Give With Liberality
Romans 12:8
Introduction.
One of the things people tend to get up in arms about is in regard to their pocketbooks.
But the truth is, Jesus talks about money quite a lot.
About 42% (16 out of 38) parables of Jesus deal with money.
Over 2000 passages in Scripture discuss it.
While it may be a sensitive topic to us, God thinks it’s worthy to discuss and must be discussed.
And if God thinks it’s worthy, then surely we must talk about it.
What does it mean to give?
Of course, the word “give” is found quite often in Scriptures.
The word that’s used here in Romans 12:8 is only used a handful of times (μεταδίδωμι).
The root word means simply to give, but with the additional prepositional prefix, it changes the nuance of the meaning.
“To share a thing with anyone; to impart” (Thayer).
When describing a person, as here, it describes “one who imparts of his substance.”
That’s a word we certainly teach to our children, to share. “Sharing is caring,” we might say.
How good are we at sharing the things we’ve been blessed with?
At the same time, what does it mean to impart of our substance? What substance are we talking about?
That’s what we’re going to look at today.
There are three ways in which this Greek word is used, but before we go into that, we need to look at what it means to give with liberality.
So what does it mean to give with liberality?
We tend to think of the word “liberal” as an ugly word.
That’s true for many of us politically, and certainly true religiously.
But there are certain areas where doing things liberally is exactly what God wants.
This word (ἁπλότης) is much more interesting than that.
Thayer translates it as: “singleness, simplicity, sincerity, mental honesty; being free of pretense and dissimilitude; without self-seeking; openness of heart manifesting itself by benefactions, [and finally] liberality.”
Some of these translations are a bit unusual for us like “singleness” or lacking “dissimilitude,” but the rest are very clear.
The KJV translates it as “simplicity,” which carries with it that idea of being free of pretense and dissimilitude.
In other words, give/share/impart without reservation, sincerely, expecting nothing in return.
So in what areas are we to give, share, or impart?
Give Materially (Eph. 4:28).
Give Spiritually (Rom. 1:11).
Give the Gospel (1 Thess. 2:8).
Body.
Give Materially (Eph. 4:28).
Gift to give materially.
Are we blessed materially? Yes, everything that we have is a blessing from God.
Especially when compared to the rest of the world, we are one of the richest, if not the richest country in the world.
Of course, what comes with that is a higher cost of living.
And I know many people, and perhaps you’re among them, who once payday comes around and they pay all their bills, they’re left with very little. I’ve certainly been in that situation many times, living hand-to-mouth.
You might even have to pay a bill a late when you get paid next.
Especially in this time when so many businesses are shut down or have much fewer people coming through due to fear of the coronavirus.
While we might be rich compared to the rest of the world, we’re barely making due compared to those around us.
So for those who are able to give of their material wealth, it is certainly a gift of God’s grace.
“What do you mean, a gift? I’ve worked hard for what I have. I’ve earned it!”
The Bible does tell us that a “laborer is worthy of his wages” (Luke 10:7).
But just as we considered our service a few weeks ago, we should also think about who gave us our jobs, who gave us our ability to work, to do a particular job?
Remember what Jesus said about paying taxes, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (Mark 12:17).
The point is concerning taxes, but we can’t forget the second half of that verse, to render to God the things that belong to God.
What belongs to God? Since He created it, it all belongs to Him!
Let’s not forget, “For every beast of the forest is Mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills” (Psa. 50:10).
“What do you mean, Lord? That cattle belongs to me. It even has my brand!”
You’re missing the point—every cent you have belongs to Him! Use it wisely.
Just as Paul told the reformed thief to steal no longer, but to work—why? So that “he may have something to give him who has need” (Eph. 4:28).
John the Baptist uses this Greek word (μεταδίδωμι) as well, preaching to the people that if the Lord has blessed them materially, they should give/share/impart (Luke 3:11).
“He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise.”
So how should we give?
Giving materially with liberality.
We need to have a healthy relationship with our wealth and the things we possess.
What do we often say when there is a disaster and you had a car accident or your house burned down, and everyone is okay? “Your car/house/whatever can be replaced—you cannot.”
That’s the attitude we need to have all the time, not to be stingy, but to help wherever and whenever we can.
