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10 Principles of Giving

10 Principles of Giving. Dr. J.L. Williams JL, Patt & Friends www.JLwilliams.org. Biblical Principles L iving S eries. Introduction. Personal Positive Persistent Proportional Purposeful Prepared Protected Plentiful Passionate Praiseful. The ten principles of giving:.

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10 Principles of Giving

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  1. 10 Principles of Giving Dr. J.L. Williams JL, Patt & Friends www.JLwilliams.org Biblical Principles Living Series

  2. Introduction Personal Positive Persistent Proportional Purposeful Prepared Protected Plentiful Passionate Praiseful The ten principles of giving:

  3. 1. Personal • “On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income…” (I Cor. 16:2).

  4. 1. Personal • “Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give…” (II Cor. 9:7). Nothing is more personal than your salvation, and your giving! Paul said “obedience…accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ” (II Cor. 9:13). As we studied earlier (page 16).

  5. 1. Personal • Paul could speak so highly of the sacrificial giving of the Macedonian saints because it was an accurate reflection of their spiritual maturity. They were “…poor” and “…persecuted” – and yet…“They gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God’s will.” (v.5) Their financial giving was an expression of their spiritual giving.

  6. 1. Personal Macedonian Christians • Gave themselves to God – Surrender • Gave themselves to us - submission • Gave themselves to needy saint – service Because giving is personal, it accurately reflects grace – not legalism. Through the Holy Spirit in each person, grace initiates the desire to give – and therefore is…

  7. 1. Personal Because giving is personal, it accurately reflects grace – not legalism. Through the Holy Spirit in each person, grace initiates the desire to give – and therefore is…

  8. 2. Positive • “…see that you excel in this grace of giving”(II Cor. 8:7). • “Not that I am looking for a gift, but I am looking for what may be credited to your account” (Phil. 4:16-17).

  9. 2. Positive • “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich” (II Cor. 8:9). The grace that initiates the desire to give is motivation – not guilt! In II Cor. 8:6, Paul speaks of “…this act of grace on your part…” to show that giving is a positive privilege…a sign of maturity! God is a giving God – therefore, Christians are to be giving people! Jesus was clear when He taught that it is “…more blessed to give than receive” (Acts 20:35).

  10. 3. Persistent • “On the first day of every week…set aside a sum of money…” (I Cor. 16:2). • “Last year you were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so. Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it…” (I Cor. 8:10-11).

  11. 3. Persistent The Corinthians were known to “start and stop”…shoot out of the starting gate but not make the finish line. Therefore, Paul had to exhort them to “finish the work”! He knew that only planned giving is done regularly. His diagnosis of their malady and his prescription for their immaturity is just as valid today, as most Twenty-first Century Christians exhibit the same symptom:

  12. 3. Persistent We do not give regularly and persistently. Besides extravagant living, what gets in our way? Proverbs offers the following timeless admonitions against… • Debt • “The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender” (Prov. 22:7).

  13. 3. Persistent • Co-signing • “Do not be a man who strikes hands in pledge or puts up security for debts” (Prov. 22:26). • Interest • “He who increases his wealth by exorbitant interest amasses it for another, who will be kind to the poor” (Prov. 28:8).

  14. 3. Persistent As we increasingly apply biblical principles of living and giving, we will strive to be debt-free. We can live and give within our means – therefore, our giving should be…

  15. 4. Proportional • “…each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income…” (I Cor. 16:2). • “…the gift is acceptable according to what onehas, not according to what he does not have” (II Cor. 8:12).

  16. 4. Proportional • “Each of you must bring a gift in proportion to the way the Lord your God has blessed you” (Deut. 16:17). • (Famine) “The disciples, each according to his ability, decided to provide help for the brothers living in Judea” (Acts 11:29).

  17. 4. Proportional Tithing is basic giving – it is the starting point, not the stopping point! And as we have seen, fear and greed wrestle with grace as we plan our giving. But Scripture couldn’t be more clear: The more God prospers us, the more we should proportionally give! Grace will prevail if we meditate on why we give. Our giving should be…

  18. 5. Purposeful There are primarily four things that the Bible exhorts us to give for: • Equality: Giving to help bring about equality in the Body of Christ

  19. 5. Purposeful • “Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. Then there will be equality. As it is written: ‘He who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little’” (II Cor. 8:13-15).

