Biblical Principles For Giving

This sermon is from Grace Fellowship Church in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. To access other sermons, or to learn more about us, please visit our website at graceedmonton .ca.

Malachi’s Fifth Disputation and the Problem of Giving

With that, brothers and sisters, let's turn in our Bibles to Malachi chapter 3. Malachi chapter 3, and beginning in verse 6. And as you're turning there, I'll introduce our subject matter. This afternoon, as we study Malachi chapter 3 in verses 6 through 15, we're going to consider the Lord's fifth disputation with the people of Israel.

And as we're turning there, we'll do a bit of a brief review. So thus far, if you've been with us in the book of Malachi, I know there's a few here that haven't been with us, so this is a good time for a review.

We've considered now four different disputations in this book that are this question-and-answer style disputation that God raises with his people in the book. And the first thing that we considered in disputation number 1, in chapter 1, was the people's rejection of God's love.

You might remember that, how God said, I have loved you. In number 2, we looked at the people's despisal of God through offering polluted offerings. That was disputation number 2. Number 3, we looked at the people's violation of their covenant with God and subsequently then with their wives.

That was God's disputation number 3. And then last week, as part of disputation number 4, we looked at the people's denial of God's righteousness. Now they questioned whether or not God was truly good.

If God was truly righteous, why did it seem as if all of the nations were succeeding, all of them were experiencing blessings and good things, while God's people themselves were not? And maybe even as I list out these different disputations that God had with his people, you're beginning to pick up on a bit of a theme that runs through the book of Malachi.

And that is that at every objection, at every occasion, whether the Lord objects or raises an objection against his people, what leads up to that, what is principally concerned in that objection, is the people's heart attitudes toward God.

See, this rebellious nation, they had looked up at a holy and righteous God, and instead of giving him the glory that he was rightfully due, they instead denied his love, they ignored his worth, they rejected his covenant, and then they dismissed his righteousness altogether.

And each situation, if we were to, as you've heard me say lately, grab it by the root, or grab it by the branch and trace it back to the root, what we'd find is that it was a theological error, a situation of wrong thinking, that gave way then to disobedience and rebellion, i .e. wrong living.

And so, with that said, as we get into disputation number five, what do you think the theme will be? We're going to look at it together, verses 6 -15, and find the answer out for ourselves. This is God's word, Malachi 3 and verse 6.

For I, the Lord, do not change. Therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts.

But you say, How shall we return? Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, How have we robbed you? In your tithes and contributions you are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you.

Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house, and thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts. If I will not open the windows of heaven for you, and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need, I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the Lord of hosts.

Then all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight, says the Lord of hosts. Your words have been hard against me, says the Lord. But you say, How have we spoken against you? You have said, It is vain to serve God.

What is the profit of our keeping his charge, or of walking as in mourning before the Lord of hosts? And now we call the arrogant blessed. Evildoers not only prosper, but they put God to the test, and they escape.

So in this fifth disputation, God raises this particular issue with the people. He says, Israel, your wrong thinking has led to robbery, and not robbery against man, but robbery against God. You're robbing God of his tithes and offerings.

And because the nation then did not know God, and because they did not see fit to give God from their material wealth and resources, give to him from their material wealth and resources, in the Lord's sight, this was not a small thing, but it was in fact criminal.

It was to rob God himself. And I will just let you in on it. I struggled with this passage as to how to work through this in terms of our understanding today of tithes, of offerings, of generosity amongst Christians, of what is applicable from this passage and what needs to be left as what it rightfully is, a part of the vestiges of the old covenant that God had with his people.

And today, as we look at this fifth disputation, we're going to deal principally with the issue of giving. As Christians, these are questions that we have that very few people know the answer to. As Christians, are we bound by the Old Testament practice of tithing?

Is generous and sacrificial giving mandatory for Christians? Or is it a scriptural suggestion, if I can call it that, in a new covenant system of worship that does not rely on a steady stream of sacrificial animals?

What is our giving to be used for? Few Christians know the answer to this question, and yet I think that in the wider, I guess I could call the broader evangelical church, there seems to be this philosophy that we should not teach on giving, that we should not teach on money.

