Bible Verses on Giving Explained: Five Lessons for Christians

The Bible verses on giving teach us many critical financial lessons. Read or listen to this material from Your Finances God’s Way to learn five of them. Table of ContentsLesson 1: Bible Verses on Giving Teach Us to Follow the Macedonians' ExampleLesson 2: Bible Verses on Giving Teach Us to Follow the Poor Widow’s ExampleAn Example of Eternal RewardsLesson 3: Bible Verses on Giving Teach Us to Give SacrificiallyOur Sacrifice Is WorshipSacrificial Worship with Abraham and IsaacSacrificial Worship with AnimalsSacrificial Worship with DavidGiving Without SacrificeLesson 4: Bible Verses on Giving Teach Us to Give According to Your IncomeAmericans Don't Give According to Their IncomeGiving According to Income Was Prefigured in the Old TestamentLesson 5: Bible Verses on Giving Teach Us to Give Regardless of GiftingWhat If We Have a Hard Time Giving? Katie and I were part of a home fellowship early in our marriage. A couple joined the group soon after being released from prison. Even though they hadn’t been Christians for long, their affection for the Lord was evident. They were thankful that He had forgiven them, that He would want a relationship with them after their actions, and that He would allow them to begin new lives in Christ. Because of the decisions that led to their incarcerations and the burned bridges with most—if not all—family members and friends, it wouldn’t be too much to say that our home fellowship was just about all they had. They were part of our group when Katie was pregnant with our first child, Rhea. Everyone was excited for us, but perhaps because this couple had no children or grandchildren, they seemed more excited than anyone else. They desperately wanted to give Rhea a gift when she was born, but as you can guess, they didn’t have much. They settled on a dirty, smelly blanket, which they put in a torn plastic bag. They were smokers, so we had to put the blanket on the sanitary cycle on our washer quite a few times, but we still couldn’t get rid of the smell. While the blanket didn’t cost much and was never helpful, the gift still meant a lot to us. Why? Because they had so little, we knew the sacrifice they had made. Giving is much bigger than the gift. If I can use two analogies, the gift is an iceberg above the water, and below the surface is what went into the gift. The gift is a tree, and the roots in the ground went into the gift. Please remember these illustrations because I will keep referring to them. Everything behind the giving is more important than the gift itself. A great example of this in Scripture is the believers in Macedonia. They gave a gift to the believers in Jerusalem, and so sacrificial was their giving that Paul used their example to challenge the Christians in Corinth. Please keep this in mind: The epistles weren’t written only for the benefit of the church they were addressed to. The book of Romans wasn’t just for the Romans; Ephesians wasn’t just for the Ephesians; Corinthians wasn’t just for the Corinthians. They were written to benefit all believers. So, just as the believers in Macedonia challenged those in Corinth, they should also challenge us. When we examine all that went into the Macedonians’ giving, we learn lessons to apply to our giving. Lesson 1: Bible Verses on Giving Teach Us to Follow the Macedonians' Example Because the New Testament doesn’t command giving a tithe, how do we know how much to give? Although the New Testament doesn’t tell us how much, it does give us principles to determine the amount. Most of these principles are found in two chapters: 2 Corinthians 8 and 9. If you want to read about Christian giving, go to these chapters. They provide the richest, most detailed teaching on giving in the New Testament. The context for 2 Corinthians 8 and 9 is essential. One of the primary goals of Paul’s third missionary journey was to gather a special offering for the poor Christians in Jerusalem. He wrote to the Corinthians to get them to give to the cause by telling them about the Macedonians. Just as Job is synonymous with suffering and Solomon is synonymous with wisdom, the Macedonians should be synonymous with giving. Paul wrote: We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord (2 Corinthians 8:1-3). The Macedonians gave “in a severe test of affliction.” Macedonia was the northern region of Greece, where the Philippian, Thessalonican, and Berean churches were located. This area had been ravaged by many wars and was still being plundered by Rome even at the time of Paul’s writing. This is a glimpse of the iceberg below the surface or the roots in the ground. During trials, who do we tend to think about? Ourselves. Who do we tend not to think about? Others. But not the Macedonians! Even during their suffering, they still thought about and gave considerably to others. Because the Macedonians gave so much, we would expect them to have been given so much (we would expect them to be rich), but it’s the opposite! They gave while experiencing “extreme poverty.” The Greek word translated as “poverty” refers to a beggar with nothing and no hope of getting anything. And the believers in Macedonia weren’t just in poverty, but “extreme poverty.” When I think of first-century Christians, I think of people who were already deprived. For the Macedonians to be this poor means—financially speaking—they were the lowest of the low. But they still found a way to produce “a wealth of generosity.” The Macedonians are an excellent example of the poor and afflicted giving generously. Paul said they gave “beyond their means.” They gave more than they could afford. They didn’t have the money, but they gave anyway. Considerable sacrifice went into their giving. Lesson 2: Bible Verses on Giving Teach Us to Follow the Poor Widow’s Example If the Macedonians are the best example in Scripture of corporately giving sacrificially, there’s the familiar account of the widow's mite that serves as the premier example of individually giving sacrificially: Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury. And many who were rich put in much. Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans. So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood” (Mark 12:41-44). I could bore you with a discussion of the different coins of the day and how much this widow gave exactly, but I don’t think that’s necessary. You can’t miss that she gave a tiny amount. Jesus called over His disciples to discuss what He had observed. He wasn’t impressed with the much that the rich put in. Instead, He drew their attention to the amount the widow gave. He watched “how the people put [in] money.” The Greek word translated “how” is pos and means “in what way.” Jesus wasn’t just watching what people gave; He was watching how, or in what way, they gave. He looked beyond the gift to the giving. First Samuel 16:7 says, “The Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” The widow is an excellent example because Jesus saw something that not even the disciples saw— she gave more than everyone else. If rich people put in large sums and she put in a tiny amount, how could Jesus say she put in more than all of them? He wasn’t talking about the amount of money. He was talking about the amount of sacrifice. God sees our proportion versus our portion. The rich gave large sums, but they also retained large fortunes, which means they sacrificed little. The widow “put in all that she had, her whole livelihood,” so she sacrificed much. A few dollars given by some can be much more than hundreds or thousands given by others. Conversely, hundreds or thousands given by some can be much smaller than a few dollars given by others. George Muller said, “God judges what we give by what we keep.”1 An Example of Eternal Rewards If we get an elevated view of this account, it can serve as a window into how the heavenly reward system works. The widow had no idea Jesus was watching her, as we quickly forget that the Lord is watching us. There’s no indication that the widow heard what Jesus said to the disciples, just as we don’t know what the Lord thinks of our giving. When the widow put the coins into the treasury it’s as though they were deposited into her heavenly account as well, just as we can lay up treasure for ourselves in heaven. Considering Jesus said she put in more than everyone else, the amount she had deposited in eternity was greater than that in the box. She put in two mites on earth but “[laid] up for [herself much more] in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal” (Matthew 6:19-20). On the other hand, the “rich put in much” on earth but little (maybe only two mites) in heaven. Lesson 3: Bible Verses on Giving Teach Us to Give Sacrificially The amount we give isn’t of greatest importance to God because He doesn’t need our money. He can accomplish His goals with or without our help. If we give a little but God needs a lot. He has no problem obtaining what He needs because “the highest heavens belong to the Lord your God, also the earth with all that is in it” (Deuteronomy 10:14; see also Psalms 50:10-11; 89:11; Haggai 2:8). God owns everything, so He doesn’t ever think, I sure hope so-and-so will give enough or I’m going to be in trouble. ...