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When God Speaks: Audio now Posted.
Last summer we did a short series of teachings on the bible–what it is, how it can be both God’s word and written by humans, and how we know we can trust it. If we were at college, we’d call this series “The Doctrine of Scripture” (since that’s what it is) and we’d note that these studies cover the topics of Inspiration, Clarity, and Inerrancy. Though lots of people don’t know these words, we’re all surrounded by discussions about how we should think about the bible when we read it: Is it really right to call it “God’s Word”? Can we really understand it? Should we think that it has mistakes in it, or not?
If you’re interested in thinking through those issues again, whether for yourself or for conversations with friends, here are the links to the audio from those studies. (They’ll be permanently on the Audio Page.) Click on a title to download.
- When God Speaks: It Can Be Written Down
- When God Speaks: He Can Be Understood
- When God Speaks: He Can Be Trusted
Essential Scriptures for Today: Mark 7:14-23
Last night we looked at another scripture which seems to be especially important to know for the times we’re living in. This scripture is one that inspired me to do this series of studies. it has come up in a number of our studies in the past few years (when we were studying what Jesus tells us about life, when we were studying orientation) and it inspired a blog post here early on. Here are the notes from the study:
The Scripture: Mark 7:14-23
“When He had called all the multitude to Himself, He said to them, “Hear Me, everyone, and understand: 15 There is nothing that enters a man from outside which can defile him; but the things which come out of him, those are the things that defile a man. 16 If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear!” 17 When He had entered a house away from the crowd, His disciples asked Him concerning the parable. 18 So He said to them, “Are you thus without understanding also? Do you not perceive that whatever enters a man from outside cannot defile him,19 because it does not enter his heart but his stomach, and is eliminated, thus purifying all foods?” 20 And He said, “What comes out of a man, that defiles a man. 21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, 22thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. 23All these evil things come from within and defile a man.”
Why it’s essential:
- It provides us a clear picture of Jesus, which is backed up by the rest of the Gospels. An important foundational idea we run into here is that we have access to the things Jesus said, so we can actually figure out what he taught. In this instance, we can see that Jesus cared about what we call “morality.”
- It’s an essential text for thinking about all issues of morality we face today. It is especially important in the struggle to get a clear idea about Jesus’ views on homosexuality.
- It gives us an excellent way to discuss the need everyone has for the gospel:
- For those who feel rich and complacent, and like they just have no need for Jesus, it explains that everyone is, as Jesus says “defiled.” Defilement, as defined in Jesus’ time, is the state of being separated from God because of some unholiness.
- For Muslims, it shows that their view of sin is defective, and way too small. They think God “will just forgive” sin. Because they don’t understand how big, and how deep our problem with inner sin and defilement really is, all of their religious practices amount to “hand washing” and get them no closer to God than the Pharisees in this scene. This is true of just about every other religion as well…
- For those who promote themselves as basically good and militantly moral because of some cause they champion, this text says that God doesn’t judge them as righteous because of their cause. There is a deep, radical problem which they may deny, but that doesn’t change the reality. In our day there are all these issues and causes (everything from movements about food to the environment to moral issues to social justice issues); they may be alright as far as they go, or not, but people can tend to think that they are morally good and cool with God because they take up this cause. Then they say, “Why don’t you guys do more about____.” From this standpoint, Jesus would call all those things simply “hand washing.”
Key things to understand from these verses.
“Heart” – Is essentially the same idea as what we would call either our “orientation” or on a bigger level, or “true-self.” It forms the basis for our identity. Since these ideas are massively huge in our society, we should understand Jesus’ core teachings on these things. And, while it is common today to be passionate about any number of things, Jesus invites us to be passionate about what really matters: the human heart—our own first, and then about what affect’s others hearts.
“Inner v. Outer” or “Heart” vs. “Belly” This is not to say that what is without, or what it physical or bodily doesn’t matter, it is to say that the core of who we are shows our connection to God or our distance from him. When we use our bodies to physically enact the things that are in our hearts, Jesus calls this having something defiling come out from within, and this is what it means to be defiled.
