What the Bible Says about Socialism

The Law of Moses took care of those in dire need. In Deut. 26 12 (NIV) , the Bible in the Law of Moses taught 

"When you have finished setting aside a tenth of all your produce in the third year, the year of the tithe, you shall give it to the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, so that they may eat in your towns and be satisfied." 

It is socialistic to the extent that one-tenth of the harvest was taxed by law, redistributed to the dire poor; but the tax was capped at 10% as to not be an undue burden on the nation’s economy. In other words, socialism was both allowed, and controlled by the tithe law.

Another socialistic program in the Law of Moses can be found in Deut. 15:1-2. (NIV) “At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts.  This is how it is to be done: Every creditor shall cancel any loan they have made to a fellow Israelite. They shall not require payment from anyone among their own people, because the LORD’s time for canceling debts has been proclaimed”.

According to the Law of Moses, the affluent had to release the poor from their debts every seven years. Debt cancellation is another form of wealth redistribution and socialism found in the Bible. In this example, socialism was allowed, but could be limited by the affluent in how much they loaned out.

In Deut. 23:19, 24, 25, we see a couple of more examples of social programs in the Law of Moses. (NIV) “19 Do not charge a fellow Israelite interest, whether on money or food or anything else that may earn interest.” The affluent were not allowed to charge interest on their brother and sister Israelites. 

24 “If you enter your neighbor’s vineyard, you may eat all the grapes you want, but do not put any in your basket. 25 If you enter your neighbor’s grain field, you may pick kernels with your hands, but you must not put a sickle to their standing grain.” 

This form of socialism and wealth redistribution was authorized by the Bible in the Law of Moses in that anyone including the poor had access to anyone else’s field to go and eat; however, they could not harvest it or haul it off. If they did, it would be stealing. 

Lastly, another example of socialism and wealth distribution can be found in the Bible in Leviticus 23:22 (NIV) 22 “‘When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and for the foreigner residing among you. I am the LORD your God.” The affluent were legally required to not harvest the corners of their field, so that the poor could eat from it.

The Bible in the Law of Moses itself recognizes that an involuntary wealth tax of 10% does not go far enough. In Deut. 15:11, the Bible in the Law of Moses recognizes the need for the general public to voluntarily give to those in need. (NIV) “There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land.” 

Jesus fully supported the Law of Moses and the tithe in Luke 11:42; therefore, Jesus would have to be socialistic in His thinking as far as the Law of Moses goes. (NIV) “Woe to you Pharisees (religious leaders) because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone.” 

In other words, Jesus taught that the Jews had fulfilled the involuntary tithe law; however, they had not practiced justice by voluntarily open handed giving as instructed in the Bible in the Law of Moses by giving to their poor brothers and sisters like instructed to do in Deut. 15:11.

Throughout the ministry of Christ, Jesus emphasized voluntary giving to the poor which the Jewish establishment of His day was overlooking. 

In Matthew 25:42-46 Jesus said 42 "For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ 44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ 45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ 46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” 

Jesus taught that to voluntarily give to our poor brothers and sisters in Christ is a true test of those who really belong to Him.

Poverty or Prosperity: That is the Question?

I went to a Church that laughed at the Prosperity message, but most everyone was affluent. Then, I went to a Church who preached Prosperity, but all of those people to me appeared to be poor. What's up with that? 

If you're going to a Church that laughs at the Prosperity message, make sure that they are also teaching the importance of practicing personal giving to their poor brothers and sisters in Christ.  If your Church is ignoring the poor maybe a lot of your brothers and sisters in Christ may be going without. 

I suggest that you find a Church with integrity. Notice in these passages below there will be both affluent and poor Christians and if you attend a sound Church they will be preaching the importance of personal giving to the poor.

(NIV)Matthew 6:3 "But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing".

(NIV) James 3:14 "What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? 15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead". 

(NIV) I John 3:17 "If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth."

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Money Chasing Churches

I think that some Churches are being influenced by how affluent members are, and are advancing them over others to teach and lead. 

In this way, they can attract and retain more affluent members. Then, those affluent leaders are being intimated by the more spiritually mature.

 When the spiritual mature attempt to speak up, the affluent leaders attempt to embarrass them into being quiet, and eventually might even make attempts to run them off. 

This is particularly obvious in small groups where the leaders struggle to understand even basic spiritual truths. 

Hopefully, this is not happening in your Church; however, it might explain what you are experiencing in your Church.

 The problem may be your Church may be worshiping the God of Wealth (Mammon) instead of the one true God, and it’s causing a lot of tension. 

If they are attempting to shut you up, I suggest that you just look for a Church where the people have integrity.

Matthew 6:24 "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon."

Cherry Picking Preachers

There are a lot of strange doctrines out there bouncing throughout the Church because the teachers are cherry picking Scriptures out of context. Some 

Prosperity teachers say that it is God's will for all believers to be rich, and they use Paul's own words to support their position. After all, didn't Paul say in 2 Cor. 9:8 (NIV) 

"And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work." 

Therefore, they teach that it is God's will is for us to be well off. Yes, it does appear from that one verse that we're suppose to have plenty of stuff to take care of ourselves and others.

On the other hand, Paul also taught in Romans 8:35 (NIV) 

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?" 

