1 hour Bio & a few Beliefs of C H Spurgeon!

Question: "Who was Charles Haddon Spurgeon?"

Although C H Spurgeon lived for less than 60 years he was a highly influential Baptist preacher from England in the 1800s. Spurgeon remains even today a highly influential among Christians of various denominations, among whom he is known as the "Prince of Preachers".

Spurgeon was the son and grandson of Congregational ministers. He came to faith in 1850 while listening to a Methodist Preacher. Brian has told us that story of how he was caught in a snowstorm & went into the Methodist church merely to escape the cold & came out a Convert (that’s Sovereign Grace, guys). On his way to a scheduled appointment, a snowstorm forced him to cut short his intended journey and to turn into a Primitive Methodist chapel in Artillery Street, Colchester where, he claimed, God opened his heart to the salvation message. The text that moved him was Isaiah 45:22 – "Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth, for I am God, and there is none else." Later that year on 4 April 1850, he was admitted to the church at Newmarket. His baptism followed on 3 May in the river Lark, at Isleham.

Later that same year he moved to Cambridge, where he became a Sunday school teacher. He preached his first sermon in the winter of 1850–51 in a cottage at Teversham while filling in for a friend. From the beginning of his ministry his style and ability were considered to be far above average. In the same year, he was installed as pastor of the small Baptist church at Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire, where he published his first literary work, a Gospel tract written in 1853. In 1854, before he was even 20 years old, he became the pastor of the New Park Street Chapel, a Baptist church in London.

Within a few weeks, many conversions resulted from Spurgeon’s preaching, and the church building could not accommodate the crowds. The congregation also outgrew several other venues until finally the Metropolitan Tabernacle, which seated 6,000, was built specifically for this purpose. Spurgeon preached there from 1861 to 1891, shortly before his death. His sermons were printed in the London papers weekly. Spurgeon also wrote prolifically (his collected sermons fill 63 volumes, which is the largest set of books by one author in the history of Christianity). Many of his sermons were transcribed and were translated into many languages & scattered all over the world. Spurgeon produced powerful sermons of penetrating thought and precise exposition. His books Lectures to My Students and Commenting and Commentaries were the result of his work with pastoral students and both are still on the reading lists in many modern seminaries. Spurgeon also published the Sword and Trowel magazine regularly.

Spurgeon’s sermons were powerful and direct, but also contain elements of humor. Spurgeon was a pastor, an evangelist, and a careful expositor of Scripture. His sermons are still popular today and are noted for their combination of eloquence and down-to-earth applications. His Treasury of David (an exposition of Psalms) is one of his most popular works, as is his devotional Morning and Evening. Most of Spurgeon’s material is still in print and highly recommended.

Immediately following his fame came criticism. The first attack in the press appeared in the Earthen Vessel in January 1855. The complaint was against his preaching, although not revolutionary in substance, it was a plainspoken and contained a direct appeal to the people, using the Bible to provoke them to consider the teachings of Jesus Christ. Critical attacks from the media persisted throughout his life. The congregation quickly outgrew their building, and moved to Exeter Hall, then to Surrey Music Hall. In these venues Spurgeon frequently preached to audiences numbering more than 10,000. At 22, Spurgeon was the most popular preacher of the day.^[6]

Charles Spurgeon was unashamedly both a Calvinist and a Baptist. He did not shrink from controversy and was outspoken against false teaching and hypocrisy when it arose. He attacked both hyper-Calvinism and Arminian theology. He accused evangelical Anglicans of hypocrisy for continuing to use the Anglican baptismal service found in the Book of Prayer, even though they did not believe in baptismal regeneration. During the “Downgrade Controversy,” (that Brian mentioned last week) Spurgeon accused fellow Baptists of teaching liberal theology, and he eventually withdrew from the Baptist Union over this issue.

Spurgeon died in 1892. In his nearly 40 years of pastoring, it’s estimated that he had preached 3,500 sermons to about 10 million people, and he reached even more through his written works. Spurgeon has left a continuing legacy of love for Christ and God’s Word that still influences pastors and laymen today.

