Giving is part of God’s loving nature. Perhaps the best known Bible verse in the world is John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world that he gave…” He gave his best. He gave sacrificially. He gave with no strings attached. He gave knowing that what was sown would return again many times over. Jesus’ solitary, surrendered life has produced an ongoing harvest of millions of lives, who have been born from above into God’s New Covenant family. It is Jesus who said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35)

The kind of love that originates in God is called agape. It is selfless and focuses on others. Jesus was and is the perfect example of agape love. He freely gave his life away to provide salvation for those who were God’s enemies.

Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. 2 You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. 3 All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else. 4 But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, 5 that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) 6 For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. 7 So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:1-7 (NLT)

To those who trust in Christ, God has given his Holy Spirit, who lives within and develops in each follower of Christ the giving nature of God. Our giving becomes an overflow, an expression of, and a response to God’s love.

Since our giving is motivated and sourced from the Lord himself, New Covenant giving is meant to be free, exorbitant, generous, joyful, and sacrificial.

It is intended to mirror Christ’s gift of himself to us. As Paul wrote: “Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift.” (2 Cor. 9:15)

Stinginess among followers of Christ should be as rare as McDonald’s running out of French fries. Miserliness is incongruous with a life liberated by the free gift of God. Unfortunately, just as those who have received mercy are sometimes unmerciful to others, giving among Christians as a group in the United States, as a percentage of income, is under 3%. This amount reflects poorly on the Gospel and the transforming power of God’s Spirit. That percentage is not enough to properly underwrite the work of God’s kingdom, which includes caring for the poor.

Early Christians were famous for their love and care for the poor and the oppressed in the Roman Empire. We do not know if they gave a tenth of their income, but we do have the following record from the time of Justin Martyr, an early Christian apologist who lived from 100-165 AD. When followers of Christ shared the Lord’s Supper, they would also give to support the poor.

…those who are well off and who are willing, each according to his own choice, give what they want, and that which is collected is put aside by the leader. And he himself helps the orphans and widows, and those who are in want because of sickness or for some other reason, and those who are in bonds, and the sojourning strangers, and, in a word, he is guardian for all who are in need. (First Apology, 675b-6)

It is common knowledge that the poor use their limited means to take better care of their needy neighbors than do many of those who have more wealth. The greater the amount of wealth we accumulate, the more dependent upon it we tend to become and the more we tend to hoard what we have. According to the Bible, the love of money is a root of many evils. (1 Tim. 6:10) We think that we possess money and goods, but they may actually possess us. (Luke 12:15-21) Jesus warned his followers to hold loosely to their possessions, even asking some to sell everything and come follow him.

As did the rich young ruler of old, today many of us sadly turn away from this calling to radical trust in God because we love money and the supposed security it provides more than we love God.

Old Covenant Giving

Under the Old Covenant, God commanded the Israelites to give a tenth (a tithe) to the Lord from their agricultural produce and from the offspring of their herds. The tithe was connected to the things that only God could increase, which came from life itself. There were three separate tithes, which, if taken together, mandated that the Israelite would contribute 23.3% per year from their produce and herds. The tithe was used for the maintenance of the priests and Levites, for the poor, and to provide food for annual festivals.

It is important for us to see the heart of God in the purpose of the tithe. It was instituted to provide for the ministers and service of worship and for the needs of the poor and those who could not supply for themselves.

The tithe in the Law of Moses had antecedents in pre-law passages in Genesis, when Abraham tithed to Melchizedek and when Jacob promised to tithe to God, if the Lord came through on his promises to him. Because of this, many expositors of the Bible believe that the tithe is an eternal principle, which over-arches the covenants and is still in effect in the New Covenant; while others believe that the tithe was strictly an Old Covenant institution.

Regardless, of which position you may take, I hope we can agree that Old Covenant laws contained eternal principles, which go forward by grace in the new age of the Spirit.

Certainly, in light of how Jesus always “raised the bar” when translating Old Covenant laws into New Covenant principles and practices, we would expect that New Covenant giving would be elevated and deepened as we move forward from a Law mandated adherence to tithing. For example, under the Old Covenant, the Jews offered sacrifices consisting of animals and the produce from the ground. Under the New Covenant, we offer ourselves as the primary sacrifice. In addition, giving, worship, and hospitality are acceptable sacrifices for us who live in the age of the Spirit. (Hebrews 13:15-16, Romans 12:1-2) Sacrifice remains as an important principle, even though the way it was carried out in the Old Covenant has changed dramatically in our post-Calvary world.

