Why People Fail To Give
1. THEY LACK TEACHING – We are what we have been taught. One may be a Baptist, or a Morman, etc., depending upon what he has been taught. One may be a liberal giver or a stingy one, depending on his teaching.
2. THEY ARE IN REBELLION TOWARD GOD – God’s Law teaches giving (2Cor. 9:7). The person who knows this and does not obey it is in rebellion.
3. THEY ARE RELIGIOUSLY LOPSIDED – He believes the Bible in spots. He thinks the alien must obey Acts 2:38, but that the Christian does not have to obey 1Cor. 16:2. He understands the command to observe the Lord’s Supper, but thinks one doesn’t have to obey the command to give. Just what kind of religion is this?
4. THEY LACK FAITH – We show our faith by our works (Jas. 2:18), rather than by our professions. It is easy to tell what a person believes by what he does.
5. THEY LACK INTEREST IN THE LOCAL CHURCH – It takes money to do the things the church needs to be doing. A miserly contribution will greatly diminish the work that can be done.
6. THEY DO NOT WANT TO COOPERATE – We are to work together. One may not be able to give much, but all of us working together can.
7. THEY LOVE MONEY – One may refuse to give because he is a lover of money more than a lover of God. See 1Tim. 6:10
8. BECAUSE THEY ARE A POOR INVESTOR – you are investing your money some way! Roger Babson said, “One dollar spent for lunch lasts 5 hours. One dollar spent for a necktie lasts 5 weeks. One dollar spent for the Lord lasts for eternity.” You cannot take your money with you, but you can send it on ahead of you (Matt. 6:19-20).
Here is one of the most meaningful epitaphs ever engraven: WHAT I SAVED I LOST . . . WHAT I SPENT I USED . . . WHAT I GAVE I HAVE.
Leroy Brownlow – Ft. Worth, Texas – deceased
A Recipe for Real Religion
Let us (1) do away with “speculative theology;” (2) discard all sectarian names and phrases; (3) abandon all doctrines and practices of human origin; (4) accept by faith, “the things that are revealed” (Deu. 29:29); (5) wear only such religious names, individually and congregationally, as may be found in the Bible; (6) “contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered unto the saints” (Jude 3), and “adorn the doctrine of God our Savior” (Tit. 2:10).
Formal Confession of Faith—“Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Mat. 16:16):
Worship and Government—Let the worship be simple and spiritual, not elaborate and worldly, eliminating that which merely entertains or “makes a show.” In government, acknowledge Jesus Christ as the only “head of the body, the church;” accept the Word of God as revealed by the Holy Spirit as the only rule of faith and practice; preserve the unity and independence of each local congregation “with the overseers and deacons” thereof.
Unity and Union—The Bible idea of unity and union of believers is not that of a “federation of churches,” nor a “religious trust;” but it is the spiritual unity of each believer with Christ in God (see John 17), and such practicable and practical union as may be necessary to “worship God in the beauty of holiness” and to “maintain good works”—charitable, moral, and missionary—at home and abroad (see 1 Cor. 10:17).
The above article was reprinted in The Defender,
a publication of the Bellview church of Christ in June 1968,
and was taken from
“The Cleburne Christian” Cleburne, Texas, February, 1923
Usually, “recipe” brings to mind something to be cooked or prepared for consumption. The word ‘recipe’, defined as a noun is: a set of instructions for preparing a particular dish, including a list of the ingredients required. But prior to the 16th century, the term was used as a verb, as an instruction in medical prescriptions. Therefore, the title of the borrowed article above is appropriate. God “prepared” for the Salvation of man from before the creation of the universe and the world. Eph. 1:4 is one place the Spirit had this recorded for mankind. According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
Now, lest anyone applies this verse as teaching “predestination”, consider that God made the plan, developed the plan to bring His Son, paid the price in the giving of His Son to shed His blood and die on the cross to purchase the church. He then confirmed the plan when the Lord came forth from the grave to ‘die no more’. After this, in Acts chapter two the church which Christ purchased was established, initially, about three thousand souls were added to the church that day when they followed God’s ‘recipe’ for Salvation as laid out in Acts 2:38.
From that time forward, God’s ‘prescription’ (recipe) for Salvation has been offered. 2Thess. 2:14 shows that none are “predestined” to Salvation, but all are called in the same way. Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Why not heed the gospel call, follow God’s recipe for the healing and salvation of your soul before it is too late?
Dennis Strickland – Mooresville church of Christ
