Cain evidently thought that anything he brought to God should have been acceptable to God. He was concerned with pleasing Himself by his offering, not God. When God pointed out that Cain was falling short, Cain’s response was to become angry at both God and his brother. Cain’s violence towards Abel reflected Cain’s poor attitude toward God.

Just as with Cain, what we give to God in worship is a part of our relationship with God. A good gift is one that blesses and pleases the receiver. Since God is the Creator and actually needs nothing from us, the reason to give has more to do with our relationship with God than with God’s need for anything to be provided for His work (Psalm 50, Acts 17:24-28). The Law of Moses prescribed which sacrifices were to be given to God and the responsibilities each person was to assume for the support of the priesthood. When a sacrifice offered under the Law of Moses was given in the right manner, it was called “a soothing aroma to the Lord” because it represented the commitment of God’s people to serve Him in a manner that pleased Him (Genesis 8:20-21, Exodus 29:18, 25, 41, Leviticus 1:9, 13, 17, 2:2, 9, 12, 3:5, Numbers 15:13, 28:13).

Although as Christians we no longer bring sacrifices to the Lord, it is nevertheless true that when we offer things to the Lord this represents sacrifice in the sense that we are depriving ourselves of something in order to give something to God. When offered an opportunity to give to the Lord something that had been given to him as a gift, David said, “No, but I will surely buy it for the full price; for I will not take what is yours for the Lord, or offer a burnt offering which costs me nothing.” (I Chronicles 21:24). David’s insight is one of the most significant in the Old Testament concerning offerings, and contrasts with the attitude of giving often criticized by the prophets of Israel. The book of Malachi, the last Scripture inspired of God before the New Testament, points out that the lack of commitment to serve God was evident in the giving patterns of the people. Rather than offering the best of their flocks, the worst representatives of the flocks were being offered in sacrifice. In other words, animals were being offered in sacrifice that the farmers didn’t want anyway. They were reserving the best for themselves and giving the leftovers to God. This was equivalent to offering no true sacrifice, to seeing worship as a mechanical exercise rather than as part of a relationship with a living God, and to treating God with contempt. Further, what was given at the Temple provided the support of the priesthood. Without suitable sacrifices, the ministry was not properly supported.

My grandmother told the story of a minister who lived next door to her. Part of the support the congregation offered the minister was to provide gifts of clothing. However, what the congregation gave was castoff clothing that was unsuitable to wear. One Sunday the minister dressed up his family in the clothing that had been donated. Only after the congregation saw how shabby the minister’s family appeared did they start donating clothing that was presentable! In this case the difference was obvious. In most cases, it is up to us to care enough about our relationship to God and our support for His ministers to give in the same spirit as David, who deprived himself in order to honor to the Lord.

The Old Testament presents us with the first reason to honor God with our gifts, which is that as our Creator He is the Sovereign Lord of all creation, a living Being worthy of the highest reverence. The New Testament introduces another, gratitude for the gift of Christ at Calvary. “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (I John 4:10). “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich . . . Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!” (II Corinthians 8:9, 9:15). The love of God which stems from a deep appreciation of His nature and gratitude for His grace stimulates Christians to give joyfully and sacrificially (II Corinthians 8:1-5, 9:7, Mark 12:41-44).

In the Old Testament the tithe was established as a guide to giving (Deuteronomy 14:22ff., Malachi 4:8-12). This guide seems to have ancient roots that lead us to believe that it is an appropriate guide even for those no longer tied to the worship defined by the Law of Moses (Hebrews 7:1-10).

However, for Christians, there are considerations beyond the tithe that modify the nature of Christian giving. These are laid out by the apostle Paul in his letters to various churches. Much of the discussion of giving in the Pauline epistles is due to the offering Paul was collecting for the churches in Palestine. This offering also plays a prominent part in the book of Acts, where it is shown to be the reason for Paul’s final visit to Jerusalem.

