Plagues in the Bible

by Pastor Paul Wolff
 
Psalm 103:1-5 “Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits – who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”

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God allowed Job to be afflicted but Job's friends blamed him for his troubles.

The Bible verse above is a great comfort for Christians in times of sickness or injury. God is the Lord who forgives your sins and heals all your diseases. As I write this it is the end of the first quarter of 2020. The world has gone crazy about a deadly coronavirus (COVID-19), which nevertheless seems to only have a similar death rate as any influenza virus which makes its rounds throughout the world every year. People don’t usually panic over the flu, though it kills tens of thousands of people annually, but on account of this virus people have gone insane. It seems like most of the United States and several other countries have just about shut down over the fear of this virus. The vast majority of people who contract the disease recover from it, just like the flu, but people, reporters, and governments have still gone mad over this disease.

The world’s insane overreaction to this has made me think of Biblical plagues, so I did a study of plagues in the Bible. Every plague in the Bible comes and goes at the command of God to suit His good purposes. He is in control and that should make us fearful and comforted at the same time. Let us look at some representative examples that I found in my study.

Exodus 7:17  
“This is what the Lord says: By this you will know that I am the Lord: With the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water of the Nile, and it will be changed into blood.”  
The purpose of the ten plagues in Egypt was to get Egypt’s Pharaoh (and the Egyptian people) to know that God is the true King over all kings and God over all gods. The Israelite people who were enslaved to the Pharaoh worshiped the true God, while the Egyptians worshiped a variety of gods which were all false. After ten plagues God showed that He is the true God who has absolute power over all false gods and even over the powerful kings in the world.

God told Moses that He would protect His people from plagues and diseases.

Exodus 30:11-12  
“Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘When you take a census of the Israelites to count them, each one must pay the Lord a ransom for his life at the time he is counted. Then no plague will come on them when you number them.”  
God required this of the Israelites because they weren’t just another nation on earth, but they were also the visible church on earth. They were God’s representatives among the nations. Yet, the Israelites were sinners like everyone else, and no better, so God used the occasion of a census to require the Israelites to give an offering to God to ransom their lives. This was a typological prophesy concerning the messiah who was to come. He would pay the ultimate ransom to redeem the lives of all people from their sins. This periodic ransom was also a reminder to God’s people that because of our sin we are under the condemnation of death, were it not for the mercy of God who accepts the ransom of Christ in our place.

It is most likely a coincidence that in 2020, as I write this, we are in the process of conducting a census in the United States. The coronavirus plague did not come to afflict only the USA, but it originated in China, and afflicts most of the nations of the world. I don’t know how many nations are conducting a census in 2020, but I suspect that not all the affected countries are conducting a census. It is certainly not good that wicked, lawless judges prevented the Trump administration from asking how many people were U.S. citizens and how many were foreigners living here. The results of the 2020 census will be missing important information, but it is not clear that this is why God sent the coronavirus plague.

However, the coronavirus plague is a good occasion to repent of your sins, and trust in Jesus Christ to rescue you from sin and illness and death. In Luke 13:2-3, Jesus responded to a question about an incident which resulted in tragic deaths by saying, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” God protects His people from plagues and disaster all the time, but we should not grow complacent thinking that we are invulnerable or that we don’t deserve to die of the plague. We are all sinners and do not deserve life. You only live by the grace of God and the love of Jesus Christ who gave His life as a ransom for your life.

Jesus is the Good Samaritan who heals the wounds of His enemy.

Exodus 32:35  
“And the Lord struck the people with a plague because of what they did with the calf Aaron had made.”
After the Israelites made a golden idol and worshiped it as their god, the true God sent this plague upon the people to punish their idolatry. However, we ought also to remember what is written in Hebrews 12:6, “The Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” This is to keep us trusting in God for forgiveness and the blessings of life, which we in no way deserve. Scripture goes on in Hebrews 12:7, “God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?” This is a great comfort in a time of trial or disease. God is treating us as his beloved children to discipline us and make us trust in Him more so that we may receive greater blessings, and testify to others that God is merciful and will rescue us from all trouble.

Numbers 14:37-38  
“… These men responsible for spreading the bad report about the land were struck down and died of a plague before the Lord. Of the men who went to explore the land, only Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh survived.”  
Again, in the days of Moses, God sent a plague which was specifically targeted at the ten Israelite scouts who gave a bad report about the land of Canaan, and tried to turn the people against God. God had already promised that He would take the land from the Canaanites and give the land to the Israelites as He had promised to their ancestor, Abraham. All ten of the unfaithful men died of this plague, but the other two Israelite scouts, Joshua and Caleb, survived because they were faithful to God and reported that the land was flowing with milk and honey, and that God would give this fruitful prosperous land to them as He had promised.

Jesus healed many people of disease, and He raised some from the dead, like Lazarus.

