Sunday Sermon

"Sacrificial Giving"
[Mark 12:41-44]
September 24, 2006 Second Reformed Church

How much do you plan to give in the offering today? Don't tell me -- there's no reason I should know. Its better that I don't know -- that we don't know what we each give, so we won't think one way or another about each other or assume something about one another. Your giving is between you and God. But, let us understand this morning, if we have not understood before: "Thus says the Lord" -- this is what God says to you and to me:

After condemning the scribes and the Pharisees for not knowing or believing the Scripture, and for putting on an air of holiness, while they "devoured widow's houses" -- while they feigned compassion to get what they could out of mourners, Jesus sat down in the temple and watched to see what money the people were putting in the offering box. They didn't pass around an offering plate at worship. Rather, they had a number of boxes, labeled with the intended use of the offering, and persons went to the general offering box or one of the special offering boxes and put their money in. Rather than having different boxes, or multiple offerings, we have different envelopes -- some for the general offering, some specifically for missions, some for improvements to the building, etc.

And Jesus watched the offerings being given. And He saw that the wealthy were giving large amounts of money. And they were right to do that. If you are wealthy, if you have much, much is required of you, and you ought to give much financially to the work of God in the church you attend. Of course, financial wealth is relative to our circumstances: (generally speaking) a single person who makes $25,000 a year is far wealthier monetarily than a family of six with an income of $25,000. So, (generally speaking) the single person who makes $25,000 a year ought to give more money to the church that the family of six that makes $25,000.

Then Jesus saw a poor widow who dropped two small coins into the offering. The coins were worth next to nothing. They were less than a drop in the bucket towards the expenses of the temple. But, then, she was poor. So, let us learn this lesson: the actual cash value of the offering you give is not the point.

And Jesus called the disciples to come and hear what He had seen:

Jesus criticized the rich and their offerings, because they gave out of their excess. Jesus, Who is God, so He knew their finances and their hearts -- Jesus said that these rich people, though they were right to give large amounts of money, did two things wrong: First, they didn't give enough. They gave God some of their excess, some of their leftovers, some of their petty cash. It was not the first and best as God requires throughout the Bible; it was part of the spare change that they could throw away. It was as if a person who makes a million dollars a week came in to worship and gave a thousand dollars. It would be good that they gave much, but it's too little. A thousand dollars to a millionaire is junk money; it's an insult to God. It is not acceptable. Second, to give as they gave, shows that their heart was wrong -- they were not trusting God, they were not showing true thanks to God, they were not filled with joy in giving as they gave. They thought they were fulfilling their duty -- that was all.

On the other hand, Jesus praised the widow, because she had given out of her poverty. She had given almost nothing, but she gave it with joy and in sincerity, and she trusted God for herself and her future. How do we know that? Because Jesus said that was all the money she had in the world. She was so joyful and so trusting of God that she gave every last cent that she had in worship and thanksgiving.

Now, let's not get confused: God is not telling us that everyone has to give every penny he or she ever makes to the church. God is not endorsing the monastic life or a vow of poverty in this Scripture. No, what God is telling us is that we are to give to the church that we attend and we are to give joyfully, thankfully, and sacrificially. We are not all called to give everything that we ever make to the church, but we are all called to give more than our leftovers, more than what is insignificant to us, we are to give what shows that we are thankful and trusting of our God and Savior.

In American Protestant Christianity, especially, we link this Scripture with the Scripture that is on your bulletin about "God loving a cheerful giver." And we tend to take these together and say, "Well, see: God doesn't care what offering we give, so long as we're cheerful about it; we should give what makes us happy." Here's the truth in that understanding: God does not want us to give begrudgingly, under compulsion, feeling forced or tricked. God is not happy when we give resentfully, sadly, reluctantly.

In II Corinthians 9:5-7, Paul writes this: "So I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to go ahead to you [on their way to Achaia] and arrange in advance for the gift you have promised, so that it may be ready as a willing gift, not as an exaction. The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has made up his mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver."

Paul was on his way to Achaia to bring the Christians there financial gifts that other churches had pledged to them. They could not wire money to the missions site, you see, so Paul went from church to church to collect the pledge that they had made, and he was bringing it to the church in Achaia. And Paul tells the Corinthians that he is sending a few people ahead to make sure that everyone who pledged towards this work would have time to pay their pledge, so no one would be surprised at their arrival, and no one would be embarrassed at not paying their pledge. Paul didn't want to arrive and put them on the spot like a collections agent; he wanted them to have the pledge gift ready when he arrived so they could present it calmly and joyfully, and no one would be embarrassed by being put on the spot.

