By Neil Earle
It had been a long letter but an important one. Paul's letter to the Romans would turn out to be a cornerstone of the new faith that was reaching into every nook and cranny of the Roman world. The apostle to the gentiles had long wanted to visit his brothers and sisters in Rome, the center of the world in his day. But there were problems in the church there.
There were divisions between the brethren (Romans 2:1). Some still did not understand the cardinal principle of righteousness through faith (4:16).
Paul wrote fervently and forcefully. He painted a memorable word sketch of his own battle with sin (7:14-25). Finally, after an eloquent appeal for reconciliation in the church (11:1-24), Paul's tone changed.
"Now, however, I am on my way to Jerusalem in the service of the saints there. For Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem. They were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in the Jews' spiritual blessings, they owe it to the Jews to share with them their material blessings" (15:25-27).
Paul refers to this generous donation from the Greek converts to the believers in Jerusalem as "the service of the saints" (verse 25). He saw it as a tangible way to express the unity of the two great streams of the faith in his day, the one based in Greece, the other in Jerusalem.
"It was easy enough," writes William Barclay, "to talk about Christian generosity; here was a chance to turn Christian words into Christian deeds" (The Letter to the Romans: The Daily Study Bible Series, rev. ed., page 205).
John Murray writes of the assumptions underlying Paul's appeal to the Romans. Paul, says Murray, intimates he has a right to expect their participation in the gospel. "I hope to visit you while passing through and to have you assist me on my journey there, after I have enjoyed your company for a while" (verse 24).
In the Jerusalem relief project, Paul invokes the concept of a debt owed by the individual believers to the collective work of the gospel.
"It is not in the same category as a commercial debt incurred which we are under contractual obligation to pay. It is the indebtedness arising from benefits received as when we acknowledge our indebtedness to a great benefactor. The Gentiles were partakers of the spiritual things which emanated from [Jerusalem], and these spiritual things were of the highest conceivable character....
"So now he brings this truth to application in the concrete and practical. Gentiles should minister to the Jews in material things.... And this ministry is accorded the sanctity of worship" (The Epistle to the Romans, The New International Commentary on the New Testament, Vol. 2, page 219).
Giving a collection as an act of worship?
Yes.
Paul was not apologetic about equating the freewill offerings of God's people as part of the debt they owed for receiving the priceless truths of eternal life.
As he had previously explained to the Corinthian church in the midst of another discussion about money and offerings: "If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you?" (1 Corinthians 9:11).
God expects tangible, physical fruit from his people as well as invisible spiritual results. He expects the people who benefit from the gospel to do their fair share in helping extend that message to others.
Today, we call this brotherly sense of obligation, stewardship. It is a term with honorable biblical precedents behind it.
Eugene Grimm defines it in his book Generous People: "Christian stewardship is basic to all that we do for our Lord. Financial stewardship furnishes the fuel for all our other ministries. The root meaning of the biblical word for stewardship is `the management of a household,' usually on behalf of someone else.... [Christians] are the trustees of an enormous God-given estate" (page 14).
Kennon L. Callahan agrees: "The purpose of stewardship is giving, not fund-raising. How much money can be raised is a secondary objective. The primary purpose of stewardship is to help people learn the art of giving--to grow forward their generosity" (Giving and Stewardship in an Effective Church, page 111).
The way we give, the way we relate to God in the act of giving, reveals a lot about us: our spiritual priorities, our purposes and goals. Our contributions are not by themselves an infallible index to what we treasure in this life, but giving is not a minor matter unrelated to our spiritual lives either.
Jesus himself spoke on this subject often and in precise terms.
Jesus included the giving of alms in his Sermon on the Mount. The context is on giving to the poor, but the lesson is clear: "Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.... So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men.... But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you" (Matthew 5:42; 6:2-4).
Jesus received the freely offered support of others: "After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him, and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out; Joanna the wife of Cuza, the manager of Herod's household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means" (Luke 8:1-3).
