Perverse Teachings on Tithing by Liberals WHICH WAY WILL WE WALK ? "Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein" Jeremiah 6:16 The above scripture has probably been used more in the last few years
by Old Line Primitive Baptists, as a text, or quoted in preaching, or written in articles
such as this one, than it has been used since the Great Division in 1832. There comes a
time in the lives of God's people when they must decide Which Way We Will Walk. Some years ago, we were making our annual
trip from Florida to our home in Wyoming. We liked to travel different routes so we could
see different parts of the country each year. As usual, Joanne studied the map, and served
as my "navigator". When we approached a place to turn or change highways she
would tell me which way to go. Once I asked her "Which WAY do you want me to go
?" Her head was buried in the map, and she said "Straight ahead". I asked
again, "Which WAY do you want me to go ?" - Again, she said, "Straight
ahead". I said, "Honey look up !" When she looked up she saw the Dead End
in front of us. We were going to have to GO ONE WAY OR THE OTHER. We had to decide Which
Way We Would Go. Primitive Baptists must decide Which Way We
Will Walk. We are told in the Scriptures "As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus
the Lord, so walk ye in him, Rooted and built up in him, and established in the faith
-" (Col. 2:6-7). God's people are told to WALK: in newness of life (Rom. 6:4); in the
Spirit (Gal. 5:16), in love (Eph. 5:2), in wisdom (Col. 4:5), in the light and not to walk
in darkness (I John 1:7), to walk in truth (3 John 4), to walk worthy and to walk
circumspectly. We are told "He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also so to
walk, even as he walked" (I John 2:6). We are told that Christ left us an example,
that we should follow his steps. We are told to Walk in the "old paths". But of
late, there are those among us who have brought in new ideas, new innovations, new
directions, and have asked God's people to "Walk in new paths - in New Directions. The Lord Jesus Christ describes TWO Ways
God's people can walk in this time world. One is called the "Narrow Way" that
leads unto life. The entrance to this Way is a Strait Gate. We are told that few find this
way. The other Way is called the "Broad Way" that leads to destruction. The
entrance to this Way is a Wide Gate and we are told that many go in thereat and follow
this way of destruction. (Matt. 7:13-14). The question is Which Way Will We Walk ? There are some traffic directors trying to
direct traffic! Some are called "Watchmen on the walls of Zion". They warn God's
people of the dangers of the Broad way. These Watchmen blow Trumpets with "Certain
Sounds" - and God says "Hearken to the sound of the Trumpet". But those who
go in through the wide gate to walk the broad way, say, "We will not hearken".
(Jere. 6:17). In opposition to the "Watchmen on the Walls of Zion" there are
others who try to direct God's people onto the Broad Way. They are called many things in
the Scriptures. They are referred to as "False Prophets and False Teachers."
They are referred to as "Grievous Wolves" which have entered in among us
"not sparing the flock". In addition to those, there are still others of our own
selves, which arise, "speaking perverse things to draw away disciples after
them". Following in this Issue of The Cords of
Truth are two such examples of "Perverse Things" being spoken by some who would
"draw away" God's people from the Old Paths - from the Narrow Way. First is an article by Elder Harold
Stumbaugh of Russellville, Arkansas. This article was used as "teaching
material" in the 1996 Cincinnati Preacher's Training Seminar. The article advocates a
"departure" from the old paths that Primitive Baptists have been walking since
the time of Christ. I wrote to several Elders who attended an Association meeting with
Elder Stumbaugh and asked them if they knew about and supported this article. To date I
have received NO answer. The Second "Perverse Thing" is the
Advertisement for a Primitive Baptist Youth Camp called "Solid Rock
Christianity" sponsored by the Shoal Creek Primitive Baptist Church of Newborn, GA,
pastored by Elder Jimmy Fulmer. The speakers at the Youth Camp were to be Thomas Mann,
Marty Smith, Zack Guess, Gus Harter and Jimmy Fulmer. This line up of liberals should
speak LOUD and CLEAR to God's people about the new innovations being brought in among us. It is a privilege to get Elder Vernon
Johnson to write some comments about these two perverse things. After you have read these
articles, consider what Paul wrote to Timothy "And the things that thou hast heard of
me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach
others also". In this sense we should be a Rubber Stamp Primitive Baptists. It will
be our prayer that all who read this issue of The Cords will say, "As for me and my
house we will serve the Lord". (BA) |
HOW TO WORK WITH DEACONS 1. The pastor must know and accept his God-given position and responsibility as the leader of the flock. He must also be bold enough to be involved in every decision that is made concerning his flock, including that of the financial support that is allotted him as the pastor. This duty has in the past been relegated to deacons, most of whom have never been taught what is right about the support of a local pastor, and much to our peril. How can we pastors expect our deacons to do that which they have never been taught? I therefore conclude that working with deacons must begin with a thorough exposition of God's order of operations within His church, as revealed in His word. Acts 20:17, 25-28, I. Peter 5: 1-3, Hebrews 13:17. 2. In order to properly understand the duties and scriptural position of a deacon,
it is necessary to discard the traditional interpretation of Acts 6. 3. In place of Acts 6, we must start with I. Tim. 3:8-13, to determine the proper function of a deacon under the authority of his pastor. Their qualifications are almost identical to those of an elder, with the exception of being apt to teach, and we must recognize that the pastor is God-called while the deacon is church-appointed. The word "deacon" itself means "servant or attendant." 4. One of the worst disservice's that deacons have had dealt them is the ages old practice of serving on preaching committees. We as elders must accept the responsibility of filling the pulpits that God has appointed us to fill. If we must be gone from our pulpit, we must see to it that it is filled by a qualified man. 5. We must constantly teach the deacons, as well as the entire congregation, the
financial priorities within a local church and the distribution of those funds. 6. With deacons meeting the qualifications as described in I. Tim. 3, and taught by
the pastor the responsibilities of each member, we should be able to go to the deacons for
