What does Scripture say about how
we should approach money?
What does the Bible say about
poverty and wealth?
Give me neither poverty nor riches;
feed me with the food that I need,
or I shall be full, and deny you,
and say, ‘Who is the LORD?’
or I shall be poor, and steal,
and profane the name of my God.
Proverbs 30:8b-9
The Bible has some pretty clear ideas about
what our relationship to money should be.
Matthew 6:24
Serving Two
Masters
‘No one can serve
two masters; for a
slave will either hate
the one and love the
other, or be devoted
to the one and
despise the other.
You cannot serve
God and wealth.
According to the Bible? Yep, because it gets in the way of
relationships.
There are numerous examples of
wealth being an issue in scripture.
Here are a few from the Old Here are a few from the New
Testament.
Testament.
 Exodus 16 – This is the story
of the Manna given by God,
no one could have too much,
or too little.
 Deuteronomy 15 – The
Sabbath vision of Jubilee
when debts will be forgiven
and every 50 years all land
will be redistributed to avoid
certain families or tribes
gaining too much wealth. So
that all have enough.
 Luke 16:19-31 - Poor Man
Lazarus, who is neglect by his
rich neighbor, who then is
neglected in hell.
 Mark 10:17-31 - Jesus tells a
rich young man to give away
his wealth to be closer to God,
but he couldn’t, this surprised
the disciples, because only
God can save, not our efforts.
Are we to just give away our wealth to anyone?
It is important to contribute.
2 Thessalonians 3:6-15
Warning against Idleness
Now we command you, beloved, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to
keep away from believers who are living in idleness and not
according to the tradition that they received from us. For you
yourselves know how you ought to imitate us; we were not idle when we
were with you, and we did not eat anyone’s bread without paying for it;
but with toil and labor we worked night and day, so that we might not
burden any of you. This was not because we do not have that right, but in
order to give you an example to imitate. For even when we were with you,
we gave you this command: Anyone unwilling to work should not
eat. For we hear that some of you are living in idleness, mere busybodies,
not doing any work. Now such persons we command and exhort in the
Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own
living. Brothers and sisters, do not be weary in doing what is right.
Take note of those who do not obey what we say in this letter; have
nothing to do with them, so that they may be ashamed. Do not
regard them as enemies, but warn them as believers.
Scripture recognizes that systems
often take advantage of the poor.
 Amos 8:5-6-
We will make the ephah small and the shekel great, and
practice deceit with false balances,
6 buying the poor for silver
and the needy for a pair of sandals,
and selling the sweepings of the wheat.’
Jesus also fought against a system
that took advantage of the meek.
 Luke 20:45-47
Jesus Denounces the Scribes
45 In the hearing of all the people
he said to he disciples, 46‘Beware
of the scribes, who like to walk
around in long robes, and love
to be greeted with respect in the
market-places, and to have the
best seats in the synagogues and
places of honor at
banquets. 47They devour
widows’ houses and for the sake
of appearance say long prayers.
They will receive the greater
condemnation.’
And he focused on
care for the poor.
He literally fought the monetizing of
forgiveness and access to the community
 In the cleansing of the
temple (John 2:12-22)
 In the healing of the
leper (Luke 17:11-15
 In the healing of the
blind man (John 9:1-41)
 He forgives and heals a
paralyzed man (Mark
2:1-12)
Indeed, the poor were Jesus’
central focus.
Luke 4:18-19
‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the
captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.’
Does this mean Jesus didn’t like
the wealthy?
Compassion and balance
are the goal.
 2 Corinthians 8:13-14 - 12For if the eagerness is there,
the gift is acceptable according to what one has—not
according to what one does not have. 13I do not mean
that there should be relief for others and pressure on
you, but it is a question of a fair balance
between 14your present abundance and their need,
so that their abundance may be for your need, in
order that there may be a fair balance.
This was all in
the hope that all
of God’s people
might treat each
other as fellow
children of God.
Mark 12:30-31
Because we are still striving against
some of the same false theologies that
Jesus was.
We are dealing with opposing ideas
about how God blesses people.
Gospel of the Cross
Gospel of Prosperity
 I am loved, therefore I give.
 Christ died to show his love to
 I have, therefore I am loved.
 “God wants you to be rich!”
 If you work hard God will bless
all.
 We are called to be present for
and with all God’s people.
 Bible passage: “For by grace you
have been saved through faith,
and this is not your own doing; it
is the gift of God— not the result
of works, so that no one may
boast.” Eph 2:8-9
 Proponents: Luther, Bonhoeffer,
Neibuhr, Barth, MLK, etc.
you with wealth.
 God shows his favor to the
worthy.
 Bible passage: “I came that they
may have life, and have it
abundantly.” John 10:10b
 God helps those that help
themselves.
 Proponents: Oral Roberts, Joel
Osteen, Kenneth Copeland, etc.
In the Gospel of
Prosperity
We are
blessed by
our works
with riches.
In the Gospel of the
Cross
We are
blessed, and
respond by
sharing
with others.
What do they produce?
Gospel of Prosperity
Gospel of the Cross
 A false Jesus is Magic idea: If I
 A desire to give back to God
pray hard enough, Jesus will
bless me with wealth
 An Us vs. Them mentality: I
am wealthy therefore God
loves me, you are not, so God
doesn’t love you
 A sense of being the Holy
Chosen…
by serving God’s people.
 A desire to respond to God’s
blessings, not just receive
them.
 A sense that all people are
God’s children and deserving
of love.
But I thought God punished us for our sins
and blessed us for our faithfulness.
Yes, for our faithfulness
(especially through people)
 Mark 10:28-31
 28 Peter began to say to him,
‘Look, we have left everything and
followed you.’ 29Jesus said, ‘Truly I
tell you, there is no one who has
left house or brothers or sisters or
mother or father or children or
fields, for my sake and for the sake
of the good news, 30who will not
receive a hundredfold now in
this age—houses, brothers and
sisters, mothers and children,
and fields, with persecutions—
and in the age to come eternal
life. 31But many who are first will
be last, and the last will be first.’
And no, for our sins
(in this life)
 Matthew 5:42-48
 ‘You have heard that it was said,
“You shall love your neighbor and
hate your enemy.” But I say to you,
Love your enemies and pray for
those who persecute you, so that
you may be children of your Father
in heaven; for he makes his sun
rise on the evil and on the good,
and sends rain on the righteous
and on the unrighteous. For if you
love those who love you, what
reward do you have? Do not even
the tax-collectors do the same? And
if you greet only your brothers and
sisters, what more are you doing
than others?
We see similar struggles in the
early church.
 In 1 Corinthians 11,12,
and 13 Paul makes it
clear, to a church that
was struggling with
issues of prestige and
power, asking themselves
who is great, that it is
love that is great. By
loving one another all
are made great.
What are the challenges and what are the rewards?
Break into small groups and discuss
Challenges
Rewards
 Where do you begin?
 How does this change how
 Who can make this happen?
you live in the world?
 How does the cross change
how you approach your
neighbor?
 How would this change the
relationships between people
that are fighting?
 How does the cross change
your relationships?
 How do you live out a life of
the cross?
 What might you have to
sacrifice?
Come together and discuss
 What does this view look like from the outside?
 What is it Jesus seems to want from us?
 How does this change our relationship to money?
 How does it change our relationship to each other?