Today I want to share a word about healthy church discipline as I comment on Acts 5:1-11, which reads,
But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, and with his wife's knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles' feet. But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but to God.” When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard of it. The young men rose and wrapped him up and carried him out and buried him. After an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. And Peter said to her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for so much.” And she said, “Yes, for so much.” But Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.” Immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. When the young men came in they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things.
As we rebuild our ministries after COVID-19, we have been reviewing the characteristics of a healthy church as taught by the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. One of those characteristics is Biblical church discipline, which reminds me of a story told by Dr. Landrum Leavell, who was then president of the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.
Dr. Leavell had travelled to Moscow to meet with the leaders of Baptist churches there. During their conversations, the subject of church discipline came up. Dr. Leavell commented that Southern Baptists Churches did not implement church discipline very often, to which his Russian Baptist host replied, “And that is why you cannot find half of your church members,” which was a somewhat pointed, if accurate observation.
It is very true that the churches in the SBC have over 14 million members, but far less than half of those are what we consider to be active members of our churches. That’s why one wag joked, “Do you know what the biggest church in the SBC is? It’s the down-home Baptist church. Just about everyone I ask in my town about church membership say that they are members ‘down home’!”
Church discipline is a difficult subject to get right. When it is ignored, churches are harmed, but when it is done poorly churches are also harmed. What does the Bible say about this delicate subject?
First, Church Discipline is a Serious Responsibility:
If nothing else is clear from our focal passage today, we can see that church discipline is a serious matter!
We often idolize the early church, but in fact, the early church had to negotiate more than a few sticky issues. In the New Testament we see teachings about how the church was to handle such sins as racism, misogyny, polygamy, sexual impurity, and interpersonal relationships. This reminds me that today we can find a warning of a hair dryer which cautions us from using it in a shower or bathtub, because someone used a hair dryer in a shower or a bathtub! In the same way, we know that the cautions about these issues we find in the Bible are because someone was racist, misogynist, polygamist, of loose morals, and just plan ornery!
From this story in Acts 5 we see how serious God takes the issue of the abuse of His church, the Bride of Christ. We also can see that God will not be mocked by those in His own Family. Misbehavior in the church is a serious issue to God, and in the case of Ananias and Sapphira, it cost them their mortal lives.
For God church discipline is evidently a life-or-death matter, so maybe a word to the wise is sufficient? If God is this serious about the behavior of church members, so should we be!
Second, Church Disciple is an Individual Responsibility:
Accountability in church is not something for which the pastor or church leadership is responsible. According to Jesus, it is everyone’s responsibility, as He taught in Matthew 18:15-17:
If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.
This is a well-known, if not well-practiced, passage of Scripture and the procedure directed by Jesus is understood by most believers. The sad fact is that few people who are offended by another church member do what the Lord directed us to do. Fewer still obey another clear teaching of Jesus regarding relationships in God’s flock. In Matthew 5:23-24 Jesus instructed,
So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
Again, Christ’s guidance is clear here about how we are to act, but the key idea we often miss is this: whether we are the offender or the offended, we must take the first step!
It is a truism in management circles that “everyone’s job is no one’s job.” Managers are taught that a task must be assigned to an individual or a specific team to ensure that the job will get done. That is not the case with church discipline.
Church discipline is more like paying taxes, it is a universal requirement that you can shirk, but at your own risk!
Next, Church Discipline is also a Collective Responsibility:
Church discipline and accountability is not just for individuals, but for the church as a whole. Paul instructed the church at Corinth thusly,
But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? God judges those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.”
1 Corinthians 5:11-13
Of course, while one purpose of church discipline is to make sure the witness of the church is above reproach, it is also designed to help restore our brothers and sisters who have fallen into sinful behavior, as Paul went on to tell the Galatians,
Brothers if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.
Galatians 6:1
So, as we can see from these passages, accountability is not only good for church health, but it is also good for individual spiritual health.
Next Church Discipline is an Enduring Responsibility:
Church discipline is not a one-time event, because we are accountable to God for the duration of our lives.
In Matthew 18, after Jesus had taught about how to address offenses between God’s people, Peter asked him a follow-up question. We can tell Peter had been thinking about what Jesus had said because in Matthew 18:21-22 we see this exchange,
Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven."
