JESUS AND MONEY

 

The following notes are from the book “Jesus and Money” and serve as a guide for our preparation for the days to come.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1587432749/?tag=mh0b-20&hvadid=3488242811&ref=pd_sl_8cj2whysgb_b

 

 

Factors that led to poverty in Jesus’ world

 

Famine and crop failure were common. Slavery, the intricate web of patron-client relationships that made it impossible to get ahead in life unless one was well connected; the oppression of being under foreign rule, the enormous tax burden and theft of land that entailed, the highly patriarchal character of society, which limited women’s roles and often prevented them from accumulating wealth, all were major factors. Then add to this the basic human greed and other forces at work in a fallen world. It was a difficult life.

 

Only about 10% of those who lived in Jesus’ time were literate. Jesus could read Hebrew (Luke 4:14-19) which is unusual since early Jews in Galilee spoke Aramic rather that Hebrew. This shows Jesus’ piety, as he knew where too find the verses in Isaiah as the scroll was handed to him.

 

Concepts from Jesus and Money

 

God is the creator of--and owner of all things.

We own nothing--we are God’s stewards.

Even though we have worked to acquire our own things we don’t “own” them. We are stewards.

The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil--not the money itself.

Wealth can be a potential spiritual stumbling block.

What we do with our surplus money reveals a lot about our true character. 2 Corinthians 8-9

Simplify your life-style.

We are blessed so we can be a blessing to others.

The goal of the Christian life is not success or prosperity, but “Godliness with Contentment”.

We must be wary and take a cautious approach to the issues of money and possessions.

The same epistles which condemn greed as idolatrous also commend provision for oneself and family as a duty.

Develop a good sense of the differences between luxuries and necessities.

 

“Hang out with the holy rollers, not the high rollers.” We often become like those we admire.

 

Our economic system is in a “fallen sinful state.”

 

We are a consumer economy that needs to begin producing.

Consumer and competitive drives are two obvious dynamics in our culture.

Consumer mentality is a form of self-focus and self-centeredness.

 

Don’t choose a church on “What you can get out of it”, but on where you can best serve.

We are always wrestling with ourselves over the issues of greed and lust.

 

There is danger in becoming enmeshed in a wicked economic system for the sake of becoming rich. Our current system of banking and Wall Street is based upon debt and leverage--it is very self-centered and functions on greed and lust. It enslaves people and nations to debt. Observe the western world’s current debt crises.

 

Rome’s economy was based on slavery--similar to today’s debt. Paul felt the early church should deconstruct the very basis of Rome’s economy of slave labor--we are “brothers in Christ”. The Old Testament made provision for the cancellation of debt every seven and fifty years (Leviticus 25). This allowed freedom from being sold as a slave or worker for a person’s entire life. It redeemed family land sold to another. It encouraged freedom from debt and paying of interest.

 

The reason for Jubilee was to prevent a permanent system of economic classes. The Jubilee had a leveling effect on Israel’s culture. It gave everyone a chance to start over, economically and socially. God wants men to be free.

 

This was God’s grace to His people Israel. They were not to take advantage of each other or strangers. They were not to treat each other harshly. If not redeemed by immediate family after the seven years period, they were given their freedom and/or land back in the fifty year Jubilee.

 

We too need to treat our brothers like this in the church and society. God desires to see true justice on earth--not practices that lead people and nations into bondage.

 

Giving allows those who receive to give praise and thanksgiving to God. This is a great witness to the world.

 

The New Testament world was based on an honor and shame culture. Paul wanted those who could only give a small amount not to feel ashamed. 2 Corinthians 8:11

 

THE WORLD FINANCIAL SYSTEM - MYSTERY BABYLON

• The World Financial System is built upon a debt-based monetary system that uses a modern day form of dishonest scales known as Fractional Reserve Banking (FRB).
• FRB is an unrighteous process that creates currency in the form of consumer and investment debt, and then loans that debt into existence as money.
• The FRB process creates a debt based monetary system whereby all money is debt, which is why the U.S. Dollar is officially called a “Federal Reserve Note”.
• Likewise, all international currencies are referred to as notes (debt), which means the WFS uses debt as “legal tender in the payment of all debts public and private”.
• This type of unrighteous creation and misuse of debt transgresses God’s financial laws and creates a debt bubble that always collapses. 
• Today’s worldwide debt bubble is in the process of collapsing, and the dynamics behind the biblical truth that “the borrower is slave to the lender” (Pr. 22:7) is manifesting on a global scale. Consequently, individuals, businesses and governments are all becoming slaves to the WFS of Commercial Babylon.
• God is calling His New Covenant people to “come out” of Babylon, Egypt and the world by returning to the biblical principles of finance and investments that are found in God’s Torah (Laws).

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·^[1]   Legal tender statement that appears on all U.S. currency.