Tag Archives: finances

Gambling

Literature, ,

by David E. Moss

The World Book Encyclopedia of 1958 said this about gambling: “Gambling means staking something of value in a game of chance. True games of chance require no skill on the part of the player. Their outcome depends entirely on luck. People gamble because they hope to win something for nothing. But one can more easily lose, and the loss may involve money which was earned by hard effort and which may be difficult to replace. A serious loss often causes hardship. Hence it is not considered desirable or wise for anyone to gamble.”

The World Book Encyclopedia is not a Christian publication. Nevertheless, in 1958, the editors of this encyclopedia thought it wise to make such a statement about gambling. How times have changed!

Just 45 years later, state governments all over the United States have decided to use gambling as a means of raising revenue for state budgets. For years, the lottery has been the common gambling vehicle, but now states are beginning to go a step further. Slot machines are
becoming the new means for states to raise additional revenue. *

This creates a moral dilemma for Christians. They would like to have relief from constantly rising property taxes, but with a moral objection to gambling, can they in good conscience file an application requesting to benefit from the revenue raised by their state government through gambling? To determine this, let us consider what the Bible has to say about gambling.

A Biblical Perspective On Gambling

The word “gambling” does not appear in the text of the Bible. So we must look elsewhere for concepts and principles which will lead us to an understanding of whether or not God would approve of staking something of value in a game of chance.

  1. The Source of Revenue

    When we come into this world, we bring nothing with us (1 Timothy 6:7a). When we leave this world, we take nothing with us (1 Timothy 6:7b). In between these two events, we live out our lives here on earth and in the process have access to a lot of material things. From where do these material things come, and who actually owns them? David said in 1 Chronicles 29:14 that all things come of God. Even the money we give in our offerings to Him has come from God Himself. It is difficult, therefore, to make the case for human ownership of things when we come into life empty handed and we leave life empty handed and in between have in our possession only those things which actually belong to God.

    Psalm 24:1

    The earth is the LORD’S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.

    Psalm 50:10-12

    For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine and the fulness thereof.

    At best, we may only consider ourselves to be stewards, or caretakers, of the things which God owns. As stewards of material possessions, we have a duty to take care of them in a responsible fashion for the sake of the One who owns them. This means the decisions we make regarding the use of material things, including money, should be based on the best interests of the Owner, and not of ourselves.

  2. The Purpose of Revenue

    God places material things in our trust to be used for very specific purposes. These include the following:

    • To provide for our basic needs.

      2 Thessalonians 3:12

      …We command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread.

    • To support one’s family.

      1 Timothy 5:8

      But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.

    • To contribute to the Lord’s work.

      1 Corinthians 9:9, 14

      For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn… Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel.

    • To meet human needs through benevolence.

      1 Corinthians 16:1-3

      Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye. Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come. And when I come, whomsoever ye shall approve by your letters, them will I send to bring your liberality unto Jerusalem.

      2 Corinthians 9:7, 12

      Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. For the administration of this service not only supplieth the want of the saints, but is abundant also by many thanksgivings unto God…

    • To give to the poor.

      Matthew 19:21

      Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.

      Ephesians 4:28

      But rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.

    • To pay taxes.

      Matthew 22:21

      Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s.

      Romans 13:7

      Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.

    • To provide an inheritance to grandchildren.

      Proverbs 13:22

      A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children’s children…

  3. The Misuse of Revenue

    God frowns very sternly upon those who lose through irresponsible actions what He has put into their trust. This is illustrated through at least two stories in the Bible.

    The first is the parable of the talents. In this story told by Jesus (Matthew 25:15-30), five talents were given to one steward, two talents to another, and one talent to a third. Each was to put the talents to work and return a profit for the owner. The first turned his five talents into ten. The second turned his two talents into four. But the third steward hid the one talent given to him and gained nothing. He knew that his Lord reaped where he sowed not and gathered where he had not strawed. In spite of this, his own laziness caused him to lose what he could have gained if he had only trusted in his Lord’s ability. Because he did not make wise use of what had been put in his trust and because he lost what profit could have been gained through wise stewardship, he lost the privilege of stewardship over anything. The story shows why some of God’s people will never be given much stewardship privilege – God knows they will only waste it anyway.

    In the second story, there is another steward who lost a large sum which belonged to his Lord (Matthew 18:23-35). Because of the loss, the steward was in deep trouble, and the Lord commanded that his wife and children and all his possessions be sold to cover the loss. As the story unfolds, the steward pleads forgiveness with a pledge to repay what he lost. The Lord offers him forgiveness, but has to withdraw it when the irresponsible servant shows that he himself possesses an unforgiving heart. The story shows the kind of heart that exists in a man that will be irresponsible in the stewardship of his Lord’s possessions; and it shows the consequences of having such an irresponsible heart.

