Stewarding Generosity

• Stewardship is not about money first, it’s about faithfulness. (Matthew 25:14–30 – Parable of the Talents)

• Few topics are more polarizing inside and outside the church:

  • Outside the church: “The church only wants money.”

  • Inside the church: “How much should a believer give?”

• The truth is this: Talking about money is about discipleship and a heart of generosity.

• Jesus spoke frequently about money because it reveals trust, priorities, and dependence.

Definition of Tithing

A. The word tithe is literally translated as 10%.

B. Tithing is setting aside and giving the first 10% of your income to the Lord.

C. Tithing predates the Law, became Law, and is a New Testament principle.

First Fruits

• God doesn’t receive what’s left, He receives what’s first.

• The tithe is not a tip; it’s a recognition of ownership.

  
  

I. The Fight Against Biblical Tithing

A. Tithing is legalistic

This argument suggests we don’t need to tithe because we are no longer under the Law.

1. Tithing predates the Law

Genesis 14

¹⁸ And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.) ¹⁹ And he blessed him and said,“Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth ²⁰ and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!”And Abram gave him a tenth of everything.

Hebrews 7 

Genesis 28

²⁰ Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, ²¹ so that I come again to my father's house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God, ²² and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God's house. And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you.”

Tithing was not introduced by Moses, but it was practiced by people of faith.

B. Tithing is Old Testament only

This argument suggests that we don’t need to tithe because it is an Old Testament issue not a New Testament issue. 

Tithing is affirmed as a New Testament principle.

Matthew 23

²³ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.

Jesus corrected the heart behind their giving, not the practice of tithing.

New Testament giving carries a tone of generosity beyond 10%

Generous giving is really an issue of the heart. 

The New Testament model 

1. Generous 2. Sacrificial 3. Voluntary 4. Cheerful 

C. Debts come first

Many people fall into financial crisis because they have violated God’s principles.

Many believers carry debt, but choosing not to tithe because of debt implies:

• God gets what’s left.

• Creditors get priority over the Lord.

If you cannot live off 90%, you probably cannot live off 100%.

Tithing is an act of trust, not mathematics.

D. I cannot afford to tithe

“The poor man has to pay as much for food as the rich man…

Tithing therefore gives dignity to every man. It breaks the socioeconomic barrier…

My 10% might be considerably less than someone else’s but that other person will not have more favor in the sight of God.”

      R.T. Kendall

Mark 12

⁴¹ And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. ⁴² And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny.

God measures generosity by sacrifice, not size. 

2 Corinthians 9

⁷ Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

Financial freedom starts at the baseline of tithe.

E. Dissatisfaction with Allocation

“I want to choose where my money goes.”

1. The tithe belongs to the Lord.

2. You are accountable to God for your obedience.

3. The church is accountable to God for integrity. (2 Corinthians 8:20–21)

4. The tithe is brought into the storehouse. (Malachi 3:10)

Offerings are directed.

Tithes are returned.

Not giving is robbing God of what is His.

II. The Fruit of Biblical Tithing

A. Produces a Heart That Puts God First

Matthew 6

21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Spiritual Cardiogram

“Show me someone’s transaction statement, and I will be able to tell you what they value.”

• Jesus doesn’t say where your heart is, your treasure follows. He says the opposite.

• Tithing is not about money first; it’s about alignment of the heart.

• Giving trains the heart to put God first, not last, not left over.     

• Giving reveals who sits on the throne of your heart.

B. Brings Glory to God

Proverbs 3:9

9 Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce;

Matthew 6:24

24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”

• Tithing is an act of worship, not obligation.

• Firstfruits declare: God, You are first, not my bills, not my fear, not my future.

• Giving glorifies God because it publicly declares who we serve.

• We don't tithe because God needs our money; we tithe because God deserves our honor.

    C. Builds the Kingdom 

• Generous giving sustains the work of the church.

• Generous giving provides for physical needs in order to meet spiritual needs. 

D.  Positions you for the Promise 

1. Receiving Blessing

Malachi 3:10

10 Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.

• This is the only place God says, “Test Me.”

• Tithing positions us under an open heaven.

*This is not a prosperity teaching where there is manipulation, and you have a give to get mentality. It is an issue of desiring to follow in obedience this biblical principle of generosity. It is also a heart surrendered that fully is trusting in God.

Blessing may include: 

provision, peace, wisdom, spiritual growth. 

2. Plugging the Holes

Haggai 1:6

6 You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes.

• Some people don’t need more income, they need obedience and proper stewardship of what they already have been given.

• Disobedience creates leaks that increased income can’t fix.

Luke 6:38

38 give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”

    E. Breeds contentment   

• When you give, it shifts your focus from what you don’t have to how much you have already been given. 

• Giving breaks the grip of comparison and greed. 

• The biblical truth is that it is better to give than receive.

    F. Roots us in trust for His provision.

    Matthew 6:26

26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

Philippians 4:19

19 And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

• Tithing teaches us to trust God as Provider, not money as security.

• If God takes care of birds, how much more will He take care of His children?

• Tithing doesn’t remove faith but rather it requires it.

III. The Faith Steps of Biblical Tithing

1. Trust and Obedience.

2. Growth through Discipleship.

3. Surrender.