Financial Offering

Paul’s letter to the Romans speaks of at least three offerings. The first is a personal offering, which means a believer offers his body as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God (Rom. 12:1). We are to live for God’s glory in everything we do. We are to live a covenant life in accordance with God’s holy word.

Second, there is a people offering, the offering of people we are to bring to God as a result of our witness-bearing to Jesus Christ in the world (Rom. 15:16). This includes bringing to God the offering of our own children as they believe in Christ. God promises to save not only us but also our household.

Paul speaks about the third type of offering in this passage (Romans 15:23–29). We are to bring to God a financial, or pecuniary, offering, which consists of a portion of what God has freely given to us. This offering is used to defray the cost of the sacred ministry. It is also used to support the poor, especially those who are of the household of faith. We are to give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and give to God what belongs to God.

Such financial offerings are acceptable spiritual sacrifices. The Hebrews writer exhorts, “And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased” (Heb. 13:16). Paul writes to the Philippian church, “I have received full payment and even more; I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God” (Phil. 4:18).

Paul’s Plan

The first point Paul makes in this passage is about his travel plans. Having completed his ministry in the eastern part of the Roman Empire, from Jerusalem to Illyricum, there was no remaining virgin territory where Jesus Christ was not worshiped. So Paul started making plans to go west, “to the uttermost parts of the earth” (i.e., to Spain through Rome). On the way to Spain, he planned to visit the Roman church, which he had desired to do for many years.

We read of Paul’s plan in Acts 19: “Paul decided to go to Jerusalem, passing through Macedonia and Achaia. ‘After I have been there,’ he said, ‘I must visit Rome also’” (Acts 19:21). And in the introduction of his letter to the Romans, he wrote, “I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong—that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith. I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that I planned many times to come to you (but have been prevented from doing so until now) in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles” (Rom. 1:11–13). On his way to Spain, he planned to meet with the Roman church to impart to the saints some spiritual gifts, and to be refreshed by them. He also planned to receive help from them for his missionary work to the Iberian Peninsula.

Parts of Spain were occupied by Rome since 200 BC. In Paul’s time, the Romans had fully organized all the Iberian Peninsula. There seems to have been a significant Jewish population in Spain at the time of Paul. Before that, though, he wanted to make another trip to Jerusalem with the financial offerings he had received from the churches of Asia (including Galatia), Macedonia, and Greece, to help the poor saints in Jerusalem. He agreed to do this with Peter and others long ago: “James, Peter and John, those reputed to be pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the Jews. All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do” (Gal. 2:9-10).

By this contribution to the poor saints in Jerusalem, Paul wanted to demonstrate the unity of the church. The church is a family. It is the body of Christ, consisting of many members, Jew and Gentile, rich and poor. And if one member suffers, all suffer. The church is one holy catholic apostolic church. There are not two churches. Jesus Christ prayed for the unity and love of the one church. The church has a diaconal responsibility, therefore, to help the poor. Paul was planning to go to Jerusalem to perform this diaconal service.

The Pastor Must Be Supported

Through the faithful proclamation of the gospel by a God-appointed minister, Christ builds his church in a locality. The believers in such a church, not a mission agency, are then responsible for the costs involved in the church, especially for the support of the minister. A mission may support a minister for a year or so, but after that, the local church is responsible to support him.

The Bible teaches this truth very clearly. Jesus himself said, “The worker sent by Christ deserves his wages.” And in 1 Corinthians 9, Paul deals with this issue of supporting the pastor. He says no soldier serves at his own expense; the farmer who plants a vineyard is entitled to eat some grapes, and the shepherd who tends the flock may drink the milk of the flock (see 1 Cor. 9:7). Then he says that the Scripture itself tells us, “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.” God was not concerned only about the ox; this was written for us, that we may support the ox called the pastor (1 Cor. 9:9–10).

A pastor is not to work at his own expense. The Old Testament teaches us that the priests and Levites who ministered at the temple were supported by the temple. So Paul asks, “Don’t you know that those who work in the temple get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar?” (1 Cor. 9:13). They were supported by tithes and various other offerings.

The tithe existed before the Mosaic law. Abraham gave a tithe to Melchizedek, as the writer to the Hebrews acknowledges: “Abraham gave [Melchizedek] a tenth of everything. . . . This man, however, did not trace his descent from Levi, yet he collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. . . . One might even say that Levi, who collects the tenth, paid the tenth through Abraham” (Heb. 7:2a, 6, 9).

Then Paul gives another argument: “If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you?” (1 Cor. 9:11; see also Rom. 15:27). The one who sows the spiritual seed of the gospel is to be supported by material blessings from the people. Through the proclamation of the gospel, we receive the greatest blessing of eternal life in Jesus Christ. Thus, we should gratefully support the work of Christ with our material possessions.

