If we ask what I - standing within the theological and legal framework of biblical law - would think of Bitcoin, we must begin not with technology, but with law. Money is not first an economic tool; it is a legal and religious institution. All law reflects a god, and all money reflects a sovereign. The question, therefore, is not “Is Bitcoin innovative?” but rather: Whose sovereignty does it represent?
1. Money and the Sovereignty of God
Scripture is explicit that honest weights and measures are a matter of justice:
“Thou shalt not have in thy bag divers weights, a great and a small” (Deut. 25:13).
“A false balance is abomination to the LORD” (Prov. 11:1).
Money in the biblical world was tied to weight - gold and silver measured honestly. Inflation by debasement was theft. The state that alters the value of currency commits legalized fraud. When governments expand currency without substance - whether by clipping coins in ancient times or by fiat inflation today - they violate God’s law against theft (Ex. 20:15).
Modern fiat systems, untethered from commodity restraint, represent a claim of messianic sovereignty by the civil magistrate. By controlling money, the state controls life. Inflation becomes a hidden tax. The civil order thereby places itself in the position of god.
From a theonomic perspective, this is rebellion.
2. Bitcoin as a Reaction Against Fiat Tyranny
Bitcoin emerged in the aftermath of the 2008 financial collapse - a crisis born of debt manipulation and centralized monetary control. It is decentralized, algorithmically limited, and resistant to arbitrary expansion. In that respect, it represents a protest against statist monetary tyranny.
Its fixed supply model resembles, in principle, the biblical demand for honest weights and measures. No central authority may simply decree more into existence. That constraint mirrors the biblical prohibition against false balances.
Thus, in one respect, Bitcoin reflects a lawful instinct: a desire for restraint, honesty, and protection of private property.
And private property is not a human invention; it is divinely mandated. “Thou shalt not steal” presupposes ownership. Scripture affirms inheritance, stewardship, and restitution - not confiscation or inflationary theft.
Bitcoin’s architecture limits the capacity of the civil magistrate to inflate or confiscate wealth through currency manipulation. That limitation is not anti-government; it is anti-idolatry. Civil government is a ministry of justice (Rom. 13), not a creator of value ex nihilo.
3. But Technology Is Not Neutral
However, we must not baptize any innovation prematurely. No tool is morally neutral. The issue is not merely decentralization but lawful order under God.
Bitcoin does not derive its authority from Scripture but from mathematical consensus and distributed networks. Its “trustlessness” is rooted in cryptography rather than covenantal accountability.
Biblical society rests on covenant: God, man, oath, law, and sanctions. Economic exchange in Scripture involves moral accountability before God, not merely computational verification.
If Bitcoin becomes a vehicle for lawlessness - funding crime, evading lawful restitution, enabling anonymous wickedness - then it becomes an instrument of rebellion. Scripture requires due process, courts, and restitution (Ex. 22). Absolute anonymity can undermine lawful justice if it shields evildoers.
Thus the question is not: “Is Bitcoin decentralized?” but rather: Can it function within a biblical legal order?
4. Divine Law vs. Human Autonomy
Secular libertarians often praise Bitcoin as liberation from all authority. That premise is flawed. There is no neutrality. Either authority is under God or it is idolatrous.
A monetary system that denies the magistrate’s God-ordained role in punishing evil and protecting property is no less rebellious than one that enthrones the state as sovereign.
Civil government has legitimate authority under God to regulate fraud, theft, and criminal exchange. It does not have authority to debase currency or confiscate property unjustly. Bitcoin may restrain the latter, but it must not eliminate the former.
Theonomy does not call for anarchism; it calls for limited, lawful magistracy under Scripture.
5. Economic Implications in Biblical Terms
Bitcoin’s scarcity model parallels commodity money in certain respects. Scripture consistently treats gold and silver as money because they have intrinsic value and measurable weight.
Bitcoin lacks physical substance, but it does possess scarcity and verifiability. The question becomes: Is scarcity alone sufficient for lawful money?
Biblically speaking, money must:
- Function as an honest measure.
- Facilitate lawful exchange.
- Operate within covenantal accountability.
If Bitcoin can serve as a reliable measure and medium of exchange without enabling fraud or evading justice, then it may be a legitimate tool within a Christian society.
But if it becomes an idol - trusted for salvation, hoarded in fear, or treated as ultimate security - it becomes Mammon.
Christ warned clearly: “Ye cannot serve God and mammon” (Matt. 6:24).
The problem is never the tool but the heart.
6. The Dangers of Statist Retaliation
One predictable outcome of decentralized currency is statist retaliation. States that claim monetary sovereignty will resist competition. We may see attempts to outlaw or centralize digital currencies under government control (so-called CBDCs).
Such centralized digital currencies would represent unprecedented surveillance and control - far exceeding fiat systems of the past. Revelation 13 warns of systems in which buying and selling are tied to allegiance.
While we must avoid speculative sensationalism, we must recognize that centralized monetary control can become a mechanism of tyranny.
Bitcoin’s resistance to centralization may serve as a providential restraint against totalitarian economic domination.
7. Proposed Reforms in Light of Biblical Law
If we were to reform monetary systems in accordance with God’s law, several principles would guide us:
- Abolition of inflationary fiat practices that violate honest weights and measures.
- Legal recognition of competing lawful currencies, allowing voluntary exchange.
- Strict enforcement of fraud and restitution laws within digital markets.
- Tax reform grounded in biblical limits, eliminating hidden inflation taxes.
- Transparent accounting in civil government, preventing debt slavery.
Whether Bitcoin itself becomes dominant is secondary. What matters is conformity to biblical justice.
8. The Postmillennial Perspective
We must also consider history. God’s kingdom advances progressively. Technology itself is not the enemy; lawlessness is.
In a Christian civilization, digital currencies could operate within covenantal frameworks, subject to lawful courts, restitution standards, and moral accountability. They would not replace God’s sovereignty but function under it.
The question is not whether Bitcoin will usher in utopia. It will not. Only Christ does that.
But could it be used as a tool to weaken unjust monetary monopolies? Possibly.
Could it also be used to empower wickedness? Certainly.
All tools serve either obedience or rebellion.
9. A Pastoral Challenge
Let us end where Scripture ends: with the heart.
If you are drawn to Bitcoin because you see the corruption of fiat systems, your instinct for justice may be sound. But do not substitute technological hope for covenantal faithfulness.
Economic reform begins not with blockchain but with repentance.
Do you honor God in your business?
Do you practice honest weights in your dealings?
Do you reject debt slavery and inflationary theft?
Do you seek dominion under Christ’s lordship?
Money is not ultimate. Law is not ultimate. Christ is.
A society governed by Bitcoin but not by Scripture remains in rebellion. A society governed by Scripture, however, will produce just weights - whether in gold, silver, or digital code.
The issue is never merely the currency. It is the crown rights of King Jesus.
And until He is acknowledged as Lord over banks, markets, families, and civil magistrates, no monetary reform will save us.
Reconstruction begins at the altar.