Money and the Great Commission

Jesus’ parting command was: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:19-20). Jesus was very direct and explicit with His mandate. There is no question as to where or with whom we are to share the Gospel. The love that God gives to us is to be shared by us with all people everywhere. He has given us our marching orders, and, in His strength, we can give ourselves fully to His work.

Because God has chosen to use us as His tools to bring salvation to all people, we must use our lives and gifts to spread the Good News. Paul wrote, “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us” (2 Corinthians 5:20). One of the tools that God gives us to use in our mission of reaching out to others with the Gospel is our money. According to an old stewardship phrase, “Stewardship without mission is unnecessary and mission without stewardship is impossible.” Stewardship and mission are inseparable. The funding of the Great Commission needs to come from believers. The money which God entrusts to us has many purposes, and the funding of mission work is of first importance. Through the giving of our money, we demonstrate our obedience to Jesus’ command to reach out to all people. Paul wrote that, through our giving, we “test the sincerity of [our] love by comparing it with the earnestness of others” (2 Corinthians 8:8).

For nonbelievers and those who lack spiritual maturity, the giving of money is done begrudgingly out of a sense of obligation. By the grace of God, our attitude toward giving is a “want to” rather than a “got to” give. We view giving as a privilege and an opportunity to spread the Gospel through our money. Our giving expresses our gratitude for who God is and all that He has done for through His Son. Through faith, we hold onto our money loosely and then are privileged to experience the joy of giving as we give God our first and best. As Christians we understand that God has a claim on all that we have, so we willingly and cheerfully give our money to help all people hear of God’s love. Money is an important tool for God’s mission. Through our faithful giving, we are able to leverage our witnessing to all people.

Ronald J. Chewning

12 Months of Congregational Stewardship