"LORD, WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE ME TO DO?"
Early in my ministry I felt that it was important for us to ask ourselves the question, “Lord,
what you have me to do?” concerning the matter of giving and the financial support of our church.
Here at the beginning of the new century I am revising this piece, and I still believe it is important.
I believe that there are great possibilities for CBC if we will allow God to use us as He desires.
I am encouraging each person who is a part of our fellowship to read through this material,
work through the worksheet and then let God lead you in exciting service for Him.
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT GIVING?
Churches everywhere are struggling to meet their budgets, missionaries are having a
difficult time raising their support, Bible Colleges are hampered in their efforts to train Christian
workers, all because of a lack of money. When we consider that we serve the Lord who owns the
cattle on a thousand hills to whom the riches of this world are a pittance, we can see that there is
something drastically wrong. Either those to whom God has entrusted His riches are not
investing their Master's funds in Christian work as they should, or those who are given
responsibility to spend the money collected from God's people are doing it in an unwise manner.
In short either the income is not what God wants it to be or the outgo is not as efficient as it
should be.
I have been a pastor for 11 years. I had the privilege of being on the Board of a Bible
College for several years. I have met and known a number of other pastors, missionaries and
Christian educators. In my contact with these folks I have found that they are very careful in how
they spend God's money. Most live on below average incomes, work longer than average workweeks, and are very careful that God's money be spent in the way God wants it to be spent.
While there are wastes that need to be stopped and leaks that need to be plugged, the main
problem in our evangelical churches today is not the "outgo" it is the income. In order to
challenge Christians to correct this situation, I want to seek to answer three basic questions about
our giving that should concern every sincere follower of Christ.
1.
WHAT IS GOD'S METHOD OF SUPPORTING HIS WORK?
In answering this question, I am going to refer to a number of Bible passages. Space
prevents quoting these in full. Take your Bible and read each of these passages as they are
mentioned.
Exodus 25:1-3: God was instructing Moses about the building of the tabernacle. Notice
how the materials were to be obtained. Moses was told ""Tell the sons of Israel to raise a
contribution for Me. . . .”
Leviticus 27:30: The Book of Leviticus is a service manual for the priests of Israel. Here
at the end of the book God is showing how the priests are to be supported in their ministry. The
Lord says "all the tithe of the land . . ." Once again God's method is seen to be an offering.
Malachi 3:8-10: God's people are cold, indifferent, and corrupt. The temple is in need
because the income has dropped. Notice what God's answer is. "Bring the whole tithe into the
storehouse. . . ."
Matthew 23:23. Jesus is really letting the Pharisees have it in verse 23. He shows how
scrupulous they were in even paying tithes on insignificant amounts of spices yet Jesus says
"these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others." He does not condemn
them for this. He says they were right. He condemned them for neglecting weightier matters.
1 Corinthians 16:1-3 & 2 Corinthians 8:1-15 & 9:1-10: Paul is talking about a need; the
saints in Jerusalem, being persecuted, were in need of food, clothing, and shelter. He also talks
about a solution; a collection would be given and taken to the saints in Jerusalem. Several
principles about giving are found in these passages.
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It is to be regular-1 Cor. 16:2, "On the first day of every week."
It is to be proportionate-1 Cor.16:2, “as he may prosper. . . ."
It is to be counted as a privilege-2 Cor. 9:7, "not grudgingly or
under compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver.”
Galatians 6:6-7: One who is taught, is to share with the one who is teaching. Share
what? I believe it includes physical things. Also notice what God has to say about sowing and
reaping in verse 7 & 8. Where are you "sowing" and how much?
1 Corinthians 9:7-18 makes this even clearer. Paul sets forth the teaching that those who
preach the gospel ought to live by the offerings of God's people. The fact that at Corinth Paul did
not exercise this privilege because of a specific set of circumstances does not alter the basic
principle. In other places and at other times Paul was supported by God's people. See
Philippians 4:15-18.
All through God's word, God tells us that His means of supporting His work is through the
free will offering of His people. Sales, bingo games, spaghetti suppers, etc. are all attempts to
support God's work without obeying God's word. I believe God expects us to do it His way.
2.
HOW WOULD GOD HAVE ME TO GIVE?
As we have already seen from our look into the Old Testament God required of His
people a tithe, or ten percent of their produce. If we were to add to that the offering of the
firstfruits, and first born, the various sacrifices and offerings, gifts to poor and needy, and other
offerings that the Jews gave, we would find their giving was much more than ten percent.
We do not live under the law today. The Book of Galatians tells us that we are not
related to the Lord by a legalistic bond but by a bond of love and faith. As Christians living under
Grace how can we decide how much our giving should be'? I would like to make some
suggestions that I feel will help you make the right decision.
1.
Everything we have has been entrusted to us by God. We are expected to use it
all for God's glory both what we give and what we keep. (1 Cor. 6:19 & 20, Rom.
6:1-13, James 1:17, 1 Tim. 6:17-19)
2.
If God in His wisdom ordained a tithe as the means of support of His work in the
Old Testament can we assume that less will do the job today? There are more
folks to be reached, more opportunities for the church and proportionately fewer
Christians today than perhaps at anytime in recent history. With these facts in
mind the concept of a tithe as God's fundamental level of giving makes a great
deal of sense.
3. If God required, legally, that the Jews bring a tithe how can my offering be a sacrificial
act of devotion if I do less than that? Look at Luke 17:7-10.
4.
While the tithe may not be specifically commanded today, the principle of
proportionate giving is. 1 Cor. 16:2.
5.
The tithe was practiced before the giving of the law. See Genesis 14:20 and
Hebrews 7:4. The tithe is also based on God's blessing and making fruitful the
land. (Lev. 27:30), or perhaps we could put it this way: It is God who makes us
able to be productive whether we are farmers or labor at some other work.
For these reasons I think that there is strong reason to consider that the tithe is one of
God's guidelines which cuts across all of God's dealing with man throughout all dispensations.
and that the tithe can be considered a starting place for giving.
3.
WHERE SHOULD I GIVE MY OFFERING'?
In the Old Testament God worked through His people Israel. In the New He works
through the Church. Jesus said,, "I will build my Church." Most of the New Testament is
addressed to churches or those working in churches. You ought to be supporting one by your
presence, by your prayers, by your service and by your offerings.
Once again, I believe it is going beyond the scope of scripture to say as some have that
one's tithe should go only to one's church. However, I do believe that given the New Testament's
emphasis on the ministry of the local church, we need to give a high consideration to the needs of
that ministry where we worship and serve the Lord.
Christians are deluged with requests for funds. Before we invest God's money in an
organization or project we need to be sure that; it is doctrinally sound, it is financially responsible,
and doing a work that is truly worthy of support. We need to seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit
in prayer, so that our investment will produce full returns.
If I can be of help to you, or if you have questions about the finances at Covington Bible
Church, do not hesitate to speak with me. Thanks for taking the time to read this article. There is
a worksheet which goes with it, which will help you apply these principles to your own situation.
Howard Merrell, July 2000