Money-Making Bible Hucksters and Mammon

MONEY-MAKING BIBLE HUCKSTERS AND MAMMON : PT 2

Copyright 1994 - 2009 Endtime Prophecy Net

Published On : December 3, 1997

Last Updated : May 22, 2009

Paul's Counsel In 1 Corinthians, Phony Donations, Charity And
Supporting God's Workers, Seek First The Kingdom And God Will
Provide Your Needs, The Cheerful Giver, Suffer All Things For
The Gospel, Apostle Paul's Example, Lords Over God's Heritage,
1st Century Church Financial Plan, Christian Communal Living,
Not For Personal Gain Or Filthy Lucre, Greedy False Shepherds,
Modern Commercialized Christianity And Superficial Preachers,
Modern Christianity's Dandy Bad Example, Hindering The Gospel,
The Antichrist Jewish Leaders, Judged According To Our Works,
Church Of Laodicea, Danger Of Materialism, Babylon The Great

I would have been interested in reading some of the material
which this man, and others like him, offer; however, I'm not
about to encourage any of these money-making Bible hucksters
to continue in their practices by sending them money. It is
my firm belief that those who preach the Gospel should find
some other means of supporting themselves, so that they can
deliver the truth of God's Word freely to the spiritually
destitute of the world. The Apostle Paul had to deal with
this very same problem, and wrote the following in his first
Epistle to the brethren at Corinth:

"Mine answer to them that do examine me is this, Have we not
power to eat and to drink? Have we not power to lead about a
sister, a wife, as well as other apostles, and as the
brethren of the Lord, and Cephas? Or I only and Barnabas,
have not we power to forbear working? Who goeth a warfare
any time at his own charges? who planteth a vineyard, and
eateth not of the fruit thereof? or who feedeth a flock, and
eateth not of the milk of the flock? Say I these things as a
man? or saith not the law the same also? For it is written
in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the
ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen?
Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no
doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in
hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker
of his hope. If we have sown unto you spiritual things, is
it a great thing if we shall reap your carnal things? If
others be partakers of this power over you, are not we
rather? Nevertheless we have not used this power; but suffer
all things, lest we should hinder the gospel of Christ. Do
ye not know that they which minister about holy things live
of the things of the temple? and they which wait at the
altar are partakers with the altar? Even so hath the Lord
ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of
the gospel."
1 Corinthians 9:3-14, KJV

Some people have used the previous verses as a means to try
to justify commercializing our Christian faith. There is an
old saying some of them use which says something like "The
Gospel am free, but it cost somethin' to pipe it to ya!" It
does cost money to preach the Gospel of Christ; there is no
doubt about that; however, I am by no means convinced that
the Apostle Paul was advocating that we should commercialize
our faith, such as by selling books, videos, music CD's and
the like, or by charging money for speaking engagements. It
also really irks me when some of these Bible hucksters claim
that they will give you their book or CD in exchange for a
generous "donation". When these hucksters refuse to give you
their product unless you "donate", then it really isn't a
donation, is it? They are in fact selling you something, and
it is hypocritical to try to pretend that it is a donation.

My understanding is that if we faithfully preach the Gospel,
then those people to whom we are ministering, who gladly
receive the Word, should feel an obligation to help support
us in return. In other words, I am talking about good old
charity; and I believe that this is what Paul is referring
to as well. If we, as preachers of God's Word, provide their
spiritual needs, then in return, they should be willing to
provide our physical needs. Perhaps someone can offer you a
rent-free place to live, or food to eat, or clothes to wear.
That is basically all that any of us really needs to survive
happily, and of course a computer, if you happen to have an
electronic ministry as I do. If you happen to be a traveling
missionary, a car or truck with a trailer or camper would
take the place of a stationary home. Folks can also donate
monetary gifts as well to help pay for utilities, gasoline,
etc.

