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Biblical Giving, Making Oaths, and Manipulation (Part 1 of 3)
In this study I want to explore the topic of Christian giving and the biblical perspective believers should fully understand on this topic. There are many misconceptions about giving and anyone who spends much time watching televangelists has seen the constant effort placed on persuading viewers and church members to give money to their ministries. We are giving promises that if we sow seeds of faith, God will grant the requests we made while giving; we will get a hundredfold blessing when the preacher prays over our checks or commitment cards; we can receive holy water, prayer cloths and any number of creative claims these teachers latch on to in order to persuade you to give to them. This is not only true on TV, but this is also preached on the radio and in pulpits around the world. Is all this biblical? I am dividing this study into three parts: Giving Myths, Unbiblical Obligations and Biblical Giving.
Giving Myths
I want to spend the first half of this study looking at myths that surround giving. The problem we face today is no different than the problems the apostles faced in the first century church. It manifests itself differently but at the core, the problem has not changed. People often came into the church for the purpose of exploiting believers out of money. Look at 2 Peter 2:1-3
But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. 2 And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. 3 By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber.
This problem is also addressed by the apostle Paul in Titus 1:10-11
10 For there are many insubordinate, both idle talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, 11 whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole households, teaching things which they ought not, for the sake of dishonest gain.
People are amazed that false teachers could speak things that are true. Some ask, “How can he be a deceiver if he says so much that is true?” The Bible calls these teachers deceptive for a reason. A false teacher will latch on to what they know you want to hear and use it as a platform to either present ‘new doctrine’ or as a platform to defraud the congregation.
The very thing that makes Christians the hope for the needy also makes them vulnerable to being exploited. We as Christians are called to be faithful stewards of the money that God has entrusted to us. Our money belongs to God whether we realize it or not. We will all stand before God and give an account for how we used everything God has given us. Time, talents, opportunities, money and possessions are all entrusted to us for God’s glory. Some will glorify God but many will not because life centers around self rather than God. When we give, we are giving God’s money and we should take care as to how we use it. If we were paid to look after the financial affairs of someone, we would be cautious not to misappropriate funds. As Christians we should have that same attitude.
I have heard people say that they give and let God worry about how it is used. While it is true that we cannot micromanage our givings; it is vital that we know who we are giving to. I believe it is wasting God’s money if we donate to people or organizations that have not shown themselves worthy of God’s money. We should give as God leads – not based on persuasion or manipulation. It is certain that we should not give for the purpose of selfish gain.
Seeds of Faith
Search the scriptures and see if you can find any reference to ‘seeds of faith’. While you are looking, see if you can find any reference to money being referred to as seeds. There are several problems with this false belief and some are very serious violations of scripture. The myth is presented in different ways but the most common I hear is as follows: If you plant a seed of faith (a monetary donation), I will pray over that commitment card, check, prayer request, etc. and God will perform what you are asking.
I hear preachers beckoning the listener with urgent timelines. “I am about to pray over these seeds and I want you to get the increase. You must get your commitment in now or you will miss out on God’s blessing”, one radio host stated recently. Do we need a man to intercede on our behalf to God? Does God’s promise come with a price tag? Perhaps we would do well to remember God’s call in Isaiah 55:
Isaiah 55:1 "Ho! Everyone who thirsts, Come to the waters; And you who have no money, Come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk Without money and without price.
To put God’s blessings up for sale is blasphemy. I heard a woman giving to a radio program by planting a seed of faith that her daughter will pass her final exam. Is God on the hook for her daughters grade because she donated $15 to a radio station? If her daughter did not study, do we thing that God will supernaturally give knowledge to someone who was not motivated to study simply because they paid God off?
Do you want God to sow into your marriage? Submit to God’s design for marriage in 1 Peter 3, Titus 2, Colossians 3, Ephesians 5 and Psalm 128. We don’t like God’s design or the roles He has given us so we disobey. Husbands don’t want to take on their roles; wives don’t like their roles – yet we wonder why marriage is so difficult. Instead of walking in obedience, our marriages begin to struggle and it is easier to ‘sow a seed of faith’ than it is to have true faith and accept the will of God. It is a contradiction to say that you are sowing a faith seed if you are not willing to have true faith and walk in obedience.
Let me give you the ultimate secret for inheriting God’s promises – obedience. Claiming the promises of God is no more valuable than the breath we expel if we are not walking in obedience. Here are some passages that are truly based on faith:
Psalm 128:4 4 Behold, thus shall the man be blessed Who fears the LORD.
Deuteronomy 28:2 2 "And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the LORD your God:
2 Peter 1:10-11 10 Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; 11 for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Psalm 36:7-8 7 How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings. 8 They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house, And You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures.
If you want to be satisfied with God’s abundance, trust under the shadow of His wings by walking in obedience. If you want to be blessed, submit yourselves to God. We don’t give so that we can receive; we give because we have received. Giving is an acknowledgement of God’s blessing and our trust in His provision.
