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Lucifer’s
love of money got him into trouble with the Lord before Adam was created, and
it seems likely we’ll also be dealing with money matters at least through the
Millennial Reign. Therefore, it is important that we understand the subject of
money.
The first thing we need to understand
about money is it’s not our money! Because of the important reasons
covered in chapter D6, Authority, we must understand and accept our rank
and station in life. No matter what our rank, sex, title, position, or responsibilities
are now and in the future, we must always realize we are still husbandmen
taking care of the Lord’s kingdom. We shall always be servants, nay, more than
servants: We shall always be slaves, bought with a price, owned
by the Master. We’ll have lots of authority and responsibility, and along with
that we’ll be making decisions about money and material things. As caretakers
of God’s property we want to get it right. And getting it right is not
difficult unless we let carnality and self turn lust into covetousness.
We own nothing and we should covet nothing. To covet anything is wrong
because everything belongs to God.
We also need to appreciate the fact that
the love of money caused God’s wise, beautiful, and beloved son, Lucifer, to
fall from grace and lose his inheritance. Never allow yourself to be drawn in
by the allure of money. We might better handle that temptation if we remember
and accept our station in life, who and what we are – servants of the King Who owns everything. The acceptance of that is the key to
avoiding the evil notion of equality. We are inferior beings created by the
Supreme Being to serve Him. We are not His equals in any area. If we accept and
incorporate that into who we are we shall do well in
all areas – including money.
Tithing
was an Old Testament institution that required giving or sharing 10% of your
substance to help a brother, a fellow Christian. More specifically, tithing was
giving 10% to support and sustain the priesthood.
The only tribe in Israel not allowed
to own (!) land or to earn a living was the tribe of Levi, the priests.
That was because they were supposed to be serving God by husbanding His house
and helping the brethren. They would perform religious ceremonies, guard the
doors of the temple, cut, split, and stack the wood for the fires, make
candles, sweep the floor, shepherd the flocks of animals being raised for
sacrifice, etc. All of that was part of being a priest.
But where were they to get weapons to
guard the temple, axes to cut wood, carts to haul the wood, supplies to make
candles, brooms, shepherd’s crooks and shearing equipment, money, clothes, etc?
The priests also had families, so they needed firewood, food, clothing,
toothpaste, hula-hoops, bicycles, furniture, etc. They neither owned land nor
did they have income-producing jobs, so they were completely dependent upon the
tithe. Their fellow Christians took one tenth of all their substance and gave
it to the Levites. One tenth of all their substance meant one tenth of
everything; money, firewood, sheep, goats, vegetables, hula-hoops, bicycles,
toothpaste, etc., so their brethren would lack nothing the other tribes had –
even down to little things such as cumin, mint, anise, and rue (Mt 23:23; Lk 11:42). Everyone had to share, to tithe, so even the
priests tithed to help each other (Lk 11:42).
Keep in mind that the tithe was 10%, it
was mandatory, and it was to support the priests, because we are going to apply
that to the New Testament where the tithe no longer exists.
That’s right, there is no such thing as
tithing under the New Testament. Verses like Lk
11:42; 18:12; Mt 23:23 did not happen in the New Testament era.
Christ lived under the Old Testament in the Old Testament era. That’s why He
kept the law. The New Testament did not go into effect and the New Testament
era did not start until He died on the cross (He 9:16,17). Nowhere does the Bible say any testament goes into
effect when a Great Commission is given, or when anyone is baptized with the
Holy Ghost, or receives power from the Holy Ghost, or
has cloven tongues like as of fire sit on them. It says the Testament of Jesus
Christ, which is called the New Testament because it replaced the Old, went
into effect the minute Christ died up on the cross. And there is no tithing anywhere
in the Bible after Christ died on the cross.
The tithe is gone. The ten percent rule
is gone. But voluntary offerings are still here in the form of
“collections.” Notice the Lord Jesus Christ never praised any Christian for
giving 10%, but He did for giving 100% (Mk 12:44). Offerings are
voluntary. Offerings are 100%. The Lord wants everything we have. But because
He already owns the cattle upon a thousand hills (everything), He doesn’t
really want material offerings; He wants us (He 10:5; Ro 12:1;
1 Jn 3:16).
The Pharisees were never able to
understand the tithe because of their selfish love of money. Their heart wasn’t
in the 10% they gave; it was in the 90% they kept. They incorrectly thought 10%
belonged to God and 90% belonged to them. That’s robbery; we own nothing.
Everything we have belongs to God and He wants us to give everything we have,
even our lives, to the church, to the brethren. That’s why in the New Testament
era the tithes and offerings have been replaced by “collections” (1 Co 16:1-3;
Ph 4:15,16; 2 Co 8:2,4; 2 Co 9; Ro 15:26; Ac 4:32; 1
Co 9:13/1 Pe 2:5,9). Collections
for whom? Collections for the saints! Why for the saints? Because the New Testament priesthood of all believers has replaced
the Old Testament Levitical priesthood. All
Christians are priests (1 Pe 2:9; Re 1:6).
