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Not Given to Filthy Lucre “For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre;” (Titus 1:7) An overseer/bishop is an official of the church. He must be an exemplary man, especially in the area of teaching and life concerning finance. He should not be a gambler. He should not be afraid to get his hands dirty through working. He should not be greedy. He should not be concerned about money more so than virtue and integrity. He should not sell biblical material for money. Never in the New Testament is it mentioned that any of the faithful ministers required money for scrolls or explanations of biblical materials. They labored and went without the good things of life, even without a place to stay, to deliver God's message to lost peoples. Giving Policy: The Apostles Did Not Sell The Gospel! The gospel or learning materials should not be commercialized. The Bible teaches 'freely you received, freely give' (Mt. 10:8). However, when I started to learn the original Bible languages, since no one offered to give me a free self-learning book, I had to buy it. I don't believe that is a sin on my part. To grow intellectually we have to buy books and as you probably know, there sure aren't many people out there giving away free education. The apostles did not sell gospel material; they gave their lives for it. Having been convicted of the exemplary lives of the early church leaders, perhaps in the future people will be inspired to do the same. Today, however, even well intentioned preachers are selling their materials. Worse yet, on the other hand, there are those that are deceiving many, even if the least popular and influential one of those who extol and aid the promotion of their chief peers were to repent of their common deception he would be the greater. The Apostle Paul or Peter never spoke like you hear, for instance, the many irreligious bureaucratic parrots and seminary graduates bid for return money such as, “Return the order form today, or for fast delivery use your credit card!” Today's seductive preachers and teachers are not only selling a pernicious substitute for what they should be giving; they are also suggesting the worldly economic practice of credit and interest, which is another stumbling block that Christians should avoid (Dt. 15:1-11). Links: Selflessness: Apostle Paul and Finance Beware of the Mansion Preachers Poor Joel Osteen, John Hagee, Kenneth and Gloria Copeland, Benny Hinn, Jimmy and Francis Swaggart and many other heretics! How long could anyone of these make it without dining out, without an air conditioner, without maid service, without their own mansion, without the riches of this world. We live in an age when the brainwashed and boob-tubed audiences praise such men and women. Get out of the false church folks. Start making your time count for God. Become more selfless and begin studying your Bible. Seek God in prayer. Quit giving ear to the wolves and learn to feed the sheep. I
Cor. 4:11 Even unto this present
hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted,
and have no certain dwelling place; 12 And labour, working with
our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we
suffer it:
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