QC and sharing (20/7/20)
We discussed the statement, "True Christian giving is not motivated by reward". The unspoken questions then would be, "What then is it motivated by?" and "How do we define reward?" We would commonly say that, because God has given us His Son and saved us, giving should be motivated by gratitude, or love, and that these are sufficient motivations to give. This is true: we who have received so much out of God's grace must learn to give generously to the undeserving as well. In this view, we have already received all we need to be motivated to give, and I think this is right - all of God's riches of grace (Eph 1:7, 2:7) and glory (Ro 9:23, Eph 1:18, 3:16, Phil 4:19, Col 1:27) are ours to enjoy. So we are to give out of our wealth in Christ - that is why we are able to be generous in our giving. But 'gratitude does not replace reward as a motivation. Gratitude reminds us of God’s past faithfulness so we trust his promise of future reward' (...