People have offered things to God since Cain and Abel (Genesis 4:3-4), but many of those offerings were related to asking forgiveness for wrongdoing (sin) (Exodus 29:14). Since Christ is our continual sin offering or sacrifice today (Hebrews 9:24-28), the contributions we make to God’s service are not for asking forgiveness, but rather for demonstrating our love and thankfulness (Hebrews 13:15-16). This is centered around doing good and sharing.
Doing good and sharing is not restricted to money. Paul describes it as presenting your entire being (or body) to God for spiritual service (Romans 12:1). This includes time, skill, physical energy, emotional energy, prayer, possessions, as well as money. We see an early example of this when people donated possessions and their labor for building the tabernacle or tent of meeting to serve as the center of God’s presence for the Israelites after they were freed from slavery (Exodus 35:20-29).
Jesus made numerous teachings about the ideal nature and intent for offerings. He called attention to a poor widow to indicate how the level of ability determines the worth of an offering in God’s eyes (Luke 21:1-4). It is not for show (Matthew 6:1-4), and is not to be limited to just your friends (Matthew 5:38-48; 7:12; Luke 10:30-37). It includes loans as well (Matthew 5:42). Jesus knew that people’s hearts would be tied to the type of wealth (or treasure) they accumulated and how they use it (Matthew 6:19-21). In all of this, good judgement must be used when selecting who to provide an offering to (Matthew 7:6) since not everyone will appreciate it or use it wisely. In all this, we should expect to be blessed according to how we have been a blessing to others (Luke 6:38).
After the sacrifice Jesus, the Christ, made for us, we see collections and offerings being made for multiple reasons. Some were for special occurrences or special needs of others (Acts 4:34-35; 6:1; II Corinthians 8:1-6) which may be local or far away (I Corinthians 16:1-4). Using the example just referenced, we continue to make our primary collections on the first day of every week (Sunday) although it is not limited to just this one day each week.
Other offerings were made for the purpose of allowing people to work directly for the spiritual needs of the church and its members (I Corinthians 9:9-11; I Timothy 5:17-18). It was and is still common for those ministering to others to receive offerings from those ministered to so they can spend more time ministering.
Our offerings are not a fixed amount, but rather according to our ability (Acts 11:29-30) and the need (II Corinthians 8:12-15). It is to be cheerfully offered without pressure according to your own decision (II Corinthians 9:7). It is to be a blessing to both the giver and those receiving (Acts 20:35) and some may be especially gifted with the ability to give more than others (Romans 12:6-8).
Some have said that you should “give until it hurts”, but I believe the instruction of God is to give until it feels good. We are made for good works (Matthew 5:16; Ephesians 2:10) and repeated scientific studies have shown that we feel better after helping others who are not able to help us back in turn.
Thus, on the first day of each week, we take up a free-will collection of money for the work of the church and to help others. We also contribute food periodically for those in need (First Fruits each month), donate time and labor for others (camp work days, etc.) and generally show our love and thankfulness.
Written by Cliff Copass