stephen-on-bible

It is no exaggeration to assert that this is an age of sensuality. We are constantly bombarded with erotic scenes, right from billboards to wall posters along the road, movies to television, magazines to newspapers, internet to mobile phones...etc. Considering the effortless accessibility to lustful stuff and people, to gratify one’s sensual passions in our day is as easy as breathing. Ah, in this world filled with lust and sensuality, living a life of sexual purity is no easy walk! With already an inner struggle with sinful passions, how can we combat the sensual pressure from outside? In most cases, whenever I am battered by sexual temptation, be it from within or without, one of the effective ways I have found to overcome this vice is by treasuring and claiming God’s word. The psalmist uttered, “I have hidden your Word in my heart that I might not sin against you” (Psalm 119:11). Treasuring God’s word in our heart and bringing it to mind is of immense help to holy living, especially...

(Continuation of Part 5) Now, what should our response be when the church leaders do not use the money appropriately? What decision can we make regarding our giving when they neglect poor and the needy, missions and other genuine needs, and lavishly spend money on things that are not truly necessary? There are numerous people who suppose that their responsibility is just to give the money and what happens to that money is not their concern. In my conversation with a young man, the issue was raised about how wisely the finance of the church ought to be spent. This young person said, “I give money to the church and if it is not used properly, it is God who is going to judge them. I can't do anything about it.” I then asked him, “If your sister is sexually abused in the church by a church leader, would you say the same thing?” He blurted, “No!” He was a bright guy—he got the message. Judging One of the major reasons for the abuse of God’s money in the church is because of lack ...

(Continuation of Part 4) I think it is important for us to have a clear understanding of - “Who are the poor?” and “Who are the needy ones?” Describing this would help us to have a better understanding of this message. Poor Randy Alcorn is one of the prolific evangelical authors of our day. His ministry, Eternal Perspective Ministries , is dedicated to teaching and helping the poor in the world. His generosity is such that he gives away 100 percent of the royalties of his books to support missions, poor and other ministries. Now Randy cites the statistics that if you have sufficient food, decent clothes, live in a house that keeps the weather out, and own a reasonably reliable means of transportation, you are among the top 15% of the world's wealthy. If you have any money saved, a hobby that requires some equipment or supplies (fishing, hunting, skiing, astronomy, coin collecting, painting), a variety of clothes in your closet, two cars (in any condition), and live in ...

The Day of the LORD like the Days of Noah - Part 1 The Day of the LORD like the Days of Noah - Part 2 To receive the audio message of "The Day of the LORD like the Days of Noah" on a CD with high quality sound, you may write to: friendsofchrist@gmail.com

(Continuation of Part 3) We have been exploring the Scriptures about how the church’s finance was and should be used. We looked into the word of God and learned the importance given to the aspect of giving and sharing with the poor and needy, and also supporting the laborious Christian workers. There are few more things that are on my heart to share with you in order to give better clarity to the message. Priority There are so many poor and needy people existing in the world. Can we help all of them? Practically speaking, we are aware it is beyond our ability to help every needy person. Nevertheless, there is one thing we can do—we can prioritize . The Holy Bible does give an answer about who are mostly entitled to receive our help. I shared in the first part of these series of messages—the explicit and general Scriptures, individual and corporate examples—about the importance of giving to the needy people. If we carefully notice all these Scriptures, we witness that people with...

(Continuation of Part 2) We have learned till now how the poor and needy were on the priority list of the early church’s financial budget. The book of Acts reveals how some believers gave up even their property to help the needy (Acts 4:32ff). But is there place in the church’s finance to support Christian servant leaders? Of course, there is! Although the money in the early church was used primarily to help the poor and needy, giving priority to those within the family of God, there are few exhortations which speak about assisting Christian leaders too. Those who give themselves to the extensive ministry of the Word and labor in expanding His Kingdom are worthy of generous support. Let us look at the following Scriptures: • 1 Corinthians 9:14 - In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel. (Said within the context of the rights of an apostle) • Gal. 6:6 - Anyone who receives instruction in the word must shar...

(Continuation of Part 1) What do we observe in the above Scriptures (see Part 1)? We need to understand that these exhortations were not written to social organizations or charitable groups; these were written to the local churches of Christ Jesus. When we examine all the exhortations on giving in the New Testament, which need takes prominence in the priority list? Where did the money in the early church primarily go? It is quite obvious from the Scriptures—the poor and needy people were of primary importance to the early church. John MacArthur in The MacArthur New Testament Commentary 1 Corinthians (pg. 451), comments, “The primary purpose of giving, as taught in the New Testament, is for the support of the saints, the church.” Also, Church historian Earle E. Cairns, in Christianity Through The Centuries , notes that even during the middle part of the second century the collection was primarily taken to help the poor and needy people. According to the information found in First ...