Integrity In Church Finances
John 12
· 4 Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, which should betray him,
· 5 Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?
· 6 This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein.
Intro: Tonight is our church’s annual business meeting. We will not livestream the business meeting. But we will livestream this message.
One of the greatest problems that surface in churches today is this matter of the handling of the church finances.
Problems with church finances has been one of the oldest problems that the church has ever had to deal with.
We will look at this subject tonight in more detail.
But first, let’s examine the text.
There are several aspects of this that stand out to me.
A. His Lack of Character – “…he was a thief…”
The Bible is clear: the very first church treasurer was a thief.
This was a known fact. All the other disciples knew that Judas Iscariot was the treasurer.
John 13
· 27 And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, That thou doest, do quickly.
· 28 Now no man at the table knew for what intent he spake this unto him.
· 29 For some of them thought, because Judas had the bag, that Jesus had said unto him,
Buy those things that we have need of against the feast; or, that he should give something to the poor.
This was not an accusation; it was a fact.
This was not a deep-gut feeling, it was true.
Why would Jesus appoint Judas over the finances, knowing he was a thief?
I don’t know. Honestly!
The question some have is – where did the money come from that was in the bag that Judas Iscariot carried?
The disciples weren’t getting paid.
Jesus didn’t charge a fee for all the people He healed and all the lives He changed.
That money had to have come from donations from people that wanted to give back.
B. His Lack of Concern – “…he cared not for the poor…”
One of the greatest problems today is the unbiblical priorities.
Too many churches are concerned about the wrong things.
They raise money and spend money on a host of things that do nothing to further the work of God.
C. His Lack of Comprehension – he missed the whole point of the transaction
She was worshipping God with her offering; Judas missed that.
In fact, Matthew 26:8 says this:
· But when his disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste?
He was so carnal and so blinded by his covetousness that he failed to appreciate the sacrifice of that woman.
God hates it when the ministers of God misappropriate that which belongs to God.
ILLUSTRATION: 1 Samuel 2
· 12 Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial; they knew not the LORD.
· 13 And the priests’ custom with the people was, that, when any man offered sacrifice, the priest’s servant came, while the flesh was in seething, with a fleshhook of three teeth in his hand;
· 14 And he struck it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; all that the fleshhook brought up the priest took for himself. So they did in Shiloh unto all the Israelites that came thither.
· 15 Also before they burnt the fat, the priest’s servant came, and said to the man that sacrificed, Give flesh to roast for the priest; for he will not have sodden flesh of thee, but raw.
· 16 And if any man said unto him, Let them not fail to burn the fat presently, and then take as much as thy soul desireth; then he would answer him, Nay; but thou shalt give it me now: and if not, I will take it by force.
· 17 Wherefore the sin of the young men was very great before the LORD: for men abhorred the offering of the LORD.
As a pastor, there are several aspects of the church finances that I want to preach about for a little bit.
I. The Facts about the Money
It takes money to operate. I wish it didn’t, but it does.
I hate preaching on money because people think I’m asking for money for myself.
This church is not my church.
The bills of the church are not my bills.
This is OUR church – these are OUR bills.
Ministry costs money.
It is impossible to do anything without money.
As my cousin used to say: “If I ain’t got no bread, I can’t make no sandwich!”
Malachi 3
· 8 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.
· 9 Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.
· 10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house,
The more money we have to work with, the more ministry we can do.
It’s just that simple. We do not hold on to it!
We spend it! We are not hoarding it!
II. The Folks with the Money
God knew that and set up a framework in the Old Testament for the financial support of the ministry.
He had the Levites designated to do the work, and the rest of the tribes supported them.
QUESTION: Why would a God not just provide their needs Himself since He could bring water out of a rock, make manna and quail fall from the sky and allow a person’s shoes and clothing to never wear out?
QUESTION: Why would God demand the people of Israel to give to the work of the Tabernacle, knowing they had no way to replenish their supply?
Exodus 12
· 35 And the children of Israel did according to the word of Moses; and they borrowed of the Egyptians jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment:
· 36 And the LORD gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent unto them such things as they required. And they spoiled the Egyptians.
Because the stuff WAS NEVER THEIRS TO BEGIN WITH!!
It was BORROWED!!! – vs. 35
The stuff was LENT UNTO THEM. – vs. 36
So many people have the cockeyed that they belong to God, but their money belongs to them!
He owns us. We are HIS property.
He bought US with the price – therefore, glorify God!
1 Corinthians 7
· 23 Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men.
· 24 Brethren, let every man, wherein he is called, therein abide with God.
God set it up for everybody to help bear the financial burdens of the ministry.
Those that are laboring in the ministry are to be financially supported by the church.
1 Corinthians 9
· 6 Or I only and Barnabas, have not we power to forbear working?
· 7 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?
· 8 Say I these things as a man? or saith not the law the same also?
· 9 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?
· 10 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.
· 11 If we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we shall reap your carnal things?
III. The Focus on the Money
I strongly believe in accountability and transparency when it comes to the church finances.
Churches that mishandle the finances fail to comprehend the magnitude of what people give.
That gift was their worship; their demonstration of love to the Lord.
To take that money and use it foolishly or in an unethical manner is simply wrong.
· I do not have access to the church’s money.
· I have a credit card, but I turn in the receipts.
· Every expense is tracked and accounted for and itemized in the budget.
· I do not have the online banking login information.
· I do not count the offerings.
· I do not touch the money.
· I do not have the combination to the safe where the money is kept.
· I do not have a checkbook.
· I do not write checks or sign checks.
NOTE: Everything I just said also applies to my wife.
We provide an end-of-year financial statement. Those will be available tonight.
We have a very detailed, itemized budget that we make available every year at the first of the year for the upcoming fiscal year. Those are also printed and available tonight.
We constantly monitor the finances and track every penny and designate it in the budget.
I meet with the Deacons and the Business Office to carefully analyze the spending and the expenses.
The Financial Office reconciles the books every week and the treasurer and I get a balance statement.
We have a Southwest Airlines credit card that helps us fly preachers in for free during the year with the free miles.
Making sure that the church finances are transparent and that there is accountability is a big deal to me.
I believe it is important to the Lord.
Conclusion: How accountable to God are you with your finances?
Some of you are pretending that you’re tithing and you’re not – your lying.
Imagine if God dealt with lying about giving like He did with Ananias and Sapphira!??
What level of integrity are you demonstrating with your finances?
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