Does going to church make you a Christian
- Does going to church make you a Christian?
- C-No
- A-No
- D-No
- M-
- J-No just as standing in a garage doesn’t make me a Ford.
2. Does giving money to the church make you a Christian?
C-No
A-No
D-No
M-
J-No, it is a way to pretend to be Christian and fool others into thinking you are something you aren’t. Not everyone but some.
3. Does giving money to the church put you in better standing with God?
C-No but all of the above depend on the reason you do these things. What is in your
Heart counts and will make you want to give of your time and talents to the church.
A-No, only better standing with the church
D-No
M-
J-No, while God honors our devotion, neither does he wish us to exercise blind faith or to be financially irresponsible.
4. Should a Christian give money to the church and not pay their bills?
C-That’s a tricky one.. If you give to God first, you should find that there is enough for the other things. God will provide.
A-They should only give what they can afford-and giving to God should not be only deemed in financial terms-giving to god by way of other talents also counts.
D-They should give what they can comfortably afford so they can still meet their financial obligations.
M-
J-The money a person uses to pay their bills is not their money. It belongs to the gas company, the light company, the bank for car payments and house payments. These are debts that are owed and the money belongs to the debtor, not the church and they must be paid. To give to the church first would be irresponsible.
5. Should a Christian give money to the church and not buy medicine?
C-See #4
A-Giving to God doesn’t have to be financial-today’s church just deems it so because they need money to build fancy buildings and pay their salary-tithing correctly says nothing about your faith and should not take priority over give to god in other spiritual ways.
D-????
M-
J-If a person gives to the church instead of buying the necessities in life, such as medicine, then the person will become unable to work due to illness and then there will be no money for the church or the person.
6. Should a Christian give money to Billy Graham and then complain about not having any money?
C-That person would probably “not have any money” anyway.
A-Why give to Billy Graham-he’s just a franchise-why not give it to someone who actually needs it-by doing that you are being an example of God’s work.
D-I would rather give money to local charities such as the Food Bank or the Salvation Army.
M-
J-No, that is spending money foolishly when there are other places the money could have been used. Don’t throw away your money and then complain you don’t have any. Billy Graham will not miss what you don’t send.
7. Should a Christian have to drop their health insurance so they can give to the church?
C-See #4
A-No-again they can give in ways other than financial
D-No, they must give what they can afford without taking a risk with their own health and financial obligations.
M-
J-See #5
8. Should a Christian be secretly sending money to Billy Graham and not tell their spouse if money is scarce?
C-I’m not going to touch that one.
A-No-being dishonest is a sin
D-No!!
M-
J-No, being deceitful is a sin and leads to mistrust in the spouse.
9. Should a Christian give money to the church and then adopt the attitude “god will provide”?
C-YES
A-yes-but with common sense-to say God will provide doesn’t mean things will magically appear at your doorstep-they might but that would be in the “miracle” category-he provides in the sense that he give you the ability to work and earn money on your own-so that you can in turn provide for your family-he expects us to use the talents he gave us and not ignore them-if all we had to do was sit aback and say “he’ll provide and really believe it then we wouldn’t be using the gifts he’s already provided.
D-I believe God helps those who help themselves. You can’t just give money and expect to receive everything you ever dreamed of or wanted.
M-
J-God will provide. This is probably the most used statement I have ever heard and probably the least understood. Yes, God does provide. He provides you health, he provides you wisdom, He provides you the ability to perform certain tasks to get a job and earn a living. There are those without money problems or worries and this is easily said but take away all the money a person has and see if they still believe that statement. There are those who believe this statement so strongly and live in poverty all their lives. To use this statement in my opinion is giving false hope to many. If all a person had to do is have enough faith there wouldn’t be a homeless person or hungry person anywhere.
How much do people believe this statement? Probably not as strong as you might think. I would say if you truly believe this then don’t send in the payments for your electric, water, phone, cable, car payment, car insurance, house payment for two months and if this statement proves out, then someone will pay these bills for you. God will intervene and touch the heart of someone who will pay these for you. Wait you say, you are not supposed to tempt God which is true but where is your faith to try such a simple experiment? The statement is more complex than what you think.
10. Should a Christian give 10% or what they can afford to give to the church?
C-Yes, I found that starting out a bit lower and giving more each year to reach the 10% worked for me.
A-They should only give what they can afford-but this also applies to the luxuries in life-don’t buy what you can’t afford-live within your means.
D-Yes, if they can afford it.
M-
J-No, the giving of 10% is not based on Scripture. A strict 10% tithe was a part of the old covenant – Christians are under the new covenant. This does not mean, of course, that Christians should not give to or support God’s work in this world – but it does mean that the exact amount we decide to give is not dictated to us – not by the Bible, and certainly not by any church or pastor.
11. Should a Christian give money to the church while doing without things they need?
C-GOD COMES FIRST! Have you ever had a Crown course offered through your church? It is a Christian based course that educates you with the Bible teachings on money management.
A-Basic needs-no-food, shelter, good health, the basic necessities in life-God may expect us to put him first but he also expects us to take care of ourselves-the whole body is a temple and all that - and its not all about giving money to the church - if that was the case then in the stories where Jesus fed the thousands he would have charged them each so that money could then go to the church - but no - not how it works - he simply fed them b/c thats what mattered - and most of the literature out there on 'giving' and 'tithing' goes back to churches needing money to survive - and what do they do with it - pay big salaries? build gigantic buildings? too often I see 'christian' turning into the pharasees - who may have been the religious leaders of the time - but they were not servants of God and Christ ministered AGAINST their message!! if churches today focused less on the giving and more on understanding Christ and setting him as their standard of behavior - we may not have as many big pretty buildings - but we'd probably all be a lot better off
D-???
M-
J-No, God does not expect us to do without the things we need, food, housing, medicine and things like that, but to not give to the church while going out and spending a large some of money on something you could live without, such as a fancy car would be wrong.
12. Should a Christian put church or home first?
C-Put God first.
A-Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian. God did teach us to fellowship with each other in his name. That’s where the church comes in.
D-God should be a part of everything.
M-
J-God nor home should come first, they should go hand in hand, complimenting each other. There will always be circumstances that home has to come first and there will be circumstances where God should come first.
A-Additional Notes
I don’t buy into the philosophy that you have to be at church with others to be a Christian - that wasn't Christ - he showed God's love where ever he was - and usually railed against the church for its teachings and misrepresenting God - and that’s still how it is today -
So many Christians spend so much time holding themselves above the 'sinners' and their behaviors to look at what Christ would have said on the issue - would Christ be a gay-basher? no - he loved everyone - sinners and non-sinners alike - he spent more time with the all out sinners showing them love - and did not want us to gang up on them for their sins - that just wasn't who he was - but the church rarely teaches that - they look at stories and create rules based on that instead of simply looking at Christ’s character and trying to be more like him - and you don't need to be at church for that -
If your only Christian activity is sitting in church on a Sunday morning and giving your money to them and then sitting home reading about God - you haven't shared his message with anyone who may need to hear it or see your example