Scripture: 2 Corinthians 8: 1-15
Message: Christian Giving - Christian Confusion
Anthony Perry Jr.
Every Sunday I grab two little golden plates and I walk to the center aisle as I say, “It is time to receive our tithes and offerings.” What is a tithe? What is an offering? Are we required to give? And why do we give?
I know what you’re thinking, “Oh, no! The preacher’s going to talk about money. Hold on to your wallets and purses. It seems like all anyone wants these days is money, money, money!”
To tell you the truth I’m getting tired of hearing about it, so even though I feel God wants me to talk to you about this subject I am thinking? “Oh no! God is making me talk about money again. Oh God how I hate the subject of Money.
Whenever we hear a message about giving from the preacher we sometimes think, “What’s the preacher’s angle? Is the church in need again and the board wants him to make us feel guilty so we will give more?”
It’s a shame that we live in a day when the glorious privilege of giving as Christians is overshadowed by suspicions like this. It is suspicion that has been caused by con artists who have entered into Christianity and have taken advantage of willing givers.
I felt that what we need is an unbiased Christian look at giving. This is why I turned to 2 Corinthians chapters 8 and 9.
I. The Grace of God is the Basis of Christian Giving
Paul begins in II Cor. 8:1 by writing, "We wish to make known to you the grace of God which has been given in the churches of Macedonia."
Paul seems to be saying that giving is God’s activity through God’s people.
To help us gain the right perspective we have to start with the notion that everything belongs to God anyway.
The Bible says, "Every beast of the forest is Mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. ...everything that moves in the field is Mine. ...the world is Mine, and all it contains" (Psalm 50:10-12). “The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine declares the Lord of hosts” (Haggai 2:8). “Every good thing bestowed and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights” (James 1:17).
God is the owner of all things. This makes Him the giver of all things. What this makes us are trustees, managers, and stewards of Another’s goods.
Did you know that the God who is at work in me is a giving God? His work of undeserved giving is called "grace." So when we give, as Paul explains, it is an expression of God’s character, because God is a giving God. In other words it is God’s grace expressed through His people that Glorifies Him as the Giver of all good things.
What this means is that Christian giving is not merit-giving. It is not something we do to please God so God will be nice to us. Our giving does not earn us brownie points with God, but our lack of giving will certainly be counted against us. Why? Because we have been unfaithful as stewards and managers of God’s property, everything in the world given to us for the good of all God’s people, God will hold us accountable.
The church a long time ago asked people to give in order to buy special favors from God. Today, people are being asked to give in order to buy answered prayers, or to receive a blessing. If was wrong then, and all of Christianity thinks it was wrong then, then why is not wrong now. Neither one has anything to do with Christian giving, because Christian giving is God at work in His people according to His character and for His glory, so that people will learn to be thankful to Him.
II. The Godly Character of Christian Giving
Christian giving is Godly because it allows the character of God, the God who gives, to be expressed in our lives, through the God who dwells in us. The motivation behind God’s giving is God’s Character of Love. Christian giving should always be displayed and pursued with the motivation of God’s Love for others.
Paul tells the Corinthians that by giving they can "prove...the sincerity of their love." (II Cor. 8:8). Later he encourages them to "openly before the churches demonstrate the proof of their love..." (II Cor. 8:24).
The genuine act of Christian love is God’s love living in us and through us, because "The love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." (Romans 5:5)
Christian giving is Godly in character, because the Will of God is displayed.
Too often, because Christians know that it is the will of God to give, they will give to "the wheel that squeaks the loudest," or to the person or cause that presents their "need" as the greatest.
Christian giving is not just responding to a "need." There are a thousand and one "needs" that bombard our lives every day. There is no way we can respond to all the "needs" of the world.
III. What Should We Give? How Much?
We can only give what we have. We shouldn’t give what we don’t have.
In His first letter to the Corinthians Paul said we are to give "as God has prospered us." (I Cor. 16:2). In II Corinthians 8:11-12 Paul writes, "For if the readiness is present, it is acceptable according to what a man has, not according to what he does not have." We can only give from what God has given us.
Yes I know that in II Corinthians 8:3 Paul writes that "according to their ability and beyond their ability they gave...." When Paul says that they gave "beyond their ability", that does not mean they gave beyond what they had. What it does mean is that they gave beyond their level of comfort.
Many people give only enough, so that it doesn’t mess with their "comfort zone." Their giving doesn’t really affect their "standard of living." I don’t want to make you think that every Christian should "give until it hurts." The degree of pain and discomfort is not the measuring stick of Christian giving
If Christian giving is grace-giving which expresses the Divine character in and through us, as we discern God’s will when it comes to what God has given us, then Christian giving can be seen as the overflow of God’s love and supply in our lives.
The Macedonian Christians, Paul says “gave of their own accord" (II Cor. 8:3). They gave voluntarily, willingly, eagerly. They wanted to participate in this grace of God. In fact, in II Cor. 8:4 Paul says, "They were begging for the grace of participation in the support of the saints."
