“Money Sermon” Mark 12:41-44
SCRIPTURE INTRO: No matter where you are in the Christian life,
money is an issue. It’s something you struggle with.
So it’s no surprise Jesus addresses it in the final week of his life.
INTRO: The Scottish have a reputation for being very tight with their money.
The story is told of a Scottish laird who went to church one Sunday,
when the plate was passed, he put in his offering, but then realized
to his horror that he had put in a pound when he meant to put in a penny.
So he got up and walked back to the narthex where deacons were counting offering
he explained what had happened and said he wanted the pound back, his intention
was to give a penny.
The head deacon said, I’m sorry my laird, that’s not how it works.
You can put money in but you can’t take it out.
And they got into an argument but the deacons stood firm.
So finally the laird said: O keep it then, at least I’ll get credit for a pound in heaven.
An old deacon said: No, you’ll only get credit for a penny.
There are few things that give us a clearer window into our hearts than money—
and what we do with it—
and how we follow God’s commands to give it away.
Few things that reveal more about what we really think God is like,
and how well we understand the Gospel.
And out of all of the stories about money and giving in the Bible
there are few that are as convicting and thought-provoking as this one.
Here we see a woman who really trusts God and believes the Gospel—
and that is expressed in the most concrete of ways—
she gives to God all she has.
I know the stereotype of preachers is that they like to preach about giving.
But that’s not me. I approach this subject with fear and trembling.
I’m aware of the fact that for some of you this is a painful subject.
Even now you are saying—I wish I had nursery duty today.
I already know I’m not giving like I should.
Our finances are so tight. Last thing I need is to hear this on Sunday.
Others are saying: I’m already giving all I can.
This is not something I need to think about any more.
I’m at a level of giving I’m comfortable with and don’t want to rock the boat.
Not in the mood for opening this up again and asking the questions
about my giving and my lifestyle.
I know that for all of us, self included, money and giving are things that
we struggle with all our lives as Christians. Even when we arrive at
those times when pretty satisfied with what we are giving,
Lord has a way of stirring things up, and challenging us again.
But as difficult as it is to talk about money—we need to hear it.
All the Word of God and the Holy Spirit to challenge us again
in this very sensitive, very personal, and very spiritually revealing
part of our lives.
Let’s look at this passage and subject under two headings:
1. Why you should give
2. How much you should give
Those are the two big issues in this passage—
and those are the two big things we struggle with.
MP#1 Why you should give
We’re considering the matter of motive.
Historians tell us that in the
bronze containers where people would put their offerings.
Notice that little detail that the rich people would throw in large amounts.
It doesn’t take much imagination to understand why they threw it in.
Money was in coin. If you threw in a large amount, all of those silver and gold
coins would clink and clang in that bronze container and people would hear it.
Would say: Wow! Did you hear that! What big giver! Who is that?
Just so you know. When we pass the plates here, we would prefer not to hear
the clink of coins. We want to hear the swish of bills.
But this detail in the story alerts us to the matter of motives.
Jesus does talk about how much this widow gave—we will too.
But what impressed Jesus the most was her motive.
That’s what set her apart from many who were giving their offerings that day.
And your motive for giving is what is most important to God.
That’s true of all of our obedience. God wants us to obey for the right reasons.
So before talk about why we should give, talk about why we often give.
Sometimes we give to be seen—just like the rich in this story.
We give out of pride. Out of a desire for respect. To be known as generous.
There are ways we can let people know.
Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount:
If that is your motive—to be thought well of by men—then you have your reward.
Also talks in that sermon about the importance of giving in secret.
Reason church needs to be careful about announcing that So and so has given gift.
Another motive is guilt. You hear a sermon about sacrificial giving.
Maybe hear a missionary talk about the great needs he has.
Hear an appeal from some Christian cause.
And you feel vaguely guilty. Guilty of our luxuries and lifestyle.
Maybe the week before you’ve spent big bucks on something.
But you really don’t want to examine our lifestyle, make any changes.
So you make a gesture gift. Write a check.
And that way you don’t have to think about it any more.
