The question is important for us at Bible.org because we, too, must make decisions regarding how we pay the bills for sustaining this ministry. The answer for Paul is found in Scripture:
After this Paul departed from Athens and went to Corinth. 2 There he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to depart from Rome. Paul approached them, 3 and because he worked at the same trade, he stayed with them and worked with them (for they were tentmakers by trade). 4 He addressed both Jews and Greeks in the synagogue every Sabbath, attempting to persuade them. 5 Now when Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul became wholly absorbed with proclaiming the word, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ (Acts 18:1-5 NET).
Paul’s goal was to minister the gospel free of charge, even though he had the right to expect Christians to support him (1 Corinthians 9:3-18; 1 Thessalonians 2:9; 2 Thessalonians 3:7-9). Who could possibly accuse Paul of preaching the gospel for his own profit when he supported himself? And yet, ironically, there were those who disregarded his ministry because it was free of charge (2 Corinthians 11:7-9). Indeed, rather than to be supported in his ministry, his preference was to support others (Acts 20:33-35). Paul accomplished this by making tents. When Paul received gifts of support (which were apparently not that frequent; see Philippians 4:15), as he did in Acts 18:5, then he devoted himself completely to preaching the gospel.
Some may wonder why Bible.org has ads (we do not have them on our home page, or on our Lumina study site), which can be distracting to some degree. Our desire is to minister as Paul did, free of charge. We have a good number of faithful supporters, like the Philippians, who contribute to our ministry, but these gifts are not nearly enough to pay the bills. Our “tentmaking endeavor” is displaying ads compatible with our ministry. This is what enables us to pay the bills and to provide Bible teaching to many with limited financial resources, free of charge. If and when sufficient donations are received that meet our needs, we will, like Paul, focus more completely on the improvement and ongoing ministry of Bible.org.
We are thankful to our faithful users who have pointed out inappropriate ads. We have an ad filter that only allows wholesome ad categories. When inappropriate ads appear from time to time, these have been posted contrary to our explicit policy and directives. The problem is that unethical advertisers claim their ads to be in a category that they are not. For example, recently a dating site (which we disallow) classified their content as Home and Décor and so their ad slipped through our filter which allows Home/Décor. This is why we have an “inappropriate ads link.” Clicking the “ Report Inappropriate Ad” link will notify us of this violation, and we will promptly respond by telling our ad supplier to specifically delete that company. IF you have any other questions on ads send us a note.
We covet your ongoing prayers and support for this ministry, so that God’s Word may be proclaimed world-wide.
Blessings,
The Bible.org staff
The Gospels record the dramatic details of our Lord’s resurrection, concluding with His resurrection and final words to His disciples. Likewise, the Book of Acts describes the impact of the resurrection on the apostles and upon those who hear of it. But it is the Apostle Paul who takes on the task of explaining the implications of the resurrection, and nowhere more emphatically than in the Book of Romans. We challenge you to consider these truths from Romans as you celebrate Easter this year.
In Romans chapter four Paul tells us that Abraham’s faith was demonstrated by his belief in the resurrection. In this case Abraham had faith that were he to sacrifice Isaac, the child of promise, God would raise him from the dead. His faith was not groundless because God had already demonstrated His resurrection power in the conception and birth of Isaac. Abraham and Sarah were “as good as dead” with respect to their age and childbearing, and yet God gave them this child as He promised (Romans 4:17-22). Abraham “extrapolated” what he learned from this to another level. If God gave them this child by His resurrection power, He would also restore this child to life by the same resurrection power. This resurrection faith was not merely true of Abraham; it was true of every Old Testament saint, as we read in Hebrews 11:13-16. Paul is careful to add that Abraham’s resurrection faith was recorded for our sakes as well, when linked to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 4:23-25).
In Romans chapter 10 Paul makes faith in the resurrection of the Lord Jesus a central part of the gospel which we must believe in order to be saved (see Romans 10:8-13, especially verse 9). Indeed, if Jesus did not rise from the dead then our faith would be useless (1 Corinthians 15:13-19).
In Romans chapter six Paul presents the resurrection of our Lord as an essential element in our sanctification (Christian growth and life). He says that because Jesus died, was buried, and rose from the dead, every Christian also died and rose to new life in Him. Thus, we cannot continue to live a life of sin as we once did (Romans 6:1-14ff.). The problem that Paul presents in Romans 7 is that even though we are obligated to live a new life in Christ, we are not able to do so because sin is more powerful than our flesh (Romans 7:15-24). But the good news is that the gospel (the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus) provides us with the solution. The same Holy Spirit who raised the dead body of Jesus from the grave is the Spirit who indwells every Christian, giving life to our “dead” bodies (Romans 8:11).
Finally, the resurrection of our Lord plays a crucial role in bringing the lost to salvation. The resurrection of Christ is that to which the Holy Spirit bears witness, convicting men of the righteousness of our Lord (John 16:10). It is God’s resurrection power that brings those dead in their sins to life in Christ (Ephesians 2:5; Romans 11:15). Knowing this give us confidence to proclaim Christ, certain that He is powerful to save.
May this Easter be a blessed time of celebrating the resurrection of Lord Jesus Christ. Christ has risen!
Christmas provides the believer with the opportunity to worship our God as the Ultimate Giver.
For this is the way God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16, NET).
Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift! (2 Corinthians 9:15, NET)
As Christians we should be able to think of numerous texts which encourage or even command us to give. Likewise, the Scriptures give us directives as to how much we should give (generously), how we should give (cheerfully), and to whom we should give (e.g. those who proclaim God’s Word, and those in need).
There are no commands for God to give, only instances in which He does freely give, and give generously. So, what is it that prompts God to be a giver? May we suggest that giving is God’s nature; it is God’s predisposition. He delights in giving freely, and He savors the opportunity to do so. Christmas is the season we celebrate the greatest gift ever given by God to mankind – the free gift of God’s Son, Jesus Christ. It is amazing to ponder the truth that our Lord left the splendor of heaven to come and dwell on earth, to live among sinners like us. But what is even more amazing is that the incarnation qualified our Lord to die as an innocent sacrifice, and thus to bear our sins on the cross of Calvary.
Many are the efforts to convince Christians (and, sadly others) to give, by turning to the exhortation or instructions found in God’s Word. And all of this is a legitimate use of Scripture. But the ultimate basis for becoming a giver is because God is a giver, by nature, and when we come to faith in Christ we become partakers of His divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). We should not be surprised, then, when the first thing we read about the new believers in Jesus in the Book of Acts is that they gave, and gave generously (see Acts 2, 4, and 11). And saints like those in Macedonia gave gladly and enthusiastically, even with their limited means (2 Corinthians 8-9).
We may think that our giving nature is adequately expressed by giving gifts to friends and family at Christmas time, but we should give this matter more thought. The magi did not come with gifts for Mary and Joseph, but rather with gifts for the Lord Jesus. To what use were these gifts put? We are not told, but one plausible option is that these gifts were the resources which sustained Jesus and His parents in the years they spent in Egypt. The gifts supported the person and work of the Savior.
May we at Bible.org challenge you to consider the privilege that is yours to be a generous giver, because you share the nature of a generous, giving God? At this time of year, consider giving to support those people and ministries which proclaim and practice the gospel. Consider giving to bible.org so that we can continue to give the resources on bible.org for free to users around the world. Give, not just because you are instructed by the Scriptures to do so, but because it is your nature and predisposition to do so, as it is with our Great Giving God.
Merry Christmas from the staff of Bible.org.