Offering
Transcript: Acts 20:35 In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” Romans 12:1-2 12 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Offering 1 Corinthians 13:3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. Acts 4:34-35 There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. “If we do not give away our money in remarkable proportions, we have not grasped (or we are not currently remembering) Christ’s generosity in saving us. Let’s put it more starkly: You will always give effortlessly to that which is your salvation, to those things which give your life meaning. If Jesus is the one who saved you, your money flows easily into his work, his people, his causes. If however, your real religion is your appearance or your social status or personal comfort or pleasure, your money flows most easily into those items and symbols.”- Tim Keller Offering Because God creates and sustains all things, and has given his people his fullness and greatest treasure in Jesus Christ, generosity serves as a humble and glad response of worship. Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? (Matthew 16:24-26 ESV) WORSHIP By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. (1 John 3:16-18 ESV) “A perennial question is, though believers in the Old Testament were required to tithe their income, are New Testament Christians so required? The principle we have been using – that the coming of Christ changes Old Testament laws, yet they still have some abiding validity – holds true for tithing. In Luke 11:42, Jesus chastises the Pharisees for ‘tithing your garden herbs…but neglecting justice and the love of God.’ That is, they were diligent to tithe their income, but they were exploitative in their business dealings and unjust in their relationships. Then Jesus adds, ‘You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone.’ In other words, Jesus affirms tithing, but says that by itself it is not enough. Put another way, for a Christian, tithing is a minimum standard for generosity and doing justice. Christian believers are not less indebted to and blessed by God than Old Testament believers were. Therefore we should not imagine that God’s standards for generosity would be lower for New Testament Christians than for Old Testament believers. ‘To whom much is given, much shall be required’ Tim Keller Matthew 6:1-4 “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. Luke 16:13-15 No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these things, and they ridiculed him. And he said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. 2 Corinthians 9:6-7 The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. Mark 12:41-44 And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. And he
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