Nearly fifteen years ago we preached through Corinthians, and during that series the elders deduced several principles from the New Testament that guide our giving as a church. On occasion we have distributed them as a teaching tool. Not everyone grew up in the church. Nor has everyone received instruction on giving. For others, these principles “stir us up by way of reminder."
To begin, giving is motivated not by a minimum amount we are constrained to give, but by looking at Jesus’ person and work for the maximum amount we are freed to give (Luke 16:1-13; Rom 15:26-27; 2 Cor 8:7-9; 9:13; 1 Tim 6:17-19). The gospel of Jesus motivates our giving. We find at least four guiding principles.
We give REGULARLY to prepare ourselves for Christ’s mission.
Some saints will encounter greater needs than others at various times (Acts 2:45; Tit 3:14; 1 John 3:17). The poor will need care (Acts 6:1-6; Gal 2:10). Elders will need adequate provision, especially those laboring in preaching and teaching (Gal 6:6; 1 Tim 5:17-18). Godly widows without family or income will require material support (1 Tim 5:1-16). Sending churches will need to be sustained (1 Cor 16:11; Phil 4:14-19; 3 John 6). The mission of the church will continue until Jesus returns (Matt 28:18-20).
Supporting all these ministries requires regular giving through the local church (Acts 4:35; 1 Cor 16:2; 1 Tim 5:3-18) and as the local church (1 Cor 16:6; 1 John 3:17-18).
Is giving to the local church regularly a priority for you? How do you give regularly (bi/weekly, monthly)? Have you worked regular giving into your family budget? If not, do you lack funds and have needs the church can help meet? If so, the elders would be more than happy to learn of those needs and see how the church can help. Also, if you have questions about stewardship, giving, priorities, etc., we are happy to help or connect you with others in the church who can give wise counsel.
We give SACRIFICIALLY to reflect God’s generosity in Christ’s mission.
God is generous. He satisfies our hearts with food and gladness (Acts 14:17). But even more, he sent his Son to die for our sins. His generosity toward others in need led to sacrifice. 2 Corinthians 8:9 puts it this way: “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.”
The nature of our giving should reflect this grace, meaning that our giving requires a lifestyle of generosity and sacrificial adjustments. In the words of C. S. Lewis,
I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare. In other words, if our expenditure on comforts, luxuries, amusements, etc., is up to the standard of the common among those with the same income as our own, we are probably giving away too little. If our charities [giving habits] do not at all pinch or hamper us, I should say they are too small. There ought to be things we should like to do and cannot do because our giving expenditure excludes them.
In that light, are there sacrifices you are making that will enable you to give more? Are there ways to simplify your living (1 Tim 6:8)? What can you share with others (Eph 4:28; 1 Tim 6:18)? What can you sell to meet the needs of others (Luke 12:33; Acts 2:45; 4:34)? Consider the example in 2 Corinthians 8:1-4.
We give PROPORTIONALLY to display God’s wisdom in Christ’s mission.
Christ crucified is foolishness to the world but is wisdom and power to those of us being saved (1 Cor 1:18-25). If our view of money flows out of God’s wisdom in the cross, then our giving will look just as foolish to the world, especially when we give in proportion to how God prospers us.
In 2 Corinthians 8:12, Paul says that the people’s giving was to be “according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have.” Proportionate giving is not linked to a minimum requirement like a ten-percent tithe. Tithing was inextricably linked to the Levitical priesthood and sacrificial system under the Mosaic covenant that Jesus came to fulfill. Jesus established a new covenant that made the old covenant obsolete (Matt 5:17; Heb 8:13). That does not mean the Old Testament’s teaching on tithing has no meaning for the Christian. We are still obligated to be good stewards of our possessions. Even the heart is the same (Exod 25:2; 35:5). But since Jesus inaugurated a new covenant, the manner in which we honor the Lord’s work is different.
Proportionate giving means that the more God prospers my pocketbook, the more money I will give to the needs of his people and his mission. Is this your heart in making money and giving money? Do you earn merely to have, or earn also to share and give (Eph 4:28; 1 Tim 6:18-19)?
We give CHEERFULLY to rejoice in Christ’s mission.
“Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor 9:7). See also Acts 20:25; Rom 15:26; 2 Cor 8:2.
This fourth principle does not mean we give only when we feel cheerful, but that cheerfulness comes with trusting a generous God. Cheerfulness comes with realizing God is for my joy in giving to Christ’s mission. Cheerfulness is born when free grace moves us to be generous as our heavenly Father is generous to us.
For the Christian, giving does not minimize joy, leading to disappointment over less buying power in this life. Giving maximizes joy, leading to further gladness over the Lord’s faithfulness to his people and mission.
Three CLARIFICATIONS:
(a) Giving regularly, sacrificially, proportionally, and cheerfully does not mean that we create needs by giving to meet other needs. Each of us must consider the reality of our circumstances. Paul advises in 2 Corinthians 8:12-13, “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.”
The point is that our abundance at any time should not mean higher living while needs persist but higher giving so that needs are met. Of course, we must also guard ourselves from turning what is really an abundance into a norm.
(b) Wealth in itself is not evil. There were a few wealthy Christians in the first-century church (Acts 17:4; 1 Cor 1:26; 1 Tim 6:17). Paul only warns them not to fall in love with their wealth but to find their sufficiency in Christ (1 Tim 6:16-18).
Many times, the Lord would use the wealth of other Christians to bless the church in some way. For example, it was the wealthy who were able to sell their houses and lands in order to provide for others (Acts 2:45; 4:34). Paul commended Phoebe because she apparently used her wealth to serve and bless others with it: “she was a patron of many and of [Paul] as well” (Rom 16:2).
Also, not everyone sold their houses, but some kept their houses, like Pricilla and Acquila. Apparently, their house was even large enough for the church to meet there regularly (Rom 16:5; 1 Cor 16:19). And when Paul exhorts the rich in 1 Tim 6:18, he simply tells them “to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share.”
(c) Giving will not look exactly the same for every person. Some will sell their houses in order to give proceeds to others, while others will keep their houses in order to share them with others. Some will give larger portions as God prospers them, while others will give smaller portions in times of lack.
What’s important is that we first “give ourselves to the Lord” (2 Cor 8:5), “that we might be filled with a knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him” (Col 1:9-10). The Lord will guide us in giving in ways that please him. After all, he is the one who blessed us with material resources to serve the gladness of the nations in him (Ps 67:2, 6-7).