Definition and Context:
Financing, in a biblical context, refers to the management, allocation, and stewardship of financial resources. The Bible provides guidance on how believers should handle money, emphasizing principles such as stewardship, generosity, and integrity. Financing encompasses earning, saving, investing, and giving, all of which are addressed in Scripture.

Biblical Principles of Financing:

1. Stewardship:
The Bible teaches that all resources belong to God, and humans are merely stewards of His creation. This principle is foundational to understanding financing from a biblical perspective. In Genesis 1:28, God commands humanity to "fill the earth and subdue it," implying a responsibility to manage resources wisely. The Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30) further illustrates the importance of being faithful stewards of what God has entrusted to us.

2. Avoiding Debt:
Scripture advises caution regarding debt. Proverbs 22:7 states, "The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender." This verse highlights the potential bondage that debt can create, urging believers to live within their means and avoid unnecessary borrowing.

3. Generosity and Giving:
Generosity is a key aspect of biblical financing. Believers are encouraged to give cheerfully and sacrificially. 2 Corinthians 9:7 says, "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." The act of giving is seen as a reflection of God's generosity and a means to support the work of the church and aid those in need.

4. Honesty and Integrity:
Financial dealings should be conducted with honesty and integrity. Proverbs 11:1 states, "Dishonest scales are an abomination to the LORD, but an accurate weight is His delight." This principle underscores the importance of fairness and truthfulness in all financial transactions.

5. Planning and Saving:
The Bible encourages prudent planning and saving for the future. Proverbs 21:5 notes, "The plans of the diligent bring plenty, as surely as haste leads to poverty." This verse advocates for careful planning and diligent work as means to achieve financial stability.

6. Contentment:
Contentment is a recurring theme in Scripture, particularly in relation to material wealth. 1 Timothy 6:6-8 advises, "Of course, godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and neither can we carry anything out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these." This passage encourages believers to find satisfaction in God's provision rather than in the accumulation of wealth.

Examples in Scripture:

· Joseph's Administration in Egypt:
Joseph's management of resources during the years of plenty and famine (Genesis 41) serves as an example of wise financial planning and stewardship. His foresight and strategic planning saved Egypt and surrounding nations from disaster.

· The Early Church:
The early church practiced communal sharing of resources to meet the needs of its members. Acts 4:34-35 describes how "there were no needy ones among them, because those who owned lands or houses would sell their property, bring the proceeds from the sales, and lay them at the apostles’ feet for distribution to anyone as he had need."

Conclusion:
The Bible provides comprehensive guidance on financing, emphasizing stewardship, generosity, integrity, and contentment. These principles are designed to help believers manage their resources in a way that honors God and serves others.1 Timothy 6:10
For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
Topicalbible.org

Romans 13:8
Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loves another has fulfilled the law.
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Mark 12:41-44
And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much.
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Malachi 3:10
Bring you all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in my house, and prove me now herewith, said the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
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Ecclesiastes 5:10
He that loves silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loves abundance with increase: this is also vanity.
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Leviticus 27:30
And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD's: it is holy to the LORD.
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Matthew 6:24
No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.
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Proverbs 22:7
The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.
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Luke 6:38
Give, and it shall be given to you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that you mete with it shall be measured to you again.
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Acts 20:35
I have showed you all things, how that so laboring you ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.
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Unsound Spiritual Trading
... We have seen in the public prints month after month, fresh discoveries of the modes
of financing adopted by the villainy of this present age, to accomplish ...
/.../spurgeon/sermons on proverbs/unsound spiritual trading.htm

The Church and Other Rural Agencies
... only the opportunity but the obligation of the church to prepare itself as rapidly
as possible for conserving these newer activities by financing county and ...
/.../vogt/church cooperation in community life/chapter ix the church and.htm

The Spokesman of the City's Conscience
... Another parishioner, Ralph Holterhoff, was, almost single-handed, responsible
for financing the Committee's work for its next fifteen years. ...
/.../herrick/frank h nelson of cincinnati/the spokesman of the citys.htm

Introductory
... little more than the two services on Sunday and the visitation of the congregation;
the elders helping him to a small extent in financing the congregation and ...
/.../stalker/the preacher and his models/lecture i introductory.htm

General Conference of 1824
... "In the course of your deliberations, the local district conference, the financing
system, and the proper instruction and education of children, may require ...
/.../chapter 7 general conference of.htm

part 1
... God's appointed method for the financing of the work which He has been pleased to
place in our hands, is that of tithing"the strict setting aside one-tenth ...
//christianbookshelf.org/pink/tithing/part 1.htm

The Sixth vision "On Earth"
Commentary on Revelation. <. ...
/.../bullinger/commentary on revelation/the sixth vision on earth.htm

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