What Does the Bible Say About Money and Wealth?

Jesus talks about money more than almost any other topic. There are more verses in the Bible about wealth, generosity, debt, and the dangers of greed than there are about heaven, hell, or prayer. And yet for many Christians, money is the subject they are least likely to hear a careful sermon on — and most likely to ask about in private.

This article is not financial advice. It is a fair, Scripture-first walk through what the Bible actually teaches about money, where faithful Christians agree, and where they disagree. It is meant for the member who has a real question and does not want a cliché in return.

Is wealth good or bad?

Scripture refuses to answer this question in a single word. On one hand, wealth is repeatedly described as a blessing. Abraham, Job, and Solomon were all wealthy men whose prosperity is treated as part of God's favor. Proverbs connects diligence and wisdom to flourishing, and the New Testament never condemns the existence of rich Christians as such.

On the other hand, Scripture is relentlessly honest about the spiritual danger of wealth. Jesus warns that it is harder for a rich person to enter the kingdom than for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle (Matthew 19:24). Paul tells Timothy that the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil (1 Timothy 6:10). The book of James is perhaps the sharpest: wealth that has been hoarded rather than shared is treated as a witness against its owner.

The biblical posture is not 'money is bad.' It is 'money is dangerous, and generosity is the antidote.'

What about tithing?

This is where Christians divide. Some churches teach that the 10% tithe of the Old Testament remains a binding minimum for believers today, pointing to passages like Malachi 3:10 and to Jesus's own affirmation of tithing in Matthew 23:23. For these Christians, the tithe is a starting line, not a finish line.

Other Christians argue that the New Testament shifts the category entirely. In 2 Corinthians 8–9, Paul calls believers to give generously, cheerfully, and sacrificially — but he never names a percentage. On this reading, the tithe was tied to the old covenant, and Christians are now called to something potentially more demanding: proportional, joyful, Spirit-led generosity without a fixed floor.

Most faithful Christians agree on the substance even when they disagree on the number: the posture of the heart matters more than the decimal point, and a church that only talks about giving when the budget is tight is not teaching the full counsel of Scripture.

What Scripture says about debt

Proverbs 22:7 warns that the borrower is slave to the lender. Romans 13:8 tells Christians to owe no one anything except to love one another. These verses have been used to argue everything from 'never take on a mortgage' to 'simply be wise about what you borrow.'

The clear center of the biblical teaching is freedom. Debt is not treated as a sin, but it is treated as a form of bondage that makes other forms of obedience harder. A Christian weighed down by credit card interest is less free to give, to serve, and to respond to need. Most pastors land here: debt is not forbidden, but it is never to be entered into lightly, and escaping it when possible is an act of stewardship.

Generosity is the center of the biblical picture

If there is a unifying thread, it is this: money is given so that it can be given away. The early church in Acts 2 and 4 models radical generosity. 2 Corinthians 9 promises that God loves a cheerful giver. Jesus commends the widow who gave two small coins precisely because she gave out of poverty, not surplus.

This is the heart of what the Bible says about money, and it is the heart most members are hungry to understand. They do not need a quick answer from a financial influencer. They need their pastor's voice, grounded in the text, walking them through it honestly.