Covenanter Witness Vol. 53 - Rparchives.org

missions"race"missionary"earth"rich."selves of $100,000 in a three weeks period. If peoplein our church do spend that much on a celebrationof the commercialized and pagan festival which hasno real sanction in Scripture, how can we face theJudge of all the earth next March and say, "We couldnot raise $116,000 so it is impossible for us to sendanother new minister to Japan" ?Our trouble as American Christians is not lackof money, but a lack of proportion and a serious lackof New Testament morality in stewardship of themoney we have. We must load up our homes withtrash and fill our stomachs with too much good food,but we cannot send another man to preach Christin Japan.Of course I do not minimize the difficulty whichaverage middle-class people meet these days in thegrand "ratof finance. Our marvelous standardof luxury living is not only our servant but, to agreat degree, our master. We are driven by thingson which we have come to depend. The auto, repairs,auto insurance and running expenses ; life insurance,hospitalization, and house insurance; school expenses, clothing, doctor's bills, income tax, new andbetter washers or refrigeration, furniture or newwall paper for the front room, etc. (And that newT-V set also.)Truly the American people today seem almostpoverty stricken trying to maintain the unbelievablestandard of living and convenience which has becomeessential to all.When we face these difficulties we may wellask, How can the Covenanter Church begin to raise$12,000 more this year than the sum raised lastyear? How can we afford to send new missionariesout when the money simply is not there to give?divinelyI know no answer except the same old, reliable,ordained plan of sacrificial Christian giving.The church has rarely had money enough to do thework God sent us. to do. Nor has foreign missionarywork ever gotten to the place where men and moneywithout a struggle. The foreignwere forthcomingmission program is from start to finish a cross-bearand in that response to God's love is theing venture,secret of success. "For ye know the grace of curLord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet foryour sakes he became poor, that ye through hispoverty might be God the Father gave Hisonly begotten Son because He loved us. Christ leftHeaven to bring eternal blessing to you and me,and it took Calvary to do this for us. Shall we notdo something of the same for Japan, Syria andCyprus ?New Testament Principles of Church FinanceBy Rev. S. E. BoyleChristianity from the earliest records of itsspontaneous expansion in the Book of Acts has been"foreignminded. It is to be so until thevery end of the age of grace, when Christ our Kingreturns to set up the Kingdom of glory. Because ofthis the apparently sagacious cry, "We must keep thehome church going or there will be no more foreignis quite opposite to the New Testamentview of things. Jesus said, "For whosoever will savehis life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose hislife for my sake and the gospel's, the same shallsave it."Dr. McCarroll suggests that there are Covenanters who do not limit their gifts to the budget, refusing to be regimented in their giving by this device. He sees in this group of our church membershipa possible source of income which might enable theBoard of Foreign Missions to send our needed replacements to foreign fields. Surely I cannot be accused of neglecting this area of financial support.Our first term in South China (1934-1947) was madepossible through such generosity under the "SamBoyle Fund" and it was evident for seven years thatGod is able to provide. The "Reformation TranslationFellowship" Room"and the "Covenanter Book ofKobe are both extra-budget projects. It might bepossible, if necessary, to place the whole Japan Mission on a special, non-budget arrangement, separatefrom the regular provision of Synod. But why shouldthis be necessary ? The Japan Mission is eminently acovenant-task of the whole Covenanter Church. It isthe Church's obligation and the Church's privilegeto sustain and enlarge our witness in so strategic aDecember 1, 1954center as Kobe, Japan. In four years the Japan Mission has had wonderful opportunities for evangelism,church building, ecumenical activities, witness bearing for the Kingship of Christ, and for linking thework of our church in Japan and China togetheragainst a coming day when God may send our workers back into South China and Manchuria. Whyshould so important a foothold for Covenanter evanwhen theonly possible hindrance is the lack of money? IsGod dead?One deadly heresy which is sometimes held andtalked in our church is what I call the "let the catgelism and witnessing be sacrificed todaydie"psychology of foreign missions. The argumentruns something like this: The Reformed Presbyterian Church in N. A. is dying. From a membershipof 11,000 in 1871 it has now dwindled to less than5,000. Hence our only course now is to decrease andretrench in foreign and home missions until ?Until the cat dies ? Then why not kill the old cat atonce ? one dying squawk and it will expire. Then weshall no more cumber the ground (Luke 13:6-9).There is no such materialistic, defeatist teachingin God's Word, and it is neither common sense norrealism to talk this way. What actually must controlour policy and spark our planning is the Divine mandate behind the Great Commission of Christ and Hispledge of the power, the presence and the materialsupply needed by His faithful church until the Taskis done. "All power is given unto me in heaven andin is not a text which can be limited to ourargument for the Christian amendment; this textalso gives us assurance that Christ the King has con-341