62 On Financial Giving

Copyright © 2026 Michael A. Brown

‘God loves a cheerful giver.’ (2 Cor. 9:7)

‘On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income…’ (1 Cor. 16:2)

      The word of God has a lot to say about our attitude towards and our use of money and material goods.  As I said in chapter 6, giving is an expression of life in the kingdom of God.  It is intrinsic to our relationship with God and is a regular and weekly part of our worship.  Paul described the gift which the church at Philippi sent to him as ‘a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God.’ (Phil. 4:18).  So when we give to God and his work, we are expressing our desire to serve and honour him.

      It is important for us to grow in our understanding of how to manage the money that God has blessed us with.  God’s work, including the work of our own local church, cannot go forward without money, and our own life cannot grow, prosper and develop without the blessing of having money.  It is also important to realise that the Bible teaches some principles with regards to money and giving which are different to those which tend to characterise the world of unbelievers.  As we live our daily life in a secularised environment and become used to the economic principles by which it operates, it is important to learn to live also by biblical principles as it is these which reap the blessing of God in our life.  Some of these biblical principles are discussed below.

a.               Stewardship

The Bible encourages us to manage our finances properly and to be wise and faithful stewards of what we have been given (see the parable of the talents recorded in Matt. 25:14-30).  Some basic principles of stewardship would include the following:

·        Good stewardship is rewarded with increase and blessing, whereas bad stewardship leads to loss (Matt. 25:28-29).

·        Accountability – including financial accountability – is an important principle in the kingdom of God (Matt. 24:45-51, 25:14-30; Luke 19:11-26).

·        Squandering wealth leads to poverty (Luke 15:13-16).

·        Living continually in debt is not the will of God (Prov. 22:7, Rom. 13:8).

·        In order to grow, money needs to be invested (Matt. 25:27).

A materialistic attitude towards money does not reflect the wisdom of God.  We should not let the love of money control the way we live our lives; it is a root of many evils and can lead us away from God (1 Tim. 6:10).  We cannot serve both God and money; we can serve only one master (Matt. 6:24).  God has promised to meet all our needs, so therefore we need to keep our life free from the love of money (Matt. 6:25-34, Heb. 13:5).  To have money is a blessing, but we should not then serve and enslave ourselves to it.  Rather than this, we should see ourselves as stewards of what we have in order that we might use it faithfully in the wisest and best way possible.

b.               Grace and generosity in giving

Reading: 2 Corinthians chs.8-9

The New Testament emphasises the development of grace in regard to giving (see 2 Cor. 8:1,6-7,9; 9:8).  We should learn to live out of God’s grace in every area of our lives, and doing so in the area of giving is not an exception:

‘See that you also excel in this grace of giving.’ (2 Cor. 8:7)

The grace which characterised the believers in the Macedonian churches caused them to be generous in their giving towards Paul’s appeal to help the churches in Judea, even when they themselves were in need (2 Cor. 8:1-4).

As believers, we are not immune to fear, worry, tight-fistedness, stinginess, and self-centredness when it comes to money.  We need to allow God to deal with the roots of these things within us.  Learning to express grace in giving helps us to overcome such things, and it frees us from their grip.  Rather than allowing ourselves to be controlled by such things, we need to develop an understanding and an attitude of trust and faith that embrace God’s promises to supply all our needs, and which therefore help us to become free in our giving to others:

‘But seek first [God’s] kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.’ (Matt. 6:33)

‘My God will supply all your needs through his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.’ (Phil. 4:19)

Generosity with our material goods and our money is an expression of God’s grace working in and through us (2 Cor. 8:2; 9:11,14).  The reason why God loves a cheerful giver (2 Cor. 9:7) is simply because free, cheerful generosity reflects his own nature: he is a gracious, good and generous God.  The Greek word hilaros used in 2 Corinthians 9:7 means to be ‘prompt’ or ‘willing,’ or to be ‘merry’ or ‘cheerful,’ and it gives us the modern English word ‘hilarious.’  So when we give freely and cheerfully from our hearts, rather than giving because we feel pressured or manipulated to do so, we are allowing God’s grace to work in us and express itself through us, and we are learning to become the kind of giver that God himself is.

The deep grace evident in the early community of believers after Pentecost caused their hearts to open up in sacrificial, free generosity towards those in need, sharing their possessions with one another.  Some of them even went as far as to sell land, fields or [second] homes to meet the needs of other believers, so that no-one lacked the basic necessities of daily living:

‘All the believers were one in heart and mind.  No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had… much grace was upon them all.  There were no needy persons among them.  For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales, and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.  Joseph… sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet.’ (Acts 4:32-37)

Such willingness to demonstrate grace, and to be generous in giving to others who are in need, brings about closer unity among believers and gives rise to heart-felt thanks to God on the part of those who have received:

‘All the believers were one in heart and mind…’ (Acts 4:32)

‘…many thanks to God…   men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them…  And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given to you.’ (2 Cor. 9:12-14)

Furthermore, the willingness to share freely with those who are called to do the work of ministry helps us to partake in the work that they are doing.  We become partners with them in the work of the gospel, howbeit in a different form that they themselves are called to.  For example, the church at Philippi gave regularly to the apostle Paul to help meet his needs and towards his work for the gospel, and sent their gifts to him by the hand of Epaphroditus (Phil. 2:25, 4:15-19).

c.                God blesses those who give

An attitude of generosity causes believers not only to enjoy the spiritual blessing involved in giving, but also to prosper.  It is interesting that the Bible teaches that a generous person may think s/he runs the risk of ending up with less, but can actually end up gaining more in the long term, while a stingy person may think s/he is saving, when actually s/he can end up with less in the long term.  God gives to those who give; he reciprocates.  We cannot out-give God; he is no-one’s debtor.