wise counsel on many spiritual matters, as well as suggestions about the physical needs of
the church. Those men who meet these qualifications should ever be on the look out for
spiritual and physical needs among the membership and their local community, and direct
those in spiritual need to the pastor for Biblical 7. Deacons should meet often with the pastor and elders of the church to discuss the status of the church, and also simply to have fellowship together. These meetings should be for the purpose of considering recommendations to be made at a later date to the church, never for the purpose of making decisions in stead of the church. The pastor should encourage each of the deacons to express their considered opinions and even make suggestions, and each suggestion should be discussed and weighed carefully in the Biblical scales of wisdom. A pastor should make each deacon understand his importance in the church, and let him know that his suggestions are wanted and needed. 8. One final point. It is an absolute necessity for all of the leadership of the church, that is, the elders and deacons, to set the example of spiritual maturity in every phase of service and worship. This leadership must begin with faithful attendance at the local church of which they are members, and also in their regular financial support without which no church can properly function. 9. In conclusion: It is my opinion that the most crying need in our communities today is that of a full-time local pastor who is not entangled with the affairs of this life. This can be accomplished only if the ministry in the local church works well with the deacons of the church. And this good, working relationship can only be maintained if sufficient funds are made available to the deacons to do their work properly. And again, the responsibility falls on the pastor to teach his local congregation the scriptural method of percentage, firstfruits giving on a regular consistent basis. Not only will this make the funds available for the church's necessities, but also great spiritual blessings and growth will be brought upon the membership for having done that which God requires. The bottom line of working well with deacons is to make sure that the lines of communication are kept open between the leadership of the church. Deacons and elders must feel free to talk to one another. The deacons and elders must also accept the scriptural order to be maintained in the local church, and walk within those parameters as servants of the most high God. And, as much as pos- sible, the leadership of a local church should have the same goals and aspirations and desires about the growth and future of the church. This is not to say that these goals can be foreign to the scrip- tures, and neither should our methods of attaining these goals. All must be according to Holy Writ. |
Observations by Elder Vernon Johnson |
| Below are my observations on the article by Elder Harold
Stumbaugh entitled "How to work with deacons:" 1. Whenever an elder set forth a view that he recognizes as
untraditional, he should expect that view to come under close public scrutiny. It is not
unkind or un-loving to examine such a view in light of biblical teaching. 2. Elder Stumbaugh says that we must discard the
traditional view of Acts 6 saying that "there are strong arguments that these men
were ordained to the office of elder and not that of a deacon." He also says that
"we must recognize that the pastor is God-called while the deacon is
church-appointed." Where is his scriptural basis for saying that the deacon is
church-appointed? The only place that supports such a notion is Acts 6:3-5! Thus his
rationale for a non-traditional view of Acts 6 is violated by his own statements. 3. He asks, "where is the scriptural account of
re-ordaining any of these men to the office of elder?" The answers are found in Acts
14:23, "And when they had ordained them elders in every church..." and the
qualifications for both offices set forth in I Tim. chapter 3. The fact that one must be
ordained an elder in the church and one must be qualified to be an elder to be ordained an
elder certainly testifies to us that Philip was re-ordained whether explicitly set forth
in the scripture or not. I read nothing about Titus, Silas, or Barnabas' ordination yet
there is no doubt they were ordained. Since Philip was an evangelist, doing the work of an
evangelist, he must have been ordained as an evangelist. Since Silas was an evangelist,
doing the work of an evangelist, he must have been ordained as an evangelist. 4. He says, "And if Acts 6 be the example for
deacons today, we will limit their responsibilities to serving tables." The
responsibilities of a deacon are limited to what the scriptures as a whole have to say
about it, not just what Acts 6 has to say. However, a study of what the scriptures as a
whole have to say does limit the office work of a deacon to serving tables - the tables of
the needy, the tables of relieving the natural burdens of the ministry, and the tables of
leading in the care and upkeep of the church facilities. It seems like quite a
responsibility to me. 5. He objects to deacons serving on preaching committees.
Since they are to be men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost, and wisdom, I am at a
loss why anyone would object unless, of course, the church erred in whom they appointed! 7. He says, "the responsibility falls on the pastor
to teach his local congregation the scriptural method of percentage, first fruits giving
on a regular consistent basis." This sounds like buzz words for tithing. The problem
with teaching tithing as a new testament practice is that the new testament doesn't teach
it! 8. He concludes: "It is my opinion that the most
crying need in our communities today is that of a full-time local pastor who is not
entangled with the affairs of this life." This is the crux of his whole article. The
end justifies the means. If we don't like what the scriptures teach, we will just change
it to meet our stated goal. In other words, If I want to be a salaried pastor I will
change the office work of a deacon, change the new testament rules of giving and change
the new testament priorities to meet my goal! 9. That this was published in the 1996 Cincinnati
Preacher's manual indicates the organizers implicit agreement and shows forth one of the
grave dangers of such preaching seminars. It is also noted that Elder Stumbaugh is still
advocating tithing in the 1998 Preacher's meeting and was given time to set forth and
argue his view on the subject. QUESTIONS and ANSWERS About TITHING Q. What does the word, "tithe," mean? Q. What is tithing? Q. Is tithing a new testament practice to be observed by
the church? Q. Since tithing is not a standard for giving, what is
our standard in the new testament church? |