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Is god's words for sale

Discussion in 'General Baptist Discussions' started by IAMWEAK_2007, Sep 12, 2011.

  1. IAMWEAK_2007

    IAMWEAK_2007 Member

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    I want to ask peoples's opinion on this.

    There's a lot of books, cd's, and other related stuff that are related to Salvation, my question is, why not give those things for free?
     
  2. NaasPreacher (C4K)

    NaasPreacher (C4K) Well-Known Member

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    A lot of people do that as a ministry.

    Some need to charge for printing etc.

    Printing and distribution is expensive. Someone has to pay for the ink, paper, printing, blank cds, etc.
     
  3. convicted1

    convicted1 Guest

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    Very good points!! :thumbs:
     
  4. IAMWEAK_2007

    IAMWEAK_2007 Member

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    Now if it is not for free, where are all the tithes of all the churches GOES?

    Was it been sent to heaven? Everytime we pray for our tithes, we always saying use it for the spreading of the WORD..........
     
  5. NaasPreacher (C4K)

    NaasPreacher (C4K) Well-Known Member

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    Tithes and offerings go to pay bills, purchase materials, pay pastor's salaries, support missionaries, heat the church building, keep the lights on, etc.

    Some money does go to print and distribute literature. There are ways to get free Bibles and Christian literature. Perhaps you
    might pray about giving to one of these agencies on top of your church giving since the Lord has burdened you in this area.
     
  6. convicted1

    convicted1 Guest

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    Let me put it to you like this; a church I used to be a member of, records their services, and puts them on CDs only, not DVD, just CD. They have them on a table placed in front of the pulpit, and any one can get them, and they do not cost them one cent. They have a wooden box placed on the table for those who wish to make donations towards them purchasing the CDs. If you don't want to donate, that's fine with them, and get your CDs anyways. So, you see, they freely give these away, and if need be, they would take the money out of their bank account to buy the necessary CDs. But thankfully, a lot of people donate money to get God's Word to those who can not make it out to church.
     
  7. IAMWEAK_2007

    IAMWEAK_2007 Member

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    I hope I could find such a church. I'm sick seeing all churches begging people for donation, or buy stuff. Why I'm seeing so plenty asking for donation, for a fee, I didnt bought my salvation, I received it free, but after that, I am burdened everytime ask for fee, for donation. Sometimes, I have new friend thru soulwinning, and bring him to our church, but at the moment of preaching, money, money all about money. And my friend was shocked and never come's back.................
     
  8. NaasPreacher (C4K)

    NaasPreacher (C4K) Well-Known Member

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    Ask at the church for free Bible study materials that you can use. They may have sources available for you. You can also look for free resources online.
     
  9. sag38

    sag38 Active Member

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    I was the pastor of a church where in three years I preached two sermons on giving. One murmurer complained that all I ever preached on was money. Some folks just don't want to tithe or give to help support the ministry of a church.
     
  10. David Lamb

    David Lamb Active Member

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    I think it would depend on what you are talking about. If you are thinking of a church taking the gospel to people who are not yet Christians, then I agree that it would be totally wrong to say to the non-Christian, "If you give us a donation of £5, you can have this book telling you what it means to be a Christian."

    But if you are saying that Christians should not have to pay for bibles, commentaries, and Christian books/CDs/DVDs in general, who do you think should pay for the cost of producing such things?
     
  11. IAMWEAK_2007

    IAMWEAK_2007 Member

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    OK fine. As I said, I received the free gift of salvation, I was not asked to pay this or that, but when I became member of that church, the topic for money never stop and this is only one example. Now, I can see other things that involves money, like selling CD, DVD, books, etc and excuse me for example, Charles Stanley, “DVD’s”. I love all his sermons, I love to listen to all his sermons, and I got a lot of his sermon’s for free by downloading the streaming video, but what disappoints me, is that the “selling part”. If I can get it for free, by downloading, why they sell it as DVD? For me, if they can’t give it for free, then stop making the disk. This where I arrive to ask “Is God’s WORD for sale?”
     
  12. NaasPreacher (C4K)

    NaasPreacher (C4K) Well-Known Member

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    Dr Stanley's ministry selling DVD's is hardly equal to peddling the word of God. They allow for free downloads, but some folks prefer to pop a DVD or CD in a player instead of using a computer. It cost money to buy disks, cases, design labels, and ship.

    I admire them for allowing free downloads. That shows a heart for people.

    How do you propose paying for the expense of production? Would you be willing to help finance such a ministry?
     
