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What does the Bible say about money?
Stewardship, the danger of loving wealth, and generosity in Law, Prophets, Jesus’ teaching, and the apostolic church, with commentary notes.
Scripture context and classic commentary notes below. For a live, retrieval-grounded conversation, Ask Bible.
Ownership and stewardship
“The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it” (Psalm 24:1). Wealth in Scripture is received under God’s ownership. Deuteronomy warns Israel that prosperity can breed the lie, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me,” and commands them to “remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth” (Deuteronomy 8:17–18).
Proverbs urges honoring the Lord with wealth and firstfruits (Proverbs 3:9–10), while also observing that hasty riches and dishonest gain destroy (Proverbs 13:11; 28:20, 22).
Matthew Henry’s Commentary · Matthew Henry
Henry on Deuteronomy 8 treats wealth as a gift that must not become an idol of self-sufficiency; gratitude and obedience are the fitting response to the Giver.
Jesus and the apostles on wealth’s danger
Jesus states the impossibility of dual mastery: “You cannot serve both God and money” (Matthew 6:24). He warns against storing treasures on earth where moth and thief destroy, and commands treasure in heaven, “for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19–21). The rich fool (Luke 12:13–21) and the rich young ruler (Mark 10:17–27) dramatize how possessions can capture the soul.
Paul teaches that “godliness with contentment is great gain,” warns that “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil,” and charges the rich to be generous and to place hope in God rather than wealth (1 Timothy 6:6–10, 17–19).
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary · JFB
JFB on 1 Timothy 6 carefully note that money itself is not called evil; the love of money is. Contentment and generosity are the pastoral antidotes.
Generosity, justice, and the poor
The Law and Prophets repeatedly defend the poor, the widow, and the sojourner, condemning oppression and bribery (e.g., Deuteronomy 24:14–15; Amos 5:11–15; Micah 6:8). Jesus praises the widow’s sacrificial gift (Mark 12:41–44) and teaches open-handed mercy.
Paul organizes relief for the Jerusalem saints and articulates a theology of cheerful, proportional giving: “Whoever sows generously will also reap generously… for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:6–11; cf. 8:1–15). Money becomes an instrument of love when it serves justice, hospitality, and the gospel’s advance; it becomes a master when it rules the heart.
John Gill’s Exposition of the Bible · John Gill
Gill on 2 Corinthians 8–9 emphasizes grace as the spring of generosity: Macedonian poverty overflowed in riches of liberality because they first gave themselves to the Lord.