Also we made ordinances for us, to charge ourselves yearly with the third part of a shekel.
Voluntary taxation
Not to enter upon the thorny path of endowed or voluntary religion, nor to inquire whether tithes are coeval with the first man, and binding upon the present age, let us maintain--
I. That the church supposes an edifice. God may be worshipped in any house. Experience has taught the convenience and value of a house of God. The edifice must be built and maintained.
II. That a church requires a minister. “No, man can rightly labour in the Word and doctrine without diligent and habitual Biblical study; no man can conduct such study without the renunciation of secular pursuits; no man can abandon such pursuits without an adequate and guaranteed salary from the Church in which he teaches, for which he labours.” The ministry must be sustained.
III. That a church is a brotherhood. “The rich and poor meet together.” “The poor ye have always with you.” In a Church sense, “if any provide not for his own house, he hath denied the faith.”
IV. That a church is a missionary organisation. It has duties both at home and abroad. The Word of God must be translated, the masses evangelised, society leavened. A true Church must of necessity be a generous Church. It gets to give (Homiletical Commentary.)
