words, you don’t cancel the debt for the non-Israelite. But they were to give up their claim to what was owed by their brother.
That is where it is clear that this is a complete cancellation of the debt—except when there may be “no poor among you, as verse 4 tells us:
Deuteronomy 15:4-8
Deuteronomy 15:4-8
Deuteronomy 15:4
4 except when there may be no poor among you; for the Lord will greatly bless you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance—
When would that be? That would only come, according to the Law, when the nation was obedient to God and being blessed, and then there would be abundance for everyone.
But in years when they were spiritually disobedient, part of the judgment would be an increase in poverty. So the only except to this would be when there were no poor among them—
Verse 4 continues,
4 except when there may be no poor among you; for the Lord will greatly bless you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance—
5 only if you carefully obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe with care all these commandments which I command you today.
6 For the Lord your God will bless you just as He promised you; you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow; you shall reign over many nations, but they shall not reign over you.
7 “If there is among you a poor man of your brethren, within any of the gates in your land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart nor shut your hand from your poor brother,
8 but you shall open your hand wide to him and willingly lend him sufficient for his need, whatever he needs.
But what if it is the sixth year?
Deuteronomy 15:9-10
Deuteronomy 15:9-10
9 Beware lest there be a wicked thought in your heart, saying, ‘The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand,’ and your eye be evil against your poor brother and you give him nothing, and he cry out to the Lord against you, and it become sin among you.
10 You shall surely give to him, and your heart should not be grieved when you give to him, because for this thing the Lord your God will bless you in all your works and in all to which you put your hand.
The principle here is that there is something that goes beyond the quantifiable empirical data of raw economic theory, and that is that there is a spiritual component to economics that God has built into the system.
So what He is teaching here is that the principle is that we are to be generous because our trust is not in what we have -- it is in the Lord. If our trust is in the Lord and we freely give to our brother who is in need, we trust the Lord because we know He will supply our needs.
Acts 4:32-37
Acts 4:32-37
That is important to understand because that is the idea that buttresses what is going on in Acts chapter five, which is where we are studying. Let’s re-read our passage, Acts 4:32-37
32 Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common.
33 And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all.
34 Nor was there anyone among them who lacked; for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold,
35 and laid them at the apostles’ feet; and they distributed to each as anyone had need.
36 And Joses, who was also named Barnabas by the apostles (which is translated Son of Encouragement), a Levite of the country of Cyprus,
37 having land, sold it, and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
When Barnabas and others are selling their land, they willingly sell it and give it to the church so that that money would be distributed from the church leaders to those who were poor and in need.
They are trusting as they are functioning in the spiritual gift of giving that God is the one who will supply their need openly.
So they are not grasping on to what they have to keep it for themselves; they are willingly and generously giving to sustain others in the body of Christ.
Deuteronomy 15:11
Deuteronomy 15:11
11 For the poor will never cease from the land; therefore I command you, saying, ‘You shall open your hand wide to your brother, to your poor and your needy, in your land.’
The principles governing how we give and help those who are less fortunate are grace, compassion, and generosity.
In the discourse in Deuteronomy 15, there is a concluding statement that will be quoted by Jesus in Mark. When Jesus said, “The poor you have with you always,” He didn’t stop there; there is a context.
(If you take the text out of context, you are left with a con, i.e. a con job—always remember that)
So, we must understand the original context here in Deuteronomy before we go to the passage in Mark.
This concluding statement in Deuteronomy 15:11 has two clauses in it that must be understood separately.
11 For the poor will never cease from the land; therefore I command you, saying, ‘You shall open your hand wide to your brother, to your poor and your needy, in your land.’
One clause is a description, and the other is a prescription.
The first part of this verse is not a prescription. People have used it that way—we’ll always have the poor with us, so let’s just move on down the road. But this isn’t a prescription. He is not saying you should always have the poor with you.
It is not a prescription; it is just a description of reality.
There will always be poor; there will always be wealth. That is just the way it is. But what are we to do about it, given that scenario?
That is the second part of the statement: “You shall freely open your hand to your brother, to your needy and poor in your land.”
This is the second time in four verses that this has been stated. This is grace—grace-giving, which operates on the principle of loving your neighbor as yourself.
So, in Deuteronomy 15:11, we see that the Bible recognizes that poverty is a universal reality.
Throughout all time and throughout all cultures there are those who are poor. A corollary to that is that you can’t end that problem. No matter what we do, the poor will always be with us.
Does that mean we shouldn’t do anything? No.
