BELEIVER'S LOVE WALK: GIVING
Love is the summary of the Christian
conduct. The instruction to work in love is the greatest instruction that sums
up other instructions. It is then important to understand what love really is
and how it is expressed in giving.
1 John 3
23
And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his
Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.
The summary of the Christian life is faith in
Christ and love towards others . Any action
centered on faith in Christ and love towards one another can never be wrong.
Galatians 5
13 For, brethren, ye have been
called unto liberty; only use not
liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.
14 For all the law is fulfilled
in one word, even in
this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
You can never get it wrong walking in
love, love is the summary of all we do in Christ. We are told to serve one
another in love.
WHAT THEN IS THIS LOVE?
For us to understand what love truly
is, we must look at what Jesus has done .
1John 3:16 Hereby perceive we the
love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our
lives for the brethren.
This shows us what love truly is.
Love is a selfless expression of affection in doing things for others . Love is
sacrifice and it’s seen in what Christ has done . To understand love, we must
see it in what Christ has done because it’s completely selfless. Jesus did not
die for any reason except for the sin of the world. It was solely for the
benefit of man. Anything you do with 0.0001 percentage interest for yourself
cannot be called love. God’s word is what defines love to us not the world
system. What about different kinds of love ? There are no different types of
love but different expressions of love. There is a way love should be expressed
to a spouse, family member or believer . The key part of it all is that LOVE IS
SELFLESS. What is called Agape love is what love truly is. Loving Your
neighbor has nothing to do with yourself. It’s all about sacrifice. When we
say love, it’s minus me.
One other key thing to take note of
is that TRUE love is seen in ACTIONS not
in words. Love is seen in what is done.
How you truly show the love you have for someone is what you do for the person.
There is nothing wrong with professing love in words but it must have
corresponding selfless actions for it to be the love of Christ.
1 John 3
18 My
little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in
truth
True love is deed not in words . This
is how Christ showed us love . He died for us .
We are instructed as believers to of
a necessity work in love towards every man .
Romans 13:8 “Owe no man any thing,
but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.”
My primary responsibility to every man is to love,
that is to do things for people sacrificially without expecting to get
anything. what I owe everyone is love. Showing love to the unbeliever will be to get him saved by preaching to him, praying for
him and maintaining good conduct before him. Showing love to fellow believers
will be in doing things selflessly for them to build them up. Several things we
are told to do to fellow believers in love; we are to give to them, pray for
them, prophesy to them, maintain good conduct before them along other actions
in love . We are instructed to show sincere love without disguise and to prefer
one another in love. This means that in Christ, we consider others first
because love is selfless.
Romans 12
9
Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to
that which is good.
10 Be
kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one
another;
The phrase “be without dissimulation”
means sincere, unfeigned, without hypocrisy. This means in our walking in love, we don’t
choose who to love and who not to love. Love
should be without separation. we love those that are loveable and those who are
not loveable. In fact we are instructed to love our enemies.
Matthew 5
44 But
I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them
that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
45
That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he
maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the
just and on the unjust.
46 For
if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? Do not even the publicans
the same?
47 And
if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? Do not even the
publicans so?
The uniqueness of Christ life in us
is that we love our enemies. We don’t just love those that love us. We show
undeserved love to people. This is how we reflect God to the world. Our God is known
in how He expresses love to the
undeserved. This is clearly shown to us in the death of Jesus. He died for the
very people that killed him.
SO LOVE FOR US IN CHRIST IS SOLELY UNCONDITIONAL
AND SELFLESS.
Part of what we are told to do in
love as believers is GIVING. This means that when we give, we are not giving to
get in that giving is an act of love and love is completely selfless and unconditional.
We have different kinds of giving we are to be given to as believers. We give
to fellow believers . We give to the poor. We give to foster the work of the
gospel. We give to pastors . All these are to be done out of love not for
selfish reasons.
WE ARE INSTRUCTED TO LOVE AND GIVE TO
ONE ANOTHER AS BELIEVERS. We can do things for fellow believers. Giving for
most people is only money. So when they hear giving, they as are quick to say we
don’t have maybe because they have no money. Though we can give money, we must
know that giving can be in different forms. We can give our time, services, money,
goods and other things. And this giving we should do always in love.
