Is the Collection Plate Scriptural? How is your life in Christ going? Is it fulfilling? Are you pleased with your service in the Lords work? What has happened to your personal and individual responsibility? Do you handle it yourself, making your own decisions about what you will do, or have you given it away to the institution or body corporate known as the church? More and more the organization, through its duly constituted officials, has taken responsibility for the total service to Christ of its members. It plans and directs all you do in spiritual activities. Take, for example, your individual service to Christ. Do you decide what you will do, when you will do it, how you will do it, where you will do it, and with whom or if others are to be involved? Probably not. Why? Because if you are like most denominations (including traditional churches of Christ) today, the decisions are made for you. Everything is planned and organized for you. You are told what, where, when, how, and with whom you will do it. The Eldership and the church organization, which definitely includes the preacher, decides when and where to meet, sets the number of times you are required to be at the appointed place, and the appointed things you are to do. It is all planned and structured for you. You occupy your place in the pew (as a spectator) at the church service and do only the things you are allowed to do. Everything must go according to schedule. One vital thing you are required to do is to make your proper financial contribution, meaning you drop it in the basket or plate to be used or spent by the Elders at their discretion. You turn it over to the Eldership for them to use as the Board of Directors of the corporation. After all, they manage the business of the organization, and it takes money to operate an organization. In other words, you have no voice in the matter. In fact, you most likely do not know what use is made of it, save in a general way. Think about it. You do not make the decision about the use made of your financial contribution! You have been trained to forfeit your responsibility in making your own decisions in serving the Lord. Like the Roman Catholic Church, your church will take care of you. Your role is to simply obey and pay! In case you did not know this, your income and finances are yours. They are an extension of yourself. You are personally responsible for their use much the same as you are responsible before God for your entire life and abilities. This includes the use of your money. No where in the New Testament (Acts 2 through Revelation 22) are the terms the Lords money or the Lords treasury found. The money collected each Sunday is not sacred or holy money. Where does the New Testament (Acts 2 through Revelation 22) set forth any such idea as that? Your money is yours and you are responsible to God, as an individual, for its use the same as you are for any other ability or resource you have. In the Scriptures, the early disciples understood this. They did not have a corporate treasury because there was no corporation. They did, as each one determined to do, pool their financial resources for a specific purpose. They did not contribute money into the church treasury to be used at the discretion of the organization and/or its officials. Why? Because no such treasury, organization, or officials existed! Furthermore, there is no example in the New Testament (Acts 2 through Revelation 22) of the church giving to a general fund for general purposes. In every case the disciples knew the exact purpose for which funds were raised. They always gave to and for specific needs, and each one decided for himself if they would contribute and, if so, how much. One only has to read and study the Scriptures to know that. Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judaea... (Acts 11:29) This was an individual decision on the part of each one. They contributed to a specific cause. It was designated for that purpose. The disciples, each one of them, decided what they would contribute to and how much they would contribute. This is the exercise of personal responsibility! This is what the Lord requires of us. Which also they did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul. (Acts 11:30) In the above Scripture, the money was sent to the elders for distribution, not to decide what would be done with it! If the Elders had used the money for any other purpose than that designated, they would have misappropriated the funds! It was sent to them because they were true shepherds of the sheep not corporate managers of a business operation. They knew the needs of the disciples in Judea better than anyone else because they were doing what the Apostle Peter instructed the Elders to do. Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind... (1 Peter 5:2) Again, the contribution was always for a specific purpose; there was a need to be met. And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. (Acts 2:45) And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. (Acts 4:32) Neither was there any among them that lacked: 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. (Acts 4:34-35) The Apostle Paul even talks of the collection for the saints, the needy saints in Judea. 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. (1 Corinthians 16:1-2) This is a plan for each person to budget, or save on a regular basis for this great need. The teaching is that it was to be put aside at home on a regular basis so it would be in place when the Apostle Paul came. It has no reference to putting something into a common fund or treasury. There is not the slightest indication that the Apostle Paul had in mind for us to make a contribution each first day of the week into the corporate treasury as so many people are trained to do today. Even the preachers drive hard with this passage so that members will dutifully drop their financial contribution into the corporate treasury each Sunday. This is taught as an act of worship in many congregations! Can you really blame the preachers? After all, they, too, have a strong vested interest in the corporate treasury. Why? Because that is the source of their livelihood! As an employee of the corporate church, their wages, Social Security, medical insurance, mortgage, living expenses, car expenses, and vacation come from this source! Talk about a first-class Compensation Package. One can understand why they are so concerned with a large, and increasingly larger, financial income for the corporate church. How sad though to think that while the preacher is living it up in style, many in his flock are perishing. The church treasury (or corporate treasury) of the church organization was borrowed from the Roman Catholic Church and other denominations. It is a source of great trouble and evil among the people of God. It is a concentration of power and we all know that power, more often than not, corrupts. It is the funding source for the operation of the institution, with its highly paid staff, massive buildings, recreation programs, and all the necessary expenses of a big business. How awful that the largest part of it is spent on those in the institution while the world remains lost in sin and bound for hell! You alone are responsible for the decision for the use of your financial contribution in the service of Christ. Please do not give away this responsibility as you will be held accountable before God. Although it is easy to simply drop your contribution in the plate and let the organization decide its use according to the operational budget, it is a cop-out on your part! It is a shirking of responsibility. I suggest that you take a long, hard look at this practice (and all the other practices now in place) that make up the church organization. It is not from God; rather, it is from the ignorance (or greed?) of men. No wonder so many churches of Christ are looked at as being part of the denominational world! It is engaged in a big business venture, largely having to do with this world! We have sold our souls to the company store known as the institution. Individual responsibility is largely gone, surrendered to the formal organization that requires us to join and therein serve under the control of the organization. Have you ever wondered why we are losing our young people in spite of all our efforts to hold them with recreation, parties, fun, foolishness, and frolic? There may be a lot of activity, but it is empty and of no spiritual value. This should come as no surprise. After all, the preaching is usually designed to increase membership, not save souls. Much of the preaching is the same preaching found in denominations. Sadly, the power of the Gospel is rarely ever heard anymore. Although we are not likely to stop the big church organization movement among us (the leadership is well entrenched and in control of the organizations), there is hope. That hope lies with the individual -- you and me! It has always been this way. Individuals must be awakened and aroused to the dangers of what has happened. I hope you will consider seriously, and with prayer, the things presented here. Please search the Scriptures daily to determine if things are true or not. Your eternal soul is at stake. May God bless you, one and all, with an honest and good heart to know and do His will. On another note, neither is it Scriptural to pay your preacher for encouragement and edification. Daniel Ross - Gospel preacher
Posted on: Fri, 07 Mar 2014 20:53:21 +0000
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