Is this to be a government operation? No, it is not.
It is the responsibility of each individual, and when the government steps in and makes it a public policy rather than a private sector policy, it creates more problems.
Because whenever there is an official government involvement in something it creates layers of bureaucracy, and payers of bureaucracy are more prolific than rabbits. Bureaucrats beget bureaucrats, and the more bureaucrats we beget, the more bureaucracy there is and the more difficult it is to get anything done.
The poor are always with us, which means we always have the responsibility to take care of those in need, especially when we get into the New Testament regarding those in the family of God and those who are other believers.
Historically, this is why orphanages, hospitals, and places to care for the poor originated from within Christianity. It comes out of a Judeo-Christian background.
Mark 14:3
Mark 14:3
3 And being in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, as He sat at the table, a woman came having an alabaster flask of very costly oil of spikenard. Then she broke the flask and poured it on His head.
Mark 14:4-5
Mark 14:4-5
This was worth to the average person in Jerusalem at least a year’s income, maybe more. [4]
4 But there were some who were indignant among themselves, and said, “Why was this fragrant oil wasted?
5 For it might have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they criticized her sharply.
We could have used this some other way. This was the self-righteous crowd. There are conservatives who are self-righteous, and there are liberals who are self-righteous—we want to determine how every dime is spent. That is the mentality; there is no sense of grace, no sense of letting other people make their decisions; they want to make everybody’s decision for them.
Mark 14:6-7
Mark 14:6-7
6 But Jesus said, “Let her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a good work for Me.
7 For you have the poor with you always, and whenever you wish you may do them good; but Me you do not have always.
That is the context. In their self-righteous rationalization, they wanted to sell it, get the money, and in their self-righteous we-are-better-than-anybody-else mentality, they said: We’ll give it to the poor.
It is amazing how many people, especially politicians, always want to trot out the poor as justification for taking money from hard-working citizens. When Jesus said,
“For you always have the poor with you,”
that is not His teaching point. In other words, He is not teaching about poverty here. He is teaching about generosity here, and He is challenging the pseudo-compassionate mentality of the self-righteous crowd.
“… and whenever you wish you can do good to them; but you do not always have Me.”
So, this was an honorable thing to do. She has done what she could, and she has come to anoint my body.
We have to understand the context of both of these passages: it is not a prescription for closing off our compassion—there will always be the poor, so let’s move on down the road. In both places, it is a realization and recognition of a genuine need and the responsibility of individuals, not governments, to meet that need.
The next aspect we should focus on when it comes to dealing with the poor is that it should be handled by genuine, equitable justice—righteousness.
Leviticus 19:15
Leviticus 19:15
Leviticus 19:15 sets the standard
15 ‘You shall do no injustice in judgment. You shall not be partial to the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty. In righteousness you shall judge your neighbor.
Leviticus 19:18
Leviticus 19:18
Remember, Leviticus 19:18 says “you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
18 You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.
The verse on dealing with the poor is only four verses prior to that. It connects righteousness with love. Real love is perfectly equitable and righteous. Economic status should not be a factor. If they are rich or poor, they are treated the same way in the Law.
Proverbs 29:14
Proverbs 29:14
14 The king who judges the poor with truth, His throne will be established forever.
This is a more practical application because it is in the Proverbs.
Proverbs 29:13
Proverbs 29:13
13 The poor man and the oppressor have this in common: The Lord gives light to the eyes of both.
The thing they have in common is common grace. Because God gives light to the eyes of both, there is equal responsibility toward God from both. That is the point. Verse 12,
12 If a ruler pays attention to lies, All his servants become wicked.
Here is a king who is building policy on that which is false and not aligned with reality. Brought into our modern context, we could say: “If a ruler pays attention to Marxism, then all his servants become wicked; if a ruler pays attention to socialism, then all of his servants become wicked.”
The application is obvious. The government engages in legalized theft to redistribute wealth based on the government’s concept of what is equitable, not on the basis of fairness. In doing that, it violates the principle of treating the rich and the poor impartially.
So, verse 14 refers to the king who judges the poor with truth, in contrast to the ruler who pays attention to lies. This indicates that there is an absolute truth, and everything else is a lie. The wise king is the king who listens to the truth. In the context of Proverbs and the wisdom literature in the Old Testament, the truth is the Torah, the Word of God.
Usery
Usery
The next issue is dealing with usury.
Definition of usury from the Oxford English Dictionary: “The practice of lending money at unreasonably high interest rates.”
That is not what the original use in the bible means.
