If a new Christian came up to you here at church or at work,
knowing that you're a professing Christian,
you attend this church, and they told you,
I have just become a Christian, I know I'm supposed to give.
What do I do?
Could you explain to me what you give, how you give,
how much you give?
I don't know anything about it.
What would you tell them?
As we continue our study on faithful stewardship,
this morning I want us to conclude the part about the faithful stewardship of our money.
Some of you I know are going to say, oh, I'm so glad he's through with that.
But as we continue talking about being wise managers of our time,
our talents, our treasures,
we're going to wind it up today, the part about giving,
or the part about being a stewardship of our money,
by looking at our giving.
What would you say to someone who asks you,
what do I give, how do I give, why do I give?
What I want us to do is do a brief survey of some of the major teachings in the Old Testament and the New Testament
about giving,
and then put it together into what the Bible actually means for us today about giving.
Let's do first giving in the Old Testament.
We looked briefly last week and saw that giving to God should be our first priority.
This is called first fruit giving.
Proverbs describes this kind of giving as honoring God.
Look at it.
Honor the Lord with your wealth and with your first fruits of all your produce.
But what you want us to notice is that first phrase, honor the Lord.
The idea of first fruit giving is honoring God, is focused on Him.
We also saw last week that such giving demonstrates trust in God.
For those people giving the Lord the first fruits of their produce, their crops,
they were saying, we're giving God the first,
and we're going to trust Him to provide us with the rest that will meet our needs.
Well, the same thing is true about us.
When we give Him the first of our income,
we're trusting Him.
And we're saying to Him that we're trusting Him to meet our needs with the rest of our income.
Paul encouraged Christians throughout his travels and in several of his letters
to give generously and willingly because God can be trusted to supply us with what we need.
In fact, God supplies us with what we need to give, to save, to invest, and to spend.
By the way, I was so surprised I've got more feedback from last week's message
about on the part about saving and investing than anything else.
In fact, I had some people talk about that really got to them.
Well, I want to just reemphasize this morning.
A part of being a good steward, it's not just giving.
It's earning.
It's giving.
But it is saving and investing wisely as well as spending.
But what I want us to note here in 2 Corinthians 9,
Paul encourages them to trust God.
Look at it.
And God is able to bless you abundantly
so that in all things, at all times,
having all that you need,
you will abound in every good work.
Our first giving priority should be that we give to God.
Don't think about giving to a church.
Don't think about giving to a cause.
As Christians, we need to think of our giving first and foremost
as giving to God to honor Him,
to thank Him,
and to demonstrate to Him we trust You, Lord.
We're going to give the first of our income to You
because we have confidence
that You'll supply us with what we need for everything else.
Well, the major emphasis in the Old Testament on giving
is not the first fruit giving,
but it's on the giving of a tithe or 10% to God.
The first Old Testament records of giving a tithe
was not under the law, not a requirement.
The first time we see tithing mentioned in the Old Testament,
in the book of Genesis,
it was given as a voluntary, spontaneous expression
of worship or gratitude or commitment.
Abraham, who was first known in the Old Testament as Abram,
God's the one who changed His name to Abraham.
On one occasion, He gave a tithe of all He had won in a battle.
He gave a tithe of the spoils of war
to a mysterious figure in the Bible,
Melchizedek, king of Salem and priest of God, he's described.
It says in Genesis 14, verse 20, just simply,
and Abram gave him a tenth of everything.
But I want you to look next at the book of Hebrews.
It affirms that this was an act of worship.
Note, this Melchizedek was king of Salem
and priest of God Most High.
He met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings
and blessed him,
and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything.
In response to that,
God is an expression of worship given to the priest of God.
Next, Jacob, Abraham's grandson,
promised to give a tithe of all that God had given him
in response to God's promise to bless him.
God promised to bless Abraham, Isaac, Jacob,
and their descendants in a very special way,
and ultimately, we're reading the New Testament,
that was through Jesus.