We are one body in Christ. Being born
again puts us into this family of God not born of blood but of God. Hence, we
must learn to give to one another in love without expecting anything in return.
1corinthians 12:27 Now ye are the body of
Christ, and members in particular.
Apostle Paul is using Body to explain oneness
in Christ Jesus. that means whatever you cannot do to yourself you shouldn’t do
it to anyone that is in Christ. We are His body hence, we are expected to give
and make sacrifices for one another.
Ephesians 2:19 Now therefore ye are no more
strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the
household of God
The word “household” means belonging
to a member of a family, so in Christ we are not strangers to each other. We
are one body we have become one family. The church is a family. The way we
relate to the members of our earthly family is the same way we ought to relate
with our brothers and sisters in Christ and much more. We should do things for
one another in Christ.
Gal 6:6 “Let him that is taught in
the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things.”
Gal 6
2 Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil
the law of Christ.
10 As we have therefore
opportunity, let us do good unto all men,
especially unto them who are of the household of faith.
In the
family of Christ, we are to bear one another burdens and do good to our family members.
Our bias is for those in the household of faith. We must let this family mean
something to us and we must learn to do good to everyone especially those in
Christ. This involves giving our time, money and other resources for people. So
we are to prioritize giving to fellow believers.
Remember,
we are not giving to get but we are giving out of LOVE. We know love in Christ
is selfless and unconditional. You can get back when you give, but this is not
why you give .
What of
give it shall be given unto you ? GIVING IN CHRIST IS NOT GAMBLING neither is
it a way to make it in life. Let’s look at the proper interpretation of the
statement: give it shall be given to
you. We must allow scriptures to interpret itself.
Luke 6:34-38
³⁴ And if ye lend to them of whom ye
hope to receive, what thank have ye? For sinners also lend to sinners, to
receive as much again.
³⁵ But love ye your enemies, and do
good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and
ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and
to the evil.
³⁶ Be ye therefore merciful, as your
Father also is merciful.
³⁷
Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be
condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:
³⁸ Give, and it shall be given unto
you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall
men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it
shall be measured to you again.
Notice the context of verse 38 is loving
your enemies and not to judge others. We are to show and give mercy to others
to show that we are children of God who is merciful to the undeserved. So in
this context, Jesus said, give it shall be given unto you. So if you give mercy
to people, you will get mercy. If you judge others, you will get it back even
much more . This is the truth. Those that are not merciful to others will never
enjoy mercy from people. So give it shall be given unto you is not talking
about giving resources or money. We can cannot take verse 38 out of context to
explain something else. The Bible is best read together so we must allow the
Bible to interpret itself. We take the meaning given to us. We don’t give our
meanings to any verse of the Bible.
There is nothing Godly in giving with
the intention of receiving back. We reflect God in our conduct by giving to one
another without expecting to get back.
We must learn to be discrete in our giving.
Mathew 6:1 “Take heed that ye do not
your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your
Father which is in heaven.”
The more discreet your giving is the better. You are not giving to prove
a point or to get to show people you are a giver.
In a local Church, contributions can
be raised. You should not exclude yourself in the name of “I don’t have”. Romans
15:26 “For it hath pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain
contribution for the poor saints which are at Jerusalem.”
Giving to one another is regardless of what you have.
IN ADDITION to giving to one another,
we are SHOULD GIVE out of LOVE for church projects or to foster the work of God
on earth.
1 Corinthians 16:1-2
1 Now concerning the collection for
the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye.
2 Upon the first day of the week let
every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be
no gatherings when I come.
Giving is as God has prospered you.
Paul instructed the Corinthian Church
to make a necessary collection before he comes.
This collection was based on what they
had. But, no one can say, he didn’t give because he didn’t have. You must have
something to give. Paul commended the church at Macedonia for giving in their
DEEP POVERTY.
YOU DON’T GIVE BECAUSE YOU HAVE BUT
BECAUSE YOU LOVE.
