Dear friends,

In order for Christians to be victorious, we must defeat nominal, complacent, shallow religion. The Bible is an authoritative book--as a matter in fact, the most authoritative book in the world. It simply requires submission to receive its blessings. However, when a person submits to God, whether a child or adult, a critical action is taken. Obedience unto God is a critical matter.

We are living in a time when preachers and teachers are thriving on a religiously numb--uncritical society. One area of this spiritual dormancy is economics. There are many so called "Christian," great economists and entrepreneurs that are greatly wrong! Many passive church leaders eulogize them even though their economic principles are in contradiction to Biblical teaching. There is a grave, profound, great and significant--critical--difference between Bible economics and college economics. Therefore, say NO to credit and interest schemes!

Included is my sermon "The Ministry of Prosperity--'There Should Be No Poor Among You' (Dt. 15:4)." This Bible study may awaken you to some startling facts concerning the economic seductivity and captivity of our nation and others, and how wayward and uncontrolled government and its people defy or pervert God's commandments. It is our Christian responsibility to assist and encourage one another, and to cultivate an economy that will prevent the enslavement of our people.

(This is not a personal letter.)

The Ministry of Prosperity--"There Should Be No Poor Among You" (Dt. 15:4)

Does money matter? Would you like to earn income while you save? Need money for a home or an automobile or school? Say NO to credit and interest schemes!

From the O.T. it can be easily seen that God desired his people to be richly blessed. He did not desire any person who had a need in the land he gave to his people to continue having that need. He expected an Israelite to loan to a fellow Israelite without interest and without fear of cancellation of the debt due to time, a seven-year maximum limit depending upon the time of the year of cancellation, a proclamation of the Lord.

The Lord chose Israel as a treasured possession from all the peoples (Dt. 14:2). Similarly, today Christians are a people for a treasured possession, a chosen race, a kingly priesthood, a holy nation (I Pet. 2:9).

Israel was given preferential instructions (commandments) that distinguished them as a holy people unto the Lord. For instance, they were disallowed to eat anything found dead, but they were permitted to give it to an alien living in their towns or to sell it to a foreigner. Likewise, Christians are commanded to abstain from things strangled (Acts 15:29).

The Israelites were permitted to require payment of a loan from a foreigner continually, but they were not permitted to require a loan payment from a fellow Israelite after the year of canceling of debts. Perhaps Christians should also be willing to drop loan debts to Christian brothers and sisters according to the same year for a limit of seven years so that there will be a recognizable year of financial release of debt among the brotherhood. That way, maybe we could get collectively, as a whole, unified body, our economic bearings and establish a sense of financial unity and togetherness for the purpose of the prosperity and economic freedom as God instructed his people Israel. The subsequent obedience of Israel to God's preferential laws demonstrated in reality the preference of one Israelite to another. Similarly, by serving one another according to God's commands, we Christians strengthen the body of Christ (the church).

God's people are potentially an economically prosperous and authoritative organism. Our prosperity as a people is dependent upon our response to the needs of our Christian neighbors. The administration of loans and rule belongs to us. God guaranteed [and still does] rich blessings unto His people for their overseeing providence of one another: "For the Lord your God will bless you as he has promised, and you will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. You will rule over many nations but none will rule over you" (Dt. 15:6). This financial commandment was given for the economic advantage and benefit of Israel. It also prevented debt or financial bondage to peoples who did not serve the Lord.

Analogically, today in the US you can see how God's people (Christians) have lost their economic direction and are financially subject to peoples who do not serve the Lord nor abide by his interest-free and open-hand loaning rules. It is awesome to think how many Christians have been seduced into the economic error of earning income through bank interest accounts, stocks, bonds, etc. For instance, banks, credit card, and other financial institutions disregard, "If you lend money to one of my people among you who is needy, do not be like a moneylender; charge him no interest" (Ex. 22:25). How many misdirected Christians do you see these days who choose to belong to and earn income through an institution that charges interest and ignorantly does not discriminate in favor of a Christian's God-given preferential right? This is an existing inherent evil.

I realize Christians should not expect non-Christians to initiate this distinguished principle. But then again, somebody should. Well then, who? We should! We have to separate ourselves from non-Christian financial institutions and make our own. Modern day Christian financing needs to be turned around.

We should loan to other peoples, but not borrow from them. However, we should not charge interest to a fellow Christian: "Thou shalt not lend upon usury to thy brother; usury of money, usury of victuals, usury of any thing that is lent upon usury: Unto a stranger thou mayest lend upon usury; but unto thy brother thou shalt not lend upon usury: that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all that thou settest thine hand to in the land whither thou goest to possess it" (Dt. 23:19, 20). In order to correct our economic situation we must not charge interest among ourselves. Since we would like others to become part of our Christian family we should not want to charge interest to anyone. Personally, I will starve myself before deliberately earning income through interest.

