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10250 North Freeway @ West Road
Houston, Texas 77037
Tel: (281) 447-8484
KEEPING HOUSE FOR
THE LORD
Written by H. Frank Fort
This material is copyrighted and may not be copied or reproduced without the express written permission of the Berean Baptist Church.
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House for the Lord,
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In
our lesson today, we desire to set forth the principle in giving, reserving for
another lesson, the amount we are to give as an act of worship. Paul said t o
the Ephesian elders, "It is more blessed to give than to receive" Act
s 20:35. He said that this was according to "t he words of the Lord
Jesus", and as to the practice of this principle, he said, as given in the
margin, "I n all things I have given you an example". Paul practiced
what he preached, thus he said,
·
"We
speak; not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts", and
·
"holiy,
and justly and unblameably we have behaved ourselves among you" 1
Thess. 2:4,10.
Paul's behavior was in support of his speech. So it
ought always to be, and so must it be, if men are to see "your good works
and glorify your Father which is in heaven" Matt. 5:16. Notice what Paul was desirous that his brethren should
have: "I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to
build you up and to give you an inheritance among all them, which are
sanctified. I have coveted no man's silver, or gold, or apparel" Acts
20: 32,33. In doing this, Paul set an example for the elders of the church.
Thus Peter, along this same line, said to "the Elders", "Feed the
flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint
but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind" 1
Pet. 5:2. One of the qualifications for an elder, is "not greedy of
filthy lucre" 1 Tim. 3:3. Why?
"They that will (that is, "will to be", making this the chief end
in life), be rich fall into temptation and a snare…For the love of money is
the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the
faith and pierced themselves through with many sorrows" 1
Tim. 6: 9,10. One who is possessed with an unquenchable desire for wealth
and the power over men that goes with it, disqualifies himself as a leader in
spiritual matters for Solomon wrote, "A faithful man shall abound with
blessings: but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent"
Prov.
28:20.
"The love of money" will cause one to "haste to be rich",
and in that "haste" very little regard will be given to the principles
involved; from this springs the danger where "riches" are
"coveted after". Does this mean that a man is to just sit down and
wait for his "ship to come in"? No, it is written that God's children
are to be "not slothful in business" Rom.
12:11. Again, "let him labor, working with his hands the thing which is
good" Eph. 4:28. Paul said,
"We commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat".
2
Thess. 3:10.
The principle of legitimate and industrious effort is "the laborer is
worthy of his hire" Luke 10:7.
Again, "the laborer is worthy of his reward"
1
Tim. 5:18.
This principle is true in all that God requires man to do, whether in
·
providing
for hi s family" 2 Cor. 12:14, 1
Tim. 5:8
·
helping
others who are in need Eph. 4:28,
James 2:15,16, Luke 3:11, Rom.
15:26, Acts 11:29
·
Support
of government, Rom. 13:6
·
"they
that preach the gospel" 1 Cor.
9:11,14
Here
then, is the principle in labor:
·
"Labor
not to be rich" Prov. 23:4,
merely for the sake of having wealth, but
·
labor to
have that by which the family, the unfortunate, the law of the land, and the
word of God, may be supported
If
this is the motive in labor, the product of labor will never be governed by
covetousness, but by gratitude to God, which will enable the possessor to seek
opportunity "to do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the
household of faith Gal. 6:10.
It is this consciousness of God's goodness that
impels one to say, as did David, "What shall I render unto the Lord for all
his benefits toward me?
Ps.
116:12. Let
us notice this consciousness of the divine goodness as a factor in giving so as
to please God. Christ said to his apostles, "freely ye have received,
freely give" Matt. 10:8. They
were not to trade on the truth, nor the power exercised in confirmation thereof,
yet in this very connection. Christ said, "Provide neither gold, nor
silver, nor brass, in your purses, nor scrip for your journey, neither two
coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves: for the workman is worthy of his
meat" Matt. 10:9,10. Who will recognize that the workman is worthy of his
meat? By comparing "the house" of Matt. 10:13, with that of Matt.
10:14, we see that the house which
hears the word of God, will receive the messenger who declares it, and
demonstrate the principle that "the workman is worthy of his meat" Matt.
10:10. Paul, in writing to the Church at Corinth, said, "I robbed other
Churches, taking wages of them to do you service. And when I was present with
you, and wanted, (that is, was in need), I was chargeable to no man (that is, I
would not impose myself upon you, until you voluntarily assumed the
responsibility), for that which was lacking to me, the brethren which came from
Macedonia supplied" 2 Cor. 11:8,9.
