THE BIBLE AND ECONOMICS
Dr. Jobe Martin
Biblical Discipleship Ministries
Rockwall, Texas
www.biblicaldiscipleship.org
GENESIS 2:15
• “And the Lord God took the man, and
put him into the garden of Eden to dress
it and to keep it.” (KJV)
• “Then the Lord God took the man and
put him into the garden of Eden to
cultivate it and keep it.” (NASB)
• God ordained work for Adam before sin
entered the Garden of Eden at the Fall .
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2 THESSALONIANS 3:10-12
• “For even when we were with you, this
we commanded you, that if any would not
work, neither should he eat. For we hear
that there are some which walk among
you disorderly, working not at all, but
are busybodies. Now them that are such
we command…they work and eat their
own bread.”
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THE BIBLE AND PRIVATE
PROPERTY
• THOU SHALT NOT STEAL!
In the 10 Commandments (Exodus 20:15)
God gives His okay to private property.
• Why would God say “Thou shalt not
steal” if no one owned anything that
could be stolen?
• Private property can be stolen!
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EXODUS 20:17
• “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s
house,… nor his manservant, nor his
maidservant, nor his ox, nor his donkey,
nor anything that is thy neighbor’s.”
• In this commandment God endorses
ownership of private property.
• The neighbor has things that belong to
him and him alone. (Notice: Possessives)
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EPHESIANS 4:28
• Let him that stole steal no
more: but rather let him
labour working with his
hands the thing which is good,
that he may have to give to
him that needeth.
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2 SAMUEL 24:24
• “And the king said unto Araunah, Nay;
but I will surely buy it of thee at a price:
neither will I offer burnt offerings unto
the Lord my God of that which doth cost
me nothing. So David bought the threshingfloor and the oxen for fifty shekels of
silver.”
• David bought and owned this property!
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PROVERBS 24:27
• “Prepare thy work without, and make it
fit for thyself in the field; and afterwards
build thine house.”
• It is not unbiblical to work hard and to
build a house and to own it.
• To Abram: “I am the Lord that brought
thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give
thee this land to inherit.” Genesis 15:7
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THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT:
LAND, SEED, BLESSING
• Land: The Palestinian Covenant (Deut.
28-30) amplifies the land aspect of Cov.
• Seed: The Davidic Covenant (2 Sam. 7:817) amplifies the seed aspect of the Cov.
• Blessing: The New Covenant (Jer. 31:2737; Ezek. 36:22-32) amplifies the
blessings aspect of the Abrahamic Cov.
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THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT:
LAND
• Deuteronomy 28:11
• And the Lord shall make thee plenteous
in goods, in the fruit of thy body, and in
the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of
thy ground, in the land which the Lord
sware unto thy fathers to give thee.
• God says ownership of goods, cattle and
land is OK.
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ECONOMICS IN THREE
VARIETIES
• Capitalist Economy: Free market and
private property, voluntary philanthropy
• Interventionist Economy: Limited Free
Market, private property but heavy
taxation and tariffs, voluntary and involuntary philanthropy.
• Socialist Economy: Abolition of private
property, coerced philanthropy, taxation
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ABOLITION OF PRIVATE PROPERTY
• Karl Max believed that ownership of
private property was the source of all
evil.
• Because he believed in the inherent
goodness of man, when no one owned
anything there would be no greed and
mankind would live in peaceful
coexistence.
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KARL MARX: THE
COMMUNIST MANIFESTO:
• “You are horrified at our intending to do
away with private property. But in your
existing society, private property is
already done away with for nine-tenths of
the population; its existence for the few is
solely due to its nonexistence in the hands
of those nine-tenths. (Collected Works,
NY:Internat’l Pubs., 1976, vol. 6, p. 500).
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SOME PEOPLE SAY THERE IS
COMMUNISM IN ACTS
• Acts 2:44,45: “And all that believed were
together, and had all things common; and
sold their possessions and goods, and
parted them to all men as every man had
need.” (KJV)
• “And they began selling their property
and possessions, and were sharing them
with all as anyone might have need.” (NASB)
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ACTS 2:44, 45
• Some of the Jerusalem believers in the
Lord Jesus began a community effort and
came together to help each other.
• This coming together was voluntary!!
• They sold possessions and goods as people
had needs. (NO GUN TO THE HEAD)
• The Scripture does not say they all sold all
their possessions and goods. (Jerusalem)
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ACTS 2:44, 45
• This Scripture passage does not say that
these early Christians had some sort of
common fund by which they all pooled
their resources, although this has been
assumed from the statement “had all
things common”+“laid $ at apostle’s feet”
• What they actually did is more clearly
stated in Acts 4:32.
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ACTS 4:32
• “And the multitude of them that believed
were of one heart and of one soul: neither
said any of them that ought of the things
which he possessed was his own; but they
had all things common.”
(KJV)
• “…not one of them claimed that anything
belonging to him was his own; but all
things were common property to them.”
NASB
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ACTS 4:32: commentary by
Prof. Robert McBurney:
• “Here we have a declaration indicating
that the common effort was not a legal
pooling of resources in a communal fund
but rather a feeling of unity in dealing
with common problems so that no man
‘said’ his possessions were his own but
developed and used them…to fill the
needs of the group as well as himself.”
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THE JERUSALEM CHRISTIANS
• A REASON FOR THE COMMUNAL
ATTITUDE IN JERUSALEM:
• Matt 24:2: “And Jesus said unto them,
See ye not all these things? verily I say
unto you, There shall not be left here one
stone upon another, that shall not be
thrown down.”
• “Sell it all, destruction is coming to us!!!!
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ACTS 5:1-11: ANANIAS AND
SAPPHIRA
• They decided to sell a piece of property
that they owned.
