Collecting For God's People

What makes the difference in life between wanting to do something and actually doing it? Very often, the answer is planning. And that’s true of the Christian life, as well. Things we want to do and ought to do, don’t just happen – they take planning. And one of those things is giving. Which is why every year at our church we have this Giving Review. And we do that because of the example set for us by the apostle Paul in that Bible reading we had earlier.

So would you have the Bible open at 1 Corinthians 16? Now this part of the Bible is aimed at Christians on the topic of money. So can I say if you wouldn’t yet call yourself a Christian, please don’t think we’re asking anything financial of you; but please do stay tuned. Because this will give you a good idea in one specific area of what it means to be a Christian – what it means to have Jesus Christ in charge in your life.

And if you are a Christian, this part of God’s Word tells us to give God’s money for God’s purposes in God’s way.

So firstly, GIVE GOD’S MONEY FOR GOD’S PURPOSES… (v1)

1Now about the collection for God's people: Do what I told the Galatian churches to do.

What was this collection and who was it for? The apostle Paul (who’s writing here) knows from his visits to Jerusalem that the Christians there are suffering real hardship. Just like in some years the Christian brothers and sisters in our link-church in Kenya have suffered real hardship when the harvest has failed. So ‘God’s people’ are the hard-up Christians in Jerusalem, and the collection is money that Paul is collecting for them.

So what did it have to do with the Christians in Corinth? Why should they be parting with their money for people miles away that are nothing to do with them? Well the Christian answer is: it’s not in fact their money; and these people are in fact everything to do with them.

Before becoming Christians, the Corinthians had regarded every part of their lives as their own - to do with as they pleased. Including money. But then they’d heard about Jesus – that he was the rightful Lord of their lives, and that he’d died for them on the cross in order to forgive them for living as if he wasn’t there. And they’d accepted that forgiveness and started life over again with Jesus in charge.

So they now regarded their money as his money. And his people as their people. And his concerns as their concerns. And that should be our attitude too, if we’re Christians. Our money is God’s money. God’s people – all over the world - are our people. And God’s concerns should be our concerns. That’s why the Corinthians wanted to get in on this collection.

According to the Bible, God gives us money for four main purposes. Number one: to meet our needs and the needs of our dependants (which includes saving for future needs). Number two: to give to support the spread of the gospel and the growth of the church. Number three: to give to relieve poverty (and that’s primarily what this Jerusalem collection was for). And number four: to pay taxes.

Now this Giving Review is certainly about number two: giving to support the spread of the gospel and the growth of the church – this church, and the churches and missionaries we support further afield. But it’s also about number three: giving to relieve poverty. Eg, that’s partly what our giving to our link-church in Kenya does. That’s partly what our giving towards the Navajeevana clinic in Sri Lanka does. Those two projects combine the two – the meeting of spiritual and physical needs. And in our giving literature you’ll see a suggestion which is a starting point for our thinking. The suggestion is to give 10% of our income – 5% to support the ministry here, and 5% to support world mission like the projects I’ve just mentioned. And you may want to do some or all of your world mission giving by supporting one or more of our JPC missionaries. If you need to find out more about who they are, what they do, how to support both the meeting of spiritual and physical needs by your giving, then do pick up this leaflet World Mission @ JPC from the Welcome Desk, and look at the missionary information boards at the back. And on that last point, can I say: do remember, non-Christians will to some extent give to relieve poverty. But only Christians will give to support the spread of the gospel and the growth of the church. So that’s got to be our priority. If we don’t pay the price of getting the gospel to people so they can be saved, no-one else will.

So, that’s the first thing: give God’s money for God’s purposes…

Second, IN GOD’S WAY (vv2-4)

Let’s read from v1 again:

1Now about the collection for God's people [that’s what we’re giving to; but how should we go about it? Read on:]: Do what I told the Galatian churches to do. 2On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made.

Notice how he says, “Do what I told the Galatian churches to do.” Ie, these are principles Paul taught all the churches. Which is why I take it they’re also for us. If Paul were here today, in person rather than on paper, he’d still say, “Do what I told the Galatian churches to do.”

