Bud Hancock is right on the money – excuse the pun – with his latest article in his series “the Love of Money”. This time the Church is in his line of fire.

Gibber! Gibber!

Chugley

The Love of Money – Part Four

Bud Hancock

The Love of Money and the Church

As stated earlier in this discourse, in his first epistle to Timothy, the Apostle Paul was imparting his wisdom and knowledge unto the disciple Timothy, whom Paul called his “son in the faith”. Timothy was the son of a Jewish mother and a Greek father, was a sound Christian, and became one of Paul’s most constant companions and helpers during much of his ministry. The entire letter is full of sound doctrine and instruction, not only to Timothy, but also to all those who would be taught by him in the future as the bishop of the Church of Ephesus. This letter is one of the best in the New Testament for providing the basics of successful Christian living, especially for those would become leaders in the Church.

I was reminded again of the words written to Timothy and recorded in I Timothy 6:6-10, where Paul is cautioning Timothy about the dangers of desiring wealth and riches, which nearly always equates to a desire for ‘power’. It is critical to read and understand verses 6-9 of chapter 6 to understand why Paul considered it so dangerous for the Man of God to fall into the trap of desiring riches. In verse 10, Paul states: “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”  

In this letter to Timothy, Paul, through the Holy Spirit’s inspiration, is speaking not only to Timothy, but to all Christians, and especially those who are called to be leaders in the Church.  God, who knows all things, knew full well that, in order to be effective witnesses of the Gospel to a ‘spiritually dead world’, all pastors, teachers and evangelists as well as deacons and all church leaders must refrain from being caught in ‘The Love of Money’ trap. Any person who places the desire for money ahead of the desire to please God is easily controlled by evil forces who control large sums of money and easily loses all good witness for the gospel.

The Church of Jesus Christ, being built by Him, should have no loyalty to anyone except the Lord. We can only have one Master, and we MUST not be servants to any other. During His ministry on earth Jesus continuously spoke words of wisdom and encouragement to His disciples. He was training them to be His voice in the world after His departure. The central element in the Gospel message, the message that the Church should be sending to the world, is that Jesus Christ is the Anointed One, the Messiah promised by God to Adam and Eve after they had sinned and disobeyed His commandments. Through Jesus, and ONLY through Him, should we expect, and receive, the things necessary to fulfill our calling as the Church.

 

Throughout the centuries since the Church started, God has expected His Church to be exactly what Jesus had been during His earthly ministry. He summed this up in the words recorded in Matthew 5:13-16, Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it (the earth) be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Salt is a preservative, used for centuries to stop a rotting, decomposing condition of the flesh.  However, if the salt has lost its strength, or its ability to preserve, it has become worthless. The Lord’s Church is to be the “salt” that ‘saves (preserves) the people’ of earth. Light was created to oppose darkness (Genesis 1:1-4), and only by presenting the “Light” of God’s Word to the lost people on earth, will The Church ‘obliterate darkness in their lives’. If the Light is kept hidden, it cannot keep the darkness away.  

Unfortunately, the Church has, for the most part, lost its saltiness, and the light it is presenting is now but a dim glow. In searching for the reason why the Church has so miserably failed, especially in the last 50-75 years, and since God’s Word says that the love of money is the root of all evil, there must be a connection between The Love of Money and the failure of the Church. In two separate places in the Book of Matthew, the answer to this question can be found, and it shows a very direct connection to The Love of Money.  

In Matthew 17:24-27, And when they were come to Capernaum, they that received tribute money came to Peter, and said, Doth not your master pay tribute? He saith, Yes. And when he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying, What thinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute, of their own children, or of strangers? Peter saith unto him, Of strangers. Jesus saith unto him, Then are the children free. Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee.

Then in Matthew 22:15-22, Jesus was confronted by the Pharisees, regarding paying ‘tribute’: Then went the Pharisees, and took counsel how they might entangle him in his talk. And they sent out unto him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, Master, we know that thou art true, and teachest the way of God in truth, neither carest thou for any man: for thou regardest not the person of men. Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not? But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites? Shew me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a penny. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? They say unto him, Caesar’s. Then saith he unto them, render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s. When they had heard these words, they marveled, and left him, and went their way.

Jesus made it clear that His Church was to only depend on God for their every need and sustenance. In the first passage in Matthew, He even used the miracle of a fish providing a piece of money to pay the required tribute. In the second passage, He used the Wisdom of God to spoil the trap set by the Pharisees, and send them away marveling. In the sixth chapter of Matthew, Jesus made it clear that man cannot serve God and mammon (money). Jesus said, No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Matthew 6:24.

The Love of Money and the 501c3 Trap

When churches decided it was better to allow the government to provide a “tax-exempt” status, and avoid paying the ‘tribute’ to the government, they obviously failed to take into account the fact that governments always demand something in return for anything they grant. This became abundantly clear when, in 1954, Senator Lyndon B. Johnson, reeling from severe criticism of his extremely liberal policies by a group of pastors in his Texas senatorial district, during his U.S. Senate reelection campaign, returned to Washington and had an evil amendment added to an IRS funding bill that was pending in the Senate.  This amendment presented by Johnson, and passed without opposition, forbids any church with a 501c3 status to speak from the pulpit, either for or against any political candidate. Johnson’s plan was to demand that words from the pulpit be censored in exchange for a few dollars of tax money. When the bill was passed, the Church was essentially silenced and prevented, to a certain degree, from being what the Church should be—-Salt and Light.

Jesus never backed down from a confrontation against evil, and he never allowed the government to decide what He could or could not say. I dare say that, had there been any such thing as a law like the IRS 501c3 status in Jesus time, He would have forbidden His Church from taking part in it. I believe His Words, recorded in the two passages from Matthew (above), confirm that any acceptance of a government-provided ‘tax-exempt status’ is the worst thing to have happened to the Church in this country, and has seriously damaged our ability to function as Jesus did in His earthly ministry. We, the Body of Christ, should never rely on a government to provide that which God has already promised us. Until the Church makes the decision to break the bondage of the 501c3 yoke, the Church’s voice will be weak at best.

Obviously, Jesus was trying to teach his disciples that they should learn to depend on Him for every need, including the money needed to pay the tax. In His wisdom, he knew that when the Church begins to look toward any source other than Him, the power needed to be the Church is diminished, or possibly lost. How long will the American pastors in God’s Church continue to have their voices silenced in return for a tax exemption? How long will the Church allow The Love of Money to take precedence over the Love of God’s Word and the love for a lost and dying world. I believe the tax-exempt status that most church leaders hold so dear has been, and continues to be, the biggest impediment to bringing the whole truth of God’s Word to the people who need it most.

Born and raised in a small textile town in North Carolina, Bud Hancock’s family moved to Michigan in the hope of finding better employment with General Motors.  After graduating from high school, Bud began an apprenticeship with General Motors to become a Metal Modelmaker.  Retiring after a 30 year career, which included an eight year stint as a Meteorologist, he and his wife moved back to North Carolina to be near his elderly parents.  Shortly thereafter, with both of his parents having passed, he started a new career in the bank security/ATM business, advancing from an entry level technician to one of two North Carolina customer service managers for his employer.  Retiring again after 13 years, he and his wife of 51 years relocated to Tennessee where Bud began writing articles specializing in Bible teaching and geopolitical issues.  At age 75, he and his wife relocated to South Carolina with their Miniature Schnauzer, Baxter.  Bud continues to study God’s word and write articles on Christian living and geopolitical issues from the Biblical end times perspective