A Few Financial Questions For Ugandan Pastors TodayKato Mivule
http://www.yesumulungi.com/Apologetics/Appologs41.htm
November 26, 2007
Greetings Brethren and Shepherds,I am writing to you about a sensitive issue in the Ugandan Church Today concerning Finances today. This is in no way to 'attack' any preacher or pastor but to hold ourselves accountable to the WHOLESOME WORD OF GOD...
If we are truly sincere to ourselves and God's Holy Word, then we should at least take the challenge to answer a few of the questions below...
The Issue of Finances has been abused and it has brought shame to The Name of The Lord among Christians and none Christians alike. Though there are few preachers and pastors who have stood for noble causes and used Finances honorably; however, many today are involved in what the Bible refers to as extortion and defrauding of the saints…I thought it imperative to call all Brethren and those who stand in position of shepherds among them to Accountability to God's Holy Word...After doing some small research here in Uganda, focusing on the Urban Areas - Kampala, Entebbe, Mukono, Jinja, I found something alarming... almost 8 out of 10 sermons preached on Sunday services are about money and manipulating people to give and sow into some 'big ministry" or minister... Other messages center on self motivation, positive thinking (thinking big, going to the next level), etc…messages that seem very ‘Christian’ until one opens their Bible to cross check just like the Berean Christians did in Acts 17:10…The News Media has had article after article exposing financial malpractice among many preachers in Kampala... Many Pastors dismiss these articles as 'witch hunt', yet The Name of The Lord is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of selfish actions by the Preachers and Pastors in the name of prosperity and getting rich...Story after story is out there of Pastors promising ‘big rewards’ from God if believers give, claiming that The Lord ‘Told them so’…
Pastors are complaining that Folks are no longer giving Tithes as they ought to... The Tithes are reducing and thus making many Pastors angry with their congregations or issuing eternal threats to believers... like "you will not get into heaven if you don't tithe'...
When one turns on Christian Radio and Christian TV today, most messages are about Prosperity, Tithes, and Sowing, how to get to the ‘next level’ (High mindedness), getting Visas etc… Christianity in Uganda is becoming a big business and money generating machine… Some preachers and Pastors do it overtly, others do it subtly in a very "organized way" yet still fleecing and defrauding the Saints of God...
It is a shame to even mention what some Pastors and Preachers do to get money from believers here in Kampala, a behavior not much different from extortion and defrauding of the saints. The News Media is full of such stories and it is not my intention to bring those stories of palatial life styles and extortion among Kampala Pastors in this simple letter... Jesus Christ gave a stern warning to Pharisees about such behavior…that such folks had greater condemnation to Hell… Pretty strong words…hardly preached in today’s Prosperous Churches…
Matthew 23:14
(14) Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.
Matthew 23:24-26
(24) Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.
(25) Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.
(26) Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.
So, I thought it worthy to call our selves back to Accountability NOT to MAN but to GOD'S HOLY WORD...Because it is GOD'S WORD THAT WILL JUDGE US and NOT MAN...
· What does Jesus Christ Teach about Giving?
· What does Paul the Apostle Teach about Giving?
· Does True Bible Doctrine on Giving Matter today?
· Does Matthew chapter 13 speak about Sowing to Give Money or about The Word of God and one’s response to God’s Word?
· Is the Seed in Matthew 13 Money or God’s Holy Word?
· Are we not supposed to give to the orphans, widows, poor and those in need?
· Are we to Tithe or not to Tithe under the New Covenant of Jesus Christ?
· Is tithing the only Old Testament Law of Moses we are supposed to keep in the New Covenant under Jesus Christ?
· Are Pastors and Ministers Levites in Churches Today?
· If so, did the Church replace physical Israel?
· What about Hebrews Chapters 7 and 8?
· Is Jesus Christ not the New and Perfect High Priest?
· Did Jesus Christ not offer His Body as the perfect sacrifice once and for all as the Perfect High Priest without sin?
· If so, how can a High Priest (Jesus Christ is from the Tribe of Judah) not from the Tribe of Levi receive Tithes?
· Are All Believers not Priests in the Church Today according to 1 Peter 2:9?
· Who is the High Priest today - Is it not Jesus Christ - Hebrews 7 and 8?
· Then how comes a Pastor receives a Tithe and Not the High Priest?
· Who is Head of the Body of Christ or the Church, is it Pastors, Apostles or Jesus Christ?
· Why did Paul NOT teach the Church to Tithe but taught them instead to GIVE?
· Why did Jesus Christ NOT teach about Tithes but taught people to GIVE?
· Yes, the Bible Teaches Giving but are we not taught in the same Bible to Give freely and cheerfully but not out of compulsion?
· Why are Pastors and Preachers forcing and manipulating Christians to give in Churches today with threats?
· Is Tithing NOT part of MOSAIC LAW?
· If it is, then why are we SUPPOSED to Keep It?
· If we are to keep it then why NOT Keep the Circumcision and Sabbath Laws?
· Is it NOT a Curse NOT to keep the Whole Mosaic Law according to Galatians Chapter 3 and 4?
· So, why do Pastors and Preachers keep ONLY the Mosaic Law of Tithing yet they refuse to keep The Other Mosaic Laws like Circumcision and Sabbath observance?