The tithe also is significant as a benchmark against which to measure our giving today. The important question for us is, “How does Christ’s coming show us how the eternal principles found in the tithe are to be applied in the New Covenant?”

Jesus, the Law, and Giving

Jesus told the rich young ruler to sell all his possessions and come follow him. (Matthew 19:21) This elevated the principle of tithing to a whole new level. When Jesus told his interrogators to give to Caesar what belonged to Caesar and to God what belonged to God (Matthew 22:21), he affirmed that governments which coin money may properly demand a payment of that money in the form of taxes, but everything we are and all we have belongs first and foremost to God, the creator and sustainer of all things. That young man was shocked and saddened by Jesus’ call to extravagant, sacrificial giving, not understanding that what Jesus offered him in return was incalculably valuable.

So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple. Luke 14:33 (ESV)

Whereas adherence to the principle of tithing might tempt us to think that 10% belongs to God and 90% is ours, Jesus clearly taught that 100% belongs to God.

If God owns it all, he can ask for it all, which Jesus actually did in the case of the rich young ruler. Christ’s followers’ grasp on their money and possessions should be extremely loose, since the Master may require it at any time. Not everyone is asked to part with all of their capital, but we all should be willing to let it go. Such radical obedience carries its own reward and opens the door to experiencing God as our provider on an entirely new level.

Jesus addressed tithing, at least indirectly, in the following verse.

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. Matthew 23:23 (ESV)

Proponents of New Covenant tithing believe that Jesus established the ongoing principle of tithing for his followers in this verse. Opponents of New Covenant tithing believe this was spoken to Old Covenant people who were still under the Law, and it has nothing to do with New Covenant giving. No matter which side we take at the moment, I hope we can agree that, in the above verse, Jesus addressed the hypocrisy of the Jewish leaders who scrupulously tithed but failed to embrace the deeper meaning or intent of the Law – the pursuit of justice, mercy, and faith.

Under the Old Covenant, tithing gave stability to the community by providing for:

• Those whose work was caring for the temple and its service,
• The poor and those who had no means to support themselves, and
• Those who participated in the worship connected with the annual festivals.

We can deduce from Jesus’ remarks that it is quite possible to fastidiously tithe without having a proper heart attitude, which renders the practice worthless in God’s eyes. If love for God and people is not behind our giving, it is worthless from an eternal perspective.

The apostle Paul wrote:

If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. 1 Corinthians 13:3 (ESV)

The Law is a set of rules which regulates behavior, defines sin, helps us understand God’s holiness, and makes it apparent that we are in desperate need of a savior.

The New Covenant is based on a relationship with God rather than on a obeying a set of rules. The practice of tithing misses God’s intent in the New Covenant when it is viewed merely as a rule. Our giving should never take the place of our relationship with God’s Spirit in the giving process.

Under the New Covenant, God expects his people to relate to him and communicate with him as they give. Relationships depend on communication; so, it would be reasonable to think that we should communicate with God about how much we should give, rather than automatically calculating a tenth.

Many New Covenant tithers automatically give a the tenth and then ask God whether they should give anything more as an “offering.” This certainly fits the New Covenant paradigm.

However we may arrive at our giving amount, Jesus wants us to focus on the more important matters associated with our giving. Is my faith engaged in my giving? Whom do I love more, God or my money? Do I love people enough to part with my cash to assist them? Am I more like a Pharisee, scrupulously giving a tenth, or the poor widow, who gave all she had? Is the work of God’s kingdom being advanced by my generosity? Do those whose work is the full-time ministry have enough? Are the poor being cared for adequately? Is God’s generous nature reflected in how I give?

If we look at the body of Christ’s teachings on giving, we can make the following list of important points.

• Give and it will be given back to you. (Luke 6:38)
• It is more blessed to give than to receive. (Acts 20:35)
• A person’s wealth does not consist of his possessions. (Luke 12:15)
• Beware of the sin of covetousness. (Luke 12:15)
• When you tithe, keep in focus justice, mercy, and faith. (Matthew 23:23)
• Seeking first God’s kingdom guarantees that God will supply our every need. (Matthew 6:33)

Sometimes God wants us to give in a way which defies logic and what we might consider to be prudent or wise. Some are called to sell all that they have and give to the poor. (Matthew 19:21) The poor widow was commended for giving all she had to live on. (Mark 12:41-44) This kind of giving opens the door to heavenly riches and a deeper relationship with God.

