How Can I Know
How Much To Give In Offerings?
"What
Shall I Render To the Lord?" Some Guidelines For Offerings!
"What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits to me?" (Psalm 116) God's faithful people, overwhelmed by his kindness and merciful salvation, have never failed to ask this question. Cain and Abel asked it. The wrong answer led to tragedy!
People of faith are committed to showing their love in response to God's goodness and ensuring that this and the next generation will hear of Christ's saving love. They give generously, and also ask on a regular basis, "How much is the right amount to give?"
In coming weeks we will all participate in the annual discipline of making our financial intentions for the coming year. Today I'll offer a simple guide to follow so that you can be sure that you are in God's will in your practice of returning to the Lord from his bountiful goodness. Follow these simple steps, ask these simple, but very serious, questions, and you're on the right track!
Question #1: Is the faith issue settled in my life? No action of ours is pleasing to God without faith. All deeds done in service to God spring from a vital, living faith relationship with Jesus Christ. It is wrong to ask, "How much should I give in my offering?" unless I can say with confidence, "I trust in Jesus Christ alone for salvation, forgiveness of sins and eternal life!"
Offerings given for any reason other than a joyful, thankful response to God's gift of salvation are only a ritual, a lifeless and mechanical practice. God seeks love offerings, motivated by faith in him. That means that the smallest gift, given in love to a God who gave his Son, is a treasure beyond measure.
If you have any doubt about your eternal salvation, forget about making a donation to the church. Call me today. God wants your soul and he wants your trust first of all. First things come first. If, however, you know by faith the gift of God's saving love, ask the next question.
This one, by the way, may be the hardest question if you are new to the church. Question #2: Am I committed to weekly worship with my fellow Christians? The first offering God requires is the offering of yourself. If I cannot bring myself to be in God's house, it's not right to think about bringing offerings. That’s cart and horse!
God required in the Ten Commandments that we honor the sabbath day. To fail to worship whenever possible is to reject God and his word. Before deciding on the size of a gift to bring, I must decide that only God will prohibit me from attending on Sunday.
A sunny day is not a sign from God that he wants me in the garden or on the golf course. My work schedule or an illness or disability is. Call me if you are physically unable to attend. I will visit you.
But for the able bodied, God desires and requires your presence in the fellowship of the saints on Sunday. No excuses. He knows you need at least once per week what he offers, faith and hope and strength through the forgiveness of sins. He also knows that your church needs you. Your presence is an encouragement to the rest of us!
Once you've resolved the worship attendance issue, answer this.
Question #3: Am I committed to fully enter the life of worship on Sunday? You can "go to church" and never worship the Lord. Ask yourself if it is your full intention, by the leading of the Holy Spirit, to truly confess your sins at the confession, to praise God during the hymn of praise, to listen to the word as it is read, recognizing it as the very words of God, to hear the sermon as a message to you, personally, to pray with all your heart during the prayers, to faithfully recognize the body and blood of Christ in the sacrament, and to receive the blessing as a covering for your week ahead.
And of course, ask yourself, "Is it my intention during the offering to give myself first to the Lord, in response to his goodness, and these gifts as a sign of my love for God and for others?" It's far too easy for the offering to become a ritual. It is not. It is an act of faith, prompted by God. Before deciding what to give, choose to make your offering each week an act of worship toward your Father in heaven.
Then it's time to ask Question #4, "How much is the right amount to give?" One of the following four methods of determining your weekly or monthly gift will be right for you. Please consider them carefully and prayerfully! Only you and your family can make this decision, and you'll need the Lord's guidance. Pray in faith that God would give you direction through this simple process and that he would give you peace to know you're growing in faith through this important spiritual discipline. The first three suggestions are for those who give less than 10% of their income in offerings to the Lord.
Consider a step forward. Determine your weekly gift to the Lord, averaged out over the entire year in 2003, and increase it. If your weekly gift is $20, make it $22. If it's $50, make it $55. This shows growth in faith and trust and it’s a spiritual victory over the temptation to do less.
Consider a step of faith toward the tithe. If it is your intention to grow in giving until you can give 10%, move out in faith by figuring what percentage of your income you gave in 2003, and make a bold move toward tithing, 10% giving. Divide the total of your gifts by your gross annual income. That's your percentage of giving. If you give 4%, consider 5% or 6% this year. That's a step of faith.
Consider the tithe. You may be giving 8% or 9% and are ready, or you may not be contributing regularly at all, but are compelled to follow God’s instruction to the poorest of Hebrew slaves in the Old Testament: to offer 10% of all your income, before taxes or any other monthly expense, right off the top, to the Lord for his kingdom work. If God is calling, follow in faith.
Consider tithes and offerings. Many of our members are ready for the next level of spiritual growth through an offering that goes over and above the tithe. God will show you. Worship him with the gift of yourself and your generous, sacrificial gift as you consider a gift that goes beyond 10%.
I'm praying for you as you grow in faith. God is at work in you when you hear his word, when you receive Christ's body and blood. God is at work whenever you follow in faith, through your witness to Christ's saving love and your acts of loving service. I'm praying for you, and I hope you are praying with me for your fellow members, that we all grow in the grace of giving in days ahead. Once again...
First, settle the faith issue. Rejoice in God's good gift of faith in Christ and the certainty of salvation, or talk to me or another disciple whom you trust about your eternal life in Christ today!
Second, as an act of faith, commit yourself and your family to weekly worship in the house of the Lord.
Third, give yourself fully to the Spirit's leading in worship. Listen and sing and pray and eat and drink with all your heart, and offer yourself and your gifts to the Lord as an act of love.
Finally,
ask the Lord in prayer, "What shall I render to the Lord, for all his
benefits to me? I will offer the
sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call on the name of the Lord. I will take the cup of salvation, and will
call on the name of the Lord. I will pay
my vows to the Lord now, in the presence of all his people, in the courts of
the Lord's house, in the midst of you, O Jerusalem" (Psalm 116).