Are We Giving For The Future?
I Timothy 6:19
Preached by Pastor Tony Miano
Pico Canyon Community Church
February 25, 2001
Introduction: Well, I hope you’ve enjoyed our study on giving so far. I hope it hasn’t been too painful. My prayer over the last few weeks is that we would all see giving as an act of worship, an important responsibility in the life of every believer, and an important step toward spiritual maturity. Today we’re going to finish our study on giving by answering the question, “Are we giving for the future?”
Our text for the last few weeks has been First Timothy 6:17-19. We’re going to focus this morning on verse nineteen. “Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life in deed.”
Last week, as we studied verse eighteen, we considered four things we should do to make us ready to give. Using the word “salt,” we looked at four types of giving—sacrificial, abundant, liberal, and tender. Last week’s study was more of the here and now, how can I apply this to my life today, look at giving. Today we’re going to look to the future.
Today we’re going to look at the end result, according to Scripture, of good stewardship. In order to give for the future we need to have a plan that has the future in mind. We need to understand the purpose for giving toward the future. And we need to keep our minds, our sights, on the promise that comes with giving toward the future.
The Plan
Paul finishes the thought he began in verse eighteen, in the verse we’re going to be studying this morning. Paul tells Timothy that if those who are rich, having more than the basic necessities of food, clothing, and shelter (v. 17), become people who give sacrificially, abundantly, liberally, and tenderly (v. 18), then they would be “storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future” (v. 19a). What we see here is a plan for giving.
As a gang investigator, every time I prepared a search warrant, I also prepared what was called an “Ops Plan.” The plan always began by stating the objective. Usually, the plan was to enter a location, apprehend suspects, collect evidence, and leave the place as close to its original condition as possible. But beyond the obvious was the always spoken, sometimes unwritten goal of making sure that every deputy who entered the location came out of the location in one piece. Having a well thought out plan gave those of us involved in the execution of the warrant a certain level of contentment about the outcome.
Even though we couldn’t plan for every unforeseen contingency, having laid a firm foundation through consistent training, knowledge of the target, the gathering of intelligence information, and having the determination to win every time we went out gave us a certain, safe level of confidence or contentment. Now this contentment, this confidence was not in our own abilities as much as it was in the plan. Everyone on our team knew our own fallibilities. We knew our weakness every bit as much, if not more, than our strengths. We all realized that none of us could successfully execute a warrant by ourselves. We also knew that having a “Lone Ranger” on the team could put us all in jeopardy.
A situation where a good plan probably saved our lives happened a few years ago. My partner and I were investigating a local faction of the 18th Street Gang who were said to be stockpiling guns. We were able to cultivate an informant who confirmed the information. We developed enough information to obtain a search warrant for the location. The informant was able to provide detailed information about the interior of the location, including where people slept in the house and where they kept their weapons. One important piece of information the informant gave me was the fact that the leader of the group slept on a couch, just to the left of the front door, with a loaded .45 under his pillow.
Now, it was customary for the lead investigator on the case to be the first one in the door on a search warrant. It was my case, so I would be first to go in. When we took the front door of the apartment off its hinges, I immediately moved to my left and found the leader sleeping on the couch with his hand under the pillow. Because of the information I had received, because of the detailed plan we laid out, I was able to get the drop on this guy before he could get his hand out from under the pillow. Sure enough—there was a loaded .45 under the pillow.
Everybody in the apartment went to jail. We collected a bunch of guns and drugs. And, most importantly, every deputy sheriff went home that day to his family with another war story. We had laid a firm foundation. We had a plan that looked to the future, to a safe outcome of a dangerous situation, and the plan worked.
In the first half of verse nineteen, along with what we studied last week in verse eighteen, is a plan for giving that has the future in mind. In the first phrase of verse nineteen, we have one of the great paradoxes of the Christian faith. In order for the Christian to store up for themselves eternal treasures, they must give themselves away. Do most Christians do that? Last week we looked at some statistics regarding giving from the general public. Let’s now look at some stats that deal specifically with people in the church.
According to a Gallup Poll of church members, of those who responded, 17% said they tithe, but only 3% actually do. 40% will give nothing in a year, yet 91% of the people say they make more money than they ever have in their life. And 71% of pastors polled said they believe that church members have changed from stewards into consumers. While I agree with the pastors who make up the 71%, I think my time will be better-spent discipling believers to be good stewards and genuine, faithful givers than to dwell on the negative.
