God's Economy #4: Property

As the creator, God is the owner of all things. He has made ownership/property part of how things work in the world. We know instinctively that property rights exist. Furthermore, the eighth commandment codifies this right—both affirming the right to own property and negatively, transgressions against property are punished.

Contrary to the claims and teaching of liberals, the Bible affirms property rights, from Naboth in the Old Testament to Andrew and Simon owning a home in the New Testament. And we look at godly examples of how to use property for God's kingdom in the conversion of Levi the Tax Collector, who used his home to introduce people to Christ.

There are two kinds of disciples: those who sell their possessions to serve the Lord (in our day, usually missionaries), and the rest who follow 1 Thessalonians 4 and live quiet, peaceable lives, going about our business and working with our hands. However, there is not a third kind of disciple, who does whatever he or she feels like with money, possessions, and property and fails to use them for the kingdom. This kind of disciple would be called an unfaithful steward.