Journal: Bibliotheca Sacra
Volume: BSAC 180:720 (Oct 2023)
Article: Wealth, Contentment, And Union With Christ In The Pastoral Epistles
Author: Gary L. Shultz, Jr.

BSac 180:720 (October-December 2023) p. 452

Wealth, Contentment, And Union With Christ In The Pastoral Epistles

Gary L. Shultz Jr.

Gary L. Shultz Jr. is Associate Professor of Theology and Editor of Baptist University Press at Baptist University of Florida in Graceville, Florida.

Abstract

Among Paul’s letters, the Pastoral Epistles in particular address how believers should honor Jesus Christ with their wealth. Throughout the Pastorals, Paul warned believers about the dangers of loving money. He urged them to find contentment in Christ, which was possible because of their union with Christ, and to express this contentment through sacrificial giving. This article examines the relationship between wealth, contentment, and union with Christ as seen in Paul’s warnings about wealth and his calls for a Christian response.

Throughout his ministry, the apostle Paul demonstrated a special concern for those with wealth to give to the poor, as evidenced by his epistles and the book of Acts.1 Early in his ministry, Paul wrote to the Galatians about his meeting with James, Peter, and John, noting their approval of his calling to the gentiles and their request that he continue to “remember the poor,” something he was “eager” to do (Gal 2:9–10).2 This eagerness had already been demonstrated in his ministry when he and Barnabas

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collected the gift for the Christians in Jerusalem during the famine predicted by Agabus (Acts 11:27–30).3 During his third missionary journey, Paul exhorted churches in Macedonia, Achaia, Galatia, and possibly Asia Minor to give money for the relief of Christians in poverty in Jerusalem, and then he took those gifts to Jerusalem himself (Acts 21:17–20; 24:17; Rom 15:25–28; 1 Cor 16:1–2; 2 Cor 8–9). Paul also exhorted believers to give in other contexts. For example, in Romans 12:8 he referred to the gift of giving that some Christians possess and stated they should give liberally, and in Ephesians 4:28 he encouraged former thieves to work so that they would have something to share with those in need.

Paul’s concern ...