THE CHURCH: A
PEOPLE WHO GIVE RADICALLY
I believe that God delights in his children when they
take his commands to the extreme limits in joyful obedience. We could call this
“radical faith.”
Recently,
I had a conversation with a friend about giving to ministries and causes. One
word that he used stuck in my memory bank and has not left it since: Risk! What
do we risk when we give our money to others? “Risk” flies in the face of our
culture’s message of “comfort.” We desire more than anything to be comfortable
financially, to not have to worry about having enough. There is nothing wrong
with wanting to have enough, unless it becomes an obsession.
“Risk”
asks us to give generously now, not worrying about future consequences or
perceived needs that are long down the road. “Risk” means giving because
someone needs you and what you have, even if it means being the one in need
later on. Our pride grimaces at this because we don’t want to be the one in
need. Being in need means having to humbly receive the help of others. But
being in such a position also means being willing to put our faith in God, that
he will provide. That’s what some would call a risk; others might call it
“faith.” Faith is risky. Or shall we call it “radical”?
Out of
our text today, Acts 4:32-5:11, I want to share four basic elements for radical
giving. The church we have been studying in Acts was filled with the Spirit and
on fire for the Lord Jesus. Out of that fire came a passion for giving. But the
church was not perfect, even at this early stage. So from the Ananias and
Sapphira incident, I also want to share four hindrances to radical giving.
If we
are a people filled with the Holy Spirit we will live out the words of our
faith through deeds that match our confession.
Consider
with me the four basic elements of radical giving.
The Basic Elements for Radical Giving
a) Transformed
hearts and minds – Believing in the risen Lord Jesus Christ had
revolutionized the thinking of this church. Following the resurrection of
Jesus, the Pentecost event, and their prayers regarding persecution, this body
of believers had become connected. “All
the believers were one in heart and mind” (4:32).
There
were two effects of believing in Jesus: the heart was loosened in relationship
to things, and tightened in relationship to people. The key to this
transformation was believing in Jesus as Savior and Lord, and trusting him for
all you need, being satisfied with what God has for you in Jesus.[i]
This faith drives a new attitude in regards to people and things.
We can
see this effect easily in Canadian giving stats. Macleans reported that the
“gold standard for generosity in the country…is Steinbach, Man.” The median
donation was $1,830 in 2013 which was equal to 6.6% of the median total income
in the city. The second place community was Abbotsford-Mission, BC.[ii]
Macleans won’t report this, but is it surprising to you that both communities
are the Bible belts of their provinces?
b) A new attitude
concerning possessions – Faith in Jesus cannot help but affect how we see
our possessions and money. Suddenly, what we clung to as if a life preserver in
a sea of uncertainty becomes a mere tool in the service of the King.
Luke
carefully reminds us that the church of Christ was a sharing community. We have
heard this before in 2:44 almost word-for-word. Luke’s burden seemed to be to
set Christians free from the love of things, to firm up our love for people,
and to use what we have for their betterment. “No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they
shared everything they had” (4:32b). It makes you wonder if this church
were around today, they wouldn’t have a communal riding lawnmower or
snow-blower.
The
foundation for this mindset was the teaching of Jesus (Luke 12:32-34). Here
Jesus taught that we have been given the kingdom – what can compare with such a
prize? So sell what you have and give to the poor.
c) A new attitude
towards the poor – A common refrain heard in society is that the poor are
poor because of bad decisions. In other words, a person is poor because they
deserve to be poor. That thinking has seeped into the church and we hear it in
idle conversation. Jewish thinking in Jesus’ day was that a rich person was
blessed by God, and conversely a poor person lived under a curse.
The teaching
of Jesus birthed a new attitude in the minds of believers towards the poor. We
read in v.33 that the apostles taught about the risen Lord and God’s grace
worked powerfully among them. It changed them so “that there were no needy persons among them” (34a). Out of the
grace of God, the church learned to show grace in material ways to those in
need.[iii]
If the
love of Christ has impacted you, that love will flow naturally out of you to
others. John makes the connection between Christ’s sacrifice and our duty to
our brother in 1 John 3 (1 Jn 3:16-17). If we have received his love, we will
love others, including, or especially, the poor.[iv]
d) A new attitude
of sacrificial giving – If our hearts and minds have been transformed by
our faith in Christ, and if our grip on our possessions is loosened so that we
care for the poor more than for luxurious living, to sacrifice for their sakes
will come naturally. The attitude of the early church was such that they sold
houses or land giving the money to the apostles to distribute among the poor.
Some use
the old adage “give till it hurts.” That is not the sense here. Barnabas, the
example of this sacrificial giving, was so joyful in his giving that he was
called “son of encouragement.” The Lord does not want us to hurt, nor to
deprive our families of their needs for some so-called “noble” cause. God loves
a cheerful giver; giving should be a joy, not a burden. Paul told the
Corinthians, “Each man should give what
he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion”
(9:7). You can’t give sacrificially (that is, as worship to God) if you are
grumbling about your loss.
Love
motivates sacrifice. From the overflow of your love for a cause or a person,
sacrifice will come easily and joyfully.
Four Hindrances to Radical Giving
While Joseph a.k.a. Barnabas was a shining example of
sacrificial giving, Ananias and Sapphira revealed that the church was not
filled with perfect people. It never has been and never will be on this earth.
