Principles of Biblical Giving

Six years ago this month, I was nearly finished with my career as a newspaper editor. I’d already given my notice, and Annette and I had decided that I’d spend the first six months of 2018 doing mission work in Haiti.

As part of my preparation, I collected several suitcases, duffel bags and plastic totes. I filled a couple of them with my books, papers, clothes, and the rest of what I’d need while I was there.

And the rest of the bags and boxes, I filled with supplies I’d been asked to bring for the ministry.

I would get a text from Christina Surber, and she’d say something like, “We need more diapers at the Fish House.” Or “Ehud needs some colored pencils.” Or “Gary needs a new wallet.”

And I’d go out and find whatever she’d asked me to bring along and stuff it into one of those suitcases.

I felt a bit like Santa Claus as I sat on the stoop at Gary’s house and started handing things out as I retrieved them from my bags. Something for Ehud, something for Danny. Oh, and here’s a wallet for you, Gary.

I’d forgotten all about that afternoon until one day this summer, when Pastor Chris sent me a text from Naples, Fla., where they live now.

Gary, Supply & Multiply’s Haitian director, had come with his family to the U.S. as part of the State Department’s parole visa program for refugees from the Haitian violence.

Chris was sitting with Gary in the office of a temp agency, getting him signed up for work. And Gary had taken his wallet out of his pocket to get his ID.

Chris sent me a photo of it. The wallet was pretty beaten up, as most things get in Haiti. And Chris had teased Gary about it, telling him he needed to get a new wallet.

But Gary said, “This is the one Pastor Res gave me. I like it.”

And with that, both Chris and I learned a lesson about giving. Sometimes, we don’t have any way to know what a blessing we are being when we give even little things.

As I was thinking about Thanksgiving this week, I thought about that wallet.

I thought about the thankfulness of the one who had received it. I thought about what a blessing it was for me to hear just how thankful he’d BEEN for it.

I thought about what I might have done with the little bit of money it cost me to buy the wallet. And I thought about how whatever I’d have done with that money wouldn’t have made nearly the difference that that wallet made.

And I thought about how an incident that can seem so forgettable for one person can become a cherished memory for another.

Today, as we begin to think about Thanksgiving gatherings and holiday plans, we’re going to look at a New Testament passage that deals with both thanks AND giving.

We’re going to see three biblical principles for giving. We’re going to look at three things that giving accomplishes. And we’re going to look at the divine gift that inspires all of our giving.

We’ll be in 2 Corinthians, chapter 9 today. As you’re turning there, let me give you some context.

Paul has been collecting an offering for the Jerusalem church from the churches he has planted and served. And he has written to the church in Corinth to remind them, among other matters, that they had pledged to give to this effort.

There was famine in and around Judea at this time, and the Christians there were also beginning to feel the social and cultural pressures that came along with their position as outcasts in Jewish society. So, they needed help.

And Paul, as he’d gone from one community to another, had told the churches about the promise the Corinthians had made to help.

His report about them had been an effective tool for raising more money, and now he wanted to be sure the Corinthians were ready to come through on their promise.

Now, if you read the whole passage dealing with the Corinthians’ gift, beginning back in chapter 8, it’s easy to conclude that Paul is laying a bit of a guilt trip on these folks to get them to keep their promise to give.

But I think the truth is that the promise had been made a year before, and now Paul wanted to remind them WHY they’d made it. Let’s pick up in verse 6.

2 Corinthians 9:6 NASB95

6 Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.

Now, here’s the first principle of biblical giving. Call it the Law of Sowing and Reaping. If you plant just a few seeds, you’re going to have a small crop to harvest. But if you scatter your seeds liberally, you’ll reap liberally.

“One of the great spiritual principles of life is that God blesses people in proportion to their blessing of others.” [Tom Constable, Tom Constable’s Expository Notes on the Bible (Galaxie Software, 2003), 2 Co 9:6.]

King Solomon put it this way in the Book of Proverbs:

Proverbs 11:24–25 NASB95

24 There is one who scatters, and yet increases all the more, And there is one who withholds what is justly due, and yet it results only in want. 25 The generous man will be prosperous, And he who waters will himself be watered.

To someone who didn’t know anything about farming, it might seem odd for a farmer to go into his barn and bring out handfuls of the seed he’s been saving so carefully and then just scatter it all into the field.

But we know — and the farmer knows — that the seed is worthless if it’s not sown. Only when it’s been sown can it then grow into something that will bear fruit.

When we give to meet the needs of others, we sow seeds from which God will bring fruit in His timing. God ultimately brings the fruit.

But whether the harvest from our sowing is small or great has something to do with whether we sow sparingly or bountifully.

And what Paul encourages us to do here is to be UN-sparing in our sowing — in our giving — so that we might see the greatest harvest.

So, give bountifully. That’s the first principle of biblical giving. The second one is this: Give cheerfully. Look at verse 7.