Numbers 16  
In Numbers 16 Moses recounts the wickedness of Korah and his followers who started a rebellion against Moses, whom God had chosen to lead the people. God sent fire which consumed 250 men who were community organizers rebelling against God’s appointed leaders. Then God sent a plague against the people, who accused Moses of killing Korah and his followers. The plague killed 14,700 people in addition to the 250 who died in the fire that God sent. Here God targeted those who were affected, and showed the people that He is in control, not Moses, nor any other of the people.

Numbers 25
Numbers 25 recounts a plague that God sent against the Israelites when they began sacrificing to foreign false gods, and indulging in sexual immorality with women who worshiped foreign idols. The plague killed 24,000 people until it was stopped when Phinehas, the grandson of Aaron (Moses’ brother), saw a man bring a Midianite woman into his tent right before the eyes of Moses and Israel. Phinehas took a spear and impaled the man and the woman, and then God stopped the plague.

Deuteronomy 28
In Deuteronomy 28 God gives blessings and curses to His people. God promises that they will be blessed if they trust in Him and do what He asks of them. God also promises that they will be cursed and have all sorts of bad things befall them if they forsake Him and turn to false gods. Among the curses are plagues and famine and all kind of trouble. God wants us to trust in Him for blessings because He is the only one who redeems us from our sin and death. We can’t do it ourselves, nor can we find any rescue in created things. Here the plagues are the Law of God put into action to dissuade us from rebelling against God. The blessings, on the other hand, are positive encouragement to trust in God in all things.

1 Samuel 6  

Jesus let Peter walk on the water but Peter lost faith and began to drown. Jesus rescued him from his troubles.

In 1 Samuel 6, in the days of the Judges, God allowed the Philistines to capture the Ark of the Covenant of God, because the unfaithful priests of God allowed it to be taken into battle without first consulting God as to whether they should do so. They were trying to manipulate God to do as they wanted, which is how the pagans view their false gods. Though God allowed the Philistines to capture the symbol of God’s presence among His people, He also used it to bring a plague to the Philistines in whatever town the Ark of the Covenant was residing at the time. The plagues did not stop until the Philistines gave an offering of gold to God and put the Ark on a cart drawn by two cows which had never been yoked, but had given birth to calves. The cows calmly pulled the cart straight to Israelite territory as if they were led by God Himself (which they were), and God stopped the plague he sent against the Philistines. Though God also struck down seventy Israelite men of Beth Shemesh because they looked into the Lord’s Ark though this was forbidden for them to do so, and they should have known better. (see also Psalm 106)

2 Samuel 24  
In 2 Samuel 24 (and 1 Chronicles 21) God sent a plague against Israel in the days of King David because David conducted an unlawful census (remember God’s instructions from Exodus 30 above). The Angel of the Lord sent a plague on Israel which killed 70,000 people. When David repented of his sinful pride the Angel of the Lord was at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. David then bought the threshing floor from Araunah, though Araunah offered to give it to David for pleading to God to stop the Angel of the Lord from killing him and his men, but David insisted on paying a fair price for the site. That location later became the place where Solomon built the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem (See 2 Chronicles 3:1).

The Lord is my Shepherd He leads me by the still waters. He restores my soul.

There are many verses in Jeremiah’s prophesy where there is a recurring threat that God will send “the sword, famine and plague” against His people to destroy them unless they repented of their unbelief and idolatry. There are at least 15 occurrences of this formula in the book of Jeremiah warning the people to turn from their sinful ways so that God will relent from the destruction that he prophesied against them. Sadly, the people did not listen to God’s prophet, and God sent the Babylonians to destroy Judah and take the survivors into captivity and slavery in Babylon. The prophet Ezekiel picked up on Jeremiah’s formula and uses the same phrase several times to call the people to repentance in his day.

There are many other instances of plagues described and prophesied in the Scriptures. Without exception they all arrive and withdraw at the command and direction of God. He is in control of all plagues and disease at all times. This is a comfort to us because although God is the one who sends plagues, He is also the one who has mercy on His people who turn to Him and call upon Him to rescue them from their sin and death. We know that God will hear our prayer because in Jesus He became a man to suffer and die to redeem sinners from the consequences of their sin, so that they may be rescued from sin and death and be raised to life in His glorious kingdom where there is no “sword, famine, and plague” and where there is no sin and death. All who call upon Jesus to save them will live with Him in His glorious paradise forever in grateful devotion for the salvation won for us by Jesus.

May Christ keep you safe and healthy, or give you healing, as the plague comes through your town. Repent of your sins and trust in Jesus Christ to protect your life, and He will give you His precious gift of eternal life.

 

Justice at Christmas

by Pastor Paul Wolff

“The Lord loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love.” (Psalm 33:5)

God gave Moses the Ten Commandments for justice and for the benefit of God's people.

Justice means to act in accordance with what is good and right and in accordance with the law. This is especially true with God’s Law (summarized by the Ten Commandments), but also worldly, human laws which conform to God’s righteous commands.

