Matthew 6:19-24, 33 (NKJV)
¹⁹ "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; ²⁰but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 

 
²² "The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. ²³But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness! 

²⁴ "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon (i.e. money). 
³³But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
(AMP) | (NIV) | (NLT) | (KJV) | (NASB)

"Here I am. Here is my life.
"Here are my sins… my assets… my liabilities… my strengths…my weaknesses. 
"They’re Yours, Lord.
"Take all that I am and have and bring it into conformity with Your will."

But fewer believers are willing to surrender their possessions and finances to Him.
They cling to these as if they are their security -- their right.
Maybe that is why personal finances are the cause of concern and anxiety for so many Christians.

The truth is that far too many Christians have allowed their personal finances to fall into shambles. They are deep in debt with no practical plan for improving their situation.

The irony is that finances have been a taboo subject for Christians. We have adopted an unofficial oath of silence on this subject.

This silence must be broken.

We must not only discover Biblical principles regarding finances but we must begin offering tangible, practical assistance to relieve this source of anxiety for conscientious Christians. We must remove the stigma so that we can address this area of hurt, and disobedience, in the Christian community.

I believe the Lord is leading me to take the lead and be transparent in this area of my life. I am trusting Him to use what I am about to tell you for His glory. My hope is that it will also remove some of the stigma and encourage any of you who are struggling with debt to take the steps to receive help and healing regarding your finances.

I've titled this series, "Tough Topics." This is an especially tough topic for me.

Why? Because, until recently, this is an area in which I have been disobedient. For years I have known, and even taught, Biblical financial principles but have not applied them in my own personal finances. This has been dishonoring to God and, I believe, limited His blessing on my life and ministry.

For some reason, it has only been recently that it has really sunk in that Christian stewardship in the area of finances is a two-sided coin:

1. Giving - I had put all my focus on this area.
2. Money Management - I had neglected this side of the coin.

I remember even asking the Lord to help me get our finances in order without Donna finding out, rationalizing that it would be too painful for her and I wanted to spare her that pain. God did not answer that prayer because He knew what I needed better than I did.

What a load has been lifted off my shoulders!
We now do our finances together.
We are attacking our debt in every way that we can think of: no cable, DSL, etc.

I praise the Lord for a wife who loved me enough to confront me in the area of finances. I praise the Lord for His grace and correction and forgiveness

Since repenting of this disobedience and taking steps to honor God in this area of my life, the Lord has poured out a fresh anointing on my life and ministry. He has renewed me spiritually, emotionally, and physically.

Today we are going to look at the Biblical principles about Debt. Next week, we're going to look at what the Bible says about money management.

For some of you this will be new information.
For others of you it will be review.

The challenge, in either case, is to begin applying these principles in your individual situation, and be prepared to counsel others in this area, if need be.

WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS ABOUT DEBT

It DOES say that all borrowing must be repaid.

Psalm 37:21a: "The wicked borrow and do not repay." (NKJV)

Legal protection from creditors is OK. And you may have no control over court settlements. But 100% repayment, with God's help, should be the desire of Christians.

It DOES say that “Surety” (co-signing) is foolish.
The Bible does not call guaranteeing another person's debt a sin; but it does call it foolish and warns heavily against it. If you do this, then consider the money as gone and consider it a bonus if it does not cost you.

Probably the most common place where Christians get into trouble here is with their children. Parents who have a good credit history want to help their children get things (cars, etc.) that they could not get on their own. Since they can't just give them the item or equivalent money, they co-sign. A couple of pieces of advice that I have learned the hard way:

1. If you are financially unable to give the item or equivalent cash, then don't co-sign.

If you are financially able but just want to help your children establish their credit, then it is probably OK.
2. You may be teaching your children just the opposite of what you want to teach them if you enable them to get things without waiting or without sacrifice.