The division of the church into Jewish and Gentile portions was of great concern to Paul, not so much because there was a cultural division with the church, but because of the danger that the church would think of itself as two separate parts rather than as one Body of Christ in the world. Disagreements between Jewish and Gentile Christians had often been sharp, and had been the occasion for open conflict between Christian believers, as is seen in Galatians, Philippians, Colossians, and the Acts of the Apostles (although some of this conflict involved a group called “the Judaizers,” a sub-Christian group that preached a false Gospel, claiming authority from but not really representative of the apostles in Palestine). Since there was a great famine in Palestine at the time, Paul saw this as an opportunity to unite the two great branches of Christendom by demonstrating in real terms the concern of the Gentile churches for the suffering brethren of Palestine; while at the same time reducing the suffering of Christians in Palestine. To accomplish this goal, Paul was ready to risk imprisonment and death, believing, as he did, that the outcome would affect the ability of the church to be fruitful in the spread of the Gospel throughout the world.

Paul used the metaphor of manna to explain Christian stewardship. He pointed out that when the Israelites were in the wilderness, those who collected more than they needed had nothing left over, while those who did not collect as much had as much as they needed (II Corinthians 8:13-15, Exodus 16:12-18). This, Paul taught, was how Christians were to understand their role as givers. God’s provision for Christians would leave a surplus in some places and a need in others. If those who had a surplus shared that surplus with those in need, the needs of all would be taken care of (II Corinthians 8:14).

While not diminishing in the least the tithe as a goal in Christian giving, it is nevertheless true that the tithe has too often become a rod with which the uncaring have increased the suffering of those in poverty. Are those who have little to deprive their children, the sick, or the elderly of food and needed medical care by giving a tithe of what they have? Paul answers, “For if the readiness is present, it is acceptable according to what a man has, not according to what he does not have” (II Corinthians 8:12). What kind of God asks people to neglect their children? Certainly not the kind of God who inspired I Timothy 5:8, James 1:27, and I John 4:17-18. Certainly in Jesus’ parable of the talents, each person who came before Him was made responsible for what each had been given, not for more than each had been given (Matthew 25:14-30).

This very parable also emphasizes, however, that we have a deep responsibility to Christ for what He has given to us. As the tithe has been abused as a form of discrimination against the poor, it has also often been used as an excuse for wealthy Christians to spend money upon themselves that they were given to meet the needs of the Body of Christ (Matthew 23:23-24). “Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it. Do not say to your neighbor, ‘Go, and come back, and tomorrow I will give it,’ when you have it with you” (Proverbs 3:27-28). “Whoever has the world’s goods, and beholds his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?” (I John 4:17).

There is certainly nothing wrong with asking God to give us more so that we can provide more for His work. The goal of all Christians must be both to provide for their own needs and to have something left over with which to help others (Ephesians 4:28, II Thessalonians 3:6-15). On the other hand, the primary role of the Christian is to be a steward of what God provides. If this is our goal, then whether we are given a little or a lot, we will live by the same rule, the service of Jesus Christ.

Christian stewardship, then, calls for a prayerful and realistic assessment of what we have to give, and giving it in such a manner that Christ is glorified. Although this means that Christian giving is a form of “investment” in God’s work and God’s people, it is foreign to the view that the Scriptures are somehow an “investment portfolio” with a better financial return than secular investment portfolios. Christian giving has the same goals as giving in the Old Testament: the support of God’s ministers, the relief of the poor, and the spread of true knowledge of God.

All of these goals are in concert with the role of the church, which is why it is right and proper to make the giving of tithes and offerings a part of formal worship. In every way, Christian giving is representative of our total commitment to serve our Lord.

Most of the “begging” we see today is not Christians begging to participate in a particular grace-expression of Christian giving. It is usually the manipulative fund-raisers begging, pleading, appealing, making their pleas for donations to their cause. What a perversion, to turn “Christian giving” into mere fund-raising. They have honed it into a statistical science as they put on their “stewardship campaigns.” They can predict within a few percentage points how much will be extracted as they psychologically manipulate people to trigger their guilt and emotions. Local congregations receive almost weekly solicitations from organizations wanting to put on “stewardship campaigns” and share in the profits.

Raising funds is not Christian giving! Many religious organizations spend large percentages of their income on raising more funds. Radio and television “ministries” have been known to spend as much as fifty percent of their ministry air-time to raise funds.

I was appalled when a pastor was selected by the other pastors to “take the offering” at a community service because he was adept at “taking an offering.” What they meant was that he was a psychological manipulator, a religious promoter, who knew how to extract money from people. Tragic!

