The county record. [volume] (Kingstree, S.C.) 1885-1975, 1917-05-17
BIBLE PLAN OF GIVING,
AS Discussed by Rev. T. E. James, of
Morrisville Baptist Church.

Morrisville Baptist Church.
Editor County Record
thank you for the visits of your
highly esteemed paper and prove my
thankfulness by my works. Because
of sickness had to leave the session
of the Baptist union at Nesnith
April % before discussing the Bible
plan of giving, and as the union EN-.
braces parts of both Williamsburg
and Georgetown counties, | wish to
consider this subject in your columns.
The Bible plan of giving is implied
in both the Old and the New Testa-
ment. AS the former has been su.
perseded by the latter,I merely men,
ton the Old Testament. We have
no more ancient authority on this
subject than the record in Genesis
1920, which was $3.50 years ago.
Then Jacob followed this example
when he vowed!to the Lord the tenth
of all his substance. Moses set apart
wholly to God a tithe of all cattle,
the seed of the land and the fruit of
the tree. The PhariSees in Christ'S
time. to show themselves more
righteous tithed their garden herbs,
etc, which Christ approved, but re.
proved their hypocrisy in omitting
the spiritual meaning. There has
been much written of late about the
old 1.-THE, but nothing definite has yet
been proved by the Scriptures as
binding the tithe on our dispensa-
ton. If we are to understand our
duty now. we must follow Gods
word and Spirit. and the shortest
route is Pentecost. See what the
Holy Ghost led the early church to
do. We learn in Acts 4:32 the tenor
of the whole New Testament teach
ing and practice. 'Chey did not stop
at the tenth. but first gave them
selves to the Lord, and all their
goods were held in trust for God, to
be used as He. not they, directed. So
we sing scripturally when We sing
with the reformers Of the tenth CEN
tury: Count not that our tenth
alone but all we have,is Thine. Our
blessed Saviour stripped US at the
gate of the kingdom.
Matt 1924: If any man will
come after Me, let him deny himself
and take up his cross and follow
Me-" Luke l4:25: If any man come
to Me and hate not his father and
his mother and wife and children
and brethren and sisters, yea. and his
own life also, he cannot be My disci-
ple." Also verse 33: SO likewise
whosoever he he of you that for
saketh not all he hath, he cannot be
NY disciple" All this means we
must love God better than anything
in heaven or earth. See Genesis
22:l-1O. Abraham loved God better
than he did Isaac. God and His king
dom must be first in all things. not
in some only. We refer you again to
the reformers poem. wherein they
give all they have and are:
"Our souls and bodies we resign.
With Joy we render Thee
Our all; no longer ours. but Thine,
To all eternity.
Yes, we should be faithful stew
ards for God and His church, ,and the
church should be faithful and honest
in the use of what is put into God 5
treasury. The Grecians murmured
because their widows were neglect
ed in the daily offering (Acts g. and
their complaint was just, for they
paid their part of that money and
the Jews gave it to their widows. a
sin of partiality. When we think of
$16,l21.34 1--WE cite from memory
but think we are correct) paid to
banks last year, interest taken out of
the foreign funds, enough to support
about twenty-seven missionaries in
China a year, is it any wonder that
foreign funds are hard to collect?
Some churches, ministers and people