Contributions

Text: 1 Corinthians 16:2

Series: Restoration Sermons

Date:

Speaker: Ed Rangel

Location: Waupaca Church of Christ

Bible Version: NASB 1995

Sermon Type: Expository

Learning Objectives

By the close of this lesson the hearer should be able to:

1. See that God has always required sacrifice from His people.
2. Understand that we are stewards, not owners, of all we possess.
3. Know how much, when, and how the Christian is to give.

Thesis

God has always required His people to give; since we own nothing but merely steward what is already His, the Christian gives himself first and then his means — liberally, freely, willingly, as he has prospered, regularly through the church and as need arises among men.

Burden

This is a subject people would rather not learn, because it touches the pocketbook, where the heart so often hides. It is hard to teach a man a thing he does not want to do. But Paul preached it without apology — "not that I seek the gift, but I seek the profit which increases to your account" (Phil. 4:17) — because giving is not God's way of getting something from us; it is His way of doing something good for us. The burden of this lesson is to move giving out of the realm of theory and into practice, and to do it by getting the foundation right: everything we have is already God's, and we are only stewards handing back to Him what was His all along.

Introduction

We should be interested in the practice of giving, not merely a theory of it — and it is hard to get people to learn a thing they do not want to do. Yet Paul gave his reason for pressing it: he sought not the gift but the fruit that abounds to the giver's account (Phil. 4:17). The outline develops the subject in five movements: that God has always required sacrifice, our true relation to material things, how much to give, examples of giving, and when and how to give.

I. God Has Always Required Sacrifice (Hebrews 11:4)

From the beginning, the worship of God has involved giving:

1. Cain and Abel brought offerings; Abel's, given by faith, was accepted (Gen. 4:3-8; Heb. 11:4).
2. Noah's first act after the flood was to build an altar and offer sacrifice (Gen. 8:20).
3. Israel offered at least twenty kinds of sacrifices under the law.

Giving is not a New Testament novelty; it has always belonged to the worship of God.

II. Our True Relation to Material Things — We Are Stewards (Psalm 24:1)

1. The earth is the Lord's, and all it contains (Ps. 24:1; 1 Cor. 10:26). Nothing we hold is ultimately ours.
2. We brought nothing into the world and can carry nothing out (1 Tim. 6:7).
3. We are therefore only stewards — overseers — of what we possess, not its true owners (Job 1:21, "naked I came... naked I shall return"; Eccl. 5:14-15).
4. What we give is already God's. David prayed, "all things come from You, and from Your hand we have given You" (1 Chron. 29:14). We never give God anything but His own.
5. And so we must give Him the best, not the leftovers — for it was His to begin with.

Once a man sees he is a steward and not an owner, the question of giving changes entirely; he is not parting with his own, but managing Another's.

III. How Much Shall We Give? (2 Corinthians 8:5)

1. First give yourself; once a man has given himself to the Lord, the rest is easy — the Macedonians "first gave themselves to the Lord" (2 Cor. 8:5).
2. Under the law of Moses, a tenth was required for the priests (Lev. 27:30-32; Num. 18:24) — a sobering floor, not a ceiling, for those under grace.
3. Give liberally, freely, willingly, as you have prospered — "on the first day of every week each one of you is to put aside and save, as he may prosper" (1 Cor. 16:2).
4. Give as there is need.
5. A man may be responsible even for not having anything to give — if idleness or waste left him empty-handed.
6. We are to labor for two purposes: to support ourselves (Titus 3:14) and to have something to give (Acts 20:35).

The measure is not a flat rule but a proportion — "as he may prosper" — laid on a heart that has first given itself.

IV. Examples of Giving (Acts 4:32-37)

1. The Jerusalem church gave all — selling possessions to meet the need among them (Acts 4:32-37).
2. God approved this because there was a real need — it was generosity matched to necessity, not waste.
3. The churches of Macedonia gave beyond their power, out of deep poverty and great joy (2 Cor. 8:3).

These are patterns of a giving that flows from love, not calculation.

V. When and How Should We Give? (1 Corinthians 16:2)

1. When:
• Regularly — "on the first day of every week" (1 Cor. 16:2), as a settled part of worship.
• As occasion demands — when a brother's need appears before us (1 John 3:17).
• How:
• Through the church — the collective treasury, as the Philippians supported Paul (Phil. 4:15-17).
• As individuals — personal benevolence to those in need (Acts 20:35; Gal. 6:10).

Both channels are scriptural: the regular first-day contribution through the church, and the personal generosity of the Christian as need arises.

Application

Settle the foundation first and the rest follows: you own nothing. Every dollar, every possession, is God's, entrusted to you as a steward who will give account. That truth turns giving from a grudging loss into a glad return. So give — and give in order: yourself first, for once you have given yourself, your money is no struggle. Then give as you have prospered, proportionally and purposely, laying it by on the first day of the week through the church, and reaching for the needy brother as occasion arises. And labor not only to supply your own needs but to have something to share. The needy person or the needed work that God sets before you is His call on the stewardship He has entrusted to you. Will you hand back to Him, freely, what was always His?

Conclusion

God has always required His people to give, and He requires it still — not because He needs our money, but because giving blesses the giver and honors the Owner of all. We are stewards, not owners; what we give is already His. Give yourself first, then your means — liberally, willingly, as prospered, regularly and as need arises. That is Christian giving, and it abounds to the giver's account.

Invitation

The first and greatest gift God asks is not your money but yourself: "they first gave themselves to the Lord" (2 Cor. 8:5). Give yourself to Him now — believe on the Lord Jesus, repent of your sins, confess Him, and be baptized for the remission of your sins (Acts 2:38), and present yourself a living sacrifice to the One who gave Himself for you. Come while we sing.

Word Study

Scripture Interlock Table

---

Converted from H. Leo Boles, Outline 42. Doctrinal audit: core-framework (giving rooted in stewardship; give self first, then proportionally "as prospered"; first-day-of-the-week contribution through the church plus personal benevolence; the Mosaic tithe noted as the old-covenant requirement, not bound on Christians); no correction. Style audit: OCR cleanup. Citation fixes: "Job 1:24"→Job 1:21 ("naked I came... naked I return"; ch. 1 ends at v. 22); under V.1.a "regularly" the source's "1 Cor. 16:12" (re Apollos)→1 Cor. 16:2 (first-day giving); garbled "OVERSURE" read as "overseers"/stewards from context. Source note: no primary-text line; 1 Cor. 16:2 (cited at III.3 and V.1.a, the giving-pattern verse) supplied as text and flagged. Boles' other citations verified and retained.