2014 Church of God Resolution on Biblical Stewardship

WHEREAS, Biblical stewardship is shown to be vitally important throughout the Bible by: the various Hebrew and Greek words for gift and give being used approximately 2,000 times; the words for offer and offering being used over 650 times; and in the New Testament alone, 42 different Greek words for giving and offerings being used over 775 times; and,

WHEREAS, John clearly stated that the gift of God’s Son is the central theme of the gospel: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16); and,

WHEREAS, the first scene of worship in the first book of the New Testament occurred through the giving of gifts by the wise men from the East when they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh (Matthew 2:2-11); and,

WHEREAS, the first scene of worship by the family of Jesus after His birth occurred when the parents presented Him to the Lord and offered a sacrifice according to the law, “A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons” (Luke 2:24); and,

WHEREAS, in His very first recorded sermon, commonly known as the “Sermon on the Mount” (Matthew 6-8), Jesus interwove the “blessings of giving” throughout His entire message, placing the “giving of alms” on the same level as prayer and fasting, and instructing His hearers to be generous to others: “Give to him that asks you, and from him that would borrow from you, do not turn away” (Matthew 5:42); and,

WHEREAS, throughout His ministry Jesus continued to instruct about giving, saying, “Freely you have received, freely give” (Matthew 10:8); and emphasizing that we will be abundantly blessed through giving, He commanded: “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom” (Luke 6:38); and,

WHEREAS, the New Testament church continued to teach the principles of Biblical stewardship: by instructing the Ephesian elders to “remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35); by teaching the Roman believers that giving is a charisma gift of the Holy Spirit to the body of Christ (Romans 12:3-8); and, by explaining the doctrine of liberal giving to the Corinthian church in such complete detail that, in conclusion, Paul’s soul soared with a doxology of praise, “Thanks be unto God for his indescribable gift” (2 Corinthians 8:1-9:15);

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT, pastors and local congregations be encouraged to teach and practice the principles of Biblical stewardship and that churches be encouraged to avail themselves of the latest available technology to enhance worship through tithing and offerings.