God’s promises do not come with a price tag and God cannot be bought with money. In fact, Peter warned Simon that he was in danger of perishing for thinking that the gift of God could be bought with money (See Acts 8:18-22). When a man wanted to buy a blessing, the apostles were outraged that a price tag was put on the Holy Spirit and yet modern day Christian leaders are teaching that we must purchase God’s promises with money. If Peter said, “Your money perish with you, because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money!” shouldn’t we fear if we think the same?
If you think your money can buy God’s blessing, you are under the same condemnation as Simon the magician and should follow Peter’s warning, “Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you…you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity.” The one who tries to buy God with a price is guilty and the one who teaches this has the greater guilt.
No manipulator would say, “buy God with a price”; however, they will teach the exact same thing by saying, “plant a seed of faith”. In truth, buying God off and planting seeds of faith are identical. We cannot give God money and expect Him to do us a duty. To think so is sin and will be judged as such.
Hundredfold Blessing
This new slant gained popularity a few years ago and since knowledge and understanding about scripture is so scarce today, the hundredfold blessing promise has been a goldmine for exploiters of the church. Jesus used the word ‘hundredfold’ in two of his teachings. When He taught about the seeds (which is the Word of God Luke 8:11), the word fell on good ground and bad. On those who received the word and obeyed it, produced fruit – some thirty, sixty or a hundredfold. In other words, the obedient Christian will spread the word and be used by God to produce more obedient Christians.
Jesus’ second illustration is the one exploiters latch onto the most. Look at Matthew 19:29
29 "And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life.
Those who are trying to get donations claim that this proves that we receive a hundred times what we give. First off, if this were true, why do they need to pressure us to give? Why don’t they give away 1/100th of what they need and let God pay their bills and salaries? Why are those who tithe multi-millionaires?
Let’s look at the passage to understand what is truly being taught. The context of this passage was a rich man who wanted to gain eternal life. Jesus tested him by asking if he has kept all the commandments of God including ‘love God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself’. The man replied that he has always kept these. At this point, Jesus cut to the chase and said, “Go, sell all you have and give to the poor. You will have treasures in heaven and come and follow Me”. The man could not do this because he loved his possessions. Jesus used this as an illustration to show that those who are rich in the world are almost always unwilling to let go of wealth and turn to Him.
One of the twelve stated that they had forsaken all and followed Him. Jesus shared the apostle’s future of sitting on twelve thrones with Him and then shared the hundredfold promise that anyone who has left things behind will receive a hundredfold and inherit eternal life. The context of all that Jesus is teaching is the Christian’s willingness to forsake all for the sake of following Jesus Christ. When we lay down our possessions, we will have treasure in heaven. It is ironic that the purpose of this passage is to teach us to forsake worldly possessions for the hope of eternity and yet those who teach ‘the hundredfold blessing’ use it to teach that God will increase our worldly possessions.
Mark 10:30 repeats this account but includes a promise for this life as well. Some misunderstand this as a promise that we will receive 100 houses if we give one to God. Did the apostles receive 100 times all they lost in this life? Read Hebrews 11 as the scriptures teach about those great in faith. Some believed the promises but did not see it fulfilled in this life but still had confidence that a greater promise awaited them at the resurrection. If we are going to claim a hundredfold, let’s be consistent. Jesus said that anyone who “has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands” will receive a hundredfold. Does this mean that if your wife or husband leaves you for following Christ, you will receive a hundred wives or husbands? Or brothers, sisters and children? The promise is that God will always restore abundantly above what we have lost for His sake. Some will indeed see God’s reward in this life, but some will receive the greater reward beyond this life.
The bottom line is that this passage does not remotely imply that if you give a hundred dollars to God that He is obligated to give you ten-thousand dollars in return. The promise is that those who must choose to cling to the things of this life or lose the things we care about in order to be obedient to the gospel will be rewarded beyond what we can even imagine (1 Corinthians 2:9). If someone wants a hundred to one return on their money, in truth they are still shortchanged. For all that is in this world will be consumed and come to nothing. What good will a hundredfold do you when this life is over? The scripture does not teach the hundredfold return on giving. This is merely a tool for manipulating people to give to their ‘ministries’.
Unbiblical Obligations
This week I found an interesting statistic. In the 1980s, there were only 50 mega churches in America. Currently there are over 900 mega churches across American and that number is growing rapidly. Each year, pastors conferences, seminars and various programs invite pastors to come to one of these mega churches. As they walk in, their eyes are filled with wonder and the desire is stirred in their hearts to one day have a church like this. Keynote speakers for conferences are almost always mega church pastors and each pastor’s success is compared against the size of their church and membership numbers. Pastors are no longer respected for being true to the word, but how big their church has grown to be. While the biblical method of the success of a leader is sending out disciples into the world to spread the word, the modern day method of success is building numbers.
