The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1879-10-08
For the Central Presbyterian.
How is Your Minister Supported?
NJ.

HOW Is our Iu1u1SGCA OAGOu'
No. 7.
We have reviewed the teaching of the
Bible in regard to the present obligations
of the 1.-THE law. If law be from God,
there can be no real objection to It's prac-
teal operation. Still, to those who as
sent to what has been submitted as the
instruction of Gods word, there may arise
difficulties which it is well to meet.
A MEAGRE INCOME.
And at the outset some Christian may
say that he cannot afford to pay tithe
to God. Ny income, he thinks, is barely
enough to support myself and my family;
and if I give up the tenth part Of this, l
and mine will suffer want. In reply to
this we say, in the first place, the diff
Guilty can be no greater with you than it
was with the man of Israel who had but
scanty means. 1t was true under the old
dispensation as it is true now that ''the
rich and poor meet together. prov.
xxi p and yet the poor man then paid
tithes.
But, in the next place we remark that
your difficulty is precisely the same that
we have heard urged Oy heather men IN
China in regard to the Sabbath. | am
barely able to support my family, the
Chinaman says, by working all the time.
If give up working one-seventh Of my
time, we shall starve. The answer which
we made to the Chinaman and which We
make to you is simple. All our support
comes from God VIII He support us
best when we honor Him with our time
and with our substance, or when we fail
to honor Him? And we appeal to expe-
rience. Who fares best, the man who
keeps the Sabbath or the man who breaks
it? The man who pays tithes to God or
the man who fails to pay? God himself
throws out the challenge. Bring We all
the tithes into the store-house, that there
may be meat in my house, and prove me
non herewith" The truth is, you cannot
afford not to pay the 1.-THE. If you neg
lect it, you may expect one of two things
to befall you. Either God will keep you
poor, as He kept Israel poor in the days
when Malachi prophesied or, far worse,
He will let you make money, and turn
you into a covetous, grasping man. He
will give you meat, and send leanness
into your soul.
RATI MALE OF SOME BLESSINGS.
We said in previous paper that there
were other advantages connected witt
Gods system of ministerial support, be
sides those which we mentioned them
Here we wish to emphasize the fact that
as there is an inherent blessing in the
Sabbath, so there is in the 1.-THE With
the Sabbath, the observance Of the law
has a direct tendency to promote the ply
steal as well as the spiritual life of man
With the 1.-THE, the observance of the law
directly tends to promote honesty and
economy in his business. In Israel every
man was required to ascertain the amount
of his income, that he might render the
1.-THE. When he knew the amount Of his
income, he was likely to live within it.
In our land there is not, perhaps, one
man in ten who can state at the years
end what his income has been. Not
knowing the amount of his income, he
does not know whether he is living with
in or beyond it. If he lives beyond it
and how many cases there are in which
the income is exceeded the result is like
ly to be dishonorable bankruptcy. And
the observance of the 1.-THE not only pro-
notes economical correctness, but it is
fitted to. impress on the property-holder
the important truth, that he is a tenant
of God. A tenant who never pays rent
is apt to forget that he enjoys property
only at the will of the owner The 1.-THE
is Gods rent, and its payment is con-
slant reminder to man that he holds his
estate at the will of God, and must give
an account of his management of that
which he holds. Wherever the 1.-THE law
is revived, it must bring forth an econom-
ical and a spiritual blessing to the people
of Christ.
ANOTHER OBJECTION.
1t may be said, however, that if tithes
be given to the ministers of God, the
ministry will soon have too much wealth,
and will become corrupt. We answer
that it is true that if the tithes of one
church were given to one minister, he
would become man of wealth. But,
this is not the Scriptural operation Of the
1.-THE law. We read in the thirteenth
chapter of Nehemiah that when this law
was revived, a central committee was APP
pointed, consisting of men who "were
counted faithful, and their business was
to distribute unto their brethren" Now,
the church of which you are member is
called to contribute to the support Of
many brethren not only to your own
pastor, but to missionaries in China, in
South America, and among the Indian
+ribos 70 missionaries In Our frOn+iar cot