But I want you to note how Jacob responded to God
by saying,
and all that you give me,
I will give a full tenth to you.
That promise of a tithe
was an expression of his commitment to God
because of God's promise to bless him.
These two examples show us
that tithing first appears in the Bible
as a volunteering.
From the heart,
expression of worship,
of gratitude,
of commitment.
That's how it begins.
But tithing appears next in the Bible
as a required giving under the law.
And that's what the majority of things
you read about the tithe in the Old Testament
is all about.
Required, mandated giving
by the people of Israel
living under the law
in the promised land.
Three passages explain this.
I want you to look on the screen,
and I want to encourage you
to write that down
and look at those.
There's a lot of verses represented there.
Leviticus 27, 30 through 33.
Numbers 18, 21 through 32.
Deuteronomy 14, verses 22 through 29.
If you read that,
you may be a little bit confused.
Old Testament scholars debate
how many tithes
are actually being required
in those verses.
Some think there was one yearly tithe,
and then a second one
was required every three years.
Some think there were two yearly tithes,
and then a third one
required every year,
every three years.
Well, when you read those passages,
it's obvious
the people of Israel
were required to give more
than a tenth of their income
every year to God.
It was a requirement
under the law.
Now, let's move on
to the New Testament.
The New Testament does not teach
that Christians must give
a certain percentage
of their income to God.
The New Testament does teach
that Christians should give,
but it doesn't say how much.
It doesn't talk about a percentage.
Most of what you read
in the New Testament about giving
is focused on principles.
Or what we might even say,
our attitude in giving.
I want you to look at some examples.
The New Testament says
that our giving should be willful
or voluntary giving.
We looked at this verse last week,
but let me just remind you.
Each one must give
as he has decided in his heart,
not reluctantly
or under compulsion.
And the second attitude
about giving should be cheerful giving.
And here's the rest of that verse.
For God loves a cheerful giver.
Everyone must give,
but you decide.
You choose how much.
And whatever you give,
do it cheerfully.
Number three,
regular giving is what
the New Testament calls for.
On the first day of every week,
each of you is to put something aside
and store it up.
Our giving should be
on a regular basis.
The fourth principle,
proportionate giving.
Each of you is to put something aside
and store it up
as he may prosper.
Everybody's not supposed
to give the same.
Everybody doesn't prosper
the same way.
Some people are very blessed.
They're very prosperous.
Their giving should reflect that.
Some people just
are not that prosperous.
Fact is,
the reality of life
and their giving
will reflect that.
The fifth attitude
or principle of giving
in the New Testament
is generous giving.
For they gave
according to their means,
as I can testify,
and beyond their means
of their own accord.
There again,
of their own accord
emphasizes
that Christian giving
in the New Testament
was something
that they voluntarily
chose to do.
Even when they sacrificially
gave beyond their means.
Now,
before we start looking
at the amount
we should give,
we need to make sure
that our attitude
toward whatever we give
is the right attitude.
So let's think.
As you think about
giving to God,
and let's be specific,
through this church,
what goes through your mind?
How do you think
of your personal giving?
When you write your check
or give online
or put cash
in the offering plate,
what goes through your mind?
How do you feel?
How would you describe
your attitude
about your giving
to God
through this church?
and then let's just look
at what the New Testament said.
Do the words
willful,
voluntary,
cheerful,
regular,
proportionate,
and generous,
do those words
describe
the attitude
you have
as you give?
Do those words
describe your
habit,
your actions
about giving?
In light of what we see
in this brief survey
of biblical giving,
we need to think about
what should we give
to God today
as Christians,
believers of the Bible?
How should we think
in terms of giving today?
Well, the first thing
we need to understand
about giving today
is that
we do not live
under the Old Testament
law of Moses,
including
the law's requirement
to tithe.
Jesus Christ
has fulfilled
the law.
Jesus
has fulfilled
the law
and set us free
from the law's
requirements.
Now this is stated
here and there
throughout the New Testament.
A statement here,
an example there.
It is explained
in some detail
in the book
of Galatians.
