Sunday 19 May 2013

The Church & Money

Few issues are as pertinent for the contemporary church as the issue of financial stewardship. Simply put, organizations need resources, especially financial resources. Without income, no organization can maintain its facilities, staff, or substantial programs. Marketing, carefully controlled budgets, and salaried employees are crucial to most organizations' success. Hence it should come as no surprise that organized churches utilize each of these tools in building and supporting their infrastructures. The Tithe Many churches depend upon members "tithing," that is, giving ten percent of their incomes to the organization. The ten percent is based not on net income but on gross ("the first fruits"). The practice is based on Israelite legal requirements as recorded in the Law and the Prophets.We are told that in withholding this tithe, we are robbing God of what is rightly His. On the other hand, we are told, God's blessings will rest on us if we tithe as we should (Mal. 3:8-10). Sometimes it is even described as a sort of investment plan whereby we may be assured of financial solvency if we give our ten percent to the church organization, whether we can ostensibly afford it or not. If necessary, it may be portrayed as an act of faith. The unfortunate flaw in this system is its failure to consider the full ramifications of the cross. The Gospel tells us that when Jesus died on the cross, the Temple curtain before the Most Holy Place was torn in two "from top to bottom" (NIV). Hebrews 8 through 10 spells out the theological meaning of this remarkable event. At that moment, the sacrificial system was fulfilled. Jesus' death brought the old covenant to completion and initiated a new covenant, sealed in his holy blood. The religious institution, complete with its Temple, its priesthood, and its sacrifices, was replaced with the organic reality of Christ's body. With his subsequent resurrection and giving of the Holy Spirit, the process was complete. Now Jesus is the only mediator. No Temple curtain, no institution, no priesthood stands between God and man. Christ's body, the church, is now a nation of kings and priests (Rev. 1:6), "a royal priesthood" (1 Pet. 2:9, NIV). Nowhere in the New Testament can we find the idea that our churches are filled with "laymen" who are to financially support "the clergy" or "priesthood" and the buildings of mortar and stone we call "houses of God." As Stephen put it before the Sanhedrin, "the Most High does not live in houses made by men" (Acts 7:48, NIV). Today tithes and offerings are ritually collected in offering plates which are passed among the congregation during Sunday morning services. Often little envelopes can be found tucked into the backs of pews for the convenience of the giver. Frequently one can find a verse, like 1 Corinthians 16:2a, printed on the envelope as Scriptural justification for the practice: "On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income" (NIV). Financial Giving What is not often realized is that this verse belongs to a very specific context. A terrible famine had racked Judea, and Paul was gathering money from the Gentile churches to assist Jewish Christians during this most difficult of times. In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul urged his readers to save money ahead of time so that he could collect it on his arrival: "so that when I come no collections will have to be made" (v. 2b, NIV). The Gentile Christians were giving money for a specific, identifiable, personal need. The money was not earmarked for mortgages or salaries, but for a pressing social crisis. In his next letter to the Corinthians, chapters 8 and 9, Paul explored in much greater detail the new covenant principles of giving. The principle is not based on percentages or ritual, but upon the premise, first, that God already owns all that we have. The Macedonian churches, for example, "gave themselves first to the Lord" (v. 5, NIV) and then, in keeping with God's will, vied for the privilege of sharing their resources with other saints. The second principle is bound up in the first: Since we are merely stewards of God's resources, we ought to share what we have freely, whether we can spare only two percent or whether we can afford to give fifty. "Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver" (2 Cor. 9:7, NIV). On what principles are our present day churches operating on? Whats are church funds being used for today? Does it benefit everyone in the church? What are your personal expectations of the church? And While you're pondering over this, don't forget to go to church, after all your pastor's private jet won't fuel itself

2 comments:

  1. Nice line of thought. Tithe has always been an issue, whether to give or not to give, especially under the consideration that it was emphasized only in the old testament. Again, one also faces the feeling of condemnation and strongly so because tithing is directly linked to God. In this matter, I have decided to give my tithe out of what God blesses me with. Parting with 10% won't really kill me. Better to pay than live with a sense of condemnation. Besides, how do you really expect these full-time pastors to survive or preach the gospel? I do it as an honor to God more than it is in obidience to a man of God. Its working for me...but the truth is "our blessing is totally a thing of grace and not by works of giving".

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