  20. 5. Purposeful • Evangelism: Giving so that others might hear the Gospel • “How, then, can they call on the One they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the One of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent?” (Rom. 10:14-15; c.f. I Cor. 16:11; Titus 3:13; II Jn. 6).

  21. 5. Purposeful • Equipping: Supporting and enabling pastors, evangelists, and church planters to fulfill their ministry • “Those who preach the Gospel should receive their living from the Gospel” (I Cor. 9:14; c.f. Lk. 10:7; Gal. 6:6; I Tim. 5:17-18).

  22. 5. Purposeful • Edification: Giving to build up needy Christians, especially widows and orphans. • “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world” (Ja. 1:27).

  23. 5. Purposeful • (Acts 11:29-30; 24:17; c.f. Rom. 15:26-28; I Cor. 6:1-4; Gal. 2:10; Ja. 2:15-16). With this Scriptural motivation, increasingly it will be a joy to be…

  24. 6. Prepared • “…each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made” (I Cor. 16:2).

  25. 6. Prepared • “I am sending the brothers in order that…you may be ready… I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to visit you in advance and finish the arrangements for the generous gift you had promised. Then it will be ready…” (II Cor. 9:3-5). Godly motivation and preparation combined with honorable and faithful protection result in sanctification of resources for the Lord to use…

  26. 7. Protected • “Titus…is coming to you with much enthusiasm…And we are sending along with him the brother who is praised by all the churches for his service to the Gospel. What is more, he was chosen by the churches to accompany us as wecarry the offering…

  27. 7. Protected • In addition, we are sending with them our brother who has often proven to us in many ways that he is zealous…as for our brothers, they are representatives of the churches and an honor to Christ” (II Cor. 8:17).

  28. 7. Protected • “…we carry the offering, which we administer in order to honor the Lord Himself and to show our eagerness to help. We want to avoid any criticism of the way we administer this liberal gift. For we are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of men” (II Cor. 8:19-20).

  29. 7. Protected Paul was fastidious in protecting Christ’s reputation – he wanted to ensure that things were right in the sight of both God and man. Paul was not secretive or furtive in letting the Corinthians know of the need – nor was he in acting as the conduit of the gift to its recipient. His standard of accountability and transparency – not secrecy or superiority – is our standard as well! With integrity and trust thus established, our gifts can be…

  30. 8. Plentiful • “One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed…A generous man will himself be blessed…” (Prov. 11:24-25; 22:9). • “Whoever sows sparingly, will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously” (II Cor. 9:6).

  31. 8. Plentiful • “God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work…Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion” (II. Cor. 9:8-10).

  32. 8. Plentiful • “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows… Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers” (Gal. 6:7-10). As grace through the Holy Spirit initiates the desire to give…informs us and lays needs on our hearts…as it enables us to be obedient and rewards our obedience – something wonderful happens! We find we give because we are…

  33. 9. Passionate • “Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (II Cor. 9:7). • (Last days) “…men will be lovers of self, lovers of money…lovers of pleasure, rather than lovers of God” (II Tim. 3:1-5).

  34. 9. Passionate • “…fix your eyes on Jesus…who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame…” (Heb. 12:2). God is a passionate giver – He gave His only Son! And grace is passionate, whereas guilt and legalistic giving has no passion! Is your giving coldly… begrudging…sparingly calculated?

  35. 9. Passionate As Amy Carmichael said: “Thank God, He does not measure out grace in teaspoons” and “You can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving!” Charles Spurgeon wrote: “…be really rich in grace; for they that have much grace will not be lukewarm. Grace is as a fire in the soul, and he that hath much of it…cannot but have a heart boiling with earnestness.” And sanctified passionate giving is always

  36. 10. Praiseful • “Youwill be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God” (II Cor. 9:11). • “This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God” (II Cor. 9:12).

  37. 10. Praiseful • “Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God…for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!” (II Cor. 13-15).

  38. Summary Personal Positive Persistent Proportional Purposeful Prepared Protected Plentiful Passionate Praiseful

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