Volume 15, Number 2 April Spring 2020
Financial Giving in the New Testament Church
Part I
“Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye. Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.” (I Cor. 16:1-2)
Introduction
As we begin thinking about giving of our financial resources as it is taught in the New Testament, we need to take a moment and see the foundation laid in the Old Testament. Giving is a delicate subject because when one starts talking about money, people become sensitive. The Old Testament Hebrew word “tithe” (Lev. 27:30) is translated from both Hebrew and Greek to mean a tenth part or 10%. Tithing was part of the Mosaic Law and is often looked upon as a tax placed upon Israel. Simply put, it was considered to be 10% of one’s income that was to support the work of the original portable tabernacle and later, the permanent temple. There is some difference in belief as to how many tithes were imposed upon Israel. However, it was more like a tax than it was a donation or free will gift.
Actually, there appears to be three different “tithes” that were given over a period of three years which amounted to 23 and 1/3% of one’s annual income. The first “tithe” was a Workers “tithe” to fund the national religious life of Israel in support of the priests and Levites (Lev. 27:30-33, Num. 18:21-32). The second “tithe” was a Worship “tithe” used to fund the temple events, such as the various feasts that were observed throughout the year (Deut. 14:22-26). Then, every third year, a Welfare “tithe” was received in support of the poor and needy (Deut. 14:28-29).
As we see from the “tithe” requirement, it amounted to more of a taxation which was referred to by the prophet Malachi. Pay close attention to the words in this stern rebuke. “Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it” (Mal. 3:7-10). We must note from what Malachi said, that God expected the Israelites to pay their “tithes” (which is plural), but also give their FREE WILL “offerings.” Tithing is a FIXED amount, whereas FREE WILL giving is a FLEXIBLE amount. We see an example of Israel’s free-will giving in the building of the tabernacle when they brought so much that they were told to stop because they had more than enough (Ex. 36:5).
Before going any further and proceeding into our text, let’s back up before the time of the Mosaic Law and discover something about when tithing was first mentioned in the Bible. With all that I’ve just said, it’s not uncommon for believers to question tithing today since we are no longer under the Mosaic Law. The paying of a “tithe” to God existed 400 years before the Mosaic Law was ever instituted (Gen. 14:20). From the time “Abraham” paid “tithes” to “Melchizedek,” tithing has been considered a holy act of worship unto God.
After the Mosaic Law, the “tithe” was given to the Levites for spiritual service (Num. 18:21) and failure to “tithe” was strongly condemned, as we just read, by the Old Testament prophet, “Malachi” (Mal. 3:6-12). The directness and forthrightness with which Malachi spoke, lets us know that God takes the giving of our finances very seriously. The “curse” spoken of in Malachi was most likely the withholding of God’s “blessing” because God does not bless disobedience. The giving of one’s monetary gifts to God carries a special “blessing” and failure to give as we ought, forfeits that “blessing.” There is no doubt that not all Israelites tithed or else Malachi would not have said what he did. Nothing is recorded in Scripture as to the penalty for not tithing except that which we find in the Book of Malachi.
As we move into the New Testament, we learn that Jesus taught His disciples to both pay their taxes and support God’s work by tithing. He said, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (Mk. 12:17). Before the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ, He did not attack tithing, but the legalism involved in giving. He said, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone” (Mat. 23:23). We must remember that when Jesus spoke these words, He spoke them while the Mosaic Law was still in effect and while the temple was still standing with sacrifices still being offered. Those who “tithe” their income today should not do it from a sense of obligation, but love for their Lord. The question for our consideration is, “How can we do less under GRACE than the Jew did under LAW? God doesn’t want just our “tithe,” but He wants our all on the altar of “sacrifice” (Rom. 12:1) and when He has our all, He will have our finances which includes our “tithes and offerings.” The New Testament teaches generous sacrificial grace-giving which overall involves far more than just 10% of our income (carefully read and study II Cor. 8-9).
Christian ministry depends upon Christian giving and we can learn from early historical records that the Christian community practiced at least a “tithe” if not more. Therefore, it’s considered by many believers that the “tithe” is a good starting place for Christians to practice grace-giving. We call it grace-giving, because we give out of God’s grace to us and not out of legalistic compulsion. If you want to know where your love, affection, and priorities lie then all you have to do is look at how you spend your money.
