There is no scriptural justification for charging believers interest on loans–none

Every time I go to the doctor I must pass a place that gives Pay Day Loans. I understand that some of these places charge over 1,000% interest on their loans. Right next door to this place is a tax preparation business that opened two weeks ago promoting loans on tax refunds. Again, they will do this if a person is willing to pay the exorbitant interest. Many years ago I remember pawning my wedding ring and paying weekly payments (interest only) which within a matter of a few weeks was more than the ring cost to begin with.

The world is full of corrupt people who make their living charging interest rates which turn a person into nothing more than a slave. That is the danger with owing money with any interest attached to it. Loaning/borrowing is NOT forbidden in the Bible, but charging interest on such money IS.

In Exodus 22:25 it plainly states in the NKJV:

“If you lend money to any of My people who are poor among you, you shall not be like a moneylender to him; you shall not charge him interest.”

The Bible is crystal clear when it comes to the subject of charging interest on debt. Unlike today’s moneychangers who seem to have no problem saddling people with upwards of 54% interest on credit cards in the UK and even excellent customers in the USA with rates pushing 25%; the Bible presents an entirely different view on this topic.

Today, usury is defined as; the lending of money at an exorbitant rate of interest. Where this may be the usage today, in the Bible it is referring to the lending of money WITH ANY INTEREST. The charging of interest in the lending of money is not allowed by God. “Well how is a bank to make a profit?” some may ask. My response would be to show me any Biblical basis for a bank to begin with.

Everybody likes the notion of “investing” in a bank and having them pay you to “park” your money there. Whether savings accounts, money market accounts, CDs or other means; banks have been paying people interest to hold their money for many years. The idea was that the bank would then use that money to lend to those needing to buy a house or start a business. Invariably, the amount charged in interest on loans was always higher than the amount paid in interest on investments. That is how the bank made money.

Please look closely at this section from Leviticus 25:35-37:

“If one of your brethren becomes poor, and falls into poverty among you, then you shall help him, like a stranger or a sojourner, that he may live with you.

Take no usury or interest from him; but fear your God, that your brother may live with you.

You shall not lend him your money for usury, nor lend him your food for profit.”

I fail to see how God could make this any plainer. God’s people are absolutely forbidden from charging interest on money lent to other believers.

To make this whole thing crystal clear, please look at Deuteronomy 23:19 and 20:

“You shall not charge interest to your brother—interest on money or food or anything that is lent out at interest.

To a foreigner you may charge interest, but to your brother you shall not charge interest, that the Lord your God may bless you in all to which you set your hand in the land which you are entering to possess.”

The charging of interest to those outside the household of faith, so to speak, was allowed and implied to be done in order to make money; but the charging of interest to fellow believers was strictly forbidden.

In the prophet Ezekiel’s time, Jerusalem had turned into a cesspool of every kind of evil imaginable. In Ezekiel chapter 22, the prophet is told to blow the lid on all the horrible things being done in the city. In Ezekiel 22:1-11 one abomination after another is detailed, some of which (such as verses 10 and 11) are pure filth. By the time we get to verses 12 and 13, we are dealing with the topic we are discussing:

“In you they take bribes to shed blood; you take usury and increase; you have made profit from your neighbors by extortion, and have forgotten Me, says the Lord God.

Behold, therefore, I beat My fists at the dishonest profit which you have made, and at the bloodshed which has been in your midst.”

God does not take highly to people getting wealthy by charging interest on debts owed by His people. This amounts to extortion as far as God is concerned. This is nothing different than the “thugs” who break the legs of those who fail to pay back money to loan sharks.

In Nehemiah’s time, there was a famine. Many Jewish families mortgaged their lands and vineyards and houses to buy grain. They then had to borrow money to pay the king’s tax on their lands and vineyards (today’s property tax). It got so bad they had to sell their own children into slavery to pay on their debts. When Nehemiah heard of all this he became very angry and according to Nehemiah 5:7 he says:

“After serious thought, I rebuked the nobles and rulers, and said to them, ‘Each of you is exacting usury from his brother.’ So I called a great assembly against them.”

You can read in Nehemiah 5:8-13 what transpires, and it is a great example of what can happen when a man of God stands up for the truth and demands obedience to God’s Word. Needless to say the problem was resolved.

