Grosey's Messages

1 Now concerning the collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do. 2 On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come. 3 And when I arrive, I will send those whom you accredit by letter to carry your gift to Jerusalem. 4 If it seems advisable that I should go also, they will accompany me.

5 I will visit you after passing through Macedonia, for I intend to pass through Macedonia, 6 and perhaps I will stay with you or even spend the winter, so that you may help me on my journey, wherever I go. 7 For I do not want to see you now just in passing. I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits. 8 But I will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost, 9 for a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.

 10 When Timothy comes, see that you put him at ease among you, for he is doing the work of the Lord, as I am. 11 So let no one despise him. Help him on his way in peace, that he may return to me, for I am expecting him with the brothers.

The Christian faith is deeply spiritual but supremely practical. Why? Because believers belong to two different worlds, they are citizens of two competing kingdoms. We are citizens of heaven. However, we also live in the here and now, bound to live in the present world. Our head is in heaven while our feet are firmly planted here, so to speak. Given our dual citizenship, we should not be surprised when the Bible speaks to both spheres of our life in extended detail. A significant part of the details about which the Bible addresses is our material possessions, our money, our wealth. Scripture is never embarrassed to admonish the believer concerning his or her finances. Neither should we be hesitant. As Paul ends his words to the Corinthian believers in his first letter, he addresses the practical side of the faith beginning with how the church is to handle money!

Paul begins the chapter by referring to the collection. He writes, 1 Now concerning the collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do. 2 On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come. 3 And when I arrive, I will send those whom you accredit by letter to carry your gift to Jerusalem. 4 If it seems advisable that I should go also, they will accompany me.

(1 Cor. 16:1-4). Basically, Paul lists a twofold purpose for the collection.

1 Corinthians 15:58 (NIV) - Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

Here in the first part of I Corinthians 16 is one way we are to give ourselves fully to the work of the Lord … through the giving of our money. I want you to understand that one of the great evidences of God's work in your life is your giving.

Note: I'm glad to be able to address this in the matter of preaching through a portion of God's

Word. It's not a special message to "raise money." It's to teach you how to give yourself fully to the work of the Lord.

1 Corinthians 16:1 (NIV) - Now about the collection for God's people: Do what I told the Galatian churches to do.

v.1 – "Now about the collection…" – I have said before that these words "now about…" are found at important places in the letter to the church at Corinth, and they indicate another topic that Paul was asked to address when some leaders of the church either came to Paul or wrote to Paul with questions and concerns about their church. They had heard about the offering and had some questions about it. And so it was then, as it is now, Christians have questions about this matter of "collections" or "offerings." And here we have some key issues about taking offerings in church, and how Christians should respond.

The Purpose of the Collection

First, the collection is to be taken for the benefit of the saints. He makes the need precisely known, telling the people where the collection is to be used. When people know, people will give. God will see to it. Paul reminds the Corinthians concerning the plight of the Jerusalem church, including their poverty and persecution (cp. Acts 11:27-29). Paul envisioned the Gentile church assisting the Jewish church as being instrumental in healing ethnic barriers.

v.1 – "Now about the collection for God's people…"

This particular "collection" is mentioned in other parts of the NT. News had spread that the believers in Jerusalem were in dire straits due to persecution and famine conditions. Paul was circulating around present day Turkey and Greece on a missionary journey and God put it on his heart to take a collection in the churches he established and visited. And the idea was for him to take that offering with him when he went to Jerusalem to present to the church there to help them out. This specific offering was for a very clear purpose. The Greek word for collection means, "an extra collection." And it was not the only collection that was received. We know from elsewhere in the NT that offerings in the early church were received for various reasons, one of which was to provide for the needs of pastors in the local churches. So church members gave for the purpose of supporting the work of the local church.

This was an offering taken for "God's people" … literally "the saints." These are God's people … brothers and sisters in Jerusalem were in great need. If you stop to think about it, this was a kind of missions offering. They were giving for the needs of others outside of their own circumstances. These were Gentiles living in present day Greece who were asked to dip into their resources and help some other people, whom they had never met and would probably never know … the Jews living in Jerusalem. Note: I can just imagine that there in Jerusalem there was a widow, or a young dad, or a group of believers who got together and prayed for God to provide for their needs in the midst of difficult circumstances … persecution, famine, etc. And hundreds of miles away God was working in the hearts of some other believers to give. It was a test for their faith as well … deciding how much to give … for some whether or not to give. But God was moving to meet the need hundreds of miles away. So God deposits resources in our lives that He intends to use to provide for the needs of others. And how we respond to these kinds of situations is evidence of the degree to which God is at work in our lives.

1 John 3:17 (NIV) - If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?

Even so, from Paul's standpoint, while the collection was to be taken for the benefit of others,

the collection also became a blessing to the Corinthians themselves. A church is not a cistern for saving bounty, but a channel for sharing blessings. Hence, Paul speaks about the "liberality" of the collection. The term "liberality" basically means a "grace gift," a gift "freely given." The church must develop an atmosphere where grace-giving is supreme. Indeed, a church which focuses on "required" giving— that is, giving merely out of duty instead of grace—subtly develops a resistance to joyful, Biblical giving which inevitably is described as "liberality." Gifts given in this spirit always bring blessings back to the giver.

