Liberal Church
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may be meat in Mine house.”
Malachi 3:10
. If professing Christians
would faithfully bring to God their tithes and offerings, His treasury
would be full. There would then be no occasion to resort to fairs,
lotteries, or parties of pleasure to secure funds for the support of the
gospel.
Men are tempted to use their means in self-indulgence, in the grati-
fication of appetite, in personal adornment, or in the embellishment of
their homes. For these objects many church members do not hesitate
to spend freely and even extravagantly. But when asked to give to the
Lord’s treasury, to carry forward His work in the earth, they demur.
Perhaps, feeling that they cannot well do otherwise, they dole out a
sum far smaller than they often spend for needless indulgence. They
manifest no real love for Christ’s service, no earnest interest in the
salvation of souls. What marvel that the Christian life of such ones is
but a dwarfed, sickly existence!
He whose heart is aglow with the love of Christ will regard it as not
only a duty, but a pleasure, to aid in the advancement of the highest,
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holiest work committed to man—the work of presenting to the world
the riches of goodness, mercy, and truth.
It is the spirit of covetousness which leads men to keep for gratifi-
cation of self means that rightfully belong to God, and this spirit is as
abhorrent to Him now as when through His prophet He sternly rebuked
His people, saying, “Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed Me.
But ye say, Wherein have we robbed Thee? In tithes and offerings.
Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed Me, even this whole
nation.”
Malachi 3:8, 9
.
The spirit of liberality is the spirit of heaven. This spirit finds its
highest manifestation in Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. In our behalf
the Father gave His only-begotten Son; and Christ, having given up all
that He had, then gave Himself, that man might be saved. The cross
of Calvary should appeal to the benevolence of every follower of the
Saviour. The principle there illustrated is to give, give. “He that saith
he abideth in Him ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked.”
1 John 2:6
.
On the other hand, the spirit of selfishness is the spirit of Satan.
The principle illustrated in the lives of worldlings is to get, get. Thus
they hope to secure happiness and ease, but the fruit of their sowing is
misery and death.