Turn in your Bible to Matthew chapter 25 and leave it open.
We're going to come to that passage later on in the message.
It's rather lengthy.
We're going to look at a parable of Jesus,
and it's too long to put on the screen.
So if you would, Matthew 25,
and have it open there when we come to it
a little bit later in the message.
We're going to continue to think biblically
about socialism this morning.
We're going to look and see how,
as we began last week,
socialism is contrary to God's design
for how life is to be lived in this world
and for us to take care of ourselves and our families
and even people who have legitimate needs.
Christian Post columnist Julie Royce
does a good job of pointing out
one of the foundational flaws of socialism
is that it is based completely on a materialistic view
of life or worldview.
Look at this.
To socialists, suffering is caused
by the unequal distribution of stuff,
and salvation is achieved by the redistribution of stuff.
There's no acknowledgement of spiritual issues.
There's just an assumption
that if everyone is given equal stuff,
all the problems in society will somehow dissolve.
Let me just point out here.
How many people who espouse any aspect of socialism
ever talk about other thing than,
ever talk about anything but materialistic problems?
You rarely ever hear anyone mention
anything about a spiritual problem.
She goes on.
This worldview contradicts Christianity,
which affirms the existence
of both a material and non-material world
and teaches that mankind's greatest problems are spiritual.
The Bible says the cause of suffering is sin.
That's the bottom line, cause.
And salvation is found in the cross of Christ,
which liberates us from sin.
As Christians, we need to understand
socialism is not just a political thing.
It's not just a matter of economics.
It is a moral, spiritual, and biblical issue.
And what I want us to do is continue today
to look at it from a biblical perspective.
Let's go ahead.
I'm gonna cover some of the things we did last week quickly.
I'm not gonna show all the scripture
and certainly not gonna go over everything we did last week,
but to make it flow, we're gonna hit some highlights.
Let's begin with defining what socialism is.
Socialism is any economic or political system
based on government ownership and or control
of important businesses, methods of production,
distribution of goods, et cetera.
Socialism, when you boil it down,
replaces private ownership and or control
of property, production, distribution, and so forth.
It replaces it with government ownership
or control of property, production, and distribution.
You know, one of the goal of socialists in this country
is to redistribute wealth.
And what they're gonna do,
what they're talking about doing
is penalizing those who have been the most successful
in producing wealth for themselves and other people
and more government regulations,
which means government control.
These socialists are talking about rewarding those
who have been the least successful
in producing wealth for themselves and other people
and will make these people more dependent
on the government and the government's control.
All of this, everything in a nutshell
that socialism promotes, desires,
gives government more power and control
over everyone and everything.
Now, how is socialism contrary to God's design?
That's the point we're looking at.
It's not a political message.
It's a biblical message.
How is socialism contrary to God's design?
Well, as we saw last week, real quickly,
God created human beings in His image
and we're the only thing in creation
created in the image of God.
He intends for us to be stewards or managers
of all that He created and owns.
We looked at that from Genesis 1,
verses 26 and 28.
Now, as God's stewards,
God has given human beings the privilege
and the responsibility of having earthly ownership
of private property.
Scripture clearly and repeatedly reveals
that God intends for people like you and me
to own things, to have possessions,
to have private property.
In fact, the entire Old Testament system
of giving offerings and making sacrifices
is based on the fact that human beings own something
and can give it.
R.C. Sproul explains it.
The offertory system of the Old Testament
makes no sense when divorced from the system
of private property.
One of the basic stipulations of making an offering
is that you present something which belongs to you.
You can't give an offering with my money.
I can't give an offering with your money.
If we're going to give unto God,
it's got to be something that originates from us.
We are actually giving of ourselves
something we have earned or acquired.
It's an offering.
Sometimes it's a sacrifice.
The right of human ownership, continue with Sproul,
the right of human ownership is something God has assigned
as a part of our covenant partnership with Him in creation.
Another example from Scripture.
Two of the Ten Commandments reveal that God
not only approves of people's right to own property,
God protects that.
Look at this.
The Eighth Commandment.
You shall not steal.
You know what that means.
God forbids anyone from taking what rightfully belongs
to someone else.
God prevents you from taking from me what is mine.
The Tenth Commandment says, or begins,
you shall not covet.