On 7 October 1857, he preached to his largest crowd ever – 23,654 people – at The Crystal Palace in London. But Spurgeon noted a more important event:

“

In 1857, a day or two before preaching at the Crystal Palace, I went to decide where the platform should be fixed; and, in order to test the acoustic properties of the building, cried in a loud voice, "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." In one of the galleries, a workman, who knew nothing of what was being done, heard the words, and they came like a message from heaven to his soul. He was smitten with conviction on account of sin, put down his tools, went home, and there, after a season of spiritual struggling, found peace and life by beholding the Lamb of God. Years after, he told this story to one who visited him on his death-bed.

Spurgeon is a power example to us today as a believer, a saint, a preacher & a man of God. 
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Any questions or comments before we move along?

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 So what I wanted to do was talk just a bit about a few points of believe that I feel Spurgeon himself would have stressed to us from everything I’ve read of the man.

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1^st is Believe like a Christian - 1689 Spurgeon’s Confession

Spurgeon was a strong figure in the Reformed Baptist tradition, defending the Church in agreement with the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith understanding, and opposing the liberal and pragmatic theological tendencies in the Church of his day.

Spurgeon loved the 1689 Confession of Baptist faith; this would be a great resource to read a section of in your quiet time daily or before you went to bed & as you drifted off thinking through all the implications that it teaches on anything from Christian Liberty to the Sabbath, to Saving Faith to Adoption. I think being reminded of the old faith is a great way to be encouraged about your faith today & you’ll probably learn something new, I know I often do when coming back to it.

Read the 1689 Spurgeon intro & pass it around for them.

**Anyone ever read the 1689, how bout the BF&M? That is this churches confession of faith. Anyone ever used a confession for personal study before?

2^nd is Confess like a Christian – on Calvinism

In Dr. Steven Lawson’s small but wonderful book, The Gospel Focus of Charles Spurgeon, Dr. Lawson argues that not only was Spurgeon a Calvinist, but his fervent commitment to the doctrines of grace actually “sharpened” his “gospel focus.”

So I wanted to give you a few of his quotes on this matter so you could see what he felt about Calvinistic doctrine rather than tell you what I think…J

 “It is no novelty, then, that I am preaching; no new doctrine. I love to proclaim these strong old doctrines, that are called by nickname Calvinism, but which are surely and verily the revealed truth of God as it is in Christ Jesus.”  

 On free-will Spurgeon says, “If God requires of the sinner, who is dead in sin, that he should take the first step, then he requires just that which renders salvation as impossible under the gospel as it was under the law, since man is as unable to believe as he is to obey.” Simply put, Spurgeon believed that no human will is entirely free. It is either a slave of sin or a slave of Christ, but never wholly free.

On Sovereign Grace Spurgeon said, “Difficulty is not a word to be found in the dictionary of heaven. Nothing can be impossible with God. The swearing reprobate, whose mouth is blackened with profanity, whose heart is like a very hell, and his life like the reeking flames of the bottomless pit—such a man, if the Lord but looks on him and makes bare His arm of irresistible grace, shall yet praise God and bless His name and live to His honor.”

On Perseverance Spurgeon said, “I must confess that the doctrine of the final preservation of the saints was a bait that my soul could not resist. I thought it was a sort of life insurance—an insurance of my character, an insurance of my soul, an insurance of my eternal destiny. I knew that I could not keep myself, but if Christ promised to keep me, then I should be kept safe for ever; and I longed and prayed to find Christ, because I knew that, if I found Him, He would not give me a temporary and trumpery salvation, such as some preach, but eternal life which could never be lost.”  

**Any thoughts on Spurgeon’s love for Calvinism or Calvinism in general?

The 3^rd point is to Act like a Christian – On Charity, good works & opposition to slavery –

In addition to pastoring his church, Spurgeon started a pastor’s college and an orphanage, which are both still in operation today. In 1867, he also started a charity organization, which is now called Spurgeon's Children’s Charity and even today works globally.

