Bankruptcy, as a formal legal process, is not directly addressed in the Bible, as the modern concept did not exist in ancient times. However, the Scriptures provide principles regarding debt, financial responsibility, and the treatment of those who are unable to repay what they owe. These principles can offer guidance to believers facing financial difficulties.

Debt and Financial Responsibility

The Bible acknowledges the reality of debt but encourages believers to avoid it when possible. Proverbs 22:7 states, "The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender." This verse highlights the power dynamics involved in borrowing and the potential loss of freedom that comes with debt. Believers are encouraged to live within their means and to be wise stewards of their resources.

Compassion and Forgiveness

While the Bible emphasizes the importance of repaying debts, it also calls for compassion and forgiveness towards those who are unable to do so. In the Old Testament, the Law provided for the cancellation of debts every seven years, known as the Year of Release (Deuteronomy 15:1-2): "At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts. This is how it is to be done: Every creditor shall cancel the loan he has made to his fellow Israelite. He shall not require payment from his fellow Israelite or brother, because the LORD’s time for canceling debts has been proclaimed."

This provision reflects God's concern for the poor and His desire for His people to show mercy and generosity. It serves as a reminder that financial systems should include mechanisms for relief and restoration.

The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant

In the New Testament, Jesus teaches about forgiveness and mercy in the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant (Matthew 18:23-35). In this parable, a servant who owes an enormous debt is forgiven by his master, yet he refuses to forgive a fellow servant who owes him a much smaller amount. The master rebukes the unforgiving servant, emphasizing the importance of showing mercy as one has received mercy.

This parable underscores the Christian duty to extend grace and forgiveness, reflecting the forgiveness believers have received from God. It suggests that those who have been forgiven much should also forgive others, including in financial matters.

Practical Guidance for Believers

While the Bible does not provide a detailed legal framework for bankruptcy, it offers principles that can guide believers in financial distress. Christians are encouraged to:

1. Seek Wise Counsel: Proverbs 15:22 advises, "Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed." Seeking guidance from wise and godly counselors can help individuals navigate financial challenges.

2. Prioritize Integrity: Maintaining honesty and integrity in financial dealings is paramount. Psalm 37:21 states, "The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous are gracious and giving."

3. Trust in God's Provision: Believers are reminded to trust in God's provision and care, even in difficult times. Philippians 4:19 assures, "And my God will supply all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus."

4. Practice Generosity: Even in financial hardship, Christians are called to be generous. 2 Corinthians 9:7 encourages, "Each one should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not out of regret or compulsion. For God loves a cheerful giver."

In summary, while bankruptcy as a legal process is not explicitly mentioned in the Bible, the Scriptures provide timeless principles of financial stewardship, compassion, and forgiveness that can guide believers facing financial difficulties.Leviticus 25:39
And if your brother that dwells by you be waxen poor, and be sold to you; you shall not compel him to serve as a bondservant:
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Leviticus 25:35-37
And if your brother be waxen poor, and fallen in decay with you; then you shall relieve him: yes, though he be a stranger, or a sojourner; that he may live with you.
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Exodus 22:25
If you lend money to any of my people that is poor by you, you shall not be to him as an usurer, neither shall you lay on him usury.
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Luke 6:34-35
And if you lend to them of whom you hope to receive, what thank have you? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again.
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Ezekiel 22:12
In you have they taken gifts to shed blood; you have taken usury and increase, and you have greedily gained of your neighbors by extortion, and have forgotten me, said the Lord GOD.
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The Sacrifice of Christ.
... Now, when such sins reach their climax, as in the case of national bankruptcy or
an unjust acquittal, there may be some who are in a special sense, the actors ...
/.../robertson/sermons preached at brighton/vii the sacrifice of christ.htm

The Battle of Life
... Make bankruptcy in your secular business; why, you can start again; but once make
bankruptcy in soul affairs, and there is no second life in which to start ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 62 1916/the battle of life.htm

Self-Examination
... A bankrupt may have lost a fortune once, and yet may make another; but make
bankruptcy"spiritual bankruptcy in this life, and you will never have an ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 4 1858/self-examination.htm

The Suicide of Thought
... It might certainly have reached its bankruptcy more quickly and cleanly if it had
not been feebly hampered by the application of indefensible laws of blasphemy ...
//christianbookshelf.org/chesterton/orthodoxy/iii the suicide of thought.htm

Seeking Richly Rewarded
... Rut how many of them go to bankruptcy and ruin, and, with all their cunning, they
are too cunning, and, with all their unscrupulousness, they manage at last ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 60 1914/seeking richly rewarded.htm

Prayer and Trouble (Continued)
... I would think the commerce of the skies had gone into bankruptcy if I did not hear
frequently, since I have learned how to ask and how to receive.""HW Hodge ...
/.../bounds/the essentials of prayer/vi prayer and trouble continued.htm

Introductory
... It means a great bankruptcy in those experiences which give Christianity its personal
solace and make it attractive to the world, and a great uncertainty as to ...
/.../drummond/the greatest thing in the world and other addresses/introductory.htm

The Last Days of Zinzendorf, 1755-1760.
... The Church was now on the verge of bankruptcy; and, therefore, the Brethren held
at Taubenheim the so-called "Economical Conference." {1755.}. ...
/.../hutton/history of the moravian church/chapter xv the last days.htm

Self-Humbling and Self-Searching
... those unsafe tradesmen, the counterpart of mere professors, who think themselves
"rich and increased in goods," when they are on the very verge of bankruptcy. ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 17 1871/self-humbling and self-searching.htm

What have I Done?
... Few men like to take the trouble to review their own lives, most men are so near
bankruptcy that they are ashamed to look at their own books. ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 4 1858/what have i done.htm

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