1. God Gave First
We worship a generous God. The most famous verse in the Bible says that ‘God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son (John 3:16). We give because God first gave to us.

2. To Worship God
Jesus warned that it is impossible to serve both God and money (Matt 6:24). One of the ways we demonstrate the fact that we worship God and not our money is by giving it away.

3. To Be Enriched
Paul told the Ephesians elders, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive’ (Acts 20:35). The act of giving is spiritually enriching. 

4. To Multiply Ministry
Paul told Timothy, ‘the elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honour, especially those who labour in preaching and teaching’ (1 Tim 5:17). By financially supporting gospel work, we can free up more people to multiply ministry and grow God’s kingdom.

1. The local church
(Gal. 6:6; 1 Tim. 5:17-18)

2. Missionaries and Church Partners
(Phil. 4:16; 2 Cor. 11:8)

3. The Christian poor
(1 Cor. 16:1-2; Jas. 2:14-17)

4. Those in need
(Lk. 14:12-14; Gal. 6:10)

In the Old Testament, God’s people were encouraged to give a tithe (10%) of their income back to him.

By the time we reach the New Testament, a new principle is introduced – sacrificial generosity. Sacrificial generosity replaces the Old Testament principle of tithing. So, rather than being commanded to give 10%, Christians are now called to show generosity in response to God’s grace shown to us in Jesus Christ. Even though the New Testament does not lay upon us the old law of 10%, it would seem rather inconsistent with the gospel of grace for us to conclude that we should give any less than 10%.

Paradoxically, grace actually lifts the bar on generosity rather than lowering it.

If you want to know what generosity looks like, why not try starting with a tithe and see if you can build up from there? Let the tithe be your springboard for generosity.

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