Analysing The Christian Foundation Of Giving Religion Essay

Introduction

This is a treatment of the scriptural rules of giving based on the book by Dr. Franklin S. Jabini ( 2009 ) , How to Give Gleefully to the Lord, with a expression at what my church Teachs on the topic and my personal strong beliefs on giving.

JABINI ‘S PRINCIPLES ON Giving

Three Misconceptions About Giving

Christian giving can be guilt-free and joyful ( 2 Cor 9:7 ) if three misconceptions are cleared:

The Bible does non learn us to give 10 per centum. In the Old Testament they did non give ‘the ‘ tithe, they gave three ‘tithes ‘ for specific intents. ( Lev. 27:30-32 ; Num. 18:21, 24, 26-28 ; 1 Cor. 9:9-11 ) ( Deut. 12:12 ; 14:22-27 ; Acts 2:45-46 ) ( Deut. 26:12-14 ; 1 Cor. 16:1-3 ) In add-on to their assorted freewill offerings, heave offerings, and from their first fruits, it added up to much more than 10 per centum.

You do non give merely when the Lord moves your heart-for some people God ne’er moves their bosom! Giving is something which has to be done on a regular footing and as portion of our normal Christian life, like supplication.

Cipher is excessively hapless to give ( Luke 21:2-4 ) .

Four Motivations For Giving

Four motivations should steer us when we give to the Lord: 1 ) Gratefulness to Him, ( Gen 4:3-5 ; Gen 8:21 ) . 2 ) Gratitude towards His workers, ( 1 Cor 9: 14 ; 1 Tim 5: 17 ) , 3 ) Love and compassion for the needy, ( Deu 26: 12 ; 2 Cor 8: 14 ) . 4 ) Passion for distributing the Gospel ( Phi 4: 16 ) .

Four Motivations For Giving

God ‘s ain illustration is the finest we can follow as we recognize He owns everything. All that we are and all that we have belongs to God

( 1 Chr. 29:14 ; 1 Cor. 6:19-20 ; Ps 24:1 ) . God gave us His really best, His lone Son, for us ( John. 3:16 ) . The Son gave His life for us ( Mark. 10:45 ) . And the Holy Spirit has given us gifts ( 1 Cor. 12:11 ) . We are his stewards and money does non possess us.

God commands us to give. Giving is non a affair of penchant, but compulsory ( 1 Cor. 16:2 ; 2 Cor. 8:7 ; Heb 13:16 ) .

Godly leaders like David gave in copiousness. Using every resource at his bid, David gathered every bit much as he could for constructing the temple ( 1 Chr. 29:2 ) , and excess ( 1 Chr. 29:3-5 ) . There are besides bad illustrations set by wicked leaders such as the boies of Eli ( 1 Sam. 2:13-16 ) , that are non to be followed.

Good stewardship brings religious approvals, airting our focal point from earthly to heavenly things. It will protect us against the love of money ( 1Tim. 6:10 ) and assist us to put up hoarded wealths in Eden, which is where our Black Marias must be ( Matt. 6:19-21 ) .

Methods on ‘How to Give. ‘

We should besides give our clip, gifts, organic structure, and everything else to the Lord. God wants our best and first ( Gen. 4:4 ) . It can be 10 per centum every bit long as we know God deserves our all. Besides our compulsory giving, we should give voluntarily every bit good.

I have organised Jabini ‘s methods of giving into the undermentioned points:

Give on a regular basis, consistently. ( 1 Cor. 16:1-2 )

Give cheerfully ( 2 Cor. 9:7 ) .

Give the first and best fruits ( Nehemiah 10: 35 )

Give volitionally ( Exod. 25:2 ) .

Give candidly, non like Ananias and Sapphira ( Acts 5:1-11 ) .

Give gleefully even in ‘extreme poorness ‘ ( 2 Cor. 8:2 ) , like the Macedonian churches and the adult female who gave her last two coins ( Luke 21:2-4 ) .

