Grace or Giving
In a recent conversation the point was being made that the closing of churches has seriously hurt some financially. The particular denomination used as an illustration was said to receive 80% of their finances from giving at Christmas and Easter. That sounds hard to believe but even if they are 30% off, that’s a lot of a year’s income coming from a very limited window of time.
The scariest part of that statistic is that it reveals that many professing “Christians” assume that they can go to Church twice a year, make an offering, and be counted among God’s people. How many of them do we know?
It seems that many people in our nation are trying to appease God in order to gain His favor, presumably to “buy” their way into heaven. It reminds me of the small child who learns there is no Santa Claus but wants to go sit on his lap before Christmas, “Just in case…”
God cannot be bought, cajoled, coerced, or appeased into giving us a salvation for which anyone but He determines the rules. According to the scriptures (the Word of God), salvation is by faith alone in Christ alone, given to us by God alone. This is done in His graciousness not because of anything in us (Ephesians 2:8) or that we give Him.
As we consider the death and resurrection of Christ, we must look and see that the blood of Christ on the Cross was effective for paying our debt to Almighty God for the sin we have committed (and continue to commit – hopefully lessening all the time).
Look what Paul says to the believers in Ephesians 2:13, “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” And then, the writer of Hebrews (Hebrews 9:14) says, “… how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”
Showing up to show some sort of honor to the King of kings and Lord of lords and to give to the local assembly on Christmas and Easter is “dead works.” James 2:17 tells us that faith without works is dead. The opposite is true, works without faith are dead.
Many want to “buy” their way into heaven but the truth is that God has already “bought” those who believe that the death of Christ paid the penalty for their sin (“The wages of sin is death.” Romans 6:23). Paul tells the Corinthian believers, “For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s” (1 Corinthians 6:20).
Church attendance has dropped off since the lockdown that many churches agreed to go along with. This means that each one who has “forsaken the gathering of believers” (Hebrews 10:25) must now do a little self-examination.
- Am I going back to church now to appease an angry God? See Ecclesiastes 5:1
- Am I giving money to convince God that I really do love Him? See John 14:15; Psalm 51:6
- Am I born again by faith in the One True God or is my hope in my works? See John 3:3, 14:6; Ephesians 2:8-10
Some will examine their hearts and be secure in their salvation as they have not forsaken the assembly of believers. If your church is one whose attendance swells on Holy days, are we willing to speak the truth (in love, making sure the log is out of our own eyes) to those who come twice a year that is not going to please a Holy God?
In Christ’s birth, in His suffering, in His death, and in His resurrection, we are given full view of God’s grace and mercy to us, dying for us while we were still in our sin. No amount of money or giving could ever replace the grace of God in His plan of redemption for man.