We know that the number in the Bible that represent perfection is seven, and so it seems as if Peter was putting a big number in front if Jesus, but Peter received back a surprise. Jesus, in saying that seven was not enough, and that seventy times seven was a better number, did not mean 490 times, but an infinite number of times, like the infinite forgiveness we have of our sin in Christ.
I have learned in my own love that when conflict arises, the path of humility is the best for me to take. I believe this is what Jesus was saying also. We have heard it said, “I’m done with you!” but we are never done forgiving our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Conclusion:
One of the most stressful events of my ministry career was when I was pastor of a church where two lay leaders were in conflict over a point of theology. These two men were individually lovely people, but their relationship deteriorated quickly, and it was starting to materially affect the fellowship in the church and the ability of the church to do ministry.
I brought them together at a neutral site and explained to them that they were important leaders in the church and that they had to work out their disagreement for the church to be healthy. I told them that they could disagree, but they had to do so without being disagreeable. To my relief they received my counsel, and they learned to work together. They were never great friends, but they were good church members, and they learned to cooperate for the good of the church and the Kingdom.
I cannot claim any credit for that outcome; it certainly was the work of the Holy Spirit that brought those two men together. That experience does give us a model and an example of how accountability and church discipline can help produce a healthy church.
Church discipline may be awkward, it may be difficult, and it may cause fear to strike our hearts, but it doesn't make it any less important to the local church and its work for the Kingdom of God.
Today I want to share a word about Healthy Ordinances as I comment on Matthew 21:28-31, which reads,
“What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ And he answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he changed his mind and went. And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you.”
This a parable which teaches through an illustration, what Jesus taught more plainly in John 14:15, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”
Jesus did not give many direct commandments but two of them involve the Ordinances of the Church. The International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention teaches new churches on the mission field that Biblical administration of the ordinances is one of the characteristics of a healthy church. As we rebuild our church ministries in the aftermath of Covid-19, one area that we should consider is how we conduct Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.
Healthy Baptism:
As we consider the administration of Baptism, we realize that Jesus was baptized by John, and then in the Great Commission, Jesus commanded us to baptize those who become His disciples. A great example of that is found in Acts 8:27-31 and 35-38,
And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him . . . Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus. And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?” And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.
This passage is a great model for us because it so clearly presents two bedrock truths about baptism.
The first fact is baptism must come after conversion.
Philip presented the Gospel clearly to the eunuch and the eunuch understood what was said to him. We don’t have the details of the conversation, but the Ethiopian demonstrated his commitment to the truth by willingly submitting to baptism. In fact, he was so enthusiastic about the idea that he almost demanded to be baptized!
The other fact we observe is that baptism is properly done by immersion, because it illustrates important facts about the Gospel.
As Romans 6:4 tells us, “We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”
Note that Philip and the Ethiopian went down into the water and that the word baptize means to immerse. Our immersion during baptism is a demonstration of the Gospel and it is a sermon physically acted out. Baptism is not just for the new disciple; it is also a message to the lost.
What about someone who can’t get into a baptismal pool? I believe the example of my older sister is a valid answer to that.
My sister, who died when I was 10 years old had a chronic, degenerative disease and she was homebound. That did not prevent her giving her life to Christ, but the question of her baptism was a real puzzle. In the end, our pastor prayed and came up with a brilliant solution.
A group from the church gathered in our home around my sister who was lying in her hospital bed. Our pastor conducted an absolutely ordinary baptismal until the point he would have normally immersed my sister, but in her case, he drew a blanket up over her head and them lowered it, saying, “Buried with Him in baptism, we are raised to walk in newness of life. Of all the baptisms I have seen or even performed myself, hers was the most touching of all.
Besides having a proper candidate and a proper mode, we also need to maintain the proper sequence.
Baptists believe that salvation and baptism must come before church membership and participation in the Lord’s Supper. We usually get the Lord’s Supper part right, but many churches have developed a habit of admitting someone into membership on the day that they make their profession of faith instead of after their baptism. That this practice has become common is understandable because a person declaring for Christ is something to be celebrated. Let me suggest, however, a better way.
The church where I was saved and baptized, and my sisters also, had the practice of holding a quarterly membership service in which all new members of the church were received. This gave the pastor time to counsel with people transferring their membership to our church and it also gave him time to prepare candidates for baptism as well. I think there is much to commend this idea, because it was also a service in which we celebrated the Lord’s Supper.