Also Spurgeon spoke out so strongly against slavery that American publishers of his sermons began deleting his remarks on the subject.

Spurgeon strongly opposed the owning of slaves.^[26] He lost support from Southern Baptists, and sales of his sermons dropped to a few, (Brian even mentioned last week many of his works were burnt in the South) and he received scores of threatening and insulting letters as a consequence.^[27]

“

Not so very long ago our nation tolerated slavery in our colonies. Philanthropists endeavored to destroy slavery; but when was it utterly abolished? It was when Wilberforce roused the church of God, and when the church of God addressed herself to the conflict, then she tore the evil thing to pieces. I have been amused with what Wilberforce said the day after they passed the Act of Emancipation. He merrily said to a friend when it was all done, "Is there not something else we can abolish?" That was said playfully, but it shows the spirit of the church of God. She lives in conflict and victory; her mission is to destroy everything that is bad in the land. The Best Warcry, March 4th, 1883'[26]

”

**Anything you wanna add to this section on acting like a Christian & not merely believing?

Spurgeon is a great example of not mere preaching & teaching but in acting, giving, caring & fighting for the Truths of Christianity, which leads us to …..

#4, which is to Defend Doctrine like a Christian – on the Downgrade Controversy

A controversy among the Baptists flared in 1887 with Spurgeon's first "Down-grade" article, published in The Sword & the Trowel.^[17] In the ensuing "Downgrade Controversy," the Metropolitan Tabernacle became disaffiliated from the Baptist Union, thereby effecting Spurgeon's congregation as the world's largest Independent church. Spurgeon framed the controversy in this way:

“

Believers in Christ's atonement are now in declared union with those who make light of it; believers in Holy Scripture are in confederacy with those who deny plenary (absolute) inspiration; those who hold evangelical doctrine are in open alliance with those who call the Fall a fable, who deny the personality of the Holy Ghost, who call justification by faith immoral, and hold that there is another probation after death (Purgatory)... It is our solemn conviction that there should be no more pretense of fellowship. Fellowship with known and vital error is participation in its sin.[18]

”

The Controversy took its name from Spurgeon's use of the term "Downgrade" to describe certain other Baptists' outlook toward the Bible (i.e., they had "downgraded" the Bible and their principle of sola scriptura).^[19] Spurgeon alleged that an incremental creeping of the Graf-Wellhausen hypothesis (which doubts the creditability of Moses’ Genesis record as based off prior oral history), along with Charles Darwin's theory of evolution, and other concepts were weakening the Baptist Union.^[20][21][22] Spurgeon emphatically decried the doctrine that resulted:

“

Assuredly this New Theology can do no good towards God or man; it, has no adaptation for it. If it were preached for a thousand years by all the most earnest men of the school, it would never renew a soul, nor overcome pride in a single human heart.[23]

”

The standoff caused division amongst the Baptists and other non-conformists, and is regarded by many as an important paradigm.^{[a][20][24][25]}

** Finally any thoughts about being bold in standing for Christian doctrine?

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Well I hope that in about an hour I’ve given you enough Spurgeon quotes to get a feeling for the man himself. He was brilliant, divinely gifted, and devoutly faithful & someone I wish you & I was more like. 

We’ll end with his Closing quote…

“Christ in us the hope of glory. Christ for us our full redemption. Christ with us our guide, and our solace; and Christ above us pleading and preparing our place in heaven. Jesus Christ Himself is our Captain, our armor, our strength and our victory! We inscribe His name upon our banner, for it is hell’s terror, heaven’s delight, and earth’s hope. We bear this upon our hearts in the heat of the conflict, for this is our breastplate and coat of mail” (Charles Spurgeon, Sermon #1388, preached December 9, 1877). Spurgeon leaves us with all praise, honor & glory given to NOT to him, but to Christ, a great reminder for us all.

Acts 19 for kids!

