In an era filled with misconceptions about giving, Rick Hughes sets out to clarify the principles of grace giving. With vivid anecdotes and scripture references, Rick highlights the importance of giving with the right motivation and dispels myths surrounding obligatory tithes. Learn about the role of Christian giving as a form of worship and the significance of doing so free of compulsion and guilt, ultimately transforming your perception of contributing to the faith.
Welcome to the Flatline with your host, Rick Hughes. For the next 30 minutes, you’ll be inspired, motivated, educated, but never manipulated. Now, your host, Rick Hughes.
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Good morning and welcome to the Flatline. I’m your host, Rick Hughes, and for the next few minutes, you have a cordial invitation to stick around and listen to the things we have to say. We’re not going to con you. We’re not going to try to trick you. We’re not gonna solicit anything from you. We just wanna give you some information, information that will help you verify as well as identify the plan of God for your life. And if you do that, then you can orient and adjust to the plan at your discretion. It’s up to you. You’re a free American. You have volition. You have a choice. You have a chance to choose. And you can make your own decision. You know, the world is full of information. The wisdom of the world is out there. And there’s also the divine wisdom, what we call divine viewpoint, the Bible, the Word of God. So basically, there are only two systems of thought in the world today, human viewpoint, which motivates by Satan, and divine viewpoint, which comes from God. Human viewpoint versus divine viewpoint. So people in their great wisdom reject God, reject his word, kick it all out the door and say, I don’t believe it, it’s not right, written by men, yada, yada, yada, yada. And they go for human viewpoint. They would rather trust a man than trust the infallible word of God. Remember, the Bible is alive and powerful, sharper than a two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder the soul and the spirit and the joints and the marrow of anyone who listens, believes, hears, lives it, understands it. That’s the great thing about the Bible. It gives you wisdom, and wisdom gives you discernment and insight. Insight gives you the ability to see the unknown, and that’s what Scripture does. It gives you the ability to see the unknown. That’s where faith comes in, because you walk by faith. You know the end results and what it’s going to be. So God gave you two ends, one of those ends you think with, your head, your brain, one of those ends you sit with, that’s your rear end. And success in life is going to depend on which one of those ends you use. Heads, you’ll win it, and tails, you’ll lose it. So I hope you’re listening. I hope you’re learning, because the Flatline is designed for two things. Number one, to introduce you to the most fantastic gift God ever gave, which is his anointed son, Jesus Christ our Lord. And secondly, to give you information about and for me to ferret out those who may be hungry for more information. That’s what I’m always looking for. I’m looking for positive volition, people that want to learn and exploit the grace of God, understand it, use it in their life, and go on to represent Jesus Christ in their everyday activities. So thank you for listening to the FLOT line. Remember, FLOT is a military acronym for the Forward Line of Troops. And we’re talking about 10 unique problem-solving devices found in the Bible. Nothing new that I discovered. This is something my pastor put together years ago. But it’s all accurate information. When you learn these 10 problem-solving devices that are taught in the Scripture, then you can stop the outside sources of adversity before they roll into the inside source of stress in your life. learning how to rebound your sin, learning how to be filled with the Holy Spirit, learning how to walk by faith, learning how to live by grace, learning how to orient to God’s Word, recognizing your personal sense of destiny, developing virtue love for God the Father and impersonal love for others, and sharing the happiness of God. and eventually being occupied with Jesus Christ. Those are the 10 problem-solving devices. We have all that in a book form. If you’d like to order the book, just write to us, email us from rickhughesministries.org. It’s free, no charge ever for anything that comes from this ministry, and that’s part of what we’ll talk about today. We don’t solicit money. We don’t ask for money. We don’t sell anything. We don’t con you by saying, if you’ll just give us this, we’ll give you that. We just want to cover the cost of mailing. No, we don’t do that. If God motivates you to seek out truth, you contact us. It is free. God gives freely. And I’ve always believed if God’s in it, God will pay for it. That’s how we manage 27 radio stations across America this morning. If God’s in it, God pays for it. So if