God's Rules for Giving
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Our main text is 1 Corinthians 16:1-4:
Now concerning the collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do. On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come. And when I arrive, I will send those whom you accredit by letter to carry your gift to Jerusalem. If it seems advisable that I should go also, they will accompany me.
Sometime later, Paul wrote a second letter to the Corinthians. Apparently, some of them had grow lax in their giving and Paul wants to urge them to complete what they started:
I say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich. And in this matter I give my judgment: this benefits you, who a year ago started not only to do this work but also to desire to do it. So now finish doing it as well, so that your readiness in desiring it may be matched by your completing it out of what you have. For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have. For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened, but that as a matter of fairness your abundance at the present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness.
The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.
May God add His blessing to this the reading of His holy and infallible Word.
Financial stewardship is a touchy issue in the church. Part of this is because the church has always been plagued by those who use religion for financial gain. The health, wealth and prosperity preachers of our day are notorious for this. Part of it is because we are naturally private when it comes to finances and we do not like people telling us what we are to do with our money.
Thankfully, I do not have to tell you what to do with your money, we can leave that to God. Taken together, these three passages, sum up God’s Rules for Giving. The first thing we see in this text is that...
Giving Should Be Systematic
Giving Should Be Systematic
On the night that Jesus was betrayed, Peter boldly proclaimed that even if everyone else fled from Jesus side, he would stand by Jesus and defend Him. Jesus gently rebukes Peter by saying, “The flesh is willing, but the spirit is weak.” Jesus knows us better than we know ourselves. This is why through the Holy Spirit, Jesus inspired Paul to write, "On the first day of each week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up…so that there will be no collecting when I come.”
The fact is no matter how good our intentions are, if we fail to give on a regular systematic basis, we will fail to give the amount we intend to give. Good intentions are worthless without a plan.
Have you ever noticed that money is like water—it evaporates! If we do not budget and set aside money for a vacation, when the time comes we will not have enough. If we do not set aside money for our retirement, when retirement comes, we will not have enough. The same is true of giving.
The first rule that God has given us concerning giving is to give systematically, the second is to give proportionally.
Giving Should Be Proportional
Giving Should Be Proportional
This is also found in 1 Cor 16:2, where Paul says that each person should give, “as he may prosper”. What Paul means by this is that each person should give according to their income. This is confirmed in 2 Cor 8, where we read:
For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord,
and...
For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have.
Too many people think in terms of dollar amounts when it comes to giving, rather than according to their means. This is because we tend to be impressed by dollar amounts. We hear of people like Bill Gates giving hundreds of thousands of dollars to a charity and we are impressed, but God is not. Jesus spoke of this in Mark’s gospel:
And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”
Jesus’ point is that her monetarily insignificant gift of just one penny was in fact more significant to God, because she gave proportionally more than the others did!
So, what portion of our income is a good starting place?
Thankfully, we do not have to guess about this, because God tells us—ten percent.
In the Old Testament, this is called a tithe. The Old Testament tithe was the means by which God established to support the ministry of the Old Covenant Church. The tribe of Levi, which included the priests, was given the task of doing this ministry. They received no land as an inheritance, the rest of Israel was to give 10% of their income to support the tribe of Levi, this was to be their inheritance.
Under the New Covenant, all of God’s people have been made priests and the local congregation, not the temple, is the focus of ministry. Consequently, the tithe is to go to the local church. Some have pointed out that there is not a specific commandment in the New Testament that believers are to give a tithe. This is true, but would us want to give less than ten percent in light of the greatness of grace shown to us under the New Covenant?
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.
Before we leave the topic of proportionality, Scripture also demands that we consider the fact that ten percent for a poor person is much more than ten percent for a rich person.
For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have. For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened, but that as a matter of fairness your abundance at the present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness.
Moreover, the trajectory of Scripture is moving from the lesser to the greater. The Old Covenant was but a shadow, the New Covenant is the reality. The Law of letter has become the Law of love. When Paul write, “each should give as he has determined in his heart to give”, he is not giving us an excuse to give less than ten percent, but the reason we should give more than ten percent!
Consequently, we must plan not only when we give, but how much. The New Year is a great time to do this. Sit down and make a plan!
This is the third rule God gives us:
Giving Should Be Corporate
Giving Should Be Corporate
In our texts, the Corinthians were instructed to bring their offerings to the local church and there their offerings were to be administered by the officers of the church. This does not mean that there can be no private acts of charity. Private giving is not only encouraged in Scripture, but also commanded. However, the bulk of our giving should be through the local church.
There are several reasons this is so:
First, it safeguards us against pride and envy. Earlier I spoke of how we tend to be impressed by dollar amounts. Charitable organizations are aware of this and typically give special recognition and perks to their biggest donors. By collecting their relief aid for the Jerusalem church corporately, the identity of each donor was hidden. Praise and thanksgiving were given to the whole church, not just individuals. More important, praise and thanksgiving is given to God.
Second, it guards against abuse. Did you notice in our text that offerings were to be entrusted to more than one trustworthy man, with Paul himself offered to accompany the offering to Jerusalem? This is because theft is an age-old sin, and even the best person can fall to this temptation.
The final rule God gives us is, ...
Giving Should Be Cheerful
Giving Should Be Cheerful
This is found in 2 Corinthians 9:7:
Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
Our cheerfulness is born out of gratitude and love:
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.
It is also born out of our faith. Faith that God will provide for not only our needs, but also that He will give us an abundance to share with others.
And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. As it is written,
“He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor;
his righteousness endures forever.”
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. You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God.
This is not a promise that God will make you rich, it is a promise that God will always provide us with the means to be obedient to Him. That poor widow whom Jesus spoke of remained a poor widow and because of her exceeding generosity she probably missed a meal or two; but we can know with certainty that God was faithful to her by providing for her abundantly in order that in the future she could give generously.
Someone once said, “You cannot out give God!” It is true, our text says it is. In our offertory text God challenged Israel:
Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.
Brothers and sisters, give systematically! Give proportionately! Give through the local church! Most importantly, give cheerfully and confidently!