    In neither of these stories is gambling the cause of the loss. However, they both show that losing what belongs to the Lord whether by inaction or by irresponsible action is a bad thing. It would be reasonable to conclude, therefore, that the choice to voluntarily lose money through the risking activity of gambling is a sure way to obtain the disfavor of God.

  4. The Biblical Opposite of Gambling

    The Bible promotes a good work ethic as the means of securing the goods of stewardship.

    Luke 10:7

    …the labourer is worthy of his hire.

    Exodus 20:9

    Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work…

    Ephesians 4:28

    Let him… labour, working with his hands the thing which is good…

    1 Thessalonians 4:11-12

    And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you; That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing.

    2 Thessalonians 3:10-12

    For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat. For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies. Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread.

    The Word of God states it clearly and plainly. Do not make a big deal out of it. Just quietly work and be responsible and you can eat. But if you do not work, you do not deserve to eat.

    Gambling is the activity by which one hopes to obtain money wi thout working for it. Work produces either products, which people may use, or services, which meet peoples’ needs. Gambling produces neither products nor services. Gambling consists of one simple thing: the hope that everyone else loses their hard earned money so that you may win and take their hard earned money home with you, even though you did no work to obtain it. The Bible declares that if you did not work for it, you should not have it. No one deserves to win and have through gambling what other people worked for and earned by labor.

  5. The Nature of Gambling

    The Bible names and describes several unjust methods of obtaining what other people have earned.

    One of these is called stealing. In the Ten Commandments, God said, Thou shalt not steal (Exodus 20:15). In Ephesians 4:28, God contrasts stealing with working when He says, Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good… Another unjust method of obtaining (or at least desiring to obtain) what others have earned is called covetousness. This is also disallowed by the Ten Commandments when God said, Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house… nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neigbour’s (Exodus 20:17). Covetousness is not to be named even once among the saints as it is unbecoming of those who belong to Christ (Ephesians 5:3). A third unjust method of obtaining what others have earned is called defrauding. In 1Thessalonians 4:6, God instructed, That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified. An example of defrauding is given in James 5:4 where the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields… is of you kept back by fraud… In this example, the employer hires men to work in his fields with the promised of paying them wages. Instead, he benefits from their labor but withholds their wages.

    Gambling has very similar characteristics as stealing, coveting, and defrauding. The motivation to gamble is the desire to take possession of what rightfully rightfully belongs to others, similar to covetousness. The result of gambling is that one person takes home what rightfully belongs to others, similar to stealing. (Granted, those who lose seem to be relinquishing their money voluntarily which is not the case in stealing. However, in light of the point to follow regarding defrauding, one must wonder about the degree of dishonesty that exists in at least some forms of gambling.) The enticement to gambling is the promise of possible big winnings with the result being that the vast majority have no real possibility of seeing the fulfillment of that promise, similar to defrauding. And in further consideration of this last point, gambling has an addictive attraction which exaggerates the consequences of the vice for those whose soul is too weak to resist the fraudulent enticement to win.

    For those who say it is too strong a position to relate gambling to the sins of coveting, stealing, and defrauding, consider the following statement taken directly from the Word of God: Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his! (Habakkuk 2:6b). This is an interesting statement. John Gil writes about this saying,

    Substance or goods, not his own, as the Targum explains it; which they had no right unto, nor property in, but were another’s; and therefore guilty of great injustice in taking it from them, and might justly expect vengeance would pursue them for it;

    Almost sounds like something you could say about gambling, doesn’t it?

    Proverbs 28:8 refers to those who increase their substance by unjust gain. Nothing can be more unjust than to enjoy enriching oneself through the loss and impoverishment of others. And the fact is that this is the very basis of gambling. If no one loses, no one can win in games of chance. The only way some one can win is if someone else, nay, if many others lose. Shame on those who enjoy a process which impoverishes many and benefits so few.

Conclusion

In Act 72, the Homeowner Tax Relief Act in Pennsylvania, the following simple fact is the basis of success for the program: the more people lose in the slot machines, the more money will be available for rebates to home owners. The consequences of gambling were actually part of the rationale for adopting the program. Apparently, many Pennsylvania residents leave the state to gamble in other states. But once they destroy their own financial standing through massive gambling losses, they turn to the Pennsylvania state government for assistance and rehabilitation. So the Governor and State Legislators reasoned that since they must pay for rehabilitation anyway, they may as well pay to rehabilitate those who gamble in their own state rather than in another state. Of course, the more they have to pay for rehabilitation of losing gamblers, the less there will be available for rebates to home owners.