As I point out in "Seek Ye First The Kingdom Of God", all I
know is that if we faithfully preach the Gospel of Salvation
as we've been called to do, God will provide our every need.
He will take care of us, somehow, in some way, even if that
means subsisting on donations and charity. He may not provide
everything that we want, but He will most certainly provide
everything that we really need, and we won't have to sell His
Word in order to obtain it either. Jesus promised us this,
and other writers in the Bible promised it as well, as we see
by the following verses:

"Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the
desires of thine heart . . . I have been young, and now am
old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed
begging bread."
Psalms 37:4, 25, KJV

"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness;
and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore
no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought
for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil
thereof."
Matthew 6:33-34, KJV

"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find;
knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that
asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him
that knocketh it shall be opened . . . If ye then, being
evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how
much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good
things to them that ask him?"
Matthew 7:7-8, 11, KJV

"And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer,
believing, ye shall receive."
Matthew 21:22, KJV

"Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of
them is forgotten before God? But even the very hairs of your
head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more
value than many sparrows."
Luke 12:6-7, KJV

"And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you,
Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for
the body, what ye shall put on. The life is more than meat,
and the body is more than raiment. Consider the ravens: for
they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor
barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than
the fowls? And which of you with taking thought can add to
his stature one cubit? If ye then be not able to do that
thing which is least, why take ye thought for the rest?
Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin
not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory
was not arrayed like one of these. If then God so clothe the
grass, which is to day in the field, and to morrow is cast
into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of
little faith? And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye
shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind. For all these
things do the nations of the world seek after: and your
Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. But rather
seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be
added unto you."
Luke 12:22-31, KJV

"He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us
all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all
things?"
Romans 8:32, KJV

"But my God shall supply all your need according to his
riches in glory by Christ Jesus."
Philippians 4:19, KJV

"And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we
ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we
know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have
the petitions that we desired of him."
1 John 5:14-15, KJV

Please notice that in the previous verses, it is emphasized
that we should direct our prayers, concerns and needs to God
the Father, and then He will provide accordingly. Nowhere in
those verses do we find anyone suggesting that we should sell
God's Word, or other Christian-related materials, for money,
in order to provide our own needs. In short, God will provide
for us through those people to whom we preach the Gospel.

Furthermore, as I also point out in the article "The Cheerful
Giver: Supporting God's Work", if Christian believers support
those who preach the Gospel to them, God will bless them in
return; because as the Apostle Paul also tells us, God loves
a cheerful giver. In other words, God loves those people who
freely give from their hearts, because they want to give, and
not because they are forced to give, or feel pressured to
give; and they don't grumble about it either, as we see here:

"Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let
him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a
cheerful giver."
2 Corinthians 9:7, KJV

In the previous verses that I shared with you at the end of
part one, Paul clarifies that we are not supposed to force
people to pay us in any way, before we are willing to share
the Gospel with them; yet this is exactly what some of these
modern preachers are doing, such as the person who inspired
this series. In their haste to justify their actions, some
of these unscrupulous people who commercialize our Christian
faith will quote the last verse where Paul says "Even so hath
the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should
live of the gospel". However, what they neglect to point out
is that a few verses earlier, Paul also states "Nevertheless
we have not used this power; but suffer all things, lest we
should hinder the gospel of Christ". In other words, Paul is
clarifying that while they could use their position as the
Lord's Apostles to force people to give them money, or to
provide them with whatever other needs they may have, they
refuse to exercise this Apostolic authority, because to do
this could hinder the furtherance of the Gospel.

A few verses later, Paul again verifies that it is better to
suffer personal need for the Gospel's sake, than to exercise
his power as an Apostle of Christ, and demand payment for his
preaching services. Rather than become a selfish shepherd of
the Word who will only share the Gospel with those who are
willing to pay for it, Paul clearly states that he prefers to
make the Gospel of Christ known "without charge", as we see
here:

"What is my reward then? Verily that, when I preach the
gospel, I may make the gospel of Christ without charge, that
I abuse not my power in the gospel."
1 Corinthians 9:18, KJV

Sadly, as we have already seen, to our shame, today there are
many of these money-making Bible hucksters who have chosen to
ignore everything below verse fourteen; and I suspect that at
least some of them do it because they know that those verses
expose their sins of selfishness and greed. I encourage you
to take the time to read the whole chapter so as to obtain a
better understanding of exactly what Paul is saying in these
verses.