Pastors are made to feel inferior if they are not steaming ahead in the quest to build a mini-kingdom. When a small church pastor is among others bragging about their programs, buildings and enormous growth, they are made to feel unsuccessful. This is because we are drawing our standard of measure from the world and not scriptures. I would rather make 10 disciples who will go out and do the work of God than have a 10,000 member auditorium. The temptation is to say that if we have ten thousand members, the opportunity to disciple will be greater. In reality, this is not the case. For one, it is rare to see a preacher that can draw thousands while preaching the whole counsel of God. It is also true that the larger the congregation the less people find connecting relationships. Even so, the real issue is not the size of the church but whether the church, the pastor and the individual members are walking in obedience to God according to the scriptures.
The reason I lead into this part of the study by looking at mega churches is to lay the groundwork for why many are drawn into unbiblical forms of giving – namely committing themselves to obligations and debt. The scenario that is played out all across this land is that a pastor begins desiring to build a church that will ‘glorify God’. I put this in quotes because we only acknowledge glorifying God in big things when in truth, God says that He shows Himself strong in the weaker things of this life. Why is it that we are eager to glorify God by building a mammoth building but not in the areas that escape notice? It is human nature. I can stand proud of ‘how God used me’ if I am in front of a great work because I feel that I am sharing in His glory. Try explaining to the Southern Baptist Convention how God has used your 100 member church greatly by building new leaders who have a heart for God and His word. You would get little airtime – if any.
This desire for recognition is a seduction that lures pastors into an unbiblical way of thinking. After seeing nothing but praise for the megachurch pastors, the small church pastor feels insignificant and senses the need to be recognized as well. We as humans place our self-worth in the recognition of others instead of God. Pastors are not above this and are often more susceptible. At the first sign of growth, a building program must begin. Let me state that a building program is not wrong and if God truly provides it can be a good thing. However, it is wrong if we try to force God into providing.
A church is persuaded into buying land by being convinced that the opportunity is God’s provision. The thermostat of success is placed in front of the church and fundraising begins. We all watch the thermostat slowly rise as people give to the building fund. While this in itself is not bad, it can become a problem if this becomes the focus of the church. Our focus is not on building but fulfilling the will of God.
Now that a church owns land – or rather is making payments on land, it is just sitting there idly. To make use of the land we need a building. This is where the danger really begins. Passionate sermons from the pulpit will compare the church land to the Promised Land to Israel and we must have faith to possess that land. Unfortunately, faith usually means taking on debt. By ‘faith’, the congregation is persuaded to take out a huge loan to build a church building ‘believing’ that God will provide the money to pay for it. The church is ‘encouraged’ not to look at the church budget for that would be a lack of faith. If you look at the back of most bulletins, there is the weekly giving and the weekly needs. The needs are almost always equal to or slightly above the weekly giving. However, we are told that those lacking in faith will point out this fact and bring an evil report to the people to prevent them from stepping out in obedience to possess the land.
There is a serious flaw with this line of reasoning. The children of Israel were not being asked to go into debt to acquire the promise land. Faith was believing that God had given it to them as a possession. Jumping into debt is not possessing the Promised Land. The Bible teaches that the borrower is slave to the lender (Proverbs 22:7). Did the children of Israel serve the owners of the land they possessed? A church does not own the land or the building until they pay the debt. Until then, the church is under the lender – not God.
In most churches, the members are told that we must go up and take the land and then we will see God’s provision. In reality, we are being told that we must acquire a huge debt and then trust that God will miraculously provide the ability to pay the monthly loan payment. Is this biblical? Why do we have to be in debt before we see the hand of God? Must we act contrary to what God has said in order to show our faith that He will provide? Getting into debt is not an act of faith. Look at Proverbs 22:26-27
26 Do not be one of those who shakes hands in a pledge, One of those who is surety for debts; 27 If you have nothing with which to pay, Why should he take away your bed from under you?
Once a church has shifted its focus to buildings and lands, it is very difficult to slow down the momentum and get people to look at the scriptures. Those who use reason will be accused of ‘bringing an evil report before the people’. Are the scriptures that warn against debt an evil report? On Pastors.com people who question are referred to as Sandballats. Sandballat is one of the evil men who opposed Nehemiah when he was rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem – without debt I might add. Anyone who stands on scripture will be looked upon as a troublemaker when the leadership is not following God.
The debt acquired is almost always more than the church can afford. This is supposed to be an act of faith. I recently heard this quote but it is not original. Many teachers have stated similar things. It is taught that “we must do things so big that if God does not come through we are left holding the bag”. What scripture teaches this? What about Jesus’ statement that those who are faithful in small things can be entrusted with much? Jesus followed up in Luke 16 by saying:
11 "Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?
Unrighteous mammon is money or the riches of the world. Why is it that we are told that faith is committing ourselves to a huge financial obligation instead of trusting that God will provide? Why does God have to provide after we are indebt instead of before? Why do we think that it is an act of faith to do what God has forbidden us to do?
Eddie Snipes
Exchanged Life Outreach
http://www.exchangedlife.com
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