An Outline of an Anglican Life (Tarsitano, 1994)/Lesson Nine

This is the enhanced reading edition of Lesson Nine: Moral Theology of Louis R. Tarsitano's An Outline of an Anglican Life: Lessons in the Faith and Practice of the Anglican Church (Classical Anglican Press, 1994), proofread against the printed text and presented with descriptive section headings, internal links, and editorial notes. Tarsitano's own words are retained throughout; editorial additions are clearly distinguished.

What is moral theology?

Moral theology is the study of our communion with God in our behavior. The word "moral" come from the Latin for "custom," "practice," or "will." So, put another way, moral theology is the application of Christian doctrine to daily living, decision making, and problem solving, always in answer to the question, "How do I conform my will to the Will of God?" (see Romans 12:1-2). It is important to remember here that just as the True God is One (Deuteronomy 6:4), all true theology (from the Greek for "the study of God") is one. Like the One Church of Jesus Christ, theology has branches, but no independent divisions. God is the sole basis of

the Christian religion. His perfect self-revelation in the person of his son Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Scriptures' inspired record of his Word, actions, and commandments, is the sole basis for rational discourse about God or anything else. Even our experience has to be tested by God's standard for us to be able to interpret it correctly (see God's question to Job, Job 40:8, and Job's answer, Job 42:1-6; and see the extended discussion of God's law in Psalm 119, especially 73-80, 97-104, and 129-136). It is quite possible for "theology" to degenerate into a purely academic discipline, disconnected from any religious significance. Knowledge for its own sake isn't knowledge for God's sake, or for the sake of salvation. A university or seminary theologian may very well be a believer, but he need not be, either. Great care must be taken to evaluate the work of theologians by the standards of God's Word and the Church's teaching. We must not exalt our human teachers above our Divine Master (see Matthew 15:1-14). Further, there is a great temptation to reduce moral theology to a series of abstract principles, as if the principles of goodness can be separated from the God who is goodness himself (see Psalm 135:3; Matthew 19:17). The philosophical (from the Greek for "the love of wisdom") study of good behavior is called "ethics" (from the Greek for "custom" or "character"). While many fine Christians, especially from the Reformation Churches, prefer to call moral theology "Christian ethics," we must not confuse philosophical ethics with religious ethics. All philosophy is not Christian. Some philosophy is an attempt to find wisdom and truth without God (which is impossible), and much of it is a search for wisdom rooted in pagan religions and their beliefs. We must remember that the Bible teaches that all pagan religions worship devils (1 Corinthians 10:20), that pagan-based philosophies are not trustworthy. For an illustration of this

truth, review St. Paul's encounter with the

philosophers of Athens, Acts 17:18-33, especially verse 22 (where "too superstitious" can be translated "too reverent of demons") and verse 32 (where the philosophers mock the resurrection). Even within the boundaries of Christian doctrine, we must not set one branch of theology against another. What is true in one area of our theology must be true in all

others, or we know that it is time to reexamine our attempts to articulate God's Revelation in our own human terms. We cannot say that God is one sort of God in our moral theology and another in our sacramental theology. Much like a "proof" in mathematics, the unity of our theological teaching must match God's own Oneness.

What is the basis of Christian moral theology?

The basis of Christian moral theology is the personal God of Scriptural revelation: the Blessed Trinity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost (Lesson Two: The Doctrine of God). Eternally, without beginning or end, the life of these three Blessed Persons in One God is love for one another: the uncreated model and perfection of the love ("charity" in the King James Version) that St. Paul praises in 1 Corinthians 13. Such a love exalts the Beloved, obliterating the possibility of division, without any confusion of identity (see the first Preface for Trinity Sunday, BCP 79). Such love is perfect order, since the Lover loves the Beloved for Who He is, without fear, without envy, without any desire to make Him something else or something less, and with a limitless desire to enjoy His companionship and to act in union with Him for good. As revealed to St. John, "God is love" (1 John 4:16). This revelation cannot be reversed, transforming an abstract "love" into an abstract "God." But when we love, however imperfectly, we experience God's perfect life of love in us. God's love is the power of God: his might, majesty, and dominion. Without a need for creatures, God creates: the Blessed Trinity expresses God's eternal love by creating others to share his love (see Genesis 1:26; John 3:16; Romans 8:35-39; 2 Corinthians 13:11; 1 John 4:10; Revelation 4:11). Creation in its original goodness is the celebration of the Trinity's love and fellowship, of the communion of the Godhead. We were created to be the outward and visible sign of the Divine Love, according to the eternal purposes of God, for the manifestation of his glory and for the sake of our own enjoyment of eternal life and love. To love God, and to love one another in him, is to be what we are: creatures designed to love (see Matthew 22:37-40). Not to love is death. Hell is a place of eternal death: the self-chosen separation from God of creatures who have chosen to hate him and whatever exists in his love. If by some catastrophe the Trinity should choose to cease loving One