“Defiled” “Defilement” is the state of being separated from God because of some unholiness. Morally unclean, impure or ritually unacceptable are other meanings. Contrary to hand washing, or any other cause people espouse today: defilement is a major issue to Jesus. He seems to be saying that to focus on those other things and ignore defilement is to tragically miss what really matters.
The list of things that defile. Some of the things on this list people agree are “bad.” But people would disagree with Jesus on others. What we need to see is that we can’t cherry pick if we want to really know Jesus. And key in this list for our day is the word “porneia.” It means “sinful sexuality”. And how would a member of Jesus’ Jewish audience of the first century define what is sinfully sexual? They would look to the OT law, such as those laws in Leviticus 18. Everything listed there would be considered “porneia,” and Jesus says, “forget hand washing, go back and read Leviticus 18. Those issues reveal what is in your hearts. Those things are what defiles you.”
The key point, and how this teaching is part of the good news:
At first Jesus to be stressing the fact that we shouldn’t make up rules and say God cares about it—because he doesn’t. And Jesus does say that. But then he takes it much further, and says that the reason God doesn’t care about those rules is that they only affect the outer person, and they don’t actually get into the core of our being, where the problem is. Which means that the real problem with these rules, or anything else people get into, is that they don’t go deep enough—they underestimate sin and how horrible, dirty, and deep it is. They ignore the fact that because these things live in us and come out of us we’re totally separated from God, in a way that can’t be fixed by rituals. So the point is not that God hates rules and rituals, but that God ignores (or even hates) things that make people think they’re getting close to him when they’re not. And of course, this teaching points to the whole reason Jesus came, and why he was who he was. He didn’t come and give advice, he didn’t come and say we just needed to realize that God was already cool with us, and he didn’t come and give us some new laws to patch everything up between us and God. Instead, his teaching, his miracles, and his totally righteous life lead up to the most important part of who he was—his death for us, in our place and on our behalf, because nothing less could get to the heart of the issue we were facing, and nothing less would be big enough to heal the breach between humanity and God. The life, death and resurrection of Jesus show us how deep our problem was, and how big hearted God was to go to the lengths which were necessary in order provide us a way back into fellowship with him after we sinned our way out of that privilege.
An Excellent (Free) Way to Study the Bible on Your Own.
If you’re seeking a way to bump your personal bible studying to new places, I’d like to recommend the website BibleArc.com. The site is on online tool designed to help you use a method known as “arcing”–a kind of bible study which helps you “trace the flow” of a text.
Essential Scriptures for Today: 2 Corinthians 10:3-5
On Monday night we continued looking at several scriptures which have a pointed impact on the days we live in. Here are the notes from the study:
The Scripture: 2 Corinthians 10:3-5
“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds,5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ, 6 and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.”
Why it’s essential: We live in a time when more and more, everyone is being drawn in to battles over all different kinds of things. We need to understand what the Christian battle is, and how it is that Christians fight their battles, or we’ll get tempted to adopt means that leave us without God’s power and assistance in the fight.
Reading the rest of the letter, we see that Paul was responding to opposition he faced. But he wants people to know that he does not fight like they do.
1. Christians do live normal lives, in one sense, like everyone else (v.3)
2. A similarity: Everyone has battles. Christians have a specific battle.
We might say that for those who aren’t followers of Christ, the battles could be summed up as self-preservation and self-promotion or group preservation and promotion.
A difference: Our battle is for preserving and promoting the “knowledge of God” (v.5) Paul mentions this in 2:14 (we diffuse the knowledge of God everywhere), and 4:6 (See also John 17:3)
The primary “weapon” used to promote the knowledge of God is the Christian message–the Gospel. The Gospel is the story of what God has done in Jesus, and about how powerful that work Christ did was, so that even today if anyone believes, they will be connected to his work of life and redemption in a way that grants them eternal life, because to see how great Jesus is–is actually to see that the Glory of God is shining through him, and then you start to know God for who he really is. (The gospel is related to everything that helps people find a living connection to the true God.)