2 Corinthians 9:7 NASB95

7 Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

Now, Paul is reminding the people of Corinth here that they had gladly offered their help for the Jerusalem collection.

And what they’d committed to so gladly should now be what they DID, but not because Paul was telling them to do so.

No, Paul understood something about giving that I think we all fail to recognize sometimes. HOW we give matters as much — and probably more — than WHAT we give.

God loves a CHEERFUL giver. The Greek word there is the same one from which we get our word, “hilarious.” It describes here someone for whom giving is an opportunity for joy.

“We should give generously, freely, and deliberately. We should not give reluctantly, feeling that we hate to part with what we are giving. We should not give under compulsion, because we feel that there is no alternative or because we think that others will look down on us if we fail to give. We should not give impulsively or thoughtlessly either, but with inward resolve. We should give cheerfully, or hilariously, in the sense of very joyfully.” [Tom Constable, Tom Constable’s Expository Notes on the Bible (Galaxie Software, 2003), 2 Co 9:7.]

I imagine that Paul expected some of the folks at the church in Corinth might’ve been hoping he had forgotten their pledge. And now that he’d reminded them of it, some of them might even have been wishing they’d never opened their mouths.

What Paul’s telling them is that they need to change their attitudes about giving before the offering plate comes around. After all, giving to help meet the needs of others is acting like Jesus.

The sinless Christ gave His life on a cross, taking upon Himself your sins and mine — and the just punishment we deserve for them — so that all who place their faith in Him can be saved.

Look at how Paul describes the right attitude of a biblical giver to the Philippians:

Philippians 2:5–8 NASB95

5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Jesus humbled Himself to come to earth and live as a man. He gave up the rights and privileges of heaven to come and live here not as a king but as a servant. And His sacrificial death was another act of humility.

So, it would seem that giving cheerfully — giving hilariously or joyfully — requires humility on the part of the giver. Giving arrogantly isn’t really giving at all.

Giving arrogantly suggests that I expect to receive something in return for my gift, even if it’s just the acknowledgment of how wonderful I am. But that’s not giving at all, is it?

For the person who gives cheerfully, we see that there is a promise. Look at verse 8.

2 Corinthians 9:8–9 NASB95

8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed; 9 as it is written, “He scattered abroad, he gave to the poor, His righteousness endures forever.”

For the cheerful giver — the one who gives abundantly and with joy — the promise is that God is able pour out His grace to you in abundance.

But to what end?

So that having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed.

Now, there at the end of that verse, we see the third principle of biblical giving. We give to help accomplish the good works for which we were saved to do.

We all know what Paul write about being saved by faith in Ephesians, chapter 2.

Ephesians 2:8–9 NASB95

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.

But we often fail to note the verse that comes next:

Ephesians 2:10 NASB95

10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

We are not SAVED by good works. Rather we are saved FOR good works. We who’ve turned our lives over to Jesus have been saved SO THAT we can be His hands and feet here on earth.

And biblical giving supports those who are doing that work. Biblical giving is an expression of grace to others. And for those who show grace in this way, the promise is that God will multiply His grace on them.

He will provide what you need — not so that you can improve your lifestyle, but so you can be even MORE generous.

“God demonstrates His love for cheerful givers by giving them more grace (enablement) and more opportunity. He not only provides them with what is sufficient for their needs, but He gives them more that they can give away.... The righteous person who desires to give to the needs of others will not lack opportunity to do so, because God will make this possible.” [Tom Constable, Tom Constable’s Expository Notes on the Bible (Galaxie Software, 2003), 2 Co 9:8.]

And what this quotation from Psalm 112 suggests to us is that the righteous person who gives generously and cheerfully to meet the needs of others — the one who approaches giving from a Kingdom perspective — does something with eternal consequences.

Certainly, Scripture tells us that we lay up treasures in heaven, that we will receive crowns for our obedient faith. But even greater is the treasure of those souls who are won to Jesus through the generosity of people who take giving so seriously.

So, we understand the three principles of biblical giving: Give generously. Give cheerfully. And give for the work of the Kingdom.

Now, let’s look at three things such giving accomplishes. Look at verse 10.

2 Corinthians 9:10–11 NASB95

10 Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness; 11 you will be enriched in everything for all liberality, which through us is producing thanksgiving to God.

Who supplies the seed? OK, who supplies the food? Right. The seed comes from last year’s crop, which grew as a blessing from God. And God causes those seeds to grow into a new crop. He is the one who brings the fruit. Our job is to sow the seeds, to give to the Kingdom work.

As we do so, God promises to multiply — not just add to, but multiply — the resources we have to give from.

When you become a generous and cheerful giver to the cause of the Kingdom of Heaven, you’ll find that God just keeps putting new opportunities and resources into your life so you can invest in even MORE good works.