Another, all would end. It was, in moral human behavior is the attempt to imitate the Father in heaven, to fulfill his image and likeness in our lives by his grace. This truth binds the non-Christian, as well as the Christian. Where we Christians have the advantage, through no deserving of our own, is that we have received God's grace in Jesus Christ to become redeemed sinners. Except for the Son of God made man, all human beings are sinners in need of redemption (see Article XV, "Of Christ alone without Sin," BCP 605; Hebrews 4:15, 7:26; 1 John 1:8, 3:5). By our redemption, we receive the benefits of Christ's perfect obedience to his Father: the example of his perfect imitation of the Father's love; the grace to follow in his love; and the forgiveness of our sins, when we repent our failure to love as well as we should (see Philippians 2:5-13). It should be clear to every Christian that the imitation of Christ is the imitation of his Father in heaven. Christ and his Father are One, with the Holy Ghost in the loving unity of the Blessed Trinity; and Christ came into the world to unite the redeemed with God in love, as the Father and the Son are united (John 17:21-26). Moreover, our union with God unites us to one another in the Body of Christ (the Church), granting us by grace the same mission and purpose in life as Christ possesses by right: to imitate our Father in heaven by living his life on earth (John 17:18-23). Jesus Christ is the true image of God: what can be seen in this world of the unseeable spiritual reality of the life of God (2 Corinthians 4:3-6; Colossians 1:12-17). When we are born again by water and the Holy Ghost (John 3:5-8), we put off our fallen human nature and put on Christ. We put on the "new man," the new humanity in Christ that is created to live in the holy and righteous image of God, in the place of the old humanity that failed (Ephesians 4:22-24; Colossians 3:8-10). God the Father has ordained that the redeemed be conformed to the image of his Son (Romans 8:29-30). But we must always remember that the Son's glory is not a created image, but the actual, personal expression of God's goodness and the true light of God's glory (Hebrews 1:1-4). In Jesus Christ, we behold the Father's glory, and by the power of the Holy Ghost we are transformed:

But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord (2 Corinthians 3:18).

What about doing "good works"?

Just as God has ordained that we conform to the image of Christ, he ordains us to good works: to bear the fruits of our faith (see John 15:16; Ephesians 2:8-10; and the conclusion of the Prayer of Thanksgiving, BCP 83). We do not perform good works to gain praise for ourselves, but to glorify our Father in heaven, who gives us the grace to do them (Matthew 5:16). We do not perform good works to "earn" our salvation, since no one is saved by good works, but only by faith in Jesus Christ (Galatians 2:16). We do not even perform good works to prove to God that we love him, since the thoughts and intents of our hearts are naked to his eyes (Hebrews 4:12-13). Before we go any further, we should stop to define what we mean by "good works." Good works are the performance of the Father's will, the expression of his love on earth. Those who love the Father have a positive need to do his will. Our Lord said, "My meat ["food"] is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work" (John 4:34). It is the Father who performs good works, in Christ, and through us in Christ (John 14:10). If we believe in Christ, and abide in him, we are given the grace and power to do the good works that Christ did during his earthly ministry (John 14:12). Put another way, good works are obedience in Jesus Christ to the Father's will in creation: that we be the image and likeness of God. We may appreciate each other's good behavior, and even encourage it, but we must not think that God owes us a debt when we live the life he gave us to live (see Luke 17:10; and Article XIV, "Of Works of Supererogation," BCP 605). Our true gratitude for anyone's good behavior, including our own, belongs to God. By God's creation, it is sin that is unnatural, not goodness. By God's grace in Jesus Christ, goodness is becoming our true nature again. In the meantime, while we await the Second Coming of Christ and the complete restoration of our created goodness in him, the sole test of our behavior's goodness is whether or not we act to please God according to his revealed will (see Romans 6:3-6, 8:3-4, 8:22-23). In addition, good works are not merely our witness to the glory of God as we

