by David Shaffer
This is my first opportunity to thank you for the chance to serve the Baptist Bible Fellowship International as treasurer. I am humbled by your confidence. One thing has happened, though. My attention has been turned toward our giving. We have four unique areas in which pastors and churches can participate: foreign missions, home missions (NCPO), our owned and approved colleges, and of course, our Tribune.
Every BBFI pastor is convinced that giving is a biblical mandate. So why is it so hard to give, and even increase our pledges, if we are convinced? Why can’t we get 100 percent involvement? I believe the answer is simple: most believe giving is about the wallet, when it’s really about the heart.
“But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work: As it is written, He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor: his righteousness remaineth for ever” (2 Corinthians 9:6-9). Paul reminded the Corinthians that there are three blessings attached to their giving:
Something good will happen to the giver.
Something good will happen to the receiver.
Something good will happen to God.
He says giving is like sowing seed and then reaping a harvest. One must sow seed with the thought of how one wants to reap. That’s the biblical principle of sowing and reaping: “…he which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.” That means, if we give a little, we’ll reap a little. If we don’t give at all, we won’t reap at all. If we aren’t reaping, it’s because we aren’t sowing. This is true for churches as well as individuals.
According to 2 Corinthians 9:7, there are two things God doesn’t want: God doesn’t want us to give with a grudge, nor does He want us to give because we feel we have to. God wants cheerful givers — several cheerful givers if He can find them! God wants believers to have a good time giving. I would love to see our Fellowship laugh out loud and jump for joy over what God has allowed us to give to Him.
The Apostle Paul also tells us God is able to make our giving abound toward others. But that’s not the end of it. God is also more than able to take what’s left over and make it sufficient to meet our needs. Not only that, but God will take the generosity of our heart and translate that joy into every other avenue of our Christian service. In other words, we’ll not only abound in what we give financially, but we’ll also abound in our time, talent, and service! Every facet of our Christian life will be bountiful — all because of our cheerful and bountiful attitude in giving!
This isn’t a new teaching from Paul. He got it from Jesus himself. Jesus said: “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 unto you again” (Luke 6:38). If we will take what God gives to us and use it to minister to both our local church needs and our Fellowship ministries, then He will increase the fruits of our service. That’s what 2 Corinthians 9:10 is all about. We give seed and then all of our ministries receive the increase. Multiplied seed results in multiplied fruit. Giving does something to us: it brings cheerfulness to our heart, fulfillment to our service, and it develops a trust in God’s provision.
Giving does something to others: it meets the needs of missionaries, church planters, BBC faculty and students, and our Tribune. It brings cheerfulness and fulfillment to their hearts. Giving also does something to God. According to 2 Corinthians 9:11-14, our giving glorifies God. Can you see why God loves cheerful giving? It honors and glorifies Him, and it all starts with our hearts!