Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/Sermons/zz19980301.htm

ESCAPING BONDAGE TO PRESENT-DAY PHARISAISM
"Part I: Liberated Financial Giving To God's Causes"
(2 Corinthians 9:6-10)

Introduction: (To show the need . . . )

(1) A nationally known Christian author has written in his recent work, Money Smart (Moody Press, 1995, p. 104) the following view on contributing to the Lord's work: "Those who give less than a tenth of their income limit what God can do for them according to His own Word: 'Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing me . . . of tithes and offerings' (Malachi 3:8)."

Lest we think that such obligated giving is only for those under the Mosaic Law, he continues: "And Paul said, 'He who sows sparingly shall also reap sparingly; and he who sows bountifully shall also reap bountifully' (2 Corinthians 9:6)"

Some who promote such tithing for Christians refer to pre-law Abraham in Genesis 14 who paid tithes to Melchizedek. The argument goes that if Abraham paid tithes before the Law, so should Christians who are after the Law pay tithes to support God's work!

Well, MUST a Christian give 10% of his income since God commanded such a "tithe" in Malachi and since this renowned Christian author implies that Paul preserved the tithe for today?

(2) A pastor in Connecticut once urged his congregation to give 90% of their income to meet a huge church building debt! He reasoned that since the people normally kept 90% of their income when they tithed the other 10%, they should be selfless at least once in a while and give GOD the 90% for a change!

Should parishioners give 90% of their income to the church once in a while, or push the phrase "give 'til it hurts, and then give some more" as other Pastors teach?!

(3) While I visited a pastor in another Connecticut church several years ago, he opened the computer program "Quicken" to the church giving records to illustrate its capacities. In doing so he found that the giving went down the Sunday before, and remarked, "Well, well, it looks like I'm just going to have to get on the people this next week about that!"

Well, have I as your pastor been wrong in not pushing giving if the Church has had a "down" week? Am I supposed to put the "spiritual squeeze" on you to keep the giving up to par?!



(We turn to the sermon "Need" section . . . )

Need: "Having heard from reputable Christians that I should give 10% or even 90% off of the top of my income to Christian ministries, or 'give 'til it HURTS, and then give some MORE', I don't know whether to feel guilty, glad, angry or confused! A ny suggestions?!"
  1. A viewpoint exists in some Christian circles that wrongly adheres to man-made, burdensome rules on contributing to God's works:
    1. Some teach Christians should give 10% of their income to God's work.
      1. Malachi 3:10 says that if we "tithe" (namely, give 10% of our income to God's work) that God will provide for our livelihoods.
      2. Thus, some groups promote tithing for the Church today.
      3. Such groups may counter charges that Malachi 3:10 applies only to those under the Mosaic Law: they point to pre-Law Abraham's tithe in Gen. 14:18ff as proof that post-Law Christians must tithe.
    2. Others teach we should "give until it hurts, then give some more!"
    3. Some have taught an occasional giving of 90% of one's income!
    4. However, God's Word candidly states that Church era Christians are to contribute free from ALL such contribution dictates and pressures:
      1. 2 Corinthians 9:7 states that the believer in the Church era is to contribute of his income at an amount that he ALONE sets.
      2. To emphasize this giving as a freewill offering, the Apostle Paul negatively asserts that no other pressure should set the amount:
        1. In 2 Corinthians 9:7b, two adverbs describe how one is not to give: the NIV renders them "reluctantly" & "under compulsion" while the KJV treats them as "grudgingly" and "of necessity."
        2. The former word, lupays in the Greek New Testament reflects a personal grief where the latter word, anagkays is an obligation placed upon one from an outside source, Moulton & Milligan, The Vocabulary of the New Testament, p. 382, 31-32.
        3. Thus, the Christian is not bound to give an amount that he does not feel comfortable giving, nor must he give what another dictates for him! He is to give what he joyfully chooses to give!
      3. This truth agrees with the following doctrine on Christian liberty:
        1. Jesus taught us to avoid obeying rules made by the Pharisees that countered God's Word, Matthew 15:1-3, 9 (Isa. 29:13).
        2. He urged rejecting teachings that put men under oppressive religious obligations (barus), Mtt. 23:4, T.D.N.T., v. 1, p. 557.
        3. Paul taught that Christians were not to submit to man's rules that were not under Christ's authority, Col. 2:13-14, 20-22.
      4. Since all pressures for Christians to tithe 10%, to give 90% or to "give until it hurts and then give some more" contradict these Scriptures, they are wrong! They are errant Pharisaical pressures, whether they arise from one's own heart or from another source!
  2. Rather, the Bible teaches LIBERATED giving for Christians:
    1. As we have seen, the Christian is free to select the amount he gives to God free from internal OR external Pharisaical pressures, 2 Cor. 9:7.
    2. Yet, wasting one's excess income on vain pursuits leads God to limit income reimbursement where using that excess to give to God's works leads to His blessing the giver by boosting his income, 2 Cor. 9:6, 10.
    3. Accordingly, here is a summary of Bible directives on giving for today:
      1. The Christian should use the TOP of his income to meet his own livelihood needs, 2 Cor. 9:10, or "bread for food (lit. "for eating")".
      2. Then in a desire to broaden his OWN outreach (2 Cor. 9:10b), from the income that exceeds his living needs, the Christian can give what he gladly chooses to further God's works, 1 Cor. 16:2b.
      3. [To minimize budgeting problems in organized groups like churches and missions, we should try giving a set amount on a regular basis, whether it be weekly, monthly, etc., see 1 Corinthians 16:2a.]
      4. God then reimburses the believer with income, and an increased amount of excess of living expenses as a blessing, 2 Cor. 9:10.
      5. The believer can take that new income and again disburse it first to meet his living needs and then to give even a greater amount to God's work, 2 Cor. 9:10. (Note the following qualifying factors: (a) God may let trials block one from always being able to increase his giving (Phil. 4:12); (b) due to cash flow issues, it may take time for income increases to rise for one to afford to increase his giving.)
      6. In knowing where to give, (a) Scripture offers two clear directives: (+) the Biblical local church is God's key ministry, 1 Tim. 3:15-16; Rev. 1:12, 20, and (+) God has ordained that disciples support those who disciple them, 1 Cor. 9:9-14. (b) So, give to works that proportionally most help good churches and have best discipled us!
Application: (1) To overcome Pharisaical bondage regarding giving, (a) believe on Christ as Savior to be rescued from man's errant rules (Jn. 3:16; Rom. 7:4; Gal. 5:1) and (b) accept God's invitation to invest by freewill giving in His worldwide ministries. (2) We will see our own needs met and eternally rejoice in the fruits of our giving!