experience that glory in Christ Jesus; but good works are the Father's witness that we belong to him. Jesus Christ taught us that the works he did were the Father's witness to him (John 5:36, 10:25). As Christians, we both witness to the Father's glory and are witnessed to, by the Father, as belonging to Christ. Christ is the Vine, the Father is the husbandman, and we are the branches John 15:1,5). We cannot bear the fruits of good works without Christ (John 15:4), but we must bear fruit to remain in him. To that end, the Father cleans and nurtures us, bringing us to repentance as necessary (John 15:2). And the Father is glorified in our bearing fruit: not that the Father's glory is increased; but because our doing good is only accomplished by his grace, in obedience to him, and therefore manifests his glory (John 15:8). By our fruit it is known that we belong to God and are a good tree (see Matthew 7:16-20; and Article XII, "Of Good Works," BCP 605). At the beginning of this lesson, we saw that God's life is the action of loving. To be alive in God, our lives must be given over to acting out God's love. When God created Adam, he breathed the breath of life, the Spirit of love, into his nostrils, making him a living soul (Genesis 2:7). If we do not continue in that same Spirit of love by doing good works, we cannot say that we have a true, living, saving faith. As St. James tells us, "For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also" (James 2:26). Doing the work of God is our life itself, and not an addition or ornament to it.

How do we do the work of God?

Above all else, we do the work of God by believing in his Son Jesus Christ (John 6:2829). This belief must lead immediately to obedience, since Christ asks, "Why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?" (Luke 6:46). Such obedience is the test of our love for Christ (and for his Father). We cannot be Christ's friends unless we obey him (John 15:14), since he tells us, "If ye love me, keep my commandments" (John 14:15). Christ's commandments are an unlimited call on our time, work, treasure, . and life. His "new commandment" of the New Testament is the summation of

all Biblical

commandments: "That ye love one another, as I have loved you" (John 13:34). It is by this love that others will know that we are Christ's disciples (John 13:35). And this is a love unto death, if need be: "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his

life for his friends" (John 15:13). Out of this kind of love for us, the same sort of love shared within the Blessed Trinity, Christ gives his life on the cross. We must not make the mistake, however, of believing that we are bound only by the commandments of Christ's earthly ministry as recorded in the Four Gospels. The whole of the Bible is the Word of God, and Jesus Christ is that same Word incarnate (John 1:1,14). Christ attests in his preaching to the authority of the Old Testament (see, for example, Matthew 5:17-20). Christ warrants the authority of the New Testament, by the power and person of the Holy Ghost, acting for the Blessed Trinity (John 16:12-15). And writing by the Holy Ghost, St. Paul tells us:

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, throughly [thoroughly] furnished unto all good works (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

We are, quite literally, immoral, if we do not study the Holy Scriptures to learn our entire duty to God: "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God" (Matthew 4:4; Deuteronomy 8:3). Nor can we dismiss the Old Testament that Jesus Christ bled to fulfill. Except for the ritual law now superseded by the laws of worship of the New Testament, and except for the civil law (that is the penalties, not the moral principles behind them) of the ancient kingdom of Israel, all of the Old Testament is binding on Christians (see Article VII, "Of the Old Testament," BCP 604). At the same time, we must avoid the sin of "legalism," an idolatrous love of the law for its own sake. We do not obey the law of God for the law's sake, but because we love God before we love anyone or anything else, including ourselves and our own desires. Nor can we use the law of God as a weapon against others, or to proclaim our own "righteousness" (which is only "self-righteousness" when it is based on ourselves, instead of God's mercy). God provides the same test and corrective for this error in both Testaments of the Bible. God causes the Prophet Hosea to write: "For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings" (Hosea 6:6). When God's Son quotes the prophet in the New Testament, he adds, "But go ye and learn what that meaneth . . . for I

am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance" (Matthew 9:13). As we have seen, all men are sinners, and only those who throw themselves on the mercy of God by faith are made righteous by God. We are not made righteous by the works of the law; but love for God and love for our neighbor make true obedience possible (see the Summary of the Law, BCP 69; Matthew 22:37-40, where our Lord is quoting Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18).