Context –

Paul left Corinth and went to Syria and to Ephesus for the first time. Ephesus was 1 of the largest cities in the Roman world, which boasted 1 of the three largest libraries in the world, it was seen as an intellectual center of Asia. Think of Harvard or Yale but a whole city not just a particular college.

Chapter 18 ends Paul’s second missionary journey & ch. 19 begins his 3^rd missionary journey. Remember from the last chapter none of this moving forward would have been possible if God had not already guided Paul & protected him from Roman persecution/execution already.

As we follow Paul & his missionary journeys we often see controversy, conflict & even violence. It is only by God’s grace & protection that events unfold as they do so that the Apostle still survives. As Paul preaches the gospel it always generates conflict, especially against idolatry. And nowhere in the ancient world was this idolatry worst than in Ephesus. Ephesus with 1 of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World – the Temple dedicated to Diana (Artemis) her worship was 1 of the largest religions the world, at that time.

Acts 19English Standard Version (ESV)

Paul in Ephesus

19 And it happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the inland^[a] country and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples. ² And he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” ³ And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” They said, “Into John's baptism.” ⁴ And Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.” ⁵ On hearing this, they were baptized in^[b] the name of the Lord Jesus. ⁶ And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking in tongues and prophesying. ⁷ There were about twelve men in all.

John the Baptist’s message was the Messiah is coming so you better repent (meaning get right with God) & Jesus messages was I am the Messiah (Christ) repent & believe in me. What I think Paul was getting at was that baptism (a physical symbol of repentance) was not just to repent but to repent & believe in Jesus the One whom John the Baptist’s ministry was pointing forward to.

⁸ And he entered the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God. ⁹ But when some became stubborn and continued in unbelief, speaking evil of the Way* before the congregation, he withdrew from them and took the disciples with him, reasoning daily in the hall of Tyrannus.^{[c] 10} This continued for two years, so that all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.

*The Way – is what Christianity was called before “Christianity.” Tyrannus – was a hall of philosophy where it seems Paul was allowed to preach from & proclaim his religious ideas after abandoning the synagogue.

The Sons of Sceva

¹¹ And God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, ¹² so that even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were carried away to the sick, and their diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them. ¹³ Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists undertook to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims.” ¹⁴ Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this. ¹⁵ But the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?” ¹⁶ And the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered all^[d] of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. ¹⁷ And this became known to all the residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks. And fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was extolled (**meaning praised, honored). ¹⁸ Also many of those who were now believers came, confessing and divulging their practices. ¹⁹ And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted the value of them and found it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver. ²⁰ So the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily.

Hard to tell what 50K pieces of that some silver would be worth today, some say even back then it could have been up to 50,000 days worth of work (wages) but its an extremely large amount. Again like the baptism, this burning of pagan books was a physical symbol of repentance, rejecting their old lives & turning back to God. 

A Riot at Ephesus

²¹ Now after these events Paul resolved in the Spirit to pass through Macedonia and Achaia and go to Jerusalem, saying, “After I have been there, I must also see Rome.” ²² And having sent into Macedonia two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, he himself stayed in Asia for a while.

²³ About that time there arose no little disturbance concerning the Way (Christianity). ²⁴ For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought no little business to the craftsmen. ²⁵ These he gathered together, with the workmen in similar trades, and said, “Men, you know that from this business we have our wealth. ²⁶ And you see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost all of Asia this Paul has persuaded and turned away a great many people, saying that gods made with hands are not gods. ²⁷ And there is danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis may be counted as nothing, and that she may even be deposed from her magnificence, she whom all Asia and the world worship.”

Demetrius represents the wealthy, which were getting rich making & selling idols to visitors to the Temple of Diana (Artemus).