3. Another difference—the weapons we use.
- The weapons which we do not use: “carnal” – devised and consisting of simply human means
- The weapons we do use: “mighty in God” – defined by that fact that they have God’s power in them. (Is 31:3)
In other words, Christians don’t use the same means to accomplish our purposes as those who do not know God (or have his power to call on). There are weapons which people have made, which work for those battles–weapons for self promotion and self preservation. (Think things like: Money, Militaries, Tanks Guns and Bombs, Politics, Mass Organization, Marches, Riots, Media, Advertising, Cult of Personality, Gossip, Theft, Gang mentality, Cheating, Lying, Exclusion)
Instead, we have weapons which come with God’s strength, for God’s battle. Things which clear obstacles to knowing God, and put him on display so he can be known. (6:3-10)
4. The object of our weapons: strongholds, defined as “arguments,” “high things,” and “thoughts.” These strongholds are fortresses, things which are not easily defeated, which are heavily defended. They are arguments and things “lifted up” in opposition to the knowledge of God. i.e. They are things that work to keep people from coming to know God. Specifically, they are patterns of though—promoted by culture, unspoken assumptions, and explicit argumentation—which we learn how to destroy.
Takeaways:
- We definitely need to make sure we are clear about what our battle is. Do we see that this is the way to look at our families, our schools, our education, our workplaces, our marriages, our futures? As we look out at our culture, or at our schools or work places or even sometimes our own families, we should always realize—the real issue here is that there are strongholds which are like fortresses keeping people from knowing God.
- In everything we face, we should ask the question: What will help people know God better in this situation? Or, what can I say and do which will serve the overall purpose of my life, to spread the knowledge of God?
- We should then evaluate the way we act, and what we pursue, by becoming familiar with God’s way of doing things, and using his standards to judge and determine our behavior. Do we know how to wield the weapons which are “mighty in God”?
Just Drop a Pebble in His Shoe.
Here’s a post I read a while ago that I’ve never forgotten. It’s one of those things that’s worked its way into my thought-life, my conversation, and my approach to sharing about Christ in way that’s been sort of life-changing. Justin Taylor posted the picture with the Muhammed Ali quote to the right, and the original post was written by a guy named Greg Koukl. Here it is:
In some circles there’s pressure for Christian ambassadors to “close the sale” as soon as possible. When pressed for time, get right to the meat of the message. Get to the Gospel. If the person doesn’t respond, you’ve still done your part. Shake the dust off your feet and move on.
A wise ambassador, though, “seasons his words.” He weighs his opportunities and adopts an appropriate strategy for each occasion. Sometimes, the simple truth of the cross is all that’s needed. The fruit is ripe for harvesting. Bump it and it falls into your basket.
Usually, though, the fruit is not ripe; the nonbeliever is simply not ready. He may not even have begun to think about Christianity in the right way. Dropping a message on him that, from his point of view, is meaningless or simply unbelievable doesn’t accomplish anything. In fact, it may be the worst thing you can do. He rejects a message he doesn’t understand and then he’s harder to reach next time.
Now here is my own more modest goal. I want to put a stone in his shoe. All I want to do is give him something worth thinking about. I want him to hobble away on a nugget of truth that annoys him in a good way, something he can’t simply ignore because it continues to poke at him.
Whether the opportunity is a short one with a transient audience or a long one with a captive audience, my goal is the same—a stone in the shoe.
Some people are good “closers.” They’re good at getting the sale. What they don’t realize is that harvesting often comes easily for them because, in God’s sovereignty, many ambassadors came before them planting, watering, and weeding, one by one tending to the plant, cultivating healthy growth until it was ripe and ready to reap.
So here’s my suggestion. Follow the strategy I use when God opens a door of opportunity for me. I don’t know how long the door will be open, so I pray quickly for wisdom, then ask myself, “In this circumstance, what is one thing I can say, one question I can ask, one thought I can leave that will get him thinking?”
Then I simply try to put a stone in his shoe.
A Little Perspective…
So, one time, John Piper tweeted this:
“Ponder the resurrection when the bag lady will recall with brilliant mind and radiant face how you talked to her at church.”
Nine Books that Shaped My Early 20s
One of the ways the Lord grew me early in my Christian walk was through introducing me to good literature written by Christians with weighty things to say. Through college and beyond, the Lord used the words on these pages to help me see him more clearly in scripture, to sharpen my thinking, and to shape my character. In case you haven’t read (any or all of) them, here’s a list of the top books I can still remember as life-changing, even now.
