The Bible is the greatest economic textbook ever written. If you did a “man on the street” interview asking what is the greatest book on economics ever written, you could probably be on a corner in Times Square for days and no one would even suggest the Bible. God has more to say in the Bible about money than He does about prayer. (Number of verses: money, 140; mammon, 4; wealth, 27; riches, 99; inheritance, 239; and prayer, 114)
God’s economic laws are unchanging and the more accurately you understand them and follow them in your own life, the more accurately you will reflect the God of the Bible to the world around you. Even individuals and nations that obey God’s economic laws, whether acknowledging God as the source or not, will reap more economic prosperity.
The most prosperous nations throughout history have based their economic systems on the Bible. When they turned their backs on God’s principles as their standard, their civilizations declined. Unless we have repentance in our own land quickly, we will continue to witness an economic and cultural meltdown so catastrophic that it is beyond our imagination.
That is where we get into economics. Biblical economics is simple.
The 15 Principles of Economics
- Truth: Truth is a Person and He is knowable. Therefore, economic truth is knowable. God’s economic laws are immutable.
- Cause to effect: A person reaps what they sow, they reap later than they sow, and they reap more than they sow. God’s economy is based on constant growth and abundance and thus is in conflict with a worldview that presupposes limited resources and the capacity for overpopulation.
- Character: You can only have as much of the Kingdom resources as you have the character to obtain and maintain. Stewardship is the currency of the Kingdom.
- Independence: God is the source of all things and we must trust Him for supply while assuming personal responsibility for our actions.
- God-given rights: Human government is to protect inalienable rights. Whenever civil government purports to grant rights, it is purporting to be god. God’s system gives us the opportunity to work, but no guarantee of the result. A right is only a right if one person does not have to pay for the “right” of another.
- Private ownership of property: “Thou shalt not steal” (Exodus 20:15) necessitates private ownership of property. Private ownership of property is necessary for self-responsibility and Liberty.
- God’s economy reflects God’s character: God is a God of love, abundance, wealth and health. There is no poverty in God’s economy.
- Tithing: The tithe is a practical reminder of God’s ownership and one of God’s methods of delivering blessing to His people.
- Wealth transfers to the best steward. (Matthew 25:15-28, II Corinthians 9:6, Galatians 6:7, Luke 12:42-48)
- Governments, as well as individuals, are bound by God’s laws: Civil governments do not have biblical authority to legislate against God’s commands. Civil magistrates must answer to God for how they govern.
- Poverty is first internal before it is external: You cannot make a person rich by changing their circumstances.
- Governmental Liberty is necessary for prosperity. (Isaiah 61 & Luke 4)
- Economic Liberty is necessary for religious Liberty: How you use your resources is part of your personal stewardship. Your labor and the fruit of it are part of your worship and service to God.
- Inheritances: The ability to leave an inheritance for future generations is necessary to maintain a Christian culture. (Proverbs 13:22)
- Wealth has a designated Kingdom purpose: When an individual or nation does not use its wealth for God’s purpose, it will no longer be prosperous.
It is God who gives you the power to get wealth. (Deuteronomy 8:18) Wealth is given for a purpose. When you divorce wealth from it’s purpose, you don’t need it anymore.
If Christianity does not address the economic issues of our day, then it will continue to be treated as irrelevant. If we step forward and teach people to look to the Bible as their economic textbook, it will help people understand that God cares about the practical aspects of life and draw them to God’s Word. To think biblically, we must define our words biblically. When we start applying God’s solutions to economics and every other area of culture, we will see a revival in our land.
