Commitment to Christ - Financial Giving

:: 30 :: “You must reserve a tenth-part of whatever your fields produce each year.” (Deuteronomy 14:22)

The Bible is unapologetic in discussing our income, possessions, and generous giving. In the Old Testament, the offering was not determined by a percentage of income but instead consisted of sacrificing a portion of crop and livestock yields. The act of sacrifice had a number of purposes, among them atoning for sin and caring for the poor and oppressed. In the New Testament, the practice of giving continues to be part of being a child of God and it is described most powerfully in Second Corinthians 8 and 9.

9 ⁶ Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. ⁷ Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. ⁸ And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. ⁹ As it is written:

“They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor; their righteousness endures forever.”

¹⁰ 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. ¹¹ You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.

¹² This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. ¹³ Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. ¹⁴ And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. ¹⁵ Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

My friends, for Christians, financial giving is not an act of righteousness to earn God’s favor. Nor is it an atonement for sins, as though turning over a portion of our money would justify our standing before God. Christ has already done these things! Instead, financial giving is a response of worship is a response to all that Christ Jesus has done for us. God has generously given us the gift of life in the Son as preeminent among all other gifts. In light of this, we are called to use whatever gifts we may posses, including our income, to bless others in the way we have been generously blessed through God’s grace.

Lord, help me to give of my income proportionately, using the “tenth-part” as a baseline standard. Amen.