the money’s not there, then we shut it down. It’s just that simple. So let’s talk today about a subject that is very dear to my heart. I couldn’t operate as an evangelist. I couldn’t operate as a ministry without grace giving. Without people donating, contributing to our ministry, to our organization, which is a tax-free organization. Now, I’m not asking you to give any money. I just want to go over this subject with you. Christian giving. That’s what I want to cover today with you. Because this is run amok today in the Christian church. There’s so many gimmicks, so many games. So many crooks trying to persuade you to chip in a few bucks. So let’s look at the principles here. The greatest gift ever given to the world is the gift God gave, which is his son, the Lord Jesus Christ. That is the testimony of grace giving because Jesus Christ alone took the judgment for our sin and he was born into the Adamic race and he didn’t have a sin nature like you and I do. We have an imputed sin nature from Adam. But here we are, we’re sinful. He was not, he was virgin born. He didn’t have Adam’s sin nature. and never in his whole life did he even commit a sin. He was the spotless lamb of God without sin that takes away the sin of the world. That’s why the Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5, 18, now all things are from God who has reconciled himself to us through Christ. That’s how we come to the Father, through Christ, and has given to us the ministry of reconciliation. That’s your job and my job to share the good news that God is reconciled to man through Christ. In other words, man’s sins have been judged on the cross. Christ paid for those sins, and we can have a wonderful relationship with God the Father. through Christ, that’s why the Bible says, he that knew no sin was made sin for us, so we can be made the righteousness of God through him. But for a Christian, if we ever wanna talk about giving, giving money to your church, giving money to a missionary, giving money to anybody. Giving is a lot more than simply throwing a few bucks on the offering plate. It’s actually a function of worship since it involves not only the money that you give, but a soul response and a correct mental attitude when you do it. I’ve watched people give. I’ve been told things about how to get people to give. When I first got into the ministry, I was told that I needed to go out and raise my support and buttonhole people and ask them to give money to me every month and I didn’t feel comfortable to that and I didn’t do that. I’ve watched a Billy Graham crusade where the buckets were passed to the many in the crowds and the buckets were thrown up in the air and money went everywhere when the people disrupted the Billy Graham crusade that I was at. So giving, you know, should you pass a plate before unbelievers? I don’t think you should. I don’t think you should ever ask any unbeliever to support the ministry of God. I think you need to ask him to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. But is the Christian mandated to give an offering to his church or to his missionaries that he knows? And the answer is each one of us, this is 2 Corinthians 9, 7, each one of us must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under any type of compulsion because God loves the well-motivated giver. Yes, God does expect you to give offerings to your church and to support your missionaries. There’s nothing wrong with that, but there are a lot of misconceptions about giving in the church today. It’s funny how people think sometimes, you know, like, if I give enough money, then God will give me what I desire. I remember years ago when I was coaching some professional bass anglers, One of those bass anglers told me that if God will let me win this tournament, I’ll give him 10%. And I thought, wait a minute. You’re trying to hustle God for 10% and you want to win $100,000? You want to get God 10%? Why not give it all to him, brother? Well, that didn’t go over too well. But you can’t con God to give you what you want. You’re going to tempt him with a few bucks. That’s crazy. If I give enough money, God will give me what I desire. It doesn’t work that way. Some people even give out of guilt, maybe because they possess more money than they should. or maybe because they have a guilty conscience and they’ve done something wrong and they feel guilty about it and they think they can assuage their guilt complex by throwing some money in the offering plate. That won’t get rid of the guilt. If you have sinned as a Christian, giving money is not the issue. Rebound is the issue. Problem-solving device number one. If we confess our sins, He’s faithful and just to forgive us of our sin. and to purify us from all wrongdoing. If you give money out of fellowship, not under control of the Holy Spirit, having unconfessed sin in your life, it’s just human good. It’s what the Bible calls wood, hay, and stubble, and it will be burned up at the judgment seat of Christ. It is not rewardable because