Systematic Beneficence in the Presbyterian Church [pp. 351-370]

1872.] PRESBYTERIAN CRURCIl. 363
a device that will tend to make giving an abstract thing, or
that will interfere with Christian liberty.
(4.) Its scripturalness. We are ready to adopt this or any
other plan that carries in it the expressed will of Heaven.
Whatever possesses most of the mind of the Spirit and is
most efficient to accomplish the best results should be cheerfully adopted by the body of believers. As sanctioning freqnent or weekly collections we are referred to 1 Cor. xvi, 2.
This passage lays down certain important principles which,
if acted upon by the members of our Church, would speedily
fill her treasury; as yet they are conscientiously observed by
few in her pale. But because this text is quoted as favoring
one of the points, it is not to be taken for granted that it
covers all that is essential to the scheme under review. Nay,
we think that this oft-quoted passage does not even maintain this one point. It refers to weekly ~torin~, not weekly
collections; to gathering, not distribution. The command or
order was to "lay by him in store,"-to get ready for calls to
help, and this is evident from 2 Cor. viii, 10-24. Says one
who has given as much attention to this whole subject as any
man living: "The original apostolic process as allowed by the
preponderance of critical opinion manifestly was to treasure
up ~aA~ one by himself, in a separate fund, his Sabbath offerings to the Lord." But to mass all contributions into one
common fund and apportion them, pro rata, to different objects is not a New Testament idea. The whole burden of
precept and example shows that each one was free to dispose
of his gifts as he saw fit. The apostles urged, persuaded and
exhorted believers to acts of beneficence. They held up for
the imitation of others not only the example of individuals
but of churches; they left Dorcas and Phebe and Mary to
minister as they deemed best, just as they did Lpaphroditus,
Onesiphorus, &c. Journeys and plans f~r collections for the
churches are recorded. The Christians at Antioch gave of
their abundance to others, and when an exigency arose Paul
does not hesitate to appeal to the believers in Galatia, Macedonia and Achaia to come to the help of their suffering breth