Therefore, the New Testament system in which the collections are for the
saints is no different from the Old Testament system of supporting the
priesthood with tithes and offerings.
God calls the New Testament system a collection
rather than a tithe because He doesn’t want us to get the evil idea that
“90% is mine.” Less obvious is why He calls it a collection rather than an offering:
It is because nothing is ours to offer; God is collecting what is
already His and distributing it to needy saints. It is a Christian welfare
program, a redistribution of wealth to help God’s priesthood of believers.
So if your fellow Christian can’t afford
a hula-hoop for his kid you don’t have to be a Pharisee by telling him, “Be ye
warm and filled, but I’ve already given my tithe.” There is no tithe. If you
can help him in some way you will want to do it because love
fills you with charity towards the members of your Family. That
is the New Testament “tithe” and that was the way it was supposed to happen in
the Old Testament, too.
We are to govern ourselves in accordance
with Mk 12:30,31; the detachment/lack of
personal involvement of the automatic tithe has been replaced by spontaneous
love, by charity. If Ananias and Sapphira hadn’t
broken those two greatest of God’s commandments, they would have accepted Ac
4:32 and God would have had to find two other Christians to kill as examples
for us.
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If you think 90% of your money is yours,
or 90% of your time and life is yours, you do not have a proper servant’s
attitude. The Bible makes it clear that one of the reasons you work is so
you’ll have something to give to needy Christians (Ep
4:28). Your offering is for the church and is not to be just 10% of your
income. Your offering is you, a living sacrifice (Ro 12:1; 1 Jn 3:16-18).
Why do so many preachers think the tithe
is still in effect? Because they do not know the Bible.
They don’t understand that the New Testament collection for the saints is a
better, more loving way to take care of our fellow priests: Without the
temptation to hide behind a stingy Pharisaical view of a 10% rule, we can
properly mature into a “what’s mine is yours, because everything is really
God’s” kind of love. Today’s preachers also don’t know the New Testament of
Jesus Christ didn’t begin until the death of the Testator and therefore think
the tithing in the gospels can be taught as examples of “New Testament
tithing.” And they are afraid many of the Christians in their congregations are
so selfish their contributions will stop if they ever find out the tithe no
longer exists. (They are probably right about that.) That is why they spend
more time preaching about the tithe than they do about the topics in this book.
Some Christians in history sold
everything they had and wandered around preaching because of Mt 19:21
and Lk 18:22. There is nothing wrong
with that, and I’ll tell you why that may be a good idea for many Christians
today before I explain the proper interpretation.
“Riches” and “merchandise” (Ezek 28:5,16) made Lucifer covetous and were the most obvious
reasons for his opposition to God (1 Ti 6:10). Wealth, whether it
consists of material goods or filthy lucre, has an allure strong enough to
cause even God’s beloved Lucifer to fall. You and I are subject to the same
enticements Lucifer was because we have a natural tendency to rise whenever our
earthly situation “improves”, which is why humility and lowliness are good for
us. In this materialistic age I think we need to be very careful about
wealth.
When we are poor financially, poor in
popularity, poor in health, without social status, and without power and
influence we tend to have a better relationship with the Lord – if we meekly
accept His providence rather than selfishly whine and beg for physical
blessings.
Gluttony and drunkenness are the results
of large amounts of food and drink – more than needed to sustain life. Wealth
(or “riches”) is the result of more lucre than is necessary to sustain life. It
is not a sin to be wealthy; wealth makes us more able to assist our needy
brethren (Ep 4:28). The potential problem with wealth
arises when the Lord expects us to divest ourselves of some or all of it in the
course of following Him: Notice it was the man’s “great possessions” (Mt
19:22) that caused him to resist Christ’s order.
The carnal principle behind drunkenness
and gluttony (which is surrendering control to the old man) applies to financial
and societal power as well. Any kind of worldly power produces a proportionate
increase in lust. The more we have the more we want. That’s why God places
certain restrictions on sex, eating, and drinking – to help us keep our
physical old man and his lusts under control. Satan, on the other hand,
encourages yielding to our carnal lusts in order that our old man might
prevail.
Increases in power and wealth often
reveal the weakness of the flesh, because as power produces its corresponding
increase in lust we often find our self-control cannot rise to the occasion. By
making gluttony and drunkenness sins, and by encouraging fasting and charitable
giving, the Lord has lovingly and wisely shown us that the “abundant life” of Jn 10:10 isn’t referring to physical things
in this life, which helps us realize moderation plays an important role
in this war. Because of Ro 7:23 God put 1 Co 9:25,27
in the Bible. Therefore, keeping our lusts at manageable levels now – before
they have a chance to get out of control – by being temperate in all things is
an important part of ruling well our own house.