Covenant is an improper desire,
a sinful desire, a selfish desire.
So God even prevents us from having selfish desires
to have what rightfully belongs to someone else.
So the Bible is clear just from these examples
that socialism or any kind of economic or political system
that prevents private ownership
and personal control of property and possessions
is unbiblical.
Since it's contrary to God's design,
it is unethical.
Now another reason why socialism is wrong
is because it fails to follow God's design
for how people acquire possessions.
Look at this.
God calls human beings to take care of His creation
and themselves by working.
We're going to be real quick with this.
We've looked at it before.
Last week, before sin entered the world,
God gave Adam and Eve jobs to do.
Work to be done.
Look at it.
The general statement.
And God blessed them.
And God said to them,
Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth
and subdue it and have dominion.
More specifically, in Genesis 2.15,
the Lord took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden
to work it and to keep it.
Work did become more difficult after the fall.
That's what a lot of people have in mind,
that work is something that happened
after sin entered the world.
Well, that's in Genesis 3.
And after sin, work became more toilsome,
more burdensome.
But work was originally a part of God's good creation
for all human beings.
The Bible is also filled with statements
about the importance of working
to provide for yourself and your family
and not to be dependent on other people.
Look at this.
I want to just look at some highlights
from these verses.
You should mind your own business
and work with your hands
so that you will not be dependent on anybody.
But if anyone does not provide for his relatives
and especially for members of his household,
he has denied the faith
and is worse than an unbeliever.
One more.
For even when we were with you,
we would give you this command.
If anyone was not willing to work,
let him not eat.
Now such persons we command and encourage
the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly
and to earn their own living.
Now we looked at that last week.
If you were not here last week,
I meant to have said this at the beginning.
I would encourage you to go back,
look online and look at this message
because we covered some good things last week,
important things that'll help you to understand
why socialism is contrary to God's design.
If you don't have access to the internet,
call the church office.
We can send you a copy of it.
R.C. Sproul makes an important statement
that ties together what the Bible says about work
and the ownership of private property.
He says,
the sanctity of labor
is the ground basis for private property.
In both the old and new covenants,
the call to labor is an emphatic one,
bringing fruit as its just reward.
The avoidance of labor is regarded as sin.
Paul commands labor as an ethical norm.
Now I want you to notice the second sentence in particular.
Look at it again.
In both the old and new covenants,
the call to labor is an emphatic one,
bringing fruit as its just reward.
Sproul is saying here
that God intends for our work
to be fruitful or to be productive.
And one of the fruits of our labors
is that we acquire things.
We accumulate wealth.
Now, God holds us responsible
to do it the right way.
We'll talk more next week
about the dangers of wealth.
And there are Bibles filled with statements,
warnings about the dangers
of acquiring wealth the wrong way
and using it the wrong way.
So it matters greatly to God
our motivation, our actions,
how we treat people
as we work and accumulate wealth.
But God does intend for us
to be rewarded for being productive.
God intends for us to be rewarded
to experience and enjoy the fruits
of our labor without guilt.
So keep that in mind.
We're going to come to it
in more detail in a moment.
God intends, the next point,
God intends for the work of human beings
to be productive or fruitful and rewarding.
Now, I want us to think about Genesis 128.
Immediately after God created Adam and Eve,
He charged them with this responsibility.
Look at it.
And God blessed them,
and God said to them,
Be fruitful and multiply
and fill the earth and subdue it
and have dominion over the fish of the sea
and over the birds of the heavens
and over every living thing
that moves on the earth.
Several commentators point out
how the command to subdue the earth
means to make the earth productive,
make this world useful for human beings.
Now, I think Wayne Grudem does the best job
of explaining how this works,
what this means and how it works.
Look at this.
He says,
The Hebrew word translated as subdue
means to make the earth useful
for human beings' benefit and enjoyment.
God was entrusting Adam and Eve
and by implication of the entire human race
with stewardship over the earth.
God wanted them to create useful products
from the earth for their benefit and enjoyment.
At first, perhaps,
simple structures in which to live and store food,
later various forms of transportation
such as carts and wagons,
then eventually modern homes,
office buildings and factories,
as well as cars and airplanes,
the entire range of useful products
that could be made from the earth.
