Statement of Faith

A. Stewardship in the Church

God is the source of all blessings, temporal and spiritual; all that we have and are we owe to Him. Christians are in the dispensation of grace so grace giving is the procedure in stewardship. Believers in the Church age are not obligated to keep the Mosaic 23% tithe or the pre-Mosaic practices of making a one-time donation of 10% from the spoils of war. However, believers are still mandated to give today, but are to be led by the Holy Spirit in the amount they give. There are no legalistic percentages that are mandated because the Holy Spirit directs the amount. Furthermore, the church is not the storehouse since it is not in Jerusalem, is not the Jewish temple, and the Mosaic Law has been rendered inoperative. Therefore, the Holy Spirit directs believers in the age of grace to where He sovereignly chooses to channel funds. This could be to the local church but could also include various other missions, ministries, and people. Believers are therefore under obligation to serve Him with their time, talents, and material possessions; and should recognize all these as entrusted to them to use for the glory of God and for helping others. According to the Scriptures, Christians should contribute of their means cheerfully, regularly, systematically, individually, proportionately, and liberally under the direction of the Holy Spirit for the advancement of the Gospel on earth.

B. Principles in Giving

There are five basic principles of biblical giving. First, giving is a measure of the believer’s love for God. If the believer is laying up treasures here on earth, then the believer’s heart will be on earthly things. But if the believer is laying up his treasures in Heaven, his heart will be on heavenly things. Secondly, giving is an expression of faith. Thirdly, the believer will never out-give God. Philippians 4:15-19 teaches that if the believer gives, God will supply his needs; the believer need not worry about his needs, as God will take care of these things. He should be more concerned about giving, because giving will result in God’s supplying the believer’s needs. Fourthly, giving should be done in secret. The fifth principle is that the believer should be willing to work in order to give more. One should give as one has purposed to give, according to one’s ability. A similar point is made in Acts 11:29. One should give according to his ability and according to his own free will or as he has purposed. The believer should not do it out of a sense of necessity.

C. Gentile Indebtedness to Jewish Believers

Furthermore, according to the apostle Paul, Gentile believers are required to support Jewish believers (Romans 15:25-27) since Gentiles have become partakers of Jewish spiritual blessings. According to Paul, the Gentile believers have become indebted to the Jews, especially Jewish believers. The way of fulfilling or paying off their indebtedness is by sharing their material things with Jewish believers. As Gentiles have become partakers in their spiritual things, they are now to fulfill their indebtedness by giving in a material way to Jewish believers.

Matthew 6:1-4, 19-21; 19:21; 23:23; 25:14-29; Luke 12:16-21, 42; 16:1-13; Acts 2:44-47; 5:1-11; 17:24-25; 20:35; Romans 6:6-22; 12:1-2; 15:25-27; 1 Corinthians 4:1-2; 6:19-20; 12; 16:1-4; 2 Corinthians 8-9; 12:15; Philippians 4:10-19; I Peter 1:18-19.