His book Productive Christians in an Age of Guilt-Manipulators: A Biblical Response to Ronald J. Sider (1981) was a response to Ronald J. Sider's best-selling book, Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger: A Biblical Study (1977), which promoted various programs of wealth redistribution by the government. Chilton argued that the Bible either does not authorize such programs or explicitly teaches against them. In the year of Chilton's death, 1997, Sider published a 20th anniversary edition of his book, in which he backed away from many of his original recommendations, toned down his anti-capitalist rhetoric, and even advocated several of the reforms that Chilton had recommended. But he never referred to Chilton's book in any of the three editions following the publication of Chilton's book.
He died in 1997 at the age of 45 due to a heart attack.