Luke does not hide the sins of the first church; he bravely sets them before
the reader to remind him or her that we can all fall and be hindered.
a) Wanting to hold
on to money – The first hindrance to radical giving we see in Ananias and
Sapphira was a love of money. The husband conspires with his wife to sell a
piece of land, bring most of the money to the apostles, but keep a little for
themselves and tell the church that they gave all of it.
What a
misunderstanding of the spirit of giving. There was no church rule saying that
they had to sell their property. We read that “no one claimed any of
their possessions as their own,” but that didn’t mean they didn’t have stuff.
They simply acted as though stuff didn’t matter. No one forced Ananias to sell
his property. If his heart didn’t tell him to sell it and bring the money,
don’t do it, Peter implied.
The love
of money does strange things to the mind and to one’s actions. Paul told
Timothy that the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.[v] For
Ananias, that meant lying.
b) Wanting to
appear generous – Why would Ananias lie to the church? Barnabas was lauded
as a godly believer for his generosity and selflessness. Ananias may have seen
this and desired the same recognition. Deep in the heart of each of us is this
little nagging demon that taints our righteous acts: this one is called “competition.”
If we see someone getting attention for a praiseworthy deed, we can either
rejoice with them or envy them.
Prompted
by a love of money and a desire to be seen as generous, Ananias’ mixed motives
led to his lying. Perhaps this is why Jesus warned people who gave to the poor
not to let their left hand know what the right hand is doing (Mt 6:1-4). Our
hearts love flattery; we can’t help but brag a little. But Jesus tells us that
our Father, our biggest fan, knows what we do, so do it in secret. (news story
on prom date).
The
Bible calls mixed motives “hypocrisy.” And hypocrisy is always motivated by
self-love. We want to impress others to make them think we are something that
we know in our hearts we are not.
c) Thinking you
can fool the Holy Spirit – Hypocrisy does not fool the Holy Spirit. In
response to Ananias’ declaration that he had given the whole amount, Peter
calls him out. “How is it that Satan has
so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit…You have not lied to
men but to God” (5:3&4).
First,
Peter equates lying to the Holy Spirit with lying to God; second, Peter implies
that lying to the church is the same as lying to the Spirit. While the story of
Ananias and Sapphira’s conspiracy has a drastic end, perhaps even over-the-top
in terms of judgment, it does emphasize the seriousness of lying to the Holy
Spirit – or trying to discredit the Holy Spirit.
How does
a person discredit the Holy Spirit? The couple may not have truly believed that
the Spirit was present in the church. Or they understood he was present but
didn’t take him seriously. Perhaps they thought God would tolerate their
indiscretions that they were under grace in this matter.
d) Thinking there
are no consequences for deceit – How wrong they were. Ananias fell dead;
then when his wife kept up the pretense of generosity, she died.
You
might wonder why this couple was treated so severely. If hypocrisy was so grave
a sin to the Holy Spirit, why haven’t others died? I think that God wanted to
set an early example to the church. God wanted the church to know that the
moment we start pretending to be what we really are not, death enters in,
because we are cut off from the vital reality of communion with Christ and his
body, the church.[vi]
This explains the contrast between life in the Spirit and, as Peter put it,
allowing Satan to fill you. That is death.
There
are consequences to hypocrisy, pretense and deceit before God and his church.
The church itself has to take this seriously and bring discipline to the body.
There are two extremes to church discipline however: Extreme Severity, where we
discipline members for the most trivial offense, and Extreme Laxity, where
there is no discipline at all, even for serious offenses.
If we
take a strong stand against sin, someone will say we are not being loving. But
to tolerate sin is to encourage it to spread through the church and destroy
others. That’s not loving either.
What
does this have to do with radical giving? Integrity. To walk in the light, as
John calls it, is to walk transparently before God and the church, to give
without pretense, to serve without applause, and to love Christ above all else.
Several years ago, I was asked to be part of a panel on
giving before a college chapel at Steinbach Bible College. The theme was “Why I
enjoy giving to SBC.” It seemed an odd topic, and I was chosen because our
church supports SBC. Others on the panel went on and on about the joy of giving
their money away. And I, being a bit of an agitator, decided to take a different
approach: I said, I do not enjoy giving my money away, but I am compelled by
the love of Christ and his kingdom purposes to do so.
A very
pious answer it was (I was trying to be different). But the truth is, giving
money away can be, should be, and is, a joy. My wife has taught me that through
her generosity. I believe that the church in Jerusalem could not help
themselves – they were so overjoyed and filled with the love of Jesus Christ
that they just could not help themselves. They considered it a privilege to
bless others with material goods and monies. The benefit of this attitude is
freedom, freedom from the cares of this world.
Paul,
reflecting on the joy of giving, left us with considerations when giving. I
think this is a good way to close as we think about radical giving:
“…if the
willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not
according to what he does not have. Our desire is not that others might be
relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. At the
present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their
plenty will supply what you need. Then there will be equality…Remember this:
Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously
will also reap generously” (2 Cor. 8:13-14 & 9:6).
AMEN
[i]
John Piper, “Be Like Barnabas Not Like Ananias” sermon, Feb. 10, 1991.
[ii]
Aaron Hutchins, “No, Alberta does not give the most to charity” Macleans Feb.
20, 2015.
[iii]
Fulfills the OT teaching that “there should be no poor among you…” Deut. 15:4
[iv]
See also James 2:15-17
[v]
1 Timothy 6:10
[vi]
Ray Stedman, “Body Life” sermon, Peninsula Bible Church, 4/26/70
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