Epistemology, Eschatology, and Investing

Article originally hosted and shared with permission by The Christian Economic Forum, a global network of leaders who join together to collaborate and introduce strategic ideas for the spread of God’s economic principles and the goodness of Jesus Christ. This article was from a collection of White Papers compiled for attendees of the CEF’s Global Event.

by Erik Fast

“Behold, I am coming soon!”

King Jesus

There is a great disconnect between what people believe, especially about what people believe in relation to Biblical end times, and how they invest in their financial resources. Twenty-four percent of Americans believe the Bible is the actual, literal Word of God. Another 47% believe the Bible is at least inspired by God.[1]But of the approximate $75 Trillion in financial assets (stocks, mutual funds, retirement accounts, and closely held businesses) held by US households, only approximately $300 Billion (.4%) is invested defensively in Biblically Responsible Investing (BRI) portfolios.[2] And, at most, $3 Billion is invested offensively in Kingdom impact investments.[3] The result is that many Christ followers are ignorantly or blatantly profiting from companies that promote immoral, anti-life, and anti-family agendas, and very, very few are actively investing in companies that are earnestly promoting the Gospel.

What does this look like? Robert Netzly, who wrote the book Biblically Responsible Investing: For God’s Glory and Your Joy, illustrates the predicament most Christian investors, often ignorantly, find themselves in. He states: “Here I was, the president of our local pro-life pregnancy center, while at the same time owning three stocks of companies that were manufacturing abortion drugs. It struck me that every time a young lady walked into the Planned Parenthood across the street and had an abortion, I was making money on that transaction. With God’s money, no less.”

If we start with the presupposition that the Bible is the infallible and inerrant Word of God, then we also believe that Heaven and Hell are real, that this life is only a short blip on the timeline of eternity, that Jesus is the only way to Heaven, and that He rewards those who obey Him. If we believe the Bible is absolutely true, we also believe that Christ’s return is imminent.

According to a recent Lifeway research poll, 76% of pastors at evangelical and historically black churches expect that Jesus will literally and personally return to earth again in their lifetimes. Even more—90%—see at least some current events matching those Jesus said would occur shortly before He returns to Earth.[4] Every one of the many prophecies that the Bible has predicted would happen to this point has happened. And much of what the Bible foretells is related to the final events of the earth. As Christians, our eschatology—our beliefs about these end times—should inform how we think about investing and money.

Investing, by its very nature, is forward looking. Professional investors make decisions for the future based upon past data, market analysis, experience, and many other factors. Epistemology is the branch of philosophy concerned with knowledge and how we know what we know or believe to know. Investors, whether knowingly or not, have developed an epistemological set of beliefs that guides their decision making. Does the epistemology of most investors include a belief that the world may soon end? The Bible warns us that, in the last days, scoffers of the Bible will voice doubts that Jesus is coming soon and believe that the world will remain the same year after year. These scoffers deliberately forget that the Lord destroyed the world once before with a flood and that the judgement and destruction of the world is coming.[5]

If the Bible is true and the world will end one day, and if evangelical pastors are right in interpreting the signs Jesus said would happen before His return and in believing His return is soon, then Christian investors should factor eschatological beliefs into their investing decisions. What would that look like? I propose that if how we steward our resources was informed by our Biblical beliefs, especially in relation to what we believe about the end times, we would:

Not Be Ignorant Concerning the Season We Are In.

Jesus compares the signs of the end times to labor pains—which increase in duration and intensity. Jesus said end-time events would take place “soon,”[6] and the word used here in Greek is “tachos,” where we get the English word tachometer. The implication is that these events will “rev” up, like an engine increases in speed over time. Bible believers should expect increasing attacks against Christian morals and values. While these attacks may subside like the temporary reprieve in between labor pains, we should anticipate that cultural shifts will continue to increase and become more severe.

We know that, in the last days, there will be perilous times—that people will love only themselves and their money.[7] Alongside wars, earthquakes, pestilences (pandemics), and fighting, the Bible says that, in the last days, the love of many [Christ followers] will grow cold.[8] As it relates to investing, we can anticipate that many privately held and publicly traded companies—even those with previously good morals—will capitulate to the influence of the world and will promote immoral agendas. Subsequently, our investment portfolios will be increasingly tainted with companies that promote immorality.

Invest Defensively.

If we believe in the Bible, we also believe that we should “not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers,”[9] and that we “cannot serve both God and money.”[10] It would be evil on our part to invest the resources God has entrusted to us into enterprises influenced by Satan and which achieve his purposes—to steal, kill, and destroy.[11] Companies that censor Christians, that promote immoral and anti-life agendas, and that deal in narcotics that harm people have no place in the portfolio of any Christ follower—unless, of course, that Christ follower can individually or with others help to end a company’s evil behavior. Profiting from such investments is tantamount to gaining the whole world but losing your soul.[12] Simply not aiding and abetting the enemy produces no reward for a citizen, soldier, or ambassador. Rather, it is the expected behavior for a person whose Kingdom is under attack.

Christ followers can invest defensively by putting their investable assets into BRI investment funds that filter out immoral and un-Biblical investments.

Invest Offensively.

We can utilize the resources the Lord has given us to steward offensively—to further the Kingdom—in three main ways:

1) We can directly use the resources the Lord has given us to further His Kingdom ourselves. (e.g., We can buy someone a meal and share the Gospel with them over food.)