²⁸ When they heard this they were enraged and were crying out, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” ²⁹ So the city was filled with the confusion, and they rushed together into the theater, dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were Paul's companions in travel. ³⁰ But when Paul wished to go in among the crowd, the disciples would not let him. ³¹ And even some of the Asiarchs,^[e] who were friends of his, sent to him and were urging him not to venture into the theater. ³² Now some cried out one thing, some another, for the assembly was in confusion, and most of them did not know why they had come together. ³³ Some of the crowd prompted Alexander, whom the Jews had put forward. And Alexander, motioning with his hand, wanted to make a defense to the crowd. ³⁴ But when they recognized that he was a Jew, for about two hours they all cried out with one voice, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

The uniqueness of Christ & the realization of how blasphemous it was to trade genuine worship due God to lifeless idols of fictional gods & how that would impact the local economy lead Demetrius into conflict with Paul.

Paul’s preaching undermined their business. As people came from all over the world to visit her temple (on the site of a famous meteorite fall) they would also take home images, idols, and souvenirs of their visit.

³⁵ And when the town clerk had quieted the crowd, he said, “Men of Ephesus, who is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is temple keeper of the great Artemis, and of the sacred stone (famous meteor) that fell from the sky?^{[f] 36} Seeing then that these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet and do nothing rash. ³⁷ For you have brought these men here who are neither sacrilegious nor blasphemers of our goddess. ³⁸ If therefore Demetrius and the craftsmen with him have a complaint against anyone, the courts are open, and there are proconsuls. Let them bring charges against one another. ³⁹ But if you seek anything further,^[g] it shall be settled in the regular assembly. ⁴⁰ For we really are in danger of being charged with rioting today, since there is no cause that we can give to justify this commotion.” ⁴¹ And when he had said these things, he dismissed the assembly.

In all these things Paul was brave and preach the truth of Christ to all who would hear, what could we take from his example of faithfulness for our lives?

Early Church History Newsletter: Should Christians Tithe
September 05, 2009

Should Christians Tithe?
Tithes, and Giving for Christians

It was a warm day, and the breeze coming off the Sea of Galilee was doing nothing to make it better.
The crowds, standing at first, began to sit down as the unusual but charismatic backwoods preacher, Jesus, called for them to let God and everyone else matter before themselves. Some murmured, some nodded, but all agreed that no one could challenge a soul like this Galilean.
He was preaching from a boat, forced onto it as the crowds pressed in, leaving him nowhere on the shore to stand. He was an excellent speaker. They were enthralled.
Then he paused and raised his hands.
 

"Listen, all of you here," he thundered so all the crowd could hear him. "We are going to pause here!"
The crowd silenced, awaiting his announcement. "Simon the zealot will now come to the boat to sing you a song. While he is doing so, the rest of my apostles will be coming to you with baskets. If you would like to see this powerful Word continue to be preached, I ask you to help support this ministry. Ask God what he would have you to give. Remember, I myself have said, 'Give, and it will be given unto you.'"
It's a little out of place when we put that plea for help in Jesus' mouth, isn't it?

Giving the New Testament Way

Giving is not inappropriate, of course. Paul took collections for poor brothers in Jerusalem (2 Cor. 8:1-9:12). Others took collections for Paul (Php. 4:10-19), though it seems clear that he didn't ask for money for himself (Acts 20:34; 1 Cor. 9:14-17).
How collections were made to support and Paul and other teachers we don't know. We do know that when Paul asked for a one-time gift from Corinth to the poor in Jerusalem, he suggested they set money aside each week (1 Cor. 16:2). We also know that the Corinthians were told they would not have to give if they themselves were in need. Instead:

A Double Tithe?

Leviticus 27:30-32 mentions a tithe that seems different from Deuteronomy 12 and 14. I have heard it said several times that the Jews were required to give a double or triple tithe. [The triple would include the every three year tithe in Deut. 14, but that is clearly the same as the Deut. 12 tithe the other two years].
That might be true. I do not know. There's nothing later that suggests a double tithe. The Leviticus and Deuteronomy tithes could easily have been the same. There's nothing in Leviticus that makes it impossible that those tithes, holy to the Lord, were to be eaten in Jerusalem by the offerers. Even sacrifices, except the whole burnt offerings, were eaten, though it was the priest who ate them. Only the inedible parts were burned.
Either way, what we do know is that the Israelites were not very consistent in following either of those two tithe descriptions carefully .