No matter what the reasons and causes
behind our lusts, the practical truth we must deal with is the love of money is
the root of all evil. And the more powerful we become – in any area – the more
powerful our lusts. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the
earth.
We must avoid becoming possessed by our
possessions, becoming “possession possessed.” To prevent ourselves from
becoming drunk with wealth we must realize “our” wealth isn’t ours – it belongs
to God and is a resource to be used in this war. That is the attitude the Bible
commands us to have. Take careful note of exactly and specifically what it was
the Lord told the Christian with “riches”, with “great possessions”, who was
“very rich” to do with his wealth – the man was told to “distribute” unto the
“poor” (Lk 18:22). In other words he was told to put
the fruits of his Ep 4:28 labors to their intended
use – to help the church. We’ll shortly establish that when the Bible says “the
poor” it is talking about Christians who could use your help. It is not
saying we should support charities that go to penniless dogs – although it is
not a sin to do so as long as the interests of the church are furthered and
Jesus Christ is glorified.
You and I are warned not to be so ensnared by worldly wealth (1 Ti 6:17) that we won’t be “ready to distribute” (1 Ti 6:18) to needy Christians when the time comes. Are needy Christians always Christians who are “poor” financially? No. Poor doesn’t necessarily mean not much money. For example, King David refers to himself as “poor.” He may have been spiritually bankrupt a few times, and his fellow Christians may have often treated him poorly, but he was not monetarily poor. A Christian is poor when he needs material things, friendship and comfort, reproving and rebuking, Bible learning, or anything else. And you are rich whenever you are able to give him those things – and do so. I am writing this book because the Lord has made me rich in understanding and because I see how bankrupt His church is. This book is likely to make me poor. Do I say that because I’ve charitably chosen to operate this ministry at a loss? No, I say it because this apostasy-revealing book is likely to make me very unpopular in today’s church. Not to worry; when the Lord teaches our fingers to fight and our hands to make war He also makes our foreheads as an adamant harder than flint (Ezek 3:7-9). And acts of charity never make us poor in the Lord’s eyes, and should be viewed as part of the duty and privilege of serving God and helping His church.
This
“be ready to distribute” stuff is harder than the Old Testament tithe because
it requires discernment in order to know how to distribute the “riches” the Lord
has entrusted to us. Covetous brethren will love this teaching because
they’ll always “be ready” – but somehow needy saints and projects will never be
distributed to. If you don’t know how God wants you to spend His money, think
about what I used to tell myself as a young Christian when I felt my faith and
courage weren’t up to some task: If you don’t think you have enough faith or
courage to handle something Scriptural, just pretend you do and do it anyway.
Only in this instance love might be a better word – just pretend you
really do love the Lord and His saints. (I later realized I wasn’t pretending;
I was a doer whose Natural fear never quite conquered him.) And when you learn
about a needy Christian family without bicycles for the kids, of a Christian
family with no insurance whose home burned down, of a missionary who needs
support, of a church in need of construction funds, or a million other ways you
can help support the war and its warriors – evaluate the situation: Do you want
to help? Should you help? And remember, any labor, time, money, or material you
give to The Cause is given to Christ – if your heart is right. Doing is
love – whether you “feel” love or not.
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There have been
times when I helped someone only to learn later I’d been suckered by wicked
Christians who took advantage of my idealistic view of Christianity. One time a
missionary asked me to contribute to a building project for a Christian couple
going to work for him. I sent a large sum of money. The wicked couple ran off,
stealing it and the rest of the project fund. It wasn’t the embarrassed
missionary’s fault, and I continued sending him financial support. When another
missionary I supported died, I continued sending money to his widow until she
died, even though she retired and returned to the U.S. “Our” money isn’t ours,
and is to support the church.
It’s
OK if there have been occasions when I’ve been suckered because the Lord
analyzed my heart, saw I was doing it for Him, and gave me full credit – I was
cheated out of nothing. We are not expected to sell everything, give it to
charities, put on sandals and a white robe, and wander around saying, “Repent;
the end is near.” But we are expected to be ready, willing, and able to do
anything and everything our Master wants. We should spend the Lord’s money on whatever
He impresses upon us. Take care of His children. And remember, sometimes we
might not know the people we run across are saints – we might be entertaining angels
unaware:
One morning before dawn when I was first
learning about all of this, I was standing in front of a hotel waiting for
transportation. A young man walked up to me and asked if the hotel had a
laundry room with washers and dryers. We briefly spoke about how he’d washed
his clothes (which were soaking wet) at another place but had run out of money.
He was mentally quick, well spoken, and said a couple of things that made me
fleetingly wonder – as I saw my ride approaching – if he was a brother. He
asked for some change so he could dry his clothes. I opened my wallet and was
distressed to find it contained nothing but twenties. Finally, after
desperately thumbing through the larger bills I found and gave him a five just
as my ride approached the curb. He thanked me, started to turn toward the
hotel, stopped, and suddenly asked, “Say, are you a Christian?” “Yes, I am” I
replied. To which he said, “I thought you might be when you gave me this. I’m a
Christian, too. Thanks, brother, now I can get something to eat, too.” He
walked toward the hotel, and as I was whisked away by my ride I was struck by
the fact that I’d been entertaining an angel unaware. And how had I responded?