One thing that is certain, is the fact that because Paul was
not willing to charge money for preaching the Gospel, he was
willing to "suffer all things", because he simply didn't want
to hinder the propagation of the Gospel of Christ. We know
from the Book of Acts, as well as from some of the Epistles,
that Paul and his companions often suffered as a result of
being ambassadors of the Gospel of Christ. Not only was both
verbal and physical persecution common, but sometimes, they
also lacked their own physical needs. This is made quite
clear for us in passages such as the following:

"We are fools for Christ's sake, but ye are wise in Christ;
we are weak, but ye are strong; ye are honourable, but we are
despised. Even unto this present hour we both hunger, and
thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain
dwellingplace; And labour, working with our own hands: being
reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it: Being
defamed, we intreat: we are made as the filth of the world,
and are the offscouring of all things unto this day."
1 Corinthians 4:10-13, KJV

"Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in
whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both
how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and
in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be
hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all
things through Christ which strengtheneth me."
Philippians 4:11-13, KJV

If Paul was charging money for his preaching services, if he
was earning filthy lucre as he shared the Gospel of Salvation
with people, why would he even make such statements? He would
have all of his needs met all of the time, right? It becomes
obvious then that he wasn't asking for anything in return. He
was seeking first the Kingdom of God, and simply trusting God
to touch people's hearts to share with him, just as he was
sharing his spiritual riches with them, as he stated in his
Epistle to the Corinthians. It was an exchange of spiritual
blessings for physical needs.

What a far cry from the glitzy, well-groomed, fast-talking
preachers of our current time! So we see then that people who
make such demands on their flocks are in contradiction to the
Scriptures. They are not following the financial plan of the
First Century Church, and they are abusing their position as
ministers of God's Word. In fact, this kind of behavior is
probably what Peter was referring to when he stated that we
should not be "lords over God's heritage", as we see in the
following verses. Please notice again that Peter states that
we should not preach the Gospel for personal gain -- or for
filthy lucre. Peter is clearly making a connection between
preaching for our own personal gain, and being lords over
God's heritage:

"Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the
oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for
filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; Neither as being lords
over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock. And
when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a
crown of glory that fadeth not away."
1 Peter 5:2-4, KJV

It seems then that Peter and Paul were very much in agreement
regarding this particular issue of commercializing our faith.
They shared the belief that fleecing the sheep was not God's
financial plan for the First Century Church. So exactly what
was God's financial plan for the Early Christians? Well, as
the old adage goes, "Where God guides, He will also provide".
In looking at the New Testament, we learn that the Disciples
of the Early Church made ends meet through a variety of ways.
Primary among these was their sharing of the goods or money
donated by new Disciples, as well as others who believed in
and supported their work. Consider the following verses:

"And all that believed were together, and had all things
common; And sold their possessions and goods, and parted
them to all men, as every man had need."
Acts 2:44-45, KJV

"Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many
as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought
the prices of the things that were sold,"
Acts 4:34, KJV

In a later chapter, we discover that when a congregation in
one place had more than was actually needed, it would share
its surplus with a congregation in another city. For example,
consider how Paul and Barnabas were sent to help the Elders
in Jerusalem:

"And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified
by the Spirit that there should be great dearth throughout
all the world: which came to pass in the days of Claudius
Caesar. Then the disciples, every man according to his
ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which
dwelt in Judaea: Which also they did, and sent it to the
elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul."
Acts 11:28-30, KJV

Thus we see that the early followers of Christ practiced a
pure form of Christian communism. They lived communally, and
they shared everything according to each person's need. Yet
in spite of this straight forward financial plan that's laid
out for us in the pages of the New Testament, there are many
Christians today who will say "Oh, that was for back then; we
cannot possibly live like that today. Life has become far too
complicated."