The Lord’s Supper:
The other ordinance that the church was given stewardship over was Communion, or the Lord’s Supper. In 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 we read,
For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.
Like with baptism, this passage includes several important facts about Communion.
First, like baptism, Jesus has commanded us to observe the Lord’s Supper. I am not sure that Baptist churches actually obey this command often enough. I agree that our focus in worship should be God’s Word, but that very Word commands us to remember Christ through the Lord’s Supper. Is celebrating Communion three or four times a year sufficient to fulfill the spirit of this directive? I am not so sure that it does.
Next, we need to see that this ordinance not only reminds us of Christ, but as a celebration of the New Covenant it is also a time of fellowship with Him and with our fellow church members. It is a physical reminder of what Paul described in Ephesians 2:13-16:
But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.
Eating a meal together has always been an intimate and personal experience where barriers are dropped, and a common experience is shared. This is what takes place between Christ and the members of His church when Communion is celebrated.
Also, Paul notes that the celebration of the Lord’s Supper is, like baptism, a sermon which is acted out physically. As the church partakes of the bread and the cup, Jesus is proclaimed, His sacrificed is demonstrated, and our identification with Him is declared.
Finally, we are reminded that the Lord’s Supper is just the earthly representation of the Marriage Supper of the Lamb which will be served in Heaven after Jesus returns for His Church, the Bride of Christ. That will be a celebration that will make our worship on earth pale in comparison!
Just Do It:
The ordinances of the church are just that: practices ordained by God through Christ. They are not optional, but mandatory for the church to observe.
The meaning of each ordinance is important, though some may disagree in some of the details.
The mode of each ordinance is important, though some may also disagree in some ways about the details.
And yes, the subject of each ordinance is important, though as we know, some will disagree about the details.
What we cannot disagree on, is that we must obey our Lord and we must celebrate these ordinances of the church. Who do we want to be like? The son in the parable that said “Yes,” but did not obey? Or do we want to be like the son who did the will of his father?
When it comes to baptism and the Lord’s Supper we need do what the slogan for the manufacturer of athletic shoes says, “Just Do It!”
Today I want to share a word about Healthy Teaching as I comment on Mark 4:1-25.
We are in the midst of a series on the Characteristics of a Healthy Church as taught on the mission field by the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention.
I believe that this excellent Bible study material should be considered by the churches in North America also as we try to rebuild our ministries after a year of COVID-19.
The last time we visited the subject of a Healthy Church we focused on Healthy Giving, which is very important to our ministries, but today we want to focus on Healthy Teaching. It does little good for our churches to be well financed if we are not effectively teaching and preaching God’s Word.
An old saying goes, “Those who can do, and those who can’t teach.” That, as anyone who has ever taught knows, is a false statement. Teaching isn’t all that easy. Let me give you a couple of examples:
In every Psychology 101 course in college the students have to participate in a laboratory experience where they train a white rat. In my school, we had to train the rat to react to a light by pressing a lever to get a treat. You would think that training a dumb beast like a rat would be easy for intelligent humans, but that isn’t always the case. Every semester someone trains the rat to grab the light instead of pressing the lever. It isn’t all that easy to be a teacher.
Besides being a hard task, a teacher must be sure to be teaching the right things. They say that “practice makes perfect,” but in truth, “practice makes permanent.” If you teach the wrong things, you will cause major problems for the students! For example:
A child’s aunt was trying to encourage the boy to learn his times tables. She told him, “You need to just rattle off answers like snapping your fingers. Like, you should be able to spit out 8 times 8 equals 72!
If you didn’t understand that last part, remedial classes will be available soon!
It is not easy to be a good teacher, we today will find that Jesus was the model of healthy teaching. Today we will see Him as the Master Teacher demonstrating His craft. We need to watch Him and learn.
Let’s begin by reading Mark 4:1-9
Again he began to teach beside the sea. And a very large crowd gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea, and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. And he was teaching them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.” And he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
THE MINISTRY OF THE TEACHER:
Jesus devoted much of His ministry to teaching and in fact, He was often called “Rabbi,” which means, “teacher”. He taught from the beginning of His ministry until the end, and He took every opportunity He had to teach.
Jesus took advantage of “teaching moments” the same way wise parents do. Therefore, parents are the most important teachers of young children because they have so many of these “teachable moments” together.
