Generosity is a key fruit of true Kingdom living. The most oft-quoted verse in the New Testament is arguably John 3:16. It speaks of the heart of God: "For God so loved the world that He gave..." Salvation is a gift offered freely through faith in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9). As we walk out our Kingdom call on this earth, Jesus words of exhortation are to follow His example: "Freely you have received, freely give" (Matthew 10:8).
We have felt led to speak into the issue of Kingdom Finance over the next few weeks here at Maple Ridge Community Church. My intent here is to have opportunity to provide some direction for any who want to dive into God's Word and allow the Spirit to lead them to a place of deeper understanding of how we handle our money as Christian folk.
Many questions quickly come to the table when people in the church start to talk about money. Do I have to TITHE? Is tithing actually a New Testament teaching, or is it strictly Old Covenant? If I tithe, do I tithe of the net of gross of what I get paid? Why is the church always so concerned about money?
While these are good questions, I think the root focus is wrong. It's like a young dating couple asking "How far is too far?", when exploring issues of sexuality. The bottom line is that sex is intended for marriage, and if you are not in the place to get married, you shouldn't be having to ask that question.
Regarding a healthy biblical attitude toward giving a s a New Testament Christian, my reading of the Bible leads me to see that if people were required to give 10% (actually, in reality it was more like 23%), why would I seek to find a minimum when I have been set free from the Law based on what Christ has done for me? All I have is God's, and He deserves it anyway. If you want to get technical, He demands our everything, why do we quibble about 10%?
It comes down to a simple little word called "generosity". I have been reading through 2 Corinthians 8-9 this past week, and have been personally rebuked by the attitude of the Macedonian church. They had little to nothing, but they gave abundantly, cheerfully, and willingly.
Paul made one of the most profound statements in the Bible in Galatians 5:1 - "It is for freedom that we have been set free." Our heart in giving should be one that gives out of freedmo because we have truly been set free from anything that should or could hold us back from laying it all out for God. As the church, we should be the most GENEROUS people on the planet because we, of all people, have had all our real debts paid, and we owe it all to the one who paid them off.
Here are a few more passages from the Bible worth studying:
Deuteronomy 8
Malachi 3
Matthew 6:19-34
2 Corinthians 8-9
1 Timothy 6:3-19
For the record. I do tithe. Actually, i try to give more than 10%. I don't always, but I try. I have freedom in my giving.
I heard an old adage once that has stayed with me: "If you want to get somewhere in life, find some people who are there, fund out what they did to get there, and do it." I want to encourage y'all with something - find some people of faith who have walked with God fora long time and have a lot of spiritual fruit. Sit down with them and find out their persepctive on Christian giving. You will be surprised at the consistency of what you do hear.
Happy giving.
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