1. The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer
“This book is a modest attempt to aid God’s hungry children so to find Him. Nothing here is new except in the sense that it is a discovery which my own heart has made of spiritual realities most delightful and wonderful to me. Others before me have gone much farther into these holy mysteries than I have done, but if my fire is not large it is yet real, and there may be those who can light their candle at its flame.”
If you only read one book on the list, this is the one. I read it first as a sophomore in college, and several times after that. Tozer’s classic was simply the loudest voice in my thought life outside of scripture, and it continually bore good fruit. Read it, and get ready to have your heart searched out, as you explore what it really means to seek God.
2. The Knowledge of the Holy by A.W. Tozer
“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us. The history of mankind will probably show that no people has ever risen above its religion, and man’s spiritual history will positively demonstrate that no religion has ever been greater than its idea of God. Worship is pure or base as the worshiper entertains high or low thoughts of God.”
This short book consists of 23 quick chapters, each on one of God’s attributes. It is some of the best theology you can find, and comes with all the warmth and fire Tozer is known for–it would make a great devotional. Early in my Christian walk, it set me on the path of “thinking rightly about God.”
3. Shadow of the Almighty: The Life and Testament of Jim Elliot by Elisabeth Eliot
“I walked out on the hill just now. It is exalting, delicious. To stand embraced by the shadows of a friendly tree with the wind tugging at your coattails and the heavens hailing your heart–to gaze and glory and to give oneself again to God, what more could a man ask? Oh the fullness, pleasure, sheer excitement of knowing God on earth.”
Along with The Pursuit of God, no other book affected me or brought me back for subsequent reading more than Elisabeth Eliot’s presentation, from his own journals and letters, of her martyred husband’s devotion to his God through high school, college, and on into the mission field. Seriously, whether you ever end up on a distant shore or not, it will challenge you to press in to know God more deeply.
4. The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
This is a reference book, not a book to sit and read. But it became the one resource I used more than any other to help me learn the scriptures for myself. Look up your verse in question, and it will take you to all the other verses which help you understand your verse, through the entire bible, as you learn to let the bible interpret itself. Think of it as a center column reference on steroids. More recently, Nelson has published an updated version of it (which I’ve never used) called Nelson’s Cross-Reference Guide to the Bible.
5. Paths to Power by A.W. Tozer
“If we are to advance we must have power. Paganism is slowly closing in on the Church, and her only response is an occasional “drive” for one thing or another—usually money—or a noisy but timid campaign to improve the morals of the movies. Such activities amount to little more than a slight twitching of the muscles of a drowsy giant too sleepy to care. These efforts sometimes reach the headlines, but they accomplish little that is lasting, and are soon forgotten. The Church must have power; she must become formidable, a moral force to be reckoned with, if she would regain her lost position of spiritual ascendancy and make her message the revolutionizing, conquering thing it once was.”
This book is tiny. I lost count of how many times I read it, and my friends and I used to joke that everyone should read it once a year. You’ll be able to read it in one sitting; but have your bible close at hand–you’ll probably need to go do some talking with God.
6. The Mackintosh Treasury by C.H. Mackintosh
“No human language can set forth the importance of having a divinely settled authority for our path. All we want is to be absolutely and completely governed by it, to have it hidden in our hearts, acting on our consciences, forming our character, governing our conduct in everything. To give the Word of God this place is one of the marked characteristics of the Christian remnant.”
Mackintosh took over my reading-thought life somewhere towards the end of my college years. He’s like reading Spurgeon, if you distilled Spurgeon down to his essence and reduced his word count by about 70 percent. All you have left is gold–and yes, this C.H. is that good. I have never read anything by him without being solidly blessed. The “Treasury” is a big (green) collection of all kinds of short essays on various topics. The best place to buy it is in the Calvary bookstore, but you can get all his writings free online here.