Now, at this time, your abundance is a supply for their need, so that their abundance may also be a supply for your need, so that there may be an equality. (2 Cor. 8:14)

Shortly thereafter Paul adds, "Let every man give as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity, for God loves a cheerful giver" (2 Cor. 9:7).
Think about this a moment: not grudgingly or of necessity; give this time so you can take the next time.
Doesn't sound much like tithing, does it?

Giving the Old Testament Way

For those of you that do not know, to tithe means to give one-tenth of something. In Abraham's case he gave one-tenth of his spoils of war to a Canaanite high priest named Melchizedek, a priest of El Elyon that Abraham identified as being the same as Yahweh, Abraham's God (Gen. 14:17-20). In the case of the Israelites, they were to give one-tenth of their year's increase of grain, lambs, cattle, etc. (Deut. 12:17).


You've probably never been told what I'm about to tell you. No matter how many times you've read the Bible, you've probably never noticed this. So, pay attention. Here goes:

The Israelites didn't give away their tithe. They ate it.

Look it up. It's in Deut. 12:17 and 14:23.

Just Bring the Animals!

The tithing page I mention later points out that no tithe commands mention money. Money was clearly in use throughout Genesis, but it is not mentioned in reference to the tithe. In fact, the tithe of Leviticus 27 could be redeemed with money if you added 20% to it (v. 31).
Also the Deuteronomy tithe could be sold if you lived too far from Jerusalem. You could then carry your money to Jerusalem and buy food (and wine and strong drink), as long as you shared your feast with the poor.

It is true that every third year the Israelites were required to give their tithe away. Even then, however, it supported not only the Levites--who didn't have their own land to farm--but also foreigners, widows, and orphans (Deut. 14:28,29).

Is Tithing a New Testament Principle?

First of all, have you ever seen a church collect the tithe once a year so that it could hold a giant, week-long feast for all its members which included "wine, strong drink, or whatever your soul wants"?
Probably not, huh?
There is simply no mention of tithing in the New Testament except in the Gospels where it's spoken of in reference to Jews. It is astounding to me that anyone would suggest that tithing is a New Testament principle.

Tithing in Early Christianity

Do you want to be completely overwhelmed with information about tithing? Try Should the Church Teach Tithing?
I also found an article in Christianity Today that I'm not going to link to. It was so dishonest that it made me mad. It said that Irenaeus said that Christians should surpass tithing with their giving. You can see in my quotes in the text that is exactly what he did not say!
Later, he refers to tithing as a minimum level of giving in the early Church.
For some bizarre reason, he also says that the Council of Trent added penalties for not tithing a century after the Council of Macon [mentioned in last section of this newsletter], when in fact the Council of Trent didn't meet for almost a millennium afterward.
Don't trust what you hear just because a "historian" says it. Some of them are not honest.

Tithing is not just absent from the New Testament. It's absent from church history for almost 700 years afterward!
Between the New Testament and A.D. 185, a span of about 100 years, tithing is simply not mentioned in any Christian writing. Then, finally, Irenaeus of Lyons addresses it in his great work Against Heresies:

Instead of the law enjoining the giving of tithes, he told us to share all our possessions with the poor. (IV:13:3)

He mentions it again five chapters later:

And for this reason they [the Jews] did consecrate the tithes of their goods to him, but those who have received liberty set aside all their possessions for the Lord’s purposes, bestowing joyfully and freely not the less valuable portions of their property, since they have the hope of better things.

Clement of Alexandria mentions it in his Miscellanies something less than a decade later:

The tithes of the fruits and of the flocks taught both piety towards the Deity and not to covetously grasp everything. Instead, one should share gifts of kindness with one’s neighbors. For it was from these, I reckon, and from the firstfruits that the priests were maintained.

