Romans 12:1                                                                                                                          Stewardship IV, 2009

Christians Are Able To Give

People who have never been to church, often have a typical response when invited: ‘Awe, if I went to church I’d have to start giving my money there.’ We could respond a number of ways as Christians. We could say, “Of course! Any voluntary organization needs donations!’ or for fear of losing a potential member, we could say, ‘Oh no! Our church never takes any money.’But somewhere in between there, is a very surprising but also very Biblical answer. It would be best to say, ‘We don’t have to give anything to church. But as Christians, we want to give what it takes to further God’s kingdom.”

      It comes down to this: CHRISTIANS ARE ABLE TO GIVE. For those so love the Savior, giving to God’s work is no longer a drudgery to be fulfilled, but a privilege to enjoy. What makes it so enjoyable? The reasons I.) Why we give are a big part of it. And the variety in II.) What we give also helps us to continue finding happiness in giving to God’s work.

TR. I    But before we get as far as variety, we first need to ask why we would give even one gift for God’s work. Paul lists some good reasons in this short verse.

I. A First and foremost, Paul reminds us of the “mercies of God.” Now there’s a real reason for wanting to give something over to God’s use. God has been merciful to us. And what extravagant mercy!

      When God was planning a way to save sinners, He didn’t look for ways to cut corners or to get by with the least. There was never any mention of finding a scratch and dent special for a Savior. Nor did God think it would be prudent to wait for a sale, or wait to send Jesus when the market value was down. God simply sent the best He had, to give the best to us.

      The O.T. sacrifices foreshadowed that. The lambs had to be perfect, year old males. They would be slaughtered in their prime. They had to be the best, because they symbolized how we would get the best. Those sacrifices symbolized how we would get God’s perfect mercy from Jesus, the Lamb of God.

      Think of what mercy from God does for you. As a Christian, you don’t have to worry about missing out on heaven. As a Christian, you don’t have to worry about the misery of hell. As a Christian, you don’t have to be torn in two emotionally by guilt and worry over the past sin. You don’t have to worry about God’s justifiable anger coming down so hard on you that you’re left as a little blot on the pages of history.

      Instead you look forward to peace that lasts forever. You look forward to meeting a God who will welcome you like a Father welcomes a long absent child.

      That’s the mercy God gives. It’s perfect. It’s complete. And God purchased that mercy for us on a ‘cost-no-object’ basis. Knowing that we have such total generosity from God providing for us makes it a lot easier to want to give for God’s work.

B.   With that as the basis, Paul also appeals to another reason why the Roman Christians (and we, too) would want to give offerings for Christian work: “I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice.” They were brethren in the Christian faith. And it was Paul, the Apostle, who had ministered to them faithfully who was urging them to make generous offering God.

      Let’s face it. There are a lot of people asking for your contributions. Most of them are strangers. You may or may not have reassurance of where your money and gifts are really going.

      But Paul was a Christian leader speaking to Christians who knew him. They trusted Paul when he urged them to support God’s work. They believed it would make a difference because it was a fellow Christian saying it would make a difference. Paul wasn’t a huckster trying to rob them.

      They believed their giving would be effective because they all shared the same hope about what God would accomplish. They knew their faithful work and offerings would provide the means for people to receive forgiveness and life in heaven.

C. Those are all good reasons to give ourselves and our offerings to God. By way of contrast, let me list some bad reasons for giving offerings to God through church.

      1.   There’s a budget to meet. (Does God need us to get His work done?)

      2.   It’s my dues. (Church isn’t a club with membership fees.)

      3.   The bills have to be paid. (Even with my salary at stake, don’t give just because of debt.)

By far, the better reasons for us to give anything to God is because He has been so good toward us.

APP. I  Using the best reasons for giving would have astounding results for churches nationwide. Men, when you first fell in love and decided to marry, did you look for the absolute cheapest ring you could find? Or did you want the nicest you could afford to get?

      If you’re cooking a special dinner for a birthday, do you buy only the cheapest ingredients you can find? You get the best because of love, even if it means giving up a few things for a while.

      We should do that with God, too. If we don’t really love Him don’t give anything. Such giving would only make us bitter and cynical, anyway. Far better to concentrate on learning to know and love God. Then start giving for God’s work once you really want to. If Christians consistently gave back to God in proportion to the love God showers on us, there would never be such a thing as a financial or volunteer shortage in a church.

TR. II  With the best reasons in our minds, we’ll always be asking II.) What we give to God, because we’ll always be looking for better things to give.

II. A But it can’t get any better than what Paul told these Christians in Rome: “present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice.” And in Proverbs God pleads, “Give me your heart, my son.” We shouldn’t be confused by listings of different bodily parts. What God wants is our whole being. Body, mind, heart and soul. God wants you more than any amount of money or work.

B.    But that makes perfectly good sense. If God has claim on our being, all else that we have will naturally follow.

      That’s why Paul was so happy with the Christians in Macedonia. “they first gave themselves to the Lord and to us by the will of God.” In other words, those Macedonian Christians didn’t grudgingly bring a few dollars to church and leave it. They wholeheartedly gave their lives in to God’s service in the church. Their offerings naturally followed. That’s the way it ought to be.

C. But we should remember that Paul qualified the type of life we should give to God: It should be a life that is “holy and acceptable to God.” That reflects something else the Bible tells us. “Without faith it is impossible to please God.” That’s another good reason to avoid giving anything to God unless it’s given out of love and thanks. God won’t use it anyway if ti’s given with the wrong attitude.

APP. II I heard another pastor put it well once. He said God probably has a way of seeing to it that offerings and work given grudgingly somehow end up getting lost, wasted or ruined. I don’t know if that’s exactly how God operates. But it sounds like a down-home way of saying what these Bible verses said.

      At the same time, we can readily admit that there are more places than one to apply our wealth and abilities besides church. True, if we belong to a church, we realize that hardly anyone except the church members are ever going to provide the needed support. The work our own congregation and synod do in God’s name needs our best support. But that doesn’t rule out honoring God with other works of service or charity giving. CONC. In a sense, God is offering us a no-risk guarantee. Try Him out. Enjoy His mercy. Don’t give Him anything until that. Once you’ve experienced God’s love, you know you won’t regret giving yourself and your offerings to keep that preaching of that mercy flowing for yourself and others. A–men