GIVING

1. The Bible commands
believers to give:

Deut.15:7,8            Thou
shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand ...thou shalt open thine hand
wide

Pro.3:27  Withhold not good from them to whom it is
due

Pro.3:28  Say not, tomorrow I will give; when thou
hast it by thee

Mat.5:42 Give to him that asketh thee, &...would
borrow

Lk.3:11    He that hath two
coats...impart to him that hath none

Rom.12:13              Distributing
to the necessity of saints...hospitality

2. God blesses us
when we give:

Mat.6:4   Father which seeth in secret shall
reward thee openly

A. Spiritual blessings:

Pro.11:25                The
liberal soul...he that watereth shall be watered

Pro.13:7b                (He)
maketh himself poor [gives], yet hath great riches

Pro.14:21                He
that hath mercy on the poor, happy is he

Mk.10:21                Give
to the poor, & thou shalt have treasure in Heaven

Acts
20:35             It
is more blessed to give than to receive

B. Material
blessings:

Deut.15:10             For
this the Lord shall bless thee in all thy works

Pro.11:24a              There
is that scattereth, & yet increaseth

Isa.58:10,11            If
thou draw out thy soul to the hungry...the Lord... shall satisfy thy soul in
drought

Lk.6:38a  Give, & it shall be given unto you;
good measure

Lk.6:38b With the same measure ye mete it shall be
measured

3. Giving to God's
work:

A. When we give, we
are giving to Jesus:

Mat.25:40               Inasmuch
as ye have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it
unto Me

B. When we give to
God's work, we are investing:

Pro.19:17                He...lendeth
unto the Lord; &...He will pay him again

Lk.10:30-37            Whatsoever
thou spendest...when I come, I will repay

Phi.4:17  Not because I desire a gift: but I desire
fruit (saved souls) that may abound to your account

C. God will pay us
back for sacrificial giving:

Pro.22:9  He...shall be blessed; for he giveth...to
poor

Pro.28:27a              He
that giveth unto the poor shall not lack

Eccl.11:1 Cast thy bread upon the waters: thou shalt find
it

2Cor.9:6b               He
which soweth bountifully shall reap bountifully

4. Christian duty
regarding giving & sharing:

2Cor.8:4,5,7            As
ye abound in every thing, in faith...in love...see that ye abound in this grace
(giving) also

Heb.13:16               To
do good & communicate (share w/ others) forget not

A. Obligation to
support fulltime workers & missionaries:

Rom.15:27              Their
debtors they are...their duty is to minister unto them in carnal
things

1Cor.9:6-11            If
we have sown unto you spiritual things...we shall reap your carnal (material
& financial) things

Gal.6:6    Let him that is taught
communicate (share materially) to him that teacheth

1Tim.5:17,18          They
who labour in the Word...the labourer is worthy of his reward (wages)

(See
also 3Jn.7,8.)

B. Examples of
giving to needy fellow Christians:

Rom.15:26              Pleased
them...to make a contribution for the poor saints

Gal.6:10  Do good...unto them who are of the
household of faith

Phi.4:15,16             [Paul
said:] Concerning giving & receiving...ye sent once & again to my
necessity (See also 1Cor.16:1; 2Cor.9:12.)

C. Everyone to give
according to their ability:

Deut.16:17             Every
man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord...which He
hath given thee

Acts
11:29             The
disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto
the brethren

1Cor.16:2                Let
every one of you lay in store [set aside to give], as God hath prospered him

2Cor.8:12                It
is accepted according to that a man hath, & not

D. Wealthy
Christians especially obligated to give:

Lk.8:3      Joanna, wife of
Chuza, Herod's steward, & many others ministered unto (Jesus) of
their substance

2Cor.8:14,15           That...your
abundance may be a supply for their want As it is written, He that had gathered
much

1Tim.6:17-19          Charge
them that are rich...that they be...ready to distribute, willing to communicate
(share)

(See
examples in 2Tim.1:16-18; Phlm.7.)

E. Giving to the
church, which redistributes:

Acts
2:44,45          (They)
parted them to all men, as every man had need

Acts
4:34,35          Distribution
was made unto every man...as he had need

Acts
6:1 [The early church had a "daily
ministration" to widows]

1Tim.5:4,16            [Church's
duty to "relieve them that are widows"]

F. Even poor
believers encouraged to give:

1Ki.17:9-16             [Poor
widow of Zarephath gave sacrificially, & God blessed her with unending
supply of food in famine]

Mk.12:43,44           Poor
widow hath cast more in...For they did cast in of their abundance; but she of
her want cast in all

2Cor.8:1-4              In...their
deep poverty...they were willing...praying us that we would receive the gift

5. Giving with the
right motives:

A. Give cheerfully:

2Cor.9:7  Not grudgingly...for God loveth a
cheerful giver

Deut.15:10a           Thou
shalt give...& thine heart shall not be grieved

Exo.25:2  Bring Me an offering: of every man that
giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take My offering