Notice how he comments on the past and speaks very unsurely about the purpose of the tithe. This is because Christians didn't tithe in his day. It was simply an artifact of history, something the Jews did. Clement was a prodigious writer. Depending on the version of The Ante-Nicene Fathers you have, his writings take up at least 400 pages of small print, yet he mentions tithing but this one time!
Remember, too, that Clement was the teacher of new Christians in Alexandria, one of the largest churches in the empire. Can you imagine a new persons class in a modern church that didn't include tithing?

Giving in Early Christianity

But don't let yourself off the hook! Did you notice what Irenaeus contrasted tithing with?
We're to share all our possessions with the poor [most likely a reference to the Christian poor; see what follows]. We set aside all our possessions for the Lord's purposes, and we joyfully and freely bestow even the more valuable portions of our property.
Neat, huh?
It really is neat if the church has become family. It's supposed to be God's household. We are supposed to be family, and families share. That's just what they do!
How much more so the family of God?

You shall share everything with your neighbor. You shall not call anything your own. For if you are partakers together of things which are incorruptible, how much more things which are corruptible?

That statement is found in a tract called The Way of Light and of Darkness, which is included in both The Didache (c. A.D. 100) and The Letter of Barnabas (A.D. 120 - 130). It's a command, and we have at least two witnesses that Christians obeyed that command for 200 years after Christ:

We who valued above all things the acquisition of wealth and possessions now bring what we have into a common stock and share with everyone in need. (Justin, First Apology 14, A.D. 155)

The family possessions, which generally destroy brotherhood among you [Romans], create fraternal bonds among us. One in heart and soul, we do not hesitate to share our earthly goods with one another. All things are common among us but our wives. (Tertullian, Apology 39, A.D. 200)

Oddly enough, despite what you just read, both of them describe this sharing as being purely voluntary:

They who are well-to-do and willing give what each thinks fit. What is collected is deposited with the president [apparently a term for whoever is leading a Christian meeting], who helps the orphans and widows and those who, through sickness or any other cause, are in need. [He also helps] those who are imprisoned and the strangers sojourning among us. In a word, he takes care of all who are in need. (ibid. 67)

Tertullian says something very similar, saying that the collection was taken on a monthly day (whereas Justin's church collected weekly).
The statement that they shared everything and the statement that they took a collection from the wealthy and willing don't seem to go together. They seem different. Yet this is exactly the apostolic way. Acts 2:44 and 4:32 say that the church in Jerusalem had everything in common, yet Ananias did not sell his possessions until some time afterward. Even then Peter said it was optional.
This is the pattern we have for New Testament giving.

The Tithe and the New Testament: A Review

Here's what we've seen:

• Tithing is not mentioned in the New Testament, and it is not a concept taught by the Church.
• Instead, Christians shared all their possessions with one another, the purpose being that there would be an equality. Those with much help those with little.
• This sharing was always optional, though it was commanded in a tract and was considered the proper Christian thing to do.

I must add that the Scriptures say that those who do not work ought not to eat. From experience I can tell you that it is absolutely essential to apply that in a church that shares the way we are talking about. You will have lazy bums and mooches, seemingly good people, who need to learn that working is not optional and that it cannot be avoided just because you don't enjoy it.

So How Did the Church Start Tithing?

Tithing has always provided a convenient percentage. 10% was not only the amount required for a tithe in the Law, but the kings of Israel imposed 10% as a tax on the Israelites to support the army and other government services.
The Catholic Encyclopedia says the earliest mention of tithing was in a letter by some bishops assembled at Tours in 567. The Council of Macon then included tithing in their canons [rules] in 585. It was not enforced, however, until much later. Charlemagne was the first to mandate it by secular law. One source I read gave 777 as the date for that, though others gave no date.
A history book I read a couple decades ago said that Pepin the Short, who preceded Charlemagne, mandate tithing to support the monks in France. I haven't found any sources to verify that.
Either way, they are obviously all agreed that tithing for the Church belongs to a date centuries after the apostles.