What interested me about the poll was the 91% of church members who said they were making more money than they ever had in their life. The question that begs to be asked is, “what are they doing with their money?” What are they investing in? If they say they are investing in the future, what kind of future are they hoping to have? Or maybe the question that should be asked of the 91%, those who are better off than ever, is, “are you really storing up for yourselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, or are you simply living for today? Really—what’s your plan?”
When I shared the analogy of the search warrant, I mentioned that there was a certain level of confidence or contentment in the plan. The opportunity for mistakes, even disaster, can come during a search warrant when team members lack confidence in the plan to the point that one or more of the team abandon it and set out to do their own thing. I think the same can be said when we deviate from the Master’s plan, which is laid out for us in great detail in His “Ops Plan,” the Bible.
We can claim to be confident in our own plans, and still not be content in a true sense of the word. I know how true this has been in my life, in times past. I would come up with a great plan to provide for my family, to bring some level of financial security to the home, and I would do so with a modicum of confidence. But the more I leaned on my own understanding, the more I trusted in my own plan, the less content I became, even though I had been able to convince myself that my plan was God’s plan. There always seemed to be more I needed. Instead of increasing my savings and security, I managed to only increase my debt and my lack of contentment.
Although I tried to convince myself that I was saving for the future, laying that good foundation for the future, in actuality I was just stressing out about what tomorrow would bring. Sounds pretty spiritual, doesn’t it? And that brings us back to the paradox we find in the beginning of verse nineteen.
The stress, the lack of confidence, the lack of contentment about what the future holds is because we spend our time, talents, and tithes on acquiring the things of this world instead of giving ourselves away. The treasure is not in what we keep, but in what we give away. We see this in the story of the rich young ruler.
“And behold, one came to Him and said, ‘Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?’ And He said to him, ‘Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.’ He *said to Him, ‘Which ones?’ And Jesus said, ‘YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT MURDER; YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY; YOU SHALL NOT STEAL; YOU SHALL NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS; HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER; and YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ The young man *said to Him, ‘All these things I have kept; what am I still lacking?’ Jesus said to him, ‘If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.’ But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieved; for he was one who owned much property” (Matt. 19:16-22).
What we see in the rich, young ruler is a man with a plan. He had acquired a great deal of personal wealth. That was part of his plan. He had convinced himself that he was quite spiritual. That was the part of his plan that he thought would balance out the first part, which was getting as much as he could out of the world. Yet the young man was still stressed out. Something was missing.
My guess is that the man knew exactly what was missing, but up until his conversation with Jesus he couldn’t bring himself to admit it. The treasure he was amassing was merely temporal. The treasure and contentment in life that he longed for would only come when he started giving himself away¾giving himself away with an eternal perspective.
Jesus told the young man that he would only be complete when the treasure he acquired was the kind that was stored in heaven. The man would not be content until this became a way of life for him. Now, it’s important to note here that Jesus wasn’t suggesting to the man that good works, such as giving to the poor, would in any way earn him salvation. Jesus was simply telling the man that if eternal life, and not the riches of the world, was at the heart of the man’s motivation, then he would be giving himself away freely. “His willingness to obey [Jesus’] command would not merit salvation but it would be evidence that he desired salvation above everything else” (MacArthur, p. 193).
Last week we looked at a passage in Luke 12 in which Jesus was teaching His disciples about giving by faith. There is a parallel passage in Matthew 6 that speaks in even greater detail about this idea of contentment.
“For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?”
“And who of you being worried can add a single hour to his life? And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.”
“But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.”
“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matt. 6:25-34).
Do you want to store up for yourself eternal riches? Then you need a plan. The plan, although sometimes difficult to implement, is quite simple. You need to give yourself away. You need to give sacrificially, abundantly, liberally, and tenderly of your tithes, time, and talents. You need to do this with a heartfelt attitude of contentment that leaves the rest of the world scratching its head. The contentment must be not the sense that you have everything you want in the world, but that you have everything you need in the Lord.
In order to store up treasure in heaven, you must be willing to use the resources the Lord so graciously provides, regardless of where you fall on a financial chart--not keep them locked in the safety deposit box of an non-giving heart. The rate of return is far greater, eternal, when we invest our tithes, time, and talents in loving others.
