What does the Bible say about debt, lending and interest?
The Bible does not forbid borrowing or lending, but it treats debt as a burden: pay what you owe, and lend without exploiting people in need. It also warns against cosigning lightly and praises those who save for the future.
Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour. Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.
Paul says “Render therefore to all their dues”, and the only debt that should always stay open is love. Some read this as a ban on all borrowing; others as a command not to leave bills unpaid, since the Law itself regulated lending and Jesus said not to turn away the borrower (Matthew 5:42).
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.
The Law’s ban on interest had a specific target: a loan to one of God’s people “that is poor by thee”, made so he could survive, not to fund a business. Charging interest there, acting “as an usurer”, meant profiting from a brother’s need.
Thou shalt not lend upon usury to thy brother; usury of money, usury of victuals, usury of any thing that is lent upon usury: Unto a stranger thou mayest lend upon usury; but unto thy brother thou shalt not lend upon usury: that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all that thou settest thine hand to in the land whither thou goest to possess it.
The Law forbade interest between Israelites but said “Unto a stranger thou mayest lend upon usury” — usually an outsider who came to trade. The difference shows the target: protecting a brother in need, not condemning all interest; Jesus mentions, without censure, money earning interest with the bankers in the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:27).
And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.
Jesus goes beyond the Law: lend “hoping for nothing again”, even to those who may not pay you back. Between friends and family in hard times, sometimes the best loan is a gift.
My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger, Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth. Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself, when thou art come into the hand of thy friend; go, humble thyself, and make sure thy friend. Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids. Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler.
On cosigning: whoever has guaranteed someone else’s debt should hurry to get free of it, “as a roe from the hand of the hunter”. Proverbs returns to this again and again (11:15; 17:18; 22:26-27): guaranteeing a debt is a risk to avoid, not a proof of friendship.
There is treasure to be desired and oil in the dwelling of the wise; but a foolish man spendeth it up.
Saving is not a lack of faith: there is treasure “in the dwelling of the wise”, while a fool spends it all. The ant in Proverbs 6:6-8 teaches the same — it gathers at harvest time.
The Bible does not treat people in debt as lost causes. The Law provided for the release of debts every seven years (Deuteronomy 15:1-2), Nehemiah urged the creditors to give back what they had taken from the poor (Nehemiah 5:11), and Elisha helped a widow pay her creditor and live on what was left (2 Kings 4:1-7). The first step is usually to stop hiding: talk it over at home, write down everything you owe, and contact your creditors to renegotiate. Nonprofit credit counseling and consumer protection agencies exist for exactly this — and the church can walk alongside you, without judgment.
Frequently asked questions
Is it a sin to lend money at interest?
The Law of Moses forbade charging interest to a poor Israelite who borrowed to survive (Exodus 22:25; Leviticus 25:35-37), and the prophets condemned those who got rich that way (Ezekiel 18:8; Nehemiah 5:1-11). The Bible does not deal with commercial credit as we know it; what it clearly condemns is profiting from someone’s hardship. That is why many Christians accept fair interest in business and reject loan-sharking — and with people in need, Jesus points further: lend expecting nothing back.
What does the Bible say about people who don’t pay their debts?
Paying what you owe is a matter of justice and love (Romans 13:7-8), and whoever has the means should not say “to morrow I will give” (Proverbs 3:28) — that goes for loans and for purchases left unpaid. If you want to pay and can’t, you don’t have to hide: going to the lender, telling the truth and renegotiating is the honest path. And whoever lent is called to collect without humiliating (Exodus 22:26-27).
Does the Bible forbid cosigning a loan?
There is no command, but Proverbs repeatedly advises against guaranteeing someone else’s debt (6:1-5; 17:18; 22:26-27), because a cosigner takes on a debt he does not control. The text itself asks: “If thou hast nothing to pay, why should he take away thy bed from under thee?”
Is saving money a lack of faith?
No. Proverbs praises those who save (21:20) and points to the ant, which gathers while it can (6:6-8). What Jesus condemns is laying up treasure for yourself without being “rich toward God” (Luke 12:21), and trusting in money. Saving wisely and being generous go together.