you did it in the energy of the flesh. And there’s a lot of people that do that every Sunday morning in their local church. They throw a few bucks on their offering plate. Maybe they cheated someone in business. Maybe they cheated on their spouse. Maybe they did something illegal, wrong. And they try to assuage their guilt complex by giving money. I’ve had that happen in my ministry where people were involved in things that were wrong. And they gave money to us. We had no idea they were wrong. We had no idea what they had done. But it was all to assuage their guilt complex. In the end, it cost everybody, them in prison and us having to pay back the money they gave. But it happens in life. God is faithful. He always supplies our need. But grace-motivated giving is the way to go. You give motivated by the grace of God. There’s a false motivation for giving, and you’ve got to be careful about that. So understand that. You’ve got to remember, we live in the church age. We do not live in the age of Israel. So that’s the first thing we’ve got to get clear here. We have to distinguish between what they did in the Old Testament called tithing and what’s the difference between tithing and giving because many Christians today are told they must tithe 10% of their income. I was in one town speaking where a businessman asked me to come to his office and he said that his local church had sent a CPA to look at his books to determine how much he could give to the church. That’s crazy. That’s crazy. And yet it goes on, manipulating people, trying to intimidate people to give money to the church. I know another situation where the church wanted to expand and the deacons looked at the financial ability of each member and determined among themselves what those members should give and went to those members and asked them to give that amount. That’s crazy. That’s a violation of grace. Did God command Israel to bring tithes to the temple? Yes. To support the priest? Yes. That was a form of taxation and everybody in Israel paid it. Not just the redeemed, but even the unredeemed. Not just believers, but unbelievers. Leviticus 27, 30 through 34, thus all the tithe of the land. of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree is the Lord’s. It is holy to the Lord. If therefore a man wishes to redeem part of his tithe, he shall add to it one fifth for every 10th part of a herd or flock. Whatever passes under the rod, the 10th one shall be holy to the Lord. He is not to be concerned whether it is good or bad, nor shall he exchange it. Or if he does exchange it, then both it and the substitute shall become holy, and it shall not be redeemed. These are the mandates which are from the Lord. The Lord commanded Moses for the sons of Israel at Mount Sinai. So, giving functions in every dispensation. Tithing does not. Giving functions in every dispensation, tithing does not. Israel had the gift, they gave gifts, but they also paid their tithes. Old Testament tithing in Israel was the only bonafide tithing in the Bible. And Old Testament tithing was not synonymous with giving, since giving went way beyond the requirement to pay your taxes. In Proverbs 11, 24, and 25, there’s one who scatters and yet increases all the more, and there’s one who withholds what is justly due, and yet it results only in more want. In verse 25, Proverbs 11, the generous man will be prosperous. and he who waters will himself be watered. My ministry has been watered by generous people that provide the money for us to rent the airtime to play these radio shows, for us to travel and speak in schools and to print books and promote material like that. It’s all grace giving, grace of God. We never ask anybody for a dime, and I’ve learned that from my pastor at his church. so grace motivates people giving and that’s the right mental attitude we live by grace we give in grace no strings attached that means if someone decides to give a gift they don’t have any route right to determine what the person does with that gift that’s between that person and the lord so you give to the lord And that person receives from the Lord, and it’s not about who does the giving or who does the spending. Giving has to be done freely, by grace. And it’s interesting that in the New Testament, the Macedonian Gentiles actually supported Paul’s ministry. He wrote about it in 2 Corinthians 8, 3, where he said, for I testify that according to their ability and even beyond their ability, they gave of their own accord. So giving is wonderful. We’re all mandated to give. We should give as God has prospered us. But that doesn’t cut you down to a 10% hack and make you feel like you’ve done some wonderful deed because I put in 10% in the offering plate and I did my tithe. Again, tithing was for Israel in the Old Testament, and everyone in the nation paid it. It was a form of taxation. It was not giving. So since giving is a privilege, that means we reflect God’s grace and glorify God when we give. Is there anything wrong with giving? No, if you’re