In light of the unjust nature of gambling, and in light of the fact that at least half of the home owner rebates will come from the money people lose in gambling, Pennsylvania Christians will not be able to submit the application and request to benefit from the gambling
losses of others and at the same time maintain a clear conscience before God. We simply cannot accept the idea of benefitting from the losses of others, especially when many of those losses will cause such financial, emotional, and social devastation as to require rehabilitation at great expense to the state.

The Gospel of Christ is the antithesis of gambling. In gambling, only one person wins while everyone else loses. In the Gospel of Christ, one person gave up all He had so that everyone else could receive eternal life.

If you are a Christian and you think it is acceptable to gamble a little bit, whether through office pools, or lottery tickets, or friendly wagers, perhaps you should rethink the matter. Consider how you can benefit from others losses and in the same moment invite the losers to benefit from Christ’s sacrifice. Surely you can see the contradiction.

*Act 72, the Homeowner Tax Relief Act in Pennsylvania, for example, has approved the installation of slot machines in specific locations throughout the state, including race tracks and some other places. The money lost in these slot machines has been ear marked to provide revenue for rebates to home owners, purportedly providing some “relief” from the heavy burden of property taxes. [Half the money for the rebate will come from the slot machine revenue and half from an increase in the local income tax.] Home owners must, however, fill out a form requesting the rebate in order to receive it. So the program works essentially like this: residents who own the home in which they reside may ask the state government in Pennsylvania to give them money which other people have lost by feeding it into slot machines.

Note: At the present writing, more than two thirds of the school districts and two thirds of the home owners have declined to participate in this scheme.

Financing The Work of God

Literature, , ,

by David E. Moss

Money is one of the practical resources necessary for the work of God to be accomplished. Among other things, money is needed to pay salaries for Christian workers, to buy materials used in doing the work, and to provide facilities where these activities can be based. The question is: Where is the money to come from in order to pay for these things and thus finance the work of God?

The Word of God presents two important principles concerning the source of money used to finance the work of God. First, the support of the work of the Lord is to be by voluntary giving, or free will offering, as opposed to other fund raising methods. Secondly, the support of God’s work is to come from His own people and not from the resources of ungodly people. The following paragraphs explain the biblical basis for these two principles and why other means of raising funds for the work of God are not appropriate.

The Free Will Offering Of God’s People

The principle that the Body of Christ is to be a self-edifying organism supports the truth that it is also to be self-supporting financially. Ephesians 4:16 says, From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body, unto the edifying of itself in love. While it is true that this verse directly refers to spiritual activity, what believers do with their money also involves spiritual principles and the supply of the practical needs of God’s work has no little significance in making it possible for the body of Christ to function efficiently. According to this principle, each part of the body is to contribute from itself to provide what the rest of the body needs. This is made possible as the members of the body submit to the Head, Jesus Christ. It should be easy to see how this can be applied to financial contributions as well as spiritual ones.

Consistent with this principle, every example of financial and material support for the work of the church in the New Testament centers around the voluntary gifts of believers only. For example:

Acts 2:45 – (The first Christians) sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.

Acts 4:34-35 – …for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, And laid them down at the apostles’ feet and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.

I Corinthians 16:2 – Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him…

Philippians 4:15-18 – …ye (the Philippian believers) sent once and again unto my necessity… fruit that may abound to your account… an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well pleasing to God.

II Corinthians 8 and 9 – And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God (8:5)

This last verse, taken from II Corinthians chapter 8, explains that financial gifts to the Lord result from a proper spiritual attitude. The Macedonian believers were limited in their financial resources. Nevertheless, they found a means to contribute to the collection being taken for the impoverished saints in Jerusalem. They were able to do this because they first gave their own selves to the Lord. The thing to note about this is that unbelievers cannot have such an attitude. One can but guess what their motive would be for contributing to a divine cause. Only believers can first give themselves to the Lord and then give their money to his work.

The Old Testament agrees with this principle when it describes how the tabernacle project was financed. God instructed the Israelites to make a tabernacle to facilitate their worship and sacrifice unto Him. This was then financed by the freewill offering of His own people.

  1. The offering was from the Lord’s people.

    Exodus 35:5 – Take ye from among you an offering unto the LORD…

  2. It was voluntary.

    Exodus 35:5,22 – whosoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it…

  3. It was an offering according to ability.

    Exodus 35:22-24 – and every man with whom was found… brought…

  4. It was prompted by zeal for God’s service.

    Exodus 35:21-26 – And they came, every one whose heart stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit made willing…

  5. It was an offering unto God.

    Exodus 35:5,22 – and every man that offered, offered an offering… unto the LORD.