The only way we can understand the original is to look at the context because the idea is not necessarily inherent within the word.
This is one of those ideas that has been massively misunderstood and has caused much social turmoil and anti-Semitism throughout the history of Christianity. Even many Jewish interpreters have not accurately understood this.
That is one approach: that usury is unreasonably high interest.
In the Middle Ages, the Christian church prohibited their understanding of usury, which was any charging of interest. It wasn’t until later that they began to understand that there was a basis for lending money and recouping a certain amount of return from the money that was loaned.
The general principle is to love your neighbor as yourself, even if your neighbor is your servant, worker, or hired hand.
If you followed this principle as management, you would never have labor unions because you would treat your employees just how you would want to be treated—with generosity.
Deuteronomy 24:14
Deuteronomy 24:14
14 “You shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether one of your brethren or one of the aliens who is in your land within your gates.
This was the general precept.
Exodus 22:25
Exodus 22:25
25 “If you lend money to any of My people who are poor among you, you shall not be like a moneylender to him; you shall not charge him interest.
Who is this talking about? Is it talking about the contractor down the street so that he can build houses and sell them to make money, and from his profit, repay the loan and make a living? No, this is lending money to a person who is impoverished and who has no resources. So this is prohibiting charging interest to the impoverished person. Don’t take advantage of the poor.
Leviticus 25:35-37
Leviticus 25:35-37
35 ‘If one of your brethren becomes poor, and falls into poverty among you, then you shall help him, like a stranger or a sojourner, that he may live with you.
36 Take no usury or interest from him; but fear your God, that your brother may live with you.
37 You shall not lend him your money for usury, nor lend him your food at a profit.
This is not talking about investing capital here; it is talking about loaning money to poor people who have no means. Then God enforces it:
Leviticus 25:38
Leviticus 25:38
38 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God.
Proverbs 28:8
Proverbs 28:8
What is the context again? It has something to do with the poor.
8 One who increases his possessions by usury and extortion Gathers it for him who will pity the poor.
Ezekiel 18:17
Ezekiel 18:17
17 Who has withdrawn his hand from the poor And not received usury or increase, But has executed My judgments And walked in My statutes He shall not die for the iniquity of his father; He shall surely live!
The issue with usury wasn’t putting one’s money to work, making money, or charging interest. It had nothing to do with that; rather, it had to do with providing money to the poor and charging them interest when they had no resources.
That wasn’t loving your neighbor as yourself. So we see that due to a failure to pay attention to context, the text was taken out of context, and Western civilization got conned for thousands of years by these usury laws that completely distorted the meaning of Scripture.
Acts 4:32-5:16 Usury, the Poor, the Rights of the Employers.
Acts 4:32-5:16 Usury, the Poor, the Rights of the Employers.
If we believe that God is the creator of everything, that He is not just part of creation but is different and distinct from creation, that He had a plan, a blueprint in His omniscience, and that He created everything so that everything from within creation intersects, interrelates and interacts with everything else…
Has revealed to us in His Word certain truths, certain eternal realities about Himself that mean that He is a certain way. He knows all of the knowable, and if we take the time to reflect upon that and the fact that we have the order in the universe that we have because there is a God who is the master planner, master architect who designed everything from even the smallest particle to the largest entity and all of the interconnections in between, when we come to study anything within that creation we can extrapolate from a known principle to unknown principles because we know there is stability and order in the universe. And what was true thousands of years ago in terms of mathematical principles, physics, meteorological principles, or any universal law related to creation, we know it is just as true today. If evolution were true then that would change.
But God not only created laws related to the physical universe. There are also social laws and social absolutes that God built into creation. We have studied those in the divine institutions.
Individual responsibility means that the individual is responsible to God for his relationship to God and to other human beings.
That vertical relationship to God has to do with his spiritual life; the horizontal relationship to other people in terms of society has to do with the social life—how human beings organize and relate to one another within a social structure.
The Greeks had a word for this. When it involved a city, they called it the polus [poluj], the city, which is the origin of our English word “politics.”
They also discussed the administration of a city and used the word oikonomia [o)ikonomia], which meant stewardship or administration, and from which we get our English word “economy.”
Concepts such as politics and economics ultimately relate to social structure and how man organizes himself in society. This impacts things, especially marriage and the family.
When God established certain absolutes regarding marriage, family, and government, later on, they were designed to perpetuate stability within the human race. When they are violated, and the creature comes along and says, for example, we can do away with marriage, there are incredible consequences.