Since the New Covenant gives a greater blessing than the Old Covenant, then how can we do less in the New Testament than they did in the Old Testament? The local church, as well as all other Christian ministries in general, can only do what they have finances to do with. That is a simple law of economics that unfortunately some people never learn. To be a good steward means to live within your means and that also applies to a church and any other Christian ministry. Believers ought to have a good testimony in how they pay their bills, spend, and manage their money. Just as it cost individuals to live, having to pay for food, clothing, shelter, etc., it cost to carry out the Great Commission (Matt. 28:19-20) of the church and adequately compensate those whom God has called out to serve us in full time capacity (I Tim. 5:18). God’s plan to do this is the giving of “his people” (Matt. 1:21) whom He has purchased with the shed blood of Christ. Our act of grace-giving is not only an act of worship, but recognition of God’s ownership of all that we possess. If we follow tithing (10%) as our minimum standard of giving, then we ought to learn from the Old Testament that God wants our “firstfruits” (Ex. 23, 34). It’s not deducting all our bills and giving God the leftovers, it’s not merely making some kind of financial contribution to the church, it’s not giving when we take a notion, feel like it, have an excess of funds, or when we think that we can afford it. I mention this simply to demonstrate the biblical principle of “firstfruits” giving, which is giving the best we have. Rather than giving God our leftovers and seeing how little we can give in the support of the Lord’s work; we need to see how much we can give. We need to see grace-giving as simply making a deposit in our heavenly bank account. I like what Jesus said, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matt. 6:19-21).
Someone may ask, “If we use the tithe as a minimum standard of giving, could there ever be a time when a person may not be able to give at least 10% of their income?” I would answer in all honesty “YES” under absolute destitute situations, because God doesn’t expect us to give what we don’t have. But, even at that, usually something can be given if it’s only a meager amount. In the case of the “widow” who went to the “temple” and gave all she had, it’s merely showing that God sees the heart and knows why we give what we do (Mk. 12:41-44). I say this because we are not a bunch of legalists living under a system of bondage. The matter of grace-giving is between the individual believer and God and failure to give as God has commanded is to rob ourselves of His special “blessing.” I’ve never found a person who regrets giving of their financial resources to God.
As “Paul” (I Cor. 1:1) concludes his closing remarks in his letter to the Corinthian Christians, he reminds us in chapter 16 that stewardship is a vital part of worship. Many believers in “Jerusalem” were suffering from poverty, so “Paul” sought to collect money from the surrounding churches to help meet their need. We have nothing worthy to give God that can ever merit our salvation, but upon receiving Christ, we need to realize that everything we have belongs to Him and acknowledge His Lordship over us. One way we have of doing that is giving back to Him a monetary portion of what He has blessed us with. The Christian needs to recognize himself as a steward, carefully managing that which God permits him to possess. Through the inspired hand of “Paul”, God had “given order” to the New Testament “churches of Galatia” regarding the giving of money and the financing of God’s Work. “Given order” means charged, directed, or commanded. Under divine inspiration, he was passing the same message on to the believers of Corinth as well and to us today (I Cor. 16:1).
The simple fact from Scripture is that God’s Word commands believers to give in the support of Christian ministry. It’s a sad thing for “churches” to reject the Bible method of financing God’s work and partake in such things as food sales, car washes, yard sales, raffles, pledges, and the like. All such practices are spiritually illicit and disgrace the gospel of Jesus Christ. I find myself in the minority who hold to such a belief. However, I remember when I was a young pastor attending one of our State Evangelism Conferences, hearing a well-known preacher of that day. He told of how God dealt with his heart while pastoring a rather large church in the Southern Baptist Convention. While driving into the church parking lot on one particular occasion, he was confronted with signs held by youth in the congregation directing those driving on the busy freeway to come into the church and buy a plate of spaghetti. He cried out to God, asking what he had done to see the church that he pastored turned into a spaghetti restaurant. The youth were trying to raise money for a “mission” trip,” but that was a turning point in the life of that pastor. From that point on, he no longer allowed such sells to take place under his pastorate and said that if God wanted them to go on a mission’s trip, that He would provide the way. In other words, he was convicted that God’s “house” is not to be turned into a retail business. My take on such a scenario, is why don’t the young people get a job and earn enough money to pay for their mission trip instead of begging from others? If God doesn’t provide from their own giving or that of other believers, then God simply may not want them to go on such a trip.
From my own personal experience, I’ve had to deal with similar situations in at least two churches of which I became pastor. It was one of those unwanted things that I inherited from previous pastors. In one of those churches, it was a matter of yard sales along with hot dogs. It was something that the WMU had instigated. When I became pastor, my wife voiced her opinion in one of their meetings which is the same as my belief in such matters. At first, it didn’t go over well, but eventually the ladies decided to stop such practices. I never attacked them from the pulpit, but simply preached the Word of God and let God do the speaking. In the other church, it was a matter of an annual Bar-B-Que sale in which they raised up to $5,000.00. I knew that they were doing this when I took the church, but once again, I just preached the Word and never attacked anyone. In a matter of time, the man who started this fund-raising came under such conviction that he led the movement to stop it. Needless to say, it thrilled my soul. I’m sure that you can tell from the length of time that I’ve spent talking about it, that free will giving is a strong conviction of my heart.