It is not Christian giving unless we freely choose to participate in God’s grace of giving, prompted by God, and not manipulated by man! Notice what Paul says in II Cor. 9:7, “Let each one do just as he has purposed in his heart; not grudgingly or under compulsion…” We are to “choose beforehand” to give, convinced that this is what God wants to do through us. We must beware of impulse-giving, which can be so easily manipulated emotionally. They show us graphic pictures of starving children and tell gruesome stories of human suffering, which play on us psychologically, activating pity and false-guilt.

A pastor friend had so many missionaries coming to share their work and yanking at people’s heart-strings and purse-strings, that he determined to avoid impulse-giving by only receiving gifts for the missionary one week after he had departed. People would then have time to “purpose in their hearts” what God would have them to share. Paul was doing a similar thing in I Cor. 16:2,3, so as not to allow his personal presence to be an incentive for impulse-giving or social approval-giving.

Christians are to give as they have “purposed in their heart, not grudgingly or reluctantly” (II Cor. 9:7). If we are convinced this is what God wants to give through is, there will be an eager willingness. It will not be like “pulling teeth” or extracting funds.

You do not have to give! It is a choice. You certainly do not have to give in order to be a Christian; that would be a criteria of “works.” Once you are a Christian and the Giving God and the Love of Christ lives in you, then you want to give. God wants to express His character through you. But it is still a choice, a choice of faith.

Paul says that our giving is “not under compulsion” (II Cor. 9:7). The root word means “to bend the arm.” We do not give because our arm is being bent and we are being coerced, pressured or manipulated. Paul was not manipulating the Corinthians Christians to give by competitive rivalry with the Macedonian Christians or vice-versa. There was no “contest” to see who could give the most, no comparisons to spur one another on and play one against the other, no thermometers displayed to see who could meet their goal the soonest. These are perversions of Christian giving.

Neither was Paul encouraging the Corinthians to give because of what other people would think, to safeguard their reputation. Giving for social approval is not Christian giving. Jesus exposes such giving for social approval in Matthew 6:2-4:

“When therefore you give alms do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing that your alms may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will repay you.”

An example of the consequences of giving for social approval is relayed in Acts 5:1-11. Ananias and Sapphira were struck dead for lying about their giving.

Christian giving is a choice as one has purposed in his heart before God. It is a choice that should not be manipulated by emotion or mandated by percentage.

No study of Christian giving would be complete without discussing the gross misunderstandings that many Christians have about tithing. Yet Paul does not even mention tithing in this extended reference to Christian giving here in II Corinthians 8 and 9. For good reason! The ten percent tithe so often advocated is not a new covenant, New Testament, concept. In the old covenant tithes were levied to support the priesthood, but in the new covenant every Christian is a priest, “priests to God” (Revelation 1:6) in a “royal priesthood” (I Peter 2:9). Christians are not under the compulsory obligation of Old Testament tithes!

Richard Plache writes of the “tithing fallacy” and states,
“Tithing was instituted as a law in the second year after the Exodus. …it was intended to provide the Levites with sustenance and payment for their services.

The only ones ever authorized to receive tithes were the Levites. Ever since the destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D., it has been impossible to keep the tithing law. This is the reason Orthodox Jews, who still believe in the validity of the old covenant over their lives, do not tithe! No one is qualified to receive tithes now that the priesthood and temple have gone.

…it is absolutely impossible for anyone today to truly obey the…law of tithing.” 6
Christian giving is not a matter of compulsory mandated percentages! What often happens when the ten percent tithe is regarded as “Christian giving,” is that people think that the ten percent belongs to God and the ninety percent is mine to use as I please. But, as has already been explained, it all belongs to God as owner and giver. All things are one hundred percent His, and we are to discern how He wants to utilize all one hundred percent of it.

Some Christians pride themselves saying, “I’m a good Christian giver; I’ve never withheld God’s ten percent!” Is that not the same kind of logic that might say, “I’ve got a good Christian marriage; I’ve never committed adultery!”? Such logic is to miss the entirety of the positive factor of Christ’s life in us.

Christian giving is total-life giving! Not “under compulsion;” not mechanically mandated; not legislated, perfunctory giving.

Those religious leaders who are honest enough to admit that tithing is not a Christian obligation are often quick to construct another form of obligatory moral duty. They want their members to feel a sense of obligation, a sense of “have to” or “ought to,” so that there will be consistent income to pay the expenses of the organization. So they refer to the “law of giving,” the “principles of love-offerings,” wherein the giving of Christians should supersede what was required of Israel, just as the new covenant supersedes the old covenant, and thus Christian giving should supersede ten percent. But this is still a percentage-based sense of obligation that is not consistent with true Christian giving.