Paul’s Principles for New Covenant Giving

Paul extensively addresses giving in 2 Corinthians 8-9. Before reading any further, I suggest you take a few minutes to read these two chapters, which can be accessed by clicking on the link in this paragraph. We can derive several New Covenant giving principles from these passages, which are in agreement with the deeper purposes of Old Covenant tithing – justice, mercy, and faith.

• When we share, God will supply our every need according to his riches in Christ.
• Generosity comes from a heart set free which trusts in God.
• New Covenant giving is purposeful and marked by joy and eagerness.
• Generosity does not depend on our circumstances.
• Giving is a ministry that starts with the giving of ourselves to God.
• Giving is directly connected to relationships. We are to support and bless those whom we love and who have needs.
• God wants us to excel in the ministry of giving.
• Through giving we diminish our surplus to meet genuine needs of those who have too little.

This is what Jesus and the Macedonians did. However, we are not told to give to the point where we then need assistance. Giving beyond our natural ability should only be done at the leading of God’s Spirit, who will resupply us after our act of obedience.

In an age when we are taught to save for the future (retirement), it may be challenging to give what we have now so that the needs of others can be satisfied now. Such a mentality requires us to believe that God will take care of us in our own time of need, which is exactly what the Bible teaches.

• We are to give proportionately in relationship to our ability. Proportional giving means that those who have more will give proportionately more, but it will always be a free-will gift and not conscripted, as when the government redistributes wealth through taxation. New Testament giving is not governmental socialism. It is sharing because of love for others and is not run by a bureaucracy that enriches itself on the backs of the proletariat.
• Giving demonstrates God’s love to the receiver and to those who observe, resulting in thanksgiving to God and an affirmation of the gospel. The world is looking for reasons to dismiss the claims of Christ, and when they see Christians amassing personal wealth and disregarding the poor, it give them the excuse they are looking for. But when we demonstrate Christian generosity it is a strong witness to the gospel message.
• Giving should be done regularly.
• Giving follows the principle of sowing and reaping. Generosity begets abundance; whereas, miserliness begets lack.
• Grudging obedience is better than rebellious disobedience, but resentful giving is not the fruit of the Spirit’s work inside us. God judges the motives of the heart as well as our outward compliance. Joyful eager giving is what God is looking for in his people and is that which will earn eternal reward.
• Giving proves the reality of Christ’s work in our lives.

From these general points, Reggie Kidd, in his contribution to Perspectives on Tithing – 4 Views, has proposed the following points. I have added my own thoughts to the mix.

• Giving is relationally driven. (2 Corinthians 8:5) The Macedonians gave themselves first to God and then to Paul. Because they loved and valued God and Paul and the work of God’s kingdom, they were willing to give. The New Covenant is based on Christ’s relationship with his Abba Father which has been transferred to us through the miracle of identification. Since the Spirit of Christ dwells within each believer, we have Jesus’ relationship with the Father and the benefits of his perfectly obedient life. Those who put their faith in Christ and his finished work on Calvary have been forgiven and restored to an intimate relationship with Father God. We love God because he first loved us, and we give because God first gave to us.

Now here is something to think about for a while. Jesus did not die for an unknown group of people, whose identities would be known only much later. The Bible makes it clear that Jesus died for the church (Ephesians 5:25), those individuals whom the Father foreknew and chose before the creation of the world (Ephesians 1:4-6). In other words, when Jesus hung on the cross, God knew by name each person who would benefit.

One of the problems with contributing to a general benevolence fund is that the anonymity works against the joy of relationship-based giving and is actually demotivating to the giver. People are far more willing to give sacrificially when they know they are helping specific individuals with specific needs.

This is why various world relief agencies use photos of individuals whom a giver can adopt and with whom they can relate at some level. We are motivated to share with other human beings because of the love relationship we have with them. Churches and individuals have special relationships with those who labor in the gospel in their midst and in far away places, as well as for those with physical needs due to poverty and other hardships.

Our love for God must necessarily evidence itself in our support for what is paramount in his heart – his worldwide cause, the Great Commission.

Whereas a tithe is a simple mathematical calculation, relational giving springs from the heart.

We ask God what he wants us to give and to whom. We examine our hearts to see what we desire to give. We open ourselves to sacrificially sharing what we have to please God and bless people, knowing that God is in relationship with us and will supply our need.