It’s a shame that most of the "begging" we see today is not Christians begging to participate in Christian giving. It is usually the manipulative fund-raisers begging, pleading, appealing, and making their pleas for donations to their cause.
It is not Christian giving unless we freely choose to participate in God’s grace of giving, prompted by God, and not manipulated by man! Notice what Paul says in II Cor. 9:7, "Let each one do just as he has purposed in his heart; not grudgingly or under compulsion..." We are to "choose beforehand" to give, convinced that this is what God wants to do through us.
No study of Christian giving can be made without looking at the misunderstanding some Christians have about tithing. Paul never mentions tithing in II Corinthians 8 and 9. For good reason! The ten percent tithe is not a Christian concept. In the Old Testament tithes were charged to support the temple and priesthood, but in the new covenant every Christian is a priest, and every Christian body is a temple of God.
The only ones ever authorized to receive tithes were the Levites. The Bible does say that we should give out of the goodness of our hearts to those called, committed and charged to do Christian service, but Christian giving is not a matter of collecting mandated percentages!
What often happens when the ten percent tithe is regarded as "Christian giving," is that people think that the ten percent belongs to God and the ninety percent is mine to use as I please. But in reality it all belongs to God as owner and giver. All things are one hundred percent His, and we are to discern how He wants us to use all one hundred percent.
Christian giving is total-life giving! Not "under compulsion;" not mechanically mandated; but a free expression of God’s love for one another displayed for the Glory of God.
So what do we do with what Paul writes in II Cor. 9:6? "He who sows sparingly shall also reap sparingly; and he who sows bountifully shall also reap bountifully." Paul uses this farming imagery of "sowing and reaping," in reference to Christian giving. He seems to be saying there is a "return" on Christian giving. What kind of return?
One man received a letter from a religious organization that said, "If you will just give us $100, then God will give you back ten times as much. ($1000)." The man wrote a letter back saying, "If you really believe what you say, then you send me the $100, and you can keep the $1000." What a way to expose the wrong reasoning behind Christian fund-raising schemes!
Paul wasn’t referring to becoming rich, or reaping a "return" materially, or monetarily. If God wants to do that, then God will do that. But if Paul was using this faulty reasoning, then why didn’t he just tell the poor saints in Jerusalem to give until it hurts out of their poverty, and God would make them rich? There wouldn’t have been any need for Paul to take up a collection on their behalf.
God warns us about the "deceitfulness of riches" (Mark 14:8). Jesus said that you cannot serve two masters; you cannot serve God and mammon (riches)" (Luke 16:13). On another occasion Jesus said, "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" (Luke 18:25). Why? It is because "those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith, and pierced themselves with many a pang. Flee from these things, you man of God; and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness." (I Timothy 6:9-11)
The only riches God wants us to desire are the eternal "true riches" (Luke 16:11), the "treasures of heaven" (Matthew 6:20), the "unfathomable riches of Christ" (Ephesians 3:8), the "riches of His grace" (Ephesians 1:7), the "riches of His glory" (Romans 9:23; Ephesians 3:16; Philippians 4:19; Colossians 1:27). When Paul writes that "we become rich" (II Corinthians 8:9), he is referring to the richness of the fullness of the character of God in the Christian and their giving. When he says "you will be enriched" (II Cor. 9:11), he is referring to "the harvest of righteousness."
IV. The Purpose of Christian Giving
The purpose of Christian giving is the same as the purpose of Christian living. We were "created for the glory of God" (Isaiah 43:7). We are to "do all things for the glory of God" (I Corinthians 10:31).
The result of genuine Christian giving will be "thanksgiving to God" (II Corinthians 9:11-12). It is in thanksgiving that recognizes the "good grace" of God in the midst of the giving and the receiving for the need.
Christian living is Christian giving! Genuine Christians, who are submitting themselves to the Lordship of Jesus Christ; who are listening to God in obedience, cannot help but express the character of God’s love and giving in their actions.
There will be no need to beg or plead with these Christians to give, because no genuine Christian can say, "Well, I don’t feel like I have to give."
As Christians we are, "partakers of the divine nature" (II Peter 1:4), and God’s nature is a giving one. As God lives in us He gives through us Christian giving will be seen, it will be the expression of God’s grace! It will result in God’s glory, and people will learn to be thankful to giving and loving God.
Let me share this last thought with you. If this is the case, then what about all those passages that deal with God is willing to give more to us than we ask, and we have not because we ask not. We give because it is God’s love and nature of giving shown to all, through us. To receive from God is also a gift. God gives and provides for our needs; not because we give and earn brownie points. We receive, because God wants to give to us. It’s His nature. In His giving God is glorified. In our receiving Thanksgiving is created in our hearts to God. We don’t give to get. We give and we receive, because God is love and God is a giving God.
Materials and ideals used in this message come, in part, from James a Fowler’s Christian Giving. http://www.christinyou.net/pages/xngiving.html
