The Collection for the Saints

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Today represents part two in a two-part series on financial giving from a Christian perspective. And look at that: You're still here! So I haven't chased you off yet. That's a good sign!

I mentioned last week that this short little series fills me with a teeny tiny bit of trepidation because I don't want to give the wrong impression, especially if you're not yet a Christian, or perhaps you're visiting for the first time. I don't want you to have the impression that perhaps we're obsessed with money or that we're desperate for money or that money is all that we ever talk about. Because actually, if anything, we might talk about money too little rather than too much.

So why are we taking up this topic? Well, we're addressing financial giving from a Christian perspective for the simple reason that this is vital to our spiritual maturity. This is a discipleship issue. Now my job as a pastor is to try to help all of us grow up into full maturity in Christ. I don't want us to be half-formed or malformed but rather fully formed followers of Jesus.

The Apostle Paul once told the Galatians that he was filled with such eager, anxious expectation that it was almost as if he was undergoing the pains of childbirth. Why? Because he wanted to see Christ formed in them. And in his second letter to the Corinthians, Paul writes that just as the Corinthians excelled in every other aspect of Christian living, he said see to it that you also excel in this act of grace — the act of giving.

So this is a discipleship issue for all of us, and based on some research that we did in preparation for our annual meeting two weeks ago by our finance team, it appears that this might be a live issue for many. On the one hand we found that 571 households — now that's households, that's not all the individuals included in those households — but 571 households contributed to the financial life of Central in 2024. And that is remarkable. That's especially impressive when you consider that we only have 270 individual members. So that means that there are a lot of people who are not members of the church who are contributing to the financial life of Central, and that's an incredible gift.

We also learned that 85% of the regular operating budget is covered by the top 20% of givers. Now, that's not completely unusual, but what is a little unusual is that 44% of our members gave less than $1,000 in 2024, and our executive director, John Ward, encouraged you if you were in that 44% to pray about that. Now think about what that means. If we were to use the Old Testament guideline of the tithe — giving 10% of our income to the church — I think it's very unlikely that 44% of our members here in the center of New York City only made $10,000 last year and gave $1,000 to the church.

But on the other end of the spectrum, on the opposite side of the scale, for those who might have made a hundred times $10,000, they may not have necessarily given a full 10% of their income either. So I think that this is a discipleship issue for all of us. But if a sizable number of people in the congregation have not given to the church in a way that is personally meaningful for them, the question we should ask is: Why? Why might that be the case?

One answer might be that you just didn't know that that was something you were supposed to do. Our church is both larger and younger than it used to be. We found that the church has grown 53% in the last three years. That is rather speedy growth. But not only are we larger, we're also younger. 55% of the congregation is 34 years old or younger. So some of you are so young, you may not have actually received any instruction on financial giving from a Christian perspective before, and therefore that's on me. So here we are.

But what's another reason why a sizable number of people may not have given to the church in a way that was personally meaningful for them? Well, it could be because you don't think we need it. Now, you wouldn't have thought that 20 years ago. If you had walked through those doors 20 years ago, you never would've thought that this church didn't need help, because this place was falling apart. The building was in such disrepair that if you walked in, you would've thought to yourself, “How is this place staying afloat? And to whom should I write a check to keep things going?”

When I first arrived as the pastor, I did have neighbors stop by and ask, “Can I write you a check? It looks like you need help.” But in recent years, we went to great lengths to try to restore our little cathedral as a launching pad for mission to the city and to the wider world. And since the building has been fixed up, now when people walk in, they think it's beautiful, and they assume, “Well, this place must be loaded! You must not need any money at all!”

But in fact, we do, because we don't have any kind of endowment. We don't have an annual fund that we can rely on to supply funds for the ministries of the church. No, we're completely dependent upon the voluntary financial contributions of individual members and friends of Central. In fact, 96% of the operating budget is met by those voluntary gifts year in and year out. Without the gifts of the members and friends of Central, we would cease to exist. So we're completely dependent upon the gifts of those who consider Central to be their church home. And that's why we're taking up this series.

But let me remind you that this is a two-part series, and this sermon won't make a whole lot of sense on its own. It could be quite imbalanced if listened to in isolation. I had a seminary professor who once said that every sermon is heretical for what it leaves out. And that's true! Every sermon is heretical for what it leaves out, because you can't cover everything in 30 minutes. You need the whole Bible to provide that balance. And so what I would suggest is if you weren't here last week, go back and listen to what I shared in the first sermon as I sought to provide some background and some context and offered some qualifications and some caveats to what we're talking about today. If you have any questions or concerns, I would encourage you to reach out to me; I'd be more than happy to speak to you on this topic. But also be sure to listen to last week's sermon if you missed it.

