Giving in light of Grace - Malachi 3:6-12

John Wesley was one of the great evangelists of the 18th Century, born in 1703. In 1731 he began to limit his expenses so that he would have more money to give to the poor. In the first year his income was 30 pounds and he found he could live on 28 and so gave away two. In the second year his income doubled but he held his expenses even, and so he had 32 pounds to give away (a comfortable year’s income). In the third year his income jumped to 90 pounds and he gave away 62 pounds. In his long life Wesley’s income advanced to as high as 1,400 pounds in a year. But he rarely let his expenses rise above 30 pounds. He said that he seldom had more than 100 pounds in his possession at a time.

This so baffled the English Tax Commissioners that they investigated him in 1776 insisting that for a man of his income he must have silver dishes that he was not paying excise tax on. He wrote them, “I have two silver spoons at London and two at Bristol. This is all the plate I have at present, and I shall not buy any more while so many round me want bread.”

When he died in 1791 at the age of 87, the only money mentioned in his will was the coins to be found in his pockets and dresser. Most of the 30,000 pounds he had earned in his life had been given away.

Introduction:

There are not many topics as cringe-y to preach on in American culture than the topic of giving because we have all grown up in a consumerists culture that has programmed us to buy, buy, buy. But it is a vital aspect of the Christian life, and a means of support for the local Church. When it comes to finance management and giving, the Lord had quite a bit to say seeing that He spoke about it more than anything except for the Kingdom of God. As a matter of fact 11 out of the 39 parables addressed this topic.

Bridge 1: Today we’re going to take a look at a people who have grown distant from God. Their hearts are cold, their worship is dead, and their giving is non-existent. And as we jump into this passage we must come with open hearts, asking the Lord to show us the truths of His word.

Explanation of Passage:

(v6) First, God is presenting His immutability

(v7) Therefore, since He being the God of the Covenant, does not change. They should not change in their loyalty to Him. However, they are a rebellious people.

(v7-8) They respond, "How?"

Now, when Malachi would present accusations against Israel they would always respond crying, “Why?” and he would always bring up an undeniable sin in their lives to prove his point. And in this passage it is the tithe.

Why? The tithe was an essential aspect of the Covenant as they dwelt in the land that He allowed them to inhabit. To neglect this tithe would be to worship the gift over the giver, or to take the gift for granted all together. Truly, it is not the practice of just not giving that is the sin here. For if they were to give tithes yet were found in the same sin that they are currently in God would not have accepted it. This points past the tithe, though important, and addressed their hearts.

It is very obvious that Malachi is saying that giving is a thermometer by which we can test our Spiritual health. I heard a man once say that you can pull your bank records and quickly find where your heart is.

By not paying their tithes a few things were happening. First, the work of God was harmed because the Priests were starving and having to leave to find jobs to provide for themselves. Second, I want you to notice how God says, “ye have robbed me” in verse 9. It is probable that the Lord is identifying with the orphans and widows in v5 because Deuteronomy tells us that there was a special tithe that took care of them. So by forsaking this obligation they were hurting the helpless.

So, seeing that they have robbed God, He graciously calls for them to give that the corporate people of Israel maybe blessed, and that they should do this as a "test" (not out of anger, which is a sin, but out a faith strengthening test.) and they will witness the mighty hand of God as He blessed the land of Israel. How? First, His presence would be known. Second, there would be an overwhelming outpouring of blessings. Third, the devourers, or locusts, would be removed and their vineyards would produce fruit. Why? First it would build their faith in God! And it would also show the surrounding Pagan nations that God's people are a blessed people.

Bridge #2: So Seeing the Lord’s faithfulness and Israel’s hardness of heart in this manner, we want to carefully examine ourselves and be sure to apply these truths to our lives today. Turn to 2nd Corinthians 8-9 with me.

