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Dicovery's
Statement on Christian Giving
(Stewardship) IN
OLD TESTAMENT TIMES, God's people were required to contribute at least a tenth
of their income to God's work (the tithe). Although
the New Testament is not explicit about the continued validity of the standard,
it may be assumed that it endorses the practice of tithing as a minimum
guideline or a starting point for Christian giving.
Obviously, the New Testament lays demands upon believers that exceed the
giving of the tithe. According
to the New Testament, the totality of one's possessions belongs to God - not
just the tithe (Matthew 6:19-34, 19:16-30, 25:14-30; Luke 9:23-25, 12:13-34,
16:1-13, 18:18-30, 21:1-4; Acts 2:44-45, 4:32-37). The
New Testament allows Christians to keep the portion of their income which is
necessary to provide for them and their dependents so that they do not become a
burden on society (I Thessalonians Thus,
whereas the Old Testament required the contribution of only a tenth of one's
income to God's work, the New Testament requires the total disposition of one's
possessions for God's work, except for that portion which is to be kept to
provide for oneself and one's relatives with reasonable safeguards for the
future. On this basis, if a tenth of
one's income is sufficient to provide for one's own and family needs, the
remaining ninety percent belongs to God's work. This
approach to giving reflects the radical transformation of pagan materialistic
values that takes place under the impact of the Gospel as the quest for personal
advantage gives way to the desire to worship God through total disposition of
oneself to His service and to the service of others (Romans 12:1). The expansion of the old covenant standard of tithing into the principle of total giving provides an explanation for the relative silence on this issue of tithing in the New Testament. While Jesus or the writers of the New Testament neither condemn nor condone the practice.
The
implications of the New Testament principle of total disposition reduces tithing
to a beginner's exercise, a minimum reference that is to be increased in
Proportion to one's income and one's growth in Christ. To
ensure the proper functioning of the ministries of the local church, it is
appropriate for a body of believers to expect that, apart from other giving, at
least a tenth of their constituents' income be contributed to the local church
that serves them. Both the Old and
New Testament offer warrant to uphold such a standard (Leviticus 27:30-32;
Malachi According
to the New Testament, the responsibility for the proper apportionment of a
believer's giving is a matter of individual conscience rather than a function of
the body. However, the church is to exercise watch-care over its
constituency to protect it from the
sin of greed which is cause for church discipline and excommunication (I
Corinthians 5:10-11; Ephesians 5:3; Colossians 3:5). When
Christians learn to regard the totality of "their' possessions as belonging
not to themselves, but to God, they develop a joyful sense of freedom from the
instinct of possessiveness. They
view their possessions as divine entrustments placed in their care for the
purpose of ministry. As a result,
their giving is not based on legalistic calculations of grudgingly accepted
impositions. It becomes the
spontaneous heart response of grateful spirits answering cheerfully and
generously to God's love. The
biblical measure for giving is to be found in a grateful heart, not in the
devices of an electronic calculator (Acts
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