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If there is one area where Christians today are being manipulated and taught deceptive doctrines, it is definitely the area of finances and giving. To the great shame of the Church, many pastors are leading the flock astray with false promises of prosperity and blessings, misleading them by using laws and obligations.  But saddest of all, is the fact that these poor believers never come to realise that this is not God’s heart for them.

In far too many churches, when it comes to giving, people are either bringing their offerings with the expectation of receiving some abundance in return, or because they feel pressure and dread at going against ‘what the Bible says’! Yet, looking at the Word of God, when do we ever see Jesus or the Apostles talking about ‘prosperity’ in this sense? What is evident is that God has promised to take care of us (Matt. 6:25-26); it is a demonstration of God’s heart for His people and His vision for the Kingdom.

The Bible is not a manual of techniques and principles for preachers to use to ask you to give them money so that God can bless you in return!

LOVING JESUS, LOVING HIS KINGDOM

God’s plan for His Church is for Christians to carry His heart as a testimony to an unbelieving world. For the grateful believer who knows that Jesus gave everything for him, whose heart has been captivated, and whose life Christ has transformed, wanting to give is natural.

He is not someone who is bringing his offering because he has to, or because someone had told him how much or how to give. He is certainly not giving just in order to be blessed in return. He is giving because he loves Jesus and the Kingdom; he is grateful for his salvation.

His life is fully identified with Christ, and his heart is totally committed to God’s vision for His Church. Here is someone able to give sacrificially, well beyond any set percentage, or fixed amount. He sows cheerfully into the Kingdom as the Holy Spirit leads him. Such a Christian can give liberally even in times of extreme poverty, in the same way as we see the Macedonian church doing in 2 Cor. 8. He walks in the faith that God will take care of his personal needs, because he knows his heart is for the Kingdom.

GOD WANTS US TO PROSPER

There are two portions of Scripture that almost every Christian knows; for, at some point, most of us have probably heard them taught on with relation to giving and prosperity. In both cases, false doctrines have infiltrated the Church as a result of preachers taking these verses out of context…

In 3 John 1-8, we read, “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.”

Now, we know that Apostle John is commending Gaius for the heart, the love, the concern that he has for the Kingdom, and for his hospitality towards the people of God. Isn’t it natural that John would want God to bless a man with a heart such as this?

The Apostle wants Gaius to prosper in all areas, because he knows that whatever he receives from God will be used to bless his fellow believers and will be of benefit to the Kingdom. So, how did we jump from this specific context to declaring that it is God’s will – His purpose and His plan – that all Christians must prosper financially; that all believers should expect to receive a hundredfold in return, if they will only give to this preacher, or to that project?

This is simply not Scriptural! However, what we can say without a shadow of a doubt, is that God does want to bless every Christian, who, like Gaius, has a heart for the Kingdom, and is hospitable towards God’s people.

NEW COVENANT VISION

When we read the words of Jesus Christ in Luke 6, we see the same spirit, the same heart, as that of John and all the other Apostles. The context here (verses 27-46) is of Jesus speaking to the crowds about having a different heart, a different vision… that of the Kingdom. He is asking the people to give their lives and allow God to change them so that they may live according to the New Covenant.

Just because, in this context, he states in verse 38: “Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you” is no reason for anyone to conclude that He is talking about giving and prosperity. This passage is all about the attitude of heart that the believer whose chief concern is the Kingdom, should carry. Jesus even ends, in verse 46 with: “But why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?” Therefore, no one should use that Scripture to convince people that as long as you give, no matter what the state of your heart is or with what attitude you do this, God is still bound to bless you in return. That’s why there are millions of Christians today eternally waiting for their blessings!

ACCORDING TO YOUR HEART

Allow me to point out that if you still believe you are obliged to give to God, then you have not fully understood the depth of what Jesus Christ did on that Cross; what freedom was purchased for us by the Son of God. He has set us free. Today, we are free to give from our hearts, as the Holy Spirit leads us.

Do you realise that if I have to rely on someone or on some Old Testament law under the Levitical preisthood to tell me how much I should give, I could end up giving less than what I actually have on my heart? Now, in the proper context, we can see the heart of the New Covenant believer in Apostle Paul’s declaration in 2 Corinthians 9:7,

“So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.”

This verse does not paint the picture of a fearful, reluctant believer who is obliged to give because it is expected of him, or because everyone will know exactly how much his offering is.

FREE TO SERVE

The churches of Macedonia were able to give out of their extreme poverty, as a result of a Gospel that had brought them to lose their lives, to deny themselves, to take up their cross daily and follow Jesus. Their generosity stemmed from the fruit of the work of the Gospel, not from some emotional manipulation. They earnestly desired and insisted on having a part in a project that was spiritual and of benefit to the Kingdom and other believers.

Please understand that I am not trying to make you look back and question how and to what you may have given your money in the past. But I know that there are many believers who are seeking for truth. And all I want is for the Church to know what God’s heart is on the issue of money; what sound doctrine according to His Word is, so that, by His Grace and with the Holy Spirit guiding us, we can be free to serve Him with our finances.