RELIGIOUS COMMERCIALISM
In his book, Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire, Jim Cymbala compares the money changers in the temple whom Jesus scourged with those in the church who have become involved in religious commercialism. The money changers performed a valuable service by exchanging foreign currency into the minted coins of Jerusalem so the temple tax could be paid; but they did so at a considerable cost. His application: “For all of us involved in preaching the gospel, performing music, publishing Christian materials, and all the rest, there is an uncomfortable message here: Jesus is not terribly impressed with religious commercialism. He is concerned not only whether we’re doing God’s work, but also how and why we’re doing it. At the Judgment Seat of Christ, his main questions for me will have to do not with the growth or the budget of the Brooklyn Tabernacle, but with why I pastored this church- in what spirit. If you sing in a choir, the question is not just…
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