The Gift of Giving

Why give? • What to give? • How to give? • Where to give? • Giving Now

Why give?

The Bible clearly says giving is a duty. But obedience to God is not legalism; it is the great privilege of God’s people, who give in response to his lavish grace towards them.

In Deuteronomy 14, the Lord tells his people that they, of all the people on earth, are chosen as his sons, his holy family, a treasured possession, and special to him. Their privileged-family status will, of course, be reflected in their way of life. In all things, including the area of spending, this family lives not like the pagans, but to the Lord! The chapter unfolds a celebration of giving — which is to be to the Lord, with rejoicing and for the benefit of his people, with generosity, but also for the blessing of the giver, ‘that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands’. We give, but he gives far more!

Thus, giving is also an act demonstrating true faith. Tithes were to be the first fruits of the year’s harvest, offered thankfully to God even before it was clear if the yield would be good or bad (Deuteronomy 26:2ff). You only give away the first portion of all you have if you really trust God’s promise to bless and provide for you. This is the faith that pleases God — it trusts that he is who he says he is, the rewarder of those who truly seek him (Hebrews 11:6).

This same theology pervades the New Testament. Writing in 2 Corinthians 8-9 about matters of giving, Paul unfolds exactly the same pattern of God’s grace, our response, and God blessing obedient faith with superabundant provision for his people’s spiritual wellbeing.

We give in response to the Lord Jesus: ‘though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich’ (8:9). Giving demonstrates faith; it is true ‘worship’ — not only supplying the needs of the saints but also ‘overflowing in many thanksgivings to God’ (9:12). But with this God, responsive, obedient faith rebounds in blessing! He promises spiritual enrichment ‘in every way for all your generosity’ (9:11) and ‘sufficiency in all things at all times’ enabling us to flourish in our service to God (9:8).

Giving to this God is not a burden, but a joy. It is a means of his grace to us, by which we recognise his lavish blessings, return our love to him, and in doing so respond to the needs of his people. Our God is no man’s debtor.

What to give?

The most basic biblical principle concerning giving laid down in the Old Testament has a twofold reference. On the one hand, the ‘tithe’, or tenth, of every part of one’s substance ‘belongs to the Lord’ (Leviticus 27:30ff), and on the other, the first-fruits of all, whether of animals or crops, is the Lord’s (Deuteronomy 15:19ff; 26:2ff; Leviticus 27:26 etc).

Thus, God required not just a set part, but the first and best part — not because he needs it, but to help his people to remember his grace: that ‘all things come from you, and of your own have we given you’ (1 Chronicles 29:14). And, because giving to God was a cause of joy, not a burden, there were many additional tithes, offerings, contributions and freewill offerings (see Deuteronomy 12:6ff; 14:28ff; 26:12ff). The principle of tithing was such a blessing, it was multiplied in all manner of ways, for the blessing of both giver and receiver!

So, too, in the New Testament church, the same attitude to giving is everywhere evident. The only difference is that we, as inheritors of the promised blessings of the age of the Spirit, have so much more to give thanks for than Old Testament Israel! Hence Paul’s stress on giving abundantly, joyfully, sacrificially and gratefully — in response to the grace that is ours in Christ (2 Corinthians 8).

Sometimes it is said that the New Testament does not command tithing directly, and in a strict sense that is true. But the apostles could hardly conceive of the New Testament church responding less generously than the Old — heaven forbid! Tithing is a good place to start, certainly, but the churches of Macedonia gave not just according to their means, ‘but beyond their means of their own free will, begging earnestly for the favour’, says Paul (2 Corinthians 8:4). And the Lord Jesus sets before us the pattern of the poor widow, who gave not 10%, but ‘everything she had’ (Mark 10:44). We cannot give what we do not have, and Paul tells us to be realistic, not foolish. But his desire is that we are moved freely by a generous spirit, and that this ‘readiness in desiring’ to give is matched by us actually giving it ‘out of what (we) have’ (2 Corinthians 8:11).

How to give?

Sometimes we feel reticent to talk much about money, and about giving to the church, and this is understandable given the way some religious — and even ‘Christian’ — groups exploit people in shocking ways. However, the New Testament, like the Old, does give clear instruction: Christian giving is not to be left to chance, but is to be done in a properly organised way.

Paul gives considerable attention to the administration of money, devoting most of 2 Corinthians 8-9 to the subject (as well as instructions elsewhere). These chapters will repay careful consideration for our own thinking about Christian stewardship, but let’s highlight some key principles to think about corporately and individually.

Churches are instructed that giving is to be organised

• Properly: (8:16-24) giving serious thought and effort to stewarding resources for the Lord.
• Openly: (8:21) beyond reproach and honourable ‘not only in the Lord’s sight, but in the sight of man’.
• Wisely: (8:22) not naïve about temptations, but entrusting money to those ‘tested and found earnest’.
• Strategically: (8:18,19,23) funding ‘the preaching of the gospel’, ‘the needs of the saints worldwide’, ‘for the glory of the Lord himself’, ‘for the glory of Christ’

Individuals are likewise instructed to give

• Regularly & efficiently (9:5; 1 Corinthians 16:2) in a planned way, not casually. We should not resist giving through the planned giving schemes of our congregation.
• Willingly (9:6-7) as God loves a chearful giver!
• Confidently (9:8-11) trusting God to supply all our needs as we seek to sow bountifully.

Please do study these Scriptures, thinking carefully and prayerfully about your own commitment to giving as part of the fellowship at St George’s-Tron. Then, please respond appropriately using the practical information and guidelines included in the giving pack.