Just like how many in the modern Church twist the apparent foreigner's exception to the prohibition on usury in Deuteronomy 23:19-20 to justify usury, they do the same for the apparent poverty exception in Exodus 22:25 which says: "If thou lend money to any of my people that is poor by thee, thou shalt not be to him as an usurer, neither shalt thou lay upon him usury".
Simply because the Bible does not explicitly condemn something does in no way mean that it is permitted by one's Christian liberty. It is all too easy for the human heart to think that if the Bible does not explicitly condemn something to be wrong, it must be legitimate and good, out of its legalism. How is its legalism? It is to think if one is given permission under the Law of God to do something, one has a 'right' to claim it, and that if one is forbidden to do something, one must not, not because one respects the Law of God, but because one does not want to be held accountable. Whenever the Law of God does not explicitly permit something, one automatically claims it as a "right" to do as one chooses. This is the manifestation of the legalism of the human heart of the true Christian.
Legalism regarding the Law of God also manifests in the unsaved. This is manifested in the unsaved in thinking that loving the Law of God and honouring it is legalism, when it is they who are legalistic, seeking to do something only because it gratifies the self-righteousness of the flesh, and gives one an excuse to claim that one is better than another. This explains why there are many wicked unsaved people who seek to fight evil such as pornography and prostitution. Fighting evil can indeed by done by the flesh, but its manner of spirit of a legalistic one, one which seeks to define what is right and wrong only according to one's own self-interest, by regarding the actions of others which one finds offensive to oneself, as wrong, treating what one thinks regarding the offensiveness of others as truth. This, is the height of arrogance, in thinking that one can be a definer of truth, when only God can be a definer of Truth (John 14:6).
This legalism is applied by many western Christians in understanding the prohibition against usury. They think that the Bible makes an exception to the charging of usury, only in respect of loans to the poor, and that usury is generally justified. This is a vile, disgusting, abominable, evil misinterpretation. What makes it so vile is that it is a deliberate attempt to impose one's own false twisted presumption that usury is permitted, onto the Bible, and explain away the prohibition on usury. It is not only to lie about the Bible, but to accuse God of being a liar, you vile, disgusting, abominable, liar.
To those of you who believe that the Bible only prohibits usury against the poor, know this: yes, God really did say that usury is prohibited. He really did say that it is an abomination and he who does usury shall die. Ezekiel 18:13 makes it very clear: "Hath given forth upon usury, and hath taken increase: shall he then live? he shall not live: he hath done all these abominations; he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon him". Does it say that usury can be charged against those who are not poor? No! It says anyone who has taken usury, has done an abomination.
This vile misinterpretation of the usury law, which seeks to read into the Bible an exception so as to permit usury is the manifestation of double-minded legalism. It is the manifestation of a heart which wants to help the poor, not out of purity of heart, but out of a hard-heart which wants to keep the Law of God. This perversity lies precisely in hating usury but yet loving it. Instead of being motivated to follow the Law of God out of love, it is hard-hearted as manifested by its desire to still think that usury is legitimate, when God calls it an abomination (Ezekiel 18:13).
You may think that believing that usury is only prohibited against the poor is to love the poor. No it is not. To support usury itself is to not love, including to not love the poor. It is itself to support exploitation of the poor, as supporting usury itself it to hate the poor, even if one did not know it. 1 John 3:17 says: "But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?" Usury is the ultimate shutting out of compassion for the needy for it is to hate those who are in debt slavery, and therefore needy.
Do not be deceived, to believe that usury should only be prohibited against the poor is not love of the poor. This is because usury cares not for the needy, but the ultimate endorsement of hating the needy in their bondage to debt. No person can be both against usury and support this apparent exception to the usury prohibition that it can be charged against those who are not poor.
Usury is not love, but hatred of others, both rich and poor. It is self-love and the love of mammon. The claim that one believes in helping the poor and yet thinks that the usury prohibition only applies to the loans for the poor is a manifestation of legalistic double-mindedness. On one hands, it wants to help the poor, not out of love, but to keep the moral law. Yet on the other hand, demand that one's "rights" to charge usury, is respected, by making the false argument that the Bible does not prohibit usury per se, but only for loans to the poor, out of legalism under a false guise of love. .