Justice seems hard to come by by in our sinful world. The rich and powerful seem to pervert justice for their own profit and the accumulation of more power for themselves and their friends, while honest, hard-working people pay the price of injustice – sometimes with their lives. In 2019 it is even worse than that since there is a fad called “social justice” which purposely seeks injustice to further some imagined “greater cause” which no one has ever heard of before. Blatant racism is called “racial justice”; nearly every sexual perversion is given protected status in social norms, if not in law; and fascist violence is called “anti-fascism” and those who promote it commit violent destructive acts as the police stand by and watch. There is likely more, besides, but that is what I can think of off the top of my head. Those who promote “social justice” really aren’t interested in justice, but in destroying the foundations of society so that they can get away with doing what they want to do without fear of the punishment which they so richly deserve.

In the United States of America, President Trump is doing great work to appoint federal judges who promise to rule justly according to the law, and not make up new laws as they go along. This is an answer to prayer, as the Judicial branch of our Federal Government has been the most unjust of the three branches for many decades. There is no guarantee that even the best judge will give the best judgment in every situation because if they rule according to bad laws made by evil people they will return bad results, and also some judges can be corrupted by money and bad influence, but the problem with judges making up laws is that the citizens do not know from day to day what is legal and what is illegal because it changes on the whim of the false judge. So we are glad that we can have better judges who we hope will rule according to law, and not according to another unelected authority.

However, in the 2018 elections, the Democrats gained control of the U.S. House of Representatives, and immediately began to try to impeach President Trump even though there has never been evidence of any crime he has committed, much less an impeachable treasonous offense. President Trump has been amazingly open in his administration, but even when the documents are released to the public which exonerate the President’s actions, the Democrat leaders openly lie about what the documents say, even though we (who are able and willing to read) can clearly see that they are lying. The injustice is insane, though those who perpetuate the lies do so as if they don’t care who knows what they are doing. Their boldness is even more concerning because it shows how much lies are a part of their daily life.

A quick search of the Bible shows eleven dozen verses which speak of “justice” and more which similarly speak of “righteousness” and other synonyms of justice. God is greatly concerned with justice, and He is angry with those who pervert justice.

Justice means the Law applies equally to everyone.

In the days of Moses God gave His people just laws to live by so that they could live in peace with Him and with one another. For example, in Exodus 23:2-3 God says, “Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd, and do not show favoritism to a poor man in his lawsuit.” Similarly, Leviticus 19:15 says, “Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly.” This shows that justice is a two way street. A just law applies to everyone equally. We ought not go along with the crowd or the "mob" just because they want a certain outcome, nor should we show favoritism to either the rich or the poor. Our tradition says that “justice is blind” in that it ought to treat everyone equally under the same law. There is not one law for the rich and another for the poor. There is not one law for the ruling class and another for the governed. We ought not to have a favored class and a disfavored class, nor a favored race, and an unfavored race – especially where what is favored changes as the wind blows.

God goes on to say in Exodus 23:6-7 “Do not deny justice to your poor people in their lawsuits. Have nothing to do with a false charge and do not put an innocent or honest person to death, for I will not acquit the guilty.” A large part of justice is that the guilty are punished and the innocent are free to go about their lives and conduct business as they please. Honesty and integrity are virtues which ought to be rewarded while dishonesty and lies ought to be strongly discouraged by proper punishment. Furthermore, Exodus 23:8 says, “Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the righteous.” Also, Solomon tells us in Proverbs 17:23, “A wicked man accepts a bribe in secret to pervert the course of justice.”

Rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong … for he does not bear the sword for nothing. Romans 13:3, 4

Immigration and slavery also falls under the application of justice. Exodus 23:9 says, “Do not oppress an alien; you yourselves know how it feels to be aliens, because you were aliens in Egypt.” This is also a problem in the 21^st century. President Trump is seeking to control our borders so that we know who is coming in to our country. This is vitally important so that we can keep out those who seek to harm our citizens, and also that those who come in to work are not taken advantage of by those who would enslave them under the threat of reporting their illegal presence to officials who would deport them. Here the 21^stcentury Democrats are going back to their 19^th century roots as those who would take advantage of the underclass for their own power and profit. Here also some Republicans are not very helpful either. There are some Republicans who also seek to take advantage of slave labor from illegal aliens, and block the government from taking the necessary action to deal with the invasion crisis. However, we call these liberal Republicans “RINO” or “Republican in Name Only.” They are part of the problem, also. Likewise, Deuteronomy 27:19 tells us, “Cursed is the man who withholds justice from the alien, the fatherless or the widow.” When people are in our country illegally they cannot receive justice, as they could if they were legal visitors.

Christmas shows the justice of God in action. God’s justice is true justice, but it contrasts with the justice of the world. In some respects it seems unjust and strange that the God who created and sustains the universe would condescend to become one of His creatures so that He could suffer and die in our place so that we might be saved from the just punishment for our disobedience and rebellion against God. Yet, this shows God’s mercy and love, as well as His justice. It shows God’s justice in that “the soul who sins is the one who will die.” It is people who sin against God, so if we are to be redeemed from our sin, our redeemer must be a person just like us, except without sin. Since we are all corrupted by sin, the only person who could be our redeemer is God incarnate as a man. God didn’t have to do that for us. He would have been perfectly justified and right in condemning us all to die, and we could not rightly say anything against that judgment. But God loves us, and wants us to be saved and sanctified that we might live with Him in righteousness and purity forever in His new creation. The only way that this could happen is if God became a man and did the work of salvation Himself for us.

