God's Bounty Is For Sharing, Not Keeping
continued from Christian Devotedness by Anthony Norris Groves (1795-1853)
WE SHOULD SHARE WITH OTHERS WHATEVER WE RECEIVE IN EXCESS OF OUR PRESENT NEEDS.
Such conduct does not necessarily involve the institution of some common fund. Rather it can be brought about by each individual blending himself with the whole household of faith, feeling their wants, and rejoicing in their welfare, as his own. This sympathy of the members of the holy family toward each other is strongly enforced and beautifully illustrated by St. Paul:
“Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich. I mean not that other men may be eased, and you burdened; but by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may be a supply for their want, that their abundance also may be a supply for your want, that there may be equality; as it is written, ‘He that gathered much had nothing over; and he that had gathered little had no lack’” (2 Cor. 8:9, 13-15).
The superabundance of him who had gathered much ministered to the deficiency of him who had gathered little. Likewise today whatever bounty God may bestow upon us above what is sufficient for our present necessities is to be considered a blessing to be distributed to relieve the temporal and spiritual wants of others.
THERE IS NO WAY OF EVADING THE CLEAR MEANING OF THE LORD JESUS’ WORDS.
Again I ask, how we can evade the application of all these precepts and arguments and exhortations and warnings and examples to our own times? Is there in the Holy Scriptures any limitation as to the time when the love which distinguished the primitive church was to be in exercise? Are not humiliation and suffering the very character of this dispensation, as in the life of Him who introduced it? Are there not great blessings to be obtained by the crucifixion of self and selfish interests, and manifesting the mind that was in Christ Jesus? Let the disputes and divisions in the Church of God, and the 600,000,000 (1) who have never heard the of salvation by the blood of Jesus Christ answer. Consider the agents of our Misisonary Societies who travel from one end of the land to the other, to gather a scanty pittance from half-reluctant Christians – and worse, often sharpen their goads at the Philistines’ grind-stones*, to the dishonor of the cause of God. What then is the ground of evasion? Why, that those were apostolic times and apostolic men. Could there be a stronger reason urged for following their steps than that they were apostles and are therefore our examples? (cf. 1 Cor. 4:16).
Their miraculous powers in addition to moral incentives make our obligation to use moral incentives even more imperative. We do not have miraculous powers, but only the silent and unobserved influences of the Spirit of God operating by them. Some may be inclined to ask, “Could the apostles not use the miraculous powers entrusted to them for the advancement of Christianity, also for their personal comfort, and to counteract their poverty and pain and distress? We would refer those who inquire to the words of the apostle Paul “Even unto this present hour,” says he, “we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwelling-place. I have been in weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness” (1 Cor. 4:11; 2 Cor. 11:27). It was, indeed, the very ground of the apostles’ glorying and rejoicing – that they were counted worthy to suffer for the sake of Him who had died for them. It was these very sufferings which they endured and sacrifices which they made that proved most effective in converting others to the faith. Thus their attention was drawn to Him whom they loved and for whom they suffered gladly the loss of all things (Phil. 3:8). They felt the beneficial effects of suffering on their own souls, and they saw it blessed to the conversion of the souls of others. Looking beyond things which are seen and temporal, they beheld that “exceeding and eternal weight of glory” which their sufferings were working out (2 Cor. 4:17). They knew that, if they suffered with their Master, they should also reign with Him.
(1) Editor’s note: this figure was given in the original publishing in 1829 and is of course much greater today.
* By receiving help/funds from the unsaved.
OBEDIENCE TO THE LORD’S COMMAND CONTRIBUTED TO THE SUCCESS OF THE APOSTLES.
Since the preceding remarks prove the literal sense in which the apostles received the command of our Savior in regard to giving up all, as well as the meaning of our Savior Himself, it may appear superfluous to state anything further. My only desire is to open the eyes of those who fervently love their Lord and Master with a pure heart, to understand His mind on the subject of this little book. It is not simply money, time, and talents that I desire to see brought into the external service of Christ. These should be the incense of praise and thanksgiving to Him “who loved us and washed (properly “loosed”) us from our sins in His own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God the Father” (Rev. 1:5-6). What is desired from His own redeemed, yea, from the ransomed of the Lord, is not extorted giving, but loving, voluntary homage from those hearts which would crown Him Lord of all. And certainly no other answer would be necessary if we had to sit in judgment on the meaning of writers whose opinions laid us under no practical obligation, or whose sentiments were in unison with our whole nature. However, the reality is other. Our case is widely different since we have an old nature for this earth as well as a new nature for heaven.
Therefore, things require to be stated as fully as possible so that Satan may be stopped at every turn by “It is written.” To admit an opinion is to admit a truth; and to admit a truth is to admit the obligation to act upon it even against our earthly constitution. The admission and reception of the particular truth now under consideration strikes at the very root of many of nature’s most fondly cherished feelings. Many are apparently so amiable that we scarcely allow ourselves to doubt that they are of God. Therefore, I must enlarge still more upon the subject. I will show that the reception of this truth prepared the way for the success of the apostles by setting them free to follow Him who had called them to be soldiers (2 Tim. 2:4). And I should point out that this, by the grace of God, will accomplish as great things in our days as it did in theirs. It springs as it did and ever will, from this one source, Christ in us the hope of glory (Col. 1:27), dwelling in us richly in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. It will be fruitful in those cases where the world thinks we fail, as well as in those in which we seem to succeed. If Christ and the Spirit of His kingdom be manifested, we are a sweet savour of Christ unto God, whether they receive our testimony or reject it; yes, even though we were to preach as Noah did, an hundred and twenty years, and no man regard us.
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to be continued