In this way,
God gave to human beings
the ability to create value
in the world that did not exist before.
Now, I want you to think.
In the beginning,
God created everything.
He created Adam and Eve
and put them in the garden.
And He gave them this command.
Subdue the earth.
Get dominion.
And what Grudem is saying is,
from the beginning of creation
right up till today,
that's what has happened.
Human beings,
by the grace and enabling wisdom
and power of God,
have taken the raw materials of creation
and through thinking
and being creative
and trial and error
and all these kind of things,
have put things together
in a way
that we know them today
as clothes
and cars
and homes
and computers.
This didn't just fall out of the sky one day.
This is how God has worked
through human beings
to make life
in some ways simpler,
some ways more complex,
but to make life easier,
more enjoyable,
more productive
as time has gone on.
Now, you think to yourself,
I wish I could go back in time.
I want to ask you something.
Do you really wish
you could go back
and live in a cabin in the woods
with no running water,
no heat in the winter,
no cooling in the summer,
no way to get around
but to walk or ride a horse,
an outhouse,
and all those kind of things?
I'll be honest with you.
I enjoyed sleeping last night
and getting up this morning
in an air-conditioned house.
Taking a shower with hot water.
I enjoyed getting in my truck
and driving up here
with air-conditioning on.
I'm glad I'm not running around
in a loincloth,
and I know you are too.
This is what has happened.
According to the design of God,
people have
used their God-given,
because we're created in God's image,
ability,
creativity
to make life
advance as it has
and to be where we are right now.
Grudem goes on to point out
how God
is the one who gave us
the desire
to be productive like this.
Look at it.
Because God gave to human beings
the command to subdue the earth,
it is reasonable to conclude
that He also placed in our hearts
a desire to fulfill that command.
We should not dismiss
this innate human drive
for material productivity
and flourishing
as greedy materialism
as many socialists do,
or sin.
It can be distorted
by selfishness and sin,
and we know that it is.
But the drive to create,
produce,
and enjoy useful products
ultimately comes
from a morally good,
God-given instinct
that He placed
within the human race
before there was any sin
in the world
when He commanded Adam and Eve
to fill the earth,
subdue it,
and have dominion
over all of it.
Socialists
like to condemn
prosperity
and the accumulation
of wealth
by saying
it just comes
from greed
or an abuse
of power
and privilege
or a lack
of concern
for anyone
but yourself,
especially the poor
in society.
Well,
that is true
about some people
who are prosperous
and wealthy,
but I want you
to know this too.
That's true
about poor people.
Poor people
can be just as greedy
as rich people.
Poor people
can just be all
about themselves
and care nothing
about anyone
just as much
as a wealthy person.
And a poor person
can take what little
power or privilege
they have
and abuse other people
or ignore other people
with it.
The truth is,
the fact is,
many people
have become prosperous,
have accumulated
wealth
by working hard,
being productive,
and wisely
managing their money.
And I want you
to think,
isn't that what
you have done
to this point
or tried to do?
It's what I try
to do.
Isn't that what
you want to do
right now
to provide for yourself
and your family?
to work,
to be productive,
to wisely manage
what you have,
to let it accumulate,
and then to enjoy it
the right way,
God's way?
that's what
we're talking about
this morning.
And when we do enjoy,
well,
we should be able
to enjoy the fruit
of our labor
without guilt,
and we should be able
to enjoy it
without the fear
of anyone,
including the government,
taking it away
from us
and redistributing
it to people
who may not care
anything in the world
about being productive
or wisely managing
what they have.
Look at the next point.
God wants us
to enjoy the rewards
of faithful labor,
and I want to show you
how that is seen
in two parables
that Jesus told
God rewards stewardship.
The first one
is what we're going
to read
from Matthew 25.
Matthew 25,
beginning in verse 14.
The parable of the talents.
Now, talent
was a huge sum of money,
a monetary unit
worth about 20 years' wages
for a laborer.
You'll see in the footnote
of the ESV translation.
Here's the story
Jesus told.
For it will be like
a man going on a journey
who called his servants
and entrusted to them
his property.
To one he gave
five talents,
to another two,
to another one,
to each according
to his ability.
Now notice that.
In the original distribution
by the master
who represents God,
he doesn't give
the same to each person.