Like any Pharisee who wants to do his “Christian duty.” Was the five-dollar bill
motivated by love? No. It was pure selfishness: I had no pocket change, wanted
to show myself what a “good” Christian I was, and couldn’t find anything
smaller than a five. Was the Lord pleased with me? No, all He saw was my
stingy selfishness. I still feel awful when I think of that event and
have begged the Lord to forgive me and to bless the young man I defrauded. I
have also prayed that my remorse is over the fact that I didn’t help him
– and not because I made me look bad.
Pride often blinds me into thinking I’m a
good Christian – and then the Lord sends something into my life that shows me
how despicable I really am. And I suspect many Christians aren’t so different
from me; when they tithe or make an offering they try to do so in a way that
will justify themselves before men while leaving them as much money as
possible.
Both the Old Testament tithe and the New
Testament collection for the saints depend on our unselfish love for Christ and
His wives (1 Co 10:24). Love and covetousness don’t mix. I long for the
day when my deceitful and desperately wicked heart gets replaced with a
circumcised one. But until then I am commanded to bring my selfish body under
subjection for the glory of God and the welfare of His church.
Usury is the charging of interest when
loaning money or anything else. It is not the charging of “excessive”
interest as is commonly thought. Any sum paid for borrowing something, no
matter how small, is usury.
Christians are not allowed to charge
interest (usury) when loaning anything to a fellow Christian (Dt 23:19) because
that offends the idea that we own nothing. God owns all that we have, therefore we haven’t the prerogative of ownership
necessary to charge usury. Also, our fellow Christians are not our servants,
they are our brethren.
But we are God’s servants, and He does
own everything. That’s why He has the prerogative of charging us usury for
whatever He gives us (Mt 25:26,27). Notice in
that verse the owner of the goods charges usury to his servants.
If you read the entire parable and apply it to this topic you’ll get a better
idea of why I charged you nothing for the contents of this book. The
information in this book isn’t mine; the Lord has given me this
information for all of us. And He expects to get the information back
with usury. The usury is what we do with the information. If we were to
keep the info to ourselves and concentrate on being “good” Christians, we’d be
burying His talents instead of producing interest for Him. We are to bear
fruit; that is the Lord’s usury.
Let me try to make the principle behind
usury – love – more clear (which will also help illustrate how the law really
is a schoolmaster that teaches us things). The Bible says we are not justified
by the works of the law, because we
are to live by faith (Ga 3:11). So, how
can we understand the difference between living by the letter of the law (like
the damned Pharisees), and properly living by faith? First, let’s apply
the synonyms we learned on page H1-2 by realizing the faith in “living by faith” includes love and works. As a plebe at the Naval Academy, whenever an upperclassman barked,
“Smith! Drop and give me ten!”, I’d drop into
the pushup position, count off ten pushups (“One, sir! Two, sir! Three, sir!...”), and then an eleventh (“And one for the class of ’71,
sir!”), and a twelfth (“And one to beat Army, sir!”). Why? Because
it was considered a sign of grudging insolence to carry out our orders to the
absolute minimum. The two extra pushups, therefore, were usury that was “voluntarily”
offered as a sign of our respect and good attitude.
Respect was also indicated in our speech.
When asked a question by a superior, it was disrespectful and curt to answer
with the absolute minimum such as monosyllables like, “Yes” or “No”, and it was
especially rude to use slang such as “Yeah.” We always added “usury” to the
minimum by saying, “Yes, Captain” or “Yes, sir” as a token of respect.
Another example: We were always given
lots of things to do and learn by upperclassmen, and it was difficult for them
to keep track of them all. Therefore, they’d commonly ask, “Smith, what do you
owe me?” In reply I’d report what I’d done or learned. But if I had no new
assignments from him, it was considered rude to say, “Nothing, sir”, because we
were always gratefully respectful and willing to serve more. Therefore
instead of saying, “I owe you nothing,
sir”, we’d properly reply to his, “What do you owe me?” by saying, “Respect and
obedience, sir.”
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Now let’s render the Lord His proper
usury. When the Bible tells us the Lord reaps where He sowed not and receives His own plus usury (Mt 25:26,27), that law is a schoolmaster to teach us
how we’ll be if we are proper servants motivated by love. Our love and respect will bear fruit/works/usury.