While this may be partially true, I remain convinced that two
factors which contribute to this problem, is our own lack of
faith and trust in the Lord, as well as the extremely selfish
lifestyles that we lead. This makes Christian communal living
more difficult to achieve today. There have been Christian
and non-Christian organizations which have attempted it; and
they have been successful for a number of years. Eventually,
however, it seems that selfishness and materialism creep in,
and some of them don't last. What likewise hampers Christian
communal living is the fact that the secular world frowns
upon any group of people who choose to live in this fashion
due to their common religious or philosophical beliefs, or
simply to save money, or for whatever their reasons. Just try
it, and you will quickly be branded as a dangerous cult by
"respectable" civic and religious leaders alike. Before you
realize it, government agencies like the Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Child Protective Services,
etc., will be after you, looking for reasons to discredit
you.

If you are interested in reading more about the Early Church
Plan, I encourage you to read my companion article "Where
Are The First Century Churches?" The point is, God can and
will provide today, just as He did two thousand years ago,
if we only have the faith to believe. After all, as we are
told in the Scriptures:

"Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may
be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the
LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven,
and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room
enough to receive it."
Malachi 3:10, KJV

"Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever."
Hebrews 13:8, KJV

But returning to the main subject of this series, it should
be clear to you, the reader, by now, that we are not to seek
financial reward for preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We
are not to do it for filthy lucre's sake. If you've felt the
call to be an Ambassador of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, then
I truly hope that you're willing to preach simply out of your
love for lost souls, even if you never receive any reward or
recognition here on Earth. After all, we have our reward, and
it is in Heaven.

So again, these money-minded preachers are misrepresenting the
Gospel. They are giving the Gospel of Jesus Christ a very bad
name. They are being lords over God's heritage, and living the
so-called "abundant life" at the expense of their flocks. They
are fleecing their flocks much like the greedy shepherds which
are described in the thirty-fourth chapter of the Book of the
Prophet Ezekiel, as we see here:

"Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel,
prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto
the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do
feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks?
Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill
them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock . . .
Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD; As I
live, saith the Lord GOD, surely because my flock became a
prey, and my flock became meat to every beast of the field,
because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds
search for my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and
fed not my flock; Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word
of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against
the shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand,
and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither
shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will
deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat
for them."
Ezekiel 34:2-3, 7-10, KJV

What a stinging rebuke to modern day false shepherds who do
the very same thing! They wear their fancy clothes and their
expensive rings. They ride around in their luxurious cars and
build their multi-million dollar mega-churches. Some even own
vast amounts of real estate and large companies worldwide. We
see flashy preachers making multi-million dollar deals with
various facets of the mass media, while others preach a vast
array of strange and unscriptural doctrines. These wolves in
sheep's clothing preach about living the "abundant life", but
they are the only ones who are actually living it! Our faith
has also been shamed by preachers and preachers' wives who
have been unfaithful to each other, while others have been
involved with homosexuality and pedophilia. Yet others are
discovered to be entangled in questionable financial deals,
and on and on the bad dream goes.