Jesus taught in many different situations and settings:
He taught in the synagogue, among religious Jews, and He taught as He walked and lived day by day with His disciples.
He taught large crowds who came to see Him, and He taught people in their homes at meals.
He taught in the temple, and the scholars were amazed, and He taught sinners as He showed them God’s love.
He also taught as He healed the sick and opened the eyes of the blind, He wanted them to know why these events had occurred.
Here we see Him teaching in an unusual place with an unusual technique but also with unusual profundity as well.
The exciting thing for us about the ministry of teaching is that now it belongs to the church! We are to make disciples and to do that we must teach. As we teach, others learn about the love of God, and we learn more and more ourselves because best way to learn is to teach. The teacher always learns more than the students.
Soon after I had surrendered to the call to ministry, our pastor allowed me to teach a class of “Through the Bible in One Year.” It was a tremendous experience for me because I learned so much! I was certainly blessed more than the students were!
As exciting as the ministry of teaching is, it is also a daunting responsibility. Paul taught that teachers are held to a high standard by God, and that we should not seek to be a teacher if God hasn’t called us. The good news is that the Holy Spirit has given many the gift of teaching and it is a blessing when we use it. In fact, we must use it or grieve the Spirit, and none of us want to do that!
Next, let’s consider Verses 10-12:
And when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables. And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables, so that “‘they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand, lest they should turn and be forgiven.’”
THE METHOD OF THE TEACHER:
People learn in different ways and in His ministry, Jesus used the Full range of techniques. He taught didactically, like in the Sermon on the Mount. He taught by example, like when He healed the paralytic. He taught though experience, like when he sent the Disciples out two-by-two. Much of His teaching, however, was through parables.
A parable is essentially an illustrated sermon. The basic element of a sermon includes exposition, explanation, and illustration, but a parable is not a sermon illustration, but it is an illustrated sermon that uses a story to teach a truth.
The fact is we often remember stories when we don’t remember the sermon. I remember very clearly the time when the pastor of my home church made an impassioned description of the Israelites drowning in the Red Sea! Obviously, he misspoke, but the combination of his vivid description and his faux pas created a visual image that I will never forget!
Jesus often taught them based on the occasion and used events or objects in view of the listeners, such as “fields white unto harvest,” or “a sower went out to sow,” or “I am the Good Shepherd . . .”
Jesus had another reason for using parables: some people He taught were not ready to hear the truth. In fact, some people were actively working against the truth. Using parables was the way that Jesus could teach them best and this is an example to all of us as we teach God’s truth.
For example, on the mission field, workers often use the technique called Chronological Bible Storying in which they tell the stories in the Bible in the order in which they occurred. In countries with authoritarian governments or where there is a dominant, non-Christian faith group, the authorities not threatened because, “They are just telling stories.”
Let’s continue by reading Verses 13-20,
And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? The sower sows the word. And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.”
THE MESSAGE OF THE TEACHER:
Jesus did many things in His ministry, but He had only one purpose.
Jesus fed people and turned water into wine. Jesus healed people and He revived the dead. Jesus also radically opposed the powers that controlled Israel and Jesus ate with sinners and tax collectors. These are many different things, but all these things had just one purpose: spreading the Gospel.
Churches, also do many things. In fact, some churches are like a kicked-over ant hill. We have devised all kinds of programs from sports to scrap-booking. Activity for its own sake is not ministry, however. Churches must focus what they do in the way Jesus did. Purpose, vision, mission, are often all missing. I think this is why Rick Warren’s book, The Purpose Driven Church became so influential. People were looking for clarity
We must make teaching and preaching the Gospel our priority! We must follow the example of Jesus and teach the Gospel. We imitate Paul as he also imitated Jesus. In 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 Paul said,
And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
To allude to 1 Corinthians 13, if we aren’t teaching the Gospel, then all we are doing is just making noise and wasting time!
Let’s finish up by looking at Verses 21-25,
And he said to them, “Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket, or under a bed, and not on a stand? For nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” And he said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear: with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you. For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”
THE MAJESTY OF THE TEACHER:
Teaching is difficult work. In my own experience I often work a whole day or more to prepare for a three-hour class for a Bible college class that I teach. Then, after I teach the class, I am often exhausted from the emotional investment in the lives of my students. Teaching can be hard work, but teachers are glad to invest their time and effort when they see their students grow and mature.