The birth and life of Jesus shows God’s love and justice in action.

Jesus fulfilled God’s justice in two ways. First, He lived a perfectly obedient life as a man, and kept all God’s laws perfectly His whole life in His thoughts, words, and deeds. Second, Jesus offered His life as a sacrifice in payment for the sins of the world. Jesus, in effect, said, “Punish me instead, and let my brothers and sisters go free.” This was acceptable to God, the Father, and this is how Jesus won our salvation, so that everyone who believes in Him as their savior from sin is forgiven and has eternal life. Those who reject Christ’s forgiveness have still been forgiven, but they don’t benefit from the gift because they have rejected it by their unbelief. In this way we see how salvation is completely Christ’s doing, for which He is praised forever, and the damnation of the unbelievers is entirely their own doing and fault, for which they will regret forever.

In the justice of the world either you get what you deserve, which is punishment for your sin, or there is no punishment at all for sin, in which case sin and violence and death are rampant because there is no threat of punishment to curb the wickedness of sin. Neither of these situations is desirable. They both sound like hell to me. God’s merciful way of salvation is much better in every respect.

Solomon writes in Proverbs 28:5 “Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the Lord understand it fully.” It doesn’t make sense that God would die for His rebellious creatures, but love doesn’t always make sense. Yet, Jesus lived and died as a man out of love for all sinful people, that they all may be rescued from the punishment for their sin. It is wonderful and praiseworthy that Jesus would suffer and endure all the wrath of God for the sins of the world so that we might be saved from our sin and could live with Him in Paradise forever.

 

The Problem with Socialism

by Pastor Paul Wolff

“The desire of the righteous ends only in good, the expectation of the wicked (ends) in wrath. One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want.” (Proverbs 11:23-24) 
 
The best way to keep a prisoner from escaping is to make sure he never knows he’s in prison. -- Fyodor Dostoyevsky

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God commands individuals to be charitable, not governments.

I remember seeing a bumper sticker which read, “I think, therefore I am not a socialist.” There is much truth in that, yet there are many people who think themselves intellectuals who favor socialism. It takes more than a thinking mind to understand that socialism is a wicked system to order society. It also takes a caring heart (not a bleeding heart).

Socialists in the United States (and other Western countries) have been pushing their wicked agenda in schools, TV, movies, newspapers, magazines, and the news media for many decades, but there hasn’t been much serious public discussion about the implications of the socialist worldview and political agenda. Ever since the unexpected success of socialist Democrat Senator Bernie Sanders in the 2016 United States presidential campaign there has been much more public interest in the U.S. in the ideas of socialism. If you recall, Senator Sanders might have won the Democratic nomination for president if it hadn’t been for the Clinton controlled “Democratic” Party rigging the primaries to help Hillary Clinton win the nomination. Since then, in 2018, an openly socialist, naïve young woman from New York was elected to the United States Congress.

Socialism has never been very popular in the United States because we have a history of both Christianity and good education where people are smart enough (and free enough) to learn the weaknesses of socialism, and reject it. Both of those things are changing due to many decades of socialist indoctrination of students by unionized teachers in schools and universities. The result of this is that socialism seems to be gaining in popularity in our country.

Christians ought to be charitable as Christ is charitable to us.

It is no surprise that the Democrat Party is the one which is pushing the socialist agenda. Socialism has its roots in liberalism, and can be seen as liberalism pushed to its logical extreme. One definition of the term “liberal” is “generous”. That sounds good at first, but the problem with liberalism is that liberals aren’t particularly generous personally, but they do want to be seen as “generous” when they have control of other people’s money and possessions. Socialism takes that to the extreme so that the late British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, is famously known for saying something to the effect of, “The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people’s money.” The truth of this shows the first problem with socialism, which is that socialism is fundamentally thievery. Socialism is thievery because it takes the wealth and income of those who work to earn it and gives it to those who do not earn it.

Adam and Eve stole what was forbidden and condemned us all to die. Jesus gave up everything He had and redeemed us from death.

In a way, the first sin of Adam and Eve involved thievery. It was primarily idolatry because God had said, “Don’t eat the fruit of this one tree,” and their eating was rebellion against God, but it was also stealing what didn’t belong to them. God had given them all the food in the whole world, but reserved for Himself the fruit of one tree in the Garden of Eden. God did not need the fruit for food, but neither did Adam and Eve – since they had plenty of good food to eat, but as long as Adam and Eve obeyed God’s simple command they showed their trust and obedience to God. When Adam and Eve ate the fruit they combined stealing what didn’t belong to them with idolatry because they listened to the lies of the devil and thought they knew better than God what was good and what was evil. In this way the name of the “Tree of the knowledge of good and evil” worked backwards from what we normally think. As long as Adam and Eve obeyed God and did not eat the forbidden fruit they could properly distinguish between good and evil. However, once they gave themselves to the temptation and stole and ate what was forbidden, then they lost the ability to distinguish between good and evil. After the fall into sin, what people think is good is often evil, and what is truly good for us is often seen as evil, and we have a hard time telling which is which.

