My first experience with one who questioned a “church treasury” was in 1943, in Phoenix, Arizona. While taking some exercise, I made a chance acquaintance with an elderly gentleman and we walked along together. When we passed a small church building with no sign, I asked if he knew anything of those meeting there. He said the church of Christ met there, and he was one of the members. When I told him I preached for the Westside Church of Christ he said we were different. “You have a church treasury, we do not,” he explained. I asked if they ever collected funds for anything, and was told they collected funds recently to pay for a window the hail had broken. I got the picture! I told him our only difference was that we saw more things that needed to be done. We collected funds every week because every week we supported several gospel preachers, the assistance of needy saints, a gospel radio program, articles in the paper, etc.<\/p>\n
The “Bottom Line” of a church treasury is the collective action of saints. If saints are to work as a team – on anything – there must be the essence of a church treasury: pooled means and abilities for the accomplishment of their task. If together they pull a wagon, the pooled energy is their treasury; if they gather canned goods for a poor family, while the pooled food is in their possession, it is their treasury; and if they pool a medium of exchange (money) by which such food is purchased, that is also their treasury. Although I feel certain some who have opposed a “church treasury” were actually opposing things done with the treasury (a very different subject), the real “issue” is whether or not saints are to work as a team on anything. We are not here discussing abuses of the treasury. That comes under the heading of the work of the local church.<\/p>\n
We have said the church treasury is the pooled means and abilities of the saints making up that “team.” Let us expand a bit by a simple illustration. If some saints wish to assist a preacher, each one could send assistance to the brother, and only those who gave could be said to have acted. Nothing wrong with that (Galatians 6:6). But Paul gave orders to churches (I Corinthians 16:1) and messengers were chosen of the churches to carry gifts (II Corinthians 8:23). We conclude therefore that various churches acted; i.e., various teams of saints. Before Paul could take wages of churches each team had to have wages to pay, and that involves team treasuries. A few members could bring paint, and paint the meeting place. They might create a psychedelic effect but they could put on the paint. But the whole church shares in the painting when funds from a common treasury are traded for a paint job. We can apply this principle to all works of the local church.<\/p>\n
“Getting to the Bottom Line” on the nature of the church (previous articles) should convince us that ceremonial and sacerdotal worship of Judaism was based on “carnal ordinances, imposed until a time of reformation<\/em>” (Hebrews 9:10); and is not the worship of Christians. The “contribution” is not a sacrament and is not an “act of worship” per se. We do not “give to God” in the same sense the Jews presented a gift at the altar. The local church is a God-given tool by which saints function collectively, and the collection of funds is a very pragmatic means of pooling means and abilities so the “team” may carry out its purposes. It is as necessary, for team activity, as “going to church” (i.e., to the place of assembly) is necessary for assembling with the saints. Neither of the overt acts, in and of themselves, are worship. Becoming a Christian we “dedicate” ourselves to the Lord (II Corinthians 8:5), and all else is the result of that dedication – service in the Lord’s priesthood (Hebrews 13:16).<\/p>\n “The collection for the saints<\/em>” (I Corinthians 16:1), is from logeuo<\/em> (not lego<\/em>) and Deissmann (Bible Studies, pp. 142ff, 219f) shows that this word indicated a special collection for religious, military, or other purposes. It can not rightly be said to mean “put your money under the bed at home.” Of course, Paul corrects such a concept when he adds, “that no collections be made when I come<\/em>” (I Corinthians 16:2). Some have argued that this only authorizes gatherings for needy saints, and I would have to agree that this is the special purpose of the collection under consideration here. But we can prove churches gathered funds for other purposes (Philippians 4:15; II Corinthians 11:8), and in the absence of further instructions as to how these collections were to be made, we believe it is safe ground to use the method described in I Corinthians 16. If not, why not? When brethren say this is the only purpose for church collection, they are ignoring the many other functions of saints collectively, which need funding.<\/p>\n How much should a saint place in the church treasury? “Each one . . . as he may prosper<\/em>,” and, “as he hath purposed in his heart: not grudgingly, or of necessity<\/em>,” says Paul (I Corinthians 16:2; II Corinthians 9:7). But the questions continue:<\/p>\n I once had a man bring me his personal budget: salary, rent, payments, etc., and ask me to tell him exactly how much he should give to the Lord. I asked if he believed in visiting the sick, and he said he did. I asked, “How many times per week? “Till fifty visits?” He thought that would be exceptionally fine. So, the punch line: “you have made your fiftieth visit, and are coming home late Saturday afternoon when you learn of a brother in great need. Is it right to say, ‘Hang on brother, I’ll put you on next week’s list? If you have the means of helping him then, is not this your duty and privilege?” He decided it was, and his question was answered. Love for God and “neighbor” are not parceled out by dollars. The set of the heart determines our giving, to God and to man.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Robert F. Turner via\u00a0Guardian of Truth\u00a0XXX: 15, August 21, 1986, pp. 486, 505 My first experience with one who questioned a “church treasury” was in 1943, in Phoenix, Arizona. While taking some exercise, I made a chance acquaintance with an elderly gentleman and we walked along together. When we passed a small church building…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[154],"class_list":["post-31129","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-church-funds"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":27184,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-church-treasury\/","url_meta":{"origin":31129,"position":0},"title":"The Church Treasury","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 10, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry W. Benton Consider the following quote from a house-church denominationalist: It is true that the disciples were instructed to treasure up some things, \"And concerning the collection that [is] for the saints, as I directed to the assemblies of Galatia, so also ye -- do ye; on every\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":31132,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/a-church-treasury-only-in-an-emergency\/","url_meta":{"origin":31129,"position":1},"title":"A Church Treasury, Only in an Emergency?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 24, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"by Gordon J. Pennock via\u00a0Truth Magazine\u00a0- January 1961 It seems that considerable controversy has arisen regarding what we call the church treasury, meaning of course the funds contributed by the members of local churches. This controversy seems to be a by-product of the discussion of scriptural and unscriptural ways in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":58366,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/now-concerning-the-collection-i-corinthians-161-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":31129,"position":2},"title":"Now Concerning the Collection: I Corinthians 16:1-2","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 23, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"by Wayne S. Walker Through the years some have been heard to ridicule the idea of \"five acts of worship.\" When we understand that the Biblical concept of \"worship\" involves \"an act of homage or reverence to God\" (see W. E. Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, Vol. IV,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2004\/01\/collection-plate-300x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":52572,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-benevolence-by-christians-limited-to-other-christians\/","url_meta":{"origin":31129,"position":3},"title":"Is benevolence by Christians limited to other Christians?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 10, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I want to know whether sharing or any act of benevolence by Christians should be limited to the body of Christ alone. Answer: There are two standards for benevolence work.\u00a0 One concerns what the church can do and the other concerns what individuals are expected to do. The easy\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":60458,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-the-church-may-use-its-money\/","url_meta":{"origin":31129,"position":4},"title":"How the Church May Use Its Money","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 24, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by Andy Sochor \"Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I directed the churches of Galatia, so do you also. On the first day of every week each one of you is to put aside and save, as he may prosper, so that no collections be made when I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":50488,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/giving-to-god\/","url_meta":{"origin":31129,"position":5},"title":"Giving to God (Owen)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 26, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"by Dan R. Owen, Ph.D. via\u00a0The Gospel Advocate, June 2017 Since the time of Abraham, dedicated followers of God have given of their wealth to the One who provides all wealth. God blessed Abraham with much and Abraham gave a tenth to Melchizedek, priest of God Most High (Genesis 14:20).\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31129","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31129"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31129\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31129"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31129"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31129"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n