  6. It was more than sufficient to meet the need.

    Exodus 36:5-7 – For the stuff they had was sufficient for all the work to make it, and too much.

In stark contrast to this, God clearly rejects financial contributions to His work from ungodly people. Wages derived from an ungodly lifestyle or profits from unclean merchandise are unacceptable to Him (Deuteronomy 23:18). The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD (Proverbs 15:8). In fact, God even rejects the offerings and sacrifices given by people who profess to believe in Him but who are living ungodly lives.

Isaiah 1:11 – To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the LORD: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats.

Jeremiah 14:12 – When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and an oblation, I will not accept them…

Hosea 8:13 – They sacrifice flesh for the sacrifices of mine offerings, and eat it; but the LORD accepteth them not; now will he remember their iniquity, and visit their sins…

Amos 5:22 – Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts.

The only logical conclusion to be drawn from these Old and New Testament principles is that God finances His work through the free will offerings of His own people, who have first submitted themselves unto Him. He is not interested in raising funds by means other than free will offerings, nor is He interested in receiving offerings from those who do not know Him.

Is A Tithe A Free Will Offering?

Some people argue that tithing is not taught in the New Testament. Tithing, they say, is barely mentioned in the New Testament, the word itself appearing only four places: Matthew 23:23, Luke 11:42, Luke 18:12, Hebrews 7:5-9. None of these are passages in which New Testament Christians are instructed to tithe. Tithing is part of the Old Testament law, they say, and the New Testament makes it clear that the church is not under the law but under grace (Romans 6:14-15). Because of these things, some insist that tithing does not qualify as a free will offering and that it is inappropriate to lay such a legalistic necessity on the shoulders of Christians.

However, tithing was practiced as a voluntary offering before the Law was given through Moses. Abraham gave tithes to Melchizedec in Genesis 14:20. Melchizedec was the King of the city of Salem but he was also the priest of the most high God. There is no suggestion in Scripture that Abraham was required to pay these tithes. It clearly says he gave them, indicating it was a voluntary act. Hebrews 7:9 does use the expression “payed tithes” in reference to this incident. However, the sense is still that the choice to pay came from Abraham’s heart and not from Melchizedek’s demand for payment. So, whether he paid or gave, Abraham turned his tithes over to Melchizedek as a voluntary act.

Later, the Mosaic Law called for three tithes: one to support the ministry of the Levites and the maintenance of the Temple (Numbers 18), one to finance the major feasts held annually in Jerusalem (Deuteronomy 12:5-18), and one to benefit the poor (Deuteronomy 14:20; 26:12). The first two were annual tithes and the third was called for every third year. But, it is important to note that even though the tithe was ordered by the Law, there is no biblical record of a civil penalty for Israelites who did not pay their tithes. The civil and moral laws given to Israel typically were enforced with penalties imposed upon those who violated specific laws (for example, Exodus 22:1-4 and Exodus 22:16). However, there is no civil penalty provided for failing to pay one’s tithes. There was only a spiritual penalty as explained in Malachi 3:8-10.

Even in the Old Testament, God wanted man’s material contributions to His work to come from the heart and not from a sense of legal obligation. But when a man who professes to believe in God chooses not to contribute to His work, this choice serves as an indictment against his lack of devotion to the LORD. God purposely prospers His people to enable them to support His work. By refusing to share in the support of God’s work and by diverting what God has provided to selfish interests, God’s people are in effect robbing God. God is not going to bless someone who is guilty of such fiscal irresponsibility. This is not a matter of legalism, that is, God zapping people who do not pay their required tithes. Rather, it is a spiritual principle which says that God is not going to finance irresponsible behavior, or give His blessing to a carnal lifestyle.

The primary tithe of the Old Testament was intended to provide support for the Levites. The Levites were given no inheritance in the land of Israel (Numbers 18:20). In turn, the Levites dedicated themselves to the service of the Tabernacle and later the Temple ministry (Numbers 18:1-7). Without land, without a trade to produce an income, and with the responsibility of spending all their time in ministry activities, the Levites needed some other means of supporting their families. God provided for them through the tithes of all the other Israelites. When all the people brought their tithes as sacrifices unto the LORD, they were also in effect bringing gifts for the material support of the Levites (Numbers 18:8-9, 11-19). The Levites’ subsistence was supplied by everyone else giving 10% of their incomes (Numbers 18:23-24).

Tithing in the New Testament has the same purpose as it did in the Old. A New Testament tithe provides for the financial support of those who spend their whole life preaching the gospel and ministering about holy things in the church. This is explained and connected to the Old Testament tithe in I Corinthians 9.

