“The Fine Print”: To Whom Do We Belong?

This article is part of a series written by the Rev. Barton Gingerich entitled “The Fine Print”: Common-sense Expectations for Church Membership.

To Whom do we belong?

Before going further, it’s crucial to establish the ground upon which demands on Christians are made. Baseless demands are the stuff of spiritual abuse. However, our Lord does make a demand on us who believe in Him. He made us. Our Creator is sovereign. He is Lord of all. He is in charge; we are not. We do not call the proverbial shots. Likewise, our Savior has bought us with His shed blood. We are freed from sin to serve Almighty God, whose law is love and one in which we find perfect liberty. He is King, and He lays ultimate claim on us, which is a wonderful, undeserved blessing of inestimable worth.

Therefore, all that we are and all that we have are His. We are not our own, and our goods, gifts, and days ultimately belong to Him. He entrusts certain things to us to steward for His glory. And that stewardship is to be oriented to the further establishment and expansion of His Kingdom. 

With this anchor, we can start to distinguish between pastoral predation and exhortations to faithfulness. For example, plenty of cults and abusers demand donations to enrich themselves, whether through promises of healing to financial donors or even through threatening one’s eternal destiny based upon a lack monetary contributions, often well beyond the amount of a tithe. However, rendering unto the Lord a tithe–which implicitly recognizes His ownership and provision of all things–is the common biblical pattern. The same goes for talents for ministry and time, which are ever in short supply. We offer unto God these blessings for the sake of His name and work. He must be glorified, and His Kingdom must be made great. And His Kingdom is the Church. While donating to or volunteering at nonprofits, parachurch ministries, and charities is quite laudable, it must not supplant the primary duty that Christians have toward the Church, particularly their local congregation. 

There are practical effects to bad stewardship. Technically, a priest could sustain his family with a decent enough salary if ten families regularly tithed, although income can definitely vary for households in a congregation. Nevertheless, few actually give at that rate. As a result, a priest’s livelihood would require a much larger parish, a patron, or an alternative source of income, such as a second job. Are such arrangements practical, possible, sustainable, or ideal? While we would all love a larger parish, that doesn’t always happen, despite a pastor’s best efforts. And yet he must clothe, feed, and shelter himself and any family under his care. Tight-fistedness can prove a real burden not only for ordained ministers but also for the congregations they serve, which have budgets that must be balanced. Tithes and other forms of giving help provide the resources needed for worship space, various ministries, outreach, or works of charitable mercy.

We also see in the Scriptures a promise that those that give will in fact be blessed by God (Luke 6:38, Malachi 3:10). Certain of God’s blessings can be enjoyed on earth, in this present mortal life in the sinful world, but they aren’t guaranteed. This clashes with the Prosperity Gospel heresy, which promises abundant blessings here and now. In grievous instances, prosperity preachers will guarantee abundance based upon the financial giving of their adherents, which is deeply predatory. Such promises about this mortal life “under the sun” are not made in the Bible. But the saints can be assured of blessing and rich reward in the renewed creation, which is why we are exhorted to seek “treasure in heaven” (Matthew 6:19-20). Christians should not miss out on such an opportunity for blessing, and so biblical giving is not to be about selfishly enriching the Church but rather investing in heavenly treasure.

Riches are far from the only resource that requires faithful stewardship. All Christians have spiritual gifts and time to offer the Church. The Church doesn’t just need patrons. She needs folks to work–to lend a hand and serve one another in love, putting others before ourselves (Philippians 2:3-5). And failing to steward these things translates into all kinds of ecclesiastical dysfunction.