Can't I just "let my conscience be my guide"?

As in all things, we must use words in Christianity in the way they are used in the Bible. The English word "conscience" comes from the Latin for "knowledge with." It is used to translate a Greek noun built on the verb that means literally "I know in common with." But the technical meaning of the verb is "I bear witness," as in testimony given in a court of law. In the New Testament, "conscience" is given such attributes as "good" (Acts 23:1; 1 Timothy 1:5), "evil" (Hebrews 10:22), or "weak" (1 Corinthians 8:7). It is a pain caused by wrongdoing and, thus, related to the Fall of man. It is essentially negative, telling a person that something is wrong, without providing specific information about what is right. One may even become calloused to the pain of conscience, and learn to ignore it. This was the fear of St. Paul for those whose "conscience" might be offended by other Christians' eating meat offered to idols (see 1 Corinthians 8). "Conscience" is also a record, as well as a witness, as we see in Romans 2:14-16, in Paul's discussion of the Gentiles and their conscience. Things are written on the heart, much like a deposition; and the conscience bears witness, as in a trial, on the day of judgment, accusing and excusing. The use of the image of a trial by St. Paul in this passage is especially important for our understanding of "conscience," since the judge is not the "conscience" of the Gentiles, but God himself, through Jesus Christ. The New Testament witness is that all men do indeed suffer the pain of conscience to some extent, due to their loss of union with God. What is not found in the Scripture is any sense of a "law of conscience" that we can use to guide us without the positive revelation of God's will. Conscience becomes "good" or "clear" when the pain of sin is wiped away,

along with the record of sin, by Christ's sacrifice of himself (Hebrews 9:14). Conscience can only become good through faith in Jesus Christ:

Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled (Titus 1:15).

Our conscience cannot be made a guide to replace the Scriptures because we are fallen; and so, then, is our conscience. It is God we must please, after all, and not ourselves. Moreover, the false promise of personal "power" to determine good and evil, apart from God, was the devil's temptation of man in the Garden (Genesis 3:5). What is of great use to a Christian, however, is what is usually called "an informed conscience." We can train our conscience to alert us to actions or intentions contrary to the Word of God; but an informed conscience requires regular prayer (a submission to God's will) and knowledge of the Scriptures. The training of an informed conscience is called "spiritual formation"; that is, a discipline of conformity to the truth of God. The goal of all spiritual formation was described by St. Paul in this way: "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus." Christ took upon himself the form of a servant of God, humbled himself in all things, and became obedient even unto death (Philippians 2:5-8).

What if I find it difficult to obey God?

It means that you are a human being. God understands our difficulty in obeying him. He promises us through St. Paul:

There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it (1 Corinthians 10:13).

God allows ("suffers") us to be tempted, so that we may have a free will to obey him, and learn to obey him freely (see Psalm 119:65-72). But God also gives us the grace to resist temptation, so that we are not lost to sin forever. As Christians, we train to resist sin, the way athletes prepare for a contest (1 Corinthians 9:24-27). We learn to "run with patience the race that is set before us" (Hebrews 12:1). But we do not have to depend on ourselves to overcome sin, if we depend on God. It is Christ who is the "author and finisher of our faith," who begins and completes our

faithfulness, making up whatever we lack (Hebrews 12:2). God does not wish us to sin; after all, his Son died for our sins (Romans 6:1-3). But God is merciful: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9). God also provides us with one another in the Church, to work together to overcome disobedience. We are to learn to give the same mercy we seek from God:

Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ (Galatians 6:1-2).