  1. Christian workers have the right to eat, drink, be married and forbear working. (Verses 4-6)
  2. They have the right to be supported financially by those to whom they minister. (Verses 11, If we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we shall reap your carnal things?)
  3. The tithe of the Israelites in the Old Testament which provided the livelihood of the Levites is an illustration of this principle. (Verse 13, …they which minister about holy things live of the things of the temple, and they which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar. The things of the Temple and the things of the altar were provided by the tithes of the people.)
  4. Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel (Verse 14). The words even so show the relationship between the New Testament financial support of ministers and the Old Testament support of the Levites. Tithing (or proportionate giving according to the prospering of the Lord, I Corinthians 16:2) is a reasonable means of insuring that pastors, missionaries and others who work full time in the ministry have the means to provide for their families just as it was for the Levites in the Old Testament.

Tithing in the Old Testament was described as an offering unto the LORD.

This shall be thine (the Levites) of the most holy things reserved from the fire: every oblation of theirs, every meat offering of theirs, and every sin offering of theirs and every trespass offering of theirs, which they shall render unto me shall be most holy for thee and for thy sons… But of the tithes of the children of Israel, which they offer as an heave offering unto the LORD, I have given to the Levites to inherit… (Numbers 18:24).

There are several things in the New Testament that are also described as sacrificial offerings unto God (Romans 12:1; Hebrews 13:15-16; I Peter 2:5; Philippians 2:17) and supporting those who preach the Gospel is one of them. Paul, in thanking the Philippian believers for sending some money to him, said,

But I have all, and abound: I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well pleasing to God.

In the Old Testament, the tithes of the people consisted of offerings and sacrifices they gave unto the LORD. These things given unto the LORD were then used in part to provide material support to those who worked in the ministry. The same thing happens today in the church. People give their tithes and offerings to the Lord, and those gifts are then used to support the work of the ministry.

Compliance to the tithe principle of the New Testament is voluntary just as it was in the Old Testament. II Corinthians 9:7 says, Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. II Corinthians 8:11 and 12 use the phrases, a readiness to will and if there be first a willing mind. Giving to the Lord must come from a man’s heart and not from some legal obligation. But even though tithing or any other gift to the Lord is based on a voluntary act by a New Testament believer, there is a spiritual blessing which accompanies the offering and a spiritual consequence which results from not giving, just as there was in the Old Testament. II Corinthians 9:6 says, But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.

What About Fund Raising Activities?

Fund raising activities are those things which a local church or other Christian organization does in order to obtain money for the work of the Lord from sources other than the free will offering of God’s people. There are two issues involved in fund raising activities. One is that money is solicited from sources other than free will offerings. The other is that money may be solicited from people other than Christians.

Fund raising activities take a variety of forms. Many of them involve selling things such as baked goods, crafts, candy, or trinkets. Sometimes a Christian organization will purchase items at wholesale and sell them at retail. At other times, people donate items to the organization which in turn sells them. Other fund raising activities involve things like walk-a-thons or other programs in which the participants solicit donations based on their achievements within the program. The participants in such programs often solicit donations from people they know such as relatives, neighbors or church members, or they may go door to door and solicit donations from complete strangers.

There are some serious ethical problems with such activities.

  1. Selling things to raise money turns a local church or Christian organization into a merchandising market place which depends upon a profit derived from the general public, including ungodly people, rather than a ministry relying on God’s direct provision through the gifts of His own people. Someone will ask, “What is the difference between selling things in your own private business and giving the profits to the church and the church selling things directly?” The answer is that the church is not a business which survives by its ability to generate a profit. It is a spiritual organism that is sustained by the direct supply of its divine Head. He provides what is needed not through the marketing skills of the organization but through the free will offerings of His own people given out of their personal devotion to Him. When the Israelites turned the Temple into a market place, Jesus Christ adamantly expressed His displeasure, personally throwing out the violators (Matthew 21:12). Local churches and Christian organizations can just as seriously grieve the Lord by pretending to be a profit making business rather than a ministry dependent solely upon God’s provision.
  2. Those who are solicited for donations through programs like walk-a-thons may feel an obligation to contribute because of whom has asked. They may feel pressured to give when they do not really have the money available, or when they would not otherwise have chosen to give to that particular cause. Fund raising programs thus make merchandise of people (II Peter 2:3). The unsaved especially may easily get the impression that a Christian’s primary interest in them is getting their money out of their pockets. But this is not necessarily the response of the unsaved only. Paul was concerned that the Corinthians might think he had made a personal gain of them (II Corinthians 12:17). He always conducted himself in such a way that no one ever suspected his motives to be covetous (I Thessalonians 2:5).
  3. When going door to door to seek donations for God’s work, it is likely that participants will invite ungodly people to contribute to the work of God. When God’s people finance the work of God by soliciting funds directly from the ungodly, they are filling the church treasuries with tainted money and risk losing the blessing of God. (Proverbs 15:8; 21:27)
  4. When Christians successfully finance their programs through marketing projects, they develop a sense of self-sufficiency that contradicts the dependence through faith they ought to have on God. They may still mouth the right words and “pray” for God to bless their endeavors, but they are not waiting on God’s provision. They do not need to. They have taken care of everything themselves (Revelation 3:17). They have no idea whether or not God approves of their projects. In fact they operate on an assumption that God approves of everything they decide to do as long as they do it in His name. They never consider that God may actually disapprove of what they are doing and they never will find out. Because they are so good at financing their projects without His help, they will never notice that God is withholding His provision.