And it gets rid of the guilty feeling mostly.
Another motive is fear. If you don’t give, God is going to make you pay.
I was talking to some members of our church several months ago who told me
that they grew up in a church that used fear to motivate people to give.
Minister would say: If you don’t tithe, God will take it out of your hide.
Your car will break down or your house will catch on fire—
He will force you to part with your money if you don’t do so voluntarily.
I know you all see the bad theology in that—but sometimes we think that way.
Our giving is a fire insurance of sorts.
Keeps God from getting mad at us.
Another motive, maybe the flip side of fear is to manipulate God.
God will have to bless me if I give.
He’ll have to bless me financially.
Or he’ll have to make this or that go well with me.
Of course, there are blessings that come from giving.
Not wrong to want them or look forward to them.
“It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
But I’m not talking about looking forward to God’s promised blessings.
I’m talking about giving to get from God.
So there are lots of wrong reasons that we give. Fear, guilt, pride just some.
So why should you give? What is the right motive?
You should give because you love the
Because you believe in the cause of the Gospel.
Because you want Jesus Christ to be glorified in his church and around the world.
Your motive for giving has to be the same thing that motivates you to spend
freely on other things—because you want to.
Because it brings you pleasure.
Imagine for a minute that you have received an unexpected windfall.
Your rich uncle has sent you a big check—to his favorite nephew.
What do you dream about doing with that money?
Do you dream about investing it for a rainy day, having that financial security?
Is that what you dream of spending it on? A solid, blue chip mutual fund.
Do you dream about spending it on a fun
All those great memories you can build while the kids are little.
Do you dream about buying that motorcycle you’ve admired in Cycle Trader?
Spring his here, what better way to see God’s creation than on two wheels?
Here’s the real question: Do you ever dream about how you could spend it for
the cause of the Gospel? Now I can support that missionary who came to speak
at church. Now I can give money to that ministry to unwed mothers that I read
about? Are those things ever in your dreams?
Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not saying that if you are a really devote Christian
you don’t want to buy fun things. Of course you do.
High definition televisions are incredible.
Trips to the beach are wonderful.
I’m not saying if you are super spiritual
you don’t want to spend your money on things like that.
But what God wants is for you to give to the cause of the Gospel with the same
delight and freedom that you have in spending your money on other things.
Have you ever noticed how easy it is to spend money on things you really love?
It’s easy for me to spend money on a book, I hate spending money on deodorant.
The Bible says: God loves a cheerful giver.
That’s what he wants. He wants us to come to a place where we cheerfully
want to give our money away to the causes of his kingdom.
That’s what motivated this widow—not pride, fear, guilt, or manipulation—
a cheerful love for God and his kingdom and a desire to serve him
with her money. That’s why she caught Jesus’ eye.
And so the first prayer we should have regarding our giving should be—
Lord, make me love you and the Gospel so much that I want to give.
Forgive me for all the sinful motives I’ve had for giving in the past.
Involvement in the life of the church.
Paying attention to the needs of the body—ways this is pressed home.
Christianity is a religion of the heart.
God wants us to obey from the heart.
So does that mean that the amount you give is not important?
No it doesn’t. The amount is important.
Because if your heart is really in something, you will give generously.
That brings us to the next point.
MP#2 How much you should give
So, how much should you give?
That is a deep question.
The Bible does not give us a box to check with a dollar amount beside it.
Instead it gives us principles we are to work out in our lives and follow by faith.
Just take this story as an example.
How much did the widow give? Two small coins—all she had. Everything.
Does Jesus then turn to his disciples and say—Now, you must give everything.
No. He says look at this widow. Look at her love and faith.
And he commends her giving to the church for all ages.
Or think about Zaccheus—remember his story. Tax collector who believed.
Very wealthy man. He said: I’m going to give half of all I have to poor.
Jesus says: This day salvation has come to his house.
In other words: Here is evidence of a changed man.
Then does Jesus say: Now, if you are really Christian, you will give half.
No. But here is an example of a man changed by the Gospel.
Or the Christians in Acts who sold land and property and gave all to apostles.
