Today, many churches preach about giving to the Lord so often, but do not teach about the key Biblical principles of giving. My brother, my sister, today, know that God does not accept everything we give. Certainly not. The Word of God establishes organised and detailed conditions about giving to God. Yes, it is good to give, but do not give just to give or because you are asked to give, for there is a way of giving that pleases God (which implies there is also a way that does not please Him). In order to bring some light to this question, let’s explore this in 5 questions. Today, here is the first one: Who should give to God? Giving should be considered as a privilege and a responsibility by those who have received from God the gift of eternal life. So, it is wrong for a church to accept offerings from unbelievers. Today, we often hear that churches are only after money! Yes, it is true… it’s because churches have not respected God’s principles of giving by appealing to funds from people who have no understanding of the cross! The Bible says: “It was for the sake of the Name that they went out, receiving no help from the pagans” (3 John 1:7). Indeed, because people with unconverted hearts will think that the church is after their money, since they don’t actually know why they should give to God, when they don’t believe! And they are right: since their hearts are bound up with their earthly treasures and they have no understanding of the mystery of salvation, they certainly don’t grasp why God wants their hearts to be devoted to Him, except if it is not for their ‘belongings’. My friend, anyone who resents giving freely and wholeheartedly to the Lord shows the condition of their hearts. But we need to make it clear that if a person has not given his heart to God in response to God’s giving His Son on the cross to pay the penalty for his sins (2 Corinthians 8:5), then we do not want that person to give a contribution to the Lord’s work. Giving should be a thank offering to God, and a person outside of Christ cannot properly give such an offering, because they don’t understand what the Bible says here: “And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased” (Hebrews 13:16). In fact, all believers should give to the Lord, no matter their financial situation (Luke 21:1-4). Besides, even those leading the church are not exempt either. In fact, they should set the example: “In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). Stay blessed in Jesus’ name. [facebook] [retweet]