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The Biblical Attitude Over The Property And Money
 by Samson Hutagalung

The Meaning of God Entrusted Material To God's People

what does God want us to do about the things materially that He entrusted to us? The answer to this question is important to all Christians because all of us will be giving an account to the Lord Jesus Christ on the judgment seat, of what we have done that which He has invested to us as stewards. Thus we need to know the teaching on this matter in Old and New Testament. It is clear that there are hundreds of passages dealing with money because it is the major thing in the Bible. God knows that in the real sense money represents us. It presents the investment of our time, energy, talent and devotion. In other word, by and large the money that we possess is the money that represents the investment of our very lives. Therefore we need to look at what the Old Testament, the Lord Jesus Christ and the Apostles say about money and to draw some conclusion in terms of the desperate danger of trust in material prosperity.

The Warnings of God on the Matter of Material Prosperity

In Proverb 30:7-9 we find the remarkable overview of a summary statement of the problem that we face in some extent one to another. This passage is actually a prayer concerning the wish of man with regard to prosperity. It says, “Two things have I required of thee; deny me them not before I die: Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.” To be a self-complacent and self-centre affluent materialist is absolutely an open invitation to denial of our need of God. Do we know that stealing takes the very subtle form on the part of the person who is in-property? What does the Lord Jesus say about stealing? Just to have in our hearts a covetousness for property and materials that are not our own we are already stealing. We do not need to steal or rob it but what we have to do, just to covet it in our hearts in the eyes of the Lord we are stealing because God knows what are the things in our hearts. In this passage we see a man is praying to the Lord saying, “keep me from property and I do not want to be a covetous person. Lest I trust in it in the material possession I have.” This is absolutely the summary of all the hundreds of passages in the in Bible.

In another passage in the book of Jeremiah 9:23-24 says, “Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD.” The only thing under heaven that God designed and created for us is to boast Him, in His name, His truth and word, His program and His plan. This commandment is a very little ideal of those who are nominal Christians. The strange thing about this warning is especially against trusting in material prosperity. On the other hand we see also the amazing thing of this warning that all the warnings at that time when God promised physical prosperity to the nation of Israel based on the condition that they have to obey His commandment. Just like the passage in Deuteronomy 28 in which we find the list of the blessings that the Lord would give to the nations of Israel if they obey the commandment of the Lord.

The Pattern that God Gives in Giving

In the book of Malachi we see certain pattern in giving to the Lord which was commanded to the people of God when Israel was going to die from the old age in her apostasy, indifference and complacency. The Lord said through the prophet Malachi in Malachi 3:10 says, “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” This verse may not be accepted by all Christians to be the pattern in the giving to the Lord. The Dispensationalists for instance, they will say that this is not for the church but it is particularly for the nation of Israel, thus it is not applicable for the Christians. However on this matter we need to make it clear that in the practice of giving to the Lord in Christianity today, we must say that it is not the same as the nation of Israel does. For the nation of Israel it is a must as a citizen of the nation that they need to fulfil. On the other hand the giving the tithe is not a must to all who call themselves "Christians". Christians give their tithes not because they are Christians or because this verse commands says so but rather based on their love to the Lord Jesus Christ. So many people in this world who call themselves as Christians but they do not truly believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. The tithes and offerings of such people are not counted by God. The love for God will be the basis of our giving and offering to the Lord. Thus the pattern of tithes is the least of offerings that Christians will give to the Lord. We need to give our tithes to the Lord willingly and according to our ability and love. In so doing we are obeying the commandments of the Lord that are given in His revealed word. If there is no obedience then there will be no blessing.

Jesus' Teaching on the Material Prosperity

What does the Lord Jesus say about material prosperity? In the New Testament, the Lord Jesus Christ is not lacking in giving the instructions on the matter of money and prosperity. In relation to this, in the time of Jesus Christ the Jews were having the wrong concept on material prosperity. Mostly Jews in those days put their total confidence on their wealth on the basis that God had blessed them therefore they thought they were special persons before the Lord.

In the time of Jesus' ministry on this earth, many Jews were thinking just like Job’s three friends. When Job was reduced from total prosperity to total in-property and misery, his friends thought that Job had sinned against God greatly. On the other hand if someone had a great prosperity then God had blessed him. Thus to them, money and wealth were the exact measuring state of the spiritual condition of someone before God. And the Lord Jesus Christ said to those kinds of people in Matthew 19:23-24, “That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.” When His disciples heard this saying they astonished and say, “Who then can be saved?” But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:25-26). All these were given by the Lord Jesus Christ because there were many Jews who were rich in the midst of the crowds.

After having said this marvellous truth to the people Jesus continued to say the right attitude in following the Lord. He said in Matthew 19:29, “And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.” Why is it so? This is not to say that money and houses are bad but because many people who have depended upon their wealth and made them as a measuring state of faith and dedication to God. These are the things that occupied the mind of the rich young ruler who refused to follow the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible says because he had many possessions. Therefore those things that he depended upon and trusted in, became a stumbling block and hindrance to the kingdom of God. That is why Jesus told him, “Go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me” (Matthew 19:21). If this is the problem of many Christians today then they need to solve this problem before God otherwise they cannot be saved.

