Principles of Giving

Alan Lewis
Elon, North Carolina
January 2025

Now about the collection for the Lord’s people: Do what I told the Galatian churches to do. 2 On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with your income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made. 3 Then, when I arrive, I will give letters of introduction to the men you approve and send them with your gift to Jerusalem. 4 If it seems advisable for me to go also, they will accompany me

5 After I go through Macedonia, I will come to you—for I will be going through Macedonia. 6 Perhaps I will stay with you for a while, or even spend the winter, so that you can help me on my journey, wherever I go. 7 For I do not want to see you now and make only a passing visit; I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits. 8 But I will stay on at Ephesus until Pentecost, 9 because a great door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many who oppose me.

10 When Timothy comes, see to it that he has nothing to fear while he is with you, for he is carrying on the work of the Lord, just as I am. 11 No one, then, should treat him with contempt. Send him on his way in peace so that he may return to me. I am expecting him along with the brothers.

12 Now about our brother Apollos: I strongly urged him to go to you with the brothers. He was quite unwilling to go now, but he will go when he has the opportunity. 13 Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. 14 Do everything in love.

15 You know that the household of Stephanas were the first converts in Achaia, and they have devoted themselves to the service of the Lord’s people. I urge you, brothers and sisters, 16 to submit to such people and to everyone who joins in the work and labors at it. 17 I was glad when Stephanas, Fortunatus and Achaicus arrived, because they have supplied what was lacking from you. 18 For they refreshed my spirit and yours also. Such men deserve recognition.

19 The churches in the province of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Priscilla greet you warmly in the Lord, and so does the church that meets at their house. 20 All the brothers and sisters here send you greetings. Greet one another with a holy kiss.

21 I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand. 22 If anyone does not love the Lord, let that person be cursed! Come, Lord! 23 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. 24 My love to all of you in Christ Jesus. Amen.

We have been studying I Corinthians. We have been in this book for a long time and today we come to the end of the book. It is a book that Paul wrote to some Gentile Christians. They were Greek Christians who lived in the first century and, in some ways, they seemed very American.

This was the church with problems. It was founded by an apostle and it still had problems. This church had moral problems. It had doctrinal problems, like many churches today. No church is perfect.

Today, we see the final thing that Paul said to this church. We see his final instructions to this local assembly. He talks about his travel plans. He was planning on visiting this church.

He deals with one final topic that he has not addressed yet and he gives the church some final commands. He gives a blessing, and he gives a curse in this chapter, but he ends the letter talking about love. He ends on a high note.

Paul has dealt with many topics in this book. He has dealt with division. He has dealt with sexual immorality. He has dealt with lawsuits among believers.

He has dealt with marriage, divorce and remarriage. He has dealt with food offered to idols. He has dealt with spiritual gifts. He has dealt with the resurrection.

Paul has one final topic to address, and it is giving. It is the collection. He must have been a Baptist. The chapter begins, “Now about the collection.” Many preachers would have talked about money first. Paul mentioned it last.

Abuse of the Bible

Giving is a topic that many hate. Many abuse it. Many things in the Bible are abused. Ephesians 5:24 says, “wives should submit to their husbands in everything” (NIV). Some husbands abuse that verse.

Some Christians quote the verse, “Do not touch my anointed ones” (Psalm 105:14 NIV). They use it to say that you can never criticize preachers. They are immune from criticism.

That’s wrong. King David was God’s anointed. The prophet Samuel anointed him to be king. When he committed adultery and murder, he was not immune from criticism.

The prophet Nathan rebuked him to his face. Some cult leaders quote the verse that says, “Obey your leaders and submit to them” (Hebrews 13:17 ESV) but they leave off the rest of the verse.

The rest of the verse says, “for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account.” Leaders are accountable to God. One day, they will have to give an account.

Some preachers abuse what the Bible says about giving. There are some greedy preachers on the TV begging for money. They are big on tithing.

They guilt people into giving. They say give and you will be blessed.

Paul talks about giving but he does it biblically. He doesn’t ask for money for himself, but for other people.

Paul, “I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing” (Acts 20:33 NIV). Paul was not doing this for himself. He did not even take a salary from the churches he started, although he had a right to.

1. Giving Should Be Universal

Paul says, “Each one of you should set aside a sum of money” (NIV), not some of you or most of you but EACH ONE in the church was to give.

How open are you to help those in need? Some people are compassionate for the needy and some have no compassion for them. Giving is one of my spiritual gifts.

Every Christian in the church was expected to give. No one is exempt. All are to give. Rich people are to give, and poor people are to give.

We are not expected to give the same amount. It is in keeping with our income, but we all are expected to give something. If you are completely broke, you can throw a quarter or a penny in the offering.

