Debates over Brexit are revealing about the state of our hearts.

In Matthew 8:28-34 we read how Jesus freed two men of strong demon possession. Since this resulted in a substantial financial loss for the owners of a herd of swine that was present, we are told that the whole town beseeched the Son of God to leave their region. It is a sad but classic proof of why Jesus said that we cannot serve both God and money (Matt 6:24; Luke 16:13).

Somehow, this reminds us of the whole Brexit issue. This is because politics, the banking and corporate sectors, as well as the media, counterweight Britain’s prospective freedom from the EU with forecasts of a heavy economic loss. It’s easy, therefore, for people to get distracted from the more important spiritual and moral issues.

From a secular point of view, Britain must decide whether it really wants to leave an alleged safe haven and embark on an unknown path. In this framing of the argument, fear is made the driving force. From a biblical point of view, Britain must decide whether it wants to be free from political dictate or keep handing over its freedoms for the 'promise' of financial stability. Personal conviction is the motivating force here.

For all that, Brexit and its economic consequences are just fruits of a more foundational issue that believers, and indeed the whole nation, need to deal with: the question of whom they serve.

Britain must decide whether it wants to be free from political dictate or keep handing over its freedoms for the 'promise' of financial stability.

God or Money?

Jesus said the two most important laws that man must live by are (a) to love God with all that we are, and (b) to love our fellow men as ourselves (Matt 22:37-40; Mark 12:30-31; Luke 10:27). This also includes our enemies (Matt 5:43-44; Luke 6:27, 35). And Jesus left no doubt that if we love and serve God, we cannot love and serve money (Matt 6:24; Luke 16:13). Yet, loving and serving money is exactly what the financial system of the world demands.

A good many Christians see no danger here for themselves. They are confident that they are by no means serving money. And who can blame them? Most people generally have very little insight into how our money system works and its negative and enslaving effects.

The Financial System of the World

I believe that today’s financial system has evolved as a consequence of man rejecting God as the source of his provision, and instead creating his own supply system as a substitute (Jer 2:13). This system has become the basis of our productive economies and the financial world today. But it is an unjust apparatus and of evil design – like everything the world produces without God (John 7:7).

Most Christians are unaware that it violates God's word in virtually every way; its general use of fiat money, fractional reserve banking, interest, extensive debts and limited liability laws renders it exploitative, destructive and unsustainable. It is based on illusions, incessantly demands continual growth at the expense of our available natural resources, ruthlessly expropriates the little wealth of the majority of the population for the benefit of the few capital holders, and ultimately forces its rule on man.

Unsurprisingly, therefore, our economies and the world of finance appear more like war zones: battles are raging in currencies, profits or market shares, ruthless competition, hostile takeovers, dominance through innovation, market leadership and so forth. Blackmail, exploitation, betrayal, nepotism, influence peddling, manipulation, bribery, theft, fraud, lies, falsification of documents, discrediting others, etc., are only some of the weapons being used.

The justified question then is how does that all fit in with God’s fundamental laws of love, honesty, faithfulness and truth? The straight answer is, it doesn’t!

Loving and serving money is exactly what the financial system of the world demands.

For this reason, as far as believers are concerned, Brexit cannot simply be a matter of leaving an artificial union of states that is increasingly usurping the political sovereignty of its members. It also offers the opportunity to break free from forced subjugation to an economic system directed against God's will.

Our financial wellbeing does not depend on human alliances, regardless on which level, nor does it depend on the use of a wicked monetary system that enslaves and ultimately destroys. It depends on God alone (Deut 8:18).

Concrete Instructions

The Bible contains a remarkable number of passages dealing with money and economic issues. Obviously, God felt it necessary to give us a comprehensive spiritual perspective on these themes – firstly, because money plays an essential role in everyday life, and secondly, because it carries a strong potential to conflict with God’s plans and purposes for our lives (individually, corporately and nationally).