The reward in teaching is seeing students’ lives changed. Teachers want to see that they are having an impact. They want to see growth occur.
They want to see their students be able to do what they couldn’t do before.
Jesus wanted to see the Gospel transforming lives: He wants our lives to shine out a lamp on a lamp stand. He wants our lives to be open books for God. He wants us to be growing daily in the Gospel.
Are we instruments of transformation at our church? If not, we should be.
One way we can do this is by teaching the Gospel, because when the Gospel changes lives it is a glorious thing.
Paul saw many lives transformed by his teaching, which is why he said in Philippians 4:1, “Therefore, my beloved and longed-for brethren, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, beloved.”
CONCLUSION:
Jesus is the Master Teacher, but have we been diligent students?
The most important teaching lesson we can absorb from Him is not His methods, but His motivation. His goal was not to teach facts, but to transform lives.
We need to dedicate ourselves to learning from Him, and if we do, we will have the abundant life He has promised! And, if we learn to teach like Him, our students can have that same abundant life as they transform into disciples.
Jesus is the example of healthy teaching. Let’s us follow His lead!
Today I want to share a word about Healthy Giving as I comment on 1 Corinthians 16:1-4:
One of my favorite church stories that I heard long ago was about a pastor who was convinced that the members of his church were not good stewards of their money, and so he decided to preach about stewardship. This church was a very demonstrative church and they often interacted with the pastor during the sermon.
The pastor began by proclaiming, “If this church is going to move forward it’s got to crawl!” “Let it crawl,” replied the congregation in unison.
The pastor continued, saying, “If this church is going to move forward it’s got to walk!” “Let it walk,” replied the congregation in unison.
The pastor went on, “If this church is going to move forward it’s got to trot!” “Let it trot,” replied the congregation in unison.
The pastor next stated, “If this church is going to move forward it’s got to run!” "Let it run,” replied the congregation in unison.
Finally, the pastor stood tall and proclaimed, “If this church is going to move forward it's got to have more money!” “Let it crawl, preacher, let it crawl,” was the response of the congregation.
We are in the middle of a series about Healthy Churches as taught to new churches on the mission field by the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. As we rebuild our ministries here in North America it might be good for us to consider this model of healthy churches. One area we need to consider is healthy giving.
Money is a subject full of trouble. It is a major cause of trouble in marriages, in businesses and in churches. Paul's instructions about a missions offering in 1 Corinthians 16:1-4 gives us a lesson on how to think about this potentially troublesome subject:
Now concerning the collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do. On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come. And when I arrive, I will send those whom you accredit by letter to carry your gift to Jerusalem. If it seems advisable that I should go also, they will accompany me.
Paul had called upon the churches on the mission field to give sacrificially to support and bless the church in Jerusalem which was undergoing severe persecution at this time. These instructions were given so that the church at Corinth would know how to collect this offering “decently and in order.”
Healthy Giving is Done Out of Grateful Obedience:
First, I think it is instructive that Paul used a term translated as “directed” in this passage. While this may mean he is directing the process by which the offering is to be collected, and he certainly was, we also need to remember the source of all that we have and ever will have on this earth. In Psalm 50:10-11, God reminds us that:
For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the hills, and all that moves in the field is mine.
God owns the cattle on a thousand hills, the hills, the gold under the hills, and the oil under the gold under the hills. Everything we will ever have comes from Him!
God owns everything but He has but He has given people stewardship over His creation from the very beginning of time. In Genesis 1:28, God made humans the stewards over the world:
And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
As the stewards of God’s world, we are to be fruitful and return to Him a profit, just as Jesus taught in the Parable of the Talents.
To begin understanding healthy giving we need to know that God simply expects us to give. It is understood that as the owner of everything He expects and deserves our offerings to Him. The main offering that He wants is our hearts, and when He has our hearts, all the other issues of life will follow, including money.
Healthy Giving is Done to Bless Others:
Next, it is important to note that our giving is done to bless others.
As we just saw, when we give we bless God, and honor Him, but we also bless other people as well. This particular offering was designed to go to Jerusalem to help the saints there. The believers were under severe persecution and those who could help were asked to help. This kind of offering goes to people who are already saved or to people who simply have unmet human needs.
