1 Corinthians 16:1-2

"Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given orders to the churches of Galatia, so you must also do: On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come."

1. Giving should be regular - "First day of the week"
2. Giving should be systematic - "Lay something aside"
3. Giving should be proportionate - "As he may prosper"

1. Cheerful, not Grudgingly - 2 Cor. 9:7
   a. Non-Compulsive - Not by force, emotionalism, pressure, guilt!
2. Willingly, from the heart - Exodus 25:2, 35-36:2, Ezra 2:68-69
3. Motivated by Love and Generosity - Luke 21:1-4 (widow's mite), 1 Cor. 13:3
4. In Secret - Matthew 6:3-4
5. Give with Simplicity - Romans 12:8 KJV
    a. Give Honestly
6. Give Freely - Matthew 10:8
7. Give because of Agape Love - 1 Cor. 13:3

1. An "investing" formula for material goods and/or wealth
2. "To get something back"
3. Manipulated, motivated, or coerced by emotional appeals.
4. Impulse by tradition, customs or ritual.
5. Out of peer-pressure, "Everyone is doing it!"
6. When giving is not in accordance to your prospering.
7. "Removing" guilt (thus the term "guilt-money")

1. Regeneration - You must be "Born-Again!" A personal relationship with God.
2. Understand the Principles and Standards of Giving - 2 Cor. 9:6-15
3. Must possess Christian maturity - 2 Cor. 8:5
4. "No strings attached" - giving without a hidden agenda - Matthew 6:2
5. Giving is something we are, not something we do.

Giving reveals our value system. Jesus said, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Matthew 6:21). God does not ask us to give because He needs our resources. Rather, He challenges us to make Him the focus of our lives instead of our money and possessions.

1. We rob God! - Malachi 3
2. Forfeit the blessings promised in Malachi 3:10
3. Contradiction - To claim to have experienced the Grace of God in forgiveness and yet to be ungracious is a contradiction of New Testament truth, "Freely you have received, freely give". Matthew 10:8
4. Suspended Growth - Failure to thrive to Christian maturity.
5. The Sin of Forgetfulness - Deuteronomy 8:11-20

"Our universe operates under both physical and spiritual laws. Our gravity is a physical law, so is the law of giving a spiritual law. Jesus said, "Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you" (Luke 6:38). Paul said it this way "He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully" (2 Corinthians 9:6).

This law of giving is demonstrated in agriculture. If you plant a field of corn and are frugal in the planting seed - perhaps you plant each seed two feet apart instead of six inches- you'll reap a sparse crop. If you sow sparingly, you're going to reap sparingly. But if you sow bountifully, you'll also reap bountifully. That is exactly God's law of giving. A lot of times it is difficult to understand how these spiritual laws operate. And because we don't see how they could possibly function, we say, "since I can't understand how that works, I am keeping my money."

Chuck Smith, Living Water (Chapter 20)