It is explained
fully
in the book
of Hebrews.
If you want
to know,
get a handle
on,
why do we not,
why are we not
obligated today
to live under
the Old Testament
law of Moses,
first five books
of the Old Testament,
like the people
in Israel were
living in the
promised land?
Read the book
of Hebrews.
It explains that.
And Hebrews
chapters 8,
9,
and 10
will give you
the most detail
on why we
as Christians
today
are no longer
under
the Old Testament
law.
In a nutshell,
this is what
Hebrews is telling us.
Jesus fully
kept the law
of God
for us.
Jesus perfectly
kept,
obeyed,
fulfilled the
requirements
of the law.
And when we
trust Him
as our Savior
and Lord,
we're one
with Him.
God looks
at us
united to Christ
and the requirements
of the law
have been fulfilled.
We receive
the righteousness,
the perfect life
credited to us
of Jesus.
Jesus also
died on the cross
to pay the penalty
for our sins
of disobeying
God's law.
And so when we're
united to Jesus
by faith
as Christians,
God looks at us,
we are lawbreakers.
We've sinned
and come short
of the glory of God.
But when God
looks at us
united to Jesus
by faith,
the penalty
for our sin
has been paid.
What Jesus
did for us
through His life
and death
is what saves us
and frees us
from the
penalty of the law.
We put our faith
and trust in Jesus
as our Lord
and Savior.
We are forgiven
and made right
with God
right then
and there.
Our salvation
is by God's grace.
It is totally
undeserved
through faith
in Jesus
and what He
has done
to make us
right with God.
That's why
we don't bring
animal sacrifices
to a temple
on a regular basis
to offer atonement
for our sins
like the people
in Israel did.
That's why
thank the Lord
we don't have
to abstain
from barbecued pork
and ribs
and bacon.
Now if you don't
agree with what I said
you better not
be eating any bacon
or barbecue.
We've been set free
from those dietary
regulations.
There is no
unclean food.
There's a lot of food
we probably shouldn't
eat
but not from
a biblical perspective.
It's what Jesus
has done
for us
on the cross
that we're not
required to keep
Sabbath laws.
You say
well I do.
Well
you don't worship
on the Sabbath
if you come here
on Sunday
Sabbath is the
seventh day.
Saturday.
So you're not
keeping Sabbath laws.
No one is.
Well how should
we think of the
Old Testament
today?
Just forget it?
Rip it out of the Bible?
Absolutely not.
What we read
in the Old Testament
is still the Word
of God
that provides us
with listen
eternal principles
for living a life
that pleases God.
For example
all of the
Ten Commandments
are restated
reinforced
in the New Testament
except the
Fourth Commandment
concerning the
Sabbath.
We don't live
under the Old
Testament law
of Moses
but we do
live under
the principles
contained in
the law.
For example
lying and
stealing is
always wrong.
Honoring your
father and
mother is
always right.
It's just in
the nature of
God for
lying and
stealing to
be wrong.
It's contrary
to who he is.
Honoring your
father and mother
is just how God
created life to
be in this world
between children
and parents of
all ages.
You honor your
father and mother.
Worshiping God
only.
Having no other
gods.
Never taking his
name in vain.
Those are eternal
principles that tell
us how to honor
God.
You can't honor
God and serve
idols or other
gods.
You can't take
God's name in
vain and that
doesn't mean you
just don't use his
name in profane
statements.
That means you
don't take God's
name flippantly or
casually.
If you don't use
God's name be
talking about him
seriously,
honestly,
not flippantly or
casually.
So what about
tithing?
Is that a
principle?
A principle that
endures or is it a
law we no longer
have to keep?
Let's think about
it.
Tithing appears in
the Bible before
the law ever
existed.
Voluntarily giving
a tithe to God is
one of the oldest
tangible expressions
of worship showing
gratitude and
commitment found
among God's
people.
Here's something
else we need to
think about in
relation to the law
and today and
principles and so
forth.