This shows us that Jesus accepted the voluntary support of prominent women. The NIV Study Bible comments: "Jesus and his disciples did not provide for themselves by miracles, but were supported by the service and means of such grateful people" (page 1, 973).
Mary, Joanna, Susanna and the other women had grasped the first lesson in Christian stewardship: We give because we are grateful. "Gracious receivers become generous givers," comments Callahan. "Your understanding of giving directly relates to your philosophy of life" (pages 112, 111).
The first principle of stewardship in relation to the gospel could be put this way: We give because of what God has given us.
"What has God done for us?" some might ask.
Callahan writes: "Life is sacred. It is a gift we have received. It is amazing to be alive. The wonders of all the universe do not compare to the gift of life. Life is a treasure--precious and precarious. The riches of life are to be shared. Life at its best is lived through giving, not getting; helping, not hoarding" (page 111).
Paul expounded on this principle to the people of Galatia: "We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them. In the past, he let all nations go their own way. Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy" (Acts 14:15-17).
Deep down, most Christians know this.
But knowing is not enough. In the lives of deeply committed Christians, this understanding is activated. One way is by regularly estimating how much of our physical blessings we should give back to where we see God at work.
The encouraging knowledge of God's provision for our physical existence is an incentive to give back to him. And even more important, Christians have the unimaginable blessing of having their sins forgiven through the atoning work of Jesus Christ. We are already inheritors of eternal life because our transgressions have been wiped away in the waters of baptism.
We who have been forgiven of sins through the excruciating work done on our behalf at Calvary need to remember Paul's injunction: "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:31).
The knowledge that we live every day in the presence of Jesus Christ is the best incentive for holy living. It affects what we do and say, at home and at work, in our giving as well as our receiving.
This is vital: We give to the Almighty Giver as a sincere act of worship because of all he has done for us.
The second principle of Christian stewardship is that focusing on the object of our giving reminds us of our need to give. An example helps bring this home.
Two friends, both believers, were walking past a man who had his hands stretched out for money. The beggar may well have been a charlatan.
One of them gave the beggar some change.
"Why did you do that?" asked his friend.
"Well, it wasn't so much for him as for me," the other replied.
"For you? What do you mean?" his friend protested.
"Number one, the man may have had a genuine need. Number two, I cannot let my conscience get hardened by seeing people who have a need and turning away from them."
The biblical writer James touched on this issue in his letter to the Christians in his care.
"What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, `Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,' but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead" (James 2:14-17).
Genuine faith produces good deeds. We are saved by faith, but not by a faith that stands alone, isolated, focused on itself. There is no such thing as a Lone Ranger Christian.
The church is supported by the effective working together of every member. We all use gifts that the Holy Spirit gives us. One of these gifts is giving.
The church in Thessalonica had that gift.
Paul bragged about them in his letter to the Corinthians: "And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints" (2 Corinthians 8:1-4).
Today, dozens of worthy causes reach us through the media and in our mailboxes. It is hard not to feel overwhelmed by the volume of legitimate causes reaching out for our help.
We can't do everything. But we can do something. That takes spiritual commitment and concrete planning.
Financial counselors have found that the problem with many households is not always a shortage of cash. It is rather a failure to manage the money coming in, to maximize income. Here is where creating and sticking to an intelligent budget can be so useful.
The work of spreading the gospel is financed by those who have been positively affected by it. Count your blessings. Then plan your gifts to God's work accordingly.
God loves a cheerful giver. But it is hard to give cheerfully if we don't know where the money is coming from. The more we follow a family financial plan, the more confident we feel about giving God his due.
"Stewards are Good News people," writes Richard E. Rusbuldt, "God's ambassadors to a lonely, hurting and sometimes destructive world. Stewards, because of our family relationship with God, are living proof of a caring, involved God" (A Workbook on Biblical Stewardship, page 120). Let's be Good News people. Let's be good stewards as we go about our Father's business.
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