He gives one five,
one two,
and one one,
each according
to his ability.
Then he went away.
He who had received
the five talents
went at once
and traded with them,
and he made
five talents more.
So also,
he who had the two talents
made two talents more.
But he who had received
the one talent
went and dug
into the ground
and hid
his master's money.
Now after a long time,
the master
of those servants
came and settled
accounts with them.
And he who had received
the five talents
came forward,
bringing five talents more,
saying,
Master,
you delivered to me
five talents here.
I have made
five talents more.
His master said to him,
Well done,
good and faithful servant.
You've been faithful
over a little.
I will set you over much.
Enter into the joy
of your master.
And he also,
who had the two talents,
came forward,
saying,
Master,
you delivered to me
two talents here.
I have made
two talents more.
His master said to him,
the very same thing
that he said
to the guy with five.
He said,
I lost my place.
His master said to him,
Well done,
good and faithful servant.
You have been faithful
over a little.
I will set you over much.
Enter into the joy
of your master.
Now,
he also,
who had received
the one talent,
came forward,
saying,
Master,
I knew you
to be a hard man,
reaping where you
did not sow
and gathering
where you scattered
no seed.
So I was afraid.
And I went
and hid your talent
in the ground.
Here,
you have what is yours.
But his master
answered him,
You wicked
and slothful servant.
You knew that I reap
where I have not sown
and gathered
where I have scattered
no seed.
Then you ought
to have invested
my money with the bankers.
And at my coming,
I should have received
what was mine
with interest.
So take the talent
from him
and give it to the one
who has the ten talents.
For to everyone
who has,
more will be given.
And he will have
an abundance.
But from the one
who has not,
even what he has
will be taken away.
And cast the worthless
servant
into the outer darkness.
In that place,
there will be weeping
and gnashing of teeth.
Now I want you to note,
the three servants
received three different
amounts of talent.
Five, two, and one.
Two servants were commended
for being productive
even though one
was twice as productive
as the other.
They did not start out
financially equally
and they did not end up
being equally,
being financially equal.
The one who had more
at the beginning
had even more
at the end.
More than the other guy.
But they were both
rewarded for their faithfulness,
their productivity.
The unfaithful servant
was condemned
for his laziness
laziness
and failure
to be productive.
No wealth
was redistributed.
In fact,
what he had
was taken from him
because he was irresponsible.
Jesus told a similar parable
in Luke chapter 19,
the parable of the minas.
A mina was about
three months wages
for a laborer.
What I want us to do
is look at Matthew 25,
this parable of Talos.
In light of R.C. Sproul's
definition of socialism
from last week.
Look at it.
Sproul said,
socialism seeks
as its premier goal
the equality of wealth
and equality of ownership
within a society.
To accomplish this,
the government must be involved
in the redistribution
of wealth.
That parable
that Jesus told
teaches the very opposite
of what socialism seeks.
There was no intent
in Jesus' story
to bring about
equality of wealth
or ownership.
There was no intent
to redistribute wealth.
Jesus, in fact,
commends those
who are productive
with what they have,
even though their production
is not the same.
And Jesus rewards
each
who are productive
because of their faithfulness.
Not because of their equality,
but because of their faithfulness.
Now,
we're going to come back
next week
and look at some
of the many warnings
found throughout the Bible
about the dangers
of money
and prosperity.
We've got to do that.
We cannot ignore the fact
that money and prosperity
has ruined many people.
Many Christians
have pursued wealth
and as a result
moved away
from their commitment
to the Lord.
So,
while the Bible talks about
it is right and good,
proper,
according to God's design,
to work,
to accumulate things,
accumulate wealth,
wisely manage it.
But at the same time,
there are warning
after warning.
It can be dangerous.
Money can be dangerous.
And wealth
in and of itself
is not something,
it's not a worthy pursuit
for God's people.
But socialists
are wrong
to blanketly condemn
private ownership,
individual productivity,
and the accumulation
of wealth.
That's the point
this morning.
Wayne Grudem
rightfully describes
the value of work,
productivity,
and the enjoyment
of the fruit of our labor.
One of these final points,
look with me.
He says,
the system of personal
ownership of property
that is affirmed
throughout Scripture
is essential
for human flourishing.