The challenge for Christians, situated within a worldly system and vulnerable to its pressures and influences, is to find ways to shun the world and follow our God’s wise instructions, since through him and for him everything was created and in him everything holds together (Col 1:16-17; John 1:2-3; Rom 11:36). His ways are neither tied to nor limited by the mainstream school of thought. Their implementation, however, presupposes openness to a very different paradigm (Rom 12:2; John 15:5; 1 Cor 3:11).

Our financial wellbeing depends on God alone.

Do We Really Know?

No human being knows what will happen tomorrow (Prov 27:1; Luke 12:18-20; James 4:14). Realistically, man without God can only make assumptions about the future – we can neither predict nor plan it (Prov 19:21; 1 Cor 13:9). As a result, man tries to tie down this uncertainty by extrapolating things of the past into the future and adjusting them based on human expertise, imagination, ingenuity, intelligence and wisdom.

Yet, bottom line, it all remains more guesswork than fact. Natural disasters, epidemics, terror, civil unrest, wars, rumours, bankruptcies, manipulation, corruption, vested interests, change of governments, etc., can turn things upside-down in a moment.

Given all this, who is to say that breaking free from evil dictate will indeed result in economic and financial mayhem? We really have no way of knowing. The fear-mongering surrounding Brexit, then, is a reflection less of the facts than of whom we are trying to serve.

Gottfried Hetzer is the author of 'Money ... The Great Deception', which we reviewed earlier this year.

Paul Luckraft reviews 'The Treasure Principle' by Randy Alcorn (Multnomah Press, 2005).

When someone offered me this small book I accepted it willingly and gratefully as something that could be useful and potentially worth reviewing as another resource on the topic of money. I had no idea of the impact it would have: once I started reading it I realised that I had been given a treasure in itself.

The theme of the book is simple but profound – the joy of giving. This is the ‘treasure principle’ of the title. The author claims that “Once you grasp it and put it into practice, nothing will ever look the same. And believe me, you won’t want it to” (p5).

This biblical principle has always been there, but too often it has conveniently been ignored. Unlocking its secret is the aim of the book (as outlined in the subtitle, 'Unlocking the Secret of Joyful Giving'). Once you grasp what the Bible teaches on this topic, it becomes obvious. The only problem is deciding to live that way, with all the radical implications for the way we handle money.

Where the Heart is

The book offers no hype or false promises, just sound, biblical wisdom encapsulated in an easy-to-understand way. The six main chapters each make a single point which contributes towards the whole principle. Each point is straightforward, but taken together the overall impact is very powerful.

We are reminded first that we own nothing. God owns everything and we are simply his money-managers. Secondly, we are to realise that our hearts always follow where we put God’s money (Matt 6:21). Effectively, look at your credit card statement and you’ll see where your heart is.

God owns everything and we are simply his money-managers.

The next key points are that Heaven, not earth, is our home, and that we should always take the long-term view rather than seeking immediate pleasure. “Live for the line, not the dot” is the pithy way this is expressed.

We are then shown that giving is the antidote to materialism. This is how to combat the suffocation that material possessions bring upon our lives. Finally, we must realise that God prospers us not to raise our standard of living, but our standard of giving.

Worth its Weight in Gold

The book closes with “31 radical liberating questions to ask God about your giving”, a sort of check-up to see where you are so far, with short prayers and confessions to help make any necessary changes.

God prospers us not to raise our standard of living, but our standard of giving.

This little, pocket-sized book is worth its weight in gold, and more. Buy it. In fact, buy several and give them away – joyfully! The reward for both giver and receiver will be immense!

'The Treasure Principle: Unlocking the Secret of Joyful Giving' (128pp) is available from Amazon in a variety of formats. You may also be interested in Gottfried Hetzer’s 2018 book, 'Money ... The Great Deception'.

Chris Pateman reviews ‘Money: The Great Deception’ by Gottfried Hetzer (self-published, 2018).

The Lord laid it out pretty clearly in Deuteronomy 28: blessings for obedience to his principles would make his people ‘the head and not the tail’, and sufficiently prosperous to be able to lend to those in need. Curses for disobedience would make them ‘the tail and not the head’, needing to borrow to stay alive. In which of those camps are today’s horrendously indebted nations? In which of them are today’s credit-card-owning, mortgage-paying Christians?

