Guidelines for Giving

Steve Nicholes

1 Corinthians 16:1–2 NLT

Now regarding your question about the money being collected for God’s people in Jerusalem. You should follow the same procedure I gave to the churches in Galatia. On the first day of each week, you should each put aside a portion of the money you have earned. Don’t wait until I get there and then try to collect it all at once.

Harold Reimer was one of the first missionaries to contact the Xiavanti Indians of Brazil in the early 1950s. Once, as he visited them, they apologized for not having any food to serve him. Later, as he went to the church (which met in a shack-like building) he noticed a room with several heavy sacks of rice, beans and corn. He thought they were teasing about “No food.” But they said “That’s for our missionaries. We put food aside during the harvest. Then every month we send three or four deacons to take the gospel to other tribes of Indians who’ve never heard. They have to take their own food. Sometimes we have to go hungry so others can hear the gospel.” Can you believe this? How much do you give? What does the Bible say about giving?

1 Corinthians 16:1 says, “Now concerning the collection for the saints,” This “collection” was for Christians in Jerusalem. Verse 3 talks about “your gift to Jerusalem.” So what’s happening here? Jerusalem was going through a very difficult time. The economy was bad from very bad famines (cf. Acts 11:28). They were without enough food. Then at the death of Stephen there was a great persecution against Christians and many had to leave their homes and flee or run away to other countries. Many of the wealthy Christians lost everything they had. So the church was poor with very little money.

So the apostles in Jerusalem asked Paul to help raise money for the poor there. And all during his third missionary journey, probably over a year, Paul had been asking for contributions from Gentile Christians in the provinces of Galatia, Macedonia, Asia and now Achaia (in Greece), which is where Corinth was. In this passage Paul is giving the Corinthian church his guidelines for giving.

1. WHO - THE PARTICIPANTS

“as I have given orders to the churches of Galatia, so you must do also ... let each one of you lay something aside.” First, you will see, giving is a universal practice. It’s not just something that one church had to do. It’s for every church. Second, giving is only for Christians. In Matthew 10:8 Jesus said, "freely you have received, freely give.” Now, if someone has NOT received Jesus as their Savior, they should NOT give anything. A relationship with God or a place in heaven can’t be bought. But if God has moved in your life "Freely you have received, freely give." Then, third, giving is a personal act, “... each [one] of you.” It doesn’t matter if you are rich or poor, young or old. Even children are to be taught to give. It may be only a small amount, but every Sunday there should be a gift from every Christian in the world.

2. WHEN – THE PERIOD

“on the first day of the week.” Giving is to be done every week: This shows that the church now met on Sunday. But it also shows us that it’s worship included regular giving of money. This giving was not just done once in a while when a need came up or at special times of the year. People gave money regular-ly, systematically, habitually, consistently week after week. We should not wait until we have extra money to give. We should not wait until we hear about someone who is poor and without food to give. We should give regularly, every week to the Lord, to His people and to His work.

3. HOW – THE PLAN

“lay something aside, storing up.” In the first century people got paid every day at the end of the day. Then they would bring home their money or grain. And every day they would set aside the part that they were going to bring to church on Sunday morning. Now, of course, most of us don’t get paid like this today. But the principle is the same. It was planned. We need to plan, to budget, to intentionally and regularly put aside money that we are going to give. They had a plan on what they would do with their money so that on Sunday they would have something to give.

4. HOW MUCH – THE PROPORTION

“as he may prosper.” It was proportional. That means if God gave them a lot, they give a lot. Now that’s not a tithe. "Tithe" means 10%. In the Old Testament, the Israelites were told they had to give a tithe. Now 10% to a poor person might be very difficult. And 10% to a rich person may be easy. Some Christians think that God wants 10% and after that its all yours and it doesn’t matter what you do with it. But the New Testa-ment teaches that if God has richly blessed you, you should increase the percentage of your giving. Some wealthy Christians I know give 90% away. They live on 10%. That is what this is talking about.

5. WHY – THE PURPOSE

“that there be no collections when I come.” Why would Paul say that? Well, he didn’t want them to give out of pressure, knowing he was coming. He wanted them to give “cheerfully,” “as each one purposed in his heart” (2 Corinthians 9:7). Of course, he wanted them to give because of a real need (Acts 4:35; 11:27-29). But more than that they’re to give because they’ve been given much. Today we may give to take care of the pastor, the church building, the church ministries, the missionaries and the poor. But more than that we should give because we love Him, to thank God for all He’s given us. God doesn’t really need our money. Everything we could ever consider giving to Him is already His.

Once there was a carpenter who had worked for a large company for many years. He was old and planning to retire when his boss came and said, “I want you to build the best house you’ve ever built. Do it alone. Select the best materials. Use the best methods you know. I want this to be the best house you’ve ever built.” As the carpenter began he realized that no one was checking or watching him. So he bought cheap, poor quality materials and then recorded that he used expensive, high quality materials. For the first time in his life, he was stealing. When he finished, the house looked good on the outside but it was made from poor materials. In his pocket was lots of money that he stole from his boss. After he finished his boss came and said, “You’ve been a faithful worker for many years, and now to show my deep appreciation to, I’m giving you, as a retirement gift, this fine house you’ve just finished building.” How many of us are like that man? When we use the money God has given to us for selfish purposes, we really are cheating ourselves.