2 Corinthians 8
1 Moreover, brethren, we do you
to wit of the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia;
2 How that in a great trial of
affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded
unto the riches of their liberality.
3 For to their power, I bear
record, yea, and beyond their power they were willing of
themselves;
4 Praying us with much intreaty
that we would receive the gift, and take
upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the saints.
The truth is that we should always be disposed to give whether we
have or not. This church were looking for opportunities it give to Paul even in
their lack and deep poverty.
ONE OTHER CLEAR INSTRUCTION WE HAVE IN SCRIPTURES IS TO GIVE TO
PASTORS.
We are instructed to give to our pastors who labour in the word
and doctrine for us . This form of giving is not taught in the scriptures as charity
but as honour out of love to our
pastors. Let’s look at some of these admonitions.
1 Thessalonians 5
12 And we beseech you, brethren, to know them
which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you;
13 And to esteem them very
highly in love for their work’s sake. And be at peace among yourselves.
In the scriptures above, we are told to know those over us because
they labour in the word for us. So everyone in the body of Christ is not equal.
We have those over us because they teach us the word. We are to ESTEEM them
very highly notice for their work’s sake, not for their conduct's sake. The
essence of our giving to our pastors and holding them in high esteem is because
they labour in the word for us. It is not because they are perfect or because
they don’t have.
GIVING TO A PASTOR IS NOT CHARITY. It is taught in the scriptures
as a mandatory act of love.
1 Timothy 5
17 Let the elders that rule well be counted
worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine.
18 For the scripture saith,
Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer is
worthy of his reward.
Notice the instruction. The elders that rule well are to be
counted worthy of double honour. Notice verse 18 calls it a compulsory payment
because of the pastors' labour in the word . So honour for a pastor is because
of his work in the doctrine of Christ. You don’t give to a pastor because he
doesn’t have but because of his work for you in the doctrine of Jesus. Notice ,
it is called double honour . We are to honour and give to fellow believers, but when it comes to giving to
pastors, we told to double it. There is nothing you will ever give to your
pastor that labours over you day and night that will be too much.
It is the responsibility of every believer to give to his pastor that
teaches him God’s word.
Galatians 6
6 Let him that is taught in
the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things.
The instruction is quite clear in the scriptures above. If you
read further Galatians 6, you will notice there are eternal rewards for giving
to your pastor and fellow believers. You are sowing into the Spirit. Allow
spiritual relationships matter to you. You don’t give to a pastor because of
the reward you would get but out of love and for his labour in the word. We
understand there are tendencies for a Pastor to abuse this but you don’t relent
from carrying out your scriptural responsibility of giving to your pastor.
You don’t become a pastor or bless people so they can give to you.
It is out of love and passion to see the work of God proper on earth and out of
God’s calling. Being a pastor is not a career, it is labour born out of love.
So also as a member of a local Church, you are instructed to give to your
pastor out of love as a matter of necessity.
In 1 Corinthians 9, Paul made a case for this giving to pastors .
Kindly read the whole chapter. Let’s look at some verses .
1
Corinthians
9
1 Am I
not an apostle? Am I not free? have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? are not
ye my work in the Lord?
2
If I be not an apostle unto others, yet doubtless I am to you: for the
seal of mine apostleship are ye in the Lord.
3 Mine
answer to them that do examine me is this,
4 Have
we not power to eat and to drink?
5 Have
we not power to lead about a sister, a wife, as well as other apostles, and as
the brethren of the Lord, and Cephas? note
6 Or I
only and Barnabas, have not we power to forbear working?
7 Who
goeth a warfare any time at his own charges? who planteth a vineyard, and
eateth not of the fruit thereof? or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the
milk of the flock?
8 Say I
these things as a man? or saith not the law the same also?
9 For
it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox
that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen?
10 Or
saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written:
that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope
should be partaker of his hope.
11 If
we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we shall reap
your carnal things?
12 If
others be partakers of this power over you, are not we rather? Nevertheless we
have not used this power; but suffer all things, lest we should hinder the
gospel of Christ.
13 Do
ye not know that they which minister about holy things live of the things of
the temple? and they which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar? note
14 Even
so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the
gospel.
