The Christian In Business! Part 2

For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth...Eph 5:9

God Governs The Christian in Business! Part 2

In Acts chapter 2, we read about the beginnings of the church. It is there that we learn concerning the early Christians that “all that believed were together, and had all things common; And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need” (Acts 2:44-45). Some have used these verses to advocate communal living and discourage property ownership by Christians. However, the Bible encourages wealth through owning property, and capitalism is the economic system which promotes this Biblical teaching. Socialism takes property from the people.

Our first scripture for study in this section is found in Deuteronomy 8. As the Lord prepared the people to enter the promised land, He declared all that He would give them adding, “When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the Lord thy God for the good land which he hath given thee. Beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day: Lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and has built goodly houses, and dwelt therein; And when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied; then thine heart be lifted up and thou forget the Lord thy God (v.11-14); ...But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God:for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth” (v.18).

In these verses, God encourages prosperity, property ownership, houses, good food, and wealth. But, there are certain conditions applied to such prosperity; people need to thank God for such material blessings and to remember the source of such blessings. Unfortunately, what happens far too often, people forget God. Paul declared in Phil 4:6, “...in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.”

A faithful Christian scholar made this commentary on Deut 8:12, “The desire to live in good houses is not wrong. God is our Father, and He lives in a splendid home. Adam and Eve had a beautiful place in which to live while in the garden of Eden.”

In the book of Ruth we read of another property owner;

Boaz. Boaz was a faithful servant of God who was also a land owner. He was a man of wealth and prosperity who served the Living God. He also remembered the Lord in his time of abundance and he helped the poor. “And, behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said unto the reapers, The Lord be with you. And they answered him, The Lord bless thee.” (Ruth 2:4).

As Isaiah prophesied concerning the church and the Christian age, he used the metaphor of a productive and fruitful life to illustrate the spiritual fruitfulness of God’s people. Nevertheless, the underlying principal of this text also reveals God’s will concerning property ownership. Isaiah 65:19-23 states, "And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat. For as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the Lord, and their offspring with them.”

The prophet presents several points concerning property ownership: 1) First of all, he says the individual shall build and inhabit his own home. 2) The individual shall plant his own vineyard and reap the prosperity of the field. 3) The people shall not inhabit homes they have not earned, nor eat of fields they have not worked. 4) Finally, there are rewards for effort, the fruit of the fields and the inhabiting their own homes. These are certainly worthy rewards.

In Acts 5:1-4 we read of a certain husband and wife who were also property owners. The Bible says, “But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession, And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles feet. But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why has thou conceived this thing in thine heart? Thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.

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