Jesus never
lowered the
standards of
truth found in
those Old
Testament laws.
He actually
raised the bar.
Jesus raised the
standards of truth
for an example.
Jesus taught that
murder is more
than just taking
someone's life.
Murder actually
begins with anger
in our heart.
Insults,
condemnations,
judgments on our
tongue.
Look at what
Jesus said in the
Sermon on the
Mount, Matthew 5.
He says,
You have heard that
it was said to
those of old,
you shall not
murder.
And whoever
murders will be
liable to
judgment.
But I say to
you that everyone
who is angry with
his brother will be
liable to judgment.
And whoever insults
his brother will be
liable to the
counsel.
And whoever says
you fool will be
liable to the hell
of fire.
Jesus said that
adultery is much
more than a
physical act.
The sin of
adultery begins
with a lustful
look and desire.
Note again,
Sermon on the
Mount, Matthew 5.
Jesus said,
You have heard that
it was said,
You shall not
commit adultery.
But I say to you
that everyone who
looks at a woman
with lustful intent
has already committed
adultery with her
in his heart.
And each of those
examples,
Jesus is bringing
out the spirit
of the law,
not just the letter.
And in doing that,
Jesus did not lower
the moral requirements
of the Old Testament
laws.
He raised them,
didn't He?
It's obvious.
So now we come
to tithing.
Tithing appears
to be a solid,
biblical,
very sound
principle
for Christians
today
that gives us
a starting
point
in our giving
to God.
That seems
to be the most
common understanding
of tithing
among Christian
leaders
who take the
Bible's
teaching
seriously.
I want you to
look at an example
from James
Boyce,
long-time pastor,
10th Presbyterian Church
in Philadelphia,
on the radio
for years,
highly respected.
He says,
although the tithe
is not mentioned,
the giving of
weekly offerings
is,
he's talking about
in the New Testament.
And more importantly,
it is generally
the case
in the New Testament,
the obligations
of the Old Testament
legislation
are heightened
rather than
lessened.
Jesus in murder,
Jesus in adultery.
So while we are
not required
to give a specific
tenth of our income,
it is hard to think
of a normal Christian
blessed with the
fullness of the
gospel of Jesus Christ
doing less.
Under reasonable
circumstances,
any true believer
in Christ
should give more
than the tenth.
For all we have
is the Lord's.
Randy Alcorn,
some of you
have read his book
on heaven,
done a study
here in church
on heaven
based on his book.
He's written a lot
of things about giving.
One of his books
was called
The Treasure Principle
and in that book
he compares tithing
to training wheels
on a bicycle.
He says,
training wheels
help you to learn
to ride,
but once you learn
to ride,
you take off
the training wheels.
He says that
when we really
learn to give,
tithing won't
even be an issue.
It will be merely
the beginning point
of our giving.
One more,
Wayne Grudem.
My conclusion
about how much
we should give
is that the New Testament
does not specify
any certain amount
such as 10%.
But a tithe
certainly seems
like a wise guideline
at least when someone
is beginning
beginning
to give
to the Lord's work.
It is a level
of giving
that is significant
and yet not
excessively
burdensome
for people.
I want us
to understand
that the key
to practicing
faithful stewardship
of everything
we have,
everything that we are,
including our money,
is to first
give ourselves
to God.
That's what I pointed
out at the beginning
of this first fruit
offerings.
We are honoring
God.
We are doing it
to Him.
The focus
is on Him.
That's how Paul
explains
how one group
of Christians
were able
to give
so generously.
Note this
in 2 Corinthians 8.
For they gave
according to their means
as I can testify
and beyond their means
of their own accord
begging us
earnestly
for the favor
of taking part
in the relief
of the saints
and this
not as we expected
but they gave
themselves first
to the Lord
and then
by the will
of God
to us.
The key
to their giving,
wanting to give
like they did,
it grew out
of their relationship
with the Lord.
Here's what I want
us to understand.
When we give
ourselves first
to the Lord Jesus Christ
in faith,
in love,
in commitment,
everything else
in our life
will fall into place.
