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 Dear
bro. Turner:
How
is the “contribution” a part of the Lord’s Day “worship”?
Do we “give to God”
this offering? FC
Reply:
Sometimes,
in a sincere effort to strengthen half-hearted members, and get
them to give of their means as they should, we say things
inaccurately — things that establish false concepts, and have
far-reaching effects. The “contribution” has had more than
its share of such errors.
In
the first place, the thing done in “worship” is but
the fruit of the proper attitude or spirit of
worship, and does not, of itself, offer or “provide” God
with anything. This was true even in the Old Testament, when the
blood of animals was “offered” as propitiation for sin. The
offerings “paid for” sin only in a symbolic sense, typifying
the one true offering which Christ made of Himself, for the sins
of the world. (Heb. 10:1-f. Study 1 Sam. 15:22; Prov. 21:3; Hos.
6:)
In
the more literal sense, Christ is the ONE sacrifice of the New
Covenant, “one sacrifice for sins for ever” “once offered”
“once for all”, (Heb. 9:28 10: 10-12). God does not need
anything (Acts 17: 24-25) and certainly isn’t appeased
or conciliated by our prayer, song, or money. The Lord’s
Day contribution IS NOT an “offering” at the “alter”;
and many of the pleas and prayers some associate with the
collection border on the ridiculous, and are pure Judaism.
A
far more appropriate way to consider the matter is to see
ourselves as belonging
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to the Lord, body and spirit (1 Cor. 6:
15-20 2 Cor. 8:3-5) after which we use time and material
blessings as stewards only. Christians are “living sacrifice”
(Rom. 12) Our singing, prayers, teaching, “remembering” (L.
S. ) and giving of our means to promote His cause, are
acceptable only as they indicate a sincere desire on our part to
serve God with our whole being. Thus, we worship
God “in spirit and in truth.”
When
an individual becomes a Christian he serves the Lord with his
all, regardless of what others do. Finding other Christians, he
joins with them in the service of Christ (an association
commanded and sanctions by the Lord: Heb. 10:25; Acts 20:7, etc)
and this collective action is the very essence of the local
church. Saints pool their means in order to work as one in the
service of Christ, and this necessitates a time of gathering.
1
Cor. 16:1-3 is an example of such a “gathering” in the early
church, and as an approved example, serves as authority for like
action on our part. It was done in keeping with an apostle’s
explicit instructions. Today we also have “needs” to meet,
work to be done; and in order to accomplish the work God has
authorized to be done collectively, Christians must “pool”
their means and/or abilities — usually through a medium of
exchange, or just plain MONEY.
We
give to support preachers, to feed the hungry, to supply
facilities for our work and worship. The gift is “to God: only
as respects purpose and as it reflects a heart wholly
His.
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