What about pledges?

Some denominational churches use a pledge system in order to obtain money to cover their annual budget. God says that if a man pledges, promises, or vows to do something, he is obligated to do it: That which is gone out of thy lips thou shalt keep and perform; even a freewill offering, according as thou has vowed unto the LORD thy God, which thou has promised with thy mouth (Deuteronomy 23:23). The cheerfulness that comes from voluntary giving is lost in a pledge system because it makes giving to the Lord a matter of necessity. II Corinthians 9:7 says, …so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. If you promise to give an exact amount as an offering, you bind yourself by your word to give what is promised and your cheerfulness will be lost in your efforts to fulfill your obligations.

One pledge system used in many Fundamental churches is called the Faith Promise Program. The Faith Promise Program was started by Dr. A.B. Simpson, founder of the Christian and Missionary Alliance churches. The term “faith promise” came from Dr. Oswald J. Smith, pastor of the famous People’s Church in Toronto Canada. The plan was already in use in the church when Dr. Smith became the Pastor, but at the time they were using the word “pledge” to describe what they were doing. Dr. Smith did not like the word pledge and came up with the term “faith promise” as a substitute to make it sound more biblical. The program found its way into the Baptist Bible Fellowship and eventually into many independent Baptist churches and many Bible churches as well.

The Faith Promise Program involves the following basic elements:

  1. A person determines by faith a certain amount of money he will give to missions in the coming year and then makes a promise (pledge, vow) to give this amount in weekly installments. Ideally, the amount promised is to be above his regular tithes and offerings and above what he expects to have left over after he has paid all his bills. This is what gives it the nature of a “faith-promise”. A promise is made to give, but faith is required in order to trust God to provide what has been promised.
  2. A tally service is held in the local church during which members may turn in their pledge cards. As the cards are added up, the total is announced to the Congregation, so that all know how much has been promised. This then becomes the basis for the missions budget in the coming year.
  3. A person is to “pay God” his tithes, offerings and faith promises at the beginning of each month. He is then to meet his other obligations such as mortgage, utilities, insurance, etc. For the rest of the month, he is to “trust” God to provide what is needed and have faith that it will be enough.
  4. A person is then to trust God to provide in unexpected ways, such as a raise in salary, a decrease in expenses, unexpected dividends, the absence of doctor and repair bills, gifts from unexpected sources, etc.
  5. Finally, the amount of the pledge is to be increased each year so as to stretch one’s faith further and further.

The biblical basis for this is taken primarily from II Corinthians chapters 8 and 9. II Corinthians 8:3 says, For to their power, I bear record, yea, and beyond their power they were willing of themselves to give; and II Corinthians 9:7 says, Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give…

Many good Christian people are convinced that this program is a righteous thing. How could anyone say there is something wrong with having faith and making promises? Actually, it is not that simple. As good as it may sound, a close look at the Faith Promise Program reveals that it contradicts God’s free will offering policy and creates financial obligations to which God will hold a man accountable.

The phrase “as he purposeth in his heart,” in II Corinthians 9:7, is not suggesting that men make pledges to give specific amounts of money to God’s work. Rather, it is used to emphasize the principle of voluntary giving in contrast to any thing that makes a man feel compelled to give. Compelling a man to give generates a sense of necessity which is the opposite of a free will act of the heart. It also generates a grudging attitude instead of a cheerful one. God does not want men to feel compelled to give. He desires each individual to decide in his own heart that he wants to give so that when he gives, he may do it cheerfully.

