Introduction

The way the church receives and uses it’s finances are really important to God and should be important to Christians too. It’s sad today that many religious groups abuse God’s command to give to line their own pockets. What do the Scriptures teach about giving? Is the Old Testament practice of tithing still required of Christians today?

Let me begin by saying that God does not take pleasure from a collection. God takes pleasure from an offering. Now you can ask, what is the difference? Well, a collection is when you go and do everything you want to do, you take care of all your passions and desires and if there is anything left over you give it to the Lord, that’s a collection. An offering is when you take the very best and you honour God with the first fruits and you say, “God, your first in my life, I’m going to bow down and lay this at your feet, this is my best treasure and it’s for your glory.” Giving

Some religious groups require their members to tithe. Among our brethren, you may have heard someone say, “If the Jews were required to give a tenth, then Christians should give no less than a tenth because we live under a better covenant.” This raises the question are Christians required to give a tenth today? Tithing

The practice of pure religion, and surely the church must be to practice pure religion, which is to care for the widows and orphans, irrespective of their spiritual standing. James 1:27 ‘Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress’. Would Jesus care for them? Of course, He would! Then why would the church not care for them? The ‘pure and undefiled religion’ of James 1:27 most certainly applies to the church as much as the individual Christian. Can The ‘Church’s Finances’ Be Used To Help Non-Christians?

Do not expect to find a verse in the Bible which states, ‘Thou shalt not gamble or buy Lottery Tickets’, because, as you know, it isn’t there. What we can find in abundance, are verses which warn us against the danger of covetousness, and just as many verses which teach us as Christians, to depend, not on ‘luck’ or ‘chance’, but on the care and providence of our heavenly Father. Money Matters

Is it Scriptural for a congregation to support a full-time worker? This is a question which comes up every now again and I remember speaking to one brother who didn’t agree that a ‘full-time evangelist’ shouldn’t get paid for doing his work. Should The Church Pay For A ‘Full-Time Worker’?