Of course, when we confess our sins, or when we counsel each other, our intention must be to amend our lives; to do our best to put away sin forever. As we struggle, we must recall that God wishes us to try to obey him, and to continue to try to obey him even if we fail. God's mercy is his acceptance of our best efforts to obey as a token of our love for him; thus, "The sacrifice of God is a troubled spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, shalt thou not despise" (BCP 404: Psalm 51:17). Finally, in regards to obedience, there are foolish people who claim that true believers cannot sin, or that there is no forgiveness for those who sin and repent. It is the Bible's teaching, and thus the teaching of this branch of the Church, that such people are dead wrong (see Article XVI, "Of Sin after Baptism," BCP 605-606). Jesus Christ taught that only one sin was unforgivable, the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost (see Matthew 12:31-32). Our Lord offers no further definition, but it appears from the context of the rest of the Scriptures (and especially Matthew 12) that such a sin is unforgivable, not because God refuses to forgive, but because it is a sin of utter hatred for God, both inwardly and outwardly. In effect, the blasphemer of the Holy Ghost declares that the Holy Ghost is both evil and the source of all evil, so that the sinner forbids himself the necessary repentance that must precede forgiveness.

What is "moral ambiguity"?

"Moral ambiguity" describes those occasions in life when a decision to act is necessary, but the Scriptural principles at stake seem to be in conflict. For example, a Christian might

feel torn between his Scriptural duty to obey the laws of his country and the Commandment "Thou shalt not kill," when called to serve his country as a soldier. The first and most important question a Christian should ask himself in such a case is whether the ambiguity is real, or whether it is only a trick of his fallen will to distract him from what he knows he ought to do. Many times, when a person claims "a crisis of faith," he is really only saying that he is doing (or planning to do) something that he knows is forbidden by God, but he wants to do it anyway. Second, a Christian must ask himself if he really understands the portions of the Scriptural teaching in question. Returning to our example, the Commandment says in Hebrew, "Thou shalt do no murder' (note the translation, BCP 69), and not merely "thou shalt not kill." In other places in the Bible, God commands the death penalty for certain crimes (e.g., Leviticus 20:2); grants the civil authority the "power of the sword" (Romans 13:4); and sends the armies of Israel into the field to defend it, fighting on their side (see Judges 7, especially 20-22). Third, when a Christian has examined his own motives and is reasonably sure that he understands the teaching of the Scriptures, he puts his trust in God, and attempts to serve God in his decision with his whole heart, his whole soul, and his whole mind. We won't try to give a solution to our example, because it is possible for decent, God-fearing Christians to come to different conclusions in certain cases, especially in judging the cause for which they are being called to fight by their civil authorities (consider the moral agonies suffered by so many American Christians during the War between the States). All God expects is a realistic, faithful effort to do his will. At the same time, some decisions made this way will prove to be wrong in the event. It is a Christian's duty to examine his conduct after the fact, as well as before. If he has failed, even with the best of intentions, to serve God, he must repent his action; seek further guidance from God; and if need be, try something else. It is also perfectly permissible for one Christian to attempt to guide another, even to argue vigorously for what he believes to be the right course of action (see Jude 3). There are no purely private decisions, since God is always a party to them, along with the whole Body of Christ's Church.

We may never, it must be clear, disobey any distinct commandment of God. There is no occasion, for example, so ambiguous that we may commit murder, hate, commit adultery, worship false gods, or deny Jesus Christ. Also, the informed conscience discussed above is a prerequisite for using this methodology. Refusing to plan ahead, or to consider the possibility of future difficulties in behaving like a Christian, does not absolve us of our duty to obey God in all things. Planned or intentional ignorance is a terrible sin.

Are there some simple guides to Christian behavior?

Yes. The First Office of Instruction provides the text of the Ten Commandments and an easy to understand commentary on them, beginning on page 285 of the Prayer Book. Of course, every Christian should know our Lord's commentary on the Ten Commandments, the Summary of the Law (BCP 69). A Christian should also be familiar with the Beatitudes ("Blessed are the . . ."), found in Matthew 5:3-12, and the entire Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) from which they are taken. Every Christian should strive to conform his life to all of the blessings offered in the Beatitudes, as well as the description of godly love offered by St. Paul in 1 Corinthians 13 (where "love" is translated as "charity" in the King James Version). Two ancient Christian lists that may also be of help are the Corporal Works of Mercy ("bodily": see Matthew 25:35-36) and the Spiritual Works of Mercy (drawn from the Scriptures in general). The Corporal Works of Mercy

1. To feed the hungry
2. To give drink to the thirsty
3. To clothe the naked
4. To shelter the stranger
5. To visit the sick
6. To visit and minister to prisoners
7. To bury the dead.

