Gospel Giving

Honest pastors do not enjoy preaching on giving.  On Sunday, that is exactly what I did.  I preached the fourth sermon in our gospel commitments series on gospel giving.  Money and giving is a subject that the Scriptures speak about frequently.  Therefore, if we are going to submit ourselves to the authority of God's Word, we have to talk about money and giving. 

Jesus said that we cannot love God and money (Matthew 6:24).  He also said that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God (Matthew 19:24).  Paul told Timothy that elders must not be lovers of money (1 Timothy 3:3).

I find in my own heart that there is a very thin line between "wise steward" and "lover of money."  How can I be a wise steward of the resources that God has entrusted to me, yet avoid the trap of becoming a lover of money?  I think the answer is giving.

The text for the sermon was 2 Corinthians 9:6-15.

The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 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. 9 As it is written, “He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.”  10 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. 11 You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God. 12 For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God. 13 By their approval of this service, they will glorify God because of your submission that comes from your confession of the gospel of Christ, and the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others, 14 while they long for you and pray for you, because of the surpassing grace of God upon you. 15 Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!

Paul used 2 Corinthians 8 and 9 to encourage the Corinthian church to be a part of meeting the needs of the Jerusalem church which had been greatly affected by famine.  In chapter 8 he pointed to the generosity of the Macedonian believers, despite their extreme poverty, as an example for the Corinthians.  Then the majority of chapters 8 and 9 are devoted to giving some instruction concerning generosity.  He then capped off that instruction in chapter 9 by laying out the benefits of giving.

Verse 6 of this passage is a favorite of prosperity preachers for obvious reasons.  "Sow a seed in my ministry and God will give you more money, a new car, and anything else you can imagine," they promise their congregants.  However, the rest of the passage demonstrates that this interpretation is demonstrably false.  The clear principle though is that we should be motivated to sow bountifully because there is a direct relationship between sowing and reaping.

Paul continued to tell the Corinthians that it is not enough to sow; their sowing must be done with a right heart.  Verse 7 teaches that giving with a right heart is done voluntarily, purposefully, and cheerfully.

We also see in this text that giving is enabled by God.  He is the owner of everything.  He is generous to us so that we can be generous in return (2 Corinthians 9:11).  This is exactly the opposite of what the prosperity preachers teach.

It is through this kind of generous giving that God is glorified as the hearts of those who are blessed by our giving are filled with thanksgiving to God (2 Corinthians 9:12-13).  You can imagine that the church at Jerusalem was praying for God to take care of them.  You can also imagine how their hearts would be filled with thanksgiving to God when He provided for them through the Corinthians.

The point of this passage is that the gospel drives our giving, and as a result the gospel is glorified.  Christian giving is a beautiful thing.  Blessings abound when we, because of the generosity of God toward us, are generous in return.

I concluded the sermon by asking and answering two questions:

1. Where should you give?

The passage doesn't really answer this question for us though Paul was certainly calling the Corinthian believers to give through the context of their local church.  We see several examples throughout the NT of giving happening through the local church.  We also see that it is the responsibility of the church's members to support the expenses of the church (1 Timothy 5:17).

I would encourage you to give to causes outside of the church that you are passionate about.  I would also encourage you to be cautious in that regard.  I believe that the majority of our giving should be done in the context of the local church.  This is what I do in regards to my own giving.

As believers in a local church, we covenant together as God's people.  I believe that our primary giving should be done through the local church because we need each other.  Ministry is not an individual thing.  We have been called together with other believers in our local churches to minister in the name of Christ.  We pool our resources and then use some of them in our local church and community and then send a lot of it overseas that the nations may know the name of Jesus and worship Him.

2. How much should you give?

It is difficult to address the issue of giving without talking about the tithe since so many church members have been told for so long that they are required to give 10% of their income to the church.  It is my conviction that the tithe was part of the judicial law for Theocratic Israel.  Therefore, it is no longer required of believers under the New Covenant.  We would also expect that the tithe would be mentioned more than twice in the New Testament if it were still in effect for Christians today.  Instead, both occurrences of the word "tithe" are found in the context of rebukes to the Pharisees. 

I would argue that the picture we have of giving in the New Testament is that it should be done generously, sacrificially, and cheerfully.  For some, 10% is extremely generous and sacrificial.  For others, 10% is not very generous or sacrificial at all even though it is a lot of money.  We must decide in our hearts how much we will give, whether that is a percentage of our income or an exact amount.

I expect we all have room to grow in generosity and sacrifice.  When we consider that our motivation for giving is what Christ has first given us, it is hard to imagine that we could ever give enough.  May we grow in gospel giving that God might be glorified in our local churches, communities, and among the nations.