2) We can donate funds to a church, parachurch, or Christian nonprofit organization that serves Kingdom purposes.

3) We can make impact investments into for-profit businesses that further the Kingdom. (e.g., We can invest in companies that hire formerly exploited or trafficked people and share the love of Christ with them, businesses that use their presence in countries that are difficult for traditional missionaries to access to share the Gospel, and/or companies that seek to use their businesses as a platform for sharing truth and love to a hurting world.)

Of these three areas in which Christ followers have the ability to make a difference for the Kingdom, they are usually familiar with only two (and most Christians don’t know or understand about impact investing). However, this is the area where Christ followers may have the greatest opportunity. Many assume that the reason for such limited Kingdom impact investments—investments into companies that use their businesses as a platform for sharing the Gospel—is because of a lack of investable deal flow from such companies. From personal experience and from conducting a wide-ranging market study over two years, I am convinced that this is not the case.

In order for greater and expanded impact for the Kingdom, the collective Christian church must consider advancing and increasing Kingdom impact investments.

Educate About Stewardship.

From personal experience and anecdotal evidence, when pastors in America talk about money, they usually talk about tithing and giving to the Lord. Sometimes they speak about the problems with debt. But rarely do American pastors teach about being unequally yoked to companies with immoral agendas through our investments and the problem of profiting from immoral companies. American pastors will often encourage their parishioners to vote—and to vote according to their Biblical beliefs. But very infrequently, if ever, will American pastors teach their flocks that their investments have as much, if not more, influence than their votes.

In order to increase the Kingdom impact of individual Christians, the BRI and Kingdom impact investment community must work to educate pastors who can then educate their congregations about investing. Further, moving this education into churches through seminars and classes, like what Dave Ramsey has done regarding debt, is critical for increasing this movement. This is not a hard sell: 87% of millennials say they would stay with or move to a wealth advisor who communicates with them about BRI.[13]

Measure Impact. 

While God alone judges our obedience to His commands, and He alone is the One who rewards His followers with eternal rewards, faithful stewards seeking to honor their King will desire to compare and measure Kingdom impact secured from investing in different methods. If a Christian gives significantly to a nonprofit parachurch organization that squanders donated funds through mismanagement, and then the Christian learns of this mismanagement, they could rightly doubt as to whether future gifts to this nonprofit will secure rewards in Heaven. In contrast, a Christian who gives generously to a church that subsequently is used mightily in its community could presume that such an investment was a good use of resources entrusted to them.

When we make investments, we often hire an impartial party to conduct an audit to measure and quantify financial returns. Can such an audit be done to measure Kingdom impact, both for giving and impact investing?[14] And then, can impact for giving be compared to investing? Such an audit would necessarily factor in the financial returns from an impact investment, which could then be used for further impact investing or generous giving. A steward who truly believes in the reality of Heaven and eternity and who desires to store up treasures in Heaven would desire to conduct such an audit and invest accordingly.[15]

Conclusion

We are called to be stewards of resources the Lord has given us, and He will reward us according to the increase we realize investing His funds.[16] A simple understanding of Biblical principles tells us that Jesus isn’t going to reward people for eternity based purely upon their financial gains here on earth. It’s quite the opposite: Jesus said that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God.[17] Every one of us was created for God’s pleasure.[18] First and foremost, we bring God pleasure by confessing with our mouths the Lord Jesus and believing in our hearts that God has raised Him from the dead.[19] But after this, how do we bring Him pleasure? We show Him love by obeying His commands.[20] His commandments can all be summarized by the Great Commandment (love God, love your neighbor)[21] and the Great Commission (make disciples of all nations).[22] If we believe this, and if we believe that He is coming soon, we will desire to ensure that our funds are advancing the Kingdom to earn an eternal reward and are not invested in businesses that steal, kill, and destroy. We will educate others about how to store up treasures in Heaven, and we will do as best as we can to measure impact in order to know how best to advance Kingdom causes. If we believe this, we will seek first the Kingdom in all that we do.

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[1] https://news.gallup.com/poll/210704/record-few-americans-believe-bible-literal-word-god.aspx

[2] This estimate is based upon data from the Nexus Impact Advisors’ Landscape of Christian Investing report and increased to account for growth over the last two years. See http://nexusimpactadvisors.com/christian-investing-landscape

[3] No published data exists to quantify this number. This estimate is based upon the author’s knowledge of the Kingdom Impact Investing landscape.

[4] https://lifewayresearch.com/2020/04/07/vast-majority-of-pastors-see-signs-of-end-times-in-current-events/

[5] 2 Peter 3:3-10

[6] Revelation 1:1, 22:6

[7] 2 Timothy 3:1-2

[8] Matthew 24:12

[9] 2 Corinthians 6:14

[10] Matthew 6:24

[11] John 10:10

[12] Mark 8:34-38

[13] http://www.briinvesting.com

[14] Two firms, Eido Research and Calvin Edwards and Company are working to develop such audits.

[15] M6:33 Capital plans to conduct such a Kingdom impact audit on companies that it invests in.

[16] Matthew 25:14-30

[17] Matthew 19:23-24

[18] Revelation 4:11

[19] Romans 10:9

[20] John 14:15

[21] Matthew 22:36-40

[22] Matthew 28:18-20