As I stated earlier, some of us are living hand-to-mouth, so that’s going to be very difficult.
But I’m always reminded of the widow that Jesus commended, praising her for giving her two mites, saying that, “she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood” (Mark 12:44).
She couldn’t give much, but she gave what she could.
I’m certainly not saying we should “devour widows’ houses” as the scribes were guilty of (Mark 12:40), but that we all have a responsibility to contribute something.
If this widow were willing to give so much, what are we willing to give?
Last week we talked of Barnabas who gave the proceeds he received after selling a field he owned. Such things are so very encouraging to us all!
Giving like this needs to be done sincerely and honestly.
After Barnabas donated that money, Ananias and Sapphira quickly followed suit—or so everyone thought at first.
Instead, they lied about what they gave, and then they died (Acts 5:1-11). They did not give honestly, and their gift was self-seeking.
It’s so important that when we give, we do so sincerely, not expecting anything in return (Luke 6:34).
How many churches have wealthy members who contribute so much? And how many of them expect to get their way in the church? And how many preachers/elders are willing to speak out against something they might be doing that’s wrong? “Shh, we don’t preach on that because so-and-so does that, and you don’t want to risk upsetting him!”
First off, the Bible says we should risk upsetting him if there is sin involved, otherwise, we end up being greedy and loving money (1 Tim. 6:3-10).
Second, that’s not giving free of pretense and self-seeking.
We need to give with no strings attached!
And of course, make sure that we do so “not grudgingly or of necessity, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor. 9:7).
Do you think if we gave as we have talked about already, would we be cheerful when we do it? Oh most certainly.
So, pay your bills, take care of your family, fulfill your monetary obligations, but make sure you have something to give back to God (cf. Eccl. 5:4; 1 Tim. 5:8).
Give Spiritually (Rom. 1:11).
Gift to give spiritually.
Near the beginning of Paul’s letter to the Romans, we note that he had not yet had the opportunity to visit the church in Rome.
He desired to “impart to [them] some spiritual gift.”
Of course, in context he is referring to miraculous spiritual gifts, as only Apostles had the ability to impart such gifts (cf. Acts 8:14-17).
But what other spiritual gifts might we impart to others in a non-miraculous way?
Well, one might consider all the gifts mentioned here to be spiritual gifts: prophecy, ministry, teaching, exhortation, giving, leading, and mercy.
In some way, each of those are. Paul also talks about certain leadership roles as being gifts, which we’ll talk about more next week (Eph. 4:7-16).
But we can’t really impart gifts of leadership with liberality, can we?
Have we considered the fruit of the Spirit? (Gal. 5:22-23).
I could have a whole series of lessons on these alone.
Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control.
These are not miraculous gifts, but fruit, or the product (what is produced), when we have the Spirit—we might call them non-miraculous spiritual gifts!
These are traits that we need to work on!
Almost all of them are connected with how we treat each other.
We need to do these things with liberality.
Giving spiritually with liberality.
Have we been given every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ? (Eph. 1:3). Most certainly!
On top of that, God is “able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us” (Eph. 3:20).
He has blessed us far beyond anything we can possibly imagine!
If that’s the case, shouldn’t we also be willing to give/share/impart upon others love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control?
Should we do this freely and without restraint?
Since God has blessed us so much, we should be a blessing to others.
Recall some of the other definitions of liberality—sincerity, mental honesty, free of pretense.
Could we then say that the opposite of this is hypocrisy?
Doesn’t Paul say, “Let love be without hypocrisy”? (Rom. 12:9).
Love, being a fruit of the Spirit, is meant to be shown without hypocrisy, with sincerity, honesty, totally free of pretense.
When we show love, we should have no ulterior motives behind it.
When your kids start treating you very nicely, when your husband compliments you uncharacteristically, you question whether they want something or not.
How about when a politician panders to you or your demographic? They want something, your money or your vote.
But love needs to be without any of that—loving without expecting anything in return.
I could spend so much time on these other traits, but remember to show them all with sincerity, with honesty, without hypocrisy, with liberality.
“Against such there is no law” (Gal. 5:23).
Give the Gospel (1 Thess. 2:8).
Gift to give the gospel.
