Biblically Responsible Investing: For God's Glory And Your Joy

by Robert Netzly

If you asked Christian entrepreneurs to invest in a new abortion clinic in town, all the faithful ones would say, “Absolutely not.”But something similar is happening when Christians invest in many investment funds. For example, the Vanguard S&P 500 is one of the most popular funds, and it grows with the sales of abortion services.

This book inspires Christians everywhere to stop investing in God’s enemies and shift their wealth toward investments that build God’s kingdom on Wall Street as it is in heaven.

BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager and secular investment firm, boasts of a $3–$4 trillion fund. According to Pew Research, there is $22.4 trillion walking around in Christian church members’ pockets in America. Christians could collectively buy Amazon, Google, and Apple four times over!

The time is now for Christians to invest the Hell out of their money.

Genres: Nonfiction

115 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 11, 2018

Reviews

[Jordan Borisuk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent little book on how we should be thinking about our money and how it's used when we invest it. very thankful these conversations are taking place as we strive to honor the Lord with what He has given us.

[Caroline Haley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful, biblical perspective on investing.

[ValeReads Kyriosity · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a short book, because the argument it makes is a simple one: Christians are required to honor God in the way we invest our money. And Netzly makes that argument clearly and persuasively. The one thing I wished he'd covered is banks—are some to be avoided, and, if so, how are we to discern that?

[Jim Becker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Introductory with some good ideas with Scripture. Short and to the point. Helpful for many.

[Wyatt Brandt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Convicting book. It’s quite short, but still longer than it needs to be to get the point. Some chapters felt like reading a John Maxwell book. The book is clearly written to be a promotion of his firm, which I don’t mind. Style aside, the issues raised in the book are massively important for all Christians with investments to deal with.
When we own stock in a company, we are part owners who earn when the business succeeds. If a business profits off of abortion drugs, pornography, and other ungodly, sinful enterprises, then it is a company we should not invest in. Rather, we should invest in companies that we know do good.
I appreciate his clarity on the different between selective investing and boycotting a company. There’s a difference between being an owner and a consumer. Choosing to avoid being a stock owner of Target is very different than choosing not to shop at Target. One doesn’t involve profiting off of LGBTQ promotion.
Chapter two is the meat of the book, basically an explanation of what is involved in biblically responsible investing. Very helpful. I’m eager to take a closer look at all my investments and work to make them more biblically responsible.

[Edward Carrington · Rating 3 out of 5]

A primer on biblically responsible investing: Financial returns are the product of business activities, and sharing in those returns as a shareholder is an implicit endorsement of a firm’s actions. This framework calls believers to align their portfolios with their beliefs endorsing what is good, engaging where influence is possible, and excluding what is sinful. A short book that still felt longer than it needed to be.

[Quentin James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly convicting. We need to think of our investments in terms of worship and obedience, and Netzly provides a clear and practical way to make that a reality. Biblically Responsible Investing is what we need to be doing if we want to see actual change in the current state of our world

[Emery · Rating 5 out of 5]

Investing with God in this world's treasures

I offer full disclosure that I was personally involved with this amazing tribe of men in the early four years of the formation of Christian Wealth Management as an independent advisor under Robert's daily supervision. Robert and his team guided us daily with wisdom that comes when you are a full-on committed Christ-follower desiring to answer the call to arms of the masterful King. I would not trade those one-of-a-kind life experiences for all the wealth in the world. Robert and his team offer a way of thinking that is rare in this life. As I was twice the age of the men I worked alongside, I aged out sooner rather than later asnd my journey took a new turn. But their wisdom has stayed with me. I consider them each the most valued of advisors in my life and I commend this book to you to learn about how Godly men and women serve in a practical marketplace. You will learn more than you realized you didn't know and your life will be filled with joy as you give God the glory. A great read of a great leader in a great team! Kudos to everyone involved in this groundbreaking financial powerhouse. The BEST is yet to come! To God be ALL glory!

[Mary Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vote Your Values

Loved the book Robert. As a member of Christian Wealth Management I encourage readers to consider voting with their values. The Bible reminds us that God owns it all and we are merely stewards of our God given resources. Are you being a good steward of what you have been blessed with?

[Walter Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

All people, not just Christians, should read this book and have their eyes opened to what they are supporting/profiting from unknowingly.

Go type in your investments on inspireinsight.com and there won’t be any turning back once you see what’s going on under the hood of your portfolio.

Proverbs 16:8 - Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues with injustice.

[Ellen Nicholas]

My husband put some money in an investment account for me to learn how to work the stock market. It wasn't' until this last year that we even thought about the "God Side" of it. He bought me this book as food for thought.

"Biblically Responsible Investing - On Wall Street As It Is In Heaven" by Robert Netzly

We know that the "Magnificent Seven" stocks lean heavily left, do we want to support those agendas by our investing?

Finally, this book offers a handful of thoughts on why biblically responsible investing is necessary for Christians. These are the arguments that the Lord used to pry me out of the impressive but godless world of secular investing and plunge me headfirst into the biblically responsible investing movement.