That’s what we’ve done at Pico Canyon, and that’s what we’re going to continue to do. As a church body we are going to give ourselves away at every opportunity. Yes, we are going to be good stewards of the resources and people that the Lord provides us. We want to be wise and prudent, making sure that what we give away is benefiting those in need and bringing honor to the Lord.
But our church is not a bank. It is not a savings and loan. It is not a lending institution. It’s a giving institution. The interests and dividends will not be weighed by columns of numbers in black, but in the number of lives changed by the grace of God, through His Son Jesus Christ. These will be our treasures. Those God allows us to touch with the gospel and with the love of Christ will be our good foundation for the future.
The Purpose
In the second half of verse nineteen, we find the purpose for giving with an eternal perspective, the purpose for storing up the treasures of the good foundation for the future. We also see the promise that comes with this kind of giving. Paul writes, “so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed.”
There are several different areas of study in Bible interpretation. One that I find very interesting, and one that can be taken up by any student of the word regardless of the level of your theological education, is word study. Word study involves taking individual words or phrases found in Scripture and studying the word’s origin, meaning, and use in the Bible.
I shared with Eric on Thursday, during our time of prayer and discipleship that I was struggling with putting this morning’s message together. You see, the passage we have looked at for the last few weeks is more often than not preached in one sermon. There are many challenges to actually teaching what the Word says as opposed to just preaching my opinion of the Word. Part of the challenge is finding balance between attention to detail and keeping the message relevant and practical.
At the same time, I believe my responsibility to you on Sunday morning and throughout the week is not to only encourage you with the Word, but also to show you how you can encourage yourself through your own study of the Word. I get excited every time I discover something new in God’s Word. It’s not that I’m discovering things that no one else has ever seen. In fact, people who make such claims make me nervous.
The excitement for me is in discovering something that is new to me, not new in the Scripture. The excitement for me is in that every thing I learn from Scripture brings me one step closer to knowing the mind and heart of God. Scripture tells us that no one can fully understand the mind of the Lord. But what a joy and privilege to study His Word for the purpose of getting as close as I can. With all that said, I want to take a couple of minutes and do a brief study of a word in the second half of verse nineteen. Let’s see what we might learn about the purpose for giving for the future by studying this word.
The verb translated from the Greek as “take hold” in the second half of our verse is also found earlier in the chapter, in verse 12. Paul writes, “Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” The only time Paul uses the word in his writing is found in these two verses in First Timothy. In both cases, the word appears in the aorist or past tense.
In fact, the word, which is most often used by Luke, appears seventeen times in the New Testament. With the exception of Hebrews 2:16, where the word appears in the present tense, every other appearance of the word is in the aorist tense. In verse nineteen, not only is the word in the aorist tense, but it is also in the subjunctive mood. Now, stay with me. I’m actually going somewhere with this. When the aorist is combined with the subjunctive the translation looks much like the future tense. So what we have here is action completed in the past, while at the same time looking to the future.
Look again at verse nineteen. Paul says, “so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed.” Some wrongly translate this verse to mean that if a person does good works, if they are generous givers, then they can earn that which is life indeed—eternal life. After all, doesn’t the verse look like it says, “If we follow Paul’s instructions on giving, then we will take hold of eternal life.” This is where digging deep into Scripture helps us defend our faith and refute false teaching. It’s more important to know what God’s Word actually means than to simply look at it thinking we see what it says.
In my study, I found that in those other places in Scripture where I found the words “take hold,” the context was that of getting a grip on something. It was used when Jesus would take hold of someone to heal them. It was used when those who despised Jesus would try to get a hold of Him intent on murdering Him. It was used in other places where we find people led by the arm, from place to place. Paul uses the words “take hold” in a metaphorical sense. He uses a figure of speech in order to drive home his point. Obviously, Paul’s readers couldn’t reach out and literally grab eternal life.
Paul is telling his readers—and this where our brief study of the grammar of the words comes into play—that they were to focus on the fact that they had already taken hold of eternal life, through the grace of God and their faith in Christ. That’s why the use of the past tense is important here. We should get a grip on the fact that, in Christ, we already possess the most precious treasure of all—eternal life. Why are we spinning our wheels, working ourselves into an early grave, trying so desperately to hold on to that which is perishable and superficial? Why are we struggling so hard to hold on to the riches of this world when we ought to be giving ourselves away? We need to get a grip. The means of doing just that can be found in sacrificial, abundant, liberal, and tender giving.