That carries over into the modern church: you know that church has expenses and money is necessary to carry out the work of Jesus in this place. So we are each to come, ready to give our best gift. No one should be surprised that the offering plate is passed. No one should be put on the spot, as if they had thought the ministry of Christ was support by air, or that God magically filled the bank account.

And Paul bluntly tells them that if they are cheap, they should expect little from them and God. God is not ignorant: He knows our circumstances and our finances. And God tells us to be ready to give an offering for the work in this place, and to give an offering that reflects our thankfulness and joy to God for His blessings, especially the blessing of His Son. No one in this church is able to see another's heart or to know their circumstances. So, the question that is put to us ought to be, "Is this the best gift that I can give? Does this gift truly reflect my thanks and joy for what God has done? Does this gift reflect how much I value Jesus' Suffering and Death and Resurrection?"

We must get away from the idea that nothing is expected of us financially in the church, because it is. God makes it clear in His Word that the gifts of the people are to be enough to finance all the work that God has for His Church -- God gives each church the people necessary to afford all of the work that God has called the church to do. That means that we at Second Reformed Church have either not understood the work that God has called us to, or we are not giving as God has called us to give.

We must also banish the idea that our offering is to be based on whether or not the church or the minister or the sermon pleases us at any given moment. Our offering is not a tip for the worship service. Our offering is to be based on our understanding of what God has done for us.

What has He done for you? Has He left His throne in heaven and taken on a human body and nature? Has He lived under His Own Law, and suffered at the hands of men? Has He been unjustly tried and crucified, and in the most horrifying of acts, did God the Father turn His Face from Him and allow Him to suffer all of the Wrath of God for all of our sins in one moment? And then, did He die -- did our God die? -- and then rise and ascend back to His throne, for us and to the glory of the Father? And does He now intercede for us, and bless us, and call us His own?

Might we give cheerfully, sacrificially, if that is all true? Paul said, "God loves a cheerful giver." The word for "cheerful" means "filled with hilarity" --" if we are truly giving in response to what God has done for us in Jesus Christ, we should be hysterical with joy! Our offering is given in thanks to Him, because we desire His Work to continue. We ought to be hysterically joyful because of what Christ has done -- why? Because we never did and never could deserve it -- it is so far beyond what anyone could ever have conceived that God would choose to do, that we should be filled with wonder, lost in praise, laughing in joy, giving in a way that reflects that joy.

Some of us want a figure -- I can't give you a figure. I don't know your heart or your circumstances. All I can tell you is this: Jesus said that we ought to be faithful and just and show mercy, and we ought also to give back to God -- to begin with -- as an initial gift -- the tithe. Ten percent of our gross income -- and all of the rest of our blessings -- is to be given to the church we attend. Check it out: Matthew 23:24-25. And, if we trust God, if we are filled with that hysterical joy, we will understand that if God requires us to begin with an offering of ten percent of our gross income, that means God has given us at least that much extra.

I don't like to give personal examples in my sermons, because the sermon is not about me; I am here to speak the Word of God to you and lead you to Him. Yet, if I am the shepherd and your are my sheep, here at Second Reformed, you ought to look to me as an example -- not because I do everything right -- far from it. Not because I have kept the Law perfectly, because I surely have not. And even if I had kept all the Law perfectly, I would merely be doing what the Good Shepherd requires of all of us. There are no bonus points for merely doing what is expected.

But, as an example and an encouragement, I tell you this: I was raised in a family that understood and taught that God requires Christians to give ten percent of our gross income. To the best of my knowledge, I have always given ten percent of my gross income to the church I was a part of. (And I give other gifts to other charities, but the church gets ten percent to begin with.) Two years ago, God made it clear to me, that for me, ten percent of my gross was not enough. I don't give what I give because I feel threatened or under pressure, but because of the joy God has given me through His Son.

What we bring as an offering ought to represent our joy in what God has done for us. And, if you are a Christian this morning, your giving ought to be both joyful and sacrificial. What has God done for you? How much do you plan to give in the offering today?

Let us pray:
God of Grace, we ask that none of us would feel compelled or forced or reluctant about giving offerings of thanks and joy to You. Fill us with the hilarious joy that accompanies salvation, and teach us to understand how much You have blessed us and to show our joy in giving financially to Your Work in this place. Continue to use us to Your Glory, deepen our faith, and cause us to be a light of the Gospel to Irvington. For Jesus' Sake, Amen.