Proverbs 22:7: “The rich rules over the poor,  And the borrower is servant to the lender. ” (NKJV)

WHAT THE BIBLE DOES NOT SAY ABOUT DEBT

It DOES NOT say that it's always a sin to borrow money.
The Bible does teach that Christians should have the mindset of a steward, not an owner. We, therefore, are not free to squander the resources with which we are entrusted.

One way that we squander money is through ignorance regarding financial matters. We should desire to honor God and be wiser in the handling of our earnings. The first step in doing this is to learn Biblical principles of money management. To this end, we are going to sponsor a seminar:

Crown Financial Ministry Seminar, “Discovering God's Way of Handling Money”
Date: Saturday, Oct. 9
Time: 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

By nature, advertising is seductive. Products are depicted at their optimum with ads designed to whet our appetite. Handsome men; beautiful women; shiny cars; famous people, etc. ”Buy now, pay later!" "Why deprive yourself, why delay gratification when you can begin enjoying this product now."

Remember, advertising is geared to serve the advertisers - not you!

Jesus said: "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, therefore be shrewd as serpents, and innocent as doves." (Matt. 10:16, NKJV) There should be a wholesome innocence about Christians; but that doesn't mean gullibility.

We must learn to ask ourselves simple questions.
Is it really important that I have five pairs of designer jeans?
Will my daughter (or granddaughter) really be happier if she has a doll that gets diaper rash?
Do I really need a pop-up camper now?

How does debt most frequently gain control in peoples’ lives today? Easy Credit, primarily Credit Cards ("the Plastic People Eaters"). Families with credit cards spend an average of 26% more per year than those without them.

It's so easy for consumers to buy now and pay later. But when faced with a mortgage, two car payments, appliance payments, furniture payments, minimum monthly balance payments on gas and bank cards is not easy. In fact, it's overwhelming and demoralizing.

For the Christian it may be even more discouraging because debt limits our resources for ministry to others.
It keeps us from being able to respond to situations of compassion.
It keeps us from being able to support missionaries and other ministries.
It keeps many Christians from being able to honor God with their tithes and offerings and, 
in so doing, limit the work of the local church.

Christians must make becoming free of this crippling debt a priority in their lives. Honor God with our money management (more about this next week). Live simpler lives and limit our wants.

All debt is not sin; but debt can be sin.
It can be sin when we don't care enough or ignore God's guidelines.
It can be sin when we make financial choices pursuing the self-indulgent lifestyle of the world.

It DOES NOT say that debt is an exercise of faith.
There is that within me that resists saying what I am going to say next. You'll see why when I say it. Many churches see going into debt for expansion as a exercise of faith. So, they go into huge building programs and get into financial difficulty.

Here at New Life it is obvious that we need more space and this reasoning is tempting. But there is no Scriptural basis for trusting God to provide in the future for what He does not provide in the present. This way of thinking can easily become presumption - not faith!

I'm not saying that we cannot consider borrowing for expansion. I am saying that we should not do so with the presumption that to do so is exercising faith. I am saying that we must allow God to provide in other ways and not automatically assume that debt is the only way to meet our facility needs.

If you are buried under a mountain of debt, discouraged by the stress it places on your life and the limits it places on you contributing to ministry and compassion needs:
Then repent of your disobedience in this area of your life.
(When I started labeling this as “disobedience to God” it was an eye opener.)
Ask God to guide you, as I am doing, as you attack this monster of debt.
Commit to coming to the “Discovering God's Way of Handling Money” on Oct. 9.

CONCLUSION
In many cases, borrowing money denies God the opportunity either to meet our needs or to show Himself faithful, thereby increasing our faith.
We need to wrestle with whether the occasion to borrow is a need or a desire.

Remember:

• God may provide.
• He might take away the desire.
• He may come up with a creative alternative.

• Don't ever put a lender in the place of God by depending on the lender to meet your needs.
• Don't ever play God by determining that the only way to meet your needs is to borrow.