Rich people must besides give like Zacchaeus ( Luke 19:1-10 ) .

Giving is chiefly a affair of our attitude. ( Luke 21:2-4 )

Giving must be sacrificial. ( 2 Cor. 8:3 ) .

Giving should go on when in copiousness ( 2 Cor. 8:14 ) .

Our precedence should be the local church and its ministry. ( Malachi 3:10 )

The Mercy of Giving

Giving to the Lord affects and enriches our religious life and we grow when we give. We learn to concentrate on Eden, on the things of God alternatively of earthly accretion, which allows money and other stuff ownerships ( see Matt. 6:19-21 ) a strangle-hold on us. Giving helps us to populate free from the love of money ( Matt. 19:21 ) and God promises to bless us when we are generous. Both the Old Testament ( Mal 3: 10 ) and the New Testament promise God ‘s approval on those who give ( Luke 6:38 ) .

Dr. Jabini urges us non to fight or reason about the per centum we should give, but ask the Lord for counsel and make up one’s mind “ in his presence, ” what and how to give and lodge to it!

In add-on to the above five cardinal rules outlined by Jabini some extra lessons from the book are of import to observe:

Vow, ‘is a promise made to give God a forfeit ‘ ( Numbers 30: 2 ) .

God wants us wholly, including all the members of our organic structure ( Rom. 6:13, 19 ) .

Giving should be an look of gratitude for our redemption ( Luke 7: 47 ; John 12: 3 ) .

When God ‘s people want to give, they will ever happen ways and agencies to make so ( Exodus: 36:5, 7 ) .

Jesus asked for everything ( Luke 14: 33 ) .

We are non our ain, we were bought at a monetary value ( 1 Corinthians 6:19 -20 ) .

It is more blest to give than to have ( Acts 20:35 ) .

The individual who sows meagerly will besides harvest meagerly, and the individual who sows liberally will besides harvest liberally ( 2 Cor. 9:6, 7 ) .

Believers should back up their elders-teachers-pastors ( Gal. 6:6 ) .

Believers should back up widows ( 1 Tim. 5 ) .

Believers should back up missionaries ( 3 John 1:8 ) .

God desires us to give, so that we might be free of the love of money to function and follow Him ( Matt. 19:21 ) .

Those who manage the Lord ‘s money should be spiritually mature trusters, competent to pull off money decently ( Acts 6: 2-3 ) .

No affair how trusty, one individual should non pull off the Lord ‘s money entirely ( 2 Cor: 18-19 ) .

MY CHURCH ‘S Teaching ABOUT Giving

Our church over the decennary and a half we have been members at that place, has taught really small about giving. This is likely because the topic of tithing can be controversial and the leading prefers non to sway the boat. The implicit in ground I ‘ve observed is that most people are of the sentiment that the tithe is non mandatory harmonizing to New Testament rules. “ Not mandatory ” unluckily translates for many into, “ Tithing is non necessary I can make as I please. ” This is contrary to Jabini ‘s instruction from both the Old and New Testament.

I one time gave a message on tithing at my church and had my sermon aloud interrupted by one of my fellow Elders who declared I had undermined 80 % of his learning on tithing! In our fold there are people in obvious fiscal troubles who are non tithing and unrecorded in fright – non of the Lord but of Mammon. Job 3:25 comes to mind – many folks do non swear the Lord to protect their resources or multiply his approvals ( Mal 3:10-11 ) , some are engaged in ‘get rich quick ‘ strategies ( Pro 28: 22 ) . Our politically right church leading appears loath to learn them solid, scriptural tithing rules that could put them free and demo them how God longs to demo his fidelity.

MY Conviction ABOUT Giving

I believe tithing is being obedient to the Lord, it is indispensable and since the word tithe means one ten percent, I figure 10 per centum on gross income is a good starting point! ( Gen 28: 22 ) I am inclined to look at Abraham tithing in Gen 14: 20 and reason that tithes came before the Old Testament jurisprudence and Jesus endorsed it ( Matt 23: 23 ) .

