The following articles are related to the topic of MONEY

Training Children for Financial Responsibility

Our children are born into a financial world of income, taxes, loans, creditors, investments-and even church contributions. Sadly, few are prepared to take the challenges of managing their finances at all, much less according to biblical principles. Note some staggering statistics: Eighty-five per cent of divorced couples indicate financial problems were a contributing factor to the erosion of the marriage. ... read more »

Zechariah’s Amazing Prophecy of the Betrayal of Christ

Zechariah was a prophet who lived in the 6th century before the birth of Christ. He was one of those captives in Babylon but, under the leadership of a political ruler whose name was Zerubbabel, Zechariah, together with some 50,000 of his Hebrew kinsmen, returned to their native Palestine (cir. 536 B.C.). The record of these events is found in ... read more »

The Curse of Covetousness

In the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon, king of Israel, explored the various avenues that men pursue in their quest for happiness. One area of particular interest was that of material wealth. Surely, it is frequently believed, if a man accumulates wealth he can be contented. The richest man of the antique world repudiated that assumption! The wise man declared that ... read more »

Misdirected Benevolence

Poverty in the biblical world was commonplace; it was so acute that we scarcely can appreciate it from our modern, American vantage point. While there are different economic levels among Christians, no one with whom I am acquainted in the church is "poor" in the biblical sense (cf. Mark 12:41-44). Furthermore, the Scriptures nowhere demand the Communistic concept that Christians ... read more »

Where Does the Bible Condemn Gambling?

Occasionally someone will ask, "Where does the Bible condemn gambling?" They would like a book, chapter, and verse that specifically mentions the practice. Like many other sins, gambling is not directly named in Scripture. It is nonetheless, condemned in principle numerous times. Gambling is a violation of faithful stewardship. The Bible teaches that what we have belongs to the Lord ... read more »

John Tetzel’s Indulgences

During the era of the Protestant Reformation, certain Roman Catholic clerics employed the practice of "auricular confession" (confessing sins into the ear of a priest) to enhance their own financial welfare and that of the Church. It was commonly taught (and still is) that through the "confessional," relief from guilt, and release from eternal punishment, may be obtained. At the ... read more »

Haggai 1:6 – A Bag with Holes

The first group of Jews returned from the Babylonian captivity in 536 B.C. under the leadership of Zerubbabel (Ezra 2:1-2). At first, the Hebrews had been anxious to reestablish their religious tradition. They set up the altar of burnt-offerings at its original site (Ezra 3:2-3), and laid the foundations of the temple (Ezra 3:8-10). They became discouraged by opposition, however, ... read more »

The Berkeley Project

Everyone has heard the phrase, "With friends like these, who needs enemies?" I was recently reminded of that saying when I heard of a so-called "Christian" project that apparently originated out of Berkeley, California. (Can anything sane come out of Berkeley?) This bizarre movement is dubbed "The Second Coming Project." It is so utterly ludicrous as to invoke both pity ... read more »

Busted!

When God walked through the Garden of Eden, the hiding Adam and Eve behaved like guilty people. They were! Their shame betrayed their sinful choice. I am certainly not a criminal investigator, nor a forensic psychologist, but I have listened to experts explain the benefits of a polygraph test. While it is not admissible as evidence in a criminal trial ... read more »

Notes from Isaiah 55

In the book of Isaiah there is a thrilling prophecy of the salvation that was to be made available as a result of the promised Messiah's victory over death. Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without ... read more »