Now that Paul has dealt with the purpose of the collection

The Procedure of the Collection.

Interestingly, Paul never offers an apology for speaking about the collection nor does the church appear to offer an apology for taking the collection. On the contrary, Paul gives specific procedures on taking the collection.

Collections are to be punctual;

That is, collections take place on "the first day of the week." What does the Bible mean when it refers to the "first day"? Clearly, when Scripture speaks of the "first day," it refers to our Sunday (cp. John 20:19; Acts 20:7; Rev. 1:10).

v.2 - "On the first day of every week…"

You see, the habit was to assemble on the first day of the week. Why the first day of the week?

Later it would come to be called the Lord's Day because the Lord was raised from the dead on Sunday. So the church moved from the Jewish practice of observing the Sabbath on Saturday, to observing the Lord's Day on Sunday.

And what they did on that day, among other things was to gather. In fact, the word "churches" in v.1 is the word ecclesia … the gathering.

Notice the habit was to gather on the first day of every week. Literally "on every first day of the week." Is that the pattern in your week for your family? That's God's desire and design.

The gatherings of God's people on the Lord's Day involved ministries of various kinds. We've talked about how they conducted themselves in worship. There was singing and teaching and ministry and prayer. They shared a fellowship meal together. And they passed the plate! Giving was part of their gathering.

Note: This is an embarrassment to many who say that churches should not make a big deal about collections or offerings because it offends non-believers whom the church is trying to reach. My response to that is that our giving is part of our witness. I think it is a powerful testimony to others when they see us taking something as important as our financial resources and giving it to a particular cause. This must be something big if people are making sacrifices for it.

Why were they told to bring their offerings for the saints on the first day of every week? We can assume that that was when the other offerings, for example for the ongoing support of the church's ministries, were given. Giving should be a regular, weekly practice on Sunday when the church meets together.

The Jews met on the Sabbath (Saturday) to commemorate creation; Christians meet on Sunday to commemorate the resurrection. Every Sunday is Easter Sunday!

Collections are to be personal. Paul says, "let every one of you lay by him in store." In other words, the collection is for all God's people, not just some. Collections are for rich and poor alike. Consequences of not giving include barrenness in one's heart and emptiness in one's satisfaction with life.

Giving is also to be proportional. The gauge Paul gives us to measure our giving is simple, "as God has prospered him." Leaving the amount to our own discretion, we determine a thoughtful consideration of what God has done for us. We count our blessings; then we count out our contribution. If God has blessed us physically, materially, and spiritually, we must consider whether or not we can ever give too much!

The income of some would permit them to give a greater proportion, while others, due to their few resources and other constraints on them, would be limited to lesser contributions. What was important was that giving be a unified ministry with each one participating, regardless of his income. This was the principle behind the tithe (a percentage gift based upon one's income or resources). Now obviously there is no mention of the tithe here. This is a special offering. But there is clearly here a reference to proportional giving, which is what a "tithe" implies. Some are quick to point out that the only mention of the tithe in the NT is in reference to OT law or to pharisaical religion in the day of Jesus. And they point to that fact to say that there is no command for NT Christians to tithe. No, but there are repeated references to proportional giving. And on top of that, when it comes to pharisaical religion, Jesus teaches that as disciples of His, our righteousness must exceed the righteousness of the Pharisees. So the bar is not lowered, it is raised.

Collections are to be practical. Paul desired "no gatherings when I come." The Corinthians were to consider what God gave them and respond appropriately. The principle works the same with us.

When you give your tithes and offerings, do you ever anticipate the blessings your contributions will be to others? How? Do you feel guilty anticipating your offerings to bring blessing to you? Why or why not?

Collections are to be  Perfect and Transparent

1 Corinthians 16:3-4 (NIV) - Then, when I arrive, I will give letters of introduction to the men you approve and send them with your gift to Jerusalem. 4 If it seems advisable for me to go also, they will accompany me.

Paul wanted a representative from the Christians in Corinth to deliver the gift to Jerusalem. And, the Corinthian Christians could choose their own representative. Paul did this to be above reproach in all financial matters. He spoke of this in …

2 Corinthians 8:20-21 (NIV) - We want to avoid any criticism of the way we administer this liberal gift. 21 For we are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of men.

So there you have in straightforward terms why we take offerings, and how we take offerings, and who is responsible for the safekeeping and distribution of offerings in the church.

For some of you, this message will reinforce a discipline that is already in place in your life. But it's good for you to be encouraged that this practice of giving generously and regularly to God's work is really the right thing to do. I want you to be comforted.

For others of you, this is already making you nervous. I understand. Maybe you know that this is something you need to build into your life, but you haven't done it yet for whatever reason … but your heart is open to it. I want you to be challenged.

For others, this topic makes you a little angry. "What's mine is mine, and I don't intend to give my hard earned money to any church." And my prayer for you today is that God's Word in the hands of God's Spirit will soften your heart, not to give your money to the Lord, but first to give your life to the Lord. The rest will take care of itself. I want you to be convicted