Gottfried Hetzer’s 15 years as a financial controller for international corporations have certainly given him some useful insights into banking policy and international capital flows. But it’s his love for the Lord and for Kingdom principles which shines through the 200 pages of this crisp and insightful book on that particularly controversial issue: money.

You don’t need an economics degree or a banking background to understand that the world is in a financial mess. And thankfully, that’s just where Hetzer starts: he writes clearly and accessibly, without presuming any prior level of financial knowledge. This is a book anyone can read, and arguably, a book every Christian should read.

Analysing Babylon

Structured in six parts, Hetzer starts by analysing how the world financial system works, explaining simply why money is a more useful tool than barter, as well as basic concepts like interest, inflation and deflation. He then unpacks problems with the current system, covering topics such as debt, corruption, speculation, artificial money creation, ecological exploitation and war.

Hetzer offers a chillingly simple explanation of how modern banks are allowed to treat their investors’ money as their own, lending it out multiple times and making money out of nothing, giving nothing back to society, concentrating more and more power in fewer and fewer hands, and disadvantaging the least able in society.

Gottfried Hetzer’s 15 years as a financial controller have certainly given him some useful insights on money - but it’s his love for the Lord which shines through.

Building his critique, he eventually concludes that the global financial system has become so distorted, corrupt and destructive as to be worthy of the title ‘Babylon’. We have arrived at a situation far from God’s original design, where people serve ‘the system’ rather than the system serving people.

The next two sections of the book are devoted to problem-solving, looking at worldly ‘solutions’ to financial issues and then contrasting these with biblical principles. Time and again, the ideologies and ethics that underpin the world of finance are shown to fall short of the values outlined in Scripture, with the conclusion drawn that an entirely different, Kingdom-based approach is needed.

Personal Advice

Hetzer makes compelling arguments about corporate banking, but it’s at the ‘what does this mean for me?’ level that this book really excels. Time and again he reminds us that everything we have is God’s anyway; that we are just stewards; that naked we came into this world and naked we will depart.

Constant reference to Bible texts (and occasional references to the apocryphal Sirach) keep both author and reader rooted in God’s word, as the book moves from issue to issue.

Are we sure God is calling us to own a house – or are we assuming this because it’s what our culture says we are entitled to? Might he not be calling us to witness to our landlord by being an exemplary tenant? We may have God in our home lives and our work lives, but how often do we make him the head of our financial decision-making?

Pertinent and Practical

This is a helpful, challenging, biblical book that is pertinent for our present times, offering a ‘big picture’ commentary as well as a lot of practical, personal advice, and always putting money in its proper place: in true submission to the rule of Christ.

Time and again Hetzer reminds us that everything we have is God’s anyway; that we are just stewards; that naked we came into this world and naked we will depart.

Hetzer divides the book into useful thematic sub-sections (e.g. ‘Inflation’, ‘Bribery’, ‘Interest’) so it can easily be revisited as a reference source. But it’s not just a textbook: it is a challenge to our worldly attitudes towards money that also offers a biblical alternative. We may not be able to change the whole world, but we can certainly change our own attitudes. Hetzer gives us plenty of Kingdom advice on precisely how – on everything from tithing to car sales.

Hetzer’s introduction ends with this thought (p10): “remember, creation has delivered its own Creator to the cross for a ridiculous 30 silver coins. Isn’t it disturbing that the image of God (here the man Judas) has delivered God Himself for a pittance to die innocently?”

A useful and stimulating book.

‘Money: The Great Deception’ (209pp, paperback) is available for £6.85 from Amazon. Also available on Kindle. Find out more about Gottfried Hetzer on his website.

Christians Against Poverty (CAP) is one of God's great successes. Paul Luckraft reports on what CAP is doing today and how you can get involved.

