Socialism
RICCS is a confessionally reformed church built upon the belief in the Two Kingdoms approach to the doctrine of the roles of church and State. We believe in the biblical doctrine of the spirituality of the church as reflected in Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter 31, para. 4. The Westminster Confession defines the spirituality of the church in this language:
“Synods and councils are to handle, or concern nothing, but that which is ecclesiastical: and are not to intermeddle with civil affairs which concern the commonwealth, unless by way of humble petition in cases extraordinary; or, by way of advice, for satisfaction of conscience, if they be thereunto required by the civil magistrate."
This doctrine of the spirituality of the church was not invented by racially – insensitive and stuffy Scotsman, but by Jesus Christ and his apostles (Luke 12:13 – 14, John 18:36, Matthew 22:21). This principle is seen in all of Christ’s and the apostle’s ministry whereby they did not address themselves to the profound social injustices around them, but instead preached the gospel and planted biblical churches.
Some might read this and conclude that the church has no civil obligation at all, but that would be incorrect. The church does not have civil authority, and has no right to “wield the sword” against moral injustice in the civil kingdom. But the church, as the church, does have a duty when there are extraordinary cases to which the church must speak. There is a time and place for the church to demand the state, in its sphere of sovereignty to enforce justice, to be the state, and act justly to protect the innocent.
In these cases, the church should restrict itself to “humble petition” of the state whereby it declares the express teaching of Scripture, with its good and necessary consequences, and avoids comment on political strategies and endeavors. There have been many such cases in the past decade where reformed denominations have carefully observed this distinction with respect to such vital matters as abortion, homosexuality, and sexual/gender perversion. These denominations have often refused at its general assemblies/synods to issue political statements, but simply lay down the biblical case against such moral violations in petitions directed to state assemblies.
We, the Consistory of RICCS, believe that socialism meets this standard of being an extraordinary case in which the church must speak:
Socialism is an unbiblical system that promotes and encourages evil in human society. Socialism is built upon three unbiblical tenants. First, socialism is a system based on stealing. The whole point of socialism is for the government to seize control of private property, mainly involving the proceeds of peoples' work, in order to give it to others. This activity is the very thing pronounced as evil by the 8th Commandment: "You shall not steal" (Ex. 20:15). Throughout the Bible it is assumed that individuals have responsibility and authority over the property in their possession. God’s moral law in the 8th Commandment forbids stealing, which clearly implies private property rights. For instance, even when Peter was accusing Ananias of being greedy and dishonest, the apostle admitted the man's right to dispose of his personal property (Acts 5:4). While there is a legitimate basis for government taxation, the simple taking of one's possessions in order to give them to others is not one of them. Socialism is evil because it inherently involves stealing.
Second, because socialism is an anti-work system. Socialism promises to give a blessed life for free. Today, the Left promises to give free education, free health care, and free vacation time, etc. (Of course, since government does not create wealth, these things are only free as the money to give them is taken from others.) As I listen to Leftism, I wonder what incentive there would be to work hard. Why would I put myself through the ordeal of discipline, sacrifice, and sweat, much less risk-taking business endeavors, if I can have a wonderful life without working for it? In contrast to the ethos of socialism, the Bible is explicitly pro-work. Paul writes: "Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need" (Eph. 4:28). Here, the apostle not only urges selflessness with one's possession, but explicitly denounces the socialist ethos. The Bible is very clear, “If you don’t work, you don’t eat” (2 Thess. 3:10).
Third, because socialism concentrates the power to do evil. The Bible's concern about human sinfulness (and its general approach of de-centralizing power) argues strongly against socialism. Under capitalism, the individual has discretion to dispose of his or her wealth, which in some cases involves vast resources. This may be done virtuously or sinfully depending on the character of the individual owner. Under socialism, however, a small number of government masters has control over almost all of the resources of the entire society. Unless one believes that politicians are inherently more virtuous than private citizens (and where one would get such an idea is biblically untenable), then this concentration of power is certain to work extraordinary amounts of evil. Under capitalism, access to scarce resources is determined by how much money one has, and one's money generally reflects the market's value on his or her work contributions. This will sometimes seem unfair, depending on one's perspective. But under socialism, access to scarce resources is based on government favor. This structure virtually reduces the society to slavery, eventually impoverishes everyone, and unfailingly promotes a culture of corruption.
As God is a Creator and providentially stewards his creation, so also man, made in his image, is to build and steward for God’s glory. Biblical stewardship views God as the owner of all things, and man - individually and collectively - as his steward. Both the Old and New Testament teach about private property and good stewardship of God’s creation (Genesis 1:28 – 30, 23:13 – 20, Deuteronomy 8, Ruth 2, Isaiah 65:21 – 22, Jeremiah 32:42 – 44, Psalms 112, Proverbs 31, Micah 4:1 – 4, Luke 12:13 – 15, Acts 5:1 – 4, Ephesians 4:28). Our right to own property stems from our duty to work in the stewardship of God’s creation. After God thrust Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden, He decreed that they (and we) would face a lifetime of hard work (Genesis 3:17 – 19). However, God mercifully allows our hard work to reward us with property. The very existence of private property encourages our diligence and fruitfulness: “Lazy hands make a poor man, but diligent hands bring wealth.” (Proverbs 10:4).
We are accountable to God for how we use the property he gives us, and we are responsible to exercise wisdom in our stewardship, not only of property, but also of God’s creation. Every person is accountable to God for the use of whatever he has (Genesis 1:26 – 30, 2:15). Every person’s responsibility as a steward is to maximize what God has given us in order to serve others and to love our neighbors as ourselves. We can use our property to serve others only in a society that permits private property ownership.