Was Jesus a socialist? Well, the Bible says that Jesus is King of kings and Lord of lords (1 Timothy 6:15, Revelation 19:16). So Jesus is sovereign, not socialist.
But in Acts chapter 4, we see at the beginning of the church that “those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common” (Acts 4:32). There was not a needy person among them. They gave their lands and their goods and the proceeds were distributed to those in need. See? Socialism!
Uh, no. Socialism isn’t freely giving, it’s forcefully taking. A socialist government believes the state has a duty to take what rightfully belongs to one person and give it to another. That’s called stealing. God was very clear about where thieves will go (1 Corinthians 6:9-10). Whether one person does it, or ten million people vote for the elected officials who do it, it’s still theft.
That was not the early church, where no one was taking from their neighbor, they were giving to their neighbor. Brothers and sisters in Christ gave as much or as little as they wanted, not reluctantly or under compulsion (2 Corinthians 9:6-8). Nothing was being taken by any authority, and the money wasn’t being misused — like, by killing babies and calling it healthcare.
Socialism costs everyone. Just because socialists say they want to give to the poor doesn’t make it good. Judas wanted to take Mary’s expensive ointment and give the proceeds to the poor! –because he was a thief who cared only about himself. Mary gave freely to the Lord and she was commended (John 12:1-8).
Our Sovereign King has distributed freely, He has given of Himself to poor sinners. Give thanks, for His righteousness endures forever (2 Corinthians 9:9), when we understand the text.
