No — it is not wrong for Christians to accumulate wealth, as long as it never becomes life's priority and remains within God's purpose for the believer.
Les Feldick teaches that God does not mandate that believers be poor, but neither does He promise that faithful believers will automatically become millionaires. There is 'nothing wrong' with material blessing or accumulating wealth; the problem is when wealth becomes the priority of life. Believers are free to provide for their families, establish an estate, and enjoy material blessings, while keeping heavenly things first.
2 Corinthians 12:14 — Shows that parents are to lay up for their children — the Pauline basis Les cites for building an estate.
1 Timothy 5:8 — Makes provision for one's own household a serious responsibility, which Les references as 'worse than an infidel.'
Colossians 3:2-3 — Commands believers to set affection on things above, the balance Les emphasizes for keeping wealth secondary.
Scripture does not command believers to take a vow of poverty, nor does it present poverty itself as a virtue. Instead, the New Testament treats material provision as a normal responsibility: Paul writes that 'the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children' (2 Corinthians 12:14), and he warns that if any man 'provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel' (1 Timothy 5:8). At the same time, Scripture sets clear limits on how wealth should be pursued. Believers are told to 'set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth' (Colossians 3:2) and to be content with food and raiment (1 Timothy 6:8). Paul's instruction that 'let no man seek his own, but every man another's wealth' (1 Corinthians 10:24) guards against selfish, self-centered accumulation. Scripture also records the early Jerusalem believers who 'had all things common' and sold their possessions and goods to distribute to those in need (Acts 2:44-45) — a remarkable display of generosity whose context must be understood before applying it to today.
Les Feldick's answer is direct: God does not mandate that believers be poor as paupers, but neither does He promise that believers will automatically become millionaires. The satisfying life God imparts is for believers whether they are rich, poor, or somewhere in between (Clip 1). Les insists there is 'nothing wrong' with material blessing or with accumulating wealth; the problem arises only when wealth becomes a priority in the believer's life (Clip 2). Les is careful to keep the church distinct from Israel. Israel was an earthly people with earthly promises and was promised material blessing for obedience, but the church is a heavenly people with heavenly promises — nowhere in church-age doctrine are believers promised financial or material reward (Clips 2, 3). Still, Paul's letters approve of establishing an estate for children and condemn the man who fails to provide for his family as worse than an infidel (Clip 3). Believers do not have to live a Spartan existence; they simply must keep material things secondary, since they are dead to the old Adam and hid with Christ in God (Clip 7). Finally, Les deflects the self-centered approach to money: when Paul speaks of wealth, he is not telling believers to go after what the next man has — he is warning against the 'what's in it for me' mindset and pointing believers to their neighbor's good (Clip 4). Even the Jerusalem believers' willingness to sell everything is explained by their expectation of the Kingdom just over the horizon, when there would be no poverty — not by a permanent principle of divestment (Clip 6). The common purse they pooled, Les observes, is a system that inevitably runs dry (Clip 5).
Les teaches that in the age of grace, God has promised the believer only a roof over the head, clothes on the back, and food to eat — everything beyond that is simply His grace and blessing. He contrasts this with Israel in the Old Testament, which was promised material blessing for obedience, while the church, as a heavenly people, is never promised financial reward in church-age doctrine. Wealth, therefore, is never guaranteed; it is an optional blessing that must fit within God's timetable and purpose for a person's life.
Yes. Les points to Paul's teaching that parents are to lay up for their children rather than expecting children to lay up for their parents, and that a person who fails to provide for his own family — and perhaps help the children along — is worse than an infidel. Establishing an estate and having something to pass on is therefore part of a faithful Christian life, not a contradiction of it.
Les explains that the believers in Acts were willing to sell their lands and houses and bring the money to the apostles because they knew the King was about to set up the Kingdom just over the horizon — and in the Kingdom there will be no poverty, so they did not need to worry about houses and lands. He also notes that the experiment of putting everything into a common kitty ran dry, because no pool of money can survive everyone simply drawing from it.
Yes. Les says becoming a believer does not mean living a Spartan existence with only the barest requirements — but it does mean material things must be kept secondary. The believer has been made a new creation by God's power and is dead to the old Adam, hid with Christ in God; therefore the things of this world naturally fall behind the things above.
New Creation in Christ
Les compares the sinner's dead spirit to a dead car battery needing outside energy; when God energizes the spirit, He makes the believer a new creation — the changed nature that puts material things in a secondary place.
No Mandate for Poverty, No Guarantee of Riches
Les is explicit: God does not require believers to be poor as paupers, and He also does not promise that believers will automatically become millionaires — the satisfying Christian life is for the rich, the poor, and everyone in between.
Wealth Is Not Wrong, But Priority Is
Les says there is nothing wrong with material blessing or accumulating wealth; God only frowns when wealth becomes a priority. He also states that in this age God's promise is food, clothing, and shelter.
Estate for Children Is Proper
Les shows that Paul approves establishing an estate and having something for children, and calls the person who fails to provide for his family worse than an infidel — proof that wealth accumulation itself is not condemned.
Not 'What's in It for Me'
Les interprets the italicized 'wealth' in Paul's letter as a caution against selfishly seeking what the next man has, not as a prohibition against owning things — the concern is the neighbor's good.
The Common Purse Runs Dry
Les uses the Jerusalem believers' pooled resources as a caution: no matter how large the fund, handing it out to everyone will eventually run out — showing the practical limits of common ownership.
Kingdom Expectations Explained Their Generosity
Les explains the early believers sold their property so freely because they expected the Kingdom momentarily, when there would be no poverty — their example is not a wealth blueprint for believers today.
Things Above vs. Secondary Things
Les says believers need not live a Spartan life, but must not let things take priority — because we are dead to the old Adam and hid with Christ in God, material things are naturally secondary.
2 Corinthians 12:14: Behold, the third time I am ready to come to you; and I will not be burdensome to you: for I seek not yours, but you: for the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children.
This is the Pauline basis Les cites for a parent's responsibility to lay up for children.
1 Timothy 5:8: But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.
Les references this verse when saying that failing to provide for family makes a person worse than an infidel.
Colossians 3:2: Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
The verse behind Les's teaching that material things must remain secondary.
Colossians 3:3: For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.
Les explicitly paraphrases this verse to explain why the old Adam and the things of this world are no longer the believer's priority.
1 Timothy 6:8: And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.
Matches Les's point that God's basic promise to the believer is food, clothing, and shelter.
1 Corinthians 10:24: Let no man seek his own, but every man another's wealth.
This is the verse with the italicized 'wealth' that Les discusses — a warning against self-centered gain.
Acts 2:44-45: And all that believed were together, and had all things common; And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.
Describes the Jerusalem believers' common purse that Les uses as a cautionary example.
No. Les Feldick says God does not mandate that believers be poor as paupers, and there is nothing wrong with material blessing or accumulating wealth. The sin is when wealth becomes the priority of life, causing God to frown upon it.
No. Les says God's promise to the believer in this age of grace is food, clothing, and shelter; everything beyond that is grace and blessing. Financial prosperity is not promised in New Testament church-age teaching — that was part of Israel's earthly promises.
Les explains that the Jerusalem believers sold their property because they expected the Kingdom to be set up at any moment, when there would be no poverty. Their pooled resources eventually ran out, so their example is not a pattern for believers today.
Yes. Les points to Paul's teaching that parents should lay up for their children, and that failing to provide for one's family makes a person worse than an infidel. Accumulating wealth is proper when it serves family responsibility and stays within God's purpose.
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