In this lesson, we look at several more characteristics of biblical giving.
First: give secretly. As Jesus instructs us in Matthew chapter 6, biblical givers give "secretly." But what does that mean? As we saw in the story of the Widow's Mite, she gave publicly at the temple. So, giving publicly is not the point. Instead, Jesus is cautioning us against hypocrisy—of giving inauthentically. We are to give unto the Lord and not with our eyes on men; whether we give our time, talents, prayers, service, or money, we must be on guard being men-pleasers.
Second: give nearby. It is easy to give to those who are far away, such as a missionary on the other side of the world. It is another thing to help the person on our doorstep. In the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, we are only told two things about the rich man: he dresses well and eats fabulously. These two characteristics represent his whole life. Meanwhile, Lazarus suffers at the rich man's gate. At the end of the parable, the rich man is condemned to hell. Why? Because he ignored a beggar? No. It goes deeper than that. He is in hell because he ignored his neighbor and broke God's law (Deuteronomy 15). He lived only for himself as if God and his neighbor did not exist.
Third: Give cheerfully. Returning to Paul's admonition to the Corinthians to give like the Macedonians, we see the crowning characteristic of all biblical givers—cheerfulness. Why is a biblical giver cheerful? Because, like the Macedonians, they give as Christ commands us to give. But above all else, he is cheerful because God loves a cheerful giver. We all want to be loved, and there is nothing greater than receiving the approval of our heavenly Father
Featuring a sermon puts it on the front page of the site and is the most effective way to bring this sermon to the attention of thousands including all mobile platforms + newsletter.
Text-Featuring a sermon is a less expensive way to bring this sermon to the attention of thousands on the right bar with optional newsletter inclusion. As low as $30/day.
Kurt Snow serves as a ruling elder at Covenant Reformed Church of Sacramento (RCUS). He served as a member of the Board of Governors of City Seminary of Sacramento from 2000 to 2020.