So last week I addressed the what, the how, and the why of Christian giving. And now today what I'd like to do is drill down on the how and offer some specifics on how we can grow in this act of grace — the grace of giving. Now I'd like to make this very practical, so let's turn to 1 Corinthians 16. And as we do, let's consider how we're supposed to give, and we'll see that we're called to give wisely, systematically, and generously. We're called to give: 1) wisely in light of our responsibilities, 2) systematically in accordance with our ability, and 3) generously from the heart.

¹Now concerning the collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do. ²On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come. ³And when I arrive, I will send those whom you accredit by letter to carry your gift to Jerusalem. ⁴If it seems advisable that I should go also, they will accompany me.

⁵I will visit you after passing through Macedonia, for I intend to pass through Macedonia, ⁶and perhaps I will stay with you or even spend the winter, so that you may help me on my journey, wherever I go. ⁷For I do not want to see you now just in passing. I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits. ⁸But I will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost, ⁹for a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.

1 Corinthians 16:1-9

Background

Well as I mentioned last week, here's the basic Christian teaching: Christians are called to give 10% of what they receive to the local church to support the work of ministry and to address the needs of the poor. That's why here at Central, we not only take up a collection to meet our regular operating budget, but we also take up special collection, especially at Christmas time and Easter time, for our Community Outreach Fund and our Financial Assistance Fund. Our Community Outreach Fund provides funds for our designated ministry partners like YoungLife, Focus, RUF, Safe Families, Avail, the Bowery Mission, and our own initiative, Reading Buddies. And then the Financial Assistance Fund is used to provide short-term financial assistance to those who are in need within our congregation itself.

So that's the basic idea. We're supposed to give 10% of that which we receive to the local church to support the work of ministry and to address the needs of the poor. And we should give above and beyond that to other projects like capital campaigns or targeted ministries or things like Resound Project, our new initiative, or any other worthy cause in politics or philanthropy. And that guideline of the tithe was really meant to be a minimum guideline, not a maximum requirement. If anything, in light of all the benefits that we receive through the life, the death, the resurrection of Jesus, New Testament believers should be even more generous than Old Testament believers. We have so much more reason for generosity.

Well in the passage that is before us today, we see that Christian giving is as old as the church itself. And this struck me. I’d never thought about this before, but immediately following 1 Corinthians 15, which represents Paul's magisterial chapter focused on the resurrection of Jesus, he immediately turns to what he calls the collection for the saints. And that is not an accident. These are completely related to one another. Paul makes this bold affirmation for the physical bodily resurrection of Jesus, and then he immediately turns to the physical material needs of Jesus's people. You see, Christianity is not a gnostic religion. The physical, the material — our physical, material needs — matter. They matter to God. And so in light of the resurrection, he turns to the collection for the saints.

Now what's also interesting is this is the first place in the New Testament that highlights that early Christian worship took place on Sundays, the first day of the week. And as N.T. Wright suggests, we might chuckle at the fact that the first place that emphasizes that worship took place on Sunday also makes mention of passing the plate for a collection. But perhaps we can take comfort in the fact that taking up a collection has been a regular feature of Christian worship since the very beginning, so we shouldn't feel awkward about it.

But what I want you to see is that this is a special collection. See, here Paul is not taking up a collection to support the Corinthians own church in Corinth, Greece, but rather he's encouraging them to take up a collection to support another church 800 miles away in Jerusalem. The church in Corinth was primarily made up of Greek believers who were relatively prosperous. The church in Jerusalem was primarily made up of Jewish believers who were relatively under-resourced. Some of them were completely impoverished because of a famine that had struck the land years beforehand.

And so what I love about this is that this passage shows us — this collection shows us — that Christians belong to one another, no matter where we live. And we have an obligation, we have a duty not only to care for one another, not only to pray for one another, but to meet one another's material needs. We're called not only to care for one another, but to share with one another — across geographical lines, yes, but even more so across ethnic lines and across socioeconomic lines.

And why might that be the case? Well, because financial giving provides us with an opportunity to give tangible expression to the unity that Jesus has achieved for us through his life, his death, and his resurrection. Despite our geographical, our ethnic, our socioeconomic divisions, Jesus has made us one. And through economic sharing, we give tangible expression to that unity. And I think that's as necessary and as important in our day as it was in Paul's.

