Our brotherhood has been blessed by many good efforts as Christians work together in fields of evangelism and benevolence. It is a command from God that we love the brotherhood (I Peter 2:17). Love does not require the Christian to endorse or agree with everything that is done in the name of the Lord. Each action must be viewed from the context of what does the scriptures teach (Colossians 3:17). The standard cannot be, does this action do good or not? The standard must always be what does the Lord say to us.
Is there anything wrong with Christians making a profit in some business that they are engaged in? James teaches Christians there is a proper way to make profit. The Christian sets a goal of wanting to go to this city, stay for a year, buy and sell and get gain (James 4:13). The proper attitude for the Christian is to understand that we do not know what will take place on the morrow (verse 14). The Christian, having set his goal and put it into practice, should say “if the Lord wills I will accomplish this goal” (verse 15). The example of the talents as taught by Jesus was the man given five had doubled his to ten (Matthew 25:20). He made a profit by using his money wisely. There is nothing wrong with a Christian working in an honest manner making a profit at what he does.
There is a new project before the brotherhood called, “Polishing the Pulpit”. I have seen their brochures and know many of the men who participate in this work. I would say it is a collection of faithful gospel preachers. From the brochures the subject matter would be things that most Christians with the right kind of heart could benefit from by being there and participating. Preachers who are faithful to the teaching of God’s Word and subject matter that is, likewise, from God’s Word presents the idea of a good work.
This work is overseen by an eldership that is well known for being faithful to the cause of Christ. At this point, however, we bring the issue of profit. At this writing if one chooses to attend “Polishing the Pulpit” one must pay money to attend. May an individual Christian engage in some activity and make a profit? As cited in paragraph #2, of course they can. The issue we must face at this point is not an individual Christian making a profit in some kind of business. The product here is the gospel of Jesus the Christ. Would we be able to conduct a gospel meeting in some town and charge people to attend the worship? Why would that not be acceptable? Because it goes against what the gospel of Christ is about.
How long have we engaged in debates or private discussions with the religious world and their misunderstanding of Romans 6:23? They argue that the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ is free. We counter by explaining to them that yes, eternal life is free but the gift has conditions placed with it. A person must be willing to submit to all that Christ tells them to do through the teaching of His will (Luke 6:46). If we recognize that being free has conditions attached to it, why would not the same reasoning apply to the teaching of the will of God? May we charge someone money to hear the gospel? What if someone does not have the money to come “hear the gospel” as in Polishing the Pulpit? The charging of money would exclude some from being able to participate.
It is not the matter of people being excluded because of money. My problem is charging money for the gospel of Jesus Christ. If one attends a lectureship or workshop and there are tapes, DVD’s, or materials that have been produced by an individual or a church, the person who attends has the option to buy or not buy. Certainly we would wish to pay an individual for his work and efforts to produce a product. If we use the product of truth to force people to buy or not come, the truth then is being sold for a profit. I do not question the integrity of the men involved or the truth being presented. Someone needs to look beyond any good being done and ask the most obvious question, where is your scriptural authority?