I’m a Christian. Now what? Glorifying God through Giving

Giving must be done with genuine faith (4:32-33)

Giving must be done with a commitment to one another (4:34-37)

Acts 4:32-37 “And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but all things were common property to them. And with great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all. For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales and lay them at the apostles’ feet, and they would be distributed to each as any had need. Now Joseph, a Levite of Cyprian birth, who was also called Barnabas by the apostles (which translated means Son of Encouragement), and who owned a tract of land, sold it and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.”

성경전서 개역개정판 (4장)

믿는 무리가 한마음과 한 1)뜻이 되어 모든 물건을 서로 통용하고 자기 재물을 조금이라도 자기 것이라 하는 이가 하나도 없더라

33 사도들이 큰 권능으로 주 예수의 부활을 증언하니 무리가 큰 은혜를 받아

34 그 중에 가난한 사람이 없으니 이는 밭과 집 있는 자는 팔아 그 판 것의 값을 가져다가

35 사도들의 발 앞에 두매 그들이 각 사람의 필요를 따라 나누어 줌이라

36 구브로에서 난 레위족 사람이 있으니 이름은 요셉이라 사도들이 일컬어 바나바라 (번역하면 위로의 아들이라) 하니

37 그가 밭이 있으매 팔아 그 값을 가지고 사도들의 발 앞에 두니라

1. Giving must be done with genuine faith (4:32-33)

a. Verse 32 begins with the congregation of those who believed. This goes back to the context in 4:24-31 where Peter and John were thrown into jail (4:3) and released (4:21). This verse gives us the context that all giving must be done with a correct understanding of who Jesus is and what Jesus did. It’s important to recognize what the apostles were preaching. In 4:2, it says that they were disturbed, they being the Sadducees. They were disturbed because the apostles were teaching and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.

b. You see true believers understood who Christ is and what He did for them. The greatest truth in Biblical Christianity is the truth that Christ rose from the dead. This is what gives all believers true hope. This is the motivation for all true believers in Christ.

c. So when it comes to giving, all true believers must know who Jesus is and what He did. This is the foundation for a correct understanding of giving in the church. So the congregation of those who believed, were of one heart and soul. When Luke writes that they were one in heart and mind (kardia kai psychē mia, ‘one in heart and soul’), he implies both friendship and unity of purpose. He goes on to explain the practical outworking of this in their corporate experience.

d. When we think about the purpose of giving here, it was for the building of each other. Acts 4:32 tells us that not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but all things were common property to them.

e. This is a very strange mindset even in the church today. We all think that the money we make is ours. We think that it’s our finances and it doesn’t matter what I do with my finances. But in this text, it tells us that our finances were to build and help each other.

f. We can stress that we are supposed to give but true giving must be done in the heart before it is done in person. We must have the heart to give before we give. This is why Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 9:7 that we must not give grudgingly or under compulsion, because God loves a cheerful giver. Again, giving ultimately is not giving to others. We don’t give primarily to others. We give as a token of our faith to God. God is the one who sees our heart and loves a cheerful giver.

g. If we are giving while holding grudges, we need to consider our faith. One of my favorite verses in the bible is 1 John 4:19. It says that we love because He first loved us. We can understand this verse also with giving in the church. We give because He first gave us Himself.

h. We might think that verse 32 is the highlight but verse 33 helps us understand why we should give. Two characteristics reflect the apostles’ activity: great power in the ongoing witness to the resurrection, and great grace. The witness to the resurrection surely includes declarations like those seen in Acts 3 and 4. God’s presence and the proof of divine enablement for the apostles is also a point. The verb ἀπεδίδουν(apedidoun, were giving) is imperfect, so the ongoing character of the powerful witness is the more dominant point rather than miracles, although miracles may also be in view. It is the resurrection as exaltation that is highlighted, since it shows how God has vindicated Jesus.

i. The mention of grace is another way to show that the prayer of 4:24–30 has been answered. The context, which highlights what God is doing, favors a reference here to grace from God. It goes to help us understand that God was powerfully moving and people were giving through the work of God. At the heart of giving, it is God who is at work. When we give, it is no different.

j. Why do I say that God is the one who is at work when it comes to giving? Because when we receive our pay check, the first thing in our minds is not how we want to give to God. Rather, it is how we want to keep all the money to ourselves. This is what we see in the story of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-10). In this story of Ananias and Sapphira, they sold a piece of property and although they sold it, they gave a portion of that to the church because they wanted to keep the profits to themselves. Unlike Ananias and Sapphira, Barnabas also sold a piece of property but gave all the profit to the church.

k. The story of Ananias and Sapphira is the natural man. Notice in 5:3, it says that Satan filled his heart. You see, the point of the story is not that you owe all your money to God. No, Peter says why has Satan filled your heart to lie? You see, the problem isn’t that they didn’t give everything to the church. Rather, it is the fact that they were filled with Satan and that caused them to lie. Because their hearts were filled with Satan, they lied and sinned. This is the exact proof of Romans 6:23. You see, the wages of sin is death. In the case of Ananias and Sapphira, it was physical death. But when we go through this, we don’t go through physical death by the grace of God. But if we were to physically die, would we be willing to lie to God?

