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Testimonies for the Church Volume 4
to be his own assessor and is left to give as he purposes in his heart.
But there are those who are guilty of the same sin as Ananias and
Sapphira, thinking that if they withhold a portion of what God claims
in the tithing system the brethren will never know it. Thus thought
the guilty couple whose example is given us as a warning. God in this
case proves that He searches the heart. The motives and purposes of
man cannot be hidden from Him. He has left a perpetual warning to
Christians of all ages to beware of the sin to which the hearts of men
are continually inclined.
Although no visible marks of God’s displeasure follow the rep-
etition of the sin of Ananias and Sapphira now, yet the sin is just as
heinous in the sight of God and will as surely be visited upon the
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transgressor in the day of judgment, and many will feel the curse of
God even in this life. When a pledge is made to the cause, it is a vow
made to God and should be sacredly kept. In the sight of God it is no
better than sacrilege to appropriate to our own use that which has been
once pledged to advance His sacred work.
When a verbal or written pledge has been made in the presence of
our brethren to give a certain amount, they are the visible witnesses
of a contract made between ourselves and God. The pledge is not
made to man, but to God, and is as a written note given to a neighbor.
No legal bond is more binding upon the Christian for the payment of
money than a pledge made to God.
Persons who thus pledge to their fellow men do not generally think
of asking to be released from their pledges. A vow made to God, the
Giver of all favors, is of still greater importance; then why should we
seek to be released from our vows to God? Will man consider his
promise less binding because made to God? Because his vow will not
be put to trial in courts of justice, is it less valid? Will a man who
professes to be saved by the blood of the infinite sacrifice of Jesus
Christ, “rob God”? Are not his vows and his actions weighed in the
balances of justice in the heavenly courts?
Each of us has a case pending in the court of heaven. Shall our
course of conduct balance the evidence against us? The case of Ana-
nias and Sapphira was of the most aggravated character. In keeping
back part of the price, they lied to the Holy Ghost. Guilt likewise rests
upon every individual in proportion to like offenses. When the hearts
of men are softened by the presence of the Spirit of God, they are more