Are Christians Commanded to Give to a Local Church?
Some churches love talking about money.
You know the type. Just as all ancient roads were said to lead to Rome, some pastors seem to think that all biblical texts lead to a sermon on tithing from Malachi 3. Some churches (if you even want to call them that) even go as far as to teach a perverted “gospel” in which God's blessing can be purchased in four easy payments of $19.99.
The error of these kinds of churches is obvious.
But there is another way churches can err when talking about money; it’s much more subtle, and at first glance might even sound like a good way to deal with the topic. Instead of talking about money all the time, some swing the pendulum too far and neglect the topic altogether. The reasons for this are obvious. The charlatans we all know in pastor's clothing--and a fear of being misunderstood--effectively provide a strong incentive to just avoid any sort of discussion of giving from the pulpit altogether.
Here’s why that’s a problem: we cannot avoid talking about money without avoiding quite a bit of the biblical text. After all, Jesus talked about money quite a bit (Matthew 6:24; Matthew 19:16-30; Mark 12:41-44; Luke 3:14; Luke 16:10-13, et al). And if Scripture has things to say about money, then we simply cannot ignore these words--no matter how uncomfortable the topic might make us or our churches feel. If the mission of the church is to “make disciples,” and the church makes disciples by teaching its people “to observe all that [Christ] commanded,” and Christ commanded us to give, then it is simply unfaithful on the part of a church to fail to teach on the topic (see Matthew 28:19-20). You can make shallow converts by ignoring the topic of money, but you won’t make disciples.
Consider just a few of the commands we see in Scripture regarding giving:
Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you. (Matthew 5:42)
Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 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. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. (Matthew 6:2–4)
Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. (Luke 12:32–34)
In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ” (Acts 20:35)
So the biblical expectation and command to give is clear. Giving is not optional, it is an expectation for all the people of God at all times and in all places. Thus, to fail to give is to dishonor, disrespect, and disobey our heavenly Father. But here’s the question we want to deal with in this blog:
Does this biblical expectation and command include giving to a church in particular? Or to ask it another way, are Christians commanded to give to a local church? Or might one fulfill these commands by simply giving to friends, family, non-profits, missionaries, neighbors, etc.?
We have previously addressed the question of how much to give in a blog called, "Should Christians Tithe?" If you have never read that and have questions about why we at Parkway generally speak of giving and offerings rather than tithes, we would commend that resource to you. But, you really can’t ask the question, “How much should I give?” without first answering the question, “To whom should I give?” And we believe that this is a really important question to answer, because many Christians may be giving generously all over the place, without recognizing the biblical responsibility and priority to give to their local church.
So, with all of this in mind, does Scripture command Christians to give to their local church?
That’s a great question. Obviously there is no explicit command like, “thou shalt giveth unto thine 501c3 non-profit local church.” But there absolutely seems to be an implicit and assumed expectation; and (this is crucial to grasp), implicit truth is just as true as explicit truth. For example, there is no explicit text which says, “God is a Trinity,” and yet Scripture is saturated with that implication which has formed the foundation of the entire Church for two thousand years. Or, for another example, there is not one single explicit command in Scripture against the use of heroin or cocaine, and yet we obviously know that it is implicitly forbidden on the basis of texts on drunkenness, stewardship of the body, and so forth. In other words, whether a truth is explicit in the Scriptures or implied by the Scriptures, either way it’s just as true. And Scripture absolutely implies a general responsibility to give to the local church.
How so? In at least four ways, the Bible implies that Christians should give not just generically, but specifically to their local church.
Four Arguments for Giving to a Local Church
1. The Old Testament principle of giving.
Let’s be really clear: Christians are no longer under the binding jurisdiction of the tithe (as discussed in the article referenced above). That said, the Old Testament tithe depicts a pattern for us to follow. As the author of Hebrews states, the images of the Mosaic Law provide a shadow pointing to the substance we see fulfilled in Christ (Hebrews 8:1-7, 10:1-4). Therefore, we are no longer under the law to "Sabbath," but we are still expected to rest. We are no longer under the law to celebrate Passover, but we are still expected to celebrate communion. Likewise, though we are no longer under the law to tithe, we are still expected to give. So what does the pattern or principle of the tithe demonstrate?