Because without the ability
to own and enjoy
something of the fruit
of his labor,
a person will have
little motivation
to create
and produce.
You think about it.
If you work
and you're productive
and you are rewarded
justly, rightly,
you accumulate wealth,
but then the government
starts intervening
and taxes everything
you make,
prevents you
from accumulating wealth,
are you going to continue
to work like you have?
Are you going to continue
to work
to give it all away
so it can be redistributed
to people who don't work?
No.
You wouldn't.
It would not be wise
to do that.
Look at what he says
at the end.
We glorify God
by understanding
and ruling
over the creation,
then by producing
more and more
wonderful goods
from it
for our enjoyment
with thanksgiving
to the God
who richly provides us
with everything
to enjoy.
Let's close it out
like this.
Are you seeking
to glorify God
by your productive work?
Or,
are you seeking
to glorify yourself
with your hard,
productive work?
Are you enjoying
the fruits of your labor
and acknowledging it
as one of God's
good gifts?
Or,
are you enjoying
the fruit of your labor
with no thought
that it's a gift
from God?
Are you giving thanks
to God
as the source
of everything
that you have?
Or,
are you patting yourself
on the back
because of what you
have earned,
achieved,
been able to do?
I want us to close
with an important word
about wealth
in 1 Timothy 6.
Paul writes,
as for the rich
in this present age,
charge them
not to be haughty
nor to set their hopes
on the uncertainty
of riches,
but on God
who richly provides us
with everything
to enjoy.
You see the balance
of Paul's statement?
As for the rich
of this present age,
charge them
not to be haughty
because it's easy
to become prideful
if you become wealthy.
Nor to set their hopes
on the uncertainty
of riches.
We forget about
the uncertainty
of riches.
But set our hopes
on God
and think about this,
who richly provides us
with everything
to enjoy.
They are to do so
to be rich
in good works,
to be generous
and ready
to share,
thus storing up
treasure for themselves
as a good foundation
for the future
so that they might
take hold
of that
which is truly
life.
It is good
for us
to work
and save
and have something
for the future,
for the rainy day,
for retirement.
But it's even
more important
that we be storing
up treasures
in heaven
through our
faithfulness
to God
with what He
has given us
in every way,
time, talents
and treasures.
And you know
there's going to
come a day
for most of us
if we live long enough
we're going to want
to lay hold
of that
which we have
saved,
invested.
We're going to
lay hold of
retirement funds
hopefully.
A retirement life
maybe.
But what's
most important
is that we
be prepared
to take hold
of that
which is truly
life,
eternal life.
And that only
comes through
a right relationship
with Jesus Christ.
It's vitally
important in this
day and time
living in this
country that we
understand that
socialism
is contrary
to the teaching
of the Bible.
It's unethical.
It's immoral.
But at the same
time
we must not
make the focus
of our life
acquiring,
possessing,
owning
anything.
The goal of our
life is to glorify
God,
to serve His
purpose,
enjoy His
blessings,
thanks.
But to walk
with Him,
to walk with
Christ,
as Mainline was
singing,
step by step
through faith
with Jesus,
through this
world,
that's the only
way we'll be
ready to enter
the next world,
as Paul says,
which is truly
life.
Let's pray
together.
Father,
show us
now how
we need to
respond to
You in light
of what You
said to us.
Father,
help us to
understand
that working,
being responsible,
being productive
is the way You
created us to be.
Help us to see
that being
rewarded for
faithfulness is
also a part of
Your design,
and we
shouldn't feel
guilty.
We shouldn't be
made to feel
guilty.
Lord,
help us to
make sure
that our
work,
our accumulating,
our wealth
has taken
place for
the right
reason and
in the right
way.
If it
hasn't,
help us to
confess that
as the
sin that
it is
and turn
from it.
Help us
to make
sure,
dear God,
that Jesus
is the
Lord of
our life,
not money
or not
things.
And
Father,
if there's
anyone in
this room
who does
not know
Christ as
their Lord
and Savior,
call them
now to
turn from
their sin
to trust
Jesus as
absolute
Lord,
boss,
owner of
their life.
that's
just in
an attitude
of prayer
to listen
to the
Lord and
respond to
him personally.
Just make
this a time
of commitment,
recommitment,
whatever it is
you need
right now.
Thank you.