Dishonest Gain
Well, you may remember last Wednesday's devotion about how the person of God and the blameless elders must not seek dishonest gain. Remember that? Now Paul uses the same phrase later on in the chapter when he's describing the false teachers of his day. Listen to verse 11. Paul says, “They must be silenced, because they are disrupting whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach—and that for the sake of dishonest gain.”
False Teachers Exposed
You know, before I came into the ministry and even before I studied music, I worked for a few months at a printing shop doing bits and pieces here and there, and this place did all the printing for a local mega church. Obscenely wealthy place. One day there was a leaflet that the shop did for this church that said this. What do you want from God? What is your desire? And I kid you not, it said this: Do you want a Porsche? Tell God what you want and then give to the church and in faith expect your blessing. And the more you give, the more likely it is you'll get your reward.
And I remember there was a rep who came to this shop, and he was a member there. And he told us once how he'd given a huge amount of money to a guest preacher at this church, you know, trusting that he would receive back more blessings because he'd given more. And in the end, he'd only hurt himself. He'd actually been duped.
Prosperity Promises Warning
I'm not saying there's not blessing in giving. There is. We do receive spiritual riches from God. And He always provides for us. But be very careful of preachers who warp the Scriptures to prey on people's faith.
Another occasion I heard of was a small church on the East End who started up and met in a primary school hall. For a few years they met and they started a building fund so that they could have their own place of worship.
The money built up and up and up. And one day the pastor and his wife disappeared. They just were gone. Phones disconnected, bank accounts were empty. They had done a duck.
Give With Discernment
Now we hope that these people will truly repent and find God's grace, and we hope that if they don't, justice will be served. But meantime, we need to be careful of teachers who place too much emphasis on giving in order to receive. Be careful, friends, that you don't get duped!
Here's how I've come to recognize it. Churches and teachers who demand more and who cover that in a teaching that says you will get if you give, be careful of that. That's often a sign that they are on the wrong side.
But if you can find churches who say we're so grateful that you give generously, we're so grateful for your contributions, which keeps our doors open. Give what you're able to give generously. We will use whatever it is for the glory of God, not to get rich ourselves. Look for those sorts of messages. Just like the early church, we must beware of false teachers whose focus is dishonest gain.
Find godly people you trust. And then give cheerfully and peacefully and you will receive reward, friends. You might not ever get a Porsche, but you will have peace and joy and spiritual riches like you've never known before.