2. Giving Should Be Regular

We can give spontaneously when the Spirit leads us, but we should also give regularly. They were probably paid once a week in the first century, so they gave once a week. If we get paid once a month and give once a month, we are to give giving regularly.

3. Giving Should Be Planned

Giving was to be planned, not just spontaneous. Paul says that they were to set this money aside and bring it to church. They were to come to church with ready to give.

4. Giving Should Be Individual

Paul does NOT tell each person to give a certain amount. He does NOT even tell each person to give a certain percent. He does NOT say, “On the first day of the week, everyone should bring in ten percent of their income.” That is what some pastors say.

Paul says, “each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with your income.” He does not say what sum to set aside. He just says we are to set aside a portion of our income.

We are to give as God hath prospered you (I Corinthians 16:2 KJV). Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give (II Corinthians 9:7 NIV). What you give will be different from what someone else gives.

5. Giving Should Be Cheerful

Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, NOT RELUCTANTLY OR UNDER COMPULSION, for God loves a cheerful giver (II Corinthians 9:7 NIV).

There is a big difference between giving because you have to give and giving because you want to give. We should want to give. We should be happy about giving to the poor.

JD Greer told a story about someone who was broken down on the side of the road. A car was broken down on the side of the road in Durham. A Christian was driving and stopped to help. He said, “I don’t know what to do. I need a new alternator, but I have no money. I hate to ask but could you loan me some money so I can get this alternator fixed?”

He says, “I do have money but No. I will not loan you money to get your alternator fixed. I will give you money to get it fixed.” He said, “You don’t have to do that. I will get paid in a week or two ands I can pay you back.”

He said, “No. I just want to give this to you as a gift.” He said, “Why would you do that? He said, “Well, since you asked, the church I go to teaches that we are to help those in need. God did that to us by sending to Jesus to die.”

He said, “What church do you do to?” He said, “The Summit Church.” The man said, “Here’s what’s odd. I have been out here for three hours and two stopped to help me. Both were from the Summit Church. One gave me a little money and one bought me a meal.”[1]

Principles of Decision Making

As Paul closes this letter, he talks about his travel plans. He is writing I Corinthians from the city of Ephesus. He says, “After I go through Macedonia, I will come to you.”

He is planning to come to Corinth but wants to stop at Macedonia first. He wanted to visit the churches he started on his second missionary journey. He wanted to spend some more time in Corinth.

In the meantime, He is sending Timothy to them. He would send Apollos but he can’t come right now. What does that say to us? It tells us some things about decisions.

1) We should make plans for our life

Paul made his plans and we make plans all of the time. We plan where we go to school, what career we want to go into, and who we want to marry. It’s not wrong to make plans or have dreams.

Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans (Proverbs 16:3 NIV).

On the other hand, if we are going to make plans, we should get good advice. Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed. (Proverbs 15:22 NIV)

2) ALL plans are subject to the will of God

Paul says, “I hope to spend some time with you, IF THE LORD PERMITS” (I Corinthians 16:7 NIV). God is sovereign over all of our plans.

Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails (Proverbs 19:21 NIV).

The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps (Proverbs 16:9 NIV).

Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” 14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15 Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that (James 4:13-15 NIV).

Paul’s travel plans changed. He ended up traveling to Corinth first before he left for Macedonia and ended up staying a short time. God often changes our plans.

3) Make the most of every opportunity God gives you

I will stay on at Ephesus until Pentecost, 9 because a great door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many who oppose me. (I Corinthians 16:8-9 NIV)

Paul wanted to go to Corinth and minister, but the door in Ephesus was still open. People were receiving the gospel in Ephesus, so he was not ready to leave yet. He wanted to take advantage of the open door.

Paul says that we are to make the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:16 NIV).

The problem is that we often waste the opportunities God gives us. Sometimes God puts opportunities right in front of us every day and we do not take advantage of them.

He may put an opportunity to minister to someone or to witness to someone or to encourage someone or to help someone out financially. Sometimes we do not even see them. We need to pray that every day God would open our eyes to see all of the opportunities God gives us to serve Him

Five Closing Commands

Paul lists five closing commands for the Corinthians. The problems Paul addresses in this letter will be solved if the Corinthian Christians obey these five commands.

13 Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. 14 Do everything in love. (I Corinthians 16:13-14 NIV)

This is a passage that is often used in men’s conferences. One of the commands is to be courageous or to be brave. The ESV reads “act like men.” The old KJV reads “quit you like men.” There are many sermons by preachers from this verse for men on biblical masculinity.

They use it as a call for the men of God to rise up and for men to act like men, not like women. That is important in our day, but it is not what the verse is saying. It is a command for the whole church. It is a command for women, and not just the men in the church.