The premise of socialism is that it purports to desire to make everyone equal. In practice it accomplishes this by making everyone impoverished, except for the ruling tyrants. There are always ruling tyrants in societies which practice socialism, because the system can’t work without a totalitarian government enforcing this unnatural social structure. There is little or no concept of personal property in socialism, but all things are shared among everyone. I remember a few years after the disintegration of the Soviet Union I spoke with a young man who was from the former Soviet Union (from one of the Baltic nations, as I recall), and he said that during the Soviet days there was no concept or teaching of the Seventh Commandment (“You shall not steal.”) as a command from God. It was a revelation for them to learn this concept once they were free from socialism. The Seventh Commandment assumes that there is such a thing as personal property, and that it transgresses God’s will to obtain someone else’s property in a dishonest way, or, as Martin Luther explained in the Small Catechism, in a way which only seems right – like a governmental Robin Hood-like redistribution of wealth. In this way socialism is fundamentally opposed to Christianity, and God’s created order.

The Good Samaritan used his own money to help the man injured by robbers.

Because the Seventh Commandment assumes private property, we know that God wants us to work for what we have, and to keep and take care of our possessions. Saint Paul wrote, “If a man will not work, he shall not eat.” (2 Thessalonians 3:10) This shows that whenever possible each person is responsible for providing for his own personal needs, like food, clothing, and shelter. Note that this does not apply to those who cannot work, but only those who will not work. Elsewhere St. Paul (and other prophets and Biblical writers) encourage Christians to charitably support their neighbors who cannot work due to disability. St. Paul writes to the Ephesians (4:28) “He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need.” This also condemns the ideology of socialism, and also implies that God gives His people more than they need so that they “have something to share with those in need.” This shows why democratic free market economy works in Christian societies (and not so well in non-Christian societies), because Christians are encouraged by Scripture to charitably share their excess with family and neighbors who are unable to care for themselves. They don’t need the Government to take care of the poor because they are cared for by their neighbors directly until they get back on their feet financially.

Here one might object and say that in the Acts of the Apostles the church of the Apostles lived in what seems like a socialist community. “All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.” (Acts 2:44-45) This is true enough, but it is not a small thing to note that they did this voluntarily, and their actions were not coerced by the Apostles or the governing authorities. When Ananias and his wife Sapphira were killed by God (Acts 5), it wasn’t because they withheld their property from the community. They were free to sell their property and do with the proceeds as they saw fit, even keeping all, or part of, the proceeds for themselves. Their crime was that they made a show of selling their property and saying that they had given ALL the proceeds to the church, while they actually kept some of the money for themselves. They died because they were liars, and they pretended to be holy to make people think they were better than they actually were. God showed everyone what they really were like (i.e. dead).

The Magi gave valuable gifts to Jesus. This helped the holy family in Egypt, and also foreshadowed Christ’s suffering and death.

Socialism is fundamentally opposed to the natural order of things because it tries to make everyone equal. Although God created everyone equal in His sight (as the U.S. Declaration of Independence stated – referencing common God-given rights), not everyone is equal in all things. Some people are smarter, others are less intellectually capable. Some people are stronger, others are weaker. Some people are older, others are younger. Some people are wiser and others are more foolish. Those who are more capable can rightly command a higher pay because they can do more good in society than those less capable. There is nothing evil or wrong about this. The wickedness of socialism can be seen if you say that everyone should have the same wage when one can do more or better tasks than another.

Wherever socialism enforces equal outcome, rather than equal opportunity, there is no incentive for people to work hard or be innovative or entrepreneurial. If I am going to be paid the same as my neighbor no matter how hard I work, then why should I work harder than my lazy or incompetent neighbor? This shows the unfairness of a system which pretends to be equal for all people. If you have educated workers who can think logically and reason deductively and have a free choice, then they would never choose socialism over a free market.


Socialism dehumanizes people. No matter how talented you are, no matter how hard you work, no matter how good a job you do, under socialism you are no more valued than the least talented, laziest, incompetent hack. You can never get ahead because it is unnaturally forbidden by law, or social norms, or whatever is enforcing the socialist ideal. In this way capitalism is better because it rewards people for a job well done, or for doing a task that is greatly needed, but is not able to be accomplished by many people. In a Capitalist society there is real incentive to do the best that you can do with your talents and effort. This values people much more than a system which says that no matter how much you can do, or if you can do something that no one else can do, you are not worth any more than anyone else.  