I’m sure that I’m a lone ranger in my convictions along these lines, but I’m just sharing them in the event the Holy Spirit might cause us to stop, think, and prayerfully consider what is biblical. I personally believe that par-a-church ministries like COGM, ought to practice the same biblical teachings. I’m aware that much can be said and many good arguments can be made concerning this subject, but I will not stand in judgment against those who don’t believe as I do. How churches and par-a-church ministries go about collecting the funds needed to operate is between them and the Lord. All I can do is point you to the Word of God. I personally have difficulty charging anyone to hear the Word of God. My convictions may not be your convictions along this line and I certainly don’t require everyone to agree with me; therefore, let us treat one another in grace when we differ.
Jesus Himself had something to say about the spiritual sales mentality. Although, when He addressed the subject, it was in regards to the Old Testament “temple,” but it still has something to say to us today, including the use of finances in the Lord’s work. The scene of this text finds “the changers of money sitting” in the outer court of the temple along with those who sold “sheep” and “oxen.” Annually, during the Passover, thousands from surrounding countries would come o “Jerusalem” in observance of this occasion. Instead of bringing a sacrifice with them, they would wait and purchase stock that was sold outside the temple proper. The biggest problem with what was taking place in this location was the exorbitant pricing. The “changers of money” were available to exchange foreign currency into the ½ shekel temple tax because coins bearing the image of Caesar were unacceptable and had to be exchanged for temple currency. Both the selling of the sacrifices and the exchanging of the money was done for the sake of convenience and was turned into a religious racket. Unfortunately, we still have religious racketeers in our society who are basically doing the same thing today. Rip off artist are still in the ranks of the institutionalized church of which we must all beware. Just like in the Old Testament temple, we in the New Testament church, must deal with finances. It is important that we get it right and do it God’s way. I realize that we must take and keep Scripture in context and I’m not trying to make this passage say something that it doesn’t, but there is a financial principle that needs to be learned and applied by the church of today. Church leaders are accountable to God for how they serve the Lord of Glory, how they expound God’s Word, and how they spend God’s money. I’m afraid that walking, living, and giving in faith is absent from many churches today.
The Jews had abused the “temple” and I’m afraid that many believers are abusing not only their own bodies and personal finances, but the things of God. Much can be said about this passage because it speaks volumes to us today in the church. “After this he (Jesus) went down to Capernaum, he, and his mother, and his brethren, and his disciples: and they continued there not many days. And the Jews' passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem, And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables; And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an house of merchandise. And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up” (Jh. 2:12-17).
That which has been consecrated to God is holy unto Him. This includes such things as a Believer’s body which is today the “temple of the Holy Spirit” (I Cor. 6:19). It should also include the collective body of Believers comprising “the church of the living God” (I Tim. 3:15). A CHURCH BUILDING is simply an empty building until the collective “BODY OF CHRIST” (I Cor. 12:27) gathers to meet therein. What I’m about to say in this next sentence will no doubt make a lot of people angry. I personally believe that when a local church charges people to enter their doors to attend an event or activity, then it becomes a business establishment. It’s not my intention to anger anyone, but to get people thinking biblically. There is nothing wrong with receiving free will offerings from believers who attend such an activity, but whatever happened to the church living in the realm of faith?
I remind you that God’s work is to be supported by the gifts of God’s people and not from the unregenerate world. I base that statement on a verse found in the Epistle of Third John verse seven, “Because that for his name's sake they went forth taking nothing of the Gentiles” (III Jh. 7). Reference to “Gentiles” was speaking of heathens of whom the early church did not depend for their finances. God’s plan for the financial support of God’s work has been the giving of God’s people and not receiving funds from a heathen world. Herein is a reason why some churches don’t pass offering plates in a church service so as not to collect funds from those outside faith in Christ. If a local church chooses to collect a public offering, there should be an emphasis upon it being an act of worship unto the Lord for believers only. Failure to give the way God has commanded us to give is disobedience and disobedience is sin and God doesn’t bless sin.
Scripture teaches how our offerings are to be given unto the Lord under the New Covenant (I Cor. 16:2). Our text is telling us about Paul collecting a special offering for needy believers in “Jerusalem.” Along with this special “collection” are found biblical principles of Grace-Giving (Rom. 12:8) in general that can be applied today.
A Ministry Update
This edition of The Traveling Pulpit is a Two-Part Study on the subject of Financial Giving in the New Testament Church. It consists of a rather lengthy introduction to the Scripture text printed above. You will find the completion of this message in our next quarterly publication in July at which time, I’ll share with you Four Biblical Principles found in First Corinthians, chapter sixteen, verses one and two.
Because of His Sovereign Grace……..BWM