Articles
Giving
The New Testament depicts churches collecting (e.g., Acts 4:35) and spending (e.g, Philippians 4:15) money. 1 Corinthians 16:2 succinctly states God’s plan for the collection: “On the first day of every week, each one of you is to put aside and save, as he may prosper, so that no collections be made when I come.” Let’s review the basics of giving.
The expression put aside and save in our text clearly refers to something done in the assembly. Why? Because the first day of the week, the day Christians assembled, is specified, and a private setting aside would still have required a collection when Paul came.
2 Corinthians 8-9 sheds further light on this collection. Giving is not an offering; what we give is already God’s. It is that portion of what He has entrusted to us that we are setting aside to share with our brethren in doing the work He has assigned us. It is a privilege, a means of expressing our love, a counterpart to the spiritual blessings we enjoy, an echoing of Jesus’ love for us, as well as means of blessing those who are directly the recipients of it.
“Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:6-7). These two verses, coupled with our text, tells us what we need to know about giving.
Our giving is to be regular, “on the first day of every week.” Everyone is to do it: “each one of you.”
How much should we give? Tithing, or giving a tenth, was an Old Testament requirement for the Israelites. The New Testament does not require either a specific amount or a specific proportion of assents or income. What does it say?
The New Testament says one is to give “as he may proper.” We must take into account the level of our prosperity in determining what we will do. That varies. For most of us, it increases over time. When one gives “as he has purposed in his heart,” he thinks beforehand about what he is trying to accomplish and how much he can do. Giving reflects our priorities. It can be revealing to compare the amount we set aside for the Lord’s work with what we spend on other things.
Like all service to God, giving must come from a willing heart in order to be acceptable: “not grudgingly or under compulsion.” It is a want to, not a have to. Paul’s word for a “cheerful” giver is the source of our word hilarious. No one rolls over laughing while giving, but it does graphically point to a joyful disposition.
Remember the words of Jesus: “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).