• Giving is grace driven. (2 Corinthians 8:7) Grace is God’s free gift to us of himself and all he has through his Son via the Holy Spirit. It is unmerited and unearned. Our giving is meant to spring out of a heart that is willing as the result of a response to God’s gift to us, not out of fear of punishment or a mere sense of duty.
• Giving is love driven. (2 Corinthians 8:8-9) This principle is a restatement of the first two. Giving is a grace that springs from loving relationships. Without love, our giving is worthless from an eternal perspective. We learn to give by meditating on and responding to Christ’s gift of himself at the cross. This kind of love produces generous and sacrificial giving.

Putting It All Together: The Basis of New Covenant Giving

What principles can we establish based on everything I have covered so far? New Covenant giving is based on the following principles. It is:

• From the Heart. (2 Corinthians 9:7) The tithe was a proscription by law which carried a blessing and a curse. Those who tithed were blessed financially, and those who robbed God by withholding the tithe suffered in the financial realm as a consequence. (Malachi 3:6-12 and Haggai 1:6)

At Calvary, Jesus became a curse for us (Galatians 3:13-14); so that, in the New Covenant, we can move beyond condemnation as a motivator and learn to live by the “law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1-2) Whenever we allow God’s Spirit to inspire and empower us to live out the eternal essence of the Law, it is called grace.

God’s Spirit never leads us into sin, lawlessness, or selfishness. He shows us what has been freely given to us by God (1 Corinthians 2:12), so that we can learn to freely give. (Matthew 10:8) The blessings of obedience come to those who live by the power of grace, and the consequences (not condemnation) of disobedience come to those who live by the power of the “flesh”. (Galatians 5:16-25)

God is a giver, and all who live by God’s Spirit will be extraordinary givers as well and will experience the amazing blessings attached to generosity.

We should also properly fear the consequences of failing to be generous, which are clearly delineated in Proverbs and other places and will also result is our having less blessings than God would desire for us.

• Income Based. (1 Corinthians 16:2, 2 Corinthians 8:3 and 12) The Bible teaches wealthier followers of Christ to give proportionately more because they can, but it is always a matter of choice. Discipleship always results from the choice to follow Jesus. This is where the New Covenant grace version of giving goes beyond the minimums of the tithing law.

As a general rule, Jesus never reduced the level of the bar set by the Law. Instead he extracted the eternal principle and applied it in a deeper and more challenging way that can only be obeyed with the Spirit’s enabling.

Jesus took the commandment against adultery and enlarged it to include lust in the heart. Likewise, Jesus widened and deepened the law of the tithe when he asked the the rich young ruler to give all he had to the poor. He commended the poor widow for giving all she had to live on. He asks every disciple to give up his rights to every possession, including his own life.

Rather than merely moving the decimal point one place to left to calculate our giving, Jesus wants us to release all our possessions to him in our hearts and be open to the Spirit’s guidance as to what is an appropriate amount for us to give at any specific moment.

Our mindset should never be to pay the bare minimum. Those who live within their means will be able to give even more when their income goes up. This is the opposite mentality that is taught by our consumer culture, which encourages everyone to spend more than they make.

• Needs Based. (1 Corinthians 9:1-14, 2 Corinthians 8:13-14, 2 Corinthians 9:12)

When we are linked relationally to others, their needs become our opportunity for generosity.

The needs of the poor and of those whose living comes by the gospel with whom we are relationally connected should help determine our level of giving.

• Generous. (2 Corinthians 8:2-3, 13; Philippians 4:17-18) God is not stingy nor limited in resources.

Because we are his children, who are filled with his Spirit and who rely upon his provision, we can also be generous.

The Macedonian believers were sacrificially generous, giving, as Paul put it, “beyond their means.” God wants our abundance to provide for others’ lack. How much we give depends on our own willingness and faith. As a general rule, we should not give to the point where we put our own position in jeopardy, unless directed by the Holy Spirit.

Conclusion

Jesus categorically stated that it is impossible to remain ambivalent toward money. Either it or God will be our Lord, and we must make a choice and do so repeatedly over the course of our lives.

Mammon is the name Jesus gave to the spirit behind the love of money, which is a root of all sorts of evil.

Money represents us. We trade our lives for it whenever we work. How we use it reflects what is most important to us.