In that passage, Paul taught that we as Christians might sometimes go hungry, naked, and even might be murdered. 

Therefore, those who preach a poverty Gospel say that it's God will for us to be poor. However, which of the two positions is right?

It is a teachers responsibility to teach the whole truth, and not just one aspect of it. If he or she doesn't, they are wandering off from the truth into error. Let me take a moment and attempt to balance out these two truths. 

Jesus said in Matthew (NIV) 25:42 

"For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me." 

Here we see both aspects of prosperity and poverty truth.

Jesus taught that there would be some believers among us without food, clothes, SICK, without housing, and even in prison. In other words, there will be needy believers. At the same time, there will be believers among us who have plenty of food, clothes, health, housing, and are out of prison. 

In other words, there will be well-to-do believers, too. It is the responsibility of those who are experiencing prosperity to help others who are experiencing lack. If they don't, they will be exposed as not being true believers in the judgment.

It is the leader's responsibility to quote verses consistent with the Bible context, and the learners responsibility to verify they do. The leaders should teach us to be self feeders, and not to be lead astray by those with hidden agendas. 

After all, Paul said in Philipians (NIV) 4:12 

"I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength." 

Paul himself said that he personally had experienced both Biblical prosperity and poverty truths. As for me, I'll stand with Paul.

How to choose a Church

I moved back to Alabama in 1990, and began visiting a Bible Church. 

I really like the in depth teaching, and the worship experience in their Singles' Group; however, it was a little small.

It only averaged about 20 Singles. There was a large Baptist Church nearby, and my parents encouraged me to attend their Singles Group that met an 11:00 AM.

What I decided to do was attend the Bible Church's worship service at 8:00 AM, and the Bible Church's Singles Class at 9:30 AM, and then run over to the large Baptist Church's Singles Group at 11:00 AM.

I had the best of both worlds. I got the worship and in depth teaching at the Bible Church's Singles, and the fellowship of the Baptist Church's Singles which averaged about 100 to 200 people.

I actually meet my futher wife after 2 or 3 Sundays at the Baptist Church, so

I joined the Baptist Church and eventually went their exclusively. 

Recently, my son has been begging to visit the Student ministry at a nearby Church.

Not that our Church's Student ministry doesn't have a great ministry, but he just likes the worship experience better at the other Church.

Kind of like I used to prefer the Singles worship at the Bible Church over the Baptist Church when I was younger. 

Because the other Church believes a little different than the way that we believe, I explained to my son the differences.

I wanted to attend the Student's service with my son to feel things out; however, he didn't want me to embarrass him. I decided to attend the service for the adults.

To me, the adult Church wasn't fun, and it didn't appeal to me.

Because the adults let out a little earlier than the Students, I snuck into the back of the Student's service, and listened for about 10 minutes.

In contrast, the Student's service was a blast, fun, and worshipful, so I can see why my son wanted to attend.

When I was a teen, I was forced into attending Church functions that I hated, so I want my son to want to go to Church. 

I'm okay if he wants to go to Church on Wednesday night elsewhere even if it is at someone else's church.

What I'm all about is following hard after God, and my covenant is first with Him and not with a certain Church.

Sure, it is easier to attend just one Church, and it's great if you can do it.

However, if another nearby Church may have something that better meets your needs, I say do 2 or even 3 Churches if you have too.

Find out what Church does the best at what, and attend whatever best meets your needs, and follow hard after God.

How does your church make decisions?

Have you ever sat in the pew, and wondered how in the world did my Church come up with that decision?

If some strange decisions are being made in your Church, maybe your Church is being run more like a business than a ministry. 

As in any organization, there are a limited number of resources such as seats, meeting space, and parking.

Could it be that your Church is trying to improve their average earnings per member through the decisions that they are making? 

Did you know that if their earnings per member go up then they can afford more attractive buildings and staff increases, so they can attract even more affluent members.

On and on it goes. I hope and pray that this does not describe your Church.

Even if I were affluent, I wouldn’t want to be favored because I had money.

My hope would be that I was being loved and appreciated by authentic people, and not loved because they perceived me to be an affluent giver. 

Look at the decisions that your Church’s leadership is making through a revenue perspective, and then think through what they are doing.

Then, those decisions that they’re making might make some sense. I'm not saying that it's happening in your Church, but it might. 

In some cases, a revenue perspective is the only thing that might make sense. Is your Church a Business or a Ministry? Look through revenue glasses.

To help clear things up, ask…

1. Does your Church’s leadership favor the affluent over others?

2. Does your Church’s leadership rush the new members who are affluent into leadership roles?

3. Does your Church pursue affluent prospects over everyone else?

4. Does your Church have a good representation of the less fortunate in your Church?

5. Does your Church rush to help the Church members who are in crisis, including job loss?

6. Does your Church encourage personal giving to the poor especially to your brothers and sisters in Christ?

7. Are the affluent in your Church taught to be caring with those in your fellowship and elsewhere who are less fortunate?

8. Does your Church encourage their members to cross socio-economic barriers?

9. Does your Church separate the affluent from the less fortunate even in worship?

My hope is that your Church is a ministry and not a business. If not, seek the Lord’s leading in what He’d have you to do.

Matthew 6:24 (CEB) “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be loyal to the one and have contempt for the other. You cannot serve God and wealth”.