Although the “taking hold” of eternal life was completed in the past, through faith in Christ alone, without the aid of any good works, Paul also has in mind the idea of future benefit of taking hold of it. This idea of taking hold of eternal life is, again, not receiving salvation. It’s the future appropriation, the taking hold of “all the benefits, privileges, and responsibilities” (Vine, p. 554) that come with the salvation we’ve already received.
That’s the purpose for giving, the purpose for “storing up . . . the treasure of a good foundation for the future”—so that we may one day enjoy the wonderful fruits of our labors as we spend eternity worshipping the Lord in heaven.
The Promise
The purpose and promise that comes with giving toward the future go hand in hand. Think of it this way. Before you receive an inheritance from a parent, you must first be a child of that parent. You will one day receive the inheritance, not because of what you’ve done, but because of who you are to the parent. The promise isn’t that you have an inheritance. Rather, the promise is that one day you will receive the benefits of the inheritance you already have.
There are many passages in the New Testament that talk about our inheritance in Christ Jesus. The Apostle Paul wrote to the believers in Ephesus, “Also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will” (Eph. 1:11).
In the phrase, “we have obtained an inheritance,” we have an aorist passive use of a Greek compound word. “When something in the future was so certain that it could not possibly fail to happen, the Greeks would often speak of it as if it had already occurred” (MacArthur, p. 29). If we are true believers in Jesus Christ, we can look to the future blessing of our inheritance as if we have already received it.
Paul gives a description of the inheritance in Ephesians 1:3. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.” The promised inheritance, the spiritual blessing, is that one-day we will enjoy every promise that God has ever made. The promise is so certain, so real, that we can live our lives in this world, today, right now, with the joy and peace that comes from being absolutely certain that we will be in the Lord’s presence forever, in heaven, experiencing His perfect love and grace—face to face.
It’s important that we constantly keep in mind that the blessings believers will receive in heaven are not wrapped up in the things we will receive, but who we will be with. If our focus in this world is on the size of our house, the beauty of its interior, the number of cars in the garage, or the size of our stock portfolio, then our view of heaven is going to be slanted toward the same things. We will limit our sights to the promised beauty of the place instead of the promised fellowship in that place.
In Preaching Today, Leith Anderson wrote the following.
“My family and I have lived in the same house for seventeen years. We’ve lived there more than twice as long as I have lived at any other address in my entire life. I’ll sometimes refer to it as ‘our house,’ but more often I refer to it as ‘home.’ What makes it our home isn’t the address or the lot or the garage or the architecture. What makes it home is the people.”
“You may live in a bigger or newer or better house than we live in, but as nice as your house may be, I would never refer to your house as home because the people who are most important to me don’t live there. So what makes home home is the people in the relationships.”
“And what makes heaven heaven is not streets made out of gold, great fountains, lots of fun, and no smog. That all may be well. Actually I think heaven is far greater than our wildest imagination. The same God who designed the best of everything in this world, also designed heaven, only he took it to a far greater extent than anything we’ve ever seen. Yet that’s still not what makes heaven heaven. What makes heaven heaven is God. It is being there with Him” (as quoted in Larson, p. 120).
Let’s look at another passage. In the following passage, the Apostle Peter brings out another important aspect of the believer’s inheritance. Paul explained the unending, eternal quality of the inheritance when he wrote these words.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (I Peter 1:3-5).
Peter uses three adjectives to describe the believer’s inheritance—imperishable, undefiled, and unfading. Let’s take a minute and look at each of them.
The first is “imperishable.” The word comes from the root word that means, “to corrupt” or “to destroy.” The word was often used to describe the decimation of a country by an enemy army. Peter’s use here of the negative adjective could mean that the inheritance of the believer will never be subject to the enemy forces of the world. It will be forever free from the decay to be faced by every earthly thing.
Peter also described our inheritance as undefiled. This word carries with it the idea of being stain-free. Our inheritance is eternally free from the stain of sin. And this brings out another important aspect of biblical Christianity. If our inheritance is free from the stain of sin, then in order for us to receive and enjoy the inheritance, we, too, must be free from the stain of sin.