Beyond all this, it is the command of our Lord Jesus Christ that a church support its pastor who ministers to them in spiritual things. Paul writes, “In the same way, the Lord has commanded [ dietaxen is used for “commanded,” “ordered,” “decreed.” In Acts 18:2 it refers to the decree of Claudius the emperor. But the One making the decree of 1 Corinthians 9:14 is the Lord of Claudius and of all creation. It is his decree that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel.

This decree comes from the Lord himself, the builder and sole head of the church, who gives us all things richly to enjoy. Elsewhere Paul asks, “What do you have that you did not receive?” (1 Cor. 4:7), that is, received from the Lord.

But how can we recognize a God-called, God-anointed, God-sent pastor or missionary? He who has sheep is the shepherd. He who feeds the sheep is the pastor. The sheep support the shepherd, whether in Jerusalem or in the mission field of India. The pastor must be supported by his people. He is not to expect a regular check in perpetuity from his mission agency. Many churches in India have declined spiritually during the past seventy years because of their dependency on foreign monies. They look to the West, not to the Lord who is in heaven. These churches are dying, like the church of Laodicea. It is time we teach what the Scripture says about the support of God’s ministers.

Paul also taught exactly what Jesus had taught. To Timothy he writes, “The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, ‘Do not muzzle the ox while it is treading out the grain,’ and [quoting Jesus himself] ‘The worker deserves his wages’” (1 Tim. 5:17-18). Paul elsewhere says, “Anyone who receives instruction in the word must share all good things with his instructor” (Gal. 6:6). All pastors who preach and teach the word of God are worthy of double honor (“honor and honorarium,” as Dr. John Stott says). 1

This is the biblical model. A pastor should not receive regular, long-term support from outside his congregation, whether from foreign or domestic sources. A missionary or a pastor must live like Jesus lived—like his people—wherever he is. This is the incarnational missionary life pattern. And a pastor without sheep should look for another line of work. He is not called to be a pastor, though he may have seminary training and denominational ordination.

The church’s contribution takes care of the support of the pastor, support of the building, support of the school (if any), and support of the poor in the church. It also helps with irregular support of the poor saints of the church in the foreign field and irregular support of foreign missions.

Support the Poor, Especially in the Household of Faith

We are to support, to the degree we can, the poor in our church. Jesus said, “The poor are always with you.” In a fallen world, there will always be poor people. The Jerusalem church was poor for various reasons. First, they experienced severe persecution (Acts 8:1; 11:19). This persecution included confiscation of their property, imprisonment, excommunication, and the community’s refusal to do business with them. Additionally, those in the church who had land sometimes sold their land and gave the money to the poor. In doing so, they themselves became poor. Also, most of these believers were from the poorer classes of society (1 Cor. 1:26–28). Additionally, during those days, there were frequent famines. Finally, the unbelieving Jews of Jerusalem refused to share with their believing brethren the contributions they regularly received from the Jews of the Diaspora.

Jesus taught his disciples to help the poor. Paul, John, and James did likewise. Jesus said: “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me’” (Matt. 25:34–36). The pronouns “I” and “me” in this passage stand for the people of God. John also says, “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?” (1 John 3:16–17). James, the Lord’s brother, spoke similarly: “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). Paul says the same thing: “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ” (Gal. 6:2). He also writes, “Share with God’s people who are in need” (Rom. 12:13).

Jesus himself was poor. He did not own a place to lay his head. He did not receive a regular check from his Father in heaven so that he could “live in style,” as many modern missionaries do. Though he was the Owner and Creator of everything, he was always borrowing from others. He borrowed a womb, and he borrowed a tomb. He borrowed a boat, and he borrowed a donkey. He received diaconal help from 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).

It is our duty to help the poor in God’s church. But if a poor person has a family, that family must be first to support its relative. Paul instructs, “But if a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God. . . . If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever” (1 Tim. 5:4, 8).

The church also must help, if necessary. Paul writes, ” The widow who is really in need and left all alone puts her hope in God and continues night and day to pray and to ask God for help” (1 Tim. 5:5). “No widow may be put on the list of widows unless she is over sixty, has been faithful to her husband, and is well known for her good deeds, such as bringing up children, showing hospitality, washing the feet of the saints, helping those in trouble and devoting herself to all kinds of good deeds [such as prayer and fasting]” (1 Tim. 5:9–10).

What about the poor believers in faraway places, like Jerusalem or India? Agabus the prophet predicted a worldwide famine which occurred during the reign of Emperor Claudius (Acts 11:28). So the church in Antioch collected a contribution for the saints of Jerusalem. This contribution was delivered to the poor saints in Jerusalem by the hands of Paul and Barnabas around AD 46. The reality of the poverty of the mother church teaches us that God does not guarantee us wealth, health, fame, and power in this world. He promises persecution and sufferings. He also promises us food, clothing, and abundant grace (PGM).

The Gentiles had a special obligation, both theological and moral, to support the Jewish saints of Jerusalem, because the Gentiles had received the blessing of the gospel from a Jew. The Jewish apostle Paul declared to them the Jewish Messiah, Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. All the Gentile believers needed to be grateful for the Jewish saints. Without them, the Gentiles would still have been living in darkness, worshiping worthless idols and being worthless themselves. So it was the religious and moral obligation of the Gentile churches to support the poor Jewish saints of Jerusalem.

