Christians in an Age of Wealth: A Biblical Theology of Stewardship (Biblical Theology for Life)

For a comprehensive review I refer you to Dr. Conrade Yap's very fine one. What a massive task it was that Dr. Blomberg undertook, making a thorough and exegetically sound survey of Biblical teaching on wealth and giving. Expect to be overwhelmed by the multitude of pertinent scriptures that are exposited! My contribution will be to give you a sample of some of this book's conclusions, some of which you are likely to disagree with. If you find some of Blomberg's conclusions off-putting, my recommendation is to get and read the book anyway. Allow scripture and this fine scholar's exposition to challenge your views and convict and change you in some areas where YOU are wrong, even if you end up concluding that Blomberg was off-target at some points.1. The big assertion of the book is that most American Christians are keeping way too much of their wealth for their own use, that they ought to be giving away MUCH more of their wealth than they are currently doing. The current average giving for American Christians is 2% of income.2. He doesn't believe that Christians are commanded by Scripture to give 10% of their income. He thinks our giving should be affected by the amount of resources that we have and some other circumstances such as size of family and previously incurred debts. He mentions (with approval) relatively poor people giving 5% of their income, and thinks many wealthier people should be giving much more even than the 23 1/3% "multiple tithe" mandated for God's people in the Old Testament. Blomberg himself, an author and seminary professor with an undisclosed but probably moderate income, gives away 50% of his income.3. He rejects the idea that there is a Biblical requirement that the entire "tithe" should be paid to a person's local church.4. He more highly prioritizes giving to the poor than most American Christians do. This especially includes poor Christians in our own communities and around the world, but it isn't limited exclusively to the Christian poor (despite the almost-exclusive emphasis on the Christian poor in Acts and the Epistles). Certain texts used by many teachers to motivate us towards giving to the poor in general, Blomberg says are talking about giving to believers (e.g., Matthew 25:31-46). Also he believes material help for the poor is NOT more important than spiritual help such as evangelism, so that material help should be combined with Christian witness.5. He rejects the idea that poverty is desirable.6. He asserts that if someone claims to have been born again but doesn't change their conduct in the area of finances and giving, that Scripture would have us conclude that they are in fact NOT Christian believers. In other words, while generous giving does not make you a Christian, being a genuine Christian WILL make you a generous giver. He makes a vigorous case for this.7. Democratically elected governments should NOT end all social programs for the poor in favor of churches taking them over, even though churches should be doing more, much more.8. Blomberg spends over a chapter talking about government policy issues, the most difficult part of the book for me. His conclusions favor democracy and are critical of communism, but he's also pretty critical of many of the typical ideas of American conservative Republicans (whom he thinks may be too greedily selfish). He IS concerned about excessively generous social programs leading to dependency among the poor. He is not very concerned about the dampening effects of taxation on the economy and other macroeconomic issues (that great concern of conservatives), noting that those aren't scriptural concerns and therefore are mostly beyond the scope of the book.9. He applies Old Testament scriptures about aliens (non-Jews in Israel) to advocate for more graciousness by government and by Christian churches and individuals towards illegal aliens in the United States in our time.10. He thinks that many American churches are spending way too much on buildings. Remember that buildings aren't mentioned in the New Testament. He doesn't think we can justifiably extrapolate the Old Testament pattern of generous spending on the tabernacle and temples to justify nice church buildings in our time.11. He advocates much greater expenditures by churches and individuals on foreign missions.12. He is scathing in his criticisms of the "Prosperity Gospel".In summary, there are lots of toothy assertions in this book, some of which WILL step on your toes! Most of the time, Blomberg's assertions are more thoroughly and systematically grounded in scripture than you will find in any other Christian book on finances and giving. If you thought as you read my list of 12 items above, "I don't agree with that!", you should all the more get Blomberg's book and carefully examine the scriptural case he makes for his position. You may find yourself compelled by God to change your mind! Occasionally, it did seem to me that he veered off into his own personal opinions that seemed relatively unsupported by Scripture. You'll have to do the Berean thing, examine the Scriptures to see if these things are so. But on the whole, I highly recommend this book!What this book is NOT is a topically-organized layperson's practical guide to financial principles. One of those that would have quite a bit of agreement with this book is Randy Alcorn's Managing God's Money. In contrast, Dave Ramsey's books are far more focused on how to become more wealthy and seem mostly contrary to most Biblical teaching about money and wealth.

Craig Blomberg's CHRISTIANS IN AN AGE OF WEALTH strikes an urgently-needed note that has been largely missing both in the Western Church and also in the Majority Church world where I have lived for the past forty years. Blomberg's personal assets of long-established biblical scholarship and long-practiced personal and family finances make him the ideal person to convey this message. This is a book that can be read with profit by Christians around the world. It is the best book I know of on Christian financial stewardship.For decades I have lamented the bane of the "tithing syndrome" that has kept many sincere and dedicated Western Christians from surrendering to God more than a legalistic tithe of their income, in the misguided belief that the remaining 90% is their own. They have thereby robbed both themselves and others of the untold blessings that could be released by following the principles that Blomberg espouses in his book. On the other hand, the unbalanced Prosperity Gospel has wreaked havoc in sub-Sahara Africa where I have ministered over the past thirty-two years, leading people to believe that the ultimate goal of Christian life and the ultimate proof of God's blessing is the accumulation of more and more personal wealth.I strongly recommend this book for discipleship groups where there is a clear desire to live out Bible principles. There is an enormous power that can and must be released as we take these issues more seriously.

Great book! Craig Bloomberg has put together a thorough biblical theology of money. He examines the topics of wealth, sin related to money, stewardship, generosity, tithes, taxes, and the importance of all of issues from Genesis to Revelation in a well organized fashion. The last few chapters also serve as a platform to answer a host of FAQ. Bloomberg leaves no stone unturned in this volume.In many ways this book feels like a college text. It is detailed, systematic, well written, and he does not rely on anecdotes to support central ideas. However, because it is extremely accessible. I would recommend it to both academics and non-academics, laypersons and ministers.Full disclosure: Craig Bloomberg concludes that the weight of biblical evidence does not support the continuation of the OT mandate to tithe. Bloomberg sees the NT call as one of radical generosity, where the believers are called to give until the needs are met. Yet, do not let any initial theology and hermeneutical differences hinder you from reading this book. Whether you agree or disagree I think everyone should read and wrestle through the weight of biblical evidence Bloomberg has compiled.

This is a very valuable book to help us further understand the unavoidable relationship between our material and economic actions and our spiritual growth in Christ or lack thereof. Especially useful are those sections that are well Scripturally supported, which are many, and well justified in showing us our idolatries. The book conclusion is especially powerful in its rebuking nature, something I am thankful for. On the other hand, there are several opinions (and I am not referring to the author's criticism on capitalism and communism, which in truth, both are nefarious economic systems) in the second half of the book that I do not share and I believe they fall short from being truly Scriptural and on par level with the content of the first half. Yet I leave it to the reader, author and myself to further discern between their truthfulness or otherwise according to the Word of God.

Useful guidance on how to think about and use money.

Very good book looking at the biblical theology of wealth. Covers the span of the OT and NT. Has really changed the way I look at wealth. Very clear writing. A more exegetical and theological look than Ron Sider's book. Craig Blomberg's view on economics may have been overreaching a bit, but I'm no expert for sure. Will definitely read it again to remind myself of the wisdom found in the Bible about material wealth and our role.