filled with the Holy Spirit when you give, it’s wonderful. If you’re not, if you’re giving under compulsion or if you’re giving out of guilt, then it’s just human good and it will not glorify God and it will be burned up at the judgment seat of Christ. So let me give you some principles that my pastor taught me many years ago. I’m going to read from his notes. He said, giving is a commemoration of grace since God the Father gave his Son as the ultimate gift to humanity. Giving is a commemoration of grace since God the Father gave his Son as the ultimate gift to humanity. So we have the first gift, the greatest gift, the gift of our salvation, the gift of the forgiveness of God through Jesus Christ. Two, as we recognize God’s grace in our own lives, then we give on the basis of our attitude from the Word of God in our soul. It is the Word of God in our soul that motivates us, that enlightens us. It’s called wisdom, discernment, understanding, insight. When we have that wisdom, then we know when it’s right to give and when it’s not right to give. It’s always wonderful to see. It’s amazing for me to see in my ministry the times when when the Lord provides exactly what we need, exactly, without me having to ask anybody, without me having to tell anybody. Like you, I have friends that say, if you ever need anything, brother, just let me know. And my response is I’ll let the Lord know, and if he lets you know, that’s between you and him. But I’m not coming to you, I’m going to him. And that’s what we should do. The sequence in giving begins in the soul first. That’s soul appreciation for the gift that God gave us. And then the overt act of giving, since giving an extension of our spiritual growth. Most people haven’t grown enough to even know how to give yet. Most people give out of compulsion. Most people give out of guilt. Most people give out of wrong motivation. When you grow spiritually and understand those wonderful problem-solving devices that are on your way to becoming a mature believer, then your giving will be much greater, not financially, I’m not saying that, but it’d be a much better benefit for you because you’re giving from motivation of the word of God. That’s why we say the issue is never the giver. It is not the gift. Since the focus always is on virtue love, that’s your appreciation for God’s grace provision, and God’s grace, grace orientation, problem solving device number four. So when we have these problem solving devices in our life, then they even motivate us to live the right way. But if you give under emotionalism, that means there are always going to be strings attached. Do not ever try to tell people what to do with the money you give them. If you give somebody a gift, leave it in the Lord’s hand. That’s why I say give it to the Lord and they can receive it from the Lord. End of story. Giving under emotionalism means there will always be strings attached. So if you’re at a church service and they try to get you all worked up and try to get you emotional and we got to get up to this goal or we got to get up to that goal, then come on, people. Fork it out. Put it in the plate. Let’s go. Hallelujah. Praise the Lord. Leave. Go find another church. Get out of there. If God’s in it, God will pay for it. Here’s a novel solution. I’m going to give you a novel solution. What if a church quit taking offerings? There’s nothing wrong with it. It’s not a sin. But what if a church just put a box in the back and said, if you want to give, put it right here. What if all ministries operated like that? Quit asking for money. Quit soliciting money. Quit selling information. Quit printing books and selling books and quit selling tapes. All they’ll say, we’re not selling it. We just want to cover the cost of mailing and distribution. If they quit asking for money and quit soliciting money, they may be out of business tomorrow because they always have to come up with a new gimmick and a new way to get people to give. It’s so wonderful to know that the Lord provides all your needs. You don’t have to manipulate anybody. Just shut up, do your job, and let the Lord pay for it. And if he doesn’t pay for it, go do something else. You’re in the wrong business. So you don’t give under emotionalism. And if you don’t have the filling of the Holy Spirit, as I said, problem-solving device number two, then everything you do is going to be burned up at the judgment seat of Christ. Every dime you gave, every nickel you gave, every offering you put in there, it’s going to be burned up as wood, hay, and stubble because you did it under the energy of the flesh. In the New Testament in 1 Corinthians 16, two, on the first day of the week, let each one of you put aside and save on the basis of his own prosperity, so that no collection be taken when I come. That’s Paul. He didn’t want the offering plate passed. If you wanna give some money, set it aside, and when I show up, then you can give it to me. But we’re not gonna solicit money when I’m speaking, is what Paul’s saying. So