Christianity says that you are precious to God. Even though you are a sinner and deserve only God’s wrath and punishment, God loves you and has redeemed you from your sin through the life and death of Jesus Christ. It doesn’t matter if you are a newly conceived one-celled person, or if you are a life-saving doctor, or if you are a brain injured quadriplegic, you are precious to God. God proves His love by becoming the man, Jesus Christ and living a full life from conception to death to resurrection in order to rescue you from the consequences of your sin. Although some may say that this sounds like a socialist ideal, the Bible is clear that God gives different gifts to different people in life. Some are more able to contribute to society than others. What makes Christianity different from socialism is that since you are precious to God then Christians ought to consider others precious also, and as much as we can have a say, should promote a society that treats its citizens the same way. Socialism is not the way to treat humans in a loving way.
 

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich. - 2 Corinthians 8:9

Jesus lived a humble life, even though He was God incarnate. St. Paul describes it by writing, “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross!” (Philippians 2:5-8) Jesus demonstrated the love of God by becoming a man and forsaking the glory and honor and power and riches of His Heavenly kingdom, and He not only lived a humble life, but He offered His life as an atoning sacrifice to redeem sinners from the curse of our sin. St. Paul also described it this way to the Corinthians, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.” (2 Corinthians 8:9) Many Christians throughout history have lived humble lives in imitation of Christ’s humble life. Jesus also warned His followers, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” (Mark 10:25) They responded “Who, then, can be saved?” Jesus answered, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.” And yet, there are many believers in the Holy Bible who were blessed with great wealth, such as Abraham, King David, Job, and others. Wealth is not itself an evil. St. Paul warns Timothy about putting his trust in wealth when he wrote, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” (1 Timothy 6:10) Money is not evil, but people fall into evil when they love money and make it their idol.
 
Those who favor socialism are either the uneducated who are manipulated into thinking that this is a good deal, or the elites who seek to take advantage of the ignorant workers. The elite socialist politicians want to be seen as helping people, but they don’t actually want to help people succeed. We see this in socialist societies where the people are not described as “citizens” but as “workers.” In other words, those who view citizens only as “workers” really view their neighbors as “slaves”. Their only value to the centralized government is in the work that they can provide, not in themselves as unique persons with their unique strengths and weaknesses. If they can not provide labor, then they have no value to those who control the government. In socialist countries the people who form the government are slave masters and the people are slaves. In 20^th century Communist China, Mao Tse Tung dressed in peasant-like outfits (custom tailored to fit his fat ass), but he lived in luxury off the labor of his enslaved people.

Zacchaeus responded to Christ’s kindness to him by promising to return what he had stolen and give generously to the poor. See Luke 19

There are a couple of key scenes in the 1965 movie Dr. Zhivago which beautifully illustrate the evils of socialism. Early in the movie Dr. Zhivago is seen living in a beautiful mansion which is well appointed and well maintained and looks bright and cheerful. Although I think that house belonged to his wife’s father, a successful doctor ought to live comfortably as a reward for a highly skilled career which provides caring service to the lives and health of his neighbors. Later, after the Bolshevik revolution, he is shown entering the same home, which is now also the home to several other families who didn’t pay to live there, and don’t care to maintain the house, or keep it in good condition. The house is stripped bare of its beautiful furnishings, and is dilapidated, run down, dark and dismal, and filled with ill mannered people who don’t care about Zhivago and his family, or one another.

Another aspect of Dr. Zhivago that shows the evils of socialism is that Yuri leaves his wife to live with his lover. While this is by no means something that only happens in socialist societies, it does show a temptation of what can happen when all things are held in common and there is no personal property. People can view their personal relationships in the same way and want to take someone else’s wife (or husband, respectively) for themselves. This is by no means the norm even in socialist countries. A majority of people will still regard the marriage covenant as sacred, but there will be a strong temptation to view other people’s spouses as common property, since everything else is held in common. This can happen especially among the ruling class, who view the people as slaves anyway. They can abuse their authority to tempt someone else’s wife to be unfaithful with the promise of a more comfortable life, or coerce with the threat of mistreatment of the woman’s husband if she doesn’t comply. Such is the terrible wickedness of the sinful heart.
 
Because socialist societies are, by necessity, run by totalitarian dictators or central committees, the workers are not free to make decisions about how their companies are run, even if it was their company to begin with. The government plans the economy, but a central government cannot foresee or react to customer needs or market trends or changes in a timely manner, which results either in overproduction of unwanted products, or in scarcity. I have several Russian made camera lenses from the Soviet era which I purchased cheaply in the early 2000’s because during the Soviet years they overproduced these products because the factories had government quotas to meet, but since they did not update the pre-WWII German Zeiss designs after they captured the East German factories after the war, there was not as much demand for the lenses as there was supply. These items can still be bought inexpensively because there were so many produced.

