The Joy Of Living Generously Series

This morning, I want to engage in a little time travel. I want you to think about your fondest memories of attending church. Maybe it was a mission trip. Maybe it was a church experience participating in an exciting expansion project. Maybe it was a church cantata. Maybe it was a church context where they had the some of the best fellowship meals you have ever eaten. Maybe it was a Sunday school class or small group that you were a part of that became more like family than just friends. Maybe it was a series of revival meetings or a Bible study that you were in that changed your life. Now I’m not Nostradamus this morning, but let me make a prediction. I would predict that when recalling your fondest memories of church, not a single person thought: “My fondest memories of church are connected to every week when they would take up the offering.”

But despite the fact that while this was probably not on anyone’s list, there is no denying that Scripture teaches that a CHANGED heart will produce a GENEROUS heart. This morning, we are going to talk about GIVING, and for one simple reason. It’s because it’s the topic of 2 Corinthians 9—go ahead and turn there with me. And the reason we are going to teach through chapter 9 today is because the week before Easter we taught from chapter 8. And does anyone want to venture a guess what we’ll be teaching next week? That’s right – chapter 10.

And today we are going to focus specifically on verses 9-13, but before we do that I want to spend a little time teaching more broadly on the subject of giving. Because whether or not you are a regular church attender, there are always lots of questions about exactly WHAT the Bible teaches when it comes to this subject…Christians and non-Christians alike. In fact, if you’re brave enough to venture into the incredibly discouraging world of Christian Twitter, one of the trending topics that I’ve seen trending lately is with regard to the practice of tithing—specifically, is tithing an Old Testament idea or a New Testament idea…or both? Does tithing mean that I have to give exactly 10%? Don’t we live under grace now? Etc, etc, etc, you get the idea.

So let’s do a quick Bible overview on giving. The most known word in Christian circles as it relates to GIVING is the word “tithing.” So let’s start off in the Old Testament because that’s where we first encounter the concept of the tithe.

Old Testament (God’s covenant relationship with Israel): The word “tithe” literally means “a tenth.” The Israelites’ forefathers had long practiced a tradition of giving 10% and according to Genesis 14 and 28, they did so long before the command was ever written down as part of the Mosaic law in Leviticus 27. So for all the people that argue that the tithe was simply part of the Mosaic law that we’re no longer bound to under the law of grace, I would remind you that God’s people were tithing well before it ever became one of God’s people’s written rules. And later, when the tithe was actually codified into law, there were several other required offerings that when added up, came to roughly 23% of one’s income (and that didn’t even include the temple tax of the day or voluntary offerings). Some of you have never been more thankful to live under the new covenant of grace, Amen?

New Testament: Here’s the big GOTCHA question that people with a little bit of Bible knowledge like to ask their pastor: “Where in the New Testament does is say that Christians have to tithe (give 10%)?” Here’s what we have to be honest about—there’s not a verse in the NT that commands us to tithe. Now for some of you, you’re elated because you’ve been looking for a loophole. And some of you are mad because you feel like you have been duped for all these years. And some of you who serve on our Administration and Finance Team are incredibly anxious because you’re the ones that pour over our offering reports every week. But if we’re going to take a strong stand on not SKIPPING tough truths in the Bible, then we have to take an equally strong stand on not ADDING to the Bible.

Now what I am NOT saying this morning is that the issue is NEVER mentioned in the New Testament. We hear the Pharisees talking about it in parable in Luke 18 and we see the author of Hebrews mention it in Hebrews 7. But these aren’t great proof texts when you dig down and see that they were actually both set in an Old Testament context. But then Jesus speaks do this idea of TITHING in the Gospel of Luke. Listen to Luke 11:42: “But woe to you Pharisees for you tithe and pass by justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others (tithing) undone.” Just to be clear, Jesus is NOT saying to give up tithing so you can focus on loving others and doing justice. He’s saying, “It’s both/and NOT either/or.”