Biblical material summary:
Pentateuch – goodness of wealth and God’s desire to bless his people with material possessions
Law – restriction of use and accumulation of property
Historical – the negative effects of wealth consolidation
Prophets – economic injustice
Wisdom and Poetry – wealth as a reward for faithfulness and industry; warnings against the wicked rich and ill-gotten gain; justice will come at the end of time
New Testament – carried forth many Old Testament principles with the exception of material wealth as a guaranteed reward for spiritual obedience or hard work; all Christians should have access to houses and fields thanks to the generosity of other Christians
Bible – never views material poverty as good; God wills his people to distribute wealth more equitably; God and mammon are rival masters; almsgiving integral to
Additional Conclusions:
- Material possessions are a good gift from God meant for his people to enjoy
- Material possessions are also one of the primary means of turning human hearts away from God
- A necessary sign of life in redemption is that of transformation in the area of stewardship
- There are certain extremes of wealth and poverty which are in and of themselves intolerable
- The Bible’s teaching about material possessions is inextricably intertwined with more ‘spiritual’ matters. (243-7)
Applications:
- If wealth is an inherent good, Christians should try and gain it
- If wealth is seductive, giving away surplus is a good strategy for resisting the temptation to overvalue it
- If stewardship is a sign of a redeemed life, the Christians will want to give
- If certain extremes of wealth and poverty are intolerable, then those with excess (i.e., most readers of the book) will work hard to help those in need
- If holistic salvation represents the ultimate good, then our charitable giving should be directed to people or groups that minister holistically (247)
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