While Paul was journeying back to Jerusalem, he stopped in Miletus and “sent to Ephesus and called to him the elders of the church” (Acts 20:17) and reminded them of the work he had done among them in preaching the gospel. He was able to confidently say that he was “innocent of the blood of all men” because he “did not shrink from declaring to [them] the whole purpose (counsel, KJV) of God” (Acts 20:26-27). This was his responsibility as a gospel preacher – to preach the word of God without holding anything back. By doing this, he was “innocent of the blood of all men.” Conversely, he would stand guilty before God if he failed to teach anything that was necessary and “profitable” (Acts 20:20).
Many preachers today fail in this regard. They “shrink back” from teaching on various subjects for fear that someone might be offended or that controversy might result. They do not want to be accused of being troublemakers so they keep their mouths shut on certain topics. Such men are cowards and have no business being gospel preachers. It is expected that some will be offended since even Jesus Himself offended people and turned them away with His teaching (Matthew 15:12-14; John 6:60-66). It is inevitable that one’s motives will be questioned. Even Paul had to defend his motives, saying he was “not like many, peddling the word of God, but as from sincerity, but as from God, we speak in Christ in the sight of God” (2 Corinthians 2:17).
The topic of giving is one such subject in which teaching is often neglected. Perhaps a preacher is afraid his brethren will question his motive for teaching on giving. They could reason, “Our contribution helps pay the preacher. He must be preaching on this subject because he wants a raise.” Maybe a preacher supposes the brethren are comfortable giving what they have always been giving and will reject the thought that maybe they could give more. These things may or may not be true about the brethren. Regardless of whether they are or not, the truth revealed in Scripture needs to be taught on the topic of giving. That is what we will examine in this study.
Now Concerning the Collection | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10