There is a crisis of monumental proportions gripping this country even as I type these words. The banks and other financial institutions are failing due to unsound lending practices. No amount of Federal money infusions is helping. As the banks panic they are seeking to raise money by doubling, tripling and sometimes quadrupling the interest rates they are charging even their good customers on credit card balances.

The resulting burden being placed on borrowers is causing a wave of defaults which force the banks to charge even higher interest. It is a vicious cycle which seems to have no end in sight. Soon the banks will be charging higher and higher fees for everything as they search out new ways to find money. This is a very pertinent subject which needs further posts which I am planning to do.

“Let the Lies Begin”–Today marks the beginning unimaginable deception

DANGER, DANGER, DANGER

Unless the true Christian community wakes up, the incredible lies overspreading this world and especially this country are going to eliminate once and for all the notion that this is a Christian country. Good lies are rarely flat out direct challenges to the truth, but rather cleverly crafted counterfeits which unless exposed, fool the vast majority of beholders.

In no particular order here are only a few of the incredible lies being promoted as truth and being sucked up like a vacuum cleaner by Christians as well as non-Christians alike:

1. There are conservative Christians, liberal Christians, Democratic Christians, Republican Christians, black Christians, white Christians, rich Christians, poor Christians etc. All these tags attached to Christians are simply an attempt to splinter and break up the body of Christ into small compartmentalized groups which fight against each other, envy and hate each other and blame each other for all the problems in the church and the world.

Listen, people are either Christian or they are not. They have either fulfilled the requirements of Romans 10:9 (by making Jesus Christ their Savior and Lord) or they have not. Christianity is not a religion or a catch phrase to describe “good people”. Any and all attempts to place Christians into categories and attach tags to them need to be confronted for what they are—blatant attacks upon our faith with the goal of division, envy and strife.

2. It is the government’s job to feed the hungry, visit the sick and elderly, provide for the poor and in all ways seek to make everyone equal. This is not the government’s job; this is the CHURCH’s job. Only because the church has willingly given over this responsibility to the government has this become the role of the state instead of simply providing for the “general welfare” of its citizens.

When the church becomes preoccupied with only preaching the gospel instead of DOING it, then people start falling through the cracks and socialistic state programs step in and seek to meet the needs. The state welfare states of Europe have failed and so will the USSA. State sponsored socialism, even if preached from pulpits in ultra liberal churches will only produce a secular religion which parades around looking “sort of like” true Christianity.

3. Every citizen of this country has the obligation to serve through some form of national service program that is both compulsory and tied to the receiving of state benefits. This is perhaps one of the scariest lies only starting to be propounded with the new administration. Again, because the church has so woefully turned over so many of the everyday activities associated with helping the poor, sick and elderly; the government has and will gladly step in and MAKE all of us do these things if we want the carrots dangled before us as far as state benefits.

This whole concept of the state dictating acts of “charity” is absolutely absurd. Yet, because so many “Christian” denominations refuse to get involved with any aspect of helping the disadvantaged and only want to “play church” each Sunday for their own; it is now coming to this horrible state of affairs. The state will soon dictate to the church to get off their rear ends and go help the poor if they want their cherished tax exempt status to remain. How’s that for irony?

4. Somehow the government is going to print enough money and provide enough programs to solve all the nation’s problems including poverty, loss of assets, lack of health care, civil rights and unemployment. Yes, the government’s grand lie in all this. To so trick people into believing it is bigger than God so as to eliminate the very phrase stamped on our money. Instead of “In God we trust”, the truth is “In the Government we trust”. If this is allowed to happen, there will be no future for true Christianity in this country just as there is currently none in Europe.

Socialism and/or fascism has ruled in Europe for years and the undeniable consequences are a population absolutely dependent upon the government for just about everything, a watered down and useless religion and a church whose building sit as empty as the boloney they pass off as Christianity. Is this really what we want in this country too?

The American people spoke via their votes in November that they were ready for a profound change in the way the government is run and their willingness to allow government to step into their personal lives in ways never known in this land before. Starting today, the age of government intervention and intrusion will commence. Along with it will come the age of an ever diminishing role of God, the church and those who are honestly Christians first and everything else in this life second.