We've seen how Christians belong to one another firsthand here at Central, because a number of years ago we did launch a campaign to try to restore our little cathedral, and thanks to the generosity of so many of you here in this room, so many of you in this church, we raised millions of dollars. But what's really important for you to know is that 75% of those funds came from Christians not only outside of this church but outside of New York. Christians from Chicago and Dallas and California and Florida sent money to Central to fix up a building that they never worship in, simply because they believe in the mission and they want to see the gospel go forth from this place to impact our city and our wider world.

And that's why we here at Central have been filled with such gratitude for the generosity we've received from Christians all over the country that we launched Resound Project. This was our initiative to try to give back to the broader Church and to do what we can to help strengthen the Church for a changing world. And what that means then is that when you give to Central and to Resound, you're not just supporting our church, our people, our ministries; you're also supporting other churches, other people, other ministries, including those designated ministry partners.

So let's stop and ask what we can learn about giving from this collection for the Saints — this collection for the church in Jerusalem.

Last week we saw that the early Christians gave voluntarily, responsively, and sacrificially. They gave voluntarily, freely. They weren't under compulsion. They gave responsively to address specific needs. And they gave sacrificially. They gave in radical proportions. That's the consistent message of the New Testament. The biblical phrases that are used across the New Testament to describe this kind of giving is early Christians gave according to their ability, as any had need, and even beyond their means. They gave voluntarily, responsively, and sacrificially. But to that we can add that we're called to give wisely, systematically, and generously.

Wisely in Light of Our Responsibilities

Let's take wisely first. Where do we begin when it comes to Christian giving? First, obviously you have to assess the condition of your finances. So you have to stop and evaluate: What am I receiving? What am I taking in on a weekly, a monthly, or an annual basis? And how much am I giving away? Not just to any charity or political cause, but how much am I giving to the church, to support the ministry of the church and to address the needs of the poor?

The Old Testament set the tithe as that basic minimum requirement, but it's not the maximum. It represents a floor, not a ceiling. If anything, the New Testament should be even more generous than Old Testament believers. So we need to ask ourselves, how close are we to approximating giving away 10% of our income, and could we stretch ourselves to give even a little bit more?

I like the way that Mother Teresa responded to the question, how much should we give? Do you know what she said? People asked, how much should she give, and she said, “Give until it hurts.” And I think that's right. Because especially in New York City, especially living in America, especially living in one of the wealthiest civilizations in the whole history of the world, we have so much reason to be generous. And some of us may be so wealthy that we could give away 10% of what we receive and still not feel the pinch. It still may not actually affect our lifestyle. So Mother Teresa calls us to give until it hurts, give until we start to feel the pinch.

But let me add that we also have to give wisely. We have to give wisely in light of our responsibility. See, you have to be smart about it. Elsewhere, in 2 Corinthians 8, Paul says, if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable. If the mere willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have. God understands that. We're called to give according to our means. You can't give what you don't have, and it's important to be responsible. You should not give to such an extent that it causes you to renege on your obligations. Christians are called to be people who are responsible, who pay their debts. And therefore we shouldn't use giving as an excuse not to pay someone what we owe.

So let me give you an example. Speaking personally, there was a time in my life years ago when I had to make a geographical move from one location to another because I transitioned from one ministry job to another. There was a period of about 12 months when I was not only paying rent on the new apartment in the new location, but I was also carrying the mortgage on our prior home until we were eventually able to sell it. And all of this took place in the midst of a severe economic downturn. So unfortunately, when we did sell it, we lost our shirts on the deal.

Obviously during that 12-month period, I wasn't able to be as generous as I would've liked. But it was limited to a season. And see, the fact is there are going to be seasons in our economic life; not every season is the same. And God gets that. God understands that. He's compassionate. And so we should pay attention to the season that we're in. So we need to be prudent, and we need to be wise.

But rarely have I ever had to tell someone that they were giving away too much money… although it did happen once. And since she died this past winter, I can tell you about her. Many of you know Mary Di Carlo Andronaco. She was a former nun, she worked as a kindergarten teacher for 60 years, and she hated to spend money on herself, so she saved every penny. About 10 years ago, she came to Central, and she would say that the message of the gospel changed her life. And she was filled with so much gratitude that she wanted to give money — as much money as she possibly could — to the church. And about seven years ago, I had to tell her to stop because she was giving away too much, and I was worried about how she was going to care for herself. She needed to save enough to take care of herself.

