Everything you've ever wanted to know about churches and money but were afraid to ask

This is (pretty much) the transcript for the sermon "Everything you've ever wanted to know about churches and money but were afraid to ask."  For the full audio click here.

What’s a tithe?

How much am I supposed to give?  to church?  to God?

Who am I supposed to give to?

How do I really “give to God?”

If I give to Westside how is that giving to God?

If you’ve ever said it yourself or are sick of hearing someone else say it, here is the sermon for you.  This is the “all the church talks about is money” sermon.  Well, not really.  What I’m attempting to do here is to talk frankly about what the Bible teaches about giving, money, tithes, and offerings.  So, to get us started let’s go to the last Old Testament book and check out a verse that mentions the big word - tithe.

Tithes, Offerings, and Money in God’s church - Malachi 3:6-12

6 “I the Lord do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. 7 Ever since the time of your ancestors you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord Almighty.  “But you ask, ‘How are we to return?’  8 “Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me.  “But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’  “In tithes and offerings.

Let’s take a look at tithes and offerings

Tithe

The teaching first comes up in the Old Testament of the Bible.  Although the concept of a 10% tithe was practiced in Egypt, Mesopatamia, and among the Akkadians.  It’s 10% of whatever increase you’ve had.  It can be crops, animals, or even converted to silver (money).  A person gave it to God by way of the priests at the the Temple.  

The Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament states that the tithe was communal.  It went to support the Levite Priests, who also gave a 10% tithe, and their work since their work did not support food or make money.  They were able to do something other’s weren’t.  They made the offerings and performed the work of the temple.  Others couldn’t do this - so they supported their work.  It was also communal because a portion of this collected tithe would do to the widows, orphans, and less fortunate.

Offerings - Tithes and offerings are different things.  The tithe was primarily something of monetary value that represented giving 10% of one’s income to God’s work in the temple.  There were different offerings that were given but most of them were to deal with sin.  They were a payment for sin.  Of course, Jesus has become the final payment for sin.

Malachi 3:9-12 You are under a curse—your whole nation—because you are robbing me. 10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. 11 I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe,” says the Lord Almighty. 12 “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the Lord Almighty.

God tells them that they are cursed because they did not keep their end of the agreement.  He said that if they did they would have been blessed largely.  He even says, “Test me in this.”  Seems like it’s a pretty big part of who God is and how He functions with people.

So if we give tithes and offerings to God - we will be blessed?

yes, more later

Does God still ask us to give?

These are OT principles.  Many people believe that the Old Testament doesn’t matter to daily life for people who are followers of Jesus.  Matthew 5:17, 17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.”  

How do I really “give to God?”  

Giving to God

Andrew Murray states, “How different our standard is from Christ’s.  We ask how much a man gives.  He asks how much he keeps.”

Jesus said this about "giving to Him."

Matthew 25:31-46

31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.  34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’  37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’  40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’  41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’  44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’  45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’  46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

Augustine said, “That bread which you keep belongs to the hungry; that coat which you preserve in your wardrobe, to the naked; those shoes which are rotting in your possession, to the shoeless; that gold which you have hidden in the ground, to the needy.  Wherefore, as often as you are able to help others, and refuse, so often you did them wrong.”

Here’s something else that Jesus said.  This time to a church.

This is written to the last church in the book of Revelation.

Revelation 3:14-18, ““To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:  These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. 15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17 You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.

What does He call them?  Wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.  Richard Sterns writes, “As I studied these verses, I could not help but make applications to the modern church.  We, too, are comfortable, wealthy, and self-sufficient.  We, too, blindly believe that we are prosperous because we are God’s favorites.”

We give to God, when we give to the hungry, the thirsty, the homeless, the sick, and those in prison.

We give to God when we give of our talents to the blind, poor, pitiful, lost, homeless, and down-trodden.

We give to God when we give of our time to the hurting, sick, lonely, the used, the betrayed, the hated, the ugly, the left behinds.

We give to God when we give our wealth to the thirsty, the hungry, the sick, and the blind.

We give to God when we exercise our beliefs.

Exercising our Beliefs - James 1:27

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.

