The sincere Christian is genuinely concerned about his stewardship of worldly possessions. On the first day of the week, he recognizes his responsibility to "lay by in store as he has been prospered." "But," says he, "just how much of what I have been prospered should I give?"
Many religious groups attempt to simplify this matter by teaching and requiring a minimum of one-tenth of their members' income. Some have even been know to send "bills" to their members, specifying the amount they should give. They point out that this system of tithing was effective under the law of Moses and, thus, will be equally effective today.
As a point of fact, if we try to use the Old Testament as our standard, we need to remember that, in addition to the tithe, the Israelites were required to purchase or furnish the animals for the many sacrifices, take time off work to attend the annual feasts, as well as take care of the needy among them. Some estimates of the total amount contributed by the Old Testament faithful range as high as one-third of their income! Many conscientious Christians give ten percent, and more, on a regular basis. But this does not justify the binding of an Old Testament ordinance on New Testament saints.
It is true, of course, that the subject of tithing is mentioned in the New Testament, but never in such a manner as to bind it upon our conscience today. The remarks of R. C. H. Lenski, well-known Lutheran scholar, bring this point into clear focus:
"One of the plain facts is that the Gospels mention tithing only three times, in three condemnations of the Pharisees, and all three are scathing in their severity. Three other references are found in Hebrews 7:5-9 and are merely historical. Although all the apostles were originally Jews and reared to tithe, with not one word did any one of them even intimate that in the new covenant the Christians might find tithing a helpful method of making their contributions to the work of the church. This strong negative is re-enforced immensely by the totally different method suggested by Paul when he called on the churches for a great offering, I Cor. 16:1, etc.; II Cor. 8:4, etc. Exegetically and thus dogmatically and ethically the New Testament is against tithing as being valid in the new covenant. Desire for more money, also for more money in and for the church, should not blind our eyes to the ways that are employed for getting it." – Interpretation of Luke, p. 661.
Christians are to give "as they have been prospered" (1 Corinthians 16:2) which suggests proportionate giving. But to bind the ten percent figure to bolster a sagging congregational budget is unwarranted. As badly as we might wish it were different, God has not, under the new covenant, reduced this matter to the simplicity of a mathematical equation. We are reminded of the abundance of God's blessings to us, both spiritual and temporal. We are made keenly aware of the great need for the gospel to be spread. And we are given assurances of continued ability to give (2 Corinthians 9:8). We are then called upon to wrestle with these sober considerations weighing heavily upon our conscience. We arrive at our decision, the execution of which not only supplies in generous fashion the needed money, but, in the process, causes us to mature and grow stronger in the faith.
May God help us to appreciate the wisdom of His plan and to be more faithful in its practice. -- Bob West, The Milpitas Messenger, October, 1996
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In last month's article we pointed out that before we can answer the above question, we must understand clearly what is meant by "denomination." We learned that a religious denomination consists of an "association of congregations" which have a common heritage. A denomination, by definition, is a part of something larger than itself. But the Bible is clear that the church Jesus came to establish (Matthew 16:18) is the one body of Christ (Ephesians 1:21-22; 4:4). It is not a part of anything else. Therefore, it is not a denomination. This was the substance of the previous article. Please get a copy of that article if you have not read it.
The key element in every religious denomination is that the congregations of which it consists are tied together under some kind of organizational umbrella which is distinct from the congregations themselves. Yet, in the New Testament, each congregation was self-governing (autonomous) under the direction of its own elders or bishops whose oversight was limited to the local flock of which they were a part (See Acts 14:23; 1 Peter 5:2). We search in vain in the New Testament to find the authority for any kind of intra or extra-congregational organization which planned or coordinated the function of those congregations. Even some denominational authorities acknowledge that denominations did not originate in the Bible. Dr. Donald G. Tinder, in the Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, points out that there has been very little theological writing on the subject of denominationalism. He suggests that the simplest explanation for this omission is "that the Bible in no way envisages the organization of the church into denominations. It instead assumes the opposite..." (p. 310).
Where, then, did this denominational concept of the church originate?