Overproduced, underdeveloped camera lenses are a trivial problem, but what wasn’t trivial was the Russian famine which happened in 1921-1922. Because the Bolsheviks took control of the farms and the food produced by the farms, there was widespread famine and millions of people are reported to have died from starvation. Farming is hard work under the best of circumstances, and farmers who can make a profit from their labor work hard to get the highest yield while carefully farming in a sustainable way so that they can make good profits year after year. In a planned socialist economy the farmers have neither the incentive to work hard, nor to take care of the land, and because the output of the farms is controlled centrally, in times of scarcity the elites get fed first, while the worker/slaves are left to starve. The freedom of American farmers to manage their farms and sell their produce as they see fit is why the United States has been long known as the “breadbasket of the world” and continues to be so. The current U.S. regulations which promote industrialized farms, however, may be good for low prices, but I believe it may not be good in the long run for farmers, nor the small rural towns which support agriculture, nor for the country as a whole, but that is a topic for another time.

Money bag for giving to the poor. When God gives us more than we need we are to give generously to those in need.

In many ways socialism is more materialistic than free market capitalism, and much more oppressive. Socialism only values what people have, not the people themselves, nor their talents and ingenuity and resourcefulness. In doing this, socialists do not recognize the true wealth of any society. The money and things which people possess is a limited resource, and its value is not as constant as the socialists imagine. As is shown in the movie, Dr. Zhivago, when you take the material of the rich and give it to people who didn’t work for it, they despise it and do not maintain it, and its value and usefulness is quickly destroyed. Things which are so valuable in a free society, quickly become worthless in a socialist managed economy. In a free market, people who are more capable, or who have talents and abilities which are in demand, are able to earn more, and thus they work harder, and the society as a whole benefits, and is made richer. Also, when people earn and own their own things, they take better care of them and maintain them and their value and usefulness remains longer.

Because socialists are naturally atheists, and not Christian, they do not trust people to be charitable and generous to those in need, so they say that the government must care for the poor instead of their own family and neighbors. In a predominantly free Christian society, where people are able to earn more than they need, they are generous with their charity and the poor are well cared for until they can get back on their feet and provide for themselves. Sometimes people will say that poverty causes crime. That is false. During the great depression in the United States in the 1930’s after the stock market crash of 1929, unemployment was about 25% of those of working age for quite some time, and people cared for one another. Crime did not rise as much as poverty because most Americans were Christians and they lived honest lives, and the poor were content to live off the charity of others until they got back on their feet financially. The post-war economic boom was a result of people who had lived through the depression and the war and wanted to work hard to make a better life for themselves and their families, and they were willing to work hard to do so as long as they were properly rewarded for it.

Christianity does not necessarily require a certain political or social structure. Christians can, and do, live in all societies, even where it is illegal for them to practice their religion openly. Christian principles do tend to favor good and just practices and rule out certain unjust practices where we have a say in how things are run. The Christian worldview is more honest about human nature than the worldview which leads to socialism. Christianity teaches that all people are naturally sinners whose selfishness needs to be curbed by laws and penalties for expressing that selfishness, through stealing, greed, and other sinful deeds. Not only is Christianity more honest about the sinful, selfish nature of man, it is also more compassionate, forgiving, and encouraging, even to unbelievers. Christianity teaches that all people are sinners and selfish, and that is why the United States Constitution sets checks and balances on each of the three branches of government to curb the power grabbing tendencies of each. We have been historically weak curbing the judicial tyranny, and that is where our government is weakest currently, but we pray that will be set right soon. Many Christians (and others) are working to accomplish true justice and lawfulness in our judicial system, but we are not nearly there, yet.
 
It is no coincidence that Christians were very prominent in the abolitionist movements in Europe and America. It wasn’t only Christians who were against slavery, but Christianity played a prominent role in abolishing slavery in the 19^th century in many places.

Jacob favored Joseph, but Joseph’s brothers envied him and sold him into slavery. Joseph forgave them and saved them from famine.

Holy Scripture is somewhat ambivalent about slavery. Nowhere does the Holy Bible endorse slavery, but God recognizes that because man is sinful they will wickedly enslave one another, and God set limits to what His people were allowed to do. In Leviticus 25:42-43 God says, “Because the Israelites are my servants, whom I brought out of Egypt, they must not be sold as slaves. Do not rule over them ruthlessly, but fear your God.” God also says that slaves were to be treated as hired workers, more like indentured servants than property, and after seven years they must be set free. God also gave a provision that if a servant wished to remain as a slave in the household (presumably because he was treated well and paid fairly for his work) there was a public ritual to make that arrangement legal and permanent.

