There is an old adage that goes, “People buy things they don’t need with money they don’t have to impress people they don’t like.” That is a sadly accurate summary of how the world tends to look at money. As Christians, however, we recognize that our money has a higher purpose.
Fred Mitchell, who was a director of the China Inland Mission and gave his life in the service of Christ, wrote compellingly about the place of money in the Christian life:
Nothing offers so practical a test of our love for Christ or for others as does our attitude to money and possessions. Nor does anything so test our claim to be delivered from this present evil world. … The world asks how much we own; Christ asks how we use it.1
In other words, the way we use our money is a key barometer for our spiritual health, revealing our proclivities and priorities. This is perhaps most clearly seen in our attitude toward giving.
In 2 Corinthians 8–9 (and the beginning of 1 Corinthians 16, too), the apostle Paul provides us with a philosophy of Christian giving. In these chapters, Paul is writing about a collection he is taking up for the poverty-stricken believers in Jerusalem. Paul commends the Macedonian churches who, though in poverty themselves, responded generously to this need, and he encourages the Corinthians to give in like manner. As he does so, he reveals six principles of Christian giving that are still relevant to Christians today.
1. Giving Begins with Devotion to the Lord
“They gave according to their means … and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us.” (2 Cor. 8:3, 5)
The fundamental principle demonstrated in the Macedonian believers’ lives is that they first gave themselves to Christ, and then they gave financially to a project in accord with God’s will. Christian giving begins with personal devotion to the Lord. Whenever we urge people to give financially to a project without first directing their giving of themselves to the person of Jesus, we start off on the wrong path. However, if we urge them to a renewed commitment to Christ, a renewed understanding of His Lordship, and a renewed release in worship and consecration, then giving will overflow as a response.
This principle teaches us, and it also tests us. If devotion to Christ overflows in generosity, then when our lives don’t bear the fruit of generosity in some fashion, we ought to examine whether we have in fact given ourselves to the Lord, since the Lord Himself is infinitely generous.
2. Our Giving Is in Response to God’s Generosity
“You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.” (2 Cor. 8:9)
The foundation of generosity for the believer is the Son of God’s self-giving and self-impoverishment on our behalf. No one was richer than the Lord Jesus Christ, and no one became poorer. Christian generosity is an imitation of Jesus Christ.
C.T. Studd, Eric Liddell, and Hudson Taylor were missionaries who gave up great personal wealth, education, and opportunity for the sake of Christ. Studd summarized their mindset when he said, “If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him.”2 The world looks at such sacrifice and says, “What a waste!” God says, rather, “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matt. 25:21, 23).
3. Giving Is Generous, Not Grudging
“I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to go on ahead to you and arrange in advance for the gift you have promised, so that it may be ready as a willing gift, not as an exaction.” (2 Cor. 9:5)
There should be a stark difference between the way we pay our utility bills and the way in which we give to the Lord. When we give to the Lord, we ought not to see it as a reluctant necessity. It shouldn’t be just another bill come due, another “exaction.” Rather, because God has first touched our hearts, we can have an entirely different motivation in giving: an enthusiastic and joyful generosity rooted in our love for our Lord.
4. Giving Is Regular, Systematic, and without Fuss
“Now concerning the collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you are also to do. On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come.” (1 Cor. 16:1–2)
If we’re going to give effectively in support of God’s people, then we need to apply ourselves to giving in a deliberate way. We need to be consistent and organized in what we do. This Scripture does not rule out that unique circumstancesmight compel us to give over and above our normal amount on occasion. But it does mean that we should take part in a kind of giving that is regular and systematic.
When we give in a regular and orderly way, we acknowledge that there’s a simplicity and modesty to Christian giving. Jesus taught, “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” (Matt. 6:2). We don’t need to make a fuss, because we are simply imitating the lifestyle of generosity that Christ lived for us. We can trust that our heavenly Father sees what we give (Matt. 6:4).
5. Giving Is Biblically Constrained and Personally Determined
“Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion.” (2 Cor. 9:7)
When Paul uses the phrase “decided in his heart,” some are tempted to see it as an excuse to avoid giving more than they prefer to. Yet the principle is not that we give only what our hearts desire. We are to make a determination of our wills in consideration of the need at hand, the generosity of God, and our commitment to Christ. If we simply gave as much as we wanted to, we would find ourselves giving very little, if anything at all.
In the Old Testament, the law prescribed a series of tithes for Israel which may have required as much as 30 percent of a family’s income, apart from voluntary offerings. Israel was a theocracy, and these tithes funded the government and the temple. Paul, despite his background as a Jew, does not restate the Old Testament practice but instead moves into a totally new realm. When we become Christians, our whole lives and all we possess come under Christ’s lordship, and we need to purposefully determine how we will use our wealth in His service.
6. Giving Is Sacrificial, Yet Cheerful
“The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. … God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.” (2 Cor. 9:6–8)
Paul writes that Christians should give with sincerity, generosity, and a sense of sacrifice. Sometimes we think that if we just had more, we’d give more. We convince ourselves that if our circumstances were better, we would surely give extravagantly. But sacrificial giving isn’t about how much we give compared to others. It means giving from what we have until we suffer more than a nominal cost. Though King David was blessed with abundance, he recognized the importance of sacrificial giving when he said, “I will not offer burnt offerings to the LORD that cost me nothing” (2 Sam. 24:24).
Whether we have a lot or a little, Christian giving means trusting God’s provision for us as we show generosity to others according to our ability. Those whom God has blessed with greater ability will have to give more before they can take themselves into the realm of sacrificial giving. God is not concerned about the amount, but He is concerned about our hearts. That’s why Jesus noticed the widow putting her two coins into the temple treasury while those around her gave great sums: “This poor widow has put in more than all of them. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on” (Luke 21:3–4).
An Overflow of Love
It has been said that fear makes you give because you have to and love makes you give because you want to. Christian generosity is an overflow of our love for Christ. As we grow in our understanding of Jesus’ love for us, our love for Him will genuinely pours out in generosity.
Love for Christ keeps us from being satisfied with meager giving and causes us to pursue giving with excellence. Paul urged the Corinthian believers to grow in this grace of giving, writing, “But as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you—see that you excel in this act of grace also” (2 Cor. 8:7).
It is love that compels us to consecrate our entire selves to Christ, who first gave Himself for us, so that we can honestly sing, “Take my silver and my gold; not a mite would I withhold.”3
This article was adapted from the sermons “Our Money Matters — Part One” and “Our Money Matters — Part Two” by Alistair Begg. Subscribe to get weekly blog updates.
Fred Mitchell, “To Whom Should We Give?” in The Stewardship of Money (1951).↩︎
Quoted in Norman Grubb, C. T. Studd: Athlete and Pioneer (1933; repr., Harrisburg, PA: Evangelical Press, 1943), 145.↩︎
Frances Ridley Havergal, “Take My Life, and Let It Be” (1874).↩︎
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