In Luke 12 the Lord Jesus Christ also give us a parable of the rich farmer who received plentifully the fruit of his plants. It says, “And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God” (Luke 12:16-21). The Lord Jesus Christ said that this man though he is rich and yet he is a fool because he thinks his wealth will give him long life. Jesus Said, “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:36). We bring nothing to this world and we will take nothing when we leave this world.

In Luke 16:19-31 we find the same thing happens to the rich man in Hades. While he was living in this world he never bothered those things, which were spiritual and eternal, but rather he was thinking that his riches would make him live for eternity. However he went to the place of torment not because of his wealthy but because he did not trust in God. And the pour man had nothing but did trust God and therefore ended up in heaven. In conclusion Jesus Christ said on the matter of following God in Matthew 16:24, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” In other word if someone follow the Lord Jesus Christ, he may not be rich and prosperous in this Satan’s world materially.

The Apostles' Teaching on the Material Prosperity

What did the Apostle Paul say about material prosperity? To answer this question we need to remember that the apostles of Christ had the mind of Christ and His authority. Thus Paul, Peter, Jude, James, John were not giving human’s personal opinion but rather the revelation and authoritative information of the use of money that they received from the God through the Holy Spirit.

In 1 Timothy 6:5-10 we read, “Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself. But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” In this passage we find there are two key elements for the New Testament concept of money. There is a constant faction between man's deprived mind, and the truth, which supposed that godliness as a means of gain. Anyone who thinks that as a pastor or ecclesiastical position can be a means to his material affluent is in deadly danger.

In the time of Jesus and His apostles the Pharisees were absolutely doing the same such deadly danger. For pretence they might have long prayers just after the funeral service of a Jew. After the prayer the Pharisees would say to the widow, “O, if your husband were alive, you know, don't you? That he would have given all his money to the synagogue. The widow would say, ‘O, yes, my husband was a godly man.’ Having said that, the Pharisees would continue to pray for this widow. After the prayer, they would say, “please sign this paper.” This was the way the Pharisees took all the money of those widows and rob their houses. That is the illustration of the very fact that there are many people who are gaining of billions of dollars of God’s money from God’s people and using it for godless purposes. This is the very fantastic tragedy of Satan's world.

In 1 Timothy 6:6 says, “But godliness with contentment is great gain.” This is to say that godliness actually was a great gain when accompany with contentment. But those who want to get rich, and those who covet the wealth, will fall into temptation of snare of many foolish harmful desires, because the love of many is the root of sort of all evil (1 Timothy 6:10). That is one of the key statements of apostolic Christianity. We need to understand here that it is not the money that is the root of evil but the love of money. Just like Demas which Paul said that, “For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world” (2 Timothy 4:10).

Furthermore Paul said in 1 Timothy 6:17, “Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy.” The book of James also tells us in James 1:11 saying, “For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways.” Just as what Jeremiah said in Jeremiah 9:23-24, “let not the rich man glory in his riches, But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD.” Thus let us glory in the fact that we know the Lord and this is the only thing that we can boast.

The example of the church of Laodicea in Revelation 3:17 gives a clear response of the Lord Jesus Christ to those churches who trust upon their riches. “Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.” When the Lord Jesus said the great commission to go to the end of the world, there are billions of people who are waiting for the good news. However it is the fact in Christianity today that many have said, “I am rich and have become wealthy and have needed nothing.” Truly this is the invitation to judgement.

However there are many Christians today who extremely focus on money and on the other hand there is a group of Christians who would say that having money is the root of evil. Therefore they say, “if you have something which anybody does not have, you actually are in the state of sin.” This is absolutely wrong and unbiblical. They concluded their teaching by saying that the reason why the rich man in Luke 16 went to Hades because he did not share his wealth with Lazarus. Thus they say that every one of them must be equally rich and poor. However if we consider the text itself it does not tell that way. This is foolish understanding of money. The Lord Jesus and His apostles have given to us the very clear teaching on the use of money and property in our Christian living.

The Importance of Helping others with our own money and property for God's Glory

In Luke 16:9 we find the amazing statement of God on how to use money and property. It says, “And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.” To be idolatrous does not need to have the images to be worshipped, but just by having money and property they can be driven away from the Lord. The Bible says filthy lucre is concerning money, because it goes to all kind of deprived hand or all kind of deprived purposes. Many people have mastered to use money to make friends to themselves but not for the glory of God. However if they have used their money wisely and invested it to the Lord Jesus Christ in the furthering of the gospel, to win people to Christ, when they die they will be welcome by the Lord. They will be welcome into heaven by those people whom they have helped to come to Christ through the use their money. Thus let us use our money not for ourselves but for God’s glory.

