In the sixth episode of the ‘Money According to the Bible’ season, Simon and Bex discuss various points made in the Book of Acts about wealth, possessions and our attitudes towards them.

Some key points of interest covered in this episode include the following:

• Bex and Simon introduce this episode, which explores what we can learn from the way that the early church dealt with money and possessions, as described in the Book of Acts. [00:54]
• Bex begins by asking Simon for his thoughts on two very well-known passages in Acts (Acts 2.42-47 and Acts 4.32-37), which describe the willingness of members of the community of believers to sell all they possessed for the benefit of others. [02:37]
• Simon brings in the story of Ananias and Sapphira from Acts 5 to illustrate how things can go badly wrong when underlying principles of honesty, trust and community are disregarded. [07:54]
• Simon and Bex reflect on the example provided by Paul, in Acts 28 and Acts 18 respectively, of an attitude of holding money, possessions and a home lightly, and also of working his passage as a tentmaker despite his priority being to preach the gospel. [11:00]
• Bex highlights the approach taken in Acts 6 towards providing for the widows, who were a particularly vulnerable group in society at that time. By appointing additional leaders and delegating responsibilities and tasks, the disciples found a way of meeting that need while also ensuring that they were able to continue spreading the message of hope and good news available through Jesus. [16:03]
• The account of Cornelius and his appeal to Peter in Acts 10 shows how one individual’s generosity and softness of heart can be used by God to produce positive and far-reaching consequences. [20:03]
• Simon wraps up the episode by quoting the words of Paul from Acts 20.32-35: “Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing. You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ” There will be more from Paul in the next episode of this season as it will focus on ‘Money According to the Letters of Paul. [23:37]

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