18. Teaching sowing and reaping puts the cart before the horse

Giving and receiving are very important but they must never become the "foundation" of our prosperity. Yes – sowing and reaping works, to an extent – but

- at least, not if we want to inherit all that God has for us as Sons of God. We are to live on a higher level – on the New Covenant revealed truth of our inheritance as Sons of God through faith in Christ’s all-encompassing and complete work of redemption on the cross.

Teaching sowing and reaping puts the cart before the horse. As with the Patriarchs, who are still our examples of faith to follow, our receiving should enable our giving, rather than us trying to work it the other way around.

We should never give to get. That is against the very spirit of Gospel teaching. We do expect and know we’ll get a return, but this should never be our motivation for giving. I’m not recommending we completely ignore the principle of sowing and reaping – it just needs to be put in its proper place, and not be made our ‘god’ – a deciding factor in our giving, and what we are trusting in.

The irony is that when we put the cart before the horse in this way, and ‘sow finances’ in order to reap, our ‘sowing’ stops being so effective, as our focus is on the wrong thing! Yes, it is still effective, to an extent! But it automatically puts a cap on what can be received, because ultimately it's based on our own works, not Jesus' work on the cross.

Rather, we should live by the knowledge that God our Father has already made us heirs. Therefore, when we give, we need never give out of fear, or with a self-centred motivation, in order to bless ourselves, but we can feel free to give in order that others may be blessed and the Kingdom of God expanded (e.g. 2 Cor 9:11). The New Covenant paradigm is now of freewill giving, based on the grace of God.

It’s OK to use the knowledge that we will reap back as a reassurance – Paul does (2 Cor ch 8 & 9, Gal 6:7-10) – but not as a primary motivation. In other words, people need to know the truth that they cannot outgive God – that when we sow (to the Spirit and not to the flesh), we will always reap, much more than we have ‘sacrificed,’ because God is no man’s debtor. But the Biblical principle of, “Freely you’ve received; freely give,” (Matt 10:7-8) should never be turned around to become, “Freely give, then you can freely receive.” This is not the intention of the teaching of the Biblical passages on seed-sowing at all.

A closer look at Paul’s own giving, and exhortations to others to give, reveals pure God-centred motives. In his exhortations to the Corinthians he states that their giving is both a test and proof of their love (2 Cor 8:8, 24, i.e. not an opportunity to put into effect the laws of sowing and reaping). Their desire and willingness to give was of foremost importance to Paul (2 Cor 8:10-11, 9:2).

Using the example of the Macedonians’ giving, which he calls an ‘act of grace’, he exhorts the Corinthians to excel in the grace of giving (2 Cor 8:6-7) (i.e. as opposed to in seed-sowing). In Philippians 4:13-19, he calls the Macedonians’ offering ‘a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God’ (verse 18), and says he is looking for fruit that can be credited to their account. And he reassures them that God will meet all their needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus (i.e. not according to their seed-sowing).

Paul’s own giving displays a variety of pure motives. He supported himself and gave unreservedly for the Gospel’s sake (1 Cor 9:12, 18-23), so that the Gospel could be offered freely to all people, and that its spread would not be hindered. He also did this as a model of responsibility to certain believers (2 Thess 3:7-12, cf 1 Thess 4:11-12, Tit 3:14).

It seems that the church has really dropped the ball on grace and faith in the area of finances in favour of a message that is more in line with the natural principles of this world. People ought to have a right to come into a church and hear different things from the world – on a higher, more godly, level. We need to proclaim a cross-centred Gospel in all aspects- that is where the power lies. As ministers, we ought to be ministering a new covenant – not of the letter of the law but of the spirit for the letter kills but the Spirit gives life (2 Cor 3:6).

Church-goers ought to have regularly pointed out to them love-centred reasons for giving that appeal to our new nature, e.g. –

How can I show my love for God by giving to the poor and needy?
How can I help meet the needs of my covenant brothers and sisters?
How can I better enable those who minister the Word to me?
How can I give that the Kingdom of God may be expanded?

These are the same purposes for giving that are found right throughout both Old and New Testaments, from beginning to end.

But instead, we are continually faced with motivations that appeal to our flesh. Consequently, many people’s thoughts are more self-focussed, e.g.

What do I have to give …
… to gain God’s approval and blessing?
… to receive back from him?
… to have my needs met? etc, etc.

Continually presenting giving as a ‘have to’ that not only avoids God’s displeasure, but also has rewards for us personally, panders to the flesh and tempts it to stay alive and have control of us. It cripples our ability to walk according to our new nature, in the spirit, which is where God’s love is to be found. It dulls our conscience, which is our new ‘law’ to follow. In this way, teaching tithing not only misses the heart of our Christian walk, but it can really do damage.

It is more than a compromise to continue to do things in an Old Covenant mode – it actually prevents God from being able to work in and through us. It makes a travesty of his grace and disregards the fact that we now have the Holy Spirit, a new nature like God's, and His love in our hearts to guide us.

Christianity is full of paradoxes. Our salvation is not by works, and not dependent on works at all; yet genuine salvation produces works. And giving corresponds to receiving in the same way as works corresponds to faith. Faith leads to works – and receiving leads to giving, not the other way around (which is the world’s way, based on worldly principles). This is the result of the Grace of God in our lives.