In Luke 10:34-35 we are told what happen to the poor Jew on the way to Jericho who was robbed by thief and left half death. In this story we see the rich man who knew how to use his wealth to help the poor Jew, his name was usually called ‘the Good Samaritan.’ This passage describes what this Good Samaritan has done to help the poor Jew, even though the Jews dislike the Samaritans. “And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.” This is the principle that the Lord has given to us that we are expected to use our God-given-means to help people who are needy. We need to involve personally with those kinds of people and not just indiscriminate and impersonal distribution of money, which does not attach a testimony, or reflection of the grace of God to us. When someone who is in needy come across to us, we can legitimately help him. This is the Good Samaritan in the eyes of God.

Another passage that the Lord Jesus Christ gave as the great lesson to us is found in Matthew 25:35. It says, “For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in.” Jesus Christ was saying here that this is the way for people to get into the kingdom of God namely if they have provided to those of His brethren. Those who provide for the needy they will be the sheep who enter the millennial. Thus the Lord Jesus will say unto them, “Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me” (Matthew 25:40). Those who will enter the kingdom of God will be called “Blessed.” This is the mark of sheep of the believers at the Second Coming of Christ. Thus it is very important we have things to give to other people.

The Need of Acknowledgement of What We Have Are God's

There was a prophecy in the Old Testament in the book of Isaiah 53:9 concerning the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. In this verse it described that 700 years before His first coming had been predicted that during the death of the Lord Jesus Christ, he would be with the rich man. One may ask a question, who is this rich man that mentioned in Isaiah 53:9? The answer is found in Matthew 27:57, when we see that the only rich man that was with the Lord Jesus Christ at His death was Joseph Aritmatea. He was the One who knew to use his wealth for the glory of the Lord namely by giving his wealth for the preparation of the burial of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Apostle Paul who was once a rich man said in Philippians 4:11-12, “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.” Paul said that he knew how to live in humble means but he also knew how to live in prosperity. Paul spent his life in some dungeons from one dungeon to another. He has learnt to live of having full or having abundance and he had learnt to live with nothing. Thus the apostle Paul was one of those who knew to use his money. He knew what was the best for His life and what was the most important for the glory of God.

Another example we see in 2 Corinthians 8:1-7 in which the apostle Paul describes the good works that the Christians do in Macedonia. Paul said that those poor Christians in Macedonia have given beyond their ability for the glory of God. As he said, “Moreover, brethren, we do you to wit of the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia; How that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality. For to their power, I bear record, yea, and beyond their power they were willing of themselves; Praying us with much intreaty that we would receive the gift, and take upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the saints” (2 Corinthians 8:1-4). Despite of the great affliction that those Christians had faced they were able to help those Christians who were poor in the Judea. It was just like what the widow who gave the offering to the Lord in the temple. She gave all that she had (Luke 21:2-3). When she gave all the money that she had, the Lord Jesus did not say that this widow was foolish because she should be receiving money, for the widows in those days were the most destitute people. However the Lord Jesus honoured that woman because she gave it to the glory of God. And there is no even one person in this world even in Macedonia who is so poor that is able to say to God, “Do you expect to give anything for I am so poor?”

Thus God wants us to have the balance of Christians life that we will not be so extreme of one doctrine and forget others. This is to say that God gives us the centre line in giving offerings to the Lord. We need to have the balance of the use of money and material possessions for the glory of God. We should not have the attitude as Judas Iscariot had in giving material possession for the glory of God. As we find the account of his attitude in Matthew 26:6-13 where a woman poured the precious ointment on the head of Jesus. Judas Iscariot thought it was a waste but the Lord Jesus Christ said it was not. Anything that is given to Christ is not wasted. In fact Jesus was saying if the disciples gave that money to the poor, it would be wasted because they had the poor always with them. "For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always” (Matthew 26:11). What we give to Christ is infinitely more valuable than just giving to the world. Social programs cannot be compared to Christ’ programs.

However on the other hand the Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew 22:21 said, “Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s and unto God the things that are God’s.” Everyone who lives in this world Jesus says must have money because he needs to pay some taxes for the Caesar or government and he needs to pay to God what belongs to Him namely our soul. With the money that we have we need to help also those who are in need as the Good Samaritan did. But we need to take notes that money and material possessions can be dangerous as Proverbs 30:8 says. However this verse does not teach us that we should not have any money, but rather teaches us to acknowledge what we have is from God that we may use them for the glory of God.

Finally 1 Timothy 5:8 we are told the most important duty of everyone who ever lives on his responsibility toward his household. It says, “But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.” This is to say that if we do not care for our own family and earn money in order to support our family, we are worse than unbelievers. Thus it is better we have some money because it is in our power to earn money and invest money sufficiently to care for the needy and loved ones, otherwise we have to answer to God.

Thus the perfect balance is to give money as a proof of our love in Christ to the needy and the church. As 2 Corinthians 8:24 says, “Wherefore show ye to them and before the churches, the proof of your love and of our boasting on your behalf.” In Galatians 6:10 Paul also says that we need to help all especially those who are in the Lord, “As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.” In Acts 4:34 we see what happen in the early church where the whole world could see how they loved one another. “Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold.” In these few verses we notice that all the money is given to believers only because our proper use of money is a major means to obey the great commission of Christ which was commanded to every believer in Matthew 28:19-20. Every cent that we give to the Lord will multiply fantastically.