I am going to say this knowing it will kick off a firestorm of controversy, but it is my right for a little while longer to speak what I want without fear. I believe the mark of the beast as mentioned in the Book or Revelation is speaking of the point when a person willingly turns over their ability to function in this life to the government instead of God. When people finally cave in and yield to the pressure to compromise by trusting government to be their god; that will be (one day soon) indicative of receiving the mark of the beast.

Those who lived in the Book of Daniel refused to honor the king’s command to worship the image he set up. They faced the consequences of fiery furnaces and later, lion’s dens. What was proven in Daniel is that God will watch over and in one way or another save those who refuse to bow. Whether His salvation is immediate as it was in Daniel or eternal as promised in the Book of Revelation; either way our God is a God of salvation for those who stay committed to Him and trust in Him with all their heart.

Shortly the announcement will be made for all to hear; “Let the lies begin”. Shortly, the vast majority of all that will flow out of Washington, New York, Paris, London and other places where great worldly leaders dwell will be a simple and direct message. That message will be to quit fighting them, for they have all the answers. The message will be that if people and countries want assistance they must follow the rules in every category. In other words, if you bow we will take care of you and if you don’t; you will burn.

Soon, rules regarding the environment, free speech, compulsory service, sharing wealth and a whole host of other things will start pouring out of these world centers. Soon, only fools and true Christians will be the only ones not bowing to the great gods of this world who hold in their hands the means to make people obey them “OR ELSE”. These things, folks, are not scare tactics on my part but the simple realities of the age we are embarking on today which should set some clock in motion hopefully signaling the soon end to this ever more evil age of man’s arrogance and deception.

It takes more than rhetoric to change a nation’s course

It is truly a manifestation of the downtrodden state of most Americans that they would be so foolish as to believe one man can single-handedly change a nation as diverse and large as the United States. We all know this is not possible, but if people keep hearing that “all things are possible” if there is “hope” and “optimism” then they start believing this stuff.

Those who succeed in politics usually, but not always, are excellent communicators. Ronal Reagan would never have excelled outside of acting if he were not the great communicator that he was. Barak Obama is truly a great communicator. He has the ability, just as Ronald Reagan had, to get people excited and believing in his message. This is all well and good as long as the message is correct and feasible.

Mr. Obama was swept into power on a tidal wave of discontent among Americans. Due to constant wars and financial turmoil, there was really no drama to the election in November. Pretty much the outcome was a foregone conclusion long before any polls opened. The events of September and October in the financial sector only served to anchor the sentiment among Americans that anybody other than the President (and his party) of the preceding eight years should be elected.

The rhetoric that politicians use to get elected can be pretty persuasive at times and the message of “change” and “hope” do doubt resonated with Americans this fall unto the present. The challenge for any “golden tongued orator” is to take rhetoric into reality. Whether all the abundant promises of change and visions of hope so many believe are available with this man can ever happen is yet to be seen. But for now, the parades and parties and other events are all there to allow the adoring throngs to have their day in the spotlight.

As much as I would love to get all caught up in the optimistic fervor sweeping our nation, I simply can’t. This has nothing to do with the person but everything to do with the reality of the situation in which this country finds itself. Anyone or any political party who advocates any kind of quick solution to the myriad of problems facing this nation is automatically wrong as far as I am concerned. There are no quick, easy and painless solutions, period.

Unless the adorning throngs take off their rose colored glasses and take a good hard look at the reality of the wasteland which surrounds them, they will continue to be deceived by the fair speeches and flowery words of professionals who earn their living by deceiving people. 90% of all politicians spend their lives telling people what they want to hear and whatever it takes to get elected and re-elected. Few and far between are honest people who take a stand on what they believe is right and care less if it is popular. That is nature of the political beast.

What is about to hit the United States of America via the bills flowing through Congress will be unprecedented and outrageous in proportion and expense. The bill for all the spending being advocated will take thirty generations to ever pay off, which means it never will be. Is that a burden we really want to dump on our children and grandchildren? According to the experts we have no choice, but as stated many times before, what if the experts are wrong? I guess time will tell.

The delusion of “Alice in Wonderland” Christianity

Life is full of good times and bad times. Life is full of ups and downs. Life is full of glorious treks to the mountaintop and horrible stumbles down to the valley floor. Nowhere and no place in the Bible can anyone definitively prove that there is not going to be days of darkness and despair to go along with the wonderful days of glorious light.

