The ministry of giving
In the
Old Testament we find the instructions on how to give in the law of
tithe given to Moses. For more information on what the tithe is, we
recommend you to read our teaching Tithe.
Let us now look into the New Testament, to discover what practice of giving it instructs us to perform.
Why give?
* Jesus has purchased us and everything we possess.
And he died for
all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for
him who died for them and was raised again (2.Cor 5:15 NIV).
* To gather treasures in heaven.
Do not store up
for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and
where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures
in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do
not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart
will be also (Matt 6:19-21).
* To provide for preachers.
If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you? (1.Cor 9:11).
To whom give?
* To those who provide you with spiritual food.
Don’t you
know that those who serve in the temple get their food from the temple,
and that those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the
altar? In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach
the gospel should receive their living from the gospel (1.Cor 9:13-14).
* To your teachers.
The elders who
direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor,
especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. For Scripture-
says,“Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the
grain,“ and ”The worker deserves his wages”
(1.Tim5:17-18)
* To evangelists.
Moreover, as you
Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the
gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in
the matter of giving and receiving, except you only, for even when I
was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid more than once when I was in need
(Phil 4:15-16).
How shall we give?
* By faith.
But whoever has
doubts is condemned if they eat, because their eating is not from
faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin (Rom 14:23).
* With joy.
Each of you
should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not
reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver (2.Cor
9:7).
* In secret.
So when you give
to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in
the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I
tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to
the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is
doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees
what is done in secret, will reward you (Matt 6:2-4).
What will happen when we give?
* The great commission is being carried out.
Neither do we go beyond
our limits by boasting of work done by others. Our hope is that, as
your faith continues to grow, our sphere of activity among you will
greatly expand, so that we can preach the gospel in the regions beyond
you. For we do not want to boast about work already done in someone
else’s territory (2.Cor 10:15-16).
* The church is enlightened.
I may indeed be
untrained as a speaker, but I do have knowledge. We have made this
perfectly clear to you in every way. Was it sin for me to lower myself
in order to elevate you by preaching the gospel of God to you free of
charge? I robbed other churches by receiving support from them so as to
serve you (2.Cor 11:6-8).
* God will meet our needs.
I have received
full payment and have more than enough. I am amply supplied, now that I
have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant
offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. And my God will
meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ
Jesus (Phil 4:18-19).
* We will receive.
- Give,
and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken
together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the
measure you use, it will be measured to you (Luke 6:38).
-Remember
this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows
generously will also reap generously (2.Cor 9:6).
* God will multiply our offer.
- 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
(2.Cor 9:8)
- Now
he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply
and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your
righteousness (2.Cor 9:10).
What does the ministry of giving affirm?
* Our love towards Christ.
- No one can serve two
masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will
be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God
and money (Matt 6:24).
-Whoever
has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who
loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show
myself to them (John 14:21).
- Jesus
replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My father
will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them
(John 14:23).
* Our living faith.
Because
of the service by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise
God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of
Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone
else (2.Cor 9:13).
All of this teach us that the ministry of giving is
accordingly to Jesus’ ministry, which was to save people and
build His church.
-For the Son of man came to seek and to save the lost(Luke 19:10)
-And
I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church,
and the gates of Hades will not overcome it (Matt 16:18).
A better covenant
But in
fact the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the
covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, since the
new covenant is established on better promises. For if there had been
nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought
for another (Heb 8:6-7).
In the first church we read that: With
great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of
the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them
all that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time
those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the
sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to
anyone who had need (Acts 4:33-35).
In
Acts 12:12 we read that when Peter was miraculously released from
prison he went to the house of Mary, where many where gathered in
prayer. The fact that people assembled in her home to pray indicates
that Mary was a leader. Being that she owned a house, tells us that
they were not ordered to sell their houses. Rather, some of them would
sell by faith and under inspiration by the Holy Spirit.
Under
the law, the old covenant, the Israelites were ordered to give tithe of
the growth their grain, fruit, herd and flock provided. The writer of
the Letter to the Hebrews claims that the old covenant was insufficient
and could not bring anyone to perfection (Heb 9:1). The
law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming – not the
realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same
sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who
draw near to worship (Heb 10:1).
Jesus came so that we may have life, and have it to the full (John 10:10). To acquire the new covenant with its abundance of life we have to live by faith.
But my righteous one will live by faith. And I take no pleasure in the
one who shrinks back (Heb 10:38). And without faith it is impossible to
please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists
and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him (Heb10:6).
When
we turn away from the law and start to live by faith in every aspect of
life, including the ministry o giving, we put ourselves in a position
where we can receive the unbelievable treasures hidden in Christ. There
are no lacks in the new covenant. The apostles preached Christ
crucified, lived by grace, and had everything they needed.
Ending
We
have seen that because of the support from the church of Corinth,
Paul’s ministry could go even further with the Gospel of Jesus
Christ (2.Cor 10:16).
One
day this earth and everything on it will be brought to an end. We have
an opportunity today to use our lives and resources in a way that makes
us partake in the second coming of Jesus Christ!
Since
everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you
to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to
the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat (2.Peter 2:11-12).
In order to spread the gospel the church needs to cooperate. Some are
called to preach the good news, while others are called to support
those who does. How, then, can they
call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in
the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without
someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are
sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who
bring good news!” (Rom10:14-15).
Knowing how to give by faith, we can use our money to do what Jesus
came to do; seek and save what was lost! Money cannot save anyone, but
by using them strategically we can bring the gospel further and support
those who are called to build the church. Then
we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and
blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and
craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the
truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body
of him who is the head, that is, Christ (Eph 4:14-15).
Before Jesus returns, his bride will grow into maturity and put away the childish. When
I was child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned
like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind
me (1.Cor 13:11).
Apostle John saw this beautiful bride;
Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the
Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright
and clean, was given her to wear (Rev 19:7-8) (Note, fine linen indicates the righteous acts of the saints).
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