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As we have seen, some Christians today have replaced their faith in the true God of Heaven, with faith in the false god of this current world -- Satan -- and his devilish system of money, profit and materialism. They have been enticed by his deceitful offerings, and they have lost their way. They may still proclaim "In God We Trust", but the god in whom they are trusting seems to be the one which is printed or molded on worldly money.

So we must ask ourselves: What is going to happen to all of these money-making Bible hucksters and wheeler-dealers who currently depend upon filthy lucre -- the unrighteous mammon -- to sustain their "abundant lifestyle"? If you are such a money-making Bible huckster, what are you going to do when some day you have to face the Lord? I can just imagine a conversation similar to the following:

"Well Lord, I bet you are really proud of me. After all, I sold one million copies of my book on how to be a successful Christian in the modern world, and three million copies of my Endtime video presentation with special emphasis on the Book of Daniel, and five million copies of my tapes on the Book of Revelation with special sound effects. I was a well-respected member of my church, and a pillar of my community. I was an acclaimed Christian writer, I helped to fund our mega-church, and . . ."

And then, after you've explained to the Lord in great detail why you merit your Crown of Life, and entrance into Heaven, maybe the Lord will look at you sadly for a moment, and then say something similar to the following:

"Well son, you know, I really wanted to use you to reach some of those poor folks down there in that poor neighborhood, but you informed them that they couldn't have a copy of your book unless they gave you a "donation" first. You just teased them by telling them about the wonderful things they could learn from reading your book. I had to go and send someone else who had a real love for the lost, and who wasn't just interested in making money or upholding his public image. I am certainly glad to see those folks made it into the Kingdom despite your dismal failure. Depart from me ye worker of iniquity! I never knew you!"

Now, let me stop and clarify here that I am not saying that it's wrong to use all of these different methods -- printing magazines, books and newsletters, producing music and lesson tapes and CD's, making videos, recording MP3's -- in order to preach the Gospel. We live in the modern world, so naturally, we should take advantage of modern technology and use modern methods in order to reach people with the Gospel and to feed God's sheep. Furthermore, we should each do whatever the Lord shows us to do, use whatever method works for us, and do whatever we can afford to do. As we read earlier in the Book of Acts, "every man according to his ability". As Paul explains in his first Epistle to the Corinthians, we each have our chosen ministry, and we each have our particular gifts and talents from the Lord.

However, as I have made abundantly clear, where the problem lies is when these money-making Bible hucksters turn God's business of winning souls to the Kingdom of Heaven into just another worldly commercial enterprise, and they refuse to let people hear the Gospel -- assuming that they are even preaching the real Gospel -- simply because people cannot afford to pay for it. When they do this, when they put money before the Most High, as many of them now do, it is wrong, wrong, wrong, and it is really time for them to check their hearts, and to see what their real motives are for being in the Gospel business.

After listing all of the different gifts and ministries of the Spirit in chapter twelve, the Apostle Paul concludes by saying the following:

"But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way."


It is right after this, that Paul expounds on the importance of the gift of charity; that is to say, love. Now, if you are saying, "Pay me first, and then I will send you what the Lord has shown me", then I will tell you here and now that you have got your priorities all wrong! You are not being motivated by God's love! You are not lovingly sharing the Gospel with the Lord's sheep. You are raping them just the selfish shepherds of Ezekiel 34! You are not really serving the Lord, you are serving filthy lucre! Whether or not you have realized it, you have erred from the faith! If you doubt that this is so, then please remember the warning that the Apostle Paul issued in his Epistle to Timothy:

"For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows."


So as you can plainly see, when you covet money and profit, and place profit above preaching the Gospel and reaching the lost, you have in fact erred from the faith, plain and simple. It is right there in black and white. Furthermore, unless you straighten out, one of these days you are going to face a sorrow which you will wish you hadn't -- shame and everlasting contempt!

I don't know how hospitals operate in your area, but where I live, the hospital is not permitted to turn away anybody if they do not have any money. Of course, I will admit that the local hospital experiences certain financial problems as a result of its adherence to this policy. But quite frankly, I think that they are doing the right thing, and that it is a real sign of compassion. It reminds me of the Parable of the Good Samaritan. As you will recall, the Samaritan also spent money out of his own pocket in order to help a stranger; that is to say, the injured man whom he found lying on the roadside. Along the same vein, aren't we Christians supposed to be spiritual doctors as well? Aren't we suppose to help heal people in a spiritual sense by bringing them to Jesus and sharing the Good News of Salvation with them, whether they can pay us for it or not? That's what my Bible teaches me.

In conclusion, for decades now, it has been my firm belief that no one should ever have to pay a single penny, pound pence or peso in order to hear or read information regarding Biblical truth. All of it should be freely available to all people everywhere. Why? Because we have freely received the precious Gift of Eternal Life by Christ's Sacrifice on the Cross, and He has never charged us anything for it, other than our love and devotion to Him.

If you are a preacher of the Gospel, I sincerely hope that this series will cause you to stop and really check your own heart. I hope that you are freely sharing God's truth out of genuine love for the lost, and not for any other reason. I also pray that you will find a way to freely distribute your books, magazines, newsletters, CD's, DVD's, MP3's, etc., to the people of the world, and thus follow the example of the First Century Church leaders and Disciples, who were willing to suffer personal discomfort and inconvenience, rather than make a worldly business out of preaching the Gospel. I also hope that you are building upon the right foundation, so that your works will last, and will follow you into Heaven. As it is written:

"If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire."


"And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them."


May the Lord richly bless you as you freely share the Gospel of Salvation with others out of a pure, unselfish heart. If you know of anyone who is not following the Biblical counsel contained in this series, then I encourage you to share this series with them, so that they may know the truth.

With these thoughts, I will bring this article to a close. It is my hope that you have found it informative, enlightening, and I pray that it has been a blessing in your life as well. If you have an account with Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr or with any other social network, I would really appreciate if you'd take the time to click or tap on the corresponding link that is found on this page. Thanks so much, and may God bless you abundantly!

For additional information and further study, you may want to refer to the list of reading resources below which were either mentioned in this article, or which contain topics which are related to this article. All of these articles are likewise located on the Bill's Bible Basics web server. To read these articles, simply click or tap on any link you see below.

For additional information and further study, you may want to refer to the list of reading resources below which were also mentioned in this series, or which are related to thisaseries, and which are likewise located on the Bill's Bible Basics web server. To read these articles, simply click or tap on any link you see below.

Abundant Life Doctrine: Scripturally Exposed!
Going Down the Highway of Life
Have You Sold Your Soul for a Pound of Flesh?
Humility in Our Understanding of God's Word
MP3s, Commercialized Christianity and Christian Hypocrisy
Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God
Study, Work and Don't Be Ashamed
The Cheerful Giver: Supporting God's Work
What About the Poor?
Where Are the First Century Churches?
Who is Building Your House?

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Please avail yourself of other areas of the Bill's Bible Basics website. There are many treasures for you to discover.