I've heard a number of Christians, in fact, say that we should never teach on giving because it does two things. It puts off unbelievers, and it has this way of manipulating Christians into somehow enriching the church.

And it's interesting that we should have so many visitors today, or at least a few visitors. We don't teach on giving every week, but we will teach on giving this week. And so, for this reason, though, in many churches, this topic of money is a forbidden topic that cannot be touched, that cannot be spoken about from the pulpit.

And who knows, maybe that's your perspective as well. Don't teach on giving, Shane. But this is the kind of attitude I would respectfully submit, that has not protected believers from ecclesiastical greed, nor has it promoted the financial security of Christians, that Christians are better off because giving is not taught.

But it's actually served to impoverish Christians today. And this is why. Because the few groups that do teach on giving are either what I would call prosperity pimps. I use that term because I cannot, in good conscience, call them prosperity gospel preachers.

There is no gospel in that message. They are prosperity pimps, pimping out something that reflects or that they try to mask as the gospel, but is not. Or, it has been left to be taught by those who have a low view or no view of the church and its ministerial duties, and what the church exists for.

And so, when it comes to giving, ignorance abounds amongst Christians. Christians don't know what they should give, if they should give, where to give, or even God's mind towards giving. And to prove all of this, all you have to do is look at the statistics.

I was doing some reading this week on the research concerning giving. And in any given church in North America, if you think about this, walk into any church in North America, at least the average church, and look at the sea of people, only about 10 to 25 of members of churches, local churches, give as an expression of their worship to God.

This means that if you were to visit that average church on a Sunday and look out of that group, you can say, almost safely, that 75 of the people in that room have not given, will not give, won't give this year.

And yet, at the same time, if you were to go to Costco instead of the average church, go to Costco this afternoon, and gather 100 people who say, I do not love God, I do not know God, I do not care about Christ, don't talk to me about it.

If you were to gather 100 of those people in Costco, and ask them how many of them give to charitable initiatives, almost providentially, strangely, 75 of them give to charitable causes in their community.

And then as a general rule, amongst Christians, again, evangelical Christians, statistics show that the more a Christian earns, the less they are likely to give. Only about 5 of church members give 10 of their income, and the remaining 95 give less than 2 .5 of their income.

And if that doesn't sound that bad, just to put it into perspective to some degree, that during the Great Depression, to compare it to Christians during the Great Depression, their rate of giving was about 3 .5 of their earnings.

And so even the Christians of the Great Depression outdo many Christians today in their giving. And I'm not starting this sermon by trying to guilt you into giving. Not at all. I think guilt is a terrible motivator.

You've heard me say that before. I want us motivated by the Gospel, and by faithfulness to God. But what I'm trying to show us here is that Christians don't understand giving. That the Christian landscape is a wasteland when it comes to giving.

It's almost as bad as the world. And as it was in Malachi's day, so it is today. And I think that the remedy of this plague, this scourge upon the Church, is not to not talk about it. It's not to leave people to do whatever seems right in their own eyes.

But it is to teach on the topic. It is to understand the topic. It is to understand the God of the Bible better. And it is to allow our right thinking then to inform our right living. And so as we approach our text for today, it's going to be good and digestible.

I want to give you six Biblical principles for giving. Six Biblical principles arising out of Malachi, and then fully informed by the teaching of the New Testament. And so we'll go through them. Some of them are shorter.

Some of them are longer. But I've tried to keep each of them brief. And so beginning in verses 6, 7, and 8. Malachi 3, verses 6, 7, and 8. I want to demonstrate the first principle. And that is this. That God commands us to give.

God Commands His People to Give

Well, it is true that we are under a new covenant. And therefore we are not bound by the civil and ceremonial laws of Israel. Generous and sacrificial giving was not, and today is not, optional for the people of God.

I want you to allow me to show you why that is. In Malachi, verses 6 and 7, God confronts the nation with this sobering truth. This is a terrifying verse in verse 6. That the only reason why God has not abandoned the people, His people in that time, is because of His own divine character.

Make no mistake about it. That the nation itself deserves, deserved at that time, to be forsaken. There was nothing about them that was inherently lovely. They had, since the days of their first fathers, been begging to be expelled.

To be cast out. To be consumed, we see in verse 6. By the white hot judgment of God. But God tells us that He would not do this. And why was that? It was because He tells us He is unchangeable. The theological term you'll sometimes hear people use is the word immutable.

That God cannot change. That God cannot mutate. That's where the word immutable comes from. That He cannot experience either improvement, nor can He deteriorate. And therefore, He cannot change. In Psalm 33, verse 11, it says, The counsel of the Lord stands forever.

The plans of His heart to all generations. And just as a quick parenthesis here. Brothers and sisters, if you hear us talking at times about the attributes of God. How it is that we learn the attributes of God.

It's not by going into a room filled with books written by men. And philosophizing about what God might be, what He could be about. But it's reading the Bible just like this. And to see in Malachi chapter 3, verse 6.

That God does not change. That one of His attributes, that He does not share with us. One of His incommunicable attributes is this immutability. That God does not, and will not, and will never change.

And as He reveals here. As He reveals Himself to us in His inerrant word. He has revealed that He has not consumed His people for this very reason. His own unchangeable character. And His unrelenting commitment to His covenant with Israel.

Even though the people have been faithless. Even though they have done everything they can under the sun. To violate His covenant. He has remained faithful, as it says in 2 Timothy. Because He cannot deny Himself.

But in a very real way. God has, we see in this passage, drawn back from His people. That while He has not changed, He has drawn back. And we see that in verse 7. He says, from the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes.

And have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you. Says the Lord of hosts. But you say, how shall we return? And this really gets to the heart of the matter. God says, return to me. And the people ask this rhetorical question.

How? How shall we return? And the heart of the matter is this. The people were robbing God. By denying their tithes and contributions. And God's command is this. To resume, or to begin if they haven't already.

To repent and to begin giving. As He has commanded. Now without going too much into depth here. This is in reference to, as we see the tithes and offerings. That the people were commanded to give. As part of the civil and ceremonial law.

And so throughout Leviticus. And you, if you've read through the Bible. You're familiar with these passages. And Leviticus and Numbers and Deuteronomy. The people were commanded to make offerings. From their various resources.

To accomplish at least three things. In the nation. The first thing was to sustain the priests. Who ministered in God's temple. That the priests needed a way to live. They were without a land inheritance of their own.

And that their job was to minister to the Lord day and night. And someone needed to provide for that. The second reason that the tithes and offerings were commanded. Was to facilitate various religious festivals.

As part of their worship and remembrance of God. And the third to care for the poor. The orphan, the widow and the sojourner. So a ministry of mercy. So God tells these people. Repent and give your tithe.

And the failure of God's people to pay this tithe. Was enough. If not for God's unchangeable character. Enough to inspire him. To motivate him to consume his people. Now it begs the question. Maybe many of you know the answer.

Maybe you have wondered this answer for a long time now. Does this tithe still apply today? What do you think? The biblical answer. The simple answer. Is no. Now there are some tremendous faithful Christians.

Who will disagree with me on this point. But the answer that I can surmise from scripture is no. And I would like to contend then. That while that answer is no. That we are not bound by the Old Testament tithe today.

It is still very much possible. To rob God. Like the Israelites were doing in Malachi's day. But how can that be? How can it be that we are not bound by the Old Covenant tithe. And yet we can still rob God.

While it is that we are not bound by the Old Testament laws. Concerning tithes and offerings. The New Testament and the whole canon of scripture. Abounds with commands and exhortations to give. To give freely.

To give generously. To give sacrificially. The normative expectation. Hear this with me. The normative expectation of the New Testament believer. Is that his heart.

Or her heart.

And mind.

And treasure. Would not be bound up in this world. And in the little trinkets of this life. But in heaven. Where Christ is seated. At the right hand of the glory of God. So I want us to see for a moment.

Just the biblical commands. For New Testament believers. For you and I. To be generous. To give. To make our offerings to God. The resources that he has gifted us with. In Matthew chapter 6. In verse 19.

Our Lord Jesus Christ. You can turn there with me if you'd like. Malachi 6 .19. He said. Do not lay up treasures for yourselves on earth. Where moth and rust destroy. And where thieves break in and steal.

But lay up for yourselves treasure in heaven. Where neither moth nor rust destroys. And where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is. There your heart will be also. This is a command from Christ himself.

And the immediate context is this. You cannot serve both God and money. And the way to remedy that. Is to take of your money. And to give. To give it to God's purposes. To give it to God's causes. That your heart and your mind and your soul.

Might be bound up in heaven. Where your treasure is. The apostle Paul confirmed this later. In 1 Timothy 6. In verse 17 through 19. When at the end of that first letter to Timothy. He writes to Timothy about.

What Timothy is to do as he relates to those who have. Any measure of wealth. He said. As for the rich in this present age. Charge them. That is language of authority. Charge them. Not to be haughty. Nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches.

But on God who provides richly. With everything. Provides us richly with everything to enjoy. They are to do good. To be rich in good works. To be generous. And ready to share. Thus storing up treasure for themselves.

As a good foundation for the future. But you might say Shane. I'm not rich. That text doesn't apply to me. That is for the wealthy. I am not wealthy.

First of all.

You are richer than you think. I'm just waiting for Scotiabank to send me an email. To sue me for saying that. But you're richer than you think. And secondly. In 1 Corinthians 16. Verses 1 and 2. We have the answer to that.

That as Paul was giving instructions to the Corinthian church. To make preparations for the collection. That was to go to the saints in Jerusalem. He said. On the first day of every week.

He said.

First to the Galatians. Now to the Corinthians. On the first day of every week. Each of you. Is to put something aside. Store it up. As he may prosper. So rich.

Poor.

Somewhere in the middle. As he may prosper. So that there will be no collecting when I come. So in no place. In the New Testament. Do we see a prescribed amount? Or a percentage? But there is an expectation.

An imperative. Delivered to numerous churches. That each Christian is to give regularly. And proportionately. Paul says. And the church is to store up. And to steward these resources. And it's not only commanded.

But it is wise. My kids know. Children you might remember going through Proverbs. And in the opening chapters in Proverbs. We learn that it was a book. Given especially to young people.

Young men.

He says. As a compendium of wisdom. And there it says. Honor the Lord with your wealth. And with the first fruits of your produce. So no church. Where the Bible is consistently read. And taught. And the gospel is clearly understood.

Should have a scenario. Where 75 of the church does not give. It is just plain wrong. It is outside of the revealed will of God. Except under exceptional circumstances. Giving is a command issued to all Christians.

It is an act of obedience and worship to God. To a God who never changes. Mind you. And who has always. In both the old and the new covenants. Desired that his people would store up treasure in heaven.

By giving. And giving generously. So that is the first principle. That God commands us to give. The second principle that I want to share is this. Giving is an act of stewardship. Someone somewhere might look at verses 8 and 9.

And then ask the question. But Shane. How am I robbing God by not giving him my earnings? These are my earnings. I worked for these earnings. The Bible affirms this. They were not a gift. But I worked for them.

They were my due. And they are mine and not his. How could it possibly be then that I am robbing God by not giving to him? It reminds me of a brother. I know some of you know him or know of him. Bob Jennings.

Who went to be with the Lord I think around 2011. And he ministered in Missouri. And he interacted with a lot of farmers. And he was having a conversation with the farmers one day. And they were talking about how good the crop production was.

And he said something along the lines of. Praise the Lord. Or thanks be to God for that. And the farmer looked Bob Jennings in the eye and he said. God has nothing to do with this.

I.

I went into that field. I planted the seed. I watered it. I fertilized it. I harvested it. I was up all night getting that harvest from that field. That has nothing to do with God. That is my work. Thanks be to me.

And our brother Bob Jennings. I know. What a sobering thought. My goodness. Our brother Bob Jennings said. But who caused. When you planted those seeds in the ground. Who caused those seeds to grow? And the farmer was dumbstruck.

He could not answer to that. If God did not cause those seeds to grow. He said. Then you might as well have planted stones. You could have laid out your furrows and filled them full of gravel. That's what you would get.

But if God did not cause those seeds to grow. So what did God have to do with that crop? Absolutely everything. And so it is with everything that we receive in this life. We ought not to be like that foolish farmer in this story.

But understand that everything that we have. Is a gift given from the sovereign hand of God. That everything that you have. And that I have. That we have collectively. Is by providence. Even as we rejoiced a few weeks ago.

That we have a real pulpit. I'm grateful to the men that built this. But I praise God. For providing those men. And for providing the resources. 1 Corinthians 4 .7 says. What do you have. That you did not receive.

If then you received it. Why do you boast as if you did not receive it. Or in James 1 .17. Every good gift. Listen carefully to these words. We're building a theology of God's immutability this afternoon.

If not by accidents. Then on purpose perhaps. But every good and perfect gift is from above. Coming down from the Father of light. Listen to this. With whom there is no variation of shadow due to change.

I .e. unchangeable, immutable. So the same unchangeable God of Malachi's day. Is the same God who gives you everything that you need. Therefore do not rob God of what is his. Your time. Think about this for a moment.

How you spend your time. Or how you spend your money. And how cavalierly we often do. As if it were our own. But your time is not your own. Your money is not your own. Your house is not your own. For some of you, you don't have any of those things.

Except for maybe a car. Brother or sister, your car is not your own. Your life is not your own. To do with it whatever you will. But everything that you have is a stewardship from God. This week I was leaning heavily on a book by Randy Alcorn.

Maybe some of you know. The Treasure Principle. A little plug for our library. The Treasure Principle is in the library. Behind those doors. Talk to Amy. As well it's on our book table. So if you like it that much, you can buy it.

But for a discounted price. And he shares a story of John Wesley at some point. Where as John Wesley was ministering one day. He was speaking to a crowd of people. And a man rode up to John Wesley on horseback.

And said, John Wesley. Maybe he didn't say exactly that. Mr. Wesley.

Your house.

Something terrible has happened. Your house has burned to the ground. And John Wesley sat there for a moment pensively. And gave some thought to it. And then he turned to the man and he said. That was not Mr. Wesley's house that burnt down.

That was God's house that burnt down. And I suppose I've been relieved of the responsibility of stewarding that house. Haven't I? And then carried on with his ministry. Randy Alcorn says. Whenever we think that we are the owner of something.

That should be an immediate red flag. We need to adopt a stewardship mentality. Toward the assets that he has entrusted. Not given to us. A steward manages the assets of the owner. For the owner's benefit.

It is his job to find out what the owner wants done. And then carry out that will. Everything that you have. Everything that I have is from God. And through God. And now it is to return to God. In our generosity.

And in our use of it. Are you doing that? The third principle that I want us to look at is this. That giving should be proportionate and generous. Now when we look again in verse 8. At that word tithes.

In your tithes and contributions. When most people think of that word tithes. Or tithe. They think of the Hebrew definition of that word. That word literally translated means a tenth. And so they're not wrong in thinking that a tithe is 10%.

But that word tithe. Or those two words, three words together. Tithes and contributions. Contain so much more than 10%. You see once the needs of the priests were cared for. And the religious festivals were tended to.

And the poor and the needy were provided for. So the tithes and the contributions. You take all of those commands. From Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. Put them all together. It wasn't actually 10 that the people of God gave.

To the service of God. To their worship of God. But it was actually. It wasn't 10%. It wasn't 20%. It was somewhere around 23%. Or 23 to 30%. Depending on how you look at it. I'm not good at math. I didn't go to school for math.

But some people who are good at math. Have pinpointed that it's 23 and a half percent. And so if you were a Jew living in Israel. You were responsible for 23 and a half percent. Tithes and offerings every year.

And are we bound then to that 23 As we've established already. Absolutely not. But then it begs the question. What number are we bound to? How do we measure what faithful giving is. Versus unfaithful giving.

Because I can tell you. That there are in those churches. That average church that you would attend. Amongst that 75 group in the church. There are people in that church who are not giving. And the Lord is pleased.

And he's pleased with their faithfulness. And there are others where the Lord is very displeased. And he might even say through the words of Malachi. You are robbing me of what is mine. And so how do we measure then.

What a faithful offering is. What faithful giving is for each Christian. Because the Bible has not given us a prescribed number. I think that we need to rely on some important principles. To determine this.

And the first principle that I think is this. If we went to 2 Corinthians chapter 9 and verse 7. The first principle is that our giving should be. Willing and cheerful. And that's an interesting one. That's not a number.

That's not the specificity Shane that I would have hoped for. But that our giving should be willing and cheerful. In 2 Corinthians 9 .7 Paul says. Each one. Each one. Must give as he has decided in his own heart.

Not reluctantly or under compulsion. For God loves a cheerful giver. And so what God has given us. Instead of. Maybe much to our dismay. Because we like numbers. And we like to follow the dotted line.

If we can. But instead of giving us a number. Instead of giving us a percentage. What God has given us is a heart attitude toward giving. That we are to give. As he says here. Whatever we decide in our heart.

So long as we do it cheerfully. That we are to approach giving with a sense of joy. And I wonder how many of us have lost that. How many of us think when we get our paychecks. Okay well how much do I need to give?

How much must I give? You know we've been praying about saving money for this. There's that. Maybe I should give a little more. A little less. How much do I give? How much must I give? I would venture to say that the way the Christian should.

Should receive their paycheck. I know we don't receive our pay for paychecks anymore. Most of us. But when you receive your pay stub. To look at it. Young men. Young women. With your husband or wife. To look at it and say.

Okay.

How much can we give? How much treasure can we store in heaven this week? How much can we give so that our hearts.

And our minds.

And our all. Are bound up with God. Where Christ is now. We're not. We're not given here a tax to pay. But a blessing and a privilege. To enter into. To enter into. Cheerfully. And joyfully. And exuberantly.

Exuberantly. That's the word. To ask. How can I store. As much treasure. In heaven. As I possibly can. And so we should give then. Willingly. And cheerfully. But what else? Another principle that we find.

Is that our giving should be. In proportion to our receiving. There are some of you who. You are students. And you make.

Like.

Two hundred dollars a year. I'm not here to tell you. You need to give. Two thousand dollars a year. But if you make two hundred dollars a year. Praise the Lord. Perhaps there is a way that you can give.

Proportionately. Again. To go back to 1 Corinthians 16. Where Paul commanded the Corinthians to give. He said. As he may prosper. And so. The scriptures. Excuse me. Not only dictate. That our giving should be willing and cheerful.

But proportionate to our earnings. As God has prospered each one of us. And this means then. That we have the sobering. And the exciting task. Of sitting down. With our families perhaps. Or if you're single.

Sitting down alone. Before God. And determining.

Okay.

What do I get to give? How do I invest. In God's heavenly treasury? Now if we were to go back. Through church history. Which you know I like to do. And look at people like. Origen. And Jerome. And Augustine.

We would find that they believed. That ten percent. Was a good starting number. Again. To reference Randy Alcorn. In his book. Treasure of Principle. If you were to read that. He says. Ten percent. That's a good training wheel number.

It's a good starting place. To go from. And he actually asks. A very piercing question. He says. Does God really expect. Less of us. Those of us. Who have the Holy Spirit. Within us. Those of us. Who live in the.

The wealthiest society. In human history. Does he expect. Less of us. Than he demanded. Of the poorest. Of the Israelites. In the Old Testament. That's a good question. It's a question.

Worth.

Worth asking ourselves.

But. But.

A good question. An equally good question. Is this. What percentage. Of my earnings. Will ensure. As Christ has taught. That my heart. And my treasure. Are in heaven. And not in this earth. What proportion.

Think about this for a moment. I know it's ethereal. It's hard to imagine. It's like talking to my children about heaven. And dad. What is heaven going to be like. But think about this for a moment. What amount.

Will you be happiest with. Not. Not. A week from now. Or a year from now. But what. What amount. What amount. Will you be happiest with. In 10. Thousand.

Years.

In 10. Thousand years. How generous. Will you have. Will you. Will you wish. You have been. Had been. What is that number. And our giving. A third principle within this principle. Is that our giving should be generous.

And sacrificial.

That. That.