· If Tithing was before the Mosaic Law, then what about Circumcision which was before the Mosaic Law…why not keep it to justify both Tithing and Circumcision since both were practiced by Abraham before the Mosaic Law?
· How to we obtain God’s Blessings?
· Do we Obtain God’s Blessings (Abraham Blessings) through Tithing?
· If so, what about Galatians 3:13-14?
· Why did the Apostles have the ACTS chapter 15 Conference?
· Was it not about the Issue of Keeping or Not Keeping the Mosaic Laws and Circumcision as a prerequisite for Salvation?
· Is Tithing Not part of the discussed Mosaic Laws in the ‘Acts 15 Conference’?
· Are we not guilty of Extortion and Devouring widows’ properties with Today’s Prosperity and Tithing Gospels?
· Did Jesus Christ Really Promise to Make Material Wealth those who came to Him?
· Did the Apostles promises Material Wealth to those whom they preached?
· Is the Prosperity Gospel really scriptural?
· What are The Lord’s Instructions to those who are Rich Materially in the Church?
· Should we not repent to The Lord of Extortion, Defraud, Manipulation, Mind Control, threatening Saints for their failure to give to our ‘big ministries’?
· Why don't Pastors and Ministers support themselves by Vocational Jobs Like Paul the Apostle did with his Tent Making Skill in order to support himself and NOT be a burden to the Churches?
· Is it a sin for Pastors and Ministers to take on vocational jobs and work while they minister?
· Is it right and biblical for Pastors to spend excessive amounts of money buying expensive cars, Gulf Stream Jets, Palatial Houses, and Designer Clothes all in the name of Prosperity, using funds given to Church by the Saints?
· If so, is that not extortion?
· Is it Biblical to preach that those who are poor will go to Hell and only the rich will go to heaven (because they don’t complain)…what about Lazarus and the Rich Man, what about James chapter 5:1-7, what about The Lord being the Defender of the poor, widows, orphans, and needy?
· Does the Bible contradict itself or is someone preaching a false teaching?
· Is it biblical to spend huge amounts of money on building Mega Churches (Cathedrals) while the rest of the saints starve and are filthy poor?
· Where in the Bible did the New Testament Saints build Cathedrals or fundraise for Cathedrals?
· Why did Jesus Christ not fundraise to build a temple when He preached on Earth?
· Was Jesus Christ just being Lazy?
· Why did Jesus Christ Not Fundraise to build the temple or refurbish the existing one but spoke doom and destruction to it in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21?
· Where is the Word Cathedral in the Bible, is it not a Catholic Term?
· Do we NEED (Require, in sense that we cannot preach the gospel except we have money - Mammon) Money to Preach the Gospel though we can USE money to preach the Gospel?
· Did the Early Church NEED Money to preach The Gospel or did they NEED the Holy Spirit and Truth in Preaching the Gospel?
· Are Pastors and Christians Not supposed to STUDY God's Holy Word?
· Are Christians and Pastors above Accountability to God’s Holy Word?
It seems that we need to be sincere and search out these matters in the Bible again, otherwise The Lord is holding all guilty who extort and defraud saints of money and possessions through such Doctrines as the Prosperity Doctrine, Tithing Doctrine, and Manipulative giving Teachings…
I stand to be corrected if Scriptures prove me wrong… However, I believe Christians ought to wake up and look into these matters just as the Berean Christians did in Acts chapter 17…
Acts 17:10-11
(10) And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews.
(11) These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
These are just a few financial questions I have for Brethren and Pastors and hopefully it explains why many believers are shunning Tithing in Churches today and instead opt to give freely as they are led of The Holy Spirit…
In Christ JesusKato Mivule
http://www.yesumulungi.com/
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1 comment:
Tithing was under and is under the law with a curse for Christians seeking salvation under the law,Leviticus27:1-34,Malachi 3:1-18.When bishops, pastors, elders, and priests humbly teach falsehood by quoting tithes in Malachi 3:1-18,under the law IN OLD COVENANT which was a prime contribution for the Levite tribe and Leviticus Priesthood, how many Christians line up to be served with food when tithes and offering under the law are given? Is the storehouse pastors' and priests' house or the Church being the bride and body of Jesus Christ? Saved Christians by grace IN NEW COVENANT who are lead and taught by the Holy Spirit are not under law or in generation curse in the law, Ephesians 2:4-9. Tithes in Malachi 3:1-18 were primarily for the tribe of Levi which was not allocated land for sharing among themselves , Numbers 18:20-28 . Those who simply imply Christians are under curse for not tithing put into question about unfinished work of redemption (SALVATION) by Christ Jesus on cross of Calvary which is bought and maintained continuously in tithes paid to them. Those who are of work of the law are under curse Galatians 3:3-13.Yet Christ is not ashamed to call us brethren whom He has redeemed and sanctified. Hebrew 2:9-13.We have been redeemed from the curse of the law, Jesus Christ being made a curse for us : for it is written, cursed is everyone that hangs on a tree. Christians saved by grace are the royal priests and able ministers of the new testament born of love with exceeding glory which surpassed the glory that was in law with Moses.
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