At Westside we take this seriously.

Orphans

We have kids in our children’s ministry, right now, who don’t have a dad helping raise them.  Gentlemen, maybe God is asking you to volunteer once a month on Wednesday nights or Sunday mornings in the youth or children’s ministry because these kids need to meet a man who knows how to be a man.  Gentlemen you may have no idea how much more important your life would become if you would give it away.  Step up.

We need you to financially support us too.  So that we can continue to reach these kids that need us.  Some of them will walk across the street, but most of them have no idea how to get here.  We need money to accomplish that.

They’re going to be expensive too.  They don’t give.  That’s why we need to.

Widows

Marty & Trudy have a wonderful ministry to our senior’s and many of them are widows.  Marty & Trudy volunteer their time, many hours a week, and they deserve a double measure of respect.  Our small groups are filled with women who have been neglected by men.  Those of us that have learned from God what it means to be a man need to continue to carry others on our shoulders.

Keep from being polluted

We teach.  We teach about the Kingdom of God, salvation, and how to live pure in a polluted world.

We are a beacon of light in a world filled with stupid ideas and dead end living.  We teach.  We teach.  We teach.

We teach about marriage, healthy relationships, generosity, love, sin, grace, forgiveness, and more.  In the year I’ve been here, I know that my teaching has challenged many of you.  It’s challenged me more.  By the grace of God I will continue to teach the life giving words of God until the day I die.  It is the hope of the world and it is the way to an everlasting life with God in Heaven for all eternity.

You may be thinking that I am asking you to do more than your fair share at the church.  I am.  Our church is small and we are in the midst of a wonderful turn around.  God is working here.  That’s obvious.  Now is not the time to relax, it’s the time to engage.

Answer the Questions

So let’s answer the questions huh?

Do I need to tithe?

It’s not commanded in the New Testament.  But if you are looking at minimum’s for what you need to do to get by with, you’re looking in the wrong place.  God simply asks for your entire life in service to Him.  He gave you everything and He expects the same from you.

Their are several people in our church that give 10% of their income to this church.  Plus they give to this church for special occasions.  Plus they give to people that they know are hurting financially.  Plus they give to causes within our community.  Plus they give to ministries around the world.  Plus they’d give you money if you needed it right now.  They’re not rich.  Well, not in the way you and I define it.  Their houses are no larger than yours.  Their cars may be older than yours.

They didn’t accidentally become givers.  They didn’t get so much money that they could finally give.  They first made a decision to give, decided to give and God granted them their request.  And they are blessed by God.

God expects from us to be generous.  (Sermon series).  He expects us to be generous with time, talent, and treasure.  All 3 are not kept from Him.  10%?  Not mandated.  Generosity?  Expected.

Do I give to the church, or a non-profit, missionaries, etc?

Yes.  What percentage is correct?  2 Corinthians 9:7, “Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”

What if I don’t ever have enough to give?

Decide to give and God will help you to give.  Start doing it soon or you probably won’t.

Can I give in other ways than money?

Yes, and money.

Give till it hurts?

No.  Giving is joyous.  Try it.  It’ll change your life.

Testing God by giving?

He said it right?

Should I hold back my offering if I don’t agree with how the church is handling finances?

Sure, but you better talk to someone in the leadership about it.  It’s your church.  You want your church to succeed right?  Maybe we need your help to see a blind spot that we have.

Do you give money out anywhere else where you don’t agree with what they are doing?  lol

Sacrificial giving, giving out of surplus

I would say it’s not really giving if it’s not sacrificial.

2 Sam 24, David builds an altar on a man’s property.  The man wants to give it to David, but David says, “I will not sacrifice to the Lord my burnt offering that cost me nothing.”

Do you ministers, paid by the church, need to tithe?

 I do.

If 10% is the starting point does all that have to go to the church?

Investigate the church and see if you believe the church is accomplishing the goals that you support.  What would really help us out the most is consistent giving.

Can I make change in the offering plate?

You can make a lot of change in the offering plate.

Tim Boyd, Lead Pastor - Westside Christian Church, Bradenton, FL