How transparent should church finances be?

Likely these priests were thoroughly trustworthy men, but it was still necessary to have more than one or two in charge of the property, in order to honor the truth that Paul emphasizes in 2 Corinthians 8:20-23, -- "avoiding this, that anyone should blame us in this lavish gift which is administered by us." Indeed the more honest a man is, the more he should desire to have his actions carefully scrutinized by others. Thus too, those who are trusted to handle money in an assembly should be careful to have the amounts and the disposition of any funds closely checked by others.

Ezra reminded the priests that they themselves were holy to the Lord and that what was entrusted to them was also holy (v. 28). Therefore he tells them, "Watch and keep them until you weight them before the leaders of the priests and heads of the fathers' houses of Israel in Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of the Lord" (v. 28). What a reminder for every believer today! We are entrusted with the truth of the Word of God, and should take to heart what Paul writes to Timothy, "O Timothy! Guard what was committed to your trust" (1 Tim. 6:20).Just as the priests were required to give account in Jerusalem of all that was committed to their trust, so we shall give account at the judgment seat of Christ of the way we handled the word of God committed to us.

It was then to the custody of the priests that Ezra committed the holy vessels, and the silver and the gold, which had been given as a free-will offering unto the Lord God of their fathers. And he enjoined them to watch and keep these things "until ye weigh them before the chief of the priests and the Levites, and chief of the fathers of Israel, at Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of the Lord." (v. 29.) The expression "weigh them" contains a principle of importance. It was not that Ezra doubted the fidelity of the priests he had selected; but even as the apostle of a later age, he would "provide for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men." (2 Cor. 8:21.) The people might have had full confidence in the integrity both of Ezra and of the priests; but Ezra would remove all occasion for the enemy's work by having the vessels, and the silver and the gold, weighed when put into the priest's hands, and again weighed when delivered. He thus proved his and their fidelity. And surely this is a godly, a scriptural example to be followed by those who in any way have charge of the offerings of the Lord's people. Such should be careful to render an account of their stewardship, and not wait to be pressed to give it.

Possibly it was with the terrible case of Judas before their minds that the Apostles bade the saints in Jerusalem to look out amongst themselves seven men to distribute their funds; but they must be "men of honest report, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom" (Acts 6:3). These are admittedly high qualifications, but God can only be acceptably served by men of spiritual power and grace. Men should not be allowed to push themselves into positions of prominence merely because of their standing in the world. This is sheer carnality, and no good can result from it. It is as important to have Spirit-filled men to handle the finances as to preach and teach publicly the things of the Lord Jesus. Many companies of God's saints would do well to exercise themselves before God about this matter.

We conclude therefore that God would have His saints orderly in their accountancy, both individually and collectively. Our own books should be so kept that the Inspector of Taxes, if he has occasion to examine them, may see at a glance that we are honourable men; and the books of the gathered saints should be so ordered that everything may be above reproach. Once more we would remind ourselves that Josiah's labourers in their work and in their handling of the people's money "dealt faithfully." The Holy Spirit says in 1 Cor. 4:2, "it is required in stewards that a man be found faithful."

And in all this ministration Paul exercised great caution, "avoiding this, that no man should blame us in this abundance which is administered by us, providing for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men." There is always danger of reproach in these matters. Messengers were chosen to travel with the apostle "with this grace (the collections) which is administered by us to the glory of the self-same Lord, and for a witness of your ready mind." The apostle knew the devices of the enemy and therefore watchfully guards against suspicion and mischievous insinuations. Alas! what havoc the filthy lucre, the love of money, covetousness, which is idolatry, has worked in the professing church, and what offenses have been given by it to unbelievers.

The apostle goes on to speak of his care that in the ministration of the "carnal things," as he calls them (which prove themselves so much a temptation to the flesh, and as to which the jealous eyes of enemies would so surely be upon him) there should not be the slightest opportunity given for even a question as to his conduct. It was not enough for him here that God would know all, so that he might leave it to Him to justify him in His own time and way. Where there were means that could be taken to prevent even suspicion he would take them, which even his not taking might be in itself a cause of suspicion. It is a principle of importance that we are called to recognize in a man whose faith in God was so pre-eminent, that he would not act simply upon this, in a matter of this kind. He would not say here, as in another relation he does say, that with him it was a very small matter to be judged of any. He does not build upon his apostleship, or the undoubted blessing that God had given to his labor, in such a way as to think himself beyond the need of justifying himself by the use of such precautions as would be thought needful in the case of another man. It would rather seem as if the sense of the place he filled in this way only made more imperative the necessity to "provide for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men." He did not, as many lesser men might do, and have done, stand upon the dignity of his office and disdain the thought of any account to be rendered to those before whom his life had so evidently spoken, tested as he had been by innumerable trials. No, he "magnified his office" in a wholly different way. Thus for this cause also he could be glad of the zeal of others which could lead them to accept readily association with him in this matter of ministry of even "carnal things." And he thinks it right that not only should these be men of the highest character, but also the choice of the assemblies themselves. Of these he can speak in terms of fullest assurance. "They are the messengers of the assemblies," he says, "and the glory of Christ." He would not allow it to be thought that he had covered any defects in the administration either with the cloak of his apostleship or of his personal faith.