We have looked at some other principles and passages that emphasize that we are not to take into account a person’s economic condition in making judicial decisions. In the courtroom, when the issue is criminality or a civil suit, one thing that should never be taken into account is the wealth of one side or the poverty of the other.
Nobody should be given the benefit of the doubt because they are rich or poor, according to Leviticus 19:15 .
15 ‘You shall do no injustice in judgment. You shall not be partial to the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty. In righteousness you shall judge your neighbor.
Then, the issue of usury.
Then, the issue of usury.
This was a major problem throughout the Middle Ages because usury was not correctly understood or defined.
In Roman Catholic theology, usury was defined as charging interest on a loan. Any payment of interest on a loan was considered usury, and this stifled business and development. It would not allow for the development of any kind of free market economy.
But there were groups here and there that began to work out different tricky ways to get around this. Some did it by taking out a loan in one currency, and then, through various means of currency trading, they would bring it back around and make a little money on their money.
But when we look at the way usury is handled in the Scriptures, it has the idea of charging interest to anyone who is poor or destitute. So, the loan was not one to develop in terms of business.
Deuteronomy 24:14 was the general principle to be followed: don’t take advantage of someone who is poor or without.
Deuteronomy 24:14 was the general principle to be followed: don’t take advantage of someone who is poor or without.
14 “You shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether one of your brethren or one of the aliens who is in your land within your gates.
Exodus 22:25 .
Exodus 22:25 .
25 “If you lend money to any of My people who are poor among you, you shall not be like a moneylender to him; you shall not charge him interest.
The word translated “interest” [KJV], also sometimes translated as “usury,” is the Hebrew word neshek, which is related to the Hebrew word for servant. Literally, it means to bite. It is the opinion of many biblical scholars today that usury wasn’t charging interest for business loans; it was charging interest from those who could not pay it, those who were destitute, as a way of taking advantage of them and basically destroying their ability to take care of themselves.
It was the responsibility of the Jewish community in the ancient world to take care of the poor, not the government but the individual.
Proverb 28:8
Proverb 28:8
8 One who increases his possessions by usury and extortion Gathers it for him who will pity the poor.
In other words, the assumption is that, ultimately, God is the one who will bring justice. Though one person takes advantage of the poor, he, in turn, will be judged by God. The one who will ultimately benefit is the one who has true compassion for the poor because the Supreme Court of Heaven will eventually right all wrongs.
This verse should be understood within the context of verse 3 where there is a poor man who oppresses the poor:
Proverbs 28:3
Proverbs 28:3
3 A poor man who oppresses the poor Is like a driving rain which leaves no food.
So, the principle is that it is wrong to take advantage of those who do not have. There are also many passages in the prophets, one is a passage in Ezekiel dealing with the responsibility of the sins of the father and the punishment of the father, and the responsibility of the sins of the son and punishment for the son. The theme in this section is the son is not punished for the sins of the father unless the son is repeating the sins of the father.
Ezekiel 18:17
Ezekiel 18:17
17 Who has withdrawn his hand from the poor And not received usury or increase, But has executed My judgments And walked in My statutes He shall not die for the iniquity of his father; He shall surely live!
So once again, we see that God emphasizes grace orientation and true compassion toward the poor.
What are the biblical causes of poverty?
We basically suffer for one or two reasons.
We suffer from our own bad decisions, or we suffer from the bad decisions of others.
We can be poor because of our own bad decisions or because of the decisions of others, including God's sovereignty. The first cause is the poor's responsibility for making bad decisions. The second category is decisions made by others.
There are eight different categories or causes listed from Scripture:
The first two concern personal violation of the first divine institution, which is irresponsibility in the use of money.
The first is personal laziness or failure to work;
The second cause is that they make foolish decisions about their money—spending on the wrong things, overspending, getting into debt, gambling it away.
They are poor either because they fail to work or because they have mismanaged their money. In both cases, their poverty is due to their irresponsible decisions.
The next six categories are based on the decisions of others.
The third category is the sovereignty of God. God chooses to take us through tests of adversity—in this case poverty—in order to teach us to trust Him. So we can be doing everything right: be diligent, manage our money well, and make the best decisions we can make in light of the knowledge available to us, and yet, for whatever reason, it doesn’t seem to ever get us ahead.
God is taking us through a poverty test, teaching us to trust Him.
The other categories are basically negative in terms of others we are associated with.
