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The Ruling Eldership of the Christian Church
The Ruling Eldership of the Christian Church Author:David King Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: PART II. DUTIES OF ELDERS. CHAPTER I. DUTIES COMMON TO THEM WITH OTIIERS — DEPORTMENT IK 8ECULAR AFFAIRS, GOVERNMENT OF THEIR OWN FAMILIES. Elders ha... more »ve duties common to them with others, which do not immediately respect their office, but of which the performance or neglect very seriously affects their official standing. Here I will remark on their deportment in secular affairs, and on the government of their own families. Sect. 1.—Most of our elders are engaged in business; no small proportion of them are tradesmen, and have to say, with an apostle, ' These hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me.' It is of great importance that christians, and especially christian elders, should so deport themselves in worldly transactions, as not to convey the impression of being worldly characters. Of course Acts xx, 34. H is not meant that they should be remiss in their temporal callings, or place themselves at the mercy of any extortioners who would practise on their simplicity. Consideration, and diligence, and frugality, in prosecuting their secular vocations, are not only allowable, but positively incumbent, that they may walk honestly towards them that are without, that they may provide for their own families, and that they may have to give to him that needeth. Pecuniary embarrassments in any circumstances,—and, above all, when resulting from culpable indiscretion, —form a decided obstruction to an elder's usefulness. A due regard, however, to such considerations, is perfectly compatible with an estimable deportment in business communications. It is undesirable that an elder be characteristically a hard man,—that he pass in the commercial circle for what is there termed a Jew. A noted greed of gain, a keenness above common, in lookin...« less