Simply because the Bible does not explicitly condemn something does in no way mean that it is permitted by one's Christian liberty. It is all too easy for the human heart to think that if the Bible does not explicitly condemn something to be wrong, it must be legitimate and good, out of its legalism. How is its legalism? It is to think if one is given permission under the Law of God to do something, one has a 'right' to claim it, and that if one is forbidden to do something, one must not, not because one respects the Law of God, but because one does not want to be held accountable. Whenever the Law of God does not explicitly permit something, one automatically claims it as a "right" to do as one chooses. This is the manifestation of the legalism of the human heart of the true Christian.
Legalism regarding the Law of God also manifests in the unsaved. This is manifested in the unsaved in thinking that loving the Law of God and honouring it is legalism, when it is they who are legalistic, seeking to do something only because it gratifies the self-righteousness of the flesh, and gives one an excuse to claim that one is better than another. This explains why there are many wicked unsaved people who seek to fight evil such as pornography and prostitution. Fighting evil can indeed by done by the flesh, but its manner of spirit of a legalistic one, one which seeks to define what is right and wrong only according to one's own self-interest, by regarding the actions of others which one finds offensive to oneself, as wrong, treating what one thinks regarding the offensiveness of others as truth. This, is the height of arrogance, in thinking that one can be a definer of truth, when only God can be a definer of Truth (John 14:6).
This legalism is applied by many western Christians in understanding the prohibition against usury. They think that the Bible makes an exception to the charging of usury, only in respect of loans to the poor, and that usury is generally justified. This is a vile, disgusting, abominable, evil misinterpretation. What makes it so vile is that it is a deliberate attempt to impose one's own false twisted presumption that usury is permitted, onto the Bible, and explain away the prohibition on usury. It is not only to lie about the Bible, but to accuse God of being a liar, you vile, disgusting, abominable, liar.
To those of you who believe that the Bible only prohibits usury against the poor, know this: yes, God really did say that usury is prohibited. He really did say that it is an abomination and he who does usury shall die. Ezekiel 18:13 makes it very clear: "Hath given forth upon usury, and hath taken increase: shall he then live? he shall not live: he hath done all these abominations; he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon him". Does it say that usury can be charged against those who are not poor? No! It says anyone who has taken usury, has done an abomination.
This vile misinterpretation of the usury law, which seeks to read into the Bible an exception so as to permit usury is the manifestation of double-minded legalism. It is the manifestation of a heart which wants to help the poor, not out of purity of heart, but out of a hard-heart which wants to keep the Law of God. This perversity lies precisely in hating usury but yet loving it. Instead of being motivated to follow the Law of God out of love, it is hard-hearted as manifested by its desire to still think that usury is legitimate, when God calls it an abomination (Ezekiel 18:13).
You may think that believing that usury is only prohibited against the poor is to love the poor. No it is not. To support usury itself is to not love, including to not love the poor. It is itself to support exploitation of the poor, as supporting usury itself it to hate the poor, even if one did not know it. 1 John 3:17 says: "But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?" Usury is the ultimate shutting out of compassion for the needy for it is to hate those who are in debt slavery, and therefore needy.
Do not be deceived, to believe that usury should only be prohibited against the poor is not love of the poor. This is because usury cares not for the needy, but the ultimate endorsement of hating the needy in their bondage to debt. No person can be both against usury and support this apparent exception to the usury prohibition that it can be charged against those who are not poor.
Usury is not love, but hatred of others, both rich and poor. It is self-love and the love of mammon. The claim that one believes in helping the poor and yet thinks that the usury prohibition only applies to the loans for the poor is a manifestation of legalistic double-mindedness. On one hands, it wants to help the poor, not out of love, but to keep the moral law. Yet on the other hand, demand that one's "rights" to charge usury, is respected, by making the false argument that the Bible does not prohibit usury per se, but only for loans to the poor, out of legalism under a false guise of love. .
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