In the 16th century, Johann Tetzel assured people that their financial contribution would free souls from purgatory. The Roman Catholic priest sold indulgences to help pay for the rebuilding of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. His efforts ultimately provoked Martin Luther to call on the church to repent.
It is easy to identify and criticize Tetzel’s errors. It is much more difficult to see when our own views of generosity need correction. When you try linking human generosity with divine outcomes like Tetzel did, it usually leads to error. Though we want to encourage generosity among our church members, we need to be careful not to fall into error as we do so.
In my experience, it is common to hear church leaders tell their congregation that their generosity will change the world. I have also read books by Christian authors promising readers that their sacrificial generosity will change them and yield eternal rewards. Though I believe those authors are driven by the best motives, I also believe they are failing to fully represent the witness of Scripture.
Generosity Requires Faith
The Protestant reformers rightfully denounced the theological principle “ex opere operato,” meaning “from the work worked.” This was a foundational doctrine supporting the Roman Catholic view of the sacraments. Rome taught that the efficacy of the sacraments was in the sacrament itself. If you received the bread or cup of the Lord’s Supper, you necessarily received the body and blood of Christ himself. The sacrament works by simply receiving it. You did not need to believe what was promised, you only needed to receive the elements. The same could be said of Catholic baptism.
The problem with “ex opere operato” is that it disregards the role of faith. The Bible reminds us that “without faith, it is impossible to please [God]” (Hebrews 11:6). Many evangelicals have unintentionally adopted a similar mindset when it comes to generosity. They’ve been taught to believe that the act of generosity results in eternal outcomes, referred to as “rewards in heaven.” Though the concept of eternal rewards is biblical, I am concerned that Christians are led to believe their generosity possesses a power in and of itself. This is the Protestant version of “ex opere operato.”
Though I think statements along these lines are well intended, they are also theologically deficient. They magnify the role of the human giver and minimize the role of God himself. Our generosity doesn’t change the world; God does, and he is often pleased to use our gifts as part of his work. And certainly our generosity does not change us by justifying, sanctifying, or glorifying us. Our change in heart is God’s work, which we receive in faith, and on which we act in faith. This point may seem like nitpicking, but it actually is critical for maintaining the biblical gospel.
God does not depend on us. He does not need our generosity, and we need to avoid speaking in ways that make it appear that he does. As Paul declared, God doesn’t need anything from us in any way (Acts 17:25). He is all sufficient in himself to do whatsoever he pleases. And as Paul also declared, by rhetorical questions to the foolish Galatians, Christians receive the Spirit by hearing with faith, not by generous giving or other works of the law. Having begun by the Spirit, we continue to be changed all the way to perfection by the Spirit, not by works of our flesh (Galatians 3:2-3).
Moreover, our generosity does not buy eternal rewards. Once again, this formula repeats the same mistake as Tetzel. On face value, it makes it appear that any gift a Christian makes has some inherent purchasing power. It does not. Though Christians may be rewarded for their generous acts in Christ, these acts are the work of Christ, and the rewards for them are gracious gifts rather than bartered-for goods.
God Wants More Than Money
What is important to God is not money as such, but a person’s heart, which may or may not be revealed by that person’s earning, saving, or use of money. In fact, the heart is more accurately revealed by what comes out of a person’s mouth (Matthew 12:34).
On the whole, Scripture says relatively little about money, though Christ uses it as a metaphor about as often as he uses agriculture, domestic life, or nature. The story of the widow’s offering (Mark 12) is intended to highlight the spiritual powerlessness of money and giving (and other good works) to effect salvation. The story of the rich fool (Luke 12) is about failure to value God himself.
Consider the words of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (19–21).
And to determine the true interpretation of these words, consider the context. The Sermon on the Mount is about those who have been and are being blessed by God: who they are, what they are like, what they value, what effect they have in the world, and what rewards they will receive in heaven. It also teaches how they do not, indeed cannot, achieve blessedness by works of the law. God’s law, as expounded by Jesus, presents a perfect standard which he alone can fulfill (Matthew 5:17). Truly blessed are those who receive forgiveness and righteousness as gifts, ones for which they simply ask and which God gladly gives.