Good Works SS

Good Works

Opening quotes –

We ought first to know that there are no good works except those which God has commanded, even as there is no sin except that which God has forbidden. – Martin Luther

Truly, if faith is there, the believer cannot hold back….he breaks out into good works. – ML

True faith will no more fail to produce [good works] than the sun can cease to give light. – ML
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Let’s read Ephesians 2:1–9 this makes it clear that we are not saved by our good works. In fact, before we were ever saved, our works, which were done in the flesh [term meaning Not according to the Spirit], cannot please God; even our most “righteous” deeds fall far short of God’s glory (Isaiah 64:6). We can be saved only because God is gracious and merciful and has designed a way for us to be declared righteous when we are not (Psalm 86:5). When Jesus took on our sin (2 Corinthians 5:21), we inherited His righteousness. Salvation is a divine exchange: our tattered rags of self-effort for the perfection of Christ. Because His death and resurrection paid the price for our evil deeds, we can be declared perfect before God. We are told to “put on the Lord Jesus Christ” like a flawless garment.

Salvation cycle: O-, Our Neg., or Our Sin & J+, Jesus’s Pos., Jesus’ righteousness

At salvation, the Holy Spirit moves into the repentant heart (Acts 2:38). Self is no longer the uncontested lord of our lives. Jesus is now the boss. That’s what it means to say that Jesus is “Lord”. We were once headed south; we are now headed north. Everything is changed. We begin to view life from God’s perspective, not our own—as John Newton wrote, “I once was lost but now am found, was blind, but now I see.”

The sins we once committed without thought now brings conviction. To know God is to see sin the way He sees it. First John 3:9 says, “No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God.” Instead of sin, the born-again Christian produces “fruit in keeping with repentance”. Salvation enables us to live “in the Spirit” and so truly perform good works (Galatians 5:16-24).

Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” God’s goal in saving us was not only to rescue us from hell, but also that we would reflect His character and goodness to the world. God delights to see us becoming more like His Son. We were created in God’s image. Sin marred that image. When God bought us back for Himself, it was to restore His image in us and free us to become all we were created to be. When the Holy Spirit comes to live inside us, He prompts us to do things that glorify God (John 14:26). Our desire to please God grows as our understanding of Him grows. That desire to please God results in good works.

It is biblically inconsistent to say that someone has been saved but has not changed. Many people go through the outward motions of giving their lives to Christ, but no lifestyle change follows. That is not real salvation but is a “dead” faith (James 2:26). When you walk into a dark room and flip the switch, you expect light. If no light appears, you rightly assume something is wrong. It would be logically inconsistent to say that the light is on when the room is still pitch black. Light naturally dispels darkness. When a dark heart receives the light of salvation, it is illuminated (John 12:46). Priorities change. Desires change. Outlook changes. Life is seen clearly for the first time. If the darkness of sin continues, we can rightly assume no light came on.

To use another biblical analogy, God wants to produce fruit [faith, repentance, doctrine, good works] in our lives (see Galatians 5:22–23). He is the Vinedresser, Jesus is the Vine, and we are the branches. The branches are naturally attached to the vine; from the vine they get their support, their ability to produce fruit, and their very life. Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit” (John 15:5). That is the purpose of the vineyard—to produce “much fruit [fruit = metaphor for good works].” Good works follow salvation.

So, although we cannot be saved by our good works, when we are saved, we will produce good works. Just as a baby will grow after birth, so a believer will grow after the new birth. We grow at different rates and in different ways, but a live birth results in growth. If a baby never grows, there is something very wrong. No one expects a baby to stay a baby forever. As he grows, the child begins to look more and more like his parents. In the same way, after salvation, we grow, and we begin to look more and more like our Heavenly Father. This is only possible as we “abide in Him” and allow Him to reproduce His character in us (John 15:4).

Good works do not produce salvation. Good works are the natural by-product of salvation. Jesus said to His followers, “Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).