God's Plan for Giving, Part 2
Selected Scriptures
As we come this morning to our message to our study of the Word of God, our Bible study leads to part two in God's plan for giving. And we are continuing this two part series and really pulling together a lot of things we've talked about in the past and setting just two special messages apart on the whole area of Christian giving. In fact, the whole plan of giving throughout the Word of God
Now normally, these are the sermons that everybody avoids. That when you knew the pastor was going to talk on giving you decided to go see Aunt Martha or something and come back next week. And so I commend you on your courage and for being here.
But really obedience to these principles has attached with it a great blessing. There are many things in the Word of God that are especially emphasized in terms of the blessing that attends them and giving is one of them. And I recognize that the subject of giving is like all other subjects in the Bible. It's the revelation of God and it needs to be understood. And as the Apostle Paul was able to say to the Ephesian elders, "So must I be able to say to you if I have fulfilled my ministry, I have not failed to declare unto you the whole council of God." And not to declare unto you these principles would be to rob you of blessing in the area that God has allowed for such wonderful blessing.
And I think it's important for us to put this in perspective, because I think most Christians have been seriously done in on the teaching of giving. As you reflect back on your church life in the past, now you will find that your thoughts about giving will vary in many different areas, but much of the time our relationship to giving in a church can be very distasteful.
There are some churches, for example, that you've been in and that I've been in that are pre-occupied with money. And it seems like everything that goes on has dollar signs involved. The success of anything is measured in how big the offering was. And no opportunity is ever lost for making appeals. And every possible and conceivable approach and gimmick is used to make those appeals effective.
Whenever large crowds gather for any meeting of any kind with any purpose in mind, it seems to be an opportunity to make money or take large offerings. Constant efforts that publicizing and raising money through many, many means are laid at the feet of the people.
And the churches very often get into the area of business. They market certain things that are profits. This is one of the things we feel strongly about here at Grace Church. That anything we provide for you whether it's the tape ministry or the bookstore or anything else, Logos classes will be provided for you at exactly and precisely what it costs us to make that provision with no overcharge at all because we feel that would be take from you that money which belongs to you in stewardship towards God which must be voluntary.
And so we feel that this is an important area. And many people have been apart of systems in churches that have exacted money in ways that are not biblical. Another thing that I think is important and has put the thing out of perspective is that in many cases churches fall into the danger of partiality to the rich. I would have to say that it is true that in many churches, the wealthiest people dictate the theology and the policy.
And some of you maybe have seen this happening. John Murray said, "Perhaps few weaknesses have marred the integrity of the church more than the partiality shown to the rich. The church has compromised with their vices because it is feared the loss of their patronage. It's voice has been silenced by respective persons and discipline has been sacrificed and deference to worldly prestige."
And I think that that's kind of like James 2. "Have not your faith in terms of your respective persons." If a man comes in and has a gold ring, don't give him the best seat and say to the guy who has lousy clothes sit under my feet. That's having respective persons. There's no place for partiality, but only for impartiality.
I think when a church is partial to the rich, it isn't any different than selling indulgences. Now, there are other churches that trade on spiritual fear that attempt to pressure people to give. And this is equally wrong.
The right thing to do in the area of giving is to teach the truths of the Word of God and then leave it to the Spirit of God to generate the response along with all the rest of the fruits of spirituality. And so we teach the Word of God. We don't use gimmicks, we don't use programs, we just teach the Word of God assuming the Spirit of God will produce in the lives the kind of giving commensurate with the kind of life.
Now we said that the giving patterns of the scripture in terms of Revelation fall into three categories. In the first part last week, we study category one, which was giving from the book of Genesis to the time of Moses. The first phase of giving in terms of God's history.
The second phase we studied last week also was from Moses to Christ. The time of the law. And we saw that in both of those phases of giving there were two kinds of giving taught in the Word of God. First was required giving. And we said that required giving was always connected with taxation didn't we?
That any time there was a stipulated percentage, it had to do with taxation. Whether it was the 20% income tax exacted in Egypt in Genesis 41 or 47 which was before Moses and before the mosaic law. Whether it was the 23 or so percent exacted on Israel through the three tithes that they paid in addition to some other taxes.
In both cases exacted giving that which was required, that which was dictated was the required giving of the Old Testament. The freewill giving was something again. It was always spontaneous, voluntary, no amount was ever stipulated, no frequency was ever stipulated, the only motive was never law, the only motive was a thankful and loving heart.