Christians Against Poverty (CAP) is one of God's great successes. This week on Prophecy Today we are reviewing the book Nevertheless, which records CAP's origins and early progress. Our Resources Editor Paul Luckraft decided to investigate further and caught up with Helen Norris, CAP's Partnerships Manager for London, to find out what CAP is doing today and how you can get involved. Here is his report.

Transforming Lives

It is always encouraging and stimulating to discover how God is at work in society and how each one of us can take part in the transformation of lives. CAP provides such an opportunity as it always works in partnership with local churches. CAP's aim is not to do it all but to empower Christians to serve Christ within their own communities. There are now four ways in which this can happen. The primary method remains the Debt Centre.

Debt Centres

With 1 in 12 people in the UK now in unmanageable debt, a Debt Centre is a lifeline to many. Every church can become a Debt Centre. CAP will train a Centre Manager to oversee the deliverance of the most comprehensive debt counselling service available anywhere. A Centre Manager doesn't need in-depth financial knowledge. He or she is backed up by over 150 professional Caseworkers and Specialist Advisers at head office.

CAP takes care of all the basic elements of debt counselling centrally, putting together budgets and negotiating with creditors. It assesses the best route for each client to become debt free and equips the volunteer workers and befrienders to take this solution into people's homes, together with the love of Jesus - for it is an essential ingredient of CAP to offer the gospel alongside the financial service. As people find relief from the misery and stress of debt then new hope grows and they become more open to the Christian message.

With 1 in 12 people in the UK now in unmanageable debt, a Debt Centre is a lifeline to many - and every church can become one.

To date CAP has 290 church-based Debt Centres, covering 60% of the UK. The aim is for 500 to cover the whole of the UK. Could your church become a CAP Debt Centre?

Money Courses

More recently CAP has started running Money Courses as a preventative measure. As financial illiteracy is a major cause of debt and poverty this is a vital practical tool to help people avoid getting into debt in the first place. As always this venture is done in partnership with local churches and blended with their passion to share the gospel at the same time as passing on skills that will have a lasting impact on people's finances.

The CAP Money Course has become their greatest weapon against debt. In a society increasingly reliant on credit cards and loans this course provides the simple principles of how to budget, save and spend wisely, giving people a better chance to take control of their finances. CAP is now the largest provider of adult face-to-face money education.

CAP trains volunteers to run these courses in their local churches. Could this be your way of contributing to CAP's work? If you have the confidence and basic skills to present the material, then with extra specialist training you could make a real difference. The course is usually run over three 90 minute sessions, one per week, but this can be flexible. Each session involves a DVD and interactive discussions. By the end of the course those attending will know how to build a good budget and keep it balanced, understand the importance of savings and how to deal with debt. The motto is, prevention is better than cure!

Although primarily designed for adults, there is no reason why these courses cannot be used with youth groups or taken into schools and colleges. Such basic money management is often ignored among young people, at a time of life when it is most needed.

Job Clubs

A CAP Job Club is another tool in the fight against poverty and is designed to equip people to find employment while rebuilding their confidence and self-esteem (often lost when unemployment strikes). These Clubs are, as usual, run through local churches and have become nationally recognised and recommended by the Department of Work and Pensions.

The CAP Money Course has become their greatest weapon against debt, providing people with the simple principles of how to budget, save and spend wisely.

The Club meets once a week and is run by a trained CAP Job Club Manager. A key aspect is the Steps to Employment course, an interactive course that covers practical topics such as CV writing and interviewing techniques, all designed to improve employability. Coaching sessions are then run alongside the course to give members chance to discuss their individual needs in more detail and set goals for themselves. All this is set in a friendly and inclusive environment that combats isolation and also provides members with the taste of a church family.

The first Job Club was opened in 2013 and there are now 140 such clubs, but more are needed. Is this an area where you can help? CAP offers the necessary training so you can provide one-to-one coaching over an 8 week course. The format is flexible enough to run successfully in both small and large churches.