When Christ
is truly
the Lord
of our life
and He's first
in our life,
we'll be faithful
stewards
of our time,
of our talents,
of our treasures.
That includes
earning it,
saving,
investing it,
spending it,
as well as
giving it.
The most
important question
for each of us
this morning
is this,
have I truly
given my life
to Christ?
Our lives
should show it.
If we have,
we should know it
and other people
should be able
to see that in us
because first
and foremost,
our heart's desire
will be to know
Him better,
love Him more,
serve Him
with all our heart,
and that includes
everything.
Now,
if that's true
about you,
if you think
to yourself,
I know,
not perfectly,
but I truly
love the Lord,
I want to know
Him better,
I want to be
more like Him,
I want you to
thank God
because that is
a sign,
a great sign
that God has
worked in your life
in a very
gracious way.
God's changed you,
He is changing you.
If that just
appeals to you,
that's what you're
seeking to do,
to know and love
and serve the Lord,
just thank God
and ask Him
to help you
to keep on.
But if you're honest,
you might say,
that used to be true,
but it's not like
it used to be.
So what I want you
to think is this,
if you have allowed
some more
or something
to take the
Lord's place
in your life,
admit that
as the sin
that it is
to God
right now.
You may not
have ever meant to,
but right now,
you're more concerned
about doing this,
pleasing yourself,
or pleasing a certain
person than you are
pleasing God.
I want to encourage
you to confess
that as the sin
that it is,
turn from it,
change your mind,
repent,
ask God to help you,
and then come back
to Him
in a renewed faith
and commitment.
Ask Him to help you
day by day,
maybe hour by hour,
to live a
God-conscious
life.
Be focused
on seeking
to know
and love
and follow
and be like
the Lord Jesus.
But if what
we're talking
about here
has never been
true about you,
you don't know
God,
you don't have
a relationship
with Christ,
and the truth
is you've never
really thought
that much about
it or cared
to.
But if you do
now,
if God's been
working in your
life these past
few weeks,
maybe through
some of the
things we've
learned,
or maybe just
today,
I want to
encourage you
to turn your
back on living
for you,
repent of
your sin,
put your trust
in Jesus,
and call upon
Him to save
you right now.
That's the most
important thing
for you to do.
I want us to
conclude this
message the same
way we began
this morning.
I want to ask
you,
how would you
instruct a new
Christian
concerning their
giving?
What if they
ask you to
tell them
how you
give,
your thoughts
on giving,
your actions,
what would you
say?
I know for a
fact that there
are many people
in this church
who have a
testimony similar
to mine about
their giving,
and so on
behalf of people
who give this
way, I want to
give you an
example.
I'm going to
give you my
and Lisa's
testimony.
I don't
remember when I
began to
tithe.
When I met
Lisa, I was
already tithing.
She was already
tithing.
When we got
married, we
were already
committed to
giving God the
first 10% that
He blessed us
with.
I'm talking
about we gave
the first 10%
of the gross
income that
we had.
We gave this
tithe to
God with an
emphasis on
giving it to
God, but we've
always given it
to Him through
our local
church, through
our church,
through this
church today.
We've always
considered my
income and her
income to be
our income.
Now, I know
everybody here
doesn't do
that.
That's not the
point this
morning.
I don't have
my money.
Lisa doesn't
have her money.
We have our
money.
And so we
give one
tithe of
our offerings,
our income
rather.
It used to be
the first check
we wrote after
we got paid,
which has been
for years now,
twice a month.
Now, we've
set it up for
that tithe to
be drafted the
day after payday,
two times a
month.
I love that.
I love online
giving.
I love having
it drafted.
You may not
want to do
that, and
that's fine
for you.
But you'd be
surprised how
many Sundays
I've sat in a
pew and
passed, seen
that plate go
by twice, and
I get home,
it's still in my
pocket.
I love having
it drafted, and
I try to think,
I don't every
Sunday, but I
try to think and
do most Sundays
when that plate
has passed.