The Spiritual Works of Mercy

1. To convert the sinner

1. To instruct the ignorant
2. To counsel the doubtful
3. To comfort the sorrowful
4. To bear injuries patiently
5. To forgive those who harm us
6. To pray for the living and to commend the dead into the hands of a merciful Lord.

These lists are self-explanatory, and quite enough to start with. But imagine living in a world where any significant number of people tried to do the works of mercy and to obey the Commandments as Christ and the Prayer Book teach!

What must a Christian do about immoral situations?

If a Christian discovers an immoral situation, as determined by God's teaching, he is bound to attempt to correct it, if he is able. If he is not, he is bound to avoid it as an "occasion of sin" (that is, as a set of circumstances that may lead him into sin himself: see Ephesians 5:11). If the immoral situation is a law of the civil state (such as the current permissive abortion laws in the United States), a Christian is bound to do everything within his power as a citizen to change the law, and everything within his power to encourage other people to obey Gods law first. If an immoral law cannot be changed, a Christian may be bound to disobey it, since the law of God supersedes the laws of men (see Acts 5:27-29).

What is my bounden duty as a member of the Church?

"My bounden duty is to follow Christ, to worship God every Sunday in his Church; and to work and pray and give for the spread of his kingdom" (BCP 291). There is nothing optional about membership in Christ's Church for the sake of salvation, and there is nothing optional about these simple duties as members of Christ's Church. The sole "exceptions" to these duties are "incapacity" and "the superior demand of charity." Someone without an income, for example, is excused from giving until he has an income. But even a pauper or a paralytic can, and is expected to, pray for the spread of God's kingdom. Someone who is too ill to leave his house or unable to reach a church on Sunday is allowed to pray privately. Someone who has the vocation of caring for the lives of

others (doctors, nurses, policemen, soldiers; someone who cares for an infirm family member or friend; someone who cannot avoid working on Sunday to support his family) may worship on Sunday by offering God his or her service, pray privately, and take advantage of some other opportunity to worship God in his Church during the week. One of the Christian duties most neglected by modern Christians is "tithing": the giving of a tenth of our income to God's Church for his work. The tithe is a tribute owed to God, from whom our income and the capacity to earn it come (see 1 Chronicles 29:14, BCP 73). We do not begin to do alms or charity until we have offered God his due. It is the combination of tithes and aims that the Prayer Book means by "giving for the spread of God's kingdom." The tithe is part of our Biblical covenant with our Lord God. The tithe is also an invitation to God to bless us according to his covenant. The Scriptures teach that it is "robbing God" and "a curse," when we do not pay our tithes (see Malachi 3:7-12). Since many of the Biblical commandments to tithe are contained in the Old Testament, some Christians mistakenly believe that tithing is no longer required. But Christ himself commanded us to tithe. When he criticized the Pharisees for not going beyond tithing to the weightier matters of God's law, Christ did not condemn tithing, but said of the Pharisees' tithes, "these ought ye to have done" (Matthew 23:23). And these ought we still to do. Christ further tells us, "lay up treasures for yourselves in heaven . . ., for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also" (see Matthew 6:19-24). Christ knows that we work hard for our money, but he also knows that we will never support spiritually what we will not support financially. It is interesting to note that tithing is one of the obeyed commandments in Churches that are growing, and a commandment that is disobeyed in Churches that are stagnant or shrinking. This effect has a double cause: God's fulfillment of his promises of blessing on the obedient; and an increased witness to God's Word by those churchmen who give God his due first. Some people will complain, "no one is going to tell me what to give to the Church." But it isn't another human being who is telling us what to give, but God himself. Some will

say, "I have taxes to pay"; but God's people had taxes to pay when he made this commandment, and God really does understand the ins and outs of the contemporary IRS (he may be the only one who does). After all, God's Son Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem in part because Mary and Joseph had gone there to be taxed (Luke 2:1-5). In any case, consider the necessary works of charity and evangelism that are not being done because we have refused God his own money. We will have to answer to God for this, as for all the rest of our behavior.

Editorial Notes

Source: Louis R. Tarsitano, An Outline of an Anglican Life (Classical Anglican Press, 1994). Reproduced on AnglicanWiki by permission of Classical Anglican Press.