Release Groups

The fourth way to help is the most recent to be developed. A Release Group aims to tackle addiction and dependence in whatever area is needed, not just financial. CAP Release Groups provide a safe, confidential place for people to seek help alongside the support of others who understand what they are going through. The groups teach people practical steps to tackle their dependency head on through interactive sessions and individual coaching.

The eight week course is run by a trained CAP Release Group Coach and offers a place of trust and security for people to take steps to find freedom from their life-controlling habits. Clearly over-spending is one such addiction and one of the main causes of debt and poverty, but the course is flexible enough to cover other addictive behaviours. If your heart is to see people released from addiction then perhaps this is where you could become involved!

Release Groups aim to tackle all kinds of addiction and dependence, providing people with a safe place and practical help to find freedom from life-controlling habits.

Funding

CAP is well respected in the credit industry and in 2015 was the UK Debt Advice Provider of the Year, as awarded by Credit Today.

As their mission statement declares, CAP is passionate about releasing people from a life sentence of poverty, debt, unemployment and addiction. Their vision is to serve the poor and save the lost through 1,000 church based CAP services, so that anyone in the UK can access their life-transforming help.

But how is this funded? There is no Government funding as this would force CAP to give up their Christian emphasis. Sharing the gospel and God's love is key to their mission and all workers do this (90% of the clients accept this as they understand the help is from a Christian organisation and provided via local churches). Funding is provided by 27,000 regular givers (or Life Changers) who give monthly. All donations are welcome, however small. This provides 70% of the annual £10 million budget. The rest comes from legacies and other one-off gifts.

It is important to stress that money is never given out to those in debt. Handouts are not provided. All the money goes towards training and support so that people find their own way out of debt and dependency.

Get Involved Now

Debt is a very pressing social problem. It cripples lives and often leads to other problems. Families and relationships can be destroyed, and medical issues frequently follow as fear and depression set in. The very nature of Christ and his love means that necessarily Christians are against poverty. The only question is what they do about it. Through CAP there is a very real and successful way of putting our faith into action.

How you can help:

• Could you run a CAP Money Course and help give people the basic skills to take control of their own finances?
• Could you start a Job Club and work to equip people to find employment?
• Could you become a CAP Release Group Coach and help free people from addictive behaviours?
• Could your church become a CAP Debt Centre to serve the local community?

To help in any way or to get further details about any aspect of CAP's work, email the Church Partnership Team at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 01274 760580, or visit capuk.org. All enquiries are welcome.

"...one man's mission to change thousands of people's lives": We review the exciting story of how Christians Against Poverty (CAP) was founded.

'Nevertheless' by John Kirkby (Christians Against Poverty Books, 2014, 229 pages, RRP £6.99 with proceeds going to CAP, but also available free from the CAP website)

In 'Nevertheless' we have the exciting account of how John Kirkby founded Christians Against Poverty (CAP). Both he and his family had gone through the experience of debt and dire poverty themselves, which meant he was both well qualified for the task and compassionate towards those he was seeking to help.

Faith in Adversity

In 1996, Christians Against Poverty was started in Bradford with few financial assets but with an incredible example of faith and trust in God. With encouraging words from Scripture and the assurance that God was leading him, the first centre was set up to deliver people from the misery of debt. Through much adversity and many hard times John and his team persevered and in 2001 CAP purchased Jubilee Mill in Bradford as their headquarters. John has kept a diary (set out in the book) of the faith shown by CAP staff through financial problems along the way.

It is wonderful to read how this was achieved and the way that the staff supported a network of church-based debt centres throughout England. Thousands of lives have been changed and there are amazing testimonies from people who have become free from debt – and many are also now Christians.

Growing Network

As well as changing lives in the UK, CAP has now an international ministry with centres established in Australia, Canada and New Zealand. In 2008 the CAP Money Course was formed to teach people how to manage their finances. By 2014 there were five thousand trained CAP Money Coaches from churches and an estimated thirty-two thousand people had been through the course.

As John says in his acknowledgement at the beginning of the book: "I have always known that it is not about me, and as CAP now helps more than 30,000 individuals worldwide each year, it is still all about bringing glory to God" (p7).