So the two kinds of giving in the Old Testament required giving, which was taxation, tithing under the mosaic law was never giving. The reason tithing isn't giving is because the tithe didn't belong to the people so they couldn't give it. Over and over again we saw the Old Testament say the tithe is whose? The Lord's. And if you didn't give the tithe to the Lord, according to Malachi 3, you robbed God.
Because the funding of the national entity, the government was funded by the tithes of the Jews. The three tithes took care of the salaries and livelihood of the ministers of the government who were the priests and Levites. The second tithe, the second 10% took care of the social and religious life of the nation and providing the feast in Jerusalem. The third tithe paid every third year was for the welfare system. That is never to be confused with freewill giving or offerings to God.
Tithing in the Old Testament was taxation, not giving. And so we saw that last time. We covered in the fact that the Old Testament teaches two things, required giving. That is pay your taxes. Freewill giving, that is give to God whatever your heart desires to give Him. No frequency was prescribed and very little was said other than to say generosity and liberality will be rewarded.
Now, this morning we come to the New Testament. And we're going to study what the New Testament has to say about the giving. And let me just begin by saying this. It says exactly the same thing the Old Testament did. There have been a lot of people who said, well, Old Testament giving was one thing and New Testament giving is something else. That isn't so.
New Testament giving is more clearly defined, but it is the same. There are two kinds of giving stressed in the New Testament. One, pay your taxes. Two, give God whatever you want. There is no amount. Let's begin by looking at the required giving of the New Testament.
What was required in the New Testament? To begin with let's look at Matthew Chapter 17. Now, you're going to need to hang onto your Bible. You've got a little outline there that you're going to be using in just a minute that'll help you kind of get along with it.
But in Matthew 17, we are introduced to the subject in the New Testament of required giving. Now remember, the tithes that were exacted from the Jews along with the temple tax, along with the land Sabbath rest, along with the special profit sharing tax where a man couldn't harvest the corners of his field. He had to leave them to the poor. All of this was taxation.
And in the New Testament times, in the times that the gospels were written primarily, the Jews were still under these laws. And so it was proper for a Jew to continue to pay his tithes to Israel to support the priests to have money for the poor to take care of the feast in Jerusalem. These things continually went on.
The taxation system in the time of Christ was still going. The temple treasury, the court of the women still had those 13 little trumpet shaped receptacles and the people still came there and they still put their tax money in those things.
In addition to that happening, however, the Romans were exacting taxes from them and that was becoming exurbanite thing. But they were still under the obligation of mosaic law to pay their taxes. And Jesus' remarks regarding this repeatedly in the gospels.
Let's look at Matthew 17:24. "And when they were come to Capernaum, they that received the tax money," tribute means taxes, "came to Peter and said, does not your master pay taxes?" Now these were the tax collectors. And they came to Peter and they said what about your master, does he pay taxes? I like this. He said, what? "Yes." "Jesus paid his taxes."
Now tonight you're going to hear 1 John 2:6 that says, "That we are to walk as he walked." We ought to pay our taxes. He did. And I think it's so exciting to see Matthew present this, because Matthew, you see, is involved in declaring Christ as king. And even though He is king, in fact, King of Kings, He still subscribes himself to that which was right in terms of paying the required legal taxes. Jesus paid His taxes.
Now I want you to see how He paid them, which was kind of interesting. And when He was come into the house, Jesus spoke first to him saying, "what are you thinking Simon? Of whom to the kings of the earth take custom or tribute of their own sons or strangers." Well, obviously kings don't tax their own sons. They work around that. But strangers. Peter said unto Him, "Of strangers." Jesus said unto him, "Then are the sons free."
In other words, He's making a little analogy really that we don't need to pay their taxes, we're truly the family of the king. But in spite of that, "lest we should offend them, go down to the sea, cast a hook, take up the fish that first comes up and when you have opened it's mouth, you shall find a piece of money. Take that and give to them for me and you."
Now friends, that's the way to get your tax money. I mean, if that was still in vogue about April 1st, the beaches would be lined with Christians from San Diego to San Francisco, you know. Now, we have to admit that God is not still operating on that basis. Unfortunately.
Some Christians would get nets no doubt. But anyway, that was cruel. True, but cruel. The point of the passage is simply this, Jesus paid His taxes. Jesus again, advocating what the Father advocated in the Old Testament in mosaic time, what the Father instituted in the pre-mosaic time, pay your taxes. This is required giving.
