Category: Biblical Principles

What are the general truths that should guide our thinking in all areas of life? Here are some possibilities.

Principle: Unity & Union (Part I)

  

In politics, we are always hearing appeals for “bipartisanship.” That’s great in theory, but overlooks a basic reality. A Biblical prinicple that I call “unity and union” helps explain. Those two words—unity and union—are not the same. Unity is an internal voluntary agreement; union is the external joining of two or more things into one. External unions should be built on internal unity. They really need to be voluntary unions for them to succeed. Forced unions that lack unity will ultimately… Read more »

Principle: Property–Christian Communism? (Part II)

  

Some Biblical interpreters note a particular incident in the early church that, they say, indicates God is in favor of communism. They refer to the Ananias and Sapphira story. As believers were voluntarily selling property and giving the proceeds to the apostles to help the needy (see the previous post for a fuller explanation of this), one couple, Ananias and Sapphira, came up with a little scheme. They sold some property and brought part of the profit to the Apostle Peter,… Read more »

Principle: Property–Christian Communism? (Part I)

  

Is God’s design that the church model communism? Some point to the example of the early church in Jerusalem in the book of Acts where we are told, All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had…. There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales… Read more »

Principle: Property–The Intangibles

  

Mention property, and nearly everyone will focus on material possessions. We naturally think in terms of money, land, homes, etc., as being the essence of property. Yet those are merely the external forms of property–the things we can see or touch. There are other properties that are more significant, and which form the basis for the external properties. God has given us internal properties: a mind with which to think; emotions with which we can interact with the world and… Read more »

Principle: Property/Stewardship

  

Throughout this blog, I’ve pointed to a number of principles upon which Christians should base their thinking. If we would analyze everything through these principles, we would come to more Biblically based conclusions. The principle of property is very important. If you look at property from a worldly perspective, you see it potentially in a number of ways. For instance, one can be quite selfish and focus entirely on accumulating “things.” This is one end of the spectrum. The other end is… Read more »

American Self-Government: Example #2

  

All of America’s early colonies had legislatures of their own. Most of them, from the start, had been allowed self-government in their charters. When the British government began to change the rules by taxing them without any representation in Parliament, the colonies reacted. Their first line of defense was the charters they had been given. When the British government dismissed their arguments, they turned instead to the idea that God had given each person the right to direct his own… Read more »

American Self-Government: Example #1

  

They were called Separatists in their native England. They got this name because they couldn’t abide being part of a state church where the government controlled the worship and doctrine. So they set up their own churches based on their understanding of how God wanted His church to work, following what they perceived to be the model in the New Testament. When they set up these churches, they had to start from scratch with church government. Consequently, they relied on… Read more »