Many people struggle with God’s command to give in the New Covenant and say that it’s not a command at all for today. So I want to try and quickly clarify my stance as we travel to 2 Corinthians. When Christ came to fulfill His ministry, He fulfilled the ceremonial law wholly. When Israel ceased to exist, He dissolved the civil law, though it is beneficial for governments to apply, and some of them still stand today. However, there is nowhere is Scripture to suggest that the moral law was abolished. And what is the moral law? Luke 10:27 affirms that the moral law is, “And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.” and this is the law that is etched upon our conscience according to Romans 1, this is the law that is expanded in the Ten Commandments and those are further applied in the Civil Law. Now, whether you consider the tithe as a part of the moral law or not is for another day, but the New Testament is clear that giving and Christianity are inseparable. But Paul tends to agree in 1 Corinthians 9:13-14 where he recalls the tithe as the support for the Levites as an application to the Church and her ministers today. Many find themselves wondering what the difference of the Old and New Covenants are. To be put very simply: The New Covenant gives the promised power to keep the moral law of the Old Testament through the Holy Spirit

Now, as you have found your place in 2 Cor. 8 I want you to quickly note that Paul uses the word “grace” in this passage on giving at least 5 times. With grace and giving being a frequent theme in today’s study I want to title this message, “Giving In Light of Grace.”

The Heart in Our Giving (2 Cor. 9:5 & 7)

Giving, in light of Malachi 3, is a thermometer test of your spiritual condition.

It was William Barclay who said, “Need wakens a desire that cannot be stilled.”

But when needs arise do you find yourself not having the empathetic pull to giving that Paul is talking about? See, giving is far more than numbers on a paper, a signed check, or a waded up dollar bill thrown in the offering plate.

Here are a few Scriptural jolts to your heart in giving.

First, Let us consider the price at which we were bought (1 Peter 1:18-19)

1 Peter 1:18-19 “Ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.”

Second, Let us consider the Giving Of Ourselves (2 Cor. 8:5 & Rom. 12:1-2)

2 Corinthians 8:5 “And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God.”

Romans 12:1 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”

Third, Let us consider the example of His gift (2 Cor. 8:9)

2 Corinthians 8:9 “For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.

The Help In Our Giving (2 Cor. 9:8-14) (Widows and Orphans)

-Many people feel as though they are useless in the ministry if they are not "office holders" however this couldn't be further from the truth. You have access to souls at your place of work or study that I'll never meet, you influence an aspect of our culture that I'll never see, your prayers are more powerful than you could believe, and yes, your giving is a vital aspect to the work of the ministry.

-In 2 Cor. 9, Paul gives 4 beneficiaries of giving:

The Giver (v8-11)

First, it pleases the Lord

It is not that God does not love the one who gives grudgingly or not at all but that God loves, in the sense of “approves,” the one who is delighted to give to others. God loves a cheerful giver because that is precisely what God is, a cheerful giver.

Second, the Lord will provide more outlets to give.

Third, (v14) they recipients hearts will be stirred to pray for you.

The Recipient (v12)

God (v11-12)

The Church (v13-14)

First, a growth in unity.

For the most part the Jewish Christians were still fearful of the Gentile Christians. But for them to receive such a gift from the Gentiles was a great sign of their genuine faith.

Dokimēs (the noun behind the verb experiment here) means a test in order to verify someone’s or something’s genuineness or worth.

In Romans 12:8, one of the gifts, or fruits, of the Spirit is a heart of giving.

Second, a growth in prayer and praise toward God

The How Of Our Giving

1.) We should give liberally (2 Corinthians 9:5-7 )

-Not reckless giving (2 Cor. 8:12-13)

Paul gives three guidelines in v7 for giving:

1.) It is to be an individual decision

a.) Each is placed first for emphasis. “How much?” is a question that each person must answer for herself. And it is never to be determined by how much “the Joneses” are contributing.

2.) Giving requires resolve

a.) The word ‘purposeth’ here comes from a word meaning “to choose deliberately” or “to make up one’s own mind about something.”

It is a well-known fact that telethons that play on people’s emotions to solicit contributions often end up with donors who pledge impulsively but not deliberately enough to follow through on their pledge.

b.) Paul is saying that we should give on a calculated decision.

3.) Giving is to be private, not public.

a.) Matthew 6:1-4 “Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.”

Conclusion: