I'm reading a passage of scripture
from the book of Acts, chapter 20, verse 35, in which the apostle
Paul, while addressing a gathering of elders, preachers, pastors,
said to them, I have showed you all things, how that so laboring,
laboring, you ought to support the weak. and to remember the
words of our Lord Jesus Christ, how he said, it is more blessed
to give than to receive. Now, I feel impressed today to
bring a message on the subject of giving, what the Bible, what
the Word of God says about giving. Now, there's so much false teaching
today, I really am astounded I'm amazed at what I see going
on in the name of God, in the name of the church, in the name
of preaching. So many preachers, especially
on television, are taking advantage of people. They're misusing people. It's really dishonest. And I
am astounded, and I'm ashamed. And I feel impressed of the Spirit
of God to bring a message on the subject of giving. Giving.
What does the Bible say about giving? Are you really interested
to know what God says about giving? Not what I say or somebody else
has to say, but what God says about giving. Now, I want you
to listen carefully to this message. I'm not just talking off the
top of my head. I've given some study to this
subject. and prayerful consideration to
the subject of giving. Now I want you to listen. First
of all, I'll say four things. Four things. Now listen to these
four things. We're told today, we're exhorted today to give. Give to the church and give to
television preachers and give to others because it's our duty. Our duty. Most preachers preach
that believers are under a law to give 10% of all that they
have to the church. They call it the tithe. Now,
where do they get this idea? Where does this come from? Well,
these preachers go back to the Old Testament Levitical laws
given to Israel. That's where they get it. Tithing
is not taught anywhere in the New Testament. Not anywhere. On one occasion, our Lord, speaking
of the tithe to these Pharisees, said, these things you ought
to have done. And they ought to because they
were under that Old Testament dispensation. They were under
that Levitical law. They were under the Sabbath day
and the feast days and the Passover and all these other days. And
they were supposed to tithe. That was the law given to Israel.
But that's not the law given to the Church. And these same
preachers who go back to the Old Testament to teach 10% belongs
to God, they don't encourage all the men to be circumcised.
What happened to that? That was under the law. They
don't require all the people to keep Saturday, the Sabbath
day. That's the Sabbath day. Saturday is the Sabbath day.
It's never been any other day, but they don't keep that day.
They don't keep the dietary laws of the Old Testament, certain
things you're not supposed to eat. They don't keep the Passover.
They don't keep the feast days. They don't keep any of these
things. And Paul specifically said, if you're going to get
under the law, you've got to get under all the law. You that
would be under the law. Don't you know what the law says?
And I'm saying, dear friends, that 10% of what I have does
not belong to God. It all belongs to God. The earth
is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof, the world, and all they
that dwell therein." So God doesn't tax His people. God doesn't put
His people under the tithe. They're not under the tithe today.
No apostle in the New Testament, nowhere in any of the epistles,
taught or exhorted people to tithe. Not a woman. And another
motive for giving. And don't you be pressured by
this. Don't be pressured at all. Giving is not a duty. We give
because we love Christ. And secondly, another motive
for giving is reward. I hear these preachers say, now,
if you give to my church and to my program and to my television
program, God will reward you. You plant a seed and it comes
up. And you give to me, be sure and
give to me now, and you'll get something in return. You'll get
a better job, you'll get a bigger home, you'll get a boat and an
automobile, and God will prosper you materially. In other words,
you give to get something in return. That's contrary to the
grace of God. Our Lord Jesus Christ taught
us to give. He said, hoping for nothing in
return. We give not to get something
back from God. That's mercenary. We give because
of love. We love Christ. We love His people.
We give because we want to give. Not to get a return on our money.
That's nothing in the world but a financial arrangement. And
that's what most of it sounds like. And this is the wrong principle. This is not grace. This is not
taught in God's Word. motivating people to give for
reward or to get something in return? I don't promise you,
if you give, that God's going to prosper you. What God has
in His divine providence and purpose for you, I do not know.
I tell you this, we're not always blessed by being blessed. We're
blessed many times when we have to go through trials and heartaches
and difficulties in order that we might learn something about
our Redeemer. and His will. Another motive
for giving used today is fear. Fear. If you don't pay your tithe,
God will make all sorts of bad things happen to you. One preacher
said, if you don't pay your tithe, God will take it out the door
in a coffin. Isn't that horrible? That doesn't sound like the Master
at all, does it? I heard one preacher out in Texas say this,
now, if you tithe, a lot of bad things that would have happened
won't happen. And a lot of good things that
wouldn't have happened will happen. And if you don't tithe, a lot
of good things that would have happened won't happen. You know,
that's poor reason to give. That's contrary to God's Word.
It's contrary to the principle of grace. Fear. Fear. Get people to fear, and they'll
support you. That's bad news. And another motive they use is
this. Praise and recognition. We're
exhorted to join different clubs, you know. We're supposed to send
a thousand dollars and a hundred dollars or so much and join this
club and that club. Get your name on a plaque. Get
your name on the billboard. Get your name in the bulletin.
Get your name on the wall. Receive a certificate and wear
a badge that you gave more than somebody else. Our Lord condemns
this kind of giving. What shocks me is how preachers
can get into this thing when they know Jesus Christ our Lord
specifically condemned this kind of giving. He said, don't give
to be seen of men. He said, when you pray, pray
in secret. When you fast, fast in secret. And when you give, do not sound
a trumpet. Do not let your left hand know
what your right hand does. Don't even tell it to your dearest
friend. Give out of your heart as unto
the Lord in secret. He says people who give out of
reward, out of a motive to get a reward, when they get the reward,
that's all they get. People who give out of fear,
people who give to be seen of men, when they're seen of men
and praised of men, that's all they get. They've accomplished
their purpose. Now, I'm not being unkind. I'm
trying to be honest. Somebody's got to say this. It may fall my lot to say it,
but I'm going to say it. And I'm trying to speak kindly
and positively and tell people the truth, that this present-day
emphasis in telethons and television programs and giving away books
and gimmicks and badges and badgering people and pressuring people
and getting pledges crying and saying, we're going off the air
if you don't do something. It's ungodly. It's unscriptural. And it's unchristian. And it's
not of God. It's commercialization of the
kingdom of God. It's prostituting the gospel
of Jesus Christ. And I wish I could think of a
stronger word. And this present-day emphasis
on giving as a duty to receive a reward out of fear to be recognized
of men is so contrary to the Word of God, it's embarrassing.
And it's a denial of the very principles of grace. Let me tell
you something. Grace is a heart principle. Grace
is a principle of love, not law, not duty. And my prayer is that
God will give me a believing heart. I want a believing heart,
don't you? I want a loving heart. I want
a praying heart. I want a generous heart. I want
to do what I do not to be seen of men, and for the praise of
men, and for the glory of this flesh, but I want to do it for
the glory of my God. The glory of God. Do you really
want to know what God's Word says about giving? Do you really
want to know? Are you interested? If you are,
I can tell you. And this message is going to be on a cassette
tape, and it's for distribution. It's for you to hear, it's for
you to share, it's for you to give. I'll back up what I'm preaching
by the Word of God. In the New Testament, two whole
chapters, two whole chapters are given to the subject of giving.
2 Corinthians 8 and 2 Corinthians 9. And several words in these
two chapters are very prominent. in regard to this matter of giving
as unto the Lord. Now, I'll give them to you. If
you want to, jot them down. I'll give you the scriptural
reference. Now, here's the first one. The first word having to
do with giving is the word grace. Grace. 2 Corinthians 8, 7. Listen to Paul. As you abound,
he's writing to the church, and he said, as you abound, overflow
in everything, in faith, in preaching, in knowledge, in diligence, in
love, see that you're bound in the grace of giving. What is giving called? A grace. It's a grace. He says you're
a church noted for your faith in God. Your church noted for
your strong preaching of the Word of God. Your church noted
for your knowledge of doctrine and truth. And you show great
love to the apostles. Well, see that you abound, see
that you overflow, see that you excel in this grace, the grace
of giving. So the very first thing we learn
about giving is it's not a duty, it's a grace. Generosity is a
mark. of the grace of God in the soul.
Generosity is a mark or evidence of the grace of God in a person's
heart. In other words, a saved man,
because of the grace of God and the grace of God in his soul,
a saved person, man or woman, is a generous person. That's
right. He's a generous person. And it
flows from the grace of God that's within him. Giving is a grace. It's not a rule, or a law, or
a duty, a forced issue. It's a grace. Flows from his
soul, like love flows from his soul. Now, the second word is
found in the next verse, 2 Corinthians 8, 8. The second word is love.
And Paul plainly says, listen, he's telling the church to abound
in the grace of giving, and he said, I speak not by commandment,
I'm not telling you how much to give. I'm not telling you
when to give. I'm not telling you what percent
to give. I'm not speaking by commandment,
but to prove the sincerity of your love. I'm not commanding
you to give or ordering you an amount to give. I'm simply saying
this, giving is motivated by love, or it's worthless. And
giving is a revelation of love. I do it to prove. the sincerity
of your love. Love for Christ and love for
his people. And you know what he does next,
in the next verse? He then uses the example of our
Savior's love for us. He said, For you all know the
grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, how that though he was rich,
yet for your sakes he became poor. He gave himself because
he loved us. And this thing of giving, The
very first word Paul uses in reference to gift is it's a grace,
it's a grace. And it's born of love, it's motivated
by love, the same love, the same kind of love that motivated our
Lord to come down here into this world and obey the law and die
on the cross and bear our sins is that same love. Out of which we give to share
with others and help others. Actually, now listen to this.
Paul said in 1 Corinthians 13, if I give my goods to feed the
poor and have not love, it profiteth me nothing. Nothing. Now you think about that. When
we go to trying to motivate people to give because it's a duty or
responsibility or to get a reward or out of fear, remember, if
they give for those reasons, it profits them nothing. It's
worthless. It's got to be motivated by love.
Paul said, the love of Christ constrained me. That's why you
give gifts to your wives and to your children and to your
husbands and to your mothers and fathers Gifts to your children? Why? You have to? No, you love
them. Did somebody tell you how much
to spend on the gift? It's your wife's birthday. Somebody
said, well, you've got to spend 10% of your pay this week. I
don't have to do that. I can spend it all if I want
to. It's my wife. It's my money. That's what Peter
told Ananias. He said, you didn't have to do
this. It was yours. Who told you to sell it? Love,
love, love is the motive for giving. The third word is in
verse 12. The word is willing. Willing.
Willing. For there first must be a willing
mind. You hear what Paul's saying?
A willing mind. It is accepted according to what a man has,
not according to what he has not. God loves a cheerful giver. There's nothing here about duty.
It's willingness. Nothing here about pressure,
not being pressured and pressured, pressured, This is what irritates
me. If you have a need and you feel
it necessary to make it known, make it known and drop it. Don't
pressure a man. Keep pressuring, keep crying,
keep coercing him, drop it. If God lays it on his heart,
makes him willing, he'll help, but leave him alone. You're applying
the pressure, the Holy Spirit's not. Nothing said here about
debt. It's willingness, willingness,
that which is given willingly, cheerfully, and from the heart
God loves. God loves a cheerful, hilarious,
happy giver who gives because he's willing. I'll tell you something
else. That's as wrong as wrong can
be. And that's these pledges that churches put out and get
people to sign. I'll give so much next year.
I'll give so much for the next twelve months. Did you hear that
verse I read a moment ago? Did you hear it? There first
must be a willing mind. It is accepted according to what
a man hath right now, not what he has not. Not according to
what he has not. I'm not supposed to pledge what
I don't have. I don't have any idea what I'll
have next month or next year. Don't have the faintest idea.
Only God knows. And the amount is unimportant
anyway. A man is not required to give
what he does not have. He's not required to give what
he's expected to have. He's not required to give except
what he has right now. And that's not required. That's
motivated by love, because he wants to, led by the Spirit of
the living God. I'm telling you the truth. This
is what God's Word said. They're abound in this grace. I don't command you to give.
I want to prove the sincerity of your love, and there first
must be a willing heart, a willing mind, a cheerful heart. This
is what I want to do." Now watch this fourth word. The word purpose. 2 Corinthians 9, 7. Now listen to this carefully,
real carefully. Every man, as he purposeth in his heart, not
as he's ordered, not as he's required. Not as the preacher
says. Every man as he purposes in his
own heart, so let him give. So let him give. That's you,
and you, and you, as you purpose in your heart. So let him give. Not grudgingly. Not grudgingly. Not of necessity. No siree. For God loves a cheerful giver. This word alone will do away
with the duty of the tithe. This one word, purpose, what
does it say? Every man as he purposed it in
his own heart. That does away with the tithe
because if I'm to give ten, if I'm ordered to give ten percent
of everything I have, I've got no reason to purpose. I've got
no reason to even think about it. I've got no reason to even
consider the subject. I'll just fill out my required
amount, my tax, church tax, that's what it is, and send it in, griping
all the time, complaining all the time. That's sinful giving,
and God won't honor it. And I'll tell you this, the preacher
that promotes that kind of giving is misleading his flock. Amen. Purpose in his heart. Are
we afraid to leave people alone to their own hearts? as God the
Holy Ghost leads them. Now, I want to tell you something.
