Giving Starts with the God Who Gave
Money can be an awkward subject in church. Some people have been pressured, shamed, or promised riches in God's name. Others have never been taught anything at all, so they give whatever happens to be in their wallet. Scripture offers a better way, and it starts far from our bank accounts. It starts at the cross.
“For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.”2 CORINTHIANS 8:9 · KJV
Paul wrote that verse in the middle of a chapter about an offering. When he wanted the Corinthians to give, he did not scold them or threaten them. He pointed them to Jesus. The Son of God left the riches of heaven and went to the cross so that sinners could be made rich in Him. Everything a Christian gives is a small echo of that gift. God spared not his own Son, and He has already given us more than we could ever give back (Romans 8:32).
Scripture also settles whose money it is. David prayed over a great offering, all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee (1 Chronicles 29:14). God owns everything. We own nothing, yet He trusts us to manage what He puts in our hands.
Managing what belongs to someone else, for the owner's purposes. A steward in the ancient world ran his master's household. Believers are stewards of their time, gifts, money, and the Gospel itself, and it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful (1 Corinthians 4:2).
That changes the question. A Christian does not ask only, “How much of my money should I give to God?” All of it is already His. He asks, “How does God want me to use what He has entrusted to me?” This study looks at the tithe, the New Testament's pattern for giving, the heart behind a gift, where our giving goes, and what God has promised.
God does not need our money. He says, the world is mine, and the fulness thereof (Psalm 50:12). He wants our hearts. He is not looking for donors who stand at a distance and write a check. He is looking for disciples who have given themselves to Him.
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For Deeper Study
- The Treasure PrincipleAmazon Randy AlcornA short, warm book on storing up treasure in heaven through generous giving.
- Money, Possessions, and EternityAmazon Randy AlcornA full biblical study of money, stewardship, and eternal reward.
- Perspectives on Tithing: Four ViewsAmazon David A. Croteau, editorFour writers debate whether the tithe binds Christians. The views differ from one another, and at points from ours.
- Health, Wealth, and HappinessAmazon David W. Jones and Russell S. WoodbridgeAn evangelical answer to prosperity teaching that traces its history and tests its claims by Scripture.
- Foxe's Book of MartyrsAmazon John FoxeThe classic Protestant record of those who died for the faith, from the early church to the English Reformation.
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The Local Church and the Lord's Day
God saves us into a family, so believers belong to a local church and gather on the first day of the week to worship the risen Christ and build one another up, in freedom and not under the Sabbath law.
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