Jesus Christ Is Not For Sale

by Van Robison

"Christianity" has been for a very long time, a smörgåsbord of choices as to what organization a church goer decides to participate in. The varieties are endless, from global church empires, to very small local churches with few attenders. Probably no church organization formed under the "laws" of man-made governments and nations, exists without a "FOR SALE" sign in the form of tithes, offerings or both. That is to say that churches merchandise Jesus Christ as a commodity FOR SALE, and expect financial partners. You might say that pastors and priests of churches offer salvation and eternal life at a price, and generally speaking, all church goers either adhere to the way of their pastors or priests, or hit the highway as a non-conformist.

Oddly, the church world as a whole, which includes every church group on earth, is a mega multi-billion dollar empire, which is a bottomless pit in terms of money, seeking money, begging for money, demanding money and deceiving church goers for money. The primary reason money is the number one issue in the world of churches, is of course because buildings (churches, temples and cathedrals) cannot be constructed, bought, rented, leased or owned without money; and church leaders demand pay for their services. Church overhead (expenses) is also possible only through money. As a result, those believers in God, who wish to attend a church of some type, are forever burdened with the never ending "need" for money, to sustain man-made traditions. There is however an alternative to man instituted organizations: Jesus Christ without money!

"Ho, everyone that thirsts, come you to the WATERS, and he that has NO MONEY, come you, buy and eat; yes, come, buy wine and milk WITHOUT MONEY and WITHOUT PRICE" (Isaiah 55:1). Nowhere in scripture can any reader of the Bible find that money will buy or purchase the forgiveness of sins, the blood of Christ, the gift of the Holy Spirit, salvation or eternal life. In other words, Jesus Christ cannot be purchased with MONEY. Jesus Christ gave of Himself FREELY, taught others FREELY, healed the sick for FREE, cast out the demons without CHARGE, accepted no Visa or Mastercard, and died on the cross at no monetary cost to you or me. Commitment to Jesus Christ is not based upon man's money system as the pastors of churches would have church goers believe, but rather is based upon following Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit.

Those who love organizations and institutions of men will always argue for money, but there is no reason any believer in Jesus Christ has an obligation to physical churches, when the real Body of Christ is a Spiritual entity, with ony Christ as the Head. Fellowship, according to what Jesus taught, is simply "where two or three are gathered in my name (Jesus Christ), there Am I in the midst" (Matthew 18:20). Jesus never defined fellowship as something that happens in physical church buildings, but rather anywhere and anytime, without man-made walls. In fact, when Jesus sent out His disciples He specifically told them "FREELY YOU HAVE RECEIVED, FREELY GIVE" (Matthew 10:8). What "Bible" do pastors today read?

Although they would never openly admit it, many church leaders and their organizations teach that Jesus Christ is bought and paid for by your money and donations, which is contrary to everything Jesus Christ stands for and represents. Money is such a deeply rooted part of the mind-set of pastors, senior pastors and church organizations, that in effect they reject the truth in Christ for profits. My wife and I personally know a woman who is a multi-millionaire and whose first husband died young in life. She has since remarried a "pastor" in a northeastern state, where they demand tithes of their church members. She purchased a multi-million dollar home with her own inherited money, lives lavishly, and yet she and her "pastor" husband still demand tithes from church members who can hardly make ends meet in their own lives. Is that "the way" of Jesus Christ?

How can a price tag in terms of human money be placed upon Jesus Christ and His sacrifice upon the cross? You might say, how then can the Gospel be preached to the world? I would say, the same way Jesus Christ, Peter, Paul and others did it---FREE and WITHOUT COST, because that is what Jesus taught. Perhaps all the church organizations should put a FOR SALE sign on their church buildings and property, and follow Jesus Christ and His teachings, instead of man-instituted businesses (called churches) that function using the name of Christ in a manner never sanctioned by Jesus Christ. What is wrong with fellowship where two or three are gathered together as Jesus said? And why don't the preachers drop their vain titles of "senior pastor" and go out into the highways and byways and compel sinners into the Kingdom of God, instead of into the church buildings, where they will be taught that Jesus must be paid for with a lifetime of human money? Are we followers of Jesus Christ, or slaves to money and human organizations?

JESUS CHRIST IS NOT FOR SALE!