Why was the Church in Corinth at this time so negligent in this matter? Just
read the record of its spiritual condition in 1
Cor. 3:1-6,8, and see, that where a Church is carnal, there will be no
gratitude to God for his blessings, and consequently no regard for the man who
declares the things of God. Paul said, "If we have sown unto you spiritual
things, is it a great thing if we shall reap your carnal things" (margin
‑ "things for the body") 1
Cor. 9:11. Paul said, "The Lord ordained that they which preach the
gospel should live of the gospel" 1
Cor. 9:14, and he said this having asked, "Who goeth a warfare any time
at his own charges? (expenses). Who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the
fruit thereof? Or who feedeth a flock and eateth not of the milk of the
flock?" 1 Cor. 9:7. Paul said,
"he that ploweth should plow in hope, and he that thresheth in hope should
be partaker of that hope" 1 Cor.
9:10.
It is written, "God loveth a cheerful
giver" 2 Cor. 9:7. But how can a
covetous man give cheerfully? Christ said, "lay up for yourselves treasures
in heaven…for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also" Matt.
6:20,21. A man that "layeth treasure for himself and is not rich toward
God" Luke 12:21, will not
consider "a better and an enduring substance" Heb.
10:34, which the faithful "have in heaven", as sufficient
"recompense of reward" Heb.
10:35, for suffering the "spoiling of your goods" on earth Heb.
10:34. Paul said, "ye have need of patience, that after ye have done
the will of God, ye might receive the promise" Heb.
10:36. One will not have the patience to do this unless, like Moses, he has
"respect unto the recompense of the reward" Heb.
11:26. Christ has said, "thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection
of the just" Luke 14:14, at
which time, "he shall reward every man according to his works" Matt.
16:27. It was the consciousness of this recompense that caused Job to say in
spite of the loss of health, children and possessions, "naked came I out of
my Mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord
hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord" Job
1:21. Again, "shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we
not receive evil? "Job 3:10. In
other words, Job did not consider his possessions as the greatest good, nor the
best of things from the hand of God. He could say in the loss of them all,
"Blessed be the name of the Lord". One who can say this at the loss of
material things, will be found honoring God with them, when possessed. These
recognize that "a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things
which he possesseth" Luke 12:15,
and that "life", therefore, "is more than meat" Luke
12:23.
Just as in every thing else, God requires us to do, there is in “giving” both
· “a willing mind”
·
“a performance” 2 Cor.
8:11,12
Paul, in speaking of the spirit of “the Churches of Macedonia”, said, “they were willing of themselves” 2 Cor. 8:3, and then added, they “first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God” 2 Cor. 8:5. The liberality, which resulted from this giving of self, is called, “this grace”. Thus, Paul said to the Church in Corinth, in getting them to follow the example of the Churches of Macedonia, “as ye abound in everything, in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love to us, see that ye abound in grace also” 2 Cor. 8,7. What “grace”? The “grace of God bestowed on the church of Macedonia”, which resulted in “the riches of their liberality”, and thus, “fellowship of the ministry to the saints” 2 Cor. 8:1,4. Concerning the results of this grace, as God works in his people to produce fruit, Paul said, “We beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain” 2 Cor. 6:1. This grace does two things:
· “teaches” Titus 2:12
· Provokes the believer “to will’’ Phil. 2:13.
Where the spirit of man ‘‘knoweth’’ 1 Cor. 2:11 and God works in the man “to will” that which pleases him, that working will be manifested in “a performance”; that is, he will “do” what he is taught. That which constrains, however, to the doing is ‘‘the love of Christ’’ 2 Cor. 5:14 Thus Paul said to the Corinthians, are ye able “to prove the sincerity of your love’’ 2 Cor. 8:8 There are two things necessary to this proof.
·
The
consciousness of the divine benevolence, Thus Paul said, "What hast thou
that thou didst not receive" 1 Cor.
4:7
·
Gratitude
for the things received. "By the grace of God I am what I am" 1
Cor. 15:10.
It
is characteristic of love to give to the object of it's desire. Out of the ten
lepers healed, in Luke 17:12-19,
"one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud
voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at his feet, giving thanks.
" vs. 15,16.
He who uses his time, talents and possessions, as
things from God, will not adopt the philosophy of the rich man who "layeth
up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God" Luke 12:21. But will recognize that prosperity from the benevolent
hand of God also imposes the responsibility of stewardship, and "it is
required in stewards that a man be found faithful" 1 Cor. 4:2. And faithfulness will regard it's possessions as from
him who has title rights to "the earth and the fullness thereof" P6.
24:1, and gratitude will ask "what shall I render unto the Lord for all
his benefits toward me Ps. 116:12?
Prepared
by:
H.
Frank Fort, Minister,
Berean Baptist Church,
Houston, TX.
Nov. 14, 1956.
"It Does Make a Difference What You Believe"