‘Good will come to him who is generous and lends freely…  he has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor…’ (Ps. 112:5,9)

‘One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.  A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.’

 (Prov. 11:24-25)

‘A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor.’ (Prov. 22:9)

‘He who gives to the poor will lack nothing…’ (Prov. 28:27)

‘Give, and it will be given to you.  A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap.  For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.’ (Luke 6:38)

This teaching about freely expressing grace in generous giving, and the blessing of God upon our life which results from it, is associated with the principle of sowing and reaping: ‘Remember this:  Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.’ (2 Cor. 9:6).  So, in a word, if we want to reap much blessing, we need to learn to be willing to sow much first.  A farmer who sows only a little seed can expect to reap only a meagre harvest, whereas a farmer who sows much will reap far more than the other.  This is a self-evident law of nature.  So we should learn to sow in accordance with our expectation to reap, and we will reap because it is in God’s own nature to bless:

‘Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.  You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.’ (2 Cor. 9:10-11)

d.               Tithing

There are several concepts in the Old Testament to describe the way the Israelites were to give to God, such as offerings, gifts and sacrifices.  Another key concept of giving in the Old Testament was that of tithing (see Deut. 14:22-29), giving a tenth of one’s produce and increase to God.  Both Abraham (Gen. 14:20) and Jacob (Gen. 28:22) practised tithing, and it played a key role in the religious life of Israel by supporting the priests’ livelihood (Num. 18:21,24,31).  Jesus encouraged the Jews of his own day to practise it (Matt. 23:23).

The key principle in tithing was that people would honour God with the firstfruits of their produce (see Mal. 3:6-12).  They were to honour God by recognizing him as the ultimate source of all their increase and wealth, and to do this by making him the first priority when planning how to use their income.

It is important to note that God stressed that the tithe belonged to him and not to the people; it was holy to the Lord (Lev. 27:30,32).  Not giving tithes and offerings was tantamount to robbing God of what belonged to him (Mal. 3:9-10).  In Malachi’s day, the people had stopped giving their tithes, and God told them that the consequence was that they had come under a curse as a nation, and this curse was affecting the healthy growth of their crops (Mal. 3:9,11; cf. Hag. 1:3-11).  God specifically exhorted the Israelites to test him in this area of tithing.  He gave them a great promise that if they would return to the practice of tithing, then he would bless them in such great measure that even the surrounding nations would notice it:

‘Test me in this and see if I will not open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.  I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit…  Then all the nations will call you blessed…’ (Mal. 3:10-11)

‘Honour the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.’ (Prov. 3:9-10)

Although tithing is not specifically enjoined upon believers in the New Testament epistles, yet Paul, as we have seen above, does teach the principle of the growth of inward grace in the area of giving.  Tithing, if done from a willing heart, would certainly be an expression of such grace in a believer’s life today.  Because giving as a Christian is a matter of grace, tithing should not be practised as a matter of religious legalism.

There are many believers today (including myself) who, as they grow in the grace and knowledge of God, have felt the inward compulsion of the Holy Spirit to begin to regularly tithe their income into their local church, and have seen God answer them by not only meeting all their needs, but also by giving them increase.  As they have taken this step of faith and given more, God has given even more back to them.  They have come to understand that God’s blessing will be on the 90% of our income, if we first give him the 10% which he says belongs to him.  He still works and blesses today according to the principle of tithing!

The practice of tithing has several benefits:

·       It helps believers to plan what they do with their income by putting God first, rather than themselves.

·       They can then prioritise the work of God’s kingdom in their giving.

·       It releases believers from the inward grip of fear, worry and stinginess.

·       It frees them up to be able to give abundantly by grace.

·       It allows God to respond to their giving, by blessing them in return.

So how should we give?

a.      We should give to God and to the work of the ministry.

‘Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.’

(Matt. 6:19-21)

‘I have received full payment and even more; I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent.’ (Phil. 4:18)

b.     We should give what we have freely decided ourselves in our heart to give.  We should not give reluctantly, neither out of a sense of compulsion nor because we feel pressurised to give.

‘Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.’ (2 Cor. 9:7)

c.      We should aim to excel in the grace of giving, and therefore give in proportion to our spiritual growth.

‘But just as you excel in everything… see that you also excel in this grace of giving.’ (2 Cor. 8:7)

d.     We should plan our giving.  We should give regularly, thoughtfully and in keeping with our income, rather than simply giving a few coins or notes taken from our pocket or wallet.

‘On the first day of every week, each of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up…’

(1 Cor. 16:2)

e.      We should give freely, generously and even sacrificially, with enthusiasm and joy.

‘…they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability.’ (2 Cor. 8:3)

‘Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints.’ (2 Cor. 8:3-4)

‘Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity.’ (2 Cor. 8:2)

‘God loves a cheerful giver.’ (2 Cor. 9:7)

 

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