Before talking about money, Christ instructs the disciples that the Father does not reward people for fasting. Rather, he rewards those whose fasting emanates from the heart, the secret place where the Father sees (Matthew 6:16–18).
Then, immediately after talking about money, Christ teaches that the light of truth and life is either healthily received into the heart, or blocked by a bad eye, an unhealthy receptor (Matthew 6:22–23). Jesus then concludes this section of his sermon by stating that a man may be devoted in his heart to only one master, and that a wise man will be devoted to the master who is the Lord and giver of life rather than a master such as wealth, which is impotent to give true life (Matthew 6:24–34).
Therefore, the interpretation of Christ’s admonition to lay up treasure in heaven that best corresponds with both the immediate context and the gospel is that the blessed person is he who, by a divinely given change of heart, has come to treasure—to see clearly and value above all else—the superior and everlasting gifts of heaven, most of all the glory of God. One’s treasure is that which draws his heart, which spiritually “pulls at his heartstrings.”
These words of Jesus, therefore, are his gracious invitation and promise of that blessed change of heart, not a call to buy future rewards with our giving now. That heart change may produce giving, but giving does not produce that heart change.
Recovering the Heart of Giving
What, then, are the motivations and functions of giving in the gospel economy, if not to gain rewards, commendation, “crowns,” or some other supplement to our salvation? Just this: to live out—or, live into—the fullness of our salvation, “to the praise of [God’s] glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved” (Ephesians 1:6). In Christ, we give for the following reasons:
1. Because love will certainly be expressed in the lives of Christians.
We give, and do many other good works, because Christ is in us, he loves us, and he is transforming us by his love. Love therefore (super)naturally arises more and more in how we live. The most essential “doing” of those who are in Christ is “faith working through love” (Galatians 5:6), and one obvious expression of that love will be giving.
2. Because Christian giving bears witness to the influence of the Kingdom — the rule of Christ — in our hearts.
The Kingdom is the realm where the King reigns. Christ’s rule is not primarily in our neighborhoods, government, schools, social organizations, arts, machines, fields, livestock, or produce, though it impacts there. Some may push back on this claim, but God declares that the rule of Christ is above all in the heart of the redeemed (Luke 17:20-21).
3. Because giving is often a means God uses for the further proclamation of the gospel.
One reason giving — even sacrificial giving — can be such a joyful proposition for believers is that it contributes to the advance of God’s Word in the world. Financial support is often a necessary and beautiful part of evangelism, missions, and spreading the gospel in many forms.
4. Because giving is an act of worship, and induces worship in others.
The sacrifice of wealth is, as Paul puts it, “a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship” (Romans 12:1). Such giving often results in worship by others as well. Paul tells the Corinthians, in regard to their benevolence, that they “will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God” (2 Corinthians 9:11); and again, “By [others’] approval of this service, they will glorify God because of your submission that comes from your confession of the gospel of Christ, and the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others” (2 Corinthians 9:13). Recipients of a Christian’s giving can look and say, “Look at what God, by his grace, has created in this new person!”
5. Because grace-rooted giving gives us assurance of hope and freedom from fear.
John writes in chapter 4 of his first epistle: “God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them. By this is love perfected [that is, completed or confirmed] with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:16b–18a). Giving cheerfully, in love, allows us to rejoice that it confirms Christ’s love in us and our freedom from judgment.
Generosity is spiritually significant only insofar as it is compelled by a heart change that makes the giver desirous to give. As I converse with donors, my role is not to persuade them to give. That is the role of the Holy Spirit working through God’s Word. Rather, I have the honor of showing believers how they can give to maximize the impact of their gift by minimizing their tax burden.
We should rightfully denounce the methods of Tetzel and be careful to avoid repeating them. God is the only one who is powerful enough to change the world and to change each one of us. By his grace, he permits and enables us to participate in his work in the world through generosity. Even the rewards we will receive in eternity are ultimately the result of his grace and not our giving. We need a theology of generosity that is solidly rooted in grace alone.
Tim Townsend is president of the PCA Foundation.