15 But
I have used none of these things: neither have I written these things, that it
should be so done unto me: for it were better for me to die, than that any man
should make my glorying void.
16 For
though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid
upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!
17 For
if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but if against my will, a
dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me.
18 What
is my reward then? Verily that, when I preach the gospel, I may make the gospel
of Christ without charge, that I abuse not my power in the gospel.
From verse one of this chapter, we
see Paul making an argument on the right of a pastor . Kindly go through the
scriptures above again and pay attention to verse 6 to 11. We see that the
writer made a case for giving to a pastor as his right. He calls it compulsory
payment quoting from the writings of Moses. If a pastor sows to you spiritual
things, it is your responsibility to sow carnal earthly things . It is normal
for those who preach the gospel to live of the gospel. Paul then told us that as
a Pastor , he doesn’t demand this giving so he can preach the gospel without
charge . But the members must know that it is their responsibility to take care
of their pastor. A pastor should not be
a burden to his members, hence there is nothing wrong with a Pastor having
something else he does for money. We must not see this pastors having other
things they do as a norm but because they do not want to be a burden to the
flock. To be frank , being a pastor is more than enough work already. Imagine a
pastor who has over 100 members who are rich and earn at least two hundred
thousand naira monthly in Nigeria. Such a pastor should be able to face the
work of ministry without the fear of lacking. The members should be wise enough
to give. In 1 Corinthians 9, Paul tells us that he disciplines himself in verse
27 so he will not be a castaway. That is so that he will not be disqualified
from his reward. This reward has nothing to do with going to heaven. The reward
is clearly stated in verse 18 of the same chapter . The reward is the freedom
to preach the gospel without charge. This means he can preach the gospel without
attaching payment to it because of his desires. The church should be well
taught to give willingly to pastors in cash and kind. Remember, you ALWAYS HAVE
SOMETHING TO GIVE. This is how to say thank you to a pastor that teaches you.
Nothing wrong with saying thank you in words but show it also in your acts of
giving. You don’t respond to a pastor after preaching to you by stretching forth your hand to refill
him of what you don’t have. He has the anointing, he blessed you with it. You
should bless him with your money and earthly possession (carnal/ earthly things
).
This is why the tithing law was introduced under the law. The aim is
so that there may meat in the house for the work of God and the care of God’s
servants. It was because of the wickedness of the heart of men who will not
willingly give to priests that Moses added the tithing laws. Jesus told us in Matthew
19 that the law was given because of the hardness of their heart. Now that the
law of sin and death has been abolished in Christ Jesus, believers must learn
to be liberal towards their pastor. There is nothing wrong with a believer
assigning a particular percentage to give maybe 10 percentage. There is nothing
wrong with a church collecting 10 percent from its members for the welfare of
the pastor and the growth of the church. We know it is not because we are
afraid of a devourer but it is out of love. Knowing the truth about tithing should never ever make you stingy.
Let giving be your habit. You will see God will sponsor the habit. Tell
yourself, that you will be the one to ensure that your pastor is given to. You
are not giving to him because of the reward but because of His labour and
sacrifices in the word. Indeed giving to your pastor can make you dear to God’s
heart and to the pastor. It can help you better maximize the grace of God in a
pastor. You cannot look down on or despise a pastor you consistently give to. Jesus
told us that if you receive to a prophet/pastor, you will receive a prophet’s
reward.(Matthew 10:42-42).
All forms of giving are acts of love. The norm is that pastors labour
to feed the church and the church work to feed the pastor. But one doesn’t become
a pastor so that people can take care of him. You cannot walk in love outside sacrifice and
giving.
Love is a serious business among
believers. We must be deliberate with it. Giving is one way we express this
selfless and unconditional love we are
commanded to have in Christ.
GIVE, GIVE , GIVE and KEEP GIVING.
Give to fellow believers
Give to the poor
Give for church projects
Give to your pastor much more.
Hallelujah.
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BY EMEKE MODESTY OBIAZIKWOR
GOSPEL AND MIRACLE CAMPAIGN (GAMC)
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Reviewed by Emeke Modesty Obiazikwor
on
November 01, 2021
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