The old saying is that people should “put their money where their mouth is;” which means that, talk is cheap, but money tells it like it is. When it comes to God’s kingdom and the church, where we put our money says a lot about what we truly value and our priorities. Haggai the prophet warned the Jews that having wrong priorities with money is a losing proposition.

Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins? 5 Now, therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts: Consider your ways. 6 You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes. 7 “Thus says the LORD of hosts: Consider your ways. 8 Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, that I may take pleasure in it and that I may be glorified, says the LORD. 9 You looked for much, and behold, it came to little. And when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why? declares the LORD of hosts. Because of my house that lies in ruins, while each of you busies himself with his own house. Haggai 1:4-9 (ESV)

Jesus promised us that God will abundantly supply those who are generous. (Luke 6:38) The converse principle is that God’s provision will be withheld from those who withhold from others. This is a matter of reaping and sowing.

One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want. 25 Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered. Proverbs 11:24-25 (ESV) 

The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. 9 As it is written, “He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.” 10 He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. 11 You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God. 12 For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God. 13 By their approval of this service, they will glorify God because of your submission flowing from your confession of the gospel of Christ, and the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others, 14 while they long for you and pray for you, because of the surpassing grace of God upon you. 15 Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift! 2 Corinthians 9:6-15 (ESV)

Even though Paul stresses the blessing of being generous, we cannot undo the reaping connected with miserliness. No one is under compulsion to be generous, but failing to be so carries its own “reward.”

We learn many things when we reap the consequences of our behavior. God is most concerned about the condition of our hearts. Money is really no object to him, but he uses money in a powerful way in our lives. Paul does not limit the sowing and reaping to money. He wrote: “You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God.” (2 Corinthians 9:11) Our generosity will produce thanksgiving in the hearts of the recipients and bring honor to God. Miserliness produces the exact opposite.

How we give reflects what we believe about God. Reluctant giving declares that we serve a less than generous God. Generosity properly mirrors God’s heart to both the recipient and any onlookers.

The fact that those who call themselves Christians give less than 3% of their income means that many Christians have a low view of God, lack faith that God will provide for them, and/or are not very committed to the work of the kingdom. In other words, we are more committed to other things. It is difficult to come to any other conclusion.

It is a general rule of thumb that people who are disengaging from a church often start by withholding their giving. A corollary to that is that people who do not give are not engaged. It is nearly impossible to be truly supportive of a ministry without it involving finances.

Of course, there are exceptions, as when people have little or no income with which to work.

God commanded the Israelites to give 10% (at least) of their produce to the work of God and the poor. The tithe belonged to God and was to be used for what God determined – the support of the Levites and priests, the poor, widows, and orphans, and for festival celebrations. Over the centuries, views on the applicability of the tithe for Christians has been debated. Some have rigorously insisted that Christians are bound under the threat of a “curse” to give 10% to the local church; whereas, others have believed and taught that tithing faded away with the introduction of the New Covenant. The latter teach that believers today are to be “grace givers,” giving according to the New Covenant standards mentioned previously, and not bound by a strict 10%.

Those who hold that the tithe is no longer in effect usually think that, once freed from the 10% mindset, believers will actually give more than the tithe by their own inner motivation. Those who believe the tithe is still in effect fear that people will stop giving if they don’t have the principle of the tithe to guide them regarding a base level of giving.

Giving to the church has gone up and down during different historical periods. For the last century or so, there has been a resurgence of belief in the principle of New Covenant tithing of our general income. As a result, many followers of Christ have used this as their norm for giving, and pastors have taught them to do so. Over the years, many churches have adopted the concept that a tenth should be given to the local church as the “tithe,” and anything above the tenth is considered an “offering,” which can be directed wherever the giver so chooses.

It would be very difficult, if not impossible, to “prove” this position from Scripture, but the tithe has served as a benchmark or principle for giving for many. Making a commitment to give 10 percent of our income is no small thing. In many cases it requires the giver to trust God to make up for what they give to the church.

The overwhelming testimony of tithers is that God blesses them when they tithe. This is highly significant. When we tithe, we place ourselves in a position in which we must depend on him to supply our needs.