Where and how the notion crept into Christianity that somehow our faith gives us immunity from pain, sickness, sorrow, financial hardships and emotional breakdowns is beyond me. Jesus did not come to provide us a magic card which when inserted into God’s ATM provides unlimited resources and 24 hour per day joy, peace and prosperity. If this were the case, would not the apostles of the First Century have used such a card their whole lives and still be living in mansions somewhere today?

We live in a world where what should be many times is not and what shouldn’t be is. This is called “reality” as opposed to the fabricated fiction portrayed on television sitcoms and romance novels. The world is full of cruelty, injustice and every form of evil imaginable. To deny these realities is to deny the truth. When the truth is denied, a lie is believed.

God’s promises are not that there will never be bad times, but rather that He is with us and will guide us through those times. God never said we would not have to endure tribulations, afflictions and persecutions. To the contrary, God more or less assured us that these things are a part of living a Godly life in Christ Jesus.

What trips up many Christians is when they find out that the joy ride promised them when they got saved has a few bad bumps in the road. The first time they get bumped out of the wagon and fall flat on their rear end, they cry like a baby. “It’s not fair” or “Why me?” are common phrases coming from the mouths of newer Christians as they find out just because they get born again doesn’t mean the end of all their problems.

Listen, as long as we have to live in this world and be bombarded by all its trash in every realm, we are going to have problems. We are going to have to endure physical breakdowns of our bodies, mental anguish as we face perplexing problems with no apparent solutions and times of spiritual dryness as we deal with elements of our old nature. That is life and it has been since Genesis 3.

When the Apostle Paul lays out his personal litany of trials and tribulations in 2 Corinthians chapter 11, the things he had to go through were not pleasant nor to be desired. When Paul addressed the Corinthians at the beginning of the epistle, he noted the afflictions they were going through. When he wrote of the giving of the church in Macedonia he speaks of their “great trial of affliction” and their “deep poverty”.

When Paul wrote 2 Thessalonians he commended the believers for their patience and faith in all their persecutions and tribulations that they endured. In the epistle to the Philippians, Paul spoke of the sickness of Epaphroditus who was a dear companion of Paul and beloved by the believers. In the Book of Acts, Paul went around collecting a special offering to take to the needy saints in Jerusalem.

It cannot accurately be stated that as believers we have been given immunity from bad things. This terrible and wrong teaching has caused more problems with more Christians than any other wrong teaching I know about. Life as a Christian can and is tough many times. In fact, living the gospel the way it supposed to be lived makes life even tougher for a true believer than an unbeliever many times.

Do we have a God who can deliver? Of course we do. Our God is mighty God and able to do whatever needs to be done to save, bless and take care of His people. But, there is no promise in God’s Word that grants God’s people a free pass to some kind of life devoid of negatives, problems or “issues”. We need to teach God’s people how to be patient, strong and smart instead of throwing nice sounding verses taken out of context at them to imply there will be no negatives as a Christian.

When I see the “Alice in Wonderland” mentality of many Christians it makes me both sad and angry. Church is not an escape to some fairy tale land full of sights and sounds intended to take the senses to another realm. I advocate Christians having a good bucket of the cold water of reality dumped on their heads before going to church. Then they would appreciate what church is supposed to all about.

As this world spins steadily towards its appointed date with destiny, the results are in no ways going to be spiritually positive. Everywhere and in all realms, the wickedness and evil of man will continue to overspread and permeate this world to the point that only the truly committed Christians will stand and not fall prey to compromise or crumble under the pressure to quit.

Jesus forewarned of all this in the parable of the sower and the seeds. Few there are who are able to endure the pressures and pleasures constantly attempting to crush them or draw them away from the faith. That is why we must teach people how to take a stand and never give up or give in—regardless of the price. If Christians are afraid to stand for and on their faith, they will surely fail and fall into the various traps the enemy sets.

Please, I exhort all of us in the name of our Lord Jesus to take off the rose colored glasses and look with spiritual eyes at the condition of this world, our faith and even many of our churches. Don’t be afraid of the truth. Although it may hurt for a moment, it is better to know what is real and right than to live in a fantasy land of false promises.

May we all be as our heroes who came before us; unshakable in our faith and uncompromising in our commitment to take God at His Word no matter what the consequences may be. I pray we always remember that this life is but a short stop on the road which leads to our eternal home with the Lord.