But when she died this past winter, Mary had saved up so much that she left a sizable sum to the church. She gave it to the church specifically so that we might use those funds to keep this building beautiful now that it had been fixed up. And you know why she did that? Because she wanted that to be a gift to you and to me and to all of us so that when we give to the church, we don't have to primarily give funds to maintain this beautiful building, but rather our funds can primarily be used to fund the ministries of the church, because that is what she was most passionate about. That was Mary's gift to you, to me, and to all of us.

Systematically in Accordance with Our Ability

So first and foremost, we're called to give wisely in light of our responsibilities. But then secondly, we're called to give systematically according to our ability. Now, this should be an encouragement to us. You simply have to start where you are, not where you're not. All of us may need to work up to eventually giving 10% of what we receive. It's not necessarily where we're going to start right out of the gate. I had to work up to that; many people usually do. And that's one reason why it's good to start young. Start the practice, the discipline of giving, and it gets easier over time. And then you begin to enjoy the joys and the benefits of it.

So figure out your starting point. On average, most Christians around the country give 3% of their income. So start wherever you are, but then challenge yourself. Could I incrementally increase the amount that I give by 1% or 2% each year over the course of several years? Challenge yourself to give more. And if you receive a raise or a windfall, try to keep your expenses flat. If you keep doing that, your giving will represent a greater and greater proportion of that which you receive, and you'll experience the satisfaction and the joy of giving in evermore radical proportions.

But the point is that this will not simply happen on its own; it requires planning. You have to be systematic about it. Now look, people often equate, in our modern contemporary culture, spontaneity with authenticity. Most people assume that the more spontaneous an action is, the more authentic it is, the more it expresses the authentic you. But that may not necessarily be the case. In fact, that might be a false distinction. And so giving in the spur of the moment might bring you a lot of joy, but here's what's interesting: Unplanned spontaneous gifts may not be as generous or sacrificial when added up over time. And why might that be?

Here's at least a partial answer. I think our natural tendency is to give to God, to give to the church, to give to Kingdom purposes based on what we consider to be the leftovers of what we have. So we buy and we spend, and if we're lucky we might invest and save, and then once we've paid our bills and stocked a little money away, then we might ask ourselves what we could afford to give away. But I think we have it all backwards, because God calls us not to give out of what we consider to be our excess, but rather to give out of what we consider to be essential. Because they’re ultimately not our resources; they're his resources. And that's why the Old Testament, and then again the New, tells us to give God the firstfruits — not the last roots, the firstfruits. Give God the first and the best of what we receive. And so as I said last week, the question is really not how much of my money will I give away, but rather how much of God's money will I keep for myself.

But here's the point: Giving God the firstfruits and in radical proportions doesn't come naturally; it requires planning. And the Apostle Paul models this for us because he encourages the Christians in Corinth, regardless of who they are — you know, not just the wealthy, not just the middle class, everybody, no matter what your socioeconomic status — he encourages all the Christians in Corinth to put aside a sum of money every time the congregation gathers for worship. And that way, Paul explains, when he comes back to see them, they won't have to take up a collection because the money will already have been set aside in advance.

A number of studies have now shown that planned regular giving on a weekly or a monthly basis can result in two to four times more money being raised than what would've been given just in the spur of the moment when someone felt inspired. So whether you give online as I do, or in person during a Sunday worship service, if you plan out your giving over time, you'll likely end up giving more.

Generously from the Heart

So we should give wisely in light of our responsibilities, systematically in light of our ability, and generously from the heart. As Paul says in 2 Corinthians 8:9, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.” So that you might inherit the riches of the gospel. So generosity is ultimately a reflection of the spirit in which the gift is given, not the dollar amount. And that's why the widow's gift of just two coins, which Jesus mentions in Mark 12, was far more generous than all the others that were given that day. Why? Because Jesus says she held back nothing. By giving those two coins, she gave everything she had. The big idea is that we're called to give generously from the heart.

In 2 Corinthians, Paul made it clear that he was going to hound people about their giving. He says, this has to be free; it can't be under compulsion. I'm not going tell you what you need to do. But rather, he encouraged them to give generously, not because they had to, but because they wanted to. And likewise, my job is not to police people about their giving. I have no interest in doing that. No one is ever going to twist your arm in order to give more. But rather, I want to invite people to contribute to God's Kingdom purposes radically and sacrificially so that you might experience the joy of participating in his work in the world. If you spend any time with me, you might know that I often say that I don't mind fundraising for the church because I see this simply as a very specific form of pastoral care. This is a form of discipleship. This is a way of helping us all grow up into maturity, and in the end it's for our good so that we might experience ever more joy in giving and participating in God's Kingdom work.