Even in the First Century, apostles were predicting an apostasy among the churches (Acts 20:28-30; 1 Timothy 4:1-4; 2 Timothy 4:3-4). Historical records verify that such apostasy did indeed come to pass. Not long after the First Century ended, local congregations began to set one man forth among the elders as "THE bishop". Before long, the eldership was replaced entirely by the one-man bishop system. The "Bishops" of the large metropolitan churches began to exercise greater authority even beyond their local congregations.
History of Christian Church, George P. Fisher, p. 51: "After we cross the limit of the first century we find that with each board of elders there is a person to whom the name 'bishop' is especially applied."
Beginning in the 2nd Century the "Bishops" of churches in various provinces began meeting to deliberate on doctrinal issues and to coordinate provincial activities among the churches. "These councils - of which no vestige appears before the middle of this [2nd] century - changed nearly the whole form of the church." – Mosheim's Ecclesiastical History I:116-117.
The first "Universal" (Ecumenical) Council was convened by the order of the Roman Emperor Constantine in Nicea, in 321 A. D. This was the Council of Nice, at which the "Nicene Creed" was produced.
Fisher, op cit., p. 104: "The bishop of the chief city of each province was called the metropolitan." By the 4th Century, the "Metropolitans" of the four leading cities of the empire, Rome, Constantinople, Antioch and Alexandria were competing for universal power. At the end of the 6th Century, Gregory the Great, Bishop of Rome, denounced John the Faster (Patriarch of Constantinople) for his assumed title of "Universal Patriarch". But by the 7th Century the Bishop of Rome began to be recognized as the "Universal Bishop" (Pope) over all the churches.
Thus, the move was complete from the simple New Testament organization of the autonomous local church to the universal structure now seen in Roman Catholicism. This denominational structure of the church involving a governing and coordinating authority for all the congregations took several centuries to develop. Denominationalism, as we know it today, is the illegitimate fruit of the apostasy which culminated in Roman Catholicism.
In the next article we shall trace the historical connection of the denominational concept of Christianity down to our present time. -- Bob West, The Milpitas Messenger, September, 1996
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It is safe to say that there is not a person living who has not had doubts in the realm of religion. Conviction or faith is described in the Bible as "evidence of things not seen." Obviously, if one is unfamiliar with available evidence on a subject, he will be doubtful concerning it. Thus we see one of the causes of doubt: Ignorance.
Doubts and their antecedent ignorance are not wrong in themselves. On the contrary, if dealt with properly, they can be the occasion of leading to greater growth and knowledge. As is too often the case, however, the doubter mishandles his doubts which then lead to his own harm as well as that of others. It would appear, then, that it is of the greatest importance for us to know how to deal with doubts when they arise. When some doubt is raised in our mind concerning a doctrine or religious practice, there are three courses of action usually open to us.
Unfortunately, too many doubters want to expose their doubts before anybody and everybody. Some do this in writing, from the pulpit, and in Bible classes. It is one thing to have strong convictions on something and stating such convictions publicly. It is quite another thing to entertain doubts and express such before babes in Christ, the unconverted, or outright enemies of truth. When we have doubts, don't spill them all over everybody else and thus run the risk of hindering the free course of truth in other people.
Obviously, one should never leave a doubt alone. Doubts are like a leaven that, left unattended, will eventually permeate and corrupt all of one's convictions. Doubts indicate insufficient evidence to bring real conviction, either because such evidence does not exist or because the doubter is unfamiliar with it. So, let's not harbor a doubt and foster it with continued ignorance. Get after it! Face it squarely and do something about it! Dig the information out of the Bible for ourselves. Or study the matter with ones who have more knowledge of and no doubts about the subject. Find out wherein their confidence lies. Don't just take their word for it. Require them to point out the evidence from God's word.
One cannot live happily in doubt. Eminently more important, one cannot serve God acceptably with a doubtful mind (Romans 14:23). So, when doubts arise (and they will), face them for what they really are: signals indicating that our knowledge is deficient, then get busy and investigate. By so facing our doubts we will not only resolve them, but will find ourselves growing more and more in the knowledge of Jesus Christ. -- The Milpitas Messenger, September, 1996
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