Now go to Matthew Chapter 22 and let's look at it again. Another passage related to the same thing. Matthew 22:15, "Then went the Pharisees and took council how they might entangled him in his talk." Which of course, was ridiculous, they never did succeed. "They said unto him, they're disciples with the Herodians." The family of the Herods. Saying, "Master, we know that thou art true and teaches the way of God in truth," and this just drips with hypocrisy, "and if you're not caring for any man ," that means that you don't care for one man over another, you don't regard the person of men. In other words, you treat everybody equally, "if everybody's equal then, tell us therefore, what do you think about this? Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar or not? Should we pay our taxes or not to Rome?"
Well, you see if Jesus says pay your taxes then the Jews are down on Him. He's pro-Roman. If He says don't pay your taxes, the Romans are down on Him. So they think they've got Him between a rock and a hard place. But Jesus perceived their wickedness and said, "Why are you testing me you hypocrites?" He used the direct approach.
Verse 19, "Show me the tax money." Give me a coin. They brought him a denarius. And He said unto them, "Who's is this image and superscription? Who's picture is on this coin?" And they said, "Caesar's." He said unto them, "Render therefore under Caesar the things that are Caesar's and under God the things that are God's."
And really that was a tremendous answer. Much more insightful than it sounds. Now, this stuff can go to Caesar, the important stuff give to God.
When they heard these words, they marveled and left Him and went their way. Taxation is necessary and Jesus said pay your taxes. Pay your taxes, do what's right. That's required giving. Matthew 23:23 makes reference to this. Jesus says to the Pharisees, he calls them hypocrites again for the fifth time in the same conversation and He's got three more to go.
"You pay your tithes of mint," that's the little herbs and anise," that's plants, "and cumin," that's seeds. Here they were, if they had ten seeds, they were giving one seed to the priests. If they had ten herbs they were...they were separating their tea leaves is what it amounted to, see.
And this is great, you know. You know, you're doing this, but you've omitted, you know, the weightier things such as justice, mercy, faith. Oh those are so legalistic. Now he doesn't condemn the paying of the tithes. It was right for them to do that. Jesus acknowledges that. This was their taxation system. He just says that you've ignored the things that really matter. That's why you're to be called hypocrites.
But notice the tithing here was in reference to giving, not freewill, but that which was required, the tenth of everything a man had, everything that grew, everything you possessed to be given. This continued in the New Testament time under the economy of Israel, because this was taxation.
Again, you have in Luke 18:12 another reference to tithing and this is the only other mention of it in the gospels at all. There is no exacting of the tithe on the church anywhere in the New Testament. It is never required of the church. It is always in reference to Israel's economy in the gospels and in the book of Hebrews it is only mentioned in reference to Melchiezedek and Abraham way back in the book of Genesis. It has no bearing on the church at all.
And here it's in connection with boasting and hypocrisy. 18:12, this Pharisee came to the temple, prayed to himself and said, "I fast twice a week, I give tithes of all that I possess." And here he's boasting about his tithing. He paid his taxes. Well, listen friends, paying your taxes wasn't anything to boast about, you're supposed to that.
So the gospel, that's all the gospel says about tithing before books that we know as the gospels. That's all it has to say. And all of those incidents in reference to Israel's paying its taxation to the national government or to Rome giving them what is due them.
And as I said, in the book of Hebrews Chapter 7, the only other mention of tithing has to do with what Abraham did in Melchizedek's case. And that was Abraham gave a tenth, not because God told him to, it just so happened that he gave a tenth. He volunteered to give that amount.
At no time does the New Testament ever suggest or even hint and there are plenty of places where it might have, but it does not that the tithe is exacted upon the Christian. And incidentally I told you that the tithe in the Old Testament was 23%, not the 10% we think, because it was three tithes.
All right, in Romans 13, let's find out what the New Testament has to say in the Epistles to the church about this required giving. Now we're not under the Jewish economy. You say, wow, I'm not a Jew, I'm not living in Israel. I don't have to pay my taxes any more. That's the national government of Israel. That was for the funding of that nation. I'm in America. We don't have a religious theocracy here.
That's for sure. That still doesn't mean anything. It doesn't mean that you're not on the hook for taxation. Verse 1 of Romans 13 says, "There's no power but of God, the powers that be ordained of God. If you resist that Power," verse 2, "you're going to receive judgment." Now go down to verse 6. "For this cause pay your taxes. For they," that is the ministers of the United States government or whatever government you're in, "are God's ministers." You say oh no.