Since we, as sinful creatures are utterly incapable of living a stain-free, sin-free life, since we are incapable of meriting the inheritance God has for us, God provided an undefiled sacrifice to take our place—Jesus Christ. II Corinthians 5:21 says, “He (God) made Him (Jesus) who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
Lastly, Peter describes our inheritance as that which “will not fade away.” This last adjective emphasizes the permanence of the inheritance. Peter uses the Greek word “amaranton.” The amaranthine flower gets its name from the same Greek word. The amaranthine is “so called because it never withers or fades, and when plucked off [the stem, it] revives if moistened with water. [It serves as] a symbol of perpetuity and immortality” (Unger, p. 50).
But even a flower as beautiful as the amaranthine will eventually turn to mulch as the plant decays. Such is not the case with our inheritance. Where the flower gets its beauty from what seems to be its endless durability, the believer’s inheritance is beautiful because it is durable, endless, and eternal.
Peter expands on the incredible nature of our promised inheritance when he writes, “reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith.” Committing to a plan for sacrificial, abundant, liberal, and tender giving, and understanding the purpose for such a plan, would seem to be much easier if our focus was on the spectacular, promised inheritance reserved for us in heaven.
The word “reserved” can also be translated as “to guard,” to keep,” or “to take care of.” Peter uses the word in the perfect tense, which means the inheritance is already secured and continues to be so today. But Peter also wrote that the inheritance has been reserved for those “who are protected by the power of God through faith.” There is one condition placed on receiving and enjoying the inheritance.
We’ve spent the last three weeks, now, looking at what God’s Word would tell us about giving without regret. We’ve considered whether or not we are too rich to give, at least in our own minds, by looking at our attitudes toward riches and giving. We’ve considered whether or not we’re even ready to give, as the Bible would teach us. And today we’re studying to see how high we set our sights when it comes to giving by trying to determine if we are truly giving for the future. I hope, in the process, all of us have been challenged about the way we think of giving.
Yet there is one thing that binds all of this teaching together, one thing that is absolutely necessary for any of the things we’ve talked about to have any real and lasting affect, and we’ve touched on it a couple of times this morning. We must first be included among those “who are protected by the power of God through faith.”
You can listen to this teaching and be convicted to take a different look at the way you handle your finances and what you think true wealth looks like. You can listen to this teaching and feel compelled to give more to the church or to those people you meet who are in need. You might even go as far as to start looking toward the future, beyond your life in this world, and focus on a plan, the purpose, and the promise that comes with giving yourself away. But unless you can truly count yourself among those who are protected by the power of God through faith, then I can guarantee the convictions you may be feeling today will soon fade away.
You see, without the present salvation of the Lord, you cannot truly look ahead, or even fully comprehend, the joy the inheritance found in eternal life will bring. You may go home today thinking that your attitude about your financial status has changed, but, in time, when push comes to shove, matching toys with the Joneses will be your goal. You may go home today feeling more charitable than you ever have, but, in time, when push comes to shove, those old, tired thoughts of “what’s in it for me” will begin to creep back in to your mind. You may go home today thinking that your done storing up treasures here on earth and are going to start storing up those things that have eternal significance, but, in time, when push comes to shove, you will look no further than your 401K for your future treasures.
Unless—unless you know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, unless you have trusted in Him alone, by faith, for your salvation, unless you are one of His children protected by the power of God, the things I just described will likely come to pass. In order to plan for the future blessing that comes with eternal life, you must carry that future blessing, today, in your heart, through the assurance of salvation in Jesus Christ.
In order to understand the purpose of such a plan and count on the promised blessing of a heavenly inheritance, you must carry in your heart, today, the assurance of salvation in Jesus Christ. The only way you will truly ever give without regret, the only way you will avoid seeing yourself as too rich to give, ready to give, and give with a future perspective is if you first receive the greatest gift ever given—Jesus Christ.
God modeled this idea of giving without regret, in the most perfect of ways, by giving His Son, His only son, Jesus Christ to pay the penalty for your sins and mine. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
If you haven’t committed your life to Jesus Christ, you should do so first, before you try to implement the principles for giving we’ve talked about over the last few weeks. For those of you who already have this wonderful relationship with Christ, can you ever be too rich to give? No. Are you ready to give of your time, tithes, and talents and are you giving for the future? Then join me in giving without regret and watch as God gives us a glimpse of our future inheritance that has no end.
Let’s pray.