what is this thing about tithing, the true meaning of tithing? Well, it’s not spiritual giving in the Old Testament. I mean, even today, in the church age, tithing can promote great arrogance. But it was never spiritual giving in Israel. Tithing was always 10% income tax under the law of Moses. For all citizens, 10% of the tithe for all Jewish citizens to maintain the Levites to support the priesthood and so that they could present the word of God in worship, Numbers 18, 21. That’s not pertinent today. We’re not in the age of Israel. We’re not under the old system of taxation anymore. There was even a 10% tithe for all Jewish citizens to support the cost of everyday living at the priest. That’s what I just said. But every third year, Israel would require the payment of a charity tithe of 10%. And those who legitimately needed help could get it, Deuteronomy 14, 28 through 29. That was another 10% of income tax paid by all the people. It was charity. It was not socialism. It was not socialism. Charity is wonderful, socialism is not wonderful. So key concepts in giving, here you go. If you encounter any believer who pressures you to give, has a system of gimmicks, run, get away. They’ll be dunning you for your money. That’s inconsistent with grace. And two, be alert to false ideas of how giving, how much you can give and when you should give. Listen, people tell you today the more you give, the more God will bless you. They don’t tell you. That’s not true. If you’re not giving the right way, you’re not going to get any blessing from God in the judgment seat of Christ because it’s going to be burned up as wood, hay, or stubble. Be alert to those false ideas of giving. Be alert to people trying to manipulate you. Try to tell you how much to give. What you give is between you and God, and that’s grace all the way. Here’s something interesting. Grace giving would never deprive you or your family of the necessities that you have in life. What is God saying? Pay your bills first. Feed your family first. Do not deprive your family. When you’re giving in grace, it demands proper motivation. The filling of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God resident in your soul is appreciation for what God gave you, not deprivation. The right motivation, not deprivation. Not you saying, honey, I don’t afford to buy groceries this week because we gave it all to the church because that preacher said if we’d give, if we’d plant the seed, that God would multiply it. And you’re a sucker enough to believe that stuff while he goes and buys him another jet airplane. Grace giving demands proper motivation, not deprivation. And giving should always be a matter of free will. Free will. No one should even coerce you to give anything. You might not always have the money, but you can always have appreciation. Motivation comes from appreciation for the word of God in your soul. But listen to 1 Timothy about this, 5.8. If anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his house, he is denied the faith and he’s worse than an unbeliever. There you go. So when you give money to the Lord or the Lord’s ministry, it has to be properly motivated individually. and properly administered. Any believer in a local church or in a ministry who administers funds must be filled with the Holy Spirit and must glorify God. Now listen, some believers have the gift of giving. That’s a spiritual gift. God prospers some people so they can be a channel of blessing to other people. If you have the gift of giving, that’s wonderful. Just remember where the prosperity is coming from. But finally, giving remains one of the greatest challenges to grace in the Christian life, since it’s always an act of worship. So if you’re not giving from the proper motivation, then all your gifts are merely human good. There’s a whole lot to say on this and we can provide you a book called Giving, Gimmick, or Grace written by my pastor many years ago. If you’d like a copy, let us know. We’ll get it to you. Giving, Gimmick, or Grace. It goes into the whole thing from the Old Testament to the New Testament. and shows how you can understand the spiritual gift of giving. So thank you for listening. Thank you for paying attention. I hope this has encouraged you a little bit. This is not me asking for any money. We’re fine. We’re not soliciting money. We’re just talking about the principles of giving in the New Testament as compared to the principles of giving in the Old Testament. So I hope you’ll come back next week, and I hope this study might have freed some chains that were binding you I hope you’ll continue to listen to our show every Sunday, same time, same place. So until then, this is your host, Rick Hughes, saying thank you for listening to The Flatline.
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Thank you for listening to The Floodline with your host, Rick Hughes. If you’d like to contact Rick, please write to him at P.O. Box 100, Cropwell, Alabama, 35054, or online at www.rickhughesministries.org.