He’s not promising to give you wealth here just for your own consumption. He blesses us so we can bless others.

The word that’s translated as “liberality” in verse 11 means “with sincerity.” It describes someone who isn’t self-seeking in their giving. They’re being generous without pretense or hypocrisy.

And the idea here is that, as we give in this way, God will be providing more resources and more opportunities for us to be sincere givers. And as Paul suggests at the end of verse 11, another thing this kind of giving accomplishes is to bring thanksgiving to God.

Look at verse 12.

2 Corinthians 9:12 NASB95

12 For the ministry of this service is not only fully supplying the needs of the saints, but is also overflowing through many thanksgivings to God.

What Paul is saying here is that not only will the gift he’s seeking from the Corinthians supply the needs of believers in Jerusalem, it will also overflow into the greater community.

“Paul viewed the benefits of their gift as spilling over onto others who would also praise God for the Corinthians’ generosity.” [Tom Constable, Tom Constable’s Expository Notes on the Bible (Galaxie Software, 2003), 2 Co 9:12.]

Surely the people of the Jerusalem church would thank God for the Corinthians’ gift. But Paul has an expectation that others will praise Him, too, for their generosity.

I feel like this should go without saying, but thanksgiving is the appropriate first response to blessing.

For an example of how that sounds, listen to King David in the 30th Psalm:

Psalm 30:1–4 NASB95

1 I will extol You, O Lord, for You have lifted me up, And have not let my enemies rejoice over me. 2 O Lord my God, I cried to You for help, and You healed me. 3 O Lord, You have brought up my soul from Sheol; You have kept me alive, that I would not go down to the pit. 4 Sing praise to the Lord, you His godly ones, And give thanks to His holy name.

And then:

Psalm 30:11–12 NASB95

11 You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have loosed my sackcloth and girded me with gladness, 12 That my soul may sing praise to You and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever.

Even in the psalms where David is crying out to God for deliverance, we see this attitude of thanksgiving from him. We see David praising God for who He is and what He’s done throughout the psalms.

I think his attitude of thankfulness and praise was part of what made him a man after God’s own heart.

Listen, if you’re not going before God with a thankful heart, then you’re not thinking hard enough about how you’ve been blessed by Him.

When we thank God for anything, we bring Him glory. We acknowledge that He is glorious and gracious. And that’s the other thing that’s accomplished through biblical giving: God is glorified.

Look at verse 13.

2 Corinthians 9:13–14 NASB95

13 Because of the proof given by this ministry, they will glorify God for your obedience to your confession of the gospel of Christ and for the liberality of your contribution to them and to all, 14 while they also, by prayer on your behalf, yearn for you because of the surpassing grace of God in you.

When they receive the Corinthians’ gift, the people of the church in Jerusalem will praise God — they’ll glorify Him — for the Corinthians’ obedience.

By giving to the Jerusalem church, the people in Corinth would certainly help that poor church through some hard times.

But they would also demonstrate the reality of their salvation. Their good works — prepared for them in advance by God — would serve as evidence that the gospel of Jesus Christ had changed them. That they were now new creatures focused on helping others, rather than themselves.

The evidence of such changed lives always brings God glory.

Indeed, as Paul points out in verse 14, He would also be glorified by the prayers that would be lifted on behalf of the Corinthians and by the growth of unity in the church as a result of the gift.

We’ll take part in a food giveaway with other Suffolk churches next Saturday. Some of the folks who come through that line are just gushing praise for the gifts they receive. Others have barely a word.

But let me assure you that God is glorified in this event, either way. The gifts are generous, and the givers are cheerful. It’s clear to everyone who comes through that we’re doing this for His glory and not our own.

And since we participate for HIS glory, we can do so without it mattering how people receive the gifts.

In a way, it’s a lot like the gift of Jesus. He should be our primary motivation for biblical giving. That’s what Paul is reminding the Corinthians in verse 15.

2 Corinthians 9:15 NASB95

15 Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!

“For God so loved the world that He GAVE His only begotten Son....” THIS is the indescribable gift. It’s indescribable, because Jesus is a gift too wonderful for words. It’s indescribable, because such a gift is absolutely foreign to human sensibilities.

For God Himself to give His Son — for JESUS to give His life so that all who turn to Him in faith can be saved — this is too wonderful.

For Him to do this, even as He knew that some would reject His gift, that they would reject Him, is a picture of how our own giving should be.

Wildly generous. With complete sincerity and joy, even in the knowledge that some will reject it and even mock your generosity. And with a constant eye on the Kingdom of Heaven and the glory of God.

If you’ve been saved by grace through faith, then God has good works prepared for you to do. He’s prepared some way for you to be generous, for you to bless others as you’ve been blessed.

How will you be hilarious in your giving this week? What kind of eternal difference will you make in someone life today?

You never know how God will use your blessing in someone else’s life.