Paul had been raising this relief fund for the Jerusalem church for some time, as we read in 2 Corinthians 8–9 and 1 Corinthians 16:1–2. He planned to take the monies he collected, together with the representatives of all the churches, and go to Jerusalem to present it to the leaders of the church there. He expected that this offering would help establish unity between the conservative Jewish believers, who followed the Jewish customs, and the Gentile believers, who did not. He planned to visit Rome within about two months of writing to the Roman church, on his planned fourth missionary journey to Spain.

But Paul’s plan did not work out exactly as he expected. He arrived in Rome about three years later, as a prisoner in chains, after experiencing another shipwreck and having been bitten by a viper at Malta. Yet he came as he promised: “I know that I will surely come to you in the fullness of the blessing of Christ” (Rom. 15:29, author’s translation). Paul came in God’s time, filled with Christ’s blessings, so that he could bless the saints in Rome with spiritual blessings.

Do not believe charlatans and religious frauds who teach that our lot in life is to be rich and powerful. Read what Paul said in 2 Corinthians 4:7–12 about his Christian life:

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.

He also wrote in 2 Corinthians 6:4–10:

Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.

We ought to be always filled with the blessing of Christ, who dwells in us. So we are exhorted,

“Be filled with the Spirit” and “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom” (Eph. 5:18; Col. 3:16). And Jesus himself said, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him” (John 7:37–38).

We are the light of the world. We are the streams in the desert of the world. We are the ones who should say, “I want to fellowship with you in the fullness of the blessing of Christ.” God’s people are to be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God, which flows to the church from Christ. So with our pecuniary offerings, we support the minister; we support the poor in the local church; we support missions; and we support the poor of God’s church everywhere, as we are able.

The Nature of Biblical Giving

Let us, then, examine the nature of biblical giving, that is, making a pecuniary offering.

¹. We are to give with a free will. Paul writes, “For Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a contribution” (vv. 26-27). Giving should not be forced. Love gives. God so loved the world he gave. Christ loved the church and he gave himself in death for us. We refuse to adopt the tactics of certain churches designed only to induce people to give. We never beg or plead. We trust God to provide. We live by faith in the God of Elijah.

2. Giving should be cheerful, not sorrowful. So we read, “Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity” (2 Cor. 8:2). Paul is speaking about the poor churches of Macedonia. He also writes, “Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor. 9:7).

3. We are to give generously. We read of the perfume Mary poured out upon Jesus Christ (John 12:1–5), which cost at least 300 denarii. That was the total wages of a man for a whole year. And elsewhere Paul exhorts, “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously” (2 Cor. 9:6).

4. Giving is our moral obligation. In Ephesians 4:28 Paul says, “He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need.”

5. No one can give unless he has received grace from God to do so. Paul declares, “And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. . . . But just as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us—see that you also excel in this grace of giving” (2 Cor. 8:1, 7). Some people only receive, but Jesus said it is more blessed to give than to receive.

6. We are to give regularly and on the first day of the week (1 Cor. 16:1–2).

7. We are to give proportionately, in keeping with our income (1 Cor. 16:1–2).

8. Poor people are not exempt from giving. Remember the widow who only had two mites? She gave everything she had (Luke 21:1–4). Paul wrote of the poor Macedonian churches, “For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own” (2 Cor. 8:3).

9. We should give not emotionally. We are not to succumb to fundraisers who come and work on our emotions until we give money. We are to give intelligently (2 Cor. 9:7). Each of us should give what we have decided in our heart throughout the week. In other words, we must think and pray about giving.

10. What is the key to giving? It is to give ourselves first to God—all that we are and all we have. Paul writes, “And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God’s will” (2 Cor. 8:5).

By giving our material things to God’s work, we are investing them in a way that will reap eternal dividends. Jesus said, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matt. 6:19–21).

Application

1. Have you given yourselves fully to the Lord, trusting in Jesus Christ alone for everything, especially for eternal life?

2. Do you support your family, and by so doing, live out your faith?

3. Do you support your parents and grandparents when they are in desperate need?

4. Do you support your pastor?

5. Do you support the poor in the church?

6. Do you work six days a week so that you are in a position to meet all your financial obligations?

7. Do you save for your own retirement, that is, when you are no longer able to work and make money?

8. Are you able to give an inheritance to your children? Paul says, “After all, children should not have to save up for their parents, but parents for their children” (2 Cor. 12:14).

9. As pastors, husbands, and parents, do you minister to your people in the fullness of the blessing of Christ?

May God help us to excel in this grace of giving. We have received all things from God; may we give in the way he wants us to. May he pour out his love in abundance upon us, for when we love, we will give. And may the Holy Spirit work in our hearts so that we may give sacrificially for the work of God’s church both at home and in the world.

¹ John Stott, Guard the Truth (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1996), 137.