Furthermore, it is clear that God does not want a man to purpose to give what he does not have (II Corinthians 8:12). To promise to give a specific amount that God has not yet provided places a demand upon God that goes beyond trust. On the one hand, a man who makes a pledge has no choice in the matter. God holds him accountable to give what he has vowed to give (Deuteronomy 23:23). On the other hand, to say that you are trusting God to do something you have promised uses faith as a device which puts God to a test. Will He come through for you or won’t He? If He does not provide what you promised, did God fail or was your faith too small? If you had too little faith, what happens to your vow to which God will hold you accountable? Is it nullified by your lack of faith? True faith does not place specific demands on God’s generosity. It is one thing to ask God to provide the means to give abundantly to his work and then to wait to see what He will provide to make this possible. It is an entirely different thing to promise to give a specific amount toward those needs and then expect God to supply it after the promise is made.

It is more in line with biblical principles for a person to purpose in his heart to give a percentage of all that God will provide. A tithe is always a good place for a person to start in determining what he will give to the Lord. By purposing to give a percentage of what God provides, the individual is not limiting himself to a flat amount he can or must give, but has the potential of giving ever increasing amounts to the Lord’s work as God prospers him. In addition, the Scripture does not restrict a person to giving only ten percent of his income. Anyone is free to purpose in his heart to give eleven or twelve or fifteen percent. Or he can choose to follow the pattern of the Old Testament and give two tithes each year and an additional tithe every third year. He may also purpose in his heart to give offerings above and beyond his percentage giving after he has provided for his family and met his personal financial responsibilities. But all of this giving comes from a heart that has willingly and voluntarily purposed to give as God hath prospered him (I Corinthians 16:2).

What can we say then about the phrase in II Corinthians 8:3 that says the Macedonians gave “beyond their power?” Doesn’t this suggest they gave more than they were really able to give on their own? Giving sacrificially what little one has is different from requiring God to provide beyond ones means. Jesus pointed out the poor widow who gave her last two mites to God (Mark 12:41-44). Such sacrificial giving is not presumptuous of the generosity of God. Instead, it is a willingness to cheerfully do without in order that God’s work may go on unhindered. This is not something that every average Christian will be able to do. It is an extraordinary act of a heart that is devoted to God to depths most will never understand (II Corinthians 8:5). This was probably the spirit in which the first Christians sold their possessions and turned the money over to the Apostles for the common welfare of the young church (Acts 2:45; 4:34-35).

Final Note

If God wants His people to do something that costs money, He will provide clean offerings given from the willing hearts of His own people. The Old Testament standard for offerings was that they be clean and without blemish: Leviticus 22:21-22, And whosoever offereth a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the LORD to accomplish his vow, or a freewill offering in beeves or sheep, it shall be perfect to be accepted; there shall be no blemish therein. Blind, or broken, or maimed, or having a wen, or scurvy, or scabbed, ye shall not offer these unto the LORD, nor make an offering by fire of them upon the altar unto the LORD. New Testament offerings are characterized in exactly the same way. In Romans 12:1, we are to offer our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable unto God. In I Peter 2:5, we are to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. When the Philippians sent money to help Paul in his work, Paul described the gift as an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well pleasing to God (Philippians 4:18). You can be sure this was not tainted money. It was honorably earned and willingly given by God’s people.

If God does not provide through this means, it is legitimate to wonder if God wants a particular project to be done. Too often, God’s people decide what is to do and then expect God to finance the activity. When He does not provide within a prescribed period of time, men often ignore God’s message and devise some other means of raising the money. What they should do is accept God’s lack of provision as an indication of His will. If He approves of a project that costs money, He will provide. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills and is not limited in resources. If He does not approve of a project, he will not provide. When this happens, Christians should back up and re-think what God really wants them to do rather than proceed with alternative means of fund raising. Many times these alternative means do bring in enough funds for the project to be pursued. It functions without God’s blessings, but the people involved feel good about what they are doing.

Of course, there could be another reason that the money does not become available to do the work of God. It could be that God’s own people fail to give according to the biblical pattern. This is no excuse, however, to seek funding through alternative means. Two wrongs cannot possibly satisfy God any more than one does.

So here is the biblical pattern for financing the work of God. God prospers His people with an honest income. God’s people give themselves unto the Lord and thereby become sensitive to God’s direction in what they should give. They purpose in their heart to give a portion of what God provides to support God’s work. They give it voluntarily. They give it willingly. As God prospers them, they give more. There is no pledge involved, binding God’s people to a necessity in giving. Financing the work of God becomes part of a Christian’s overall commitment to faithfulness in His walk with the Lord. The wonderful result is that as God’s people give according to this pattern, God’s servants generally have what is needed to do God’s work.

Are you giving according to the biblical pattern? If you are, God is showering an abundance of blessings upon your life among which are cheerfulness in your heart, rewards awaiting you in heaven, and a joy in knowing that you are doing it God’s way.

