Who would have ever thought that there would come a day when more than half of the American public would believe that Socialism is the answer to their national and individual economic problems? Who would have believed that one political party would propose guaranteeing a specified income for those who either could not or would not work?

The lunacy stated above is one of the foundation stones upon which liberals in positions of political power are putting forth as the wave of the future for the people of the United States of America. Did anyone see this coming? Yes. A minutely few true Bible believers.

“Jesus was a socialist” is being heard throughout the nation as the liberals realize that some 70% of American adults admit to having some degree of “Christianity.” Able to do rudimentary math, the left realized that they needed the so-called “church vote” in order to 1) get elected and 2) to force their socialist agenda into law. The first passage of Scripture used to back up the “socialist Jesus” idea is found in the Book of Acts where we find the newly formed Christian church  under intense fire from her fellow Jews as well as the ruling Roman Empire. Obviously, God’s enemies caused believers to lose their jobs or prevented them from working. Because of this the tiny church–120 people in all–pooled their resources in order to help those who were unable to provide for themselves. Due to this action on the part of  the Judean Christians, many people, including many in the Institutional Church, proclaim that the early church was a socialist institution. It is this theological mindset that has produced what is called the “social gospel”–religious man’s substitute for God’s commands.

As is always the case when God’s enemies–those in professing Christendom–use His Truth to supposedly prove a point, the context is ignored and most of what is acknowledged as “God’s truth” is distorted. Relative to the Lord and His church being socialist in nature, those who know the Biblical God and His Word point out that the early church’s so-called “Socialism” was 1) voluntary and 2) temporary. No political or spiritual agency forced anyone to share anything with anyone else. No one was pressured to contribute to the common cause, though many did. Also, the so-called Socialistic movement was in effect only until those unable to work could again support themselves. Now that we know what God did not say relative to Socialism, let us learn what He did say.

In 1 Kings we find the Israelites living in peace and prosperity under the leadership of King Solomon. In chapter four we find the nation living in “peace on every side” (vs 24). In verses 22,23 we read of the king’s abundant provisions for those in his government. Not only was Israel prosperous in her own right, she also dominated several of the kingdoms located in her vicinity. The Lord described Israel’s free enterprise system by saying that each man lived under his OWN VINE and his OWN FIG TREE. This means that each family lived according to its own efforts and possessions and received rewards according to its own labors. It also meant that people did not give an account of what they owned or produced to a centralized agency which spread the wealth around by redistributing it. In other words, God renders to everyone according to his/her deeds–one reaps according to what one sows. One does not reap what someone else sows, which is the headstone of Socialism’s foundation.

Scripturally, the Lord tells us that the sole responsibility for the support of the family is assigned to the head of the household (1 Tim. 5:8), not a centralized governmental entity designed to “level the economic playing field.” A government forcefully taking from those who do and giving it to those who don’t is nothing more than legal theft, which is not merely socially wrong; it is spiritually immoral. This Biblical law negates the idea that we are to rely on governmental programs which pay out monetary benefits in order to 1) get our vote and 2) to reject our responsibility over and accountability for our own lives. When a government takes from the producers (the wealthy) and gives it to non-producers (the poor) in exchange for their votes, all three parties are guilty of ignoring basic Biblical Truths and commands. The Almighty calls this “sin.”  L.J.