7. A Passion for Holiness in a Believer’s Life by Charles Spurgeon
“Sin is a domineering force. A man cannot sin up to a fixed point and then say to sin, “Up to here shall you come, but no farther.” It is an imperious power and where it dwells it is hungry for the mastery. Just as our Lord, when He enters the soul, will never be content with a divided dominion, so is it with sin—it labors to bring our entire manhood under subjection. Therefore we are compelled to strive daily against this ambitious principle—according to the working of the Spirit of God in us we wrestle against sin that it may not have dominion over us.”
I read this as part of a set of meetings for high school students I was “helping” with while I was in college. Suffice it to say I was doing more learning than teaching, and Spurgeon was challenging me to see how absolutely essential holiness was.
8. Why this Waste? by Watchman Nee
“Have our eyes been opened to see the preciousness of the One whom we are serving? Have we come to see that nothing less than the dearest, the costliest, the most precious, is fit for Him?”
This little booklet (really it’s just a stapled pamphlet) was another frequent re-read for me for a few years. I’ve got it here in front of me right now, and I think I need to revisit it yet again. Ask Josh in the bookstore for a copy, and tell him we should carry it if he doesn’t have to sell you. If you ever start to feel like just being with Jesus, and then serving him out of love, is a waste…
9. The Christian Book of Mystical Verse by various writers, compiled by A.W. Tozer.
“Lord, what shall earth and ashes do?
We would adore our Maker too;
From sin and dust to Thee we cry,
The great, the Holy and the High.”
Tozer didn’t write this book. It’s a collection of what he calls “mystical verse,” which adds up to a whole book of some of the most alive hymns you’ll ever read. It became a constant companion of my post-college years after I discovered it. Like all good writing, it’s full of food for worship and thought.
Well, there it is. Three things occur to me as I sit here finishing this list.
First, just looking through these books, I’m remembering all kinds of things that passed between me and the Lord in those days. To my friends among you who’ve walked with the Lord for years–sometimes, maybe it’s good to go back and remember those first days–the days when newness was a chief characteristic of life with Christ. Personally, I may need to revisit some of the paths in these books again sometime soon.
Second, I can’t help but think of every house window I drive past with that blue light of the T.V. shining on the wall. So many are wasting so much time. One thing we can do to redeem the time on cold winter nights when everyone is indoors is read.
Third, I when I sat down to write this list, I did not expect it to be so Tozer-heavy. But then I remembered how much of him I was reading. I left a few off that could have made it, too. Which is fine…It would be a good thing for the church if a whole new generation of believers discovered him.
Essential Scriptures for Today: Matthew 5:10-12
Last night we began looking at some specific scriptures which seem to be especially important for Christians to know for the days we’re living in. Here are the notes from the study:
The Scripture: Matthew 5:10-12
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
Why it’s essential: Verse 11 says that one of the things Christians can expect to experience is that we will be lied about. This is not simply as individuals, but as a group. It should not surprise us when we’re slandered. Today Christians may be called: hateful, arrogant, dangerous, divisive, violent, bigoted, mean, or other things like stupid, close-minded and behind the times.
What we need to know from these verses:
Jesus tells us four things about this reality:
- We will be “reviled.” (insult, denounce, disgrace, dishonor) The details of this change from culture to culture. But the ways Christians will be spoken against will match the culture and the times. The things no one wants to be—this is what Christians will be called.
- These insults will be “all kinds.” We can expect a whole variety of things said against us. Probably we will have trouble keeping up, and be surprised by the new things that are said.
- The essence of these insults is “evil.” It may masquerade as good, as having the moral high ground. It may claim to critique our moral standing, and call Christians (This happens today in India where fundamentalist Hindu groups seek to hold mass conversion of Christians to Hinduism, claiming Christians convert people by force. It happens in Muslim-dominated areas where Christians are called people who oppose God, live immorally and believe lies. It happens in our country where Christians are increasingly being labeled as intolerant and hateful, and as the one and only group standing in the way of freedom and progress.) But it’s not good. It’s evil.
- These statements are “false.” Jesus uses a word that is usually translated “lying.” It’s that simple. These things are lies. Christians themselves may sometimes be tempted to believe them. But they can know that these things are lies. If they don’t match reality and the word of God, we don’t need to worry about them.