Exo.35:21                Every
one whose heart stirred him up, &...spirit made willing, brought the Lord's
offering to the work

1Chr.29:9                People
rejoiced...because with perfect heart they offered willingly to the Lord

Heb.10:34               Ye
took joyfully the spoiling of your goods

B. Give generously:

Pro.21:26b              The
righteous giveth & spareth not

C. Give till it
hurts; not just what we can spare:

2Sam.24:24             Neither
will I offer unto the Lord of that which doth cost me nothing [Give even when
it "costs"]

Lk.21:4    All these have of their
abundance cast in...but she of her penury hath cast in all the living she had

D. Give with pure
motives:

1Cor.13:3                Though
I bestow all my goods to feed poor, & have not love, it profiteth me
nothing

Mat.5:24 Leave thy gift before the altar...first be
reconciled

Mat.6:1   Do not your alms before
men...otherwise ye have no reward of your Father

Mat.6:2   The hypocrites do (alms)...that
they may have glory of men. They have their reward

Mat.6:3   When thou doest alms, let not thy
left hand know what

Lk.6:34,35               Lend,
hoping for nothing again; your reward...great

6. What happens
when we withhold & don't give:

A. It puts extra
strain on others:

Phi.2:30  He was nigh to death...to supply your lack
of service

B. God will see to
it that we become poor:

Pro.11:24b              There
is that withholdeth...but it tendeth to poverty

Pro.13:7a                There
is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing

Pro.28:27                But
he that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse

C. It shows we lack
Christian love:

Jam.2:15,16            If
a brother or sister be naked, & destitute of daily food... & ye give
not...what doth it profit?

1Jn.3:17,18             Whoso
hath...& seeth his brother have need, & [doesn't give], how dwelleth
the love of God in him?

D. When we give
stingily or dishonestly:

2Cor.9:6a                He
which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly

Mal.1:7-10              Ye
offer polluted bread...I have no pleasure in you, neither will I accept an
offering at your hand

Mal.1:13,14            Ye
brought...torn, lame, sick. Should I accept this?

(See
also Mal.1:8; Acts 5:1,2,9,10.)

E. Beware of
covetousness & greed:

Lk.12:15  Beware of covetousness: a man's life
consisteth not

1Tim.6:10               The
love of money is the root of all evil

Pro.28:16b              He
that hateth covetousness shall prolong his days

Eccl.5:10 He that loveth silver...not be satisfied with
silver

Jam.5:1-5                Your
gold & silver is cankered; & the rust of them shall be a witness
against you

(See
also Eccl.5:13,15; Acts 5:1-10.)

7. Tithing:

A. Giving 10% of
our income to God's work:

Lev.27:30               All
the tithe of the land...is the Lord's: it is holy

Num.18:21              Behold,
I have given the (Levites) all the tenth...for their service (work) which they
serve

Num.18:24              The
tithes...which they offer unto the Lord, I have given to the Levites [God's
fulltime workers]

Deut.14:22             Thou
shalt truly tithe all the increase [income]

(See
also Deut.12:19; Neh.10:37-39.)

B. God will bless
us for tithing:

Deut.14:28,29        Thou
shalt bring forth all the tithe...that the Lord may bless thee in all the work
of thine hand

Pro.3:9,10               Honour
the Lord with...all thine increase: So shall thy barns be filled with plenty

Mal.3:10 Bring ye all the tithes...& I will open the
windows of Heaven, & pour you out a blessing

Mal.3:8-11              [God
grants protection & freedom from curses]

C. Setting aside
our tithe on a frequent basis:

1Cor.16:2                Upon
the first day of the week let every one lay by him in store, as God hath
prospered him

D. Freewill
offerings above our 10% tithe--Believers encouraged to give for special
projects:

Exo.35:5  Take...an offering unto the Lord:
whosoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it (See vs.21,22)

2Ki.12:4,5,
9-12      [Freewill
offerings encouraged for the work of God]

8. Other aspects of
giving:

A. Gifts can help
obtain a man's favour or forgiveness:

Pro.19:6  Every man is a friend to him that giveth
gifts

Pro.21:14                A
gift in secret pacifieth anger...& strong wrath

(Warning:
see Pro.17:23)

B. When not
to accept gifts:

Exo.23:8  Take no gift [with "strings
attached"]: for the gift blindeth the wise, & perverteth the...
righteous

Num.22:18              If
Balak would give me his house full of...gold, I cannot go beyond the Word of
the Lord

1Ki.13:7-10             [Young
prophet refused gifts from disobedient king]

2Ki.5:15,16             [Elisha
refused Naaman's money, but Gehazi coveted it --vs.20-27] Is it a time to
receive money?

(Re:
bribes, see Deut.16:19; Pro.29:4; Eccl.7:7.)