Works: If we do the absolute minimum the Lord requires, we are nothing but grudging, selfish tithers
like the Pharisees. For example, let’s say I finished my work for the Lord one
day and a group of us saints were going to go enjoy a meal somewhere. On the
way I see you struggling with whatever task you have. My love for the Lord then
motivates me: 1) I want Him to be pleased with all in His realm, including your
project. 2) I want Him to be pleased with the knowledge and performance of all
of His wives, including you. 3) I want you to enjoy the blessing of fully
knowing the Lord, understanding how to properly serve Him, and the joy of
receiving His appreciation for who you are and what you do for Him and for the
good of His church. 4) I don’t want to ever be a tither
who pumps out only ten pushups for the Lord. So, knowing my true food isn’t
physical, it’s doing God’s will (Jn 4:32-34), I do
an about face and go help you. My orders
from God (Pharisaically
living by the law) make me have to do the tasks He gives me. My love for God (living by
faith) makes me want to be alert for ways I can serve and glorify
Him with usury. That’s why we’re not justified by works of the law (ten
pushups); we’re justified by usury/works of faith/love-based voluntary service
(which is usually ten pushups plus a couple – unless expediency makes us
ignore the ten pushups in order to do something else for God and His church).
Speech: It is OK to refer to the Lord as Jesus, and the Bible sometimes does just
that because He was true man – our brother. But now He is our king. So, while I
do sometimes refer to Him as Jesus, I usually refer to Him as Jesus Christ,
Christ, the Lord, the Lord Jesus, etc. And in my prayers I address Him as
“Lord” and “Sir”. If He ever asks me a question, I’ll never answer with “No”,
“Yeah”, or “I owe you nothing, Sir.” I’ll always say, “No, Sir”, “Yes, Lord”,
and, “Respect and obedience, Sir.” When you and I are talking, we’re equals. So
I’ll call you Jim and use monosyllables like No and Yeah. But because of 1 Co 11:3-5, all authorities (parents,
adults, teachers, cops) are to be treated with respect.
Attitude: I believe General Stonewall Jackson loved the
Lord Jesus Christ. Jackson’s love for God gave him a good and proper attitude, which affected Jackson’s daily
life – he respectfully and humbly tried to keep the Lord in all his thoughts.
When he had a drink of water he silently shared it with the Lord; when he
entered a building he silently said, “Lord, won’t you come in with me?” Those
things were the Lord’s usury; they
were fruits of Jackson’s love for
God. We need that kind of attitude that makes us always lovingly, respectfully, humbly, and helpfully present with the Lord. If we do not have usury as part of
our Christian walk, we’re just hell-bound Pharisees. But remember, usury isn’t
just two pushups; it’s ten plus two pushups.
God wants Christians to someday rule the
world. We won’t technically own anything, but as wives who have taken our
Husband’s Name, we will rule with His authority over the dogs. That’s why it is
OK for Christians to charge usury to the unsaved (Dt 23:20). See also Dt
15:2,3,6 while noticing the one who loans
has the power and the one who borrows is under the rule of the loaner.
That’s why we aren’t supposed to borrow from dogs; by so doing we give away our
control (Pv
22:7), we become their servants.
In order to better help you understand
that the governing principle behind don’t pay usury/don’t be in debt is for
Christians to stay in control rather than surrender control to
dogs, read Dt 28:15 and note that the
Lord is about to list a bunch of curses that will befall His people when they
don’t live in accordance with His word. Now notice it is a curse – it is
very bad – for dogs to have power over God’s people (v.43). Also notice
dogs have power over us if they are the ones loaning us money and charging us
usury rather than the other way around (v.44). God’s people lost their
dominion and were under the power of pagans during the Babylonian captivity,
and that situation was a curse from God for being lousy Christians. You and I
have no national dominion and are living under a secular government that
controls a debt-based economy. That’s fine; they can do whatever they want. But
our participation in that economy does not require our being in debt.
Therefore, any Christian who is in debt has voluntarily disregarded the Bible
and brought a curse upon himself by surrendering his economic dominion – or
control – to pagan Babylonians. That’s not the way it’s supposed to be and we
need to start thinking and acting like the rulers we are in training to become.
The idea is one of an
elite, ruling family of Christians. So when the Bible says to take care of “the
poor” it is talking about poor Christians as in the poor “among you”,
the poor “of thy brethren”, and “thy poor brother” (Dt 15:7). This is verified in Dt 15:8,9 by the
fact that the poor brother you’ve been stingy toward goes to the Lord
for relief from your wicked treatment of him. It is important for Christians to
forgive the debts owed by their neighbors (fellow saints), but they do not have
to release debts owed by the unsaved (Dt
15:3).
Ga 2:9,10 also shows that “the poor” are Christians:
Verse 9 refers to using the gospel to find and feed Christ’s sheep by going
among unbelieving Gentiles and unbelieving Jews, which obviously includes all
unbelievers on earth in accordance with the Great Commission. And then v.10
introduces a group of people not included in v.9 – the poor. Since v.9
is about everyone on earth who doesn’t believe the gospel (whether they are Jew
or Gentile), v.10 can only apply to those who do believe the gospel. For more
verification that “the poor” are Christians compare 1 Co 16:1; Lk 18:22; and Ro 15:26.