It’s helpful to first consider what the tithe represented. Jews under the Mosaic Law were required to give a tenth (tithe is from the word for tenth) of their harvests, animals, and so forth to support the temple and priests within Israel. Why was that required? Because priests were busy doing priestly stuff throughout the week. They were busy offering sacrifices and interceding for the people and so forth, and thus didn't have the time to hunt, plow their fields, harvest crops, or carry on some other means of earning income. Yet, these men had bellies that required food and families that required shelter, and so the tithe was a way that the nation of Israel recognized a collective responsibility to help those who served the body.
Since Christians are no longer under the Mosaic Law, there is no binding prescription that we give a certain amount today, but there is certainly a pattern and principle of the people of God supporting the work of ministry. After all, the church is not a corporation. Churches don’t sell goods or stocks. We don't have an endowment or trust fund. We survive as a result of God's grace through His people.
But, though the local church is not a corporation, churches still have expenses. Most churches have staff to pay, benevolence funds to distribute, mortgage payments, electricity and water bills, administrative costs, church insurance, building repairs, missionary support, future church planting endeavors, and the list goes on. The first century church didn’t own buildings and thus didn’t have the same expenses that many churches have today. Thus, the closest parallel would be to the Old Testament temple and the principle of the tithe.
So, though Christians are no longer bound by a mandated tithe, this does not mean that we’re “off the hook.” Quite the contrary: rather than a particular percentage or formula, the New Testament exposes the heart and commands sacrificial, regular, and cheerful giving (2 Corinthians 9:1-15). For those facing financial hardship, sacrificial, regular, and cheerful giving might mean less than 10%; but for many of us, we have the opportunity to sacrificially, regularly, and cheerfully give even more. Because, as with most aspects of faithfulness, the goal is not to be as minimally obedient as possible, but rather as joyfully submissive as we’re able. Rather than lessening your responsibility to give, the fact that you are no longer under a tithe actually increases it to whatever can be given sacrificially or cheerfully.
2. The explicit command to financially support those who vocationally labor in ministry.
This point will perhaps seem self-serving since this blog was authored by salaried staff of a local church. That said, it is also perhaps the most clear and compelling biblical case for giving not just in general, but specifically to a local church. In some ways, it is the closest we come to an explicit command that Christians give specifically to the local church. Therefore, it would be unfaithful to ignore it just because someone might misunderstand our intention in doing so.
Consider the following passages:
Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard without eating any of its fruit? Or who tends a flock without getting some of the milk? Do I say these things on human authority? Does not the Law say the same? For it is written in the Law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain.” Is it for oxen that God is concerned? Does he not certainly speak for our sake? It was written for our sake, because the plowman should plow in hope and the thresher thresh in hope of sharing in the crop. If we have sown spiritual things among you, is it too much if we reap material things from you? (1 Corinthians 9:7–11)
Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches. (Galatians 6:6)
Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,” and, “The laborer deserves his wages.” (1 Timothy 5:17–18)
Obviously, some who would call themselves pastors and teachers have abused these passages. Scripture is clear that those who shepherd the flock are not to be lovers of money (1 Timothy 3:3). However, that doesn't mean that pastors must be destitute and take vows of poverty. Pastors are rather like you. They have families, mortgages, bills, insurance, retirement and so forth. Some might choose to forsake the right of financial support, but it’s a right nonetheless (“deserves”). So giving specifically to the local church fulfills the biblical command and expectation that the members of the body would collectively love and support those who labor for the good of the body and its various members.
In short, the Bible commands Christians to give where they are fed. Now, that can include other ministries. For example, perhaps you support a former mentor or missionary or a pastor whose work you appreciate from a distance. That’s an excellent way to support the expansion of the Kingdom! However, given the passages above, it appears that such giving should be a supplement to rather than a substitute for giving to the local church. Your responsibility is first and foremost to your own local church and those who actually know you and seek to shepherd you and not just feed you from afar. A healthy practice would be to give primarily to the local church and then as you are able to give more, to direct some of those supplemental funds to other ministries and missions that you love.
3. The pattern of the early church and the opportunity for benevolence.
In Acts 4, we see that there was a problem in the early church. Many were impoverished and in need of help. So what was the response of the church? Believers were selling their possessions in order to support others. But how did they go about supporting the poor among them? They laid the proceeds at the feet of the apostles (Acts 4:32-37).