When Paul was in Thessalonica preaching the gospel, he wasn’t there for very long before the Jews ran him out of town (cf. Acts 17:5-9).
Come to find out, Paul had actually written about his time there in Thessalonica.
He says that he sought no glory and was gentle among them (1 Thess. 2:6-7).
He was also “well pleased to impart to [them] not only the gospel of God, but also [his] own [life], because [they] had become dear to [him]” (1 Thess. 2:8).
Did you catch it? He wanted to impart the gospel to them—impart/share/give—that same word (μεταδίδωμι).
In fact, it pleased him well to do this! He loved to, he wanted to, he couldn’t help but to share with them the gospel.
Does it please us to share the gospel with others? Do we love to do it? Do we want to do it? I should hope so.
The world is lost and dying. It’s dying from a pandemic far greater than any coronavirus out there, the pandemic of sin!
It’s so difficult to share that gospel under the current circumstances, but we have our live streams, our ads in the paper, our nursing home ministries.
And it is gift to share such a thing—if you’re a Christian, you have the gift of the gospel that you can share with others.
It’s also a gift to be able to do so and to be comfortable in doing so.
But that’s why we have sermons and classes and seminars on it, so that we can learn about it, and hopefully feel more comfortable doing it.
When I was a kid, before I joined in any game, I wanted to watch others play it for awhile to learn the rules, to see how to play it.
I didn’t want to make mistakes, to make sure I knew what I was doing.
I still have that tendency, but that’s why social situations were not always easy—the rules were often different depending on who I was with.
My point is, when sharing the gospel, we don’t always have the luxury of watching others before we join in. Every situation is different. You’re going to encounter people from all manner of different backgrounds.
There are just as many backgrounds as there are people—but the more you do this, the more you begin to see patterns, and the better you get at it.
So, as with anything, practice makes perfect, developing a gift to give the gospel.
Giving the gospel with liberality.
Of course, such must be done with liberality, with sincerity, without pretense or self-seeking.
When sharing the gospel you must not do so with any ulterior motives.
The goal should always be to save a soul, not to put another jewel in your crown.
And we shouldn’t play favorites, either—the gospel is for EVERYONE: black, white, Hispanic, Asian, man, woman, citizen, immigrant, old, young, criminal, law abiding citizen—everyone!
God wants us to preach the gospel to whom? To every creature (Mark 16:15).
So should we discriminate and show partiality? How can we when the Bible plainly teaches against it? (Acts 10:34; Rom. 2:11; James 2:9).
Now, I realize that’s a daunting task for most of us, so choose a few names from those that you know. They may be the same names you have already chosen.
Redouble your efforts to bring up spiritual topics with them with the goal of sharing the gospel with them.
Do so with liberality. What about doing so with sincerity?
Paul does speak of some who do not preach Christ with sincerity, but he still rejoices that Christ is preached (Phil. 1:15-18).
Regardless of your motives, if Christ is preached, that’s a good thing.
So it ultimately boils down to your own soul—will you be saved if you preach Christ from selfish ambition or from love?
Sure, the message gets out there, but what about your eternal reward?
Paul doesn’t say here, but recall, if I “have not love, I am nothing” (1 Cor. 13:2).
John says it more plainly (1 John 4:20-21; cf. Rev. 21:8).
So let us share the gospel with everyone, showing no partiality, with sincerity and love.
Conclusion.
When Paul says to give with liberality, it’s not limited to material wealth.
Yes, it’s included, but we are to give in many other areas, too.
Let us share our spiritual blessings with others, showing love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control in all areas of our life.
And we cannot forget to share our faith with others.
All these things must be done with sincerity and liberality.
The great thing is, for most of this, all it might cost you is your pride and a little time.
I don’t know about you, but I think that’s worth it.
It’s true that to do anything it takes money, but we want to make sure we give properly.
We need to give cheerfully and sincerely.
While we certainly appreciate whatever gifts you might give, if you can’t meet those conditions before you give, please don’t.
Your soul and your spiritual health is far more important than our pocketbook.
But we should also consider our own hearts, consider what we’re willing to give, and do so accordingly.
We are to share that beautiful gospel of Jesus Christ. What is that gospel?