Financially aiding our poor brethren
requires us to love the church more than money, and it helps us understand what
an important ingredient charity (in its giving sense) is to love
(in its care for the church sense). See also Mt 6:12 and 18:21-35.
Understanding this topic also helps us put history into perspective, which has
been rather unkind to the Jews for not treating all men equally in the area of
money: They were very forgiving toward other Jews and very strict with
Gentiles.
Usury made on loans to dogs is clean
money because it is based on the “clean” money loaned by saints. Therefore, God
allowed His people to use that money without any restrictions. But income
that is the result of assigning value to the unsaved, such as the
hiring out or the selling of the unsaved, may not be used for certain purposes
lest God be offended (Dt 23:18). So if
one of God’s people owned a stable of unsaved men and women (Dt 23:17) to be hired out for sex or to be
sold as slaves, he couldn’t use that money in the temple because it is based
on assigning value to that which is an abomination – dogs. In a similar
fashion, money made by betraying a Christian brother is based on an abominable
act, and is why God made sure Judas’ thirty pieces of silver did not end up in
the temple.
All of this helps us better grasp the
principles behind – and the consistency of – certain things in the Bible. For
example, God allowed His people to “borrow” valuables from the Egyptians just
before the Exodus that they knew they’d never give back, and He allowed His temple
to be built by hired dogs and slaves. Each of those was OK because God’s
people were in control. In the first example they were spoiling dogs
God had pounded into submission, and in the second, God’s people were again in
control.
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The same principle of control can make
our works acceptable to our pure God: How is it that God can accept the works
of sinful Christians by saying, “Well done good and faithful servant”? And, of
course, it’s because of the faithful servant part. We please Him when we
glorify Him as our ruling authority. In that way our works of redemption today
are not our works, they are His works because the issue of
authority assigns credit to the ruling head, not to the obedient members under
the head. The Pharisees’ works of the law were considered iniquity by
God because they only thought they were serving God. In reality they
were not submissive wives; they were independent lovers of self who used the
law to hide from God. As we saw in chapter D20, there is an important
distinction between works and works of the law.
Here we are discussing usury and we find
ourselves drawn into its relationship with authority. That’s not
surprising since the issue in the Bible is authority. For example, when
you read above that surrendering financial control to dogs is cursed, you
probably couldn’t help but marvel at the Lord’s consistent reaction whenever
His people surrendered control in places like Ge
3:17 and 1 Sa 15:24-26. (It might also be good if you considered
monthly water and heating bills as you read La 5:1-8, and don’t ever
make fun of Christians who strive for self-sufficiency.) The reason
Christianity has so many of its doctrines wrong today is
our lack of real understanding of authority. Our philosophy-based Enlightened outlook has blinded us to this central unifying
principle. We do not know how to think. And unless we recognize the inerrant
authority of the King James Bible and take each word literally by putting it
into action in our lives, we will never learn how to think outside the
pew, which is the only way we can spot apostasy. Everything
depends on the word of God. You and I do not live in a time when God’s people
have dominion on earth, but the principles of remaining as much in control as
possible and not voluntarily putting ourselves in positions of servitude still
apply. Christians should not be in debt unless they have that debt covered.
Don’t buy a house or a toy if you don’t have the money. If you owe more than
you have, you have voluntarily put yourself under the control of the world by
being in its debt.
However, because the idea behind all of
this is that God’s people be in control, let’s look at how we can be
technically in debt without surrendering control. Let’s say you have the money
to buy a car, and the money is making 5% interest in one of the world’s
financial institutions (which is perfectly acceptable because they are
paying you interest/usury). If the seller of the car is willing to sell
you the car at 4% interest it is OK for you to leave your money where it is and
make monthly payments to the world for the car at 4% interest. You are not
losing interest (and are actually getting 1% profit from the dogs), you are
capable of paying off the full amount should the world suddenly call the debt,
and you have therefore remained in control. The same applies to
everything you do in life – stay in control of yourself, your household, your
associations, and your time.
