The Commandment to Give to All

Give spiritually and physically, do not reason with your carnal mind.

Mat 5:42  Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.

 Luk 6:30 Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again.

 The Commandments are all inseparable, and giving to all who ask is intricately linked to doing unto others as we would have them do unto us.  We do not just love those who love us; we love all men, even our enemies and sinners.

Luk 6:31  And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise. 

Luk 6:32  For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them. 

Luk 6:33  And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same. 

We give to all who ask of us because we love God, and this is the Commandment.  The Lord has placed the person or situation before us to test our faith and see if we give or not. When we start reasoning that such a person is doing evil, is a drunkard, is lazy, not deserving, or not truly in need, we have departed the faith and are under the law of sin and death.  Doing so, we have become a respecter of persons, being partial, and are judging another man’s servant.  James speaks of the dilemma that arises when we leave the simple Commandment and begin to reason within ourselves.

Jas 2:1  My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. 

Jas 2:2  For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; 

Jas 2:3  And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: 

Jas 2:4  Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?

The Lord is raising us from the spiritually dead, not for our benefit but for His benefit.  We are raised and given many spiritual gifts and blessings, even physical ones, so we can be His witnesses and ministers in spreading the Gospel that heals the sick, cleanses sins, raises the spiritually dead, and casts out many devils [lies].  We did nothing to earn any of His blessings, and thus we freely give, asking nothing in return.

Mat 10:7  And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. 

Mat 10:8  Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give. 

While the everlasting gifts and true treasures of the Lord are spiritual truths, make no mistake, the Commandment applies to the physical as well.

1Jn 3:17  But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? 

The Lord owns much more than just all the cattle of the earth.  Everything in the worlds He has created belongs to the Lord.  All of our possessions, be they physical or spiritual, are granted to us to serve the counsel of His will.

Psa 89:11  The heavens are yours, and yours also the earth; you founded the world and all that is in it. 

1Co 10:26  for the earth is the Lord’s, and all it contains.

Our attitude is the attitude of Christ, who committed everything He had, and He owns it all, to manifest the glory of the Father.  Whatever we have or whatever we do, it is to the Lord’s glory, and we are mere stewards of what the Lord owns.  Whatever we have, it was given to us by the Lord, and it should not be hoarded selfishly but wisely and generously shared with those in need whom the Lord brings into our path.

1Pe 4:9  Use hospitality one to another without grudging. 

1Pe 4:10  As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. 

1Pe 4:11  If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

What we give is not necessarily what the person requests, yet we give them what they need based on the ability the Lord has given us.  The Lord works all things, and all our encounters with people have been arranged by Him.  The Lord creates both the need and the request and also makes the provision for us to give.  Peter and John had nothing of physical value to give when asked by a beggar, so they gave what the Lord had given them, the spiritual treasure of the Gospel, as their gift.  The story is a parable of spiritual healing through the gifts God has blessed us with, that we now give to others.

Act 3:1  Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour. 

Act 3:2  And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple; 

Act 3:3  Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms. 

Act 3:4  And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us. 

Act 3:5  And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them. 

Act 3:6  Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. 

Act 3:7  And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. 

Act 3:8  And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God. 

Act 3:9  And all the people saw him walking and praising God:

God loves a cheerful giver, and the more we embrace the Gospel and lay down our lives in service to the Lord, we become zealous to do good works and provoke others.  An absence of giving to those who ask of us shows our hearts are hardened, and our faith, devoid of these good works, is dead.  We need to repent and die to our selfishness in hoarding what belongs to God.

Jas 2:14  What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? 

Jas 2:15  If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, 

Jas 2:16  And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? 

Jas 2:17  Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

All of us have been thieves in the past.  We steal and rob God when we claim His name and do not obey the Commandments, including the one about giving to all who ask.  Being forgiven and raised by the Gospel, we now labour for righteousness that we may have the goods to help those who ask of us.  Ministers of Christ have a zeal to help and minister in all ways.

Eph 4:28  Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth. 

This is the mark of a true Christian, and we are to be generous with what the Lord has given us, be it physical or spiritual gifts.  This is especially true for the precious few who share in our like-minded faith.

Rom 12:13  Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.

Gal 6:10  As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.

Our obedience to the Commandment to give is multiplied by the Lord.  Others see our good works, and we provoke them also to love and good works.  One of the reasons we assemble together is to tap into the multiplication principle and provoke others.  It is more difficult to give and to receive when the saints do not gather together.

Heb 10:24  And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:

Scriptures teach it is better to give than to receive.  The reasons for this are the multiplication principle of the Lord and the truth that we reap what we sow.  If we sow blessings to others and help them, we ourselves are blessed and given the same measure again.  It is how we grow into the maturity of the fullness of Christ.

Act 20:35  In all things I gave you an example, that so laboring ye ought to help the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that he himself said, It is more blessed to give than to receive. 

Pro 11:25  The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself. 

Luk 6:38  Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.

Our life is no longer our own; we have been redeemed by the Lord.  We, as Christ in this world, now live to serve others and perform the greater works of Christ.

Mar 10:45  For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. 

Loving God and our neighbor as ourselves requires us to give and make ourselves available to help where a need is brought to mind.  We do not need to be asked, as the Lord quickens our spirits to the need as we walk with spiritual eyes, keeping the Commandment in mind.  We give spiritual truths, we give physical things like money or food, and we also give the precious commodity of our time, which is our life.  The parable of the Good Samaritan was given in response to a question Jesus was asked about who our neighbor is that we are to love.  The parable ends with Christ telling us to go and do likewise as the Samaritan who gave in many ways to meet the need the Lord put in his path.

Luk 10:29  But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour? 

Luk 10:30  And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. 

Luk 10:31  And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 

Luk 10:32  And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. 

Luk 10:33  But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, 

Luk 10:34  And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 

Luk 10:35  And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee. 

Luk 10:36  Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? 

Luk 10:37  And [the lawyer] he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.

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