What should be our reaction? “Rejoice and be exceedingly glad.” (v.12) Why? You are “blessed.”
How?
- (future) “Your reward is great in heaven.” Also, the kingdom is yours (v.10). In other words, whatever we miss out on here because of what our connection to Christ costs us, we have much more coming to us when the kingdom arrives.
- (past) We have a heritage—we stand in the line of the prophets. So when the insults make you tempted to wonder if you’re doing things wrongly, remember that true messengers of God have always faced slander. (Let scripture tell you what’s going on in the world, not those who don’t know God.)
- (present) You are connected to Jesus. These things are said “for his sake” (v.11). We learn not to take things personally, but to all this as actually directed against Jesus. He himself told us that if people loved him, they would love Christians. If people opposed him, they would oppose Christians. (John 15:8, 15:20)
Some Takeaways from these verses:
- It shouldn’t shock us when this happens.
- We don’t need to go into fits of self-condemnation. All we need to do is honestly look at our behavior and then search the scriptures for God’s correction or encouragement. Non-believers don’t get to define us and tell us what to think. They don’t have good information.
- We should be very careful about joining the chorus of slander against Christians. Many young Christians seem to be able to feel the culture’s pain more easily than they are able to identify with misunderstood yet faithful followers of Christ. But if we’re not careful we end up on the wrong side of Christ, heaping discouragement on people whom Christ is not displeased with.
- The fact that it’s false means that we don’t necessarily have to listen to it. Just because someone says we are mean, hateful, etc, doesn’t mean that we are. They may, for instance, feel love as hate. It’s that backwards today. And something that causes someone pain may actually be good for them. Jesus says we can’t expect the world to “get” what we’re about.
- This requires us to thoroughly reorient the way we “read” the world, off of peoples’ reactions and on to the teachings of Christ and the leading of the Holy Spirit.
Love the World. Don’t Love the World.
Have you ever wondered how John 3:16 (“God so loved the world that he gave his only son”) can go together with 1 John 2:15 (“Do not love the world or the things in the world”)–that is, how they can exist together without being contradictory?
Should we love the world or not? Or maybe a better question is, why would John warn us about loving the world, yet affirm that God loved the world? I found this quick quote by D.A. Carson which seems to get to the heart of the issue (which happens to be the way we humans get tempted to “love” the world).
God’s love for the world is commendable because it manifests itself in awesome self-sacrifice;
our love for the world is repulsive when it lusts for evil participation.
God’s love for the world is praiseworthy because it brings the transforming Gospel to it;
our love for the world is ugly because we seek to be conformed to the world.
God’s love for the world issues in certain individuals being called out from the world and into the fellowship of Christ’s followers;
our love for the world is sickening where we wish to be absorbed into the world.
In other words, what we call love often turns out to be not love at all–especially when we match it up against what the Lord shows for the world, which is the standard and definition of love.
The Only Solution to World Poverty
This is an interesting post I ran across by Wayne Grudem (research professor of theology and biblical studies at Phoenix Seminary) and Barry Asmus (senior economist at the National Center for Policy Analysis). They are the coauthors of The Poverty of Nations: A Sustainable Solution. I haven’t read the book, but Grudem is a reliably sharp thinker who works to keep his ideas biblical and helpful. We carry his systematic theology in our church bookstore (and it’s a standard text in theology classes nowadays). If you’re in school and have to write a paper on economics or geo-politics this year, maybe this would be a good book to check out? This excerpt is very thought provoking…
There is only one effective solution to world poverty.
It is the only solution that has ever worked or will ever work. It is evident from the history of every wealthy nation today, and it is consistent with the teachings of the Bible about productivity, property, government, and personal moral values.
After extensive research in both economics and biblical ethics our conclusion is this: poor nations must somehow produce their own prosperity, and it is possible for them to do this.
As we explain in our recent book, The Poverty of Nations: A Sustainable Solution, there were no wealthy nations for most of human history. Then in the late 1700s (the Industrial Revolution) some nations began to produce more, much more. Their factories produced more goods and their farms produced more food. Their per capita income doubled and quadrupled and kept on increasing. Britain was the leader, producing textiles (especially cotton) far faster, cheaper, and better than anyone in the world. Many other manufactured products followed, and soon other nations in Europe and North America also began to produce their own prosperity.