The example I just gave helps show how
important it is to know, understand, and apply the concepts and principles in
the Bible, because modern Pharisees would object, claiming you’d be violating
the commandments to stay out of debt and not pay usury if you followed the
above advice. Not understanding the principle behind the whole thing, they
wouldn’t understand the relevance of how your reserve funds keep you in control
and that you are actually making 1%. Since we do understand that the
principle behind usury is to stay in control, let’s be like Paul in 1 Co 7:6,12,25,40 and practice our discernment and ability to
rule: In this example some Pharisees bring another Christian before you who has
been paying usury and you have to judge him. His sin, the Pharisees charge, is
that of paying usury because, unlike in the above car-buying example, this guy
has his reserve funds in an account making 5% but the mortgage on his car costs
him 6%, therefore he is paying 1% usury and must be
stoned. The brother turns to you and explains himself: If he spent an average
of $50 per month on golf, $75 per month taking his wife out to dinner, etc.,
nobody would care as long as he could afford to spend that money – called
discretionary spending or discretionary income. His old pickup truck died, he lives
on a farm and needs to have a pickup, and the car loan was 6%. His reserve
funds are in an account making 5%. If he took some of the money out he’d have
to pay certain penalties because of the type of account it is. Therefore, he
elected to leave the account alone and use it to cover his car loan. Yes, he’s
paying 1% usury, but because his account is available if the car loan is called
he has remained in financial control. And because his reserve money keeps
him in control his monthly usury payment is not usury in its Biblical
indebted/loss of control sense – it is merely discretionary spending that he
can afford (along with entertainment, dining, etc.) and that he chose because
he prefers to keep his account intact. At that point you proclaim the brother
not guilty and let him go – to the utter amazement and consternation of the
Pharisees. When they object that the Bible says to stay out of debt and not to
pay usury, you respond with, “I speak this by permission and not of commandment
because it is me speaking in accordance with discernment rather than by ‘thus saith the Lord.’ Yet I give my judgment as one that hath
obtained mercy of the Lord to be faithful, and I think also that I have
maintained the spirit of the law in this matter.” That is how the Bible – if
studied, meditated on, and applied – makes us mature into rulers under the
controlling authority of Christ who have the discernment and wisdom to judge
others.
If you have a credit card, either pay it
off every month or use the above principles to both stay in control and to
profit overall so you’ll have more for the church. (Do not blur the distinction
between Ep 4:28 and the “Protestant work ethic” in
order to feed your greed.) Pay your taxes on time to avoid usury penalties.
Abide by the financial laws and customs of the nation. Banks and other worldly
financial institutions are OK to use (Lk
19:23). Joseph in Egypt and Daniel the eunuch show that
Christians under the dominion of the world may utilize and participate in pagan
financial systems. The Lord Jesus Christ showed the same thing by paying
taxes to Caesar. You do the same thing each time you use pagan currency like
the U.S. dollar. But what are the banks and other financial institutions doing
with the money you deposit with them? Are they financing abortion clinics,
making Satanism a recognized religion, and helping the Antichrist come to
power? You couldn’t care less what dogs do – as long as their usury/interest
payments to you are on time. Our sole focus, since we have no dominion, is the
welfare of the church.
Many Christians consider it a sin to
gamble. Even though they are probably right, I don’t think they can be given
credit for anything but following along with tradition. If they went by Ac
1:20-26 they’d probably accept gambling as an institution legitimized by
the apostles when they cast lots for Judas’ replacement. Their logic justifying
games of chance would be to say God is in control of “chance” and showed His
approval by making Matthias one of the apostles. But since games of chance
violate the principle that we Christians are to remain in control, either the
principle is wrong or the apostles were wrong to cast lots. Our first clue is
the fact that Ac 1:26 does not say, “Matthias became one of the twelve.”
It merely says he was numbered with the eleven. Could that mean
the apostles were wrong to use gambling to select an apostle instead of letting
the Lord do it in accordance with Mt 9:37,38? Perhaps: If Matthias is
legitimately one of the twelve apostles occupying the vacated office of Judas,
and since God Himself later made Paul an apostle in Ac 9 (for
confirmation see Ro 1:1; Ga 1:1; Ep 1:1), why doesn’t Re 21:14 refer to thirteen
apostles? I think it’s because God did not appoint Matthias via casting
lots as Judas’ replacement. And I think this example underscores the principle
of control that makes gambling wrong for Christians.
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page 6 ----------
Many Christians think it is a sin to
participate in capitalism – although many of them don’t understand the Enlightened principles of greed and self
behind capitalism, and therefore have merely a superficial abhorrence of “the
world’s financial system.” They often, in their well-intentioned ignorance,
attempt to “minimize” their participation in “Satan’s economy”, and do not
understand how the Lord could readily and willingly participate in Caesar’s Satanic economy. The
Bible makes it clear that those who “minimize” their contact with the unclean
economy are still completely leavened (Ga
5:9; Ja 2:10; Hag 2:11-13)!
A common problem with those who want to minimize contact with the world’s
economic system is they become Pharisees with all kinds of different rules
involving degrees of leaven. For example, some use banks, and some
despise those who use banks; they always pay for things with cash or money
orders – never with a check. Telephone calling cards and credit cards are
variously used or despised by different groups. Even worse than getting usury
by putting your money in the bank, many think, is to gamble through the stock
market. But since many Christian families do put money into stock and bond
mutual funds, let’s examine that popular method of participating in the world’s
capitalistic economy.