Thank you,
Lord, for
blessing us and
allowing us to
be able to
give the way
that we're
giving now.
For over 41
years, we have
given at least
10% of our
income to God
through our
church, regardless
of what our
income was or
what our expenses
were.
There's been
times in our
life when money
was tight, and
we cut back on
our spending.
We've never
cut back on
our tithing.
After giving
10% to God
through the
church, we
consider what
other ways God
would have us to
give with the
other 90%.
I want to be
real honest with
you here.
We've always
practiced saving
and investing.
That's very
important.
It's wise.
It's biblical.
I just don't
realize, haven't
realized how many
people don't
understand that,
but you need to
understand that.
But we consider
what we give, the
10% to be our
tithe.
And we consider
what else we
give to be our
offerings.
And we always,
through the years,
have given
offerings to
special cause,
special mission
causes.
Usually our
largest offering
like this is to
the Lottie Moon
Christmas offering
for international
missions that we
give through our
church.
Some years our
largest offering
has been giving
to the building
fund.
We were doing
something real
special like
building or
remodeling here.
We've made it a
habit to give to
other offerings for
various kinds of
ministries and
missions that were
biblically sound,
gospel type
organizations.
We've also
supported some
individuals who were
raising money to go
on a mission trip or
being involved in
some missions,
but we do not
give to people who
ask us to just go on
pleasure trips or
even educational
trips.
That ain't my
place.
I'm not sending you
around the world,
but I will help you
to serve the Lord
somewhere around the
world.
We've given to
benevolent ministries
like Prison
Fellowship's Angel
Tree, Samaritan's
Purse, the Dream
Center.
One reason we give to
those ministries is
because we're
supposed to help
people who are in
need, and those
kind of organizations
not only help people
who are in need,
but they share the
gospel in the
process.
We have given like
this out of love and
gratitude to God for
all that He has done
for us and out of
obedience to what we
believe He's called us
to do.
But I want to be real
clear about something.
We have not and we do
not give out of fear
or guilt.
I grew up going to
church and all my
life, mostly growing
up, I heard it taught
that the tithe is the
Lord's and if you don't
give it, He's going to
get it some other way.
That is poor theology.
That is not biblically
sound theology.
I think if we don't
give, we miss out on a
lot of blessings.
But I don't think we
should give because we're
afraid God's going to do
something to us to get it
another way.
You can't find that as a
motivation for giving.
The result has been in
our giving, God has met
all of our needs and so
much more.
But I want to be quick
to say here, don't give
thinking God's going to
make me wealthy or I'm
going to manipulate God
by my giving.
It doesn't work that way.
God has promised to meet
our needs, but He has not
promised to meet our
wants.
In our lives, we've been
blessed by having our
needs met and a lot of
wants.
But there's been things we
couldn't afford to do.
There's been times, lots of
times we've told our
children we can't afford
this because we chose to be
faithful to God to give
instead of just spending it
on ourselves.
But we chose to do that
because God has blessed us,
because He sent His Son to
die for us.
We love Him.
We appreciate it.
That's our testimony.
And you may not know a lot of
people in this church.
If you're a guest here today,
if there's a lot of people in
this church, theirs wouldn't be
exactly like ours, but a lot of
people in this church do the
same way because I've heard them
say it.
That's our testimony.
That's how I would explain to a
new Christian how to give.
What's your testimony?
How do you give?
Make sure that whatever it is,
it's what pleases God, what honors
Him, what demonstrates your trust in
Him.
And if it doesn't, talk to Him
about it this week and develop a
way to give that will honor God and
show Him that you love Him and
trust Him.
Let's pray together.
Father, show us now how we should
respond to You and just help us to
do it.
Help us to commit ourselves to You
first and all that we are to do.
and all that we have, including our
money and our giving.
Let's just have an attitude of
prayer and respond to the Lord as He
speaks to us.
If I could help you, pray with you,
I'll be here at the front and we'd be
happy to do that.