Are you not giving according to the biblical pattern? “Oh,” you say, “here it comes. You are now going to tell me I ought to be tithing.” Sorry to disappoint you. What you ought to do is give yourself to the Lord as the Macedonian believers did. Once you have that kind of relationship with Him, He takes care of everything else.

The Church and Missions

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by David E. Moss

Several of my missionary friends have expressed dismay over the attitude toward missions they find in some local churches. In one instance, a missionary on furlough called one of his supporting churches to arrange a meeting. In that phone conversation he discovered the church had changed Pastors — he was never informed. On another occasion, a missionary tried to contact a church, but no one there recognized his name even though they had been sending him money for years. In another case, a missionary spent more money traveling to a church to report to them than they had sent to him in support during his entire term on the field.

To be fair, there are equally as many stories on the other end of the spectrum. Many churches are very generous to missionaries. In fact, some people may even feel that their church goes “overboard” in their missions program. With the economy the way it is, with the world growing smaller through advanced communication technology and with all the services required by our own people here at home, how much emphasis should a local church place on missions?

It is my conviction that missions must be one of the highest priorities of every local church. In the dark ages, there was little zeal for reaching the lost. The Church became ingrown. It hid the Word of God from its lay people and isolated its clergy in cold monasteries. With the dawn of the Reformation came a renewal of the evangelistic enthusiasm so vividly displayed by the Apostles and their first followers.

The modern day church, however, is in danger of creeping into the shadows of selfish internalism. We have so heavily committed ourselves to the maintenance of elaborate edifices and monstrous programs that budgets strain to provide meager funds for missionary efforts. If all of this was accomplishing something we might have more of a forgiving attitude. The unfortunate thing is that in spite of all the services which have been provided and for all the lessons which have been taught to numberless groups of Christians in the last twenty years, Bible knowledge and Christian living skills are at dangerously low levels.

I truly hope the Church can once again revive its evangelistic priorities before we plunge headlong into another age of spiritual darkness. It really would not be very difficult. A simple willingness to obey the instruction of the Word of God would be sufficient.

So what does the Bible teach about the Church’s involvement in Missions?

A Biblical Mandate

“Mandate” is defined by the dictionary as a command or a commission. It implies that something is required.

I believe the Bible teaches that the local church should be actively involved in missionary endeavors. There is, of course, the obvious statement of Jesus Himself which we refer to as the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20). Some may argue that this was intended only for the original disciples. Yet many statements in the New Testament Letters clearly define the importance of a gospel witness by all believers.

II Corinthians 5:20 – “Now then we(all inclusive) are ambassadors for Christ.”

II Timothy 1:8 – “Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord… but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel.”

Jude 3, 22-23 – “It was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith… and of some have compassion, making a difference: And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire.”

There is also much evidence in the Acts and the Epistles that the distribution of the Gospel is a corporate responsibility as well as an individual one. Consider the following.

  1. It was a local church at Antioch that sent out Paul and Barnabas as the first missionaries (Acts 13:1-3).
  2. It was to the local church at Antioch that those missionaries returned and reported (Acts 14:27).
  3. It was the local churches that sustained the financial support of the missionary efforts of Paul (Philippians 4:15-16).
  4. It was because of their support of missions that God promised to meet all the needs of the church at Philippi (Philippians 4:17-19).
  5. It was from the local churches that Paul solicited prayer support for his missionary efforts (Colossians 4:3-4, Ephesians 6:19-20, II Thessalonians 3:1).

The most striking of these statements is from Philippians 4:17-19. In that context, Paul praised the Philippians for faithfully sending money to him to provide for his personal needs while he carried out his missionary work. Under Divine inspiration, he associates God’s promise of provision for the Philippian Church with their commitment to contribute financially to the spread of the Gospel. As David testified that he never saw the righteous forsaken, I believe God will not forsake the church that will set Missions, local and abroad, as one of its most important priorities.

The most ignored of these statements is the one concerning the sending of missionaries. The Church has failed for too long to understand some of its most important responsibilities. Did you ever wonder where preachers and missionaries come from? For too many local churches, they come from some place else. A local church to be successful must be able to identify specific individuals who have gone out from that congregation and are presently active in full time ministry.

Conclusion

Many churches seem to be struggling these days merely to survive. We are stretching all our energies to pay our bills and to keep our families intact. Perhaps if we changed our emphasis we would find our attempts at self preservation less desperate. Our internal efforts should have external goals. Our buildings should be tools for discipleship and ministry preparation. Our budgets should reflect an evangelistic priority. We should be a people with a mission — selflessly.