For over 37 years, I've pastored a church, the same church, and
for over 35 of those years, I've been on the radio and television,
at one time on the radio every morning in Ashland, and on this
television station for 14 years. I have never, never, never, ever
preached tithing, required a tithe, or ask anybody for one dime,
not one nickel ever under any circumstances have I ever put
anybody under any pressure to give one dime by a pledge card
or a promise or a tithe or anything. And yet God has always abundantly
and in a wonderful manner met our every need. Now how? How? I'll tell you how. The grace
of God in the hearts of His people. The grace of God in the hearts
of His people. You see, we're stewards of the
Lord, of the grace of God. If we're His sons, we're His
people, we're His stewards. We're stewards of the grace of
God, and we're stewards of what God has given us. And we look
upon His churches, and His people, and His preachers, and those
in need, and we know the need. We learn the need. And then we
go alone by ourselves, we go apart from the crowd, and we
think about this need. And as God directs us, and as
God leads us, and as God impresses us, and as God enables us, and
as God allows us, we give because we want to. God leads me to give. Some of you helped support this
program, but I never ask you. But God leads you. You feel impressed,
too. You say, well, I want to share
in this, or share in that, or share in the other. And you do
it because you want to, and you do it because you're willing
to, and you do it because you love what you hear, or you love
someone you're helping financially. You love that person. And God
lays it on your heart to do it, and you purpose in your heart,
and you do it as unto the Lord, and God gives you a blessing.
Is that not true? I tell you, that's scriptural
giving. That's grace giving, that's love giving, that's New
Testament giving. And I'll tell you, the fifth
word is the word proportion. In 1 Corinthians 16, verse 2,
verses 1 and 2, now Paul said, concerning the collection. Now
concerning the collection for the saints. Upon the first day
of the week, let every one of you lay by him in store, as God
has prospered him. You know what that means? There
are two words to be considered here now. Let everyone, as God
prospers him, in proportion as God has prospered him. The word
everyone. Every believer is a giver. Some
are not to be burdened while others are eased. Every believer
is a giver. Everyone wants to share and everyone
wants to have a part. Rich or poor, old or young, every
believer is generous and wants to share what he has with others.
He wants to. He delights too. It's a blessing
to give. It's a blessing to share. It's
a blessing to take that which God gives to us and share it
with someone else. The other word is, as God prospers
you, as God has blessed you. You know, everything we have
is given to us of God. Paul said this. He said, who
maketh thee to differ? What do you have you didn't receive?
Now, if you received it, why do you boast as if you didn't
receive it? Another scripture says, a man can receive nothing
except it be given him from above. So out of thanksgiving to God,
out of love to God and love for others, a believer recognizing
that God has blessed him and God has prospered him and God
has enabled him to have these things, he wants to share. Here,
take half of mine. You know, when you go out on
the... little children go out on the playground and have a
bar of candy and say, you want half? Or you have an apple. You want half my apple? They
say, you don't have one and I do and I'll share it with you. And
I'd like to do that. But don't come up to me and say,
now it's a law that I get half what you got. It's a rule. It's a requirement. You've robbed
me of my blessing. You've given me a rebellious
heart. And you've taken by theft what
doesn't belong to you. Now that's exactly right. in
proportion. Those who have more are able
to give more. Those who have less give less,
but all give and share with others as God enables them. And I'll
tell you this, 2 Corinthians 9, 8 says this, and God is able
to make all grace abound toward you, that you will have all sufficiency
in all things and be able to do good works. In other words,
a man or a woman who wants to give will never lack. for something
to give, because God's going to make sure that you have all
sufficiency and all... That's what He says there. He's
going to... God is able to make all grace abound toward you.
You're bound in the grace of giving, and God will make all
grace abound toward you. And you will have all sufficiency
in all things, and you'll be able to do good works, as unto
the Lord. My God will supply all your needs
according to His riches and glory through Christ Jesus. Trust Him.
But don't get under rules. And don't obligate God. And don't
say, I'll do this if God will do that. Don't you do that. The
Lord God doesn't operate that way. It's free grace. Free grace. And give as unto the Lord. As
unto the Lord. Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable
gift. Now, this is what I've tried
to say throughout this message. This is it right here. The love
of Christ constrained me. This is my motive. ought to be
for all that I do, whether it's preaching, witnessing, giving,
or whatever. I do it not out of duty or obligation,
nor necessity, but because I love Christ. Does that help? I hope
it does. Write to this tape if you want
it. Send two dollars, and we'll mail it to you, the tape on giving. And there'll be another message
on the other side. Until next week, may God bless you, everyone.