So my main point is that the reason why we give is so much more important than what we give. God wants you to give with a happy heart. Second Corinthians 9:7 says, “God loves a cheerful giver.” You may not have realized this before, but the word “cheerful” actually comes from the Greek word hilaros, which forms the root for the English word “hilarious.” Now, I don't think we should push this too far, but I think there's a connection to be made. God loves a hilarious giver. Christians should be people who give in such radical proportions to address the needs of others that outsiders looking in would think that it's hilarious, nonsensical, comical. And we should derive so much joy from contributing to God's Kingdom purposes that we can't wait to do it again. God loves a hilarious giver.

And if all of that is true, then when it comes to the question of how you should give, the answer is that you must not only evaluate the condition of your finances, but you have to evaluate the condition of your heart. Where is your heart when it comes to giving? Are you hesitant? Are you resistant? Are you reluctant to give more? And if so, why might that be?

The three big idols of the heart in New York City are money, sex, and power. That's no surprise. And any sermon that broaches the topic of sex, power, or especially money in New York City is going to provoke a reaction. And so ask yourself what role do money, sex, and power play in your life? You might say, “Of course, Jesus is my God,” but is he really? Is Jesus really your God, or are you worshiping the almighty dollar when it comes to your ultimate source of security (You know you're safe.) or your ultimate source of significance (You know you're important.)? Do we derive our ultimate source of security or significance from the money in our bank account or from our Lord Jesus Christ.

See, that is the ultimate question, and we all run the risk of the rich young ruler. He, of course, was challenged to give away everything in order to follow Jesus. And the New Testament nowhere demands that all Christians give away all their wealth to follow Jesus, but some may. And yet the reality is that the rich young ruler walked away from Jesus. He walked away, and he walked away sorrowful. But nevertheless, he departed from Jesus because he would rather part with Jesus than part with his money. And the same thing could happen to us unless we experience the electrifying power of the gospel.

“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.” See, we have to work the truth into our hearts and minds until the riches of the gospel become that much more real and attractive to us than the riches of this world. And then — and only then — will money lose the stranglehold that it has over our hearts. And then and only then will we become truly generous from the heart.

So let me close by offering a series of thoughts that the Scottish pastor Robert Murray M'Cheyne once gave to his congregation over 200 years ago. And this particular sermon was focused on the verse, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” And in it he offered three potential objections to why Christians might not want to give specifically to the needs of the poor. So listen to what Robert Murray M’Cheyne had to say to his congregation.

Now, dear Christians, some of you pray night and day to be made branches of the True Vine; you pray to be made all over in the image of Christ. If so, you must be like him in giving. “Though he was rich, yet for our sakes he became poor …”

A branch bears the same kind of fruit as the tree…An old divine says well: “What would have become of us if Christ had been as saving of his blood as some men are of their money?”

Objection 1. “My money is my own”

Answer: Christ might have said, “My blood is my own, my life is my own”…Then where should we have been?

Objection 2. “The poor are undeserving.”

Answer: Christ might have said the same thing. “They are wicked rebels against my father’s law: shall I lay down my life for these? I will give to the good angels.” But no, He left the ninety-nine, and came after the lost. He gave His blood for the undeserving.

Objection 3. “The poor may abuse it.”

Answer: Christ might have said the same; yea, with far greater truth. Christ knew that thousands would trample His blood under their feet; that most would despise it…yet He gave His own blood.

Oh, my dear Christians! If you would be like Christ, give much, give often, give freely, to the vile and the poor, the thankless and the undeserving. Christ is glorious and happy and so will you be. It is not your money I want, but your happiness. Remember His own word: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

Let me pray for us.

Father God, we thank you for the promise that you don't want our money; you want us. You don't want our money; you want our happiness. You love a cheerful giver, not for your sake, but for ours. And therefore, we pray that you would make the truths of the gospel so alive and real to us that we would value the riches of the gospel far above the riches of this world, and therefore we would share all that you've entrusted to us freely with open hands to address the needs of others so that we might experience your joy and so that we might become more like Jesus himself as we excel in this act of grace — the grace of giving. We ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Sermons

The Gift of Generosity: The Collection for the Saints

Related Resources

Wisely in Light of Our Responsibilities

Systematically in Accordance with Our Ability

Generously from the Heart