Other offerings, such as offerings for missions in the modern world, go to help the lost come to know the Lord. These offerings are used to send missionaries or to do evangelistic outreach from local churches. People are blessed through these offerings because they come to know the Lord as their Savior, and they receive the blessing of being in His flock and eventually in His presence in heaven.
Either way offerings bless God's people: those who are already saved and who are in the church as well as those who will be saved and brought into the church. The money given to churches goes to touch lives!
When we give to God’s church it blesses Him and it blesses His people!
Healthy Giving is Done by Everyone:
Next, it is important to note that Paul is very specific that everyone in the church was expected to participate in this offering. Like Jesus referring to the Widow’s Mite, it did not matter if one was rich, or poor, or in between, but everyone was expected to participate.
Paul clearly recognized the differences in financial circumstances among people. Few people in our churches are rich, but most have more than they need. Paul wanted people to give as God had prospered them and not as they thought God prospered them. Likewise, they should not give as others thought that God had prospered them. They should simply give as God has given to then.
In truth, people in the United States are blessed! Even our poorest people would be well off in some countries around the world. Few people are so destitute that they can give nothing to the ministry of the Gospel.
Sadly, it is a commonly held belief that 20% of the people in the church do 80% of the ministry. Likewise, it is also commonly believed that 20% of the people give 80% of the offerings. Frankly, both of these figures are in opposition to the concept of Biblical stewardship. We need to offer our lives as well as our money to the service of the Lord.
Everyone needs to support the Gospel ministry, in word and deed, and in serving and giving!
Healthy Giving is Done at Church:
One thing Paul leaves no doubt about is how the giving should be done. Each week everyone should set aside an offering and it should be given regularly at church. And, again, this offering should be based on how God blessed each individual person.
The Bible clearly teaches that the church is the center of religious giving. Malachi 3:10 instructs, “Bring you all the ties into the storehouse,” And Jesus Himself paid the temple tax by way of a miracle. In Acts we see believers selling their property and bringing the proceeds to the apostles for use in the church.
Besides being the Biblical pattern, this has much to commend itself to us as well in practical terms also. The burden is shared amongst everyone and there is good accountability for what is given. This is a better opportunity for good stewardship than giving to other organizations.
One might assert that in the 1st Century there were no other options for giving except through the church. Charities and nondenominational, independent ministries did not exist then. This may be true, but with the Roman roads and the Roman postal system, if someone wanted to send money to the Jerusalem church it certainly was possible. Paul however insisted That giving be done through the local church. By this he has set the Biblical example for us today as well.
A popular quotation about giving is, “Do your giving while you're living so you're knowing where it's going.” When we do our giving at church it's easy for us to know where it is going and what God is doing with it!
Healthy Giving is Done Wisely:
Finally, the idea that we should give our offerings through the local church is a good segue to the next principle we need to discuss and that is our giving needs to be done wisely. As we deal with money, we need to heed Christ’s advice, we should “be as wise as serpents and as innocent as doves.” God has given us the ability to think, and we should use it, especially in the area of stewardship and accountability.
There is no question that money should be handled carefully. I remember being told a story of a church which was located across the street from the city firehouse. On quiet Sunday mornings, the firefighters made a habit of sitting out front of the firehouse. Every Sunday an unaccompanied man would walk out of the front door of the church with the offering plates and carry them around to the church office where they would be counted later. As soon as he exited the church, he would reach into the offering plate and take several bills and put them in his pocket on the way to the church office. This was done in full view of the firefighters, and it went on for years. Needless to say, none of the firefighters ever became members of that church.
Money must be handled wisely to protect those who gave it, to protect those who handle it, and to protect those who would be blessed by it. Notice that a delegation was going to be sent from the mission field to Jerusalem with the offering. Even in the church, or maybe especially in the church, checks and balances must be in place for the protection of all.
How a church handles money will greatly affect its reputation and its ability to bless others.
Conclusion:
It is a well-known fact that Jesus spent more time talking about money than He did just about any other topic of daily life. He knew that if you want to know what an organization or a person cares about all you have to do is see where they spend their money.
Our giving must be healthy if we are to have a healthy church. In 1 Corinthians 16, Paul has given us al good lesson about healthy giving. We should heed him, and we should follow his instructions in our churchmanship today!