The first command is to be on your guard. Why do we need to be watchful? What do we need to be watchful for? We live in a sinful world. The word is full of temptation, deception, and false teaching. We need to be on our guard. If the Corinthians were on their guard, they would have not given in to sexual immorality.

The second command is to stand firm in the faith. Why does Paul command this?? Many do not stand firm in their faith. They don’t continue in their faith. They give it up. They throw it away. They reject it. They commit apostasy.

The third command is to be courageous. Why do we need to be brave? In the world, we encounter persecution. We experience opposition. In other countries, some are tortured for their faith. Some are martyred. We need to be brave.

The fourth command is to be strong. You have to be strong to be courageous. The two go together. God told Joshua to be “strong and courageous” (Joshua 1:6, 7, 9).

Many Christians today are spiritually weak. They act like spiritual babies. They are blown about by every wind of doctrine. They don’t know the Word. They don’t walk by faith.

The fifth command is to do everything in love. You can have all kinds of spiritual strength and courage. You can be a Christian bodybuilder. You can be firm in your faith, but Paul says, without love, you are nothing.

Paul had some harsh things he had to say to the Corinthians, but he ends the book on a positive note. He ends talking about love. The last verse of the book says, “My love to all of you in Christ Jesus. Amen” (I Corinthians 16:24 NIV).

Final Greeting

Here we have Paul’s final greetings. Notice how Paul ends his letter. He signs it. He autographs it. Someone else wrote the letter. He used a secretary and dictated the letter. There were no computers in the first century.

All letter writing was done by hand. Paul takes up the pen to sign off on the letter. Maybe his handwriting was really bad but at the end he signed it. He did this with all of his letters (Colossians 4:18; II Thessalonians 3:17).

Serious Warning

After giving some commands and a greeting, ended the book with a very serious warning. It is a shocking warning. It is a warning addressed to Christians. It is addressed to believers, not unbelievers.

If anyone does not love the Lord, let that person be cursed! (I Corinthians 16:22 NIV)

What does that mean? What does it mean to be cursed? It means to be eternally condemned. It means to go to Hell.

At the sheep and goat judgment, Jesus will said to those on his left, “‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41 NIV)

Paul does NOT say, “If anyone does not believe in the Lord, let that person be cursed.” He says, “If anyone does not love the Lord, let that person be cursed.”

Can you be a true Christian and not love Jesus? No. Every Christian loves Jesus. It is impossible to be a Christian and not love Jesus. We love him because he first loved us. Paul defines Christians as those who love Jesus.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28 NIV).

“What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”— the things God has prepared for those who love him (I Corinthians 2:9 NIV)

How do we know if we love Jesus? Everyone professing Christian says they love Jesus. How do you know if you really do? It is very simple. Loving Jesus does not just mean having warm feelings for Jesus. Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15 ESV).

Is it possible to believe in Jesus but not love him? Yes. The demons believe (James 2:19) but they do not love Jesus. They hate Him.

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²²Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ ²³Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers! (Matthew 7:21-23 NIV)

Here is another group of people who believed in Jesus. They called him “Lord” but they weren’t saved. They must not have loved Jesus because they didn’t do what He said. They did a lot of religious work, but he called them “evildoers”

Why did Paul mention this warning? Not everyone who comes to church is a true Christian. There are plenty of people in church who are not saved and who don’t love the Lord. Some of the Corinthians may not have been saved.

Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith, prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates? (2 Cor. 13:5 KJV)

Special Prayer

Paul ends I Corinthians with a curse and a prayer. Both are found in I Corinthians 16:22. If anyone does not love the Lord, let that person be cursed! Come, Lord! (I Corinthians 16:22 NIV).

The words “Come, Lord!” are in Greek (Μαρανα θα) but they come from an Aramaic word (maranatha). You might know a few other Aramaic words from the Bible.

Abba is Aramaic (daddy). Golgotha (place of the skull) is Aramaic. Mammon (money) is Aramaic. Talitha cum (little girl get up) is Aramaic and so is Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani (My God, my God, why have your forsaken me?)

Paul prays in Aramaic. This is the only time in the NT where we see the word “maranatha.” It is a prayer for Jesus’ return. It is translated “Come, Lord!” (NIV), Lord Come (HCSB), Our Lord, come! (NLT) or May Our Lord Come! (ISV).

We find similar words in Revelation. John ends Revelation with the prayer “Come, Lord Jesus” (Rev. 22:20 NIV). After ending talking about Jesus, Paul ends the letter mentioning grace and love

The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. 24 My love to all of you in Christ Jesus. Amen.

[1] https://summitchurch.com/message/and-so-we-came-to-rome-acts-2814-31

Principles of Giving

I Corinthians 16

Abuse of the Bible