Bible Discussion Thread

opinion on churches asking for money?

To me , when a church is run more like a business than a place of worship , things can get very dangerous . In all honesty , if I was a member of a rich church I would be very uncomfortable with that and would much rather be part of a poor congregation than a rich one . Luke chapter 19 verses 45+46 . Remember who , out of the desciples , it was that was in charge of their funds . Ask yourself why does Jesus refuse to give his judgement in Luke chapter 12 verses 13+14 .? Did God give Jesus lots of money to give away and help solve people's problems ?

I feel uncomfortable with churches with ATMs in their lobby, trading good/services for money. Jesus was angry with the money changers in the temple and to me this seems like the modern day equivalent. It's amazing how arrogant people are in terms of thinking they don't need to obey Jesus for this or that rationalization. I would think naturally a Christ follower would want to follow Christ's instruction in everything even at the risk of you doing more than what is 'required', but instead what I see most often is Christians trying hard to interpret scriptures in such as way so that they DON'T have to follow Him. And often Christians will commit gross sins that God hates then rationalize it somehow like its not sin to God or that He doesn't care or that they don't have control over their own bodies. So many lies.

Even Paul was frustrated with Christians committing fornication and warns them in 1 Cor 5:1 and 1 Cor 1:2 confirms this letter was to the church of Christians in Corinth. This is in the Bible and I've had conversations with Christians that deny that its even possible for them to sin. Amazing how deceptive the father of lies is.

I agree , it's very worrying . Christ talks about the deceitfulness of riches , that's a very powerful comment from our Saviour and one that I try to keep in my heart . I think that Paul warns us against the belief that 'Godliness is gain ' . All of us , myself included , need to watch our attitude towards money , money is a very powerful tool that the devil can make use of , to our detriment .

Wow, Adam, I didn't know that churches have ATM's in their places of worship. My goodness, that is concerning. But then it makes it easier for people to withdraw money to put in the collection plate! So, that is the whole idea of it--to get more money out of more people. Pretty weird what is happening in many churches in today's times.

God doesn't need our money so if you are a faithful tither, like me, we are to give from the heart. What we can afford once our necessary bills are paid & we have food to eat till the next paycheck. Pray & let God guide you in where, when, how & for who you are to tithe your time, abilities & love to.! If anyone says you must give them money or that you can't do this or that unless you tithe a certain amount...RUN my child & run fast. They are not of God. Yes, you can give to a church yet tithing comes from a cheerful giver. If it puts you in anguish in any way, how cheerful is that? God bless & be w/you & yours "Texsis"

You are very right about that , God doesn't need our money , that reminds me of my Grandma , she was a wise old bird , Amen to you .

I don't attend a church anymore, I was excluded from mine for marrying a lady of a different denomination , so I tithe by regular charity donations straight from my bank account . I firmly believe that the most precious gift we can give is our time , it's the only thing that is really ours to give , it can be a real sacrifice to give it and do something that we don't really want to do instead of doing something that we really enjoy , it's the most appreciated thing, money is easy , give someone a friendly smile and a chat , ask if they need anything and if they say yes , do it for them . Our time is the only thing we truely own , Jesus gave his time , he gave his life to the service of others , to the point of dying that we might be saved . Money is a quick conscience fix , surely it's needed and appreciated by the recipient but time is very precious and to give yours to others is a not just appreciated by the recipient , its also good for us . I think we are all aware of how precious our own time is , this also means that when we give it to someone , they know that we have spent it on them and it makes them feel loved and special . There's no greater gift in my opinion . It's a real sacrifice to give it , David says somewhere something like : I shall not give to the LORD something that has cost me nothing . That's not what true sacrifice is , I'm not rich bit to give away a few bucks wouldn't be too hard to me . To be out shovelling snow off someone else's driveway when I could be at home warm , these are the kindnesses that others appreciate I think , I hope !

Dear Sammi and others on this thread,

I agree that giving of our time and talents is what God wants us to do, but I God has also demonstrated that those who serve the church as leaders should be compensated. So, giving monetarily to the staff and work of a church is important. Also, some ministries are worthwhile to give monetarily to as they do good work for those in need in big ways. I think it is good to do all of these things with generosity and concern for the needs of others. We are to do as God has led us not by demands nor manipulative tactic of others.

I also think that there are people and ministries that take advantage of the generosity of believers and misuse and mishandle the monetary gifts people send them. This is sad. But I do that there are many people and ministries that are diligent about using monetary gifts in godly ways. We should prayerfully support those we know well that will use our giving in ways that honor God and truly help others. Discernment and good research on such people and ministries is advised.

But even so, we should pray for God to give us true compassion and generosity to be able and willing to bless others with our gifts as well as a servant's heart to be willing to get into the trenches and help others. I know need more of these attributes and to put them into action more than I am doing now.

I did my own opinion piece on the subject the other day.

Without mentioning any particular charlatans by name (I'll let you use your imagination) anyone preaching a false doctrine or clearly in the ministry for "filthy lucre" ( 1 Peter 5:2) are not to be funded. So to begin this discussion we need to have a clear definition of what a true church is.

Assuming the church has the core doctrines and as we can best tell they are making a genuine attempt to proclaim the true Gospel message; the next thought is exactly what is the reasoning and methodology for asking for funding? I am certainly not going to say that every fund raising option other than directly fulfilling the Great Commission or taking care of immediate needs with a church building or hopefully the widows and others struggling in the church is wrong; but I certainly wouldn't feel obligated to put more than "chump change" into it (unless I suddenly came into a fortune). As I stated in my post the other day we should seek a clear financial statement from a church. One example I can give is that my current church had an issue with someone whose mental acuity after having COVID apparently was compromised and major errors occurred. Thankfully the man is still welcome to attend our church but others had to be called in to oversee the accounting (and also there are multiple checkers of figures involved as well). Transparency needs to be there; if anything to relegate cost effective means to get work done which may be better suggested by those for instance talented in building repair as contractors; etc.

As to methodology; I think anything which brings worldly vices for financial gain such as raffles; bingo etc should be ruled out.

As for rummage sales; I suppose that is ok; what I am more concerned about is if money from that is going to a ministry that is Godly; or to some politically correct activity that I can't support.

Even good TV preachers won't starve soon; they are last on my list.