Category # 4, this may mean government decisions. There have been people who have lived in different countries where they had governments that have been abusive and tyrannical, have taxed them beyond their capabilities, and wiped out any incentive for business, agricultural development, or anything of that nature. So we can be in a nation where there is a corrupt government, and because the government is corrupt, it destroys any possibility of economic blessing, and the citizens suffer. And they really don’t know why because they are not aware or knowledgeable about all of the corruption that is going on inside of the government. Another can be corporate decisions. The powers that be are misusing the money of the corporation and become involved in criminality, and eventually things fall apart and we are left without a career, a job, and are the ones who suffer.
A fifth category is market decisions. We have no control over the marketplace. It is not necessarily because of a bad or ill-informed decision; it is just that we invest our time or money in things that seem to be really good decisions, and then the market takes it somewhere else.
Sixth: personal decisions or associations. Somebody in our family takes the gold and poorly invests it and loses everything.Seventh: criminality. We can be the victim of theft, investment in something that was a fraud.Eighth: natural disasters.
Some of the passages that relate to this:
Proverbs 10:4
Proverbs 10:4
4 He who has a slack hand becomes poor, But the hand of the diligent makes rich.
Wealth comes from hard work.
The idea of laziness is expanded in Proverbs 24:30-34
The idea of laziness is expanded in Proverbs 24:30-34
30 I went by the field of the lazy man, And by the vineyard of the man devoid of understanding;
31 And there it was, all overgrown with thorns; Its surface was covered with nettles; Its stone wall was broken down.
32 When I saw it, I considered it well; I looked on it and received instruction:
33 A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to rest;
34 So shall your poverty come like a prowler, And your need like an armed man.
Proverbs 21:17
Proverbs 21:17
17 He who loves pleasure will be a poor man; He who loves wine and oil will not be rich.
Spending all of your money on the enjoyable luxuries of life rather than taking care of the responsible things of life.
Proverbs 20:13
Proverbs 20:13
13 Do not love sleep, lest you come to poverty; Open your eyes, and you will be satisfied with bread.
What the believer's attitude should be towards the poor? This is based again on grace orientation, not having a judgmental attitude towards those who are poor.
Proverbs 14:21
Proverbs 14:21
21 He who despises his neighbor sins; But he who has mercy on the poor, happy is he.
The neighbor in context here is the one who is impoverished. We operate in grace towards others—undeserved mercy.
Proverbs 14:31
Proverbs 14:31
31 He who oppresses the poor reproaches his Maker, But he who honors Him has mercy on the needy.
The one who honors God has mercy on the needy.
Proverbs 17:5
Proverbs 17:5
Proverbs 17:5 NASB “He who mocks the poor taunts his Maker; He who rejoices at calamity will not go unpunished.”
Proverbs 19:17
Proverbs 19:17
17 He who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord, And He will pay back what he has given.
Who are you giving to? You are giving to the Lord; you are giving because of who God is and understanding grace. And God will pay back what is given. In other words, because we look to the Lord to sustain us in our logistical needs we can give to others. It doesn’t matter whether that person responsibly or irresponsibly uses it.
Our attitude toward the person who is destitute is not to be an attitude of being judgmental but an attitude of grace.
Scriptures teach that the responsibility for taking care of the destitute one is the individual, not the government.
Proverbs 21:13
Proverbs 21:13
13 Whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor Will also cry himself and not be heard.
This is echoed in Jesus’ statement in the Gospels that if you are coming to the temple with a sacrifice and recall that you have offended your brother, then you need to go and seek forgiveness from him before you come to the Lord for forgiveness.
Proverbs 28:27
27 He who gives to the poor will not lack, But he who hides his eyes will have many curses.
Isaiah 3:14
Isaiah 3:14
14 The Lord will enter into judgment With the elders of His people And His princes: “For you have eaten up the vineyard; The plunder of the poor is in your houses.
The indictment is for the government of Israel, not because they haven’t given to the poor in the sense that they have provided everything that the poor need but because they have taken advantage of the poor. It is over-taxation and it is destroying the capability of the people to produce a living.
Isaiah 3:15
Isaiah 3:15
15 What do you mean by crushing My people And grinding the faces of the poor?” Says the Lord God of hosts.
This is done through over-taxation. It destroys the ability of the people to earn, to save for the future.
Other verses: Exodus 22:22 ;
22 “You shall not afflict any widow or fatherless child.
Deuteronomy 10:18 ; 24:17 .
Deuteronomy 10:18 ; 24:17 .
18 He administers justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the stranger, giving him food and clothing.
17 “You shall not pervert justice due the stranger or the fatherless, nor take a widow’s garment as a pledge.
The issue here is justice and righteousness.