Don’t give your offerings to heretics

 

Some people unfortunately love to be generous to the wrong persons and end up suffering for it. Keeping in context with what I want to say, I mean they give their offerings to heretics but cry when they don’t see good days and times in their life. They are upset when the preacher who committed just a little heresy now is even more blasphemous towards God, that it no longer can be ignored.

Others are mistaken that just because the preacher or ministry belongs to their own denomination, they are not supposed to discern the words and works done by them.  Such a stance is not consistent with what Lord God has given for those who believe in Jesus Christ and must be repented of with immediate effect

It is written in 1 John 4:1-3 that: Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. ² By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, ³ and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.

Jude 1:3-4 very clearly says : ³ Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. ⁴ For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

If you sow good seed expect good fruit, but if sow bad seed expect bad fruit. Never be surprised that after sowing bad seed you never see good fruit emerge from it. In a similar way if you put your offerings those who actually preach the Word of God without any deception, you can be sure of good fruit in this life and the one that is to come. Besides, no matter how good you feel about any heretic, never give your offerings to them, lest you end up eating their bad fruit in this life and at Final Judgement.

Ephesians 6:6-14 says: Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. ⁷ Therefore do not become partners with them; ⁸ for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light ⁹ (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), ¹⁰ and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. ¹¹ Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. ¹² For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. ¹³ But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, ¹⁴ for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says,

“Awake, O sleeper,
and arise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.”

O people of the faith always keep in the mind what Jesus Christ in Luke 6:38 says “give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”

No doubt we are to support the preaching of Gospel of Jesus Christ, in both word and deed. Pray for the Gospel to reach the ends of the earth. Pray for those who are preaching the Gospel in true holiness. And yes support them financially as how God leads you to. But at the end of the day do keep it mind, be generous for the work of God but never ever for the work of heretics. Because just like those who will be rewarded for giving unto the Kingdom of God, so also those who support deceivers and liars will receive their due reward in the form of judgement sometimes in this world but always for sure in the world that is to come

 

Further reading:

• 8 Symptoms of False Doctrine  (disciplesofhope.wordpress.com)
• Never trust your Church elders more than God (disciplesofhope.wordpress.com)
• Effects and dangers of preaching an incomplete Gospel (disciplesofhope.wordpress.com)