Lesson: God does not enslave us re: our income, but invites us through sensible stewardship to bear eternal fruits as measured in men's souls.

Conclusion: (To illustrate the sermon lesson . . . )

 Dave Green, a dairy farmer I knew in a church I once pastored in Nebraska returned from a Christian seminar one day convinced that God had given him the spiritual gift of giving (Romans 12:8). His wife, Linda was a bit nervous about his "discovered" gift, but followed his lead in faith anyway!

Since our little Church of 35 people had started a Building Fund, and Dave felt compelled to contribute to that fund, he made a pledge to the Lord! He asked God for the income opportunity to double his giving into the Building Fund the next year!

Shortly after his commitment, the milk company's truck driver told Dave that his milk tested so low in the bacteria count that he might consider switching from his current Grade "B" production to Grade "A". It would mean a lot more income!

Dave investigated and found that by replacing his milk tank and by putting up sheet rock on the tank storage room walls, he could move to Grade "A". When Dave made these improvements, his salary jumped $7,000 that year! Much to his Linda's surprise, they doubled their gifts to the Building Fund!

Feeling on a roll with the Lord, Dave made another promise for the next year. He pledged that every male calf born the following year would be sold and its proceeds directed into the Building Fund! Well, God must have wanted that Fund to grow quickly, fo r the ONLY calves born to Dave ALL that next year were males! In the late Fall, Dave got a little worried and asked the Lord to let him out of the "male calf" pledge for the following year as he needed more females for his herd!

David Green's dairy business continued to expand until he installed one of the first fully automated barn feeding systems in the state! The O'Neill Berean Fundamental Church Building Fund to which he had contributed grew to $80,000, and then was used as a down payment in the formation of the new building. That work has now been renamed the O'Neill Bible Church, and it has grown from ministering to 35 to serving four hundred people!

As missionary to China, Hudson Taylor once said, "God's work, done in God's WAY, will not lack God's SUPPLY!" God's WAY of stewardship is NON-PRESSURED, a way He soundly blesses, and I've seen it happen that WAY to God's glory!