Notice, too, that word, ‘each’ in v2: ‘On the first day of every week, each one of you…’ So what we’re about to look at applies to each and every one of us here who’s a Christian. Sometimes giving can be thought of as a kind of advanced activity – for advanced Christians. You know, we all do spiritual GCSE subjects like Bile reading and prayer; but giving – that’s degree level. That’s for the advanced few. That’s for later. But Paul says: not true. When Jesus becomes Lord, he becomes Lord of all from the word go. So this is to ‘each one of you’ who’s a Christian, me included. And if we’ve not begun to let Jesus take control of this area of our lives, the time to start is now.

So what does giving done in God’s way look like, according to Paul?

Giving done in God’s way is planned. Which is where we started: the difference between wanting to do something and doing it is very often planning. So Paul says, v2:

2On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made.

Paul knows he isn’t going to make it to Corinth for months – possibly not until the end of the year. And what he wants to avoid is an unplanned flurry of giving when he does arrive. Because if they leave all their giving until then, there will be two bad consequences. Number one, they will give less, because they will already have spent more on themselves. And the same would be true of us if we left it until October to think about our giving in 2004. And number two, they will give in an un-thought-out, maybe even guilty reaction to him showing up. Rather like we would if we relied on sudden appeals or baskets coming round and that’s the first time you’d thought about it. And that’s the last thing Paul wants. He wants planned, regular giving – because that means more is given to God’s purposes, and with the right thoughtfulness and motivation. And that’s why we encourage planned, regular giving too.

Now Paul says to them, v2, ‘On the first day of every week, each one of you is to set aside a sum of money…’ Then the original literally says ‘at home’. It says, ‘On the first day of every week, each one of you is to set aside a sum of money at home.’ And I only found one English translation that translated that little phrase ‘at home’. But that’s what it says. So Paul was not saying to them, ‘Have a collection in church every Sunday.’ He was saying to them, ‘Every Sunday, set aside a sum of money at home.’ And the fact that he then says ‘saving it up’ must mean ‘saving it up at home’.

Why labour that point? Well, because some Christians think this verse means churches should have a collection every Sunday. In fact, it doesn’t say that. And we don’t do that because it would encourage less-planned giving, which always equals less giving. That’s why it says in our giving literature, ‘Unplanned giving using the box at the door is intended for visitors only. Anyone who considers JPC to be their church should not be using this method.’ You might then wonder why do we have a Missionary Collection at communion services? Well, partly it’s a way of keeping the names and financial needs of our missionaries regularly in our minds. Partly it’s a way of bringing the issue of giving into our services to remind ourselves that money is part of discipleship. But plenty of people – myself included - sort out all their missionary giving directly through the Giving Scheme, which is why you’ll never see me put anything in a basket on Sunday. By the way, if I did, I would do it by cheque not cash, because since I’m a tax-payer our administrator can claim back tax on any gift I make – but obviously only if it’s got my name on - which a cheque has but cash hasn’t.

So, giving done in God’s way is planned – planned ahead and then done in a regular way. So for me that involves sitting down during the Giving Review, reading our giving literature, reading other appeals and information from other Christian work I support. And deciding what I should support and why and in what proportion this coming year.

Giving done in God’s way is private. We’re to do it, like the NIV doesn’t say, ‘at home’. This is a matter between each one of us and the Lord. As the Lord Jesus himself said, giving is to be done in secret. That’s another reason in general for avoiding open collections. And a reason when we do have them for keeping our eyes to ourselves. And if you give through the JPC giving scheme, which is explained in the literature, it’s important to know that your giving is as secret as possible. Two people – our administrator and our giving scheme co-ordinator – have to know. But no-one else does. None of the staff except our administrator knows anything about individuals’ giving.

Then giving done in God’s way is proportionate – middle of v2, ‘in keeping with his income’. Paul recognises that different people have different incomes. And that the same people have different incomes and outgoings at different times of their lives – eg, depending on whether they’re single or married; whether or not they’ve got children and what stage the children are at; whether they’re employed or unemployed, students, or retired; whether they’ve pensions big or small; and so on. We’re all in different financial circumstances. So if the Corinthians had asked Paul, ‘How much should we each give?’ he’d have said, ‘There’s no flat rate answer. It depends how much you’ve got to give from: give a proportion, a percentage of your income.’ And, as I said earlier, our giving literature suggests 10% as a figure to start our thinking from. For someone like me – single and well-supported (for which can I say on behalf of all of us staff, thank you) – I can afford more than 10%. I won’t say more because giving done in God’s way is private. But for others 10% might at present be beyond us. Paul’s point is: give in proportion to what you have to give.