Netzly, Robert. Biblically Responsible Investing: On Wall Street as It Is In Heaven (p. 10). Canon Press. Kindle Edition.

The book is pretty conversationally written, and easy to understand, while bringing up eternal questions for anybody interested in investing.

Netzly went from "how much money can I make for my clients" to "how do I honor God by investing in companies that don't dishonor Him"

The book promises to guide the reader through the process of choosing what values are important, why God cares about how we invest our money and about the connection between your investments, God’s glory, and your joy.

Chapter 4 is titled, "Does Your Conscience Have a Price?"

consider:

If you asked the average Christian investor whether they would consider buying into the porn business, they would probably (hopefully!) say no. However, if a financial advisor asked the average Christian investor whether they would consider buying stock in Netflix or Amazon or some other company that dabbles in pornography but, in the opinion of the advisor’s research department, seems poised to double in value . . . well . . .

Netzly, Robert. Biblically Responsible Investing: On Wall Street as It Is In Heaven (p. 50). Canon Press. Kindle Edition.



Even if a person doesn't invest directly, they can often direct their 401Ks to specific funds. If they rely on a financial advisor, they can request that certain companies be avoided.

The book did change the way I invest - for instance, we refuse to give Netflix any money because of their values - if I don't want to buy into a company that "dabbles in pornography" - why would I want to profit from it?

My verdict is:

Read this book if you want an overview of why God cares how you invest your money, if you want to learn how to invest responsibly, and (in our investing) to glorify God in all we do, to shine the light of Christ brightly so that the world “may see our good works and give glory to our Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 5:16).

[Isaiah Fisher · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has given me a lot to think about. I haven’t really put much thought into what evils I might be supporting with my investing. Now I have, and it’s not pretty.

“Immediately the Holy Spirit gripped my heart. Here I was, the president of our local pro-life pregnancy center, and I owned stocks in three different 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 profiting from that transaction. With God’s money, no less.”

“As a Christian, wisdom requires you to be a fool—in business, family, investing, and every other area of life. You will be called on by Wisdom to make decisions that seem like folly to bystanders.”

“Trust in the Lord’s goodness. Submit to His Word. Silence the snake. Love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. And investments.”

[Maddie Carter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an off-brand read for me but so eye-opening—especially when it comes to choosing a financial advisor. I would have historically defined a biblically responsible advisor as someone who is godly, wise, trustworthy, etc. but I hadn’t considered how important it is that they can thoughtfully screen for alignment with biblical values. Investment isn’t just about how much but WHERE. I hope that Netzly’s firm and others like it continue to gain traction as Christians learn what they’re actually profiting from and feel convicted to change their investment habits.

[Cole Feix · Rating 4 out of 5]

An intriguing even provocative little book. It shakes Christians out of their financial slumbers. I’m not sure I agree with his argument that owning index funds is the same as supporting all the decisions of all the businesses therein, but I’m glad he got me thinking through it. I hope there is more on this topic in the future. Quick read that sticks with you.

[Alice]

Helpful thoughts on the application of scripture in all things - especially what we make money from. Just because shares might make us a profit doesn’t justify what the company we now own a tiny part of is doing to make that money. We should care what is being done with our money and not sell our soul for a profit however small or large.

[Zach Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

1 Corinthians 10:31

[31] So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.


Every Christian investor should consider the ideas presented in this book. The Scriptural references are well-researched and serve as the foundation for the book’s thesis.

[Brian Weisz · Rating 2 out of 5]

More of a Christian book than an investing book. I thought this book might offer some arguments against broad-based passive index investing, but it was more devotional, i.e, this is what God wants you to do, etc. Netzly is a salesman, like anyone pushing any particular view or ideology.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Since the author is coming at finances from a different angle, aside from the main theme of biblical investing, he had a few other insights from scripture that I had not thought of the way he pointed out and expressed them.
Worth the read.

[Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

I by and large agree with the concept of investing as ownership and that we should align our investments with our faith and moral values over profitability. That said, I felt like the author leaned too heavily into condemnation thus the 3 star review.

[Travis Daggett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, great.
Minus the "abortion-vulnerable" usage.
And the Francis Chan reference.

[Austin Cason · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even if you do not read the book itself (which rolls in around 120 pages), the idea of Biblically Responsible Investing needs to be dealt with by every Christian.

[Andrew Hoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short and simple book on biblically responsible investing that every Christian should read.

[Caleb M. Powers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful little book.

[Isaac · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every Christian should read this, especially men leading their homes.

[Zachery Whitehead · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whatever you do, do it for the glory of God. This includes your investments. Short and to the point.

[Landon Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful, encouraging and challenging for someone who works in the financial services industry.

[Adam S Cawrse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Solid. Every Christian should read this book and review investments in light of Scripture.

[Will Dole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely an important topic for Christians to consider—are you honoring the Lord with your investments?

[Patrick Porras · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent overview. Empowering and encouraging. Helps to not just to steward finances well, but Netzly's story inspires to take risks of faith in your own life.

[Veronica Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great quick read! Grounded in scripture and encouraging.