• Scripture does not say they sold everything
• They decided to keep some of the money.
• They gave what was left to Peter, but apparently led him to believe that it was the
total profit. They lied=not good, not smart
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PETER TEACHES BIBLICAL
ECONOMICS, ACTS 5:4:
• Peter to Ananias: “While it remained, was it
not thine own? And after it was sold, was it
not in thine own power? Why hast thou
conceived this thing in thine heart? Thou
hast not lied unto men, but unto God. (KJV)
• “While it remained unsold, did it not remain
your own? And after it was sold, was it not
under your control? (NASB)
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PETER TEACHES BIBLICAL
ECONOMICS, ACTS 5:4:
• Peter teaches that the property of
Ananias and Sapphira belonged to them.
• Their property was not required for
some sort of communal fund.
• To keep or sell their property was their
own private business.
• The property money was theirs to control
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PETER TEACHES BIBLICAL
ECONOMICS, ACTS 5:4:
• The property money could be kept, spent
or contributed to the common good.
• If Ananias and Sapphira decided to give
the money to the church it was a freewill, voluntary offering, no coercion.
• Under communism: possessions are confiscated or expropriated and given to
others by the dictator or committee.
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DUMMELOW’S BIBLE
COMMENTARY:
• “The church of Jerusalem recognized the
principle of private property. A disciple’s
property really was his own, but he did
not say it was his own; he treated it as if
it were common property.”
• Many early Christians kept title to their
property but “said” it was for the benefit
of all. You need a donkey? Use mine!
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DR. ADAM CLARK’S BIBLE
COMMENTARY:
• “If there had been a community of
goods in the church, there could have
been no ground for (collections)… as
there could have been no such
distinction as rich and poor, if
everyone, on entering the Church gave
up his goods to a common stock.”
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MATTHEW 25:14-30
• Property was not owned in common
• (each servant had their own property)
• Property was not owned in equal
quantities
• (three servants had differing amounts)
• People are to enjoy their private property
and make profitable use of it before God.
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1 CORINTHIANS 16:1,2
• “Now concerning the collection for the
saints, as I have given order to the
churches of Galatia, even so do ye. Upon
the first day of the week let every one of
you lay by him in store as God hath prospered him,….”
• Christian Capitalism: Give to the needs
of the Church as God has prospered you!
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GET OUT OF DEBT!!!!!!!
• Romans 13:8
• “Owe no man anything, but to love one
another: for he that loveth another hath
fulfilled the law.”
• Being free of all debt is liberating: You
are ready at a moments notice to serve
our Lord Jesus in any place or way He
calls you---you can pick up and go!
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SOMEONE HAS SAID:
•“Earn all you can!”
•“Save all you can!”
•“Give all you can!”
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EARN, SAVE, GIVE ALL YOU CAN
• This is only possible in a “Free MarketCapitalistic economic system.” (Biblical)
• A Socialistic system establishes minimum and
maximum wages.
• Minimum wages put people out of work and on
welfare. When a company is forced by law to
increase its minimum wage it must increase its
prices.
price and decrease demand.
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RENT CONTROLS
• A socialistic government imposes maximum fees
a property owner can charge clients.
• Low rent is supposed to help the poor.
• But Government controlled rent forces property
owners to sell apartments as condominiums
(therefore less apartments available), or
maintenance is sacrificed and a slum is
generated.
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LAND CONTROLS
• A socialistic government attempts to
control all land resources.
• Farmers are told what crops to grow and
how much land to use or not use.
• Land owners are restricted in the use of
their property because of “wet-lands”
designation or a protected animal or fish
is supposed to live on their property.
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BIBLICAL ECONOMICS
• Ownership of private property.
• Good stewardship of private property.
• Free market with good stewardship
creates wealth as well as opportunities for
economic advantages for others.
• McDonald’s, Wendy’s, etc. not only provide entry level jobs for the unskilled, but
a cheap outing for Dad, Mom and the kids.
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BIBLICAL ECONOMICS
• “Further, the competition in a free
market works according to the principle
of comparative advantage, which affirms
the inherent worth of every individual.”
(Dr. David Noebel, Understanding the
Times, p. 714.)
• “Capitalism is also more socially just
than socialism. While the socialist calls
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for economic equality, capitalism respects
the Biblical requirement of equality before
the law. This does not, as the socialist
contends, cause the rich to get richer and
the poor poorer. Rather, it encourages
the rich to create more wealth, thereby
aiding all of society. The policies of redistribution, including welfare systems, only
multiply the problems for the poor-creating needless bureaucracies and conwww.biblicaldiscipleship.org
centrating too much power in the hands of
the government. Conversely, capitalism encourages freedom in the political sphere.
This removes the danger of granting
sovereignty to the state instead of to God.
In practice, capitalism proves the only
workable system. Socialism leads to oppression, while capitalism offers unparalleled freedom and economic opportunity..
Socialism ignores man’s inherent sinfulwww.biblicaldiscipleship.org
ness; capitalism works to stifle man’s sinful
tendencies and to turn even selfishness to
service. Clearly, the Christian who accepts
the Bible must also accept democratic
capitalism or free enterprise as the
system most compatible with his
worldview.” (Understanding the Times, p.
714-715)
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1 Timothy 6:17-19
• “Charge them that are rich in this
world, that they be not high-minded,
nor trust in uncertain riches, but in
the living God, who giveth us richly
all things to enjoy; that they do good,
that they be rich in good works,
ready to distribute, willing to comwww.biblicaldiscipleship.org
1 Timothy 6:17-19
• municate; laying up in store for
themselves a good foundation
against the time to come, that they
may lay hold on eternal life.”
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