  13. Baptist Believer

    Baptist Believer Well-Known Member
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    Where did you get the idea that following Jesus involves no responsibilities or commitment of life (including financial resources) to further the Kingdom of God for others? The "gift of salvation" you received was not "free", Jesus paid heavily for it. You were merely the beneficiary of His grace and love. Since we are called to Christ's example of self-sacrifice, we need to be good stewards of all elements of our lives in our service to each other, and that includes our finances.

    While you get the sermons for free when you download them, Stanley's organization pays to make it available for download. If nothing else, they have bandwidth costs for every download you make. So they are actually spending money on you. They sell the DVDs because they are much more expensive to produce than downloads and some people enjoy the convenience of having the DVD set. Furthermore, those who choose to purchase the DVDs are likely subsidizing your "free" downloads. If it was for those people, First Baptist Atlanta probably couldn't afford to make all of those downloads available to such a broad audience.

    Why should they stop making the DVDs just because you don't find enough value in them to pay for them?

    No, they are not selling God's word, they are selling the convenience of having Stanley's sermons on DVD.
     
  14. IAMWEAK_2007

    IAMWEAK_2007 Member

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    If there is a way to get it free, then stick to that method. If selling it as you said for the benefit of others, then OK, I won't argue about that.

    Now, I can conclude therefore, that God's Word can be for sale.

    End of the topic.............
     
  15. David Lamb

    David Lamb Active Member

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    I don't know your church, so I cannot know what you mean by "when I became member of that church, the topic for money never stops". Do you mean that someone makes announcements like:
    "Copies of Charles Stanley's latest DVD are now available on our church book table."
    If that is the sort of thing you mean, then remember, no one is forcing you to purchase the DVD, or telling you that it would be ungodly of you not to buy one.

    If, on the other hand, you meant that the preacher says things like, "The more money you put in the offering, the more God will love you!" then (in my opinion) that is error, and you might need to look for a different church.

    The comparison with the cost of your salvation won't work either. Praise God, salvation cost us nothing, but a tremendous price had to be paid by the Saviour - think of all the agonies He willingly endured at Calvary.
     
  16. annsni

    annsni Well-Known Member
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    Have you ever donated to the ministry of Dr. Stanley? If not, you are taking. You are expecting someone else to foot the bill which would be their church or ministry. So instead of you sacrificially giving to allow them to give things for free to those who need it, you will just take. That sort of thing bothers me. This means that someone at his church needs to pay for you to get something that you feel is your right to get for free.

    You do realize that those sermons online are not actually free, right? First there is the equipment used to record them and then someone has to be paid to edit them to make sure they are ready and in good quality for use. Next, it needs to be uploaded to a website that charges a monthly fee. Then you need to have the website that is the front door to get to the messages and there is a fee to host that, pay someone to maintain it and have the equipment to maintain it. So you see, your "free" sermon is not at all free but costs someone to pay for it. I see that you do not like to pay for anything but instead expect it to be free but I'd rather pay and allow someone who is not saved to access it for free.

    It is the same with anything else. SOMEONE has to pay for the production of each of these things and yes, it's nice if a ministry decides to give something away but it is not free. While you benefit from not paying for it, someone else has to sacrifice to pay for it and if we have the ability to pay, I think it is a blessing to help contribute to the cost of the item. To expect someone to just give stuff away without concern for their finances is selfish, IMO.
     
  17. menageriekeeper

    menageriekeeper Active Member

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    There is something I tell my children quite often that fits well in this topic:

    NOTHING IN LIFE IS FREE!

    There is a cost attached to everything, including your salvation. It might not be YOU who pays the cost. Might be someone else. But NOTHING IN LIFE IS FREE.

    Your salvation was purchased at the great cost of Christ's life's blood. It wasn't free. It had to be paid for and only Christ had the purchase price. You pay no cost, but Christ paid dearly.

    Now, our Lord asked for something in return: Go and tell the nations that a Savior has come.

    Who paid Paul for all his missionary journeys? He himself earned much of his own living and traveling expenses, a few times the various churches sent gifts to help him along. Again, spreading the Word was NOT free. It came at an expense. At Paul's expense, at the Church's expense. SOMEONE had to pay the price.

    After being given such a great gift, shouldn't we be willing to give something ourselves so that other's may recieve what we have?
     
  18. IAMWEAK_2007

    IAMWEAK_2007 Member

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    In our church, and I believe in most of the church if not all, before we give our tithe, we always pray our tithes and offering maybe use for spreading of the word. That is very clear there is a way to spread the Good News for free. Selling DVD and other stuff that contains God’s word is purely business. There is no sacrifice involved when you expect something in return.
     
  19. NaasPreacher (C4K)

    NaasPreacher (C4K) Well-Known Member

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    Are you contributing to the ministry so it can be done free for others?
     
  20. annsni

    annsni Well-Known Member
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    Well you are expecting something without sacrifice, aren't you?
     
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