THE GENEROUS LIFE
Part 1
“Two Kinds of Giving”
Prov 11:25 “A generous soul will prosper, and he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.”
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I read recently of two men that were marooned on an island. One man paced back and forth, worried and scared, while the other man sat back and enjoyed the sun. The first man asked the second man, “Aren’t you afraid we’re about to die?” “No,” said the second man, “I make $100,000 a week and tithe faithfully to my church every week. My pastor will find me.”
I’m going to begin a series today on what I’m calling The Generous Life.
The word ‘GENEROUS’ in our text is from the Hebrew word ‘beh-rah-KAH’ meaning righteous and blessed.
–A generous person is a blessed person!
The flip side according to Scripture is that WITHHOLDING generosity forfeits blessing:
Prov. 11:24 “Some people give freely and gain more; others refuse to give and end up with less.”
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You might be surprised that of the thirty-five parables of Jesus, over 1/3 deal directly or indirectly with the subject of money.
The apostle Paul also taught extensively on being a generous Christian,
and passages on generosity speckle the pages of the Net Testament.
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Now, there’s nothing wrong with MONEY–it is a neutral quantity.
Money is like a gun–it is used for either good or evil based on what the owner does with it.
According to Jesus, one thing money DOES DO is reveal where your heart is–what you value, what you prioritize, what you love and care about.
Jesus said, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”–Matt 6:21
ERV “Your heart will be where your treasure is.”
So your checkbook is a good thermometer for reading your spiritual temperature.
Through the years I’ve noted that a person’s WALLET is often the last thing to be converted!
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You probably already know that many things are taught these days on the subject of tithing, giving, offerings, and so forth.
Some are true and some aren’t.
So I want to explore what the Bible actually says about giving and being a generous person–both in the OT and NT.
Scripture reveals that giving falls into TWO categories:
I. VOLUNTARY and REQUIRED
Under Moses, God commanded his people to tithe–so under Moses came REQUIRED GIVING.
Conversely, under Christ, giving is VOLUNTARY, guided by generosity and a willing heart.
Even so, we do find in Scripture many examples of the VOLUNTARY kind of giving before the time of Moses.
The first mention of giving in the Bible is in Genesis 4 where Cain and Abel brought an offering to God.
Gen 4:3-4 “At harvest time, Cain brought a gift to the Lord. He brought some of the food that he grew from the ground, but Abel brought some animals from his flock. He chose some of his best sheep and brought the best parts of them.”
It is important to note that this was a VOLUNTARY offering.
There was no command given to Cain and Abel to give to God–It was VOLUNTARY.
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The next example of voluntary giving is Noah.
After the worldwide flood subsided, Noah left the ark and immediately built an altar and offered a sacrificial gift to God.
There was no command and no percentage required–it was a VOLUNTARY sacrifice.
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Then, we find the first mention of the word TITHE (or “tenth”) in Genesis 14:20.
It is used when Abram had just returned from successfully fighting four kings who had kidnapped his nephew Lot, and his family.
A man named Melchizedek met Abram and blessed him.
When Abram heard the blessing Melchizedek spoke, he wanted to express thanks to God for his victory in battle.
So Genesis 14:20 says, “And Abram gave him a tenth of everything.”
Now, it is important to note that Abram was not COMMANDED to give this tithe.
His tithe to Melchizedek was a VOLUNTARY gift from the heart.
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The other mention of the word tithe (or “tenth”) in the book of Genesis has to do with Jacob.
Jacob made a vow to God saying that if God would be with him, he would give Him a full TENTH of everything (Genesis 28:22).
God did not command Jacob to give a tithe.
Jacob decided voluntarily to give a tithe of all that God would give him.
• So, all the gifts given to God from Cain and Abel to Jacob were voluntary.
No command was given.
The tithe, mentioned only twice, simply represented the VOLUNTARY giving of a 10 percent offering from the heart.
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Then along came MOSES.
Under God’s instructions through Moses, tithing went from:
II. Voluntary to required
We find that under Moses, God required 3 different tithes!
There was a 10 percent tithe to the LEVITES to take care of the priests and the Temple.
Then there was a FESTIVAL tithe of ten percent to pay for the various festivals and celebrations God commanded them to observe–like,
-the Day of Atonement,
-Passover,
-the feast of Tabernacles, and so on.
And finally they were required to give to the POOR a tithe of three and one third percent to run the national welfare program.
So the Israelites under Moses gave 23 percent a year in required tithes!
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Now, even at that amount, VOLUNTARY giving still took place under Moses that was above the required tithe!
For instance, the people gave huge sums voluntarily for the building of the Temple:
1 Chron. 29:6-7,9 “Then the leaders of the fathers’ houses, leaders of the tribes of Israel, the captains of thousands and of hundreds, with the officers over the king’s work, offered willingly. 7 They gave for the work of the house of God…9 Then the people rejoiced, for they had offered willingly, because with a loyal heart they had offered willingly to the Lord; and King David also rejoiced greatly.”
• Notice the connection between voluntary giving and great joy!
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Now–it’s important to keep in mind that:
• The Old Testament REQUIRED tithe under Moses was part of a specific COVENANT with Israel, not a universal command.
If they honored it, God would bless them.
And if they broke God’s command and failed to bring the required tithe, God chastened them!
This is where the very familiar passage from Malachi comes in:
“Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. 9 You are cursed with a curse, For you have robbed Me, even this whole nation.”
The problem was that, because they weren’t obeying God with the tithe, the Temple had fallen into disrepair and the priests had abandoned it!
What was the CURSE?
Haggai 1:6 “You plant much but harvest little. You have scarcely enough to eat or drink and not enough clothes to keep you warm. Your income disappears, as though you were putting it into pockets filled with holes!”
So the curse was that of DIMINISHING RETURNS–maximum sowing with minimum reaping.
And who was cursed with this curse?
The Israelites that were under the OT Mosaic covenant of that time!
So God encouraged them with a challenge:
“Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this,” Says the Lord of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it.”–Malachi 3:9-10
If they tithed again, the curse would be reversed–they would see maximum returns on their labors!
Again, Who was this written to?
The children of Israel under Moses and the Old Covenant.
And watch this:
III. That OT covenant under Moses faded away with the coming of Christ and the New Covenant!
Heb 8:13 “God speaks of…the new covenant as taking the place of the old one; for the old one is out of date now and has been put aside forever.
Well then, if the old tithing requirements have passed away, what does the NT teach about New Covenant giving?
Something far better than the OLD!
• New Covenant giving is based on GRACE, not LAW–VOLUNTARY, not COMMANDED.
• NT Giving flows out of love and gratitude, not obligation or fear.
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I’m going to close with 3 NT verses that beautifully summarize NT giving that I will expand on next time:
• 2 Cor. 9:6-8 “Remember this—a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop.” (Generous giving brings a generous crop!)
• 7 “You must each decide in your heart how much to give.” (Intentional giving, not forced)
• “And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.” (Right attitude giving)
• 8 “And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others.” (You can’t out-give God giving)
LET’S PRAY