The same pattern has continued in the modern era. Japan grew from being a poor agricultural economy in the early 1900s to the world’s second-largest economy in the late 20th century by manufacturing cars, computers, TVs, cameras, steel, and ships. South Korea went from being one of the world’s poorest nations in the 1950s to the twelfth richest nation today by manufacturing products like TVs, cars, and microwaves. Chile began to move out of poverty in the 1970s by growing abundant fruits and vegetables for export. India is experiencing rapid growth through information technology, medical technology, and customer services such as telephone help lines. China is growing by producing millions of small manufactured goods. Every nation that has escaped poverty has done so by producing its own prosperity.
No nation has ever escaped poverty by means of foreign aid. Foreign aid given through the governments of poor countries usually does more harm than good because it entrenches corrupt rulers in power, fattens their personal bank accounts, and foments civil wars over control of the big prize: access to the nation’s treasury and all the aid money. Forgiveness of a poor nation’s debts is not the answer either because it is just more foreign aid carried out by a two-step process (first the loan, then its cancellation).
Charitable gifts of things like food and medical care are important because they meet urgent needs, but they are addressing the symptoms (hunger and sickness) rather than the cause (the poor nation is not producing enough of its own food and medical care).
The Bible supports the idea that nations must produce their own prosperity. When Israel came into the Promised Land God did not promise them perennial donations of riches from other nations but hills filled with iron and copper (which they would have to dig and refine) and fields of vines and fig trees (which they would have to tend and harvest each year). God’s blessing of prosperity would come by productive work (Deut. 8:7-10). Even the poor had to work for what they got by gathering the gleanings that were left at the edges of the fields (Lev. 19:9-10). There is no thought in the Bible that poor nations or poor people were to become dependent on donations from others year after year.
Abundant natural resources are not the answer for poor nations today because many African and Latin American nations have immense resources but they remain poor, while nations such as Switzerland, Japan, Taiwan, and Singapore all lack significant resources but have become wealthy by creating productive economies. They have produced their own prosperity.
But the key question remains: What must a nation do to become more productive and move from poverty toward increasing prosperity? Our research has discovered 79 factors that will lead a nation to prosperity or, when lacking, trap it in perpetual poverty. These factors fall into three broad categories: 1) a nation’s economic system, 2) its government, and 3) its cultural beliefs.
The only economic system that has ever produced national prosperity is a free market system, not a welfare state or socialism or communism. Our book explains in layman’s terms how a free market works and why it is morally superior to every other economic system. However, a free market can only be truly free when it includes widespread access to private ownership of property, effective rule of law, a stable currency, increasing specialization in the workforce, free trade both domestically and internationally, and allowing people to keep most of the fruits of their labor (through low taxes). But a free market system alone will not bring prosperity unless a nation also has the right kinds of government and cultural beliefs.
A government that leads to prosperity is one in which leaders are not acclimated to systemic corruption but are committed to using their power for the benefit of the people as a whole. The government must also protect citizens against crime and safeguard important human freedoms.
At a deeper level, there must be good and wise cultural beliefs. We believe the Bible is the best source of such beliefs. To become truly productive, a society must share a widespread belief in not stealing, telling the truth, working productively and diligently, conducting business transactions so as to benefit both parties, using time wisely, and developing the earth’s resources with wisdom, not with superstition or fear.
We do not believe, however, that material prosperity is the most important issue in the world, for Jesus taught that love for God and love for neighbor are the two greatest commandments (Matt. 22:37-39). But if we are talking about how to solve world poverty, the solution can only come through increased economic productivity within poor nations themselves.
Poverty is a complex problem and any genuine solution must address multiple factors. We urge leaders in poor nations to thoughtfully consider the 78 factors that we enumerate and explain. Our book provides poor nations with realistic hope because it makes specific recommendations that will liberate people in poor nations and enable them to become more productive, as God intended them to be.
Incidentally, if you’re interested in checking out more of their arguments, you can get the whole book for free in PDF form here.
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