Redeeming Money to a Biblical View

"There is no better indicator of the identity you have assigned to yourself than the way you use money".

First, do you agree with the statement above? So considering the statement above, what do your spending habits reveal about how you view yourself? This is a hard question. First, because it requires digging deep and really thinking about the way you use money, and why. Secondly, because it requires tough honesty -- something that we don't always want to own up to. Regardless, it is imperative for us to consider these types of questions.

Another question to consider: Where does your use of money expose the need for heart change?

This conversation about money is not just there in the ministry of Jesus but it is a significant theme throughout all of scripture. The biblical discussion of money tends to divide into two categories: the dangers of money and the blessings of money.

It is VERY important to remember when studying scripture that we must understand the context and the situation. It is far too easy to misinterpret scripture by not understanding the background. In addition, we have to make sure we understand if its meaning is literal or figurative.

• "The love of money is the root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs." (1 Timothy 6:10)
• "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Luke 12:34)
• "Put no trust in extortion; set no vain hopes on robbery; if riches increase, set not your heart on them." (Ps. 62:10)
• "He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity." (Eccles. 5:10)
• "Those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction." (1 Timothy 6:9)
• "Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues with injustice." (Proverbs 16:8)
• "Keep yourself free from the love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, 'I will never leave you or forsake you.'" (Hebrews 13:5)
• "Do not toil to acquire wealth; be discerning enough to desist." (Proverbs 23:4)
• "A faithful man will abound with blessings, but whoever hastens to be rich will not go unpunished." (Proverbs 28:20)

• "A rich man's wealth is his strong city; but the poverty of the poor is their ruin." (Proverbs 10:15)
• "You shall give to him freely [the poor brother], and your heart shall not be grudging when you give to him, because for this the lord your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake." (Deut. 15:10)
• "Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need." (Malachi 3:10)
• "Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine." (Proverbs 3:9-10)
• "It is more blessed to give than to receive." (Acts 20:35)
• "The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender." (Proverbs 22:7)
• "One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches?" (Luke 16:10-11)
• "What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and no not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel... you ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions." (James 4:1-3)