Is it really any wonder then that modern-day Christianity has
obtained such a bad image, and a bad name? Is it really any
wonder that some people see the superficiality and hypocrisy
of some Christian churches and leaders today and say "I don't
want any part of that! I'd rather be a Buddhist, or a Muslim
or a Wiccan, or a New Ager, or an atheist"? Tragically, while
I don't agree with their choices, I can't say that I really
blame them to a certain extent. What kind of an example have
these people been given by the so-called "leaders" of modern
Christianity? I must fully concur then with the Apostle Paul
when he states that this kind of abusive behavior has indeed
hindered the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It has prevented some
people from entering the Kingdom of God, and in some cases,
it has made it difficult for some people to believe in God at
all. In fact, I am reminded of a similar comment that Jesus
made to the self-righteous Scribes and Pharisees of His day
when He said:

"But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye
shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go
in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go
in."
Matthew 23:13, KJV

Of course, in that case, I believe that Jesus was saying that
those religious leaders had placed the bar so high, through
all of their special laws and requirements, that no one could
have gained Eternal Life even if they had wanted to. Not only
that, but it is quite evident that the Scribes and Pharisees
persecuted and threatened anyone who dared to believe in and
follow Jesus. As I point out in other articles, not only did
they murder Jesus in cold blood, but they then proceeded to
persecute, incarcerate and kill His followers in the Book of
Acts. What some of these church leaders and famous preachers
are doing today isn't quite the same, but the end result is
still the same; and that is that they are hurting the message
of the Gospel, through their dandy bad examples of hypocrisy,
materialistic living and superficiality, and they are driving
people away from our Christian faith, instead of towards it.

One thing is certain. According to the Scriptures, some day,
these shameful and irresponsible Christian leaders will be
held accountable for their actions. In fact, we all will; for
as it is clearly written in God's Word:

"If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that
pondereth the heart consider it? and he that keepeth thy
soul, doth not he know it? and shall not he render to every
man according to his works?"
Proverbs 24:12, KJV

"For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father
with his angels; and then he shall reward every man
according to his works."
Matthew 16:27, KJV

"And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of
persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time
of your sojourning here in fear:"
1 Peter 1:17, KJV

". . . I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I
will give unto every one of you according to your works."
Revelation 2:23b, KJV

"And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write,
Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth:
Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their
labours; and their works do follow them."
Revelation 14:13, KJV

"And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and
the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is
the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those
things which were written in the books, according to their
works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and
death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and
they were judged every man according to their works."
Revelation 20:12-13, KJV

As I pondered the previous verses, and wondered what kind of
a reward these money-making Bible hucksters might receive on
their day of judgment, the verse that came to me was this:

"And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall
awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and
everlasting contempt."
Daniel 12:2, KJV

I can't begin to imagine what it would be like to be scorned
for all of eternity; can you? It would be simply dreadful;
yet that is apparently what some people are going to have to
endure, as a result of their sins in this current life.

In thinking about the rampant commercialism that's perverted
and corrupted our Christian faith, I'm reminded of the Lord's
message to the church at Laodicea, as written in the Book of
Revelation. In the third chapter, we find the following dire
warning:

"I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I
would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art
lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of
my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with
goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou
art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that
thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be
clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear;
and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous
therefore, and repent."
Revelation 3:15-19, KJV

Such is the danger of being enticed by, and overcome by, the
materialistic pleasures of this current world. We become so
complacent and spiritually blind that we're no longer capable
of seeing our true spiritual condition. The physical comfort
that riches bring can draw us away from the Lord without us
even realizing it. It is a slow, subtle process. The Apostle
John was fully aware of this danger, and thus he warns us:

"Love not the world, neither the things that are in the
world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is
not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the
flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is
not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world
passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the
will of God abideth for ever."
1 John 2:15-17, KJV

If you would like to learn more about this subject, please
consider visiting the "Snare Of Riches" article section of
the Endtime Prophecy Net website.

The previous verses from the Book of Revelation concerning
the self-confidence of the church at Laodicea remind me of
boastful Babylon the Great, which some Christians view as
being the false, worldwide religious system of our modern
day. In Revelation chapter eighteen, we find the following
verse concerning the mystery woman Babylon:

"How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously,
so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her
heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no
sorrow."
Revelation 18:7, KJV

For more in-depth information regarding this topic, please
consider reading my article "Revelation's Babylon The Great".

Please go to part three for the conclusion of this series.

Go To Part Three . . .