Also the New Testament is likewise ambivalent about slavery, recognizing that it exists in a sinful world, but setting limits on the evil. St. Paul writes, “Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ.” (Ephesians 6:5) But he also sets limits on the masters when he writes, “Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair, because you know that you also have a Master in heaven.” (Colossians 4:1) Here both slave and master are called on to be good Christians. St. Paul also writes, “Were you a slave when you were called? Don’t let it trouble you – although if you can gain your freedom, do so. For he who was a slave when he was called by the Lord is the Lord’s freedman; similarly, he who was a free man when he was called is Christ’s slave. You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men.” (1 Corinthians 7:21-23)  

The operating principle in both the Old Testament and the New Testament is that we are all servants of God and we ought to serve one another in love all the time, but as Christ has humbled Himself for our sake even unto death (see Philippians 2) for our benefit, we are free men in God’s sight, even if we live as slaves here on earth. It was this sort of teaching which in 19^th Century United States made the Christian American slaves much more noble than their wicked masters. This is why the character, Uncle Tom, in Harriet Beecher Stowe’s book, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, resonated so much with white northern Christian abolitionists that they supported the Civil War and tens of thousands of free Northerners fought and died to make all Americans free men.
 
St. Peter writes, “Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh. For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God. But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.” (1 Peter 2:18-21) Sinful man may be cruel, but Christians are to be kind and forgiving even to the most wicked person. Jesus is our example in this. The first words He spoke after being nailed to the cross and lifted up to be crucified is, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34)

Christians ought to befriend the homeless to help people to support themselves again, not to make homelessness a permanent condition.

Socialism is certainly an evil system of ordering society. Christians, however, can and do live peaceably in such societies serving their neighbors in love, while ignoring the atheistic requirements which necessarily are associated with socialism. Jesus says, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:39) In following this command, Christians work hard in their jobs and vocations to provide good things for their neighbors, even if they are not well compensated for it, knowing that their true reward awaits in heaven. This is no excuse to mistreat your Christian employees, because they will ask God to curse you for the grief you cause them, but it is one reason why socialist societies function for as long as they do before they see their inevitable collapse. It is hard for Christians to do what is right in a sinful world. That is why St. Paul writes, “If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.” (1 Corinthians 15:19) Christians take the long view of life, and know that if Christ endured suffering and death for our sins, we can endure a little unjust treatment at the hands of sinners. Eternity is a long time, and the sufferings of this life are only temporary.

Ultimately, the problem with socialism is that people don’t trust that God will provide us with daily bread, and we are too greedy to share what we have above our needs, so we look for worldly solutions. Such worldly solutions are bound to fail because of all people’s sinful nature. People are selfish and will tend toward solutions which benefit them, personally, but will harm their neighbor. Socialism is just such a worldly solution.  

Jesus also has other teachings against the ideals of socialism. He said, “Do unto others what you would have them do unto you.” (Matthew 7:12) This would prevent us from taking our neighbor’s hard earned possessions for ourselves, or sanctioning the government to do the same. If God has blessed me with great talent and skill, and has rewarded me commensurately for my use of these gifts, then I ought to be able to determine how I use my wealth to also help my neighbor. Christian Americans are generally wealthy people (from a worldwide perspective), but they are also generous to those in need. Governments, and people exercising power within governments, are not always wise in how they use public funds in giving aid to people in need. They often give money to people who don’t need it, or who misuse it, and they often take some of the money to enrich themselves before anyone in need sees a (much smaller) benefit. Government corruption is yet another reason why enforced socialism is a wicked system.
 
There is no perfect form of government because all people are sinful and some will attempt to work any system for their own benefit. However, socialism has many flaws which are inherently wicked and cannot be redeemed. The institutionalizing of thievery and slavery can never end well in any system of society. Socialism makes many good-sounding promises, but because it is inherently evil, it will never fulfill its promises nor even its best intentions.

“You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” (Galatians 3:26-29)

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Other Bible Verses which Speak Against Socialism 

“Whoever despises his neighbor is a sinner, but blessed is he who is generous to the poor.” (Proverbs 14:21) 

“The desire of the righteous ends only in good, the expectation of the wicked in wrath. One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want.” (Proverbs 11:23-24) 

“For you say, ‘I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing,’ not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.” (Revelation 3:17)  

Jesus said, “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” (Luke 12:32-34) 

 “We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything.” (2 Corinthians 6:8-10) 

 “Whoever mocks the poor insults his Maker; he who is glad at calamity will not go unpunished.” (Proverbs 17:5) 

 “Whoever oppresses the poor to increase his own wealth, or gives to the rich, will only come to poverty.” (Proverbs 22:16) 

“Do not rob the poor, because he is poor, or crush the afflicted at the gate, for the Lord will plead their cause and rob of life those who rob them.” (Proverbs 22:22-23) 

  “Am I still to forget, O wicked house, your ill-gotten treasures and the short ephah (a weight measure), which is accursed? Shall I acquit a man with dishonest scales, with a bag of false weights? Her rich men are violent; her people are liars and their tongues speak deceitfully. Therefore, I have begun to destroy you, to ruin you because of your sins. You will eat but not be satisfied; your stomach will still be empty. You will store up but save nothing, because what you save I will give to the sword. You will plant but not harvest; you will press olives but not use the oil on yourselves, you will crush grapes but not drink the wine.” (Micah 6:10-15)

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See also my article on “The Problem with Democracy”  

See also my article on “The Problem with Sexual Politics”

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