The word "interest" or "usury" is interchangeable in these particular verses. The derivative is the Hebrew word "naw-shak'." The Psalmist commends, "Lord, who may dwell in your sanctuary? Who may live on your holy hill? He ... who lends his money without usury .... will never be shaken (Ps. 15:1-5). My Oxford dictionary defines "usury" as:

"1. The fact or practice of lending money at interest; esp. in later use, the
practice of charging excessive or illegal rates of interest for money on a loan.
2. Premium or interest on money (or goods) lent."

Nevertheless,

(1) this charge (interest) should be excluded in loans to Christians;
(2) and Christians should resist and reject loan temptations from
non-Christian individuals and institutions;
(3) and even if the case may be that both parties are Christians and only
Christians, the loan should be without interest and not extend beyond a
period of seven years.

We need to take individual and personal action that affirms our belief in the Bible, in economics as well as every other aspect of life: Let us avoid buying homes or automobiles upon credit provisions that do not meet these Biblical standards. It is better to rent than to buy unless you have the money saved. Beware, there are many teachers calling themselves "Christian" who ignore these moral and commanded economic principles. Also beloved, do not be like moneylenders to the needy of our people, neither directly, nor indirectly as member beneficiaries of an institution. The church (our spiritual family upon earth) should be a separate organism in regard to the state (including the non-Christian financial institutions registered with the state), and our financial direction and exemplification should be submissive and congruous with the financial specifications of the Bible.

We have a need to develop our own collective savings and loan institutions for the needs of our poor; and large Christian group enterprises, not entrepreneurships, such as helping other cities in our own nation or in another country. One reason I can think of for this is to provide community housing and farmland where we can begin to live together and provide for ourselves. We should also develop Christian legal and business schools to train students according to Biblical standards concerning financing. We are lacking organizational skills to unify the Christian peoples and to establish Christian business enterprises, not only churches, throughout the world for the purpose to avoid being member beneficiaries and indirect partakers of the indiscriminate, financial lawlessnesses of corporations, such as borrowing or loaning at interest.

One psychological reason (deception) that so many hearts of us Americans have been shadowed from enlightenment of the no-interest-to-other-Christians and the seven-year rule may be that we were encouraged to buy US Savings Bonds in elementary school. I know dear children want to help their country and invest, but the Lord's direction must have first place upon every issue, including financial management and application. Hopefully, in the future our investments will be in the advancement of God's people.

We have a need to develop our own insurance institutions that do not charge interest to a fellow Christian, nor excessive fees. That way, for instance, when the state requires us to be insured such as automobile coverage, we may be able to provide the requirement among and for ourselves better than a profit agency. The sooner we realize that we should separate ourselves from the world economic system, the better. Today, Christians spend a noteworthy amount of money for insurance; compare it to the amount for tithes (not really necessary if a person becomes more useful for God) and offerings! (By the way, just because a man wears a black jacket with a white square notch cut out at the front collar does not mean that he is a minister of God. Even if a person wears the most decorative or most humble sacred attire, if he does not live by faith who wears it, it does not profit him. A minister of God will be manifested by his works, not his attire. When you give to the Lord's work, make sure that is where it is going. Also, don't leave your money or equity in a will to a church denomination that you can be using for God's purpose today. Many licensed officials who should be repenting and working with their hands are drawing a salary because of this. Support those that minister to your spiritual needs and labor to teach you how to be a better servant/minister of God. Ask God to show you if there is a way He would like you to minister to someone now – it may require your talent and time. May God work in your heart that you will do the things that will make your joy full. Amen. Read all my sermons; study them with scrutiny and test them for concentricity with the Scriptures. You may have to minister for God in a non-official capacity, even without the support of an organization; however, this does not mean you are less close to God. There is really only one church--the body of believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. I'm not saying that God does not want you to gather together, but many times God leads his sanctified people out of the denominational churches because the people in the church don't want to repent of their sins--their leaders condone them. Dependency on the Bible and prayer is necessary.) Perhaps this money may be invested in our own insurance institutions, Lord willing and we should live, and the increase of the institution and the savings of the beneficiary may be used for other Christian benefits or desires at the disposal of the Christian will.

From the perspective of "rule," it is also evident that Christians have been swayed aside (Dt. 15:6). The stars in heaven are higher than the flag of any nation. God's handiwork is a universal landmark covering every nation upon earth. We have lost sight of a very important oracle concerning policy and economy. Expecting direction from heaven we should ascend beyond nationalistic goals, having a prominent theocratic rather than democratic influence upon government in every aspect concerning our own institutions.