Lifting Debts on Church Buildings
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Self-Denial and the Church Mortgage
The test question for every Christian to ask himself is, Have I, in
my innermost soul, a love for Jesus? Do I love His tabernacle?... Is my
love for God and my Redeemer strong enough to lead me to deny self?
When temptations come to indulge in pleasure and selfish enjoyment,
shall I not say, No, I will not spend one shilling or even sixpence for
my own gratification while the house of God is under mortgage, or
bearing the pressure of debt?
Should not Christ have our first and highest consideration? Should
He not demand this token of our respect and loyalty? These very things
underlie our heart life, in the home circle, and in the church life. If
the heart, the soul, the strength, the life, is surrendered wholly to God,
if the affection is given wholly to Him, you will make God supreme
in all your service. The result will be that you will have a sense of
what it means to be a partner with Jesus Christ in the sacred firm. The
building erected for the worship of God will not be left crippled with
debt. It will appear almost like a denial of your faith to allow such a
thing.—
Letter 52, 1897
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Church Debts Dishonoring to God
It is dishonoring to God for our churches to be burdened with debt.
This state of things need not exist. It shows wrong management from
beginning to end, and it is a dishonor to the God of heaven. Read
and study prayerfully the fourth chapter of Zechariah. Then read the
first chapter of Haggai, and see if this representation does not apply
to you. While you have thought much of your own selves, of your
own selfish interests, you have either neglected to arise and build, or
have built on hired money, and have not made donations to free the
church buildings from debt. Will you consider what it is your duty to
do? Year after year passes by, and very little sacrifice is made to lessen
the debt. The interest swallows up the means that should be used to
pay off the principal.
Why the Debts Remain
Slothful servants is the charge that God makes of those in the
churches. His will is not done when sacred things are left to remain