Worse yet are those who try to “lay on” Christians the obligation to “pay God back.” There is no way we can make payment for services rendered. Such is to lose the understanding of God’s grace altogether.

I was thumbing through Randy Alcorn’s “Money, Possessions, and Eternity” today (for a different reason) and stumbled onto his discussion of 2 Corinthians 8-9. I found it more helpful than the other commentaries I shared previously. Hope you find it useful, too.

“When Paul says a man shouldn’t give under compulsion [in 2 Corinthians 9:7], he isn’t talking about the normal week-to-week operations and ministries of the church to which every member must contribute. He is talking about a one-time special offering (for the needs of poor saints in Jerusalem). Because this was above and beyond the regular needs of their local church, it called for a contribution above and beyond their regular giving. . . . Is Paul saying that a believer should never feel any compulsion to give to the needs of his church, to the poor, or to world missions? Is he implying that if we are reluctant to part with our money that we shouldn’t? No!
Do we share our faith only if we feel led, read our Bible only if we choose, love our spouse only when we feel inspired? Of course not. The principle is not ‘give voluntarily or don’t give at all,’ but ‘as your heart is moved, give voluntarily above and beyond your regular giving.’� (Alcorn at 201-02)

Given your interest in Church giving issues, I highly recommend Alcorn’s book.

Take care,

Ramsey

Thanks for pointing out the verse at Romans 12:8. However, not all of us have the spiritual gift of giving.

I appreciate your comments Ramsey Wilson. Hopefully we can find a Christian topic we can agree with on fully. I wish you well on your “His evidence” blog.

Giving is a spiritual gift. See Romans 12:8.

I think more people should focus, like you, on the topic of monetary giving in the Church. But you’re focusing on a particular problem that doesn’t seem to exist. Only 7% of Protestants give 10% of their income to the Church. See The Barna Update, April 25, 2005. The Church is plagued by a lack of generous giving. If the Law required Israel to return 10% (or 23½%) to the Lord, ought not we who lean on Grace give more abundantly, not less?

Finally, biblical commentaries suggest that there can be a command from God without the “compulsion� referenced in 2 Corinthians 9:7. Matthew Henry’s Commentary suggests that this compulsion comes not from fear of guilt before God but shame before man, and that we ought not be motivated by such shame: “Persons sometimes will give merely to satisfy the importunity of those who ask their charity, and what they give is in a manner squeezed or forced from them, and this unwillingness spoils all they do. We ought to give more freely than the modesty of some necessitous persons will allow them to ask: we should not only deal out bread, but draw out our souls to the hungry, Isa. 58:10. We should give liberally, with an open hand, and cheerfully, with an open countenance, being glad we have ability and an opportunity to be charitable.� Wiersbe’s Expository Outlines on the New Testament says very much the same thing: “Verse 7 is often misapplied. Paul is not talking here about how much we give so much as how we give. He told them how much to give in 8:12–15; it was to be in proportion to what they had. But for a believer to give grudgingly, or out of a sense of obligation, is to miss the blessing of giving. Giving must be from the heart, and God loves a cheerful (“hilarious� in the Gk.) giver. Some Christians take this verse to mean that it matters not how much we give, so long as we give cheerfully what we have purposed in our hearts. Absolutely not! A cheerful heart is not a substitute for an obedient heart. Our hearts should be both faithful and cheerful, because we give the right gift with the right motive.�

I'm more focused on the topic of monetary giving within the church. My point is that you are not commanded to give a specific amount in church. Christians are commanded to be good and be more like Christ.

As far as commands go, how can someone be commanded to give, yet still give without compulsion?

The spirit of your statement seems contrary to the Lord's plain instructions: we are to share generously with others what He has entrusted to us. See, e.g., 1 Peter 4:10 (“Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms�); Hebrews 13:16 (“And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased�). He blesses us so that we may bless others. See 2 Corinthians 9:11 (“You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion�).

Perhaps your concern is the word "command"? But Paul uses that word in one of the Scriptures you cite, 1 Timothy 6:18 ("Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share").

Thanks in advance for any clarification you might provide,

Ramsey