Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to
the churches of Galatia, even so do ye

Now concerning the collection
for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye. Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as
God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come, 1 Cor. 16:1,
2.

 

The apostle lays down a weighty
exhortation as to collections for the saints. He puts it on the ground of their
being prospered in any degree and connects it with the special day of Christian
enjoyment, when they gather together for the communion of saints, "Upon
the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath
prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come." Need it be said
how human influence has dislocated the truth there? No doubt this was precisely
what the apostle, or rather the Holy Ghost, discerned to be at work at Corinth. The same mistake that has wrought so malignantly in Christendom, that is to say,
personal rank, learning, eloquence, or a great name (as of an apostle for
instance) is invoked to call out the generosity of the saints (perhaps even of
the world) and increase the proceeds by all these or like means.

 

But is there not another danger?
Is there no snare for us, beloved brethren? When persons are more or less free
from the ordinary burden of tradition, when they are not so much under the
influence of excitement, and of those appeals to the love of being known and of
pleasing this or that man, or the cause, or any of those human motives that
often do operate, I apprehend that they are exposed to danger in a wholly
opposite direction. Do we sufficiently make it a matter of personal
responsibility to the Lord to give, and that in connection with the first day
of the week and its blessed surroundings and objects when we meet at His table?
Do we every one of us give as we are prospered by the way?

 

It is very well to keep clear of
human influence, but let us see to it that we do not forget that "the Lord
has need" of our giving for the proposes He loves here below. And of this
I am sure, that if we have rightly cast aside mere human calls, and if we do
thank God for the deliverance from worldly influence, and from the power of
custom, and public opinion, it would be a deep reproach if we did not give
twice as much now under the grace
that confides in us as we did under the law that used to govern us. Your own
consciences must answer whether you can meet the Lord about this matter. I
believe that we are in no small danger of settling down in the conviction that
our old way was quite wrong and simply keeping the money in our pockets. It
does seem to me, I confess, that bad as human pressure may be in order to raise
money, bad as may be a variety of earthly objects in this way or that, bad as a
worldly lavish expenditure is, after all, a selfish personal keeping to
ourselves of what we have is the worst thing of all.

 

I am
quite persuaded that the danger of the saints of God who have been brought
outside the camp lies here — lest, delivered from what they know to be wrong,
they may not seek in this an exercised conscience. Standing in the
consciousness of the power of God’s grace, they need to be continually looking
out that they be devoted to Him. To cease doing what was done in a wrong way,
and sometimes for wrong ends too, is not enough. Let there be zealous and
vigilant exercise of soul, and inquiry how to carry out right objects in right
ways, and so much the more, if indeed a simpler, fuller knowledge of God’s
grace and of Christ’s glory has been given us.