“Put Something Aside”

Sunday, March 07, 2021

The February 14 edition of this bulletin considered the use of the church’s money.  It was clear that God has not been silent on that matter, and of course we ought to obey him, regardless of what we may want to do, and regardless of our own judgments, which may be in conflict with God’s.  The New Testament showed us several ways in which the church ought to use its money; but how should it get that money in the first place?

First and foremost, there is no authorization in the Bible for the church to become a profit-seeking business.  It has nothing to sell, but has the most valuable commodity in the world to give.  It exists not to enrich people physically, but spiritually.  Its purpose isn’t to make a living, but to share the means of securing eternal life.  The only way we see the church acquiring money in the New Testament is through voluntary donations, and that’s how it ought to remain.

Yet, further questions arise: who can contribute, and when, and by what method?  Here, the scriptures aren’t as informative as we might desire, and we may wish to avoid crossing a line we didn’t even know was there.  That quickly leads to a point where we would forbid anyone but a local member to give money to the church in any form but cash, and at any time but during the Sunday morning assembly.  Is that necessary?

The Scriptures aren’t completely silent here, but even so it’s easy to get wrapped up in debates like how many angels can dance on the head of a pin—a check isn’t really money, and in any case the transaction won’t be processed until Wednesday, and so have I really contributed on Sunday as I ought?  Even if I make my contribution in cash, will God be upset with me if the collection doesn’t get deposited into the church’s account that day?  And oh dear, banks aren’t open on Sundays!

It’s obvious we’re getting into the weeds here, and we haven’t even consulted the relevant passages, yet.  “On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper” (1Co 16.2).  This is an excellent precedent for us to follow.  It should be noted, though, that not all of the details of that passage necessarily apply to all Christians today.  For example, within the same verse we learn that Paul was planning to come soon to receive the gift,  “so that there will be no collecting when I come.”  Well, clearly we shouldn’t be expecting a long-dead apostle to show up at services next week.  Additionally, the funds being collected were to be carried to Jerusalem (v3); but again, that pertains to the specific scenario of the Corinthian church and the churches in Judea at that time, and is not a mandate for us.  That doesn’t mean we should ignore what the passage says, but it does mean we should keep in mind that Paul is giving specific instructions at a time and place we don’t share—context matters!

There are many other examples throughout the New Testament.  We can read about the collection for the saints in 2 Corinthians 8 & 9, but there is no mention anywhere of the timing involved.  We see many more indications of the church collecting and distributing funds for helping needy Christians and carrying on the work of the church, but aside from the instructions considered above, there is never another indication of when it was done, or when it ought to be done.  The closest thing we have to a time-stamped example of contributing to the church would be at the very beginning of the church in Acts, when a brief discussion of the believers’ generosity to each other is followed by the phrase “day by day” (Ac 2.46.)  Specifically, it refers to a different activity, attending the temple, but the passage leaves us with the impression that all of the actions mentioned in the context were done day by day, not just those listed in verses 46 & 47.

As for acceptable forms of contribution, we’ve complicated the issue with modern innovations, but perhaps the easiest way to see the broad discretion God has granted us, is to observe the examples of Aquila and Prisca, who hosted the church in their own homes in Rome and Ephesus (Ro 16.5, 1Co 16.19, Gaius, who did the same at Corinth (Ro 16.23), Philemon in Colossae (Phm 2), and Nympha in Laodicea (Co 4.15).  This is what we might call an “in-kind” contribution, which has tangible value, but requires no actual money to change hands.  Paul mentions each of these with approval, and extends greetings to or from them as if it’s not only normal, but good that they are doing this.  That being the case, it would be silly to argue that we today are prohibited from making our contributions to the church in any form other than currency.

It’s impossible to address every concern, because there are infinite concerns.  It’s generally best and most straightforward to simply contribute in whatever way is most convenient for you and for the church, at the Sunday assembly.  It emphasizes community and follows the example of 1 Corinthians 16, even though the fine details aren’t meant to be mandatory for all.

But let’s not get distracted from the behavior God wants to instill.  He’s trying to cultivate generosity in brotherly love and in zeal for Christ’s kingdom.  Don’t let petty and divisive arguments over means and methods take away from the work of God, when God himself has not bound those burdens on any of us.

Jeremy Nettles

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