Now what we have to give depends partly on our income, but obviously it also depends partly on our outgoings, on spending and saving. The more we spend on ourselves and save for ourselves the less we can give. And in our materialistic culture and in our own material prosperity, it has to be said that almost all if not all of us are living way above what we need. At a large number of points we almost all if not all live in some degree of luxury. And we need to realise that. And we need to realise how much harder it’s becoming for us to sort out need from luxury. And we need to rediscover the discipline of justifying our use of money, justifying our spending, justifying our standard of living before the Lord Jesus who is our Judge as well as our Saviour. I speak as I hope you know to myself first. I guess we are far more culturally-conformed in this area than we fear in our most lucid moments.

So, giving done in God’s way is planned, private and proportionate. So I sit down during the Giving Review, consider what and who I think I should give to over the year, work out my income for the year, work out a percentage that I’m going to give, and then plan when I’ll give it throughout the year. If you’re a tax-payer, doing it by Gift Aid (explained in the literature) is a must, since the government than adds 22p to every 78p you give. If you’re giving to JPC or through JPC to world mission, you can do it by Standing Order or by cheques whenever you can. What’s important for church financial planning is to have an idea of what each of us is planning to give, which is why in the literature there’s a Response card – for which the motto is: the sooner received back, the better for planning.

That’s v2. Verses 3-4 to finish:

3Then, when I arrive [says Paul, looking ahead to his trip to Corinth], I will give letters of introduction to the men you approve and send them with your gift to Jerusalem. 4If it seems advisable for me to go also, they will accompany me.

Which gives two last principles. Giving done in God’s way is protected – ie, protected from misuse. Paul implies in v3 that he wants the Corinthians to approve some men to take the money to Jerusalem. By which he means, ‘approve as trustworthy to handle this money.’ If v2 is about individual Christians giving their money in a way that pleases God, then v3 is about Christian leadership handling that money in a way that also pleases God. It must be handled with integrity, protected from waste or misuse, it must be used on what it was said it would be used for. We try to guarantee those things, eg, by the fact that all the money given to the Jesmond Trust is carefully accounted for; the accounts are made public and they’re professionally audited. But at a more general level, this applies to all of us who use the money that’s given and the things and buildings that it provides here. We are all of us to be trustworthy, careful and not wasteful with what we share and steward here on God’s behalf.

Finally, giving done in God’s way is personal. My question about vv3-4 is: why doesn’t Paul just take the money to Jerusalem himself? Why get the Corinthians to go? And the answer is that for Paul giving – Christian giving - is not just an impersonal transfer of money.

When I get my gas bill, the company informs me that a certain amount will be taken from my bank account on a certain date. And off it goes. It’s a completely impersonal transaction. The ‘Dear Mr Garrett’ on the correspondence means precisely nothing – I’m not dear to them. And my money going off doesn’t mean they’re dear to me.

But Christian giving is personal. Paul wants the Corinthians to take their money in person and meet the Jerusalem Christians in person because Christian giving to fellow-Christians is an expression of love, of unity in Christ, of belonging to the same family of God, of partnership in the same cause for the gospel. And Paul is keen that money runs along lines of real relationship - that we give to people and ministries and care about those people and ministries and get involved with those people and ministries. So, eg, it may be that we give to one of the JPC missionaries but never pray for them or write to them. Well, let’s make our giving personal by starting to pray and write. And maybe even visit. That costs money – but so did getting a gang of Corinthians from Corinth to Jerusalem and back, and Paul clearly thought that was a worthwhile cost to express real relationship, real partnership in the gospel.

It’s a little passage, but it has a lot to say. Paul knows that a healthy Christian will want to give. But he also knows that the difference between wanting and doing is very often planning. And so he spells out that Christians should give God’s money to God’s purposes in God way.