which should be pursued in our giving, and not only in our giving, but in the way the gift should be handled by those who have the business of dealing with it. Paul himself was the chief trustee in connection with this collection made amongst the Gentile assemblies, and he took great care that all should be administered with openness and integrity. His own words are, "Avoiding this, that no man should blame us in this abundance which is administered by us: providing for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men" (2 Cor. 8:20-21). In pursuance of this care he associated with himself no less than three brethren, one of them Titus, who was Paul's nominee in the matter. The other two were messengers of the churches and chosen by them for this service. Of these two, one was much esteemed as an evangelist, the other was noted for his diligence.

It is worthy of note that it is only in connection with the righteous distribution of monetary or other benefits that we find the church choosing the men to be employed. The church chose the seven men of good report who were to properly distribute the daily ration, as recorded in Acts 6. The disciples at Antioch sent the relief they collected for the brethren in Judea by men of their own choice in Acts 11. In our passage again we find men acting that were selected by the churches, so that the principle that those who give are the ones to determine who shall handle the gifts evidently has Divine sanction. We have no record in Scripture of the church choosing evangelists, pastors or teachers, or of selecting the elders or bishops who shall exercise rule and oversight. No such authority is committed to the church; it is vested in the Lord.

No matter how faithful a reputation one had, he would not alone travel with these funds. It must be carefully avoided that there might be the least occasion given to anyone for suspicion that all might not be done in total honesty. Not only was the sight of the Lord important, but the sight of men, too.

Faith in God did not make Ezra careless. He felt his great responsibility and made the most careful preparations. He set apart twelve of the chief priests, Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brethren with them. Levites were also selected by him (8:30). To their custody he committed the holy vessels, as well as the silver and the gold which had been so freely given. Then he gave them the charge, "Ye are holy unto the LORD; the vessels are holy also and the silver and gold are a freewill offering unto the LORD God of your fathers. Watch ye and keep them, until ye weigh them before the chief of the priests and Levites, and chief of the fathers of Israel, at Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of the LORD." He had weighed into their hand 650 talents of silver (about $1,250,000) and of gold 100 talents (about $3,000,000) besides the costly vessels of silver and gold. This careful weighing of everything when they received the costly treasures, and the weighing when they delivered the same in Jerusalem, does not mean that Ezra entertained any doubt as to the honesty of the priests and Levites. It was done to avoid all suspicion. The same principle is laid down in the New Testament for the Church: "Provide for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men" (2 Cor. 8:21).

But our God is above all things, a God of order, and He delights to see His people careful in all their ways, and particularly where money is concerned. It is of course possible to become methodical in such matters, and the assembly of God should never be shackled by mere forms and rules. But appearances must be considered; we must "provide things honest in the sight of all men" (Rom 12:18). In Mr. Darby's excellent translation there is a footnote to the word "provide": "taking care by forethought that there should be what is comely and seemly." In the days of the Apostle Paul, large sums of money were contributed by various Gentile assemblies for the relief of their needy brethren in Judea. It was not unnatural that they should desire Paul to carry their gifts to Jerusalem, for he was the Spiritual father of these Gentile Christians, and those were not days of Bank drafts and Postal orders. But Paul, although delighted to have part in this work of grace, insisted upon having companions, men carefully chosen by the assemblies for the purpose. Chapters 8 and 9 of his second epistle to the Corinthians are worthy of very careful reading. These chapters have been described as "Paul's charity sermon." The tone throughout is delightful. The Lord Jesus is brought forward as our great example in the matter of generous giving.

Following these meetings, a number of brethren indicated that they did not have copies of the reports and correspondence, since in most cases only one copy had come to each assembly, and this over a number of years. It was felt by many that this information should be available to every concerned brother if there was to be intelligent prayer.