In other words, there was a clear pattern not only of individual Christians supporting non-profits, charities, individual missionaries, and ministries, but of individual Christians relinquishing control of their funds and entrusting it to the care of the leaders responsible for the flock as a whole. This is part of the reason why many churches discourage "designated gifts,” whereby someone gives but limits or designates how they would prefer their gift to be spent (and why the IRS does not consider gifts with such limits to be tax-deductible, by the way). As an aside, if you don’t believe the leadership of your church can be trusted to make wise and righteous decisions with your funds, then you should probably examine the root of your distrust, have a conversation with your leaders, or even, after having exhausted the above steps, find a church with leaders who are more trustworthy.
So, for example, as was hinted at in the early church, The Parkway Church budgets and maintains a benevolence fund for members of the church who meet difficult circumstances. Sometimes individual members can individually help other members who face hardships (that happens all the time). Other times that can be accomplished in a community group (like when one of our groups came together to give a car to a faithful widow this year). But sometimes needs rise beyond the ability of an individual or community group to meet. This isn’t a new phenomena. Paul gave instructions to Timothy regarding the care of widows (1 Timothy 5:3-16) in which he distinguished between needs that could be met without burdening the church as a whole and those needs which needed to be met by the corporate body. Likewise, when members of Parkway give, we join one another in corporately meeting the needs of brothers and sisters--needs which would be too much of a burden for an individual, family, or group alone to bear.
In other words, by giving to the church corporately, believers have more opportunities to help their brothers and sisters in need. Candidly, church members are usually unaware of the various needs throughout their church’s membership. By giving directly to the local church, the distribution of those funds is better enabled by elders or staff members with a somewhat more comprehensive understanding of the needs of the body as a whole.
4. The pooling of resources for the sake of the kingdom.
The pastors of a local church have a primary responsibility to care for the members of their own flock. As an airline passenger is exhorted to first put on his own mask before helping those around him, so a local church should first meet her own needs before turning attention to the needs of other churches and ministries.
But at the same time, local churches do not exist for the glory of their own name, but rather for the name and renown of Jesus Christ and the extension of His kingdom. Therefore, churches should work toward planting other churches and budget their finances in order to support missionaries and other kingdom-minded ministries.
By giving to a local church, members help the body to extend the renown of Jesus through planting and supporting other churches, sending and supporting missionaries, and resourcing other faithful ministries. And again, this is nothing new. We see this in the New Testament, as the apostles use the money given by one church in order to help another. For example, consider 2 Corinthians 8:
We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints— and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us. Accordingly, we urged Titus that as he had started, so he should complete among you this act of grace. But as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you—see that you excel in this act of grace also. (2 Corinthians 8:1–7)
This passage is deeply convicting. Here were believers in "extreme poverty" and "a severe test of affliction" who nonetheless earnestly begged for the "favor" of helping others. How often do you beg for the opportunity to give to the saints among you?
Rather than merely spontaneous expressions of generosity, Paul encourages believers to discipline themselves in giving by setting something aside each week for the purpose of helping others (1 Corinthians 16:1-3). What does this have to do with giving to a local church?
Assuming that the church is healthy and longs to plant churches and support other ministries, members giving directly to the church helps to pool resources to extend ministry beyond the walls of the local church to the ends of the earth. Does this mean that members can't give directly to ministries and missionaries and other churches? Of course not. But it does mean that members must not neglect their own body in doing so, lest that body be robbed of the ability to love and serve others.
Conclusion
For at least these reasons, it seems good and faithful for believers to prioritize not merely giving in general, but giving to the particular church to which they belong. Though members are encouraged to give toward other ministries and individuals, such giving should never be to the neglect of the local church.
While there are many reasons that members may not give to support the work of their local church, in most of those cases, closer examination will reveal some sin to be mortified, some wound to be healed, or some theological misunderstanding to correct. If, at the end of the day, a member simply doesn't trust their local church to faithfully steward its resources, that isn't a reason to not give; instead that's a reason to do some introspection into the motivations for that distrust and have the appropriate and necessary conversations with church leadership.
The point of this blog is not to guilt folks into giving. Instead, it is to awaken you to the biblical blessing and expectation that you love and serve the body in which you have been grafted. This means that you have a biblical responsibility to attend services regularly, serve regularly, and, yes even to give regularly. While it may be uncomfortable to talk about finances, it is unfaithful to fail to do so.
God has commissioned the Church to make disciples and not just shallow converts. This means that pastors and churches have to talk about all that Christ has commanded and not just those commands which we find convenient, comfortable, and culturally acceptable. All of God’s commands are good so we of all people should delight in the grace of giving to support the work of the kingdom for the glory of God and our ultimate joy.
...whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. (2 Corinthians 9:6–8)
