Resource
Sheet 4
Teaching
on Giving in the New Testament
What
did Jesus teach in the Gospels?
The
word tithes does not appear in the New Testament.
Yet
Jesus did teach about giving:
Mt
5:42 Give
to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants
to borrow from you.
•
i.e. hold your money lightly and be
ready to give easily.
Mt
6:2 So
when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the
hypocrites do in the synagogues
•
Jesus assumed giving, and said do it
quietly
Mt
19:21
(To a rich young man) Jesus answered,
"If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give
to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.
•
If riches keep you from God, get rid
of them
Mt
22:21 Then
he said to them, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God
what is God's."
•
Pay your taxes and also bless God
Mt
23:23 Woe
to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give
a tenth of your spices--mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected
the more important matters of the law--justice, mercy and faithfulness.
•
Jesus chided the Pharisees who still
tithed by failed to keep the more important matters of the Law.
Lk
6:38 Give,
and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken
together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with
the measure you use, it will be measured to you."
•
Use what you have, give it away and
God will give it back in abundance.
Lk
14:12-14 Then
Jesus said to his host, "When you give a luncheon or dinner,
do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich
neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be
repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled,
the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot
repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."
•
Let your hospitality to be a form of
giving
Lk
21:1-4 As
he looked up, Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple
treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins.
"I tell you the truth," he said, "this poor widow has
put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts
out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had
to live on."
•
Volume or amount of giving is not the
issue, but the heart behind it.
What
did the apostle Paul teach?
Acts
20:33 -35
I
have not coveted anyone's silver or gold or clothing. You yourselves
know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs
of my companions. In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind
of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord
Jesus himself said: `It is more blessed to give than to receive.'”
•
Paul's testimony was that he was a giver
not a getter
•
He provided through hard work.
Rom
12:20 ,21
"
If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you
will heap burning coals on his head." Do not be overcome by evil,
but overcome evil with good
•
Giving isn't only to be to friends
•
Use giving as a means of blessing and
changing people
Rom
13:7 Give
everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue,
then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor
•
Don't be a debtor
2
Cor 9:7 Each
man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly
or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
•
Give out of an open generous heart