Oh yes. You say, but they're not very Godly, you're right. In many cases that is true. Nevertheless, God has designed human governments as a force to keep society together to punish the evil and to support the good. And in sense, not in the sense that I'm a minister of God, but in the sense that they rule in the place of God through an institution of God called human government, they are His ministers.
Remember this, when you pay your taxes, you are in the true sense supporting the work of God. Now, I know that comes as a shock, but it is true. You say well, if I cheat a little on my taxes here and cheat a little on my taxes there, I'll get more money for the Lord. No, no, no, you will rob the Lord. You will fall into the category of Malachi 3 by not paying your taxes.
The government is to be funded by the people. Listen, especially Christian people. Now we know the God who has set the government up. Don't cheat the government, you just cheat yourself out of a blessing you take to yourself what belongs to God. Actually we ought to figure every way you can pay your taxes. It's a terrific opportunity.
I think I got a little mixed emotion on that. "Render therefore to all their dues." Tribute to whom tribute is due? Custom to whom custom? Fear to whom fear? Honor to whom honor? Right across the board. Honor the government. And God will bless you because you've been obedient to His principle and you've supported His ministers.
All right, now that takes care of required giving and all it says about required giving in the New Testament is friends, pay your taxes. That's God's design and you'll be blessed.
All right, let's go to freewill giving. And here we enter the category of the giving that is truly giving to God. There is no reference about tithing in any passage at all in the New Testament that talks about Christian giving. Absolutely none. Jesus never made the tithe incumbent. Paul never made it incumbent. Peter, John, James, nobody, the writer of Hebrews, none of the writers of the New Testament. Jude made it incumbent.
Luke who wrote Acts, none. Let's look at the ten principles then that the New Testament does give for Christian giving. Ten of them listed. Now we'll go through them rather quickly and I think you'll find it most helpful.
Point number one, giving is investing with God. Giving is investing with God. Luke 6:38, now this is a terrific verse. Luke 6:38, "Give and it shall be given unto you." Do you see the principle there? You don't have to be banker to figure out that that is the principle of investment. You give to God and it shall be given to you. How? "Good measure." It'll be measured out good. "Press down" Do you know what that means? It means that it won't be, you know, like the crackers that you buy at the market that you get home and you open the box and there's a little pile at the bottom, right?
But that when God gives back to you, it'll be pressed down. Jam packed in a vernacular. "Shaken together." If they'd shake those crackers before they sell those packages, you'd really know what you were getting. It'll be shaken together, packed down. And still what? "Running over shall men give unto your bosom."
You see God will move upon others to support your needs far beyond what you gave for with the same measure you measure it shall be measured to you again. What you invest with God you receive dividends on. What you don't invest with God, you don't get any divided on. Now, there's the biblical principle in the New Testament that's at the basis or the heart of the whole of Christian giving. Giving is investing with God and the return is an eternal yield. An eternal dividend.
Now, I want you to look at Matthew Chapter 6, verse 19. "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth." Don't invest your fortune in the earth. Some of you have done that and now you wished you hadn't. Don't do it. "Lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust doth corrupt and thieves break through and steal. But "Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust is corrupt and where thieves do not break through nor steal, for where your treasure there will your heart be also."
In other words, be sure that your priority is investing with God, because wherever you put your treasure that's where you're going to put your heart. Let's say that I take $20,000.00 and I'd have to steal it to do that, but let's say that I take $20,000.00. I'm not going to. And I say all right, I have two choices. I can put my $20,000.00 in an earthly investment. And so I take this $20,000.00 of precious commodity and I put it into an earthly investment.
Do you know what I'm going to do? You know, I'm going to start to thinking about that $20,000.00. Every time I get the paper, I'm going to find out where the stocks are and what the thing is and find out about my money and pretty soon that $20,000.00 is going to start running my mind. And I'm going to start plugging into what's happening economically and I'm going to start biting my economic fingernails and I'm going to start worrying about my $20,000.00.
And all that does is generate my attitudes and actions and responses toward the world, because that's where I put it. Let's say I take the same $20,000.00 and I give it to God, then where does that generate my attention? I'm going to say Lord, do you remember that $20,000.00 I gave you, boy I hope you're some return on that. And it generates my relationship to Him. You see?
That's what it means when it says your treasure is, that's where your heart's going to be. For wherever your investment is, you're going to preoccupied with wanting to see the dividends on your investment. So you lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven.
Now, the point is in verse 24 at the very...at the very end of this little session. He says, "no man can serve two masters." That is two Lords, two people who absolute authority over him, "for either he'll hate one and love the other. Or else he'll hold to the one and despise the other." You can't be a slave