Reggie Kidd, one of the authors who contributed to Perspectives on Tithing: 4 Views, wrote:

I submit that from Jesus’ denunciation of the Pharisees we are not to tithe the way so many of us pay our taxes – making sure to give as much as required but no more. In this regard, one concern of the anti-tithe or post-tithe voices is laudable. Securing autonomy over the other 90 percent by relinquishing claim on 10 percent is the economy of the devil. It is to turn God’s economy on its head. As clear as Jesus was that we are not to neglect “the others” (Matthew 23:23), a reference to the tithe, he did not say much about how to do that. He did not say much about whether and how to bridge the gap between Israel’s agricultural tithe and other economies; that is, he did not say what artisans or bankers are obligated to do with the tithe principle. He gave us no calculus to determine with certainty what the original Mosaic formula was, much less what it was in his day, or how to reconfigure it for modern Western democracies. He did not say whether to tithe from the gross or the net, or whether to tithe from stock dividends or tax refunds, or whether the idea of “proportionality” in giving is simply a heart thing, or a community-derived thing, or whether it’s our church’s business or ours personally to decide, or whether it’s supposed to go to officially-constituted churches or para-church ministries. I believe Jesus expects us to discern and to exercise wisdom in dependence on the Holy Spirit. The Bible is not a rule book for tithing. I think the Bible invites us to delve into a story and listen for where its plot line takes us. I think the Bible invites us to immerse ourselves in baptismal reality and bring our wallets with us. Thus I think there are some answers that are given only to the worshiper and only in the act of worship… [As an act of worship] we are compelled “to do good and to share, for God is pleased with such sacrifices.” (Hebrews 13:10, 15-16) (quoted from pp. 116-117)

New Covenant giving builds upon the rich history of giving in the Old Covenant, which includes Abraham’s tithe to Melchizedek, his offering of Isaac, the Israelites exuberant giving for the tabernacle in the wilderness (So much was given that Moses had to ask them to stop!), King David’s amazing stockpile of wealth and supplies to build Solomon’s temple, the tithes given to support the Levites and priests, and God’s giving of his Son without reservation to purchase our salvation.

New Covenant giving is a reflection of God’s indescribable gift of his Son and is a response of hearts which have been set free from bondage to material wealth.

My conclusion is that giving in the New Covenant is a critical part of our spiritual life and accurately reflects our inner condition. Miserliness indicates that a person is ungrateful and lacks faith in God and his ability to provide. Conversely, generosity reflects the character of God in a person’s life.

God has given us the Old Covenant principle of the tithe as a benchmark for giving. Otherwise, we would be left completely in the dark as to where to begin. Giving should be an act of faith. Giving a tenth develops in the giver a dependence upon God and a commitment to the work of God’s kingdom.

Tithing, as is generally practiced – a giving of a tenth of our income to the church, equips a person to go even farther in giving. Once the principle of giving at least a tenth is established, one should rely upon the Holy Spirit to instruct him or her as to how much to give beyond that.

It is conceivable that the Spirit would say to give less than the tithe, but is more probable, in my opinion, that he would tell us to give more, if we have the resources and ability to do so. In the case of those who are struggling to make ends meet, sacrificial giving could be the way out of financial bondage. The tithe is a goal to shoot for, but I believe it is important to start at the point at which we have faith and where we sense that God is challenging us.

For those who discover the joy of sacrificial giving, no further inducement is necessary. Such giving carries its own reward. For those who have never given as much as a tenth, I encourage you to consider trying. For those who have been stuck at the 10% mark for a long time, I encourage you to ask the Holy Spirit how much to give and follow his leading.

I do not believe there is a “curse” attached to not tithing, but I do believe that there is a consequence for not being generous and giving according to our ability to the work of God’s kingdom and to the poor. Jesus took the curse of disobedience upon himself, but we must still bear the natural consequences of our behavior. If we have a garden but do not plant any seed, we will get no harvest. Likewise, if we fail to give, we will not reap the blessings attached to being generous.

I believe we should use the tithe as a biblical principle to guide our giving without being locked into it as the maximum or minimum. As John Piper has written, it is probably “robbing God” for affluent Western believers to only give a tenth of their income to the Lord’s work. It is a matter to be resolved between God’s people and the Holy Spirit.

As for me, I have been “tithing” for years and would not feel right at all with giving less. Doing this study on the topic has inspired me to give more. I have come to realize that I was approaching things too rigidly by simply moving the decimal point to the left to arrive at a figure. As I have sought to respond to the Spirit, my wife and I have increased our giving as a act of worship and submission to God and as an overflow of our gratefulness for all his blessings to us. I encourage you to ask the Lord what he wants you to give and do it. It will be an adventure of faith.