What scriptures would teach church collections? What examples of such are found in the N.T.?

What scriptures would teach personal collections? What examples are found in the N.T.?

Did N.T. house churches "take up collections", or did N.T. saints willingly give of their store when needs arose or were known?

How should such considerations affect our personal and church behaviour today?

Trust this will lead to a very profitable consideration and discussion of scriptural principles relative to giving!

I don't know all the scripture invoved but I can tell you what I believe by what I do. We give joyfully to anyone we want. We don't give to anyone we don't want. And we give to anyone who is an apostle in our life and to the priest we go to to interceed for us with God. ;-) wink wink nudge nudge.

It's a short list. But we do spend our money as much as we can the way od would want us to.

god luv ya,

-John

Actually, no new covenant believer (IC or HC) has any responsibility to "pay tithes and offerings" to anybody! So saints who meet as churches in homes do NOT pay such to any denomination or local IC.

Tithes were specificly instituted by God as a responsibility of Israelites for the support of the Levitical priesthood. Only Levites could be priests and thus there was a distinct priestly class or family which was to be supported by the tithes of the other tribes. But under the new covenant, ALL believers are priests (see I Peter 2), all are ministers gifted for ministry (see I Peter 4:10,11) so there is no distinct priestly class or distinct clergy class among new covenant believers! The clergy/laity distinctions that are so prevalent in Christendom today propagate an old covenant distinction which was done away when the new covenant came in! We have just been very slow to catch on to what scripture actually teaches on this!

Also the old covenant offerings were specificly required for the building and maintenance of the "holy buildings" (tabernacle and temples) where God dwelt amomng His people while the old covenant was in force. But since the new covenant came in, God no longer dwells in temples made with hands. "Church building" are NOT "the house of God"! Rather God's dwelling is now in people, redeemed people, saints. Since there are no longer any physical buildings which are the house of God, there is no longer any need to contribute to offerings for the maintenance of such buildings today!

If you think of the average "church budget", the greater portion of all offerings received are wasted on the support of an unscriptural, outdated and old covenant "clergy class" and on the building and maintenance of "consecrated buildings". Many congregations are saddled with debt for decades attempting to pay salaries and mortgages, insurance and utilities etc which God never intended new covenant saints should ever have to pay!

That is why saints who simply meet in homes as companies of new covenant priests have no such expenditures. They may thus invest 100% of their giving in eternal commodities which will bring eternal dividends. The only two eternal commodities are people and the Word of God. When we invest our resources and time in getting the Word of God into people and people into the Word of God, we have investments which we can never lose and which will continue to multiply for eternity!

Trust a fresh perspective on these issues will be a help to you.