A look at the good, the bad, and the ugly
about stocks: The good: You are not in debt and can consider yourself
still in control of your finances. The bad: We are not to
voluntarily join affinity with the world (Ex 23:32; 2 Ch 16:3,7; 18:1; 1 Ki 3:1; Ezr 9:14), and technically stocks make you part of a
company – you share in its economic fate. You do so because the only thing
of value in stocks is their NAV (Net Asset Value – the fluctuating price of
a share). That may offend the principle articulated in bold print on page 4 of
this chapter. Some Christians however, consider that to be only a technicality
that may be overlooked as subservient to the fact that they still retain control.
Others may think those who invest in stocks are anything but in control and
that the following “ugly” facts about them make stocks a gamble. The
ugly: In general, the only way to make money with stocks is to sell if and
when the NAV goes up. But the NAV of stocks is quite volatile and goes up and
down sharply and unpredictably. That makes stocks well known for their risk,
which is another word for danger – you can lose your shirt in stocks.
However, some people point out that the long-term, historic average return of
stocks is 10%, which means the danger is reduced over time. They may also point
out that some stocks are specifically intended to pay regular dividends,
which makes you less dependent upon the NAV. Many retirees like these dividends
as a regular but undependable source of quarterly income.
A look at the good, the bad, and the ugly
about bonds: The good: You are not in debt and are in control with bonds
because they are debt instruments, which merely means the world is
indebted to you and must pay you regular usury, or interest, which is called yield
in bond language. Many retirees like bond mutual funds because they are a
regular and dependable source of monthly income. Unlike with stocks, bonds do
not assign value to the things of the world; they are merely loans
designed to profit you through usury, or yield. Because of that, the main purpose
of bonds is yield, not the unpredictable surges in the NAV. Because of that,
the NAV fluctuations of bonds are less than with stocks, which is why you
cannot make and lose as much money buying and selling bond shares as you can
buying and selling stock shares. The bad: The historic return of bonds
is about 6 or 7 percent, which is considerably less than that of stocks.
However, “high-yield” bonds such as high-yield corporate bonds and high-yield
municipal bonds have a historic yield of 10%. Some people distrust individual
high-yield (or “junk”) bonds because of the risk that a corporation may fail or
default on the interest payments, but that is not a problem with bond mutual
funds. Some people don’t like the greater volatility of high-yield bond NAVs
compared with the smaller NAV fluctuations of short-term, low-interest-paying
corporate and municipal bonds, but again, the purpose of bonds is regular
income, not trying to profit from the constant buying and selling of shares
as if they were stocks. The ugly: With the possible caveat mentioned
below, there may be no ugly with bond mutual funds. They are a good source of
dependable monthly income that, in the case of high-yield bonds, is the same
10% return as the much riskier historic return of stocks – without stock’s
vulnerability to economic recession. That is not only why bonds are called fixed-income
instruments, but also why Christians do not consider them a gamble.
The above is not intended to be financial
advice. It is intended only to give you some understanding so you will not be
as quick in the future to cast stones at your brethren in Christ who may either
lack your knowledge or who may look at their finances in a different way from
you (Ro 14:4; Jn 21:21,22b). I have my own
ideas about finances but I am not dogmatic about them because I am far from a
master of the topic. Therefore, I cast no stones at those Christians who have
mutual funds of either type, or at those Christians who think the mutual
in mutual funds means – just as does insurance – joining affinity with
the world. My overall intention is to make you more fully aware that our duty
as Christ’s servants requires us to apply Biblical discernment to all aspects of our daily lives.
Some
denominations use an annual fund-raising drive called “Faith Promise”. By applying what we learned about tempting God at the bottom of pages
D23-9 (jumping off the pinnacle of the temple) and D28-7 (snake handling,
drinking poison) we can discern that “Faith Promise” is wrong – no matter how
well-intentioned it may be: It asks pewsters to
“promise” to put into the collection plate an amount of money above that which they think they can
afford, an amount that is in addition
to what they already give as their tithes (10% of their incomes) and offerings
(missionary support drives, building funds, etc.)…and then by “faith” they are
to “trust” God to supply their needs so they can live up to their promise to
the church. In other words, they should tempt God by putting Him on the spot,
as demonstrated by this prayer: “Lord, in the past I’ve never tried to force
You to submit to what I want You to do by expecting
You to catch me when I jumped off a high place or by protecting me when I
handled snakes. But I just went into debt by an amount above that which I can afford
by committing to Faith Promise. Well, Sir, actually I’ve put You
into debt, because You are supposed to live up to my commitment.
Don’t let me down; don’t disappoint me, my pastor, and my fellow pewsters: Bless me for putting You into this debt, and honor
any other “faith commitments” that I might decide to burden You with. If You do that, I’ll thank You for it in Jesus’ name. If You don’t, I won’t thank You.” (That last is a not-so-subtle
commentary on the way some people end their prayers.)
All of this shows how important it is for us to
know, believe, evaluate, and apply every word in the Bible. It must govern the
way we think. Everything in life, whether it is specifically
mentioned in the Bible or not, must conform to the amazingly consistent principles
in God’s Holy Bible.