The Reverend Harold A. Linn, Pastor

Christian Giving In God’s Word

By Dr. Richard P. Bucher

The sermon concludes. The offertory is sung. The offerings are gathered. Giving money to the church on Sunday morning is at least as old as the Christian Church. St. Paul speaks of it, charging the Corinthians to give a certain amount on the first day of the week. It was the apostolic norm in all the congregations of that time (1 Co. 16:1-2). Of course, it is also true that the giving of one's possessions to God is as old as the people of God. We find examples of it in Cain and Abel's sacrifice (Gen. 4:3-4), Abraham's tithe (Gen. 14:18-20), and the contributions of the Israelites to the tabernacle and then the temple. But this is beyond the scope of this little article.

The purpose of this article is to present what the Scriptures teach about giving money to the Church. In our day there is both confusion and hostility surrounding this subject, no doubt due to infamous televangelists who have fleeced their followers in recent years. On the basis of holy Scripture, I would like to try to answer four questions to clarify what God's Word teaches about Christian Giving. (1) Do Christians Have to Give? (2) To Whom or What Should We Give? (3) How Much Should We Give? (4) What Should Motivate Us to Give?

1. Do Christians Have to Give?

Is giving money to God optional? Absolutely not! Christians are commanded by God to give of their possessions to the work of God.

I'm not referring to the laws of tithing which God imposed upon the Old Testament believers. These will be discussed later. I'm referring to the moral law of the Seventh Commandment: You shall not steal. The Seventh Commandment is not merely about stealing--it is about stewardship.

The Seventh Commandment reminds us that God is the owner of everything. "The earth is the LORD's, and all its fulness, the world and those who dwell therein" (Ps. 24:1) is the constant refrain of Scripture. When we steal from our neighbor we are ultimately stealing from Him who gave to our neighbor in the first place (James 1:17). Since God owns everything, it follows that we own nothing: we are merely stewards (managers) of God's possessions. Our possessions have been lent to us by God and He expects us to use them wisely as good stewards (Read the "Parable of the Talents" Matt. 25:14-30). The Christian views everything that he has or is, not as "mine," but "Thine."

It is only in this context that giving money for God's work can be correctly understood. The reason Christ and the apostles can so matter-of-factly command us to give (e.g., Luke 6:38; 11:41; Gal. 6:6), is because it is only natural that we would give back to God what He has first given to us. No one is exempted from this command to give. It has nothing to do with income or means (remember the widow -- Mark 12:41-44!). Everyone can give something for everyone has something from God -- no matter how little. Not that we are actually giving to God, as if He needed our gifts. Rather, we give to support His work here on earth -- and that leads to the next section.

2. To Whom or What Should We Give?

When we bring our offerings to God, who or what are we giving to? In general, as mentioned above, we are giving to our neighbor (Lk. 6:38; 11:41), especially the needy. More specifically, we give to other Christians. In the apostolic church, Christians took collections and shared them with other congregations in need throughout the world (2 Cor. 8-9).

But the bulk of the Biblical data on giving points in another direction. The main thing that believers of the Old and New Testaments were instructed to give to was the Public Ministry that is, the work of the Gospel that proceeded from the pastoral office. It is well known that Old Testament believers were commanded to tithe. But what were the tithes used for? To a large extent they were used to support the Levites and Priests in their work of Service before God (Numb. 18:20-24; Deut. 14:22ff.; 26:12ff.; 2 Chron. 31:1-20; Heb. 7:5).

Not surprisingly, then, we find in the New Testament various commands to support the work of the Gospel by supporting the called Minister: "Let him who is taught the word share in all good things with him who teaches" (Gal. 6:6); "Do you not know that those who minister the holy things eat of the things of the temple, and those who serve at the altar partake of the offerings of the altar? Even so the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel" (1 Cor. 9:13-14); "Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine. For the Scripture says, "You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain," and, "The laborer is worthy of his wages" (1 Tim. 5:17- 18).

The Christian gives primarily so that "those who preach the Gospel should live from the Gospel." In other words, the Christian gives so that Christian pastors, missionaries, and congregations have what they need to effectively preach the Gospel and administer the Sacraments (cf. Phil. 4:10-19). Then the Christian gives secondarily so that the needs of fellow Christians (Rom. 12:13) and other neighbors are met as God gives the opportunity and the means. Obviously the word "effectively" is open to interpretation. Each congregation must prayerfully determine what in their situation is necessary for effective Word and Sacrament ministry.

3. How Much?

This is the big question. In the Old Testament, the answer was simple: 10% of one's possessions was commanded by God (Lev. 27:30-32). In the Hebrew, the word for tithe means "a tenth" of something.

New Testament believers, however, are under no such law. Not only is there no direct command in the New Testament to tithe (give 10%), but the opposite teaching is found. The principle of New Testament giving is summed up by this word of Paul in 2 Co. 9:7: "Let each one give just as he has purposed in his heart; not grudgingly or under compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver." Each Christian is to decide in his own heart "how much" to give and to give it cheerfully. In the New Testament, Christians are commanded to give, but are not told how much to give.

But what happens when a Christian is cheerfully giving next to nothing? What happens when a Christian is very happily giving the same amount that he gave 20-30 years ago? To such Christian the following needs to be said.

First, why did God choose 10%? God is a fair and loving God. Most Old Testament Israelites were much poorer than we are today--they were paupers in comparison to us. Yet God commanded that they give 10%. God must have known that such a percentage was not too much -- for He is a fair and loving God. For this reason some Christians today do give 10% -- not because they are commanded to -- but in freedom, because they deduce that God must have known that 10% was a fair amount to give. Unfortunately many Christians today give far less than 3% of their income.
 

Second, remember that Jesus praised the widow very highly precisely because she gave a higher percentage of her possessions (all she had! Mark 12:41-44). And immediately before St. Paul writes that "God loves a cheerful giver," he writes, "But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully" (2 Co. 9:6).

Third, if everyone in the church gave as you do, would the church survive? Would there be a pastor? Are you loving your fellow Christians, when by your tiny giving you force a few members to "carry" the church? You say you don't have much to give; yet what percentage of your income do you spend on other pleasures, toys, etc.?

Finally, there is this practical bit of advice. Many Christians have found it helpful and God-pleasing to decide at the beginning of the year what percentage of their income they will give each week. They then stick to that amount come what may, trusting that God will supply their other needs. This "discipline" helps them to give regularly, rather than sporadically giving whatever is "left over." These Christians find it impossible to give "left overs" to a loving God who has given them so much!

4. What Should Motivate Us to Give?

What should motivate the Christian to give? Though at times Christians need to hear the Law (if they are giving nothing or next to nothing and hence this article), normally it is the Gospel that should motivate them and not the Law. This Gospel motivation is summed up beautifully by St. Paul when he writes to the Corinthians: "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich" (2 Co. 8:9). We give because we have been given to. We give because we have been made rich beyond belief in Christ. And because of this we want to give, freely, cheerfully, generously. It is the least we can do for Him who has done everything for us.

I hope this short tract has proven helpful. May God motivate you by His grace in Christ to generously and cheerfully give for the proclamation and defense of the Gospel.