I besides believe it is of import for people who tithe to discourse it with their church household that they tithe dependably. This is non about self-praise, but low instruction, which can be the most effectual manner to promote those who do n’t tithe and to be a informant to them of God ‘s fidelity. I ‘m positive Matthew 6:3, “ But when you give to the needy, do non allow your left manus cognize what your right manus is making, ” does non use to tithes but to liberate will offerings. God loves cheerful givers and we are duty bound to give to the hapless and destitute particularly if they are Christians and this should be done discreetly. To keep the self-respect of destitute people in a family it is better to give fiscal aid through the church office instead than straight to persons. Anonymity is of import for good relationships, maintaining in head the rule of Proverbs 22: 7.

I have been through religious and material bankruptcy, Restoration and approval and I have learned non merely Paul ‘s secret of contentment in Phil 4:12, cognizing how to be abased and how to abound but I besides realised God intentionally used 2 Tim 1:7 as the Rhema for my redemption. I am really thankful my celestial Father took me through the experience, relentless and scaring though his religious and fiscal subject was.

Money person has said is an first-class retainer but a tyrant as maestro. One of the most fantastic things that happened to me after the Lord disciplined me was losing the love and fright of money and understanding fiscal freedom in a manner I had ne’er understood before. I have experienced the Lord ‘s paradigm switching truth ( John 8:32 ) in several life changing ways and giving is one of the most critical lessons I have learned.

Fiscal freedom is taking to function God instead than money ( Mat 6: 24 ) and to see both the deficiency and the handiness of financess every bit as God ‘s proviso. I discovered true fiscal freedom is a combination of Giving: Prov 3: 9-10 ; Mal 3: 10 ; Pro 19:17 ; Rom 12: 13, Receiving: Eph 3: 20 ; 2 Th 3:12 ; Pro 31:13 ; Phi 4:6 and Managing: Pro 20:14 ; Pro 31:16 ; Pro 3:28 ; Phi 4:12

Ever since my married woman and I attended Bill Gothard ‘s ‘Basic Life Principles ‘ seminar in the US in 1984, the basic foundation of Biblical stewardship in our place is the tithe. God ‘s Word says the underlying intent for tithing is to larn the fright of the Lord ( Deu 14: 22-23 ) and we give our tithe to our local church where we worship. We keep Romans 11: 34-35 in head, clear that we are non seeking to “ prime the pump, ” ( Gothard: 1984 ) by utilizing tithes to pull strings God into making something for us. We have understood that everything we have belongs to the Lord, non merely the tithe and we are thankful for all his commissariats. We believe if anyone in our church household is in problem we are to assist in whatever manner the Lord convicts us to give and this has on occasion involved giving amounts we were wholly unprepared for. We have a bosom for the hapless and our mission support goes largely to undertakings instead than persons and though we follow a form of consistent giving it could likely be a small more organized. However we find new state of affairss do come up on a regular basis that require some spontaneousness, which adds a certain joy in giving. It gives us the privilege of acquiring involved with different demands in the organic structure of Christ.

Decision

I find Jabini ‘s learning on giving to be steadfastly grounded in dateless scriptural rules that can emancipate Christians who are nescient or even disobedient, if they will give them a opportunity. I have seen the impact on my ain and my household ‘s attitude to money wholly change after we discovered and applied these rules. I respectfully disagree with Dr Jabini when he suggests full clip workers are merely those in professional ministry. I believe there is merely one call for everyone – be perfectly His. I do non see a duality in our naming in the Bible and observe that the Apostle Paul ‘s collapsible shelter devising illustration ( Acts 20: 34-35 ; 2 Th 3: 7-9 ) is brushed aside excessively rapidly by those who somehow experience they are entirely called into, “ full clip ministry. ” I believe in back uping God ‘s work but non needfully in ways defined by those who follow the sacred vs. secular tradition. I would as readily back up a Pastor ‘s work as I would a fighting man of affairs ‘s undertaking if I was convinced they were both serious about kingdom impact.