Money the Acid Test; Studies in Stewardship, Covering the Principles and Practice of Ones Personal Economics, for Use in Bible Classes, Discussion Groups, Young People's Societies, and Similar Gatherings (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1919 Excerpt: ...(Matt. 7. 13). And he puts giving even before praying for the self-evident reason that no one can consistently pray who is not willing also to pay. Obligation grows ever larger and more compelling under the gospel. In the new life there is the propulsive as well as expulsive power of a new affection. To quote Bishop Moule: "The ransom which releases also purchases; the Lord's freeman is the Lord's property. The liberty of the gospel is the silver side of the same shield whose side of gold is an unconditional vassalage to the liberating Lord.... To be a bondservant is terrible in the abstract; to be 'Jesus Christ's bondservant' is paradise in the concrete. Self-surrender taken alone is a plunge into a cold void; when it is surrender to 'the Son of God who loved me, and gave himself up for me' (Gal. 2. 20), it is the bright home-coming of the soul to the seat and sphere of life and power." Not Merit-Making. Much that is called giving is not really giving at all. What is parted with for the purpose of acquiring merit is not giving. A large branch of the church, claiming exclusive right to represent Christ on earth, carries on a vast trade in indulgences, with a graduated scale of minimum prices for various religious privileges; births, baptisms, marriages, funerals, masses--all are tagged with a pricemark. Essentially the same practise prevails in nonChristian countries, though in a somewhat different form. In India a man " makes merit " by erecting by the roadside a stone shelf, supported by pillars, of a height convenient for resting the burden which a coolie carries upon his head. In China it takes the form of a shelter, with a seat affording protection "From the burning of the noontide heat And the burden of the day." The buil...