Is this then followed by a command to do the same when church has need?
Sell property and possessions and bring proceeds to church?
No, but what a great example of faith and love to follow.
So over and over in Bible have stories of sacrificial giving commended by God,
praised by Jesus Christ, held up as examples to inspire, not commands.
What about tithing? What about giving 10 percent of your income.
Isn’t this a box to check? It’s more complicated than that.
These are the important passages to know about tithing..
Abraham is the first recorded example of tithing. 10% of spoils to Melchizedek.
That’s very significant because he did it long before tithe was required
as a law in
out of his desire to honor God with his income. He is our pattern.
Jesus affirmed the tithe in a sort of backwards way when he was criticizing
the Pharisees for their hypocrisy. He said, you tithe all you have, even spices,
but you neglect loving neighbors and loving God.
You should have practiced the latter, without leaving the former undone.
In other words, Jesus saying: Tithing important, but heart more important.
When you get to Acts and the Epistles—tithing not mentioned but
the emphasis is on sacrificial, generous giving to the ministry of the church.
Paul in 2 Corinthians is encouraging the Corinthian church to give to the famine
relief program for
suffering believers in
talks about giving generously, giving beyond your ability.
Rather than saying: OK, fork over 10% tithe plus offering for famine—
he says: Look at Jesus as your inspiration:
“Freely received, freely give.” “Though he was rich, for your sakes he became poor.”
The inspiration for our giving must be Jesus Christ who gave far more than 10%.
He gave up everything. Left heaven. Took on the form of a servant.
Then he gave his life blood, gladly and freely.
Can you put a dollar figure on that? Can you put a percentage?
C.S. Lewis was very wise when he said that what this means is that you must give
at such a level that it makes a difference in your lifestyle.
There should be things you can’t buy or can’t do because you’re
giving that money
to the work of the
If your lifestyle is the same as other people who make the same as you do—
if you have the same cars, the same house, same clothes, same vacations—
then there is something wrong with your giving.
Your giving should make a difference in your lifestyle. That’s sacrifice.
Is that amount 10% of your income?
The tithe is not a box for you to check off so you can say:
I’ve done my financial duty to God.
The tithe is like training wheels.
Children use training wheels to learn to ride—so they can enjoy the freedom and
thrill of riding up and down the hills all over the neighborhood.
Tithing is training wheels for generous, sacrificial giving.
Whether you earn a lot or a little, the tithe is a significant amount.
It makes a dent in your budget that you can really feel.
So it helps you learn, in a very tangible way, that God will take care of you.
Every week you see that money going out, and every week God provides.
It also strikes a weekly blow at your love for money and trust in it.
Nothing that loosens money’s hold over you like giving it away.
It doesn’t deliver you from that sin, but it helps.
So tithing is like training wheels, but then—
the training wheels come off and you think less about percentages and enjoy
the freedom of giving at levels and in ways that you never though possible.
What this means is that you have to plan for giving.
Your giving shouldn’t be the last thing you do when you have some left over.
It should be among the first things you plan for your money.
We are blessed to have lots of excellent Christian books on money
that have been written in recent years. Larry Burkett is one name.
Know number of Christ Covenant members have used Crown Ministries material.
It gives solid biblical teaching on money and giving.
Mention those just to say that if you need more practical advice, lots available.
But you know that after all of the practical advice is given—
you still need strength to give. You have to overcome your fear.
Think how much strength it took for the widow to put in all she had.
She put in her two copper coins, went in to worship—
and then came out after church and said, OK, Lord, it’s time for lunch.
And she trusted him to provide.
Where do you get the strength to give sacrificially and generously?
In the Gospel. In the Gospel we see God giving his Son for our salvation.
And if he gave his Son, he will certainly give us all we need.
He will not challenge us to give generously of our money,
and then turn around and be stingy with us.
He’s proved his generosity. You need to trust him and give.
Where do we see that more vividly than in the Lord’s Table.
The Lord says to us at the Table:
Look, as sure as you can touch and taste this bread and cup,
you can be that sure that I will provide for all your needs.
Eat, drink, trust me, and give.