l. God isn’t asking us to give all our funds to God. No, but he’s asking us to be honest. Are we not giving to God because we have no money, or are we not giving because we want to keep the money to ourselves? Let me ask a question. Do you think $100 is a lot or money? Do you think $200 is a lot of money? Most people will say $100 or $200 isn’t much today, but that is all contextual. You see, $100 or $200 isn’t much if we are trying to purchase a new phone or if we want to buy ourselves something nice. But if we think that we must give $200 to the church, we think that’s a lot of money. Why? Because we don’t think giving to the church is as important as using the money for ourselves.

m. You see the problem isn’t that we don’t have the money. It is the fact that Satan has filled our minds and convinced us that giving to church is not a good thing to do. Satan keeps telling us that we have more important things to buy with that money. So what do we do? We use that money for ourselves than giving it to God.

2. Giving must be done with commitment to one another (4:34-37)

a. Verse 34-37 tell us that the money that was brought to the church was to help those who were in need. Now we might be thinking to ourselves, that the church doesn’t need money like they did in the past.

b. When we think about the church today, we don’t collect money to help people in the church. But the purpose of the church is to help those in need. 1 Timothy 5:9 talks about a list of the church. The context in 1 Timothy 5 is care for the elderly, especially widows in the church. Verse 3 speaks about honoring widows, then says in verse 4 that if the widow has children or grandchildren, they must be the ones to take care of the widow. But if the widow doesn’t have family, then the church must take care of her.

c. That is the context of verse 8 where it says that anyone who doesn’t provide for their own widow, this person is worse than an unbeliever. Then in verse 9, it speaks about a widow who should be on the list for the church to take care of. So what does this have to do with giving? The church should collect money to help people in difficult situations. Why does this sound so foreign to us? Because we don’t give and have enough money to help people out.

d. This is common not only in our church but in most churches. You see people have this idea that we don’t have to be committed in our giving which is why the church doesn’t have enough to help others even in the church. Think about ministries in the church. We always talk about budgets and because we don’t have enough money in the church, we can’t do ministries properly because of a lack of money.

e. We have to understand that we are investing in the lives of people in our church. You have to know that no matter who you are, you are investing in something or someone. If you decide to spend money on yourself, then you are investing in yourself. Even if you are investing your time, either you invest in yourself or others. The reality is, everything in your life is an investment. Money is no different.

f. So why do we give to the church? It is to build the church for the edification of others. Why do we give to the church? It’s so our children can grow up and have a place to grow up. Well, we might think to ourselves this doesn’t apply to us because we don’t have kids. Well, it is to bless others through the money that God has given to us. Everything we have been given in this life is a measure of God’s grace. This is why giving always goes back to our faith. If we recognize that everything we have been given in life is a stewardship, then we will be able to give. But if we struggle with giving because we are too busy saving that money only for ourselves, then we shouldn’t be surprised if God doesn’t bless us financially.

g. I want to close with what Jesus taught about finances. Matthew 6:19-33 gives us a great portion of Scripture that talks about our heart. Jesus teaches about two kingdoms. When it comes to kingdoms, there are really only two choices. With every choice, decision, or action, you live out of a deep heart allegiance to the kingdom of self or the kingdom of God. I’m not saying that you are always conscious of this or that your decisions are intentionally kingdom driven. What I am saying is that with everything you do, you are either serving the purposes of God or the desires of self.

h. Jesus argues that if you live for the right-here, right-now pleasures of the kingdom of self, you will tend to invest your time, energy, and money in the physical treasure of this present world. You will attempt to satisfy the longings of your heart with earthbound treasures, that is, with people, places, and possessions. The core lie of the kingdom of self is that by satisfying your self-oriented desires, you will find life. And the corollary lie is that physical things will be the delivery system.

i. Jesus says in verses 19-21 to not store up treasures here on earth. He is saying don’t spend all your money while you are here investing only in yourself, your desires and your pleasures. But store your treasures in heaven, for where your treasure is, your heart is also. Then in verse 25-33, Jesus explains to His listeners asking them about their worries. He says why do you worry about your clothes or your home or what you will eat or drink? Jesus says that He feeds the birds and the animals and how He is the one in control over your life. Therefore, don’t be worried about these things. Don’t worry about what you will wear or what food you will eat. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.

j. You see, Jesus is teaching that you shouldn’t be worried about yourself. If you seek to please God first, if you seek to build His kingdom first, then He will add to you. This is the promise that God has given to us. If we seek to commit ourselves to Him, and we seek to build His church, then He will bless you financially.

k. So you must be thinking in your mind, Pastor Sam wants you to give more. Yes. Why? Because giving is based on your faith in God. You see it’s not that we can’t give but more along the lines of we are only thinking about ourselves. We are thinking of our comfort rather than God. This is why we give little or we don’t give at all.

l. I want to ask you how much you are willing to spend on dinner or a present for a loved one. Are you cheap when it comes to those things? Chances are, most likely than not, most of us are not cheap in those things. But if we are cheap to God, it shows us where our faith is. Our faith is not in thanksgiving to Christ, but more about ourselves. May we always consider our salvation first and be thankful first, that we know why we give and to whom we are giving.