Stewardship

God wants us to practice stewardship by grace.

Problematic Understanding of Stewardship

Malachi 3:10 NKJV

Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this,” Says the Lord of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it.

“Storehouse tithing,” which encourages 10 percent giving of one’s income to the local church.

What are some problems?

Law, Gospel, and Grace naturally distinguishes Israel from the church (Eph. 2:11-15).

The emphasis that 10% of our money belongs to God leads us to think that the other 90% is ours. For the church, “His tithes, Our offering” mistreats stewardship,d which teaches that God expects us to manage 100% of the money, time, and abilities He entrusted us.

Store House Giving is set in the wrong context (Law) and needs to be seen in the context of the New Testament (Grace).

In the New Testament, the local church is God’s intended pillar and ground of the truth (1 Tim. 3:15). Our efforts and finances should be focused on the local church.

Example: In Bible-believing Baptist churches, members have the responsibility to develop a budget, vote on that budget, and support that budget. Human nature likes to designate giving toward special projects and missionaries rather than the non-glamorous budget. Special projects are not wrong but should be above our regular giving to the budget. Members cannot endanger the budget they voted for as a congregation.

With grace as a rule of life, believers should not give out of obligation or fear of guilt but out of love and gratitude.

How should stewardship be motivated by grace?

Several answers are found in 2 Corinthians 8-9

1. Generosity should characterize stewardship.

2 Corinthians 8:7 “But as you abound in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all diligence, and in your love for us—see that you abound in this grace also.” (cf. 1 Cor. 1:4-7)

2 Corinthians 8:1–4 “Moreover, brethren, we make known to you the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia: that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality. For I bear witness that according to their ability, yes, and beyond their ability, they were freely willing, imploring us with much urgency that we would receive the gift and the fellowship of the ministering to the saints.”

2 Corinthians 9:1–5 “Now concerning the ministering to the saints, it is superfluous for me to write to you; for I know your willingness, about which I boast of you to the Macedonians, that Achaia was ready a year ago; and your zeal has stirred up the majority. Yet I have sent the brethren, lest our boasting of you should be in vain in this respect, that, as I said, you may be ready; lest if some Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we (not to mention you!) should be ashamed of this confident boasting. Therefore I thought it necessary to exhort the brethren to go to you ahead of time, and prepare your generous gift beforehand, which you had previously promised, that it may be ready as a matter of generosity and not as a grudging obligation.”

2. Willingness should characterize stewardship.

2 Corinthians 8:3 “For I bear witness that according to their ability, yes, and beyond their ability, they were freely willing,”

2 Corinthians 9:5 “Therefore I thought it necessary to exhort the brethren to go to you ahead of time, and prepare your generous gift beforehand, which you had previously promised, that it may be ready as a matter of generosity and not as a grudging obligation.”

2 Corinthians 9:7 “So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.”

3. Dedication should motivate Stewardship.

2 Corinthians 8:5, 6 “And not only as we had hoped, but they first gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God. So we urged Titus, that as he had begun, so he would also complete this grace in you as well.”

4. Loyalty to church leadership should motivate stewardship.

2 Corinthians 8:5 “And not only as we had hoped, but they first gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God.”

Hebrews 13:7 “Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct.”

Hebrews 13:17 “Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.”

5. Love of Christ should motivate stewardship.

2 Corinthians 8:8–10 “I speak not by commandment, but I am testing the sincerity of your love by the diligence of others. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich. And in this I give advice: It is to your advantage not only to be doing what you began and were desiring to do a year ago;”

2 Corinthians 9:15 “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!”

6. One’s means naturally limits stewardship.

2 Corinthians 8:12 “For if there is first a willing mind, it is accepted according to what one has, and not according to what he does not have.”

7. Our trust in God’s provision should motivate stewardship.

2 Corinthians 8:13–17 “For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened; but by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may supply their lack, that their abundance also may supply your lack—that there may be equality. As it is written, “He who gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no lack.” But thanks be to God who puts the same earnest care for you into the heart of Titus. For he not only accepted the exhortation, but being more diligent, he went to you of his own accord.”

8. Trust in God’s natural blessings should motivate stewardship.

2 Corinthians 9:6 “But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.”

9. Deliberation should motivate stewardship.

2 Corinthians 9:7 “So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.”

10. Worship of God and prayer for one another should motivate stewardship.

2 Corinthians 9:10, 11 “Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness, while you are enriched in everything for all liberality, which causes thanksgiving through us to God.”

2 Corinthians 9:14 “and by their prayer for you, who long for you because of the exceeding grace of God in you.”