Seed Sowing And Reaping And Sacrificial Giving: How Does It Work? Should New Testament Believers Do It?

The Bible is the believers' strongest authority on any subject. Hence to know the truth and come to a conclusion on any matter, a believer must study it accordingly.

While doing so, he must set aside his personal sentiments and study it with an open mind, leaning on the Spirit of God for interpretation. An easier way to do this is by studying it in the light of Christ.

In an attempt to shield believers from the prevalent abuse on pulpits, many teachers of the Bible have so much taught against several Biblical practices that they have ended up depriving believers and the church of the blessings that come from such practices.

One of such practices is Sacrificial Giving and Seed Sowing.

What does the Bible teach concerning Seed Sowing and Reaping and Sacrificial Giving?

Let's do a quick study on that mainly from the New Testament.

Gal 6:7-8 KJV 7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. 8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.

You see for many years, I seriously battled with any teaching on giving that centred on Galatians 6:7.

My reason for that was because whenever I read that scripture, I always read it together with verses 8 to 10 and stopped there.

So I would say,  "well, that verse isn't really about sowing money or anything material but about labouring for the gospel, working for God, doing good spiritual things versus living carnally. Anyone we do, we'll reap its reward at the judgement seat of Christ"

I never really took out time to compare those scriptures with the words of Jesus and other writings of Paul.

I shied away from teaching about giving from those verses and saw those who do as being manipulative until the Lord dawned His light on me.

Now for a proper understanding of what Galatians 6:7 is saying, you need to truly study it in context. Beginning mainly from verse 6 of the same chapter down to verse 10.

Gal. 6:6-10 KJV

6 Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things.
7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
10 As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.

Let's dissect those scriptures properly, beginning from verse 6.

The word "communicate" in Galatians 6:6 is the Greek word "koinōneō" which means "to share with others" or "to distribute to others". A simpler word for it today is "to give to others."

So in the case of Galatians 6:6, apostle Paul is simply saying "let those who are taught the word, give or share with their teacher the good things they have"

In the next verse, he then lays a basic rule that applies not only to spiritual things but also to the natural. But before doing that, he first cautions you "be not deceived."

In other words, open your eyes to reality. Don't get carried away by your emotions and start raising meaningless arguments on sowing and reaping.

Don't get blinded by hypocrisy or stinginess that you start cherry-picking which part of the New Testament teachings to believe or discard.

Don't get blinded by trending teachings from any clique (especially some unlearned, immature, dishonest and hypocritical Christocentric or Legalism cliches).

He tells you plainly, "do not be deceived; God is not mocked: whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap".

If he sows spiritual or eternal things in terms of good works, he will definitely reap that. If he sows terrible spiritual works, he will also reap that at the judgement seat of Christ as there will be no reward for him.

If he sows natural things towards men in this life (for instance kindness, encouragement, financial assistance, sacrificial giving etc), he shall also reap the same in due time. 

The rewards may not come immediately, that's why he used the words "in due season" in that verse, but they'll definitely come one day.

This is not the only time he would teach or encourage believers to practice such types of giving. In 2 Corinthians 9, he took time to explain the same using a whole chapter for it.

2Cor. 9:6-10 KJV

6 But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.
7 Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.
8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:
9 (As it is written, He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor: his righteousness remaineth for ever.
10 Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness;)

Now even though he encouraged you to give as you purpose in your heart to give,  he, first of all, let's you know that your reaping will be exactly as you have sown. 

If you purpose in your heart to sow sparingly (very small), expect such rewards. If you also purpose in your heart to sow bountifully (largely), expect the same kind of result.

To buttress his point, in verses 9 and 10 he quoted the two greatest givers of all time in the Old Testament – David and Solomon, both of whom were known to be among the richest men to have ever walked on this earth and whose eternal rewards cannot be humanly measured.

The first time, Solomon offered 1000 burnt offerings to God at once on His altar at Gibeon (1Kings 3:5).

Again in one day, during the dedication of the temple, Solomon offered 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep to God, a sacrifice that would have taken the whole of Israel several years to offer (Kings 8:63). One man did it in one day! His heart was sold out to God!

At these two times, God had to PERSONALLY show up to answer his prayers. He didn't send an angel, a prophet or any other messenger. He showed up by Himself! They say God cannot be moved. But Solomon moved Him that day! Do not be deceived, God is not mocked!

In 1 Kings 10:23, the Bible testified that Solomon later exceeded all the kings of the earth in both wisdom and wealth.

Go and check, in every place where giving is highly emphasized and practised as an act of worship and honour to God, the people's lives are never the same in the long run. I'm not talking about those who teach and encourage giving like it were a money doubling scheme. I'm talking about those who genuinely give sacrificially to God!

In Matthew 10:28, Peter hinted at the kind of sacrificial giving I'm talking about. Though he was directly referring to their commitments to the Gospel.

In response, Jesus said, "Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's, but he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life."

His shall receive now in this time and in the world to come!

That's directly from Jesus' lips. The same principle Paul taught in all his writings about giving.

God Himself demonstrated this first when He gave us Himself in Christ to meet our need for a Saviour. Mind you, He didn't just give us Jesus in order to have us. He gave Him to us to meet our need for a Saviour. But in return, He now has all of us to call His children.

So does seed sowing and sacrificial giving work?

By the authority of the scriptures, I say it works. Do not be deceived, God is not mocked. Whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap. Let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap if we faint not.

So says the scriptures!

You cannot give God anything, whether your time, money or any other thing, and He won't repay you in multiple folds for it.

Should New Testament believers practice Seed Sowing and Sacrificial Giving?

Most definitely. It should be our lifestyle!

I hope this blesses you. Glory to God!