God is so Generous

There are a group of people who advocate the idea that God will prosper you as you give to Him. It sounds too good to be true. You give to God and He will in turn double your blessing. That's way better than any mutual fund and maybe even better than getting in early on a IPO of a stock.

Can God double the offering you give Him? Of course He can.

Is it a guarantee that God always blesses us financially? Of course Not.

When the scriptures speak of blessing people financially, it's often times found in the book of Proverbs. The Proverbs are considered Wisdom Literature. According to the rules of bible interpretation, Wisdom is generally true, maybe even 95% true, but not a guaranteed promise. For example, God promised to save us and deliver us from sin and it's consequences if we believe in Jesus as our Lord and Savior. God promised to forgive us of our sins because of the work of Jesus on the cross. But does God promise to always bless in earthly financial ways? God's blesssings are way more creative than we can imagine, often times spiritual.

This past Sunday, I shared with our Vine family about Generosity.

Treasure Principle Key #6 – God prospers me not to raise my standard of living, but to raise my standard of giving.

How do we get started raising the standard of our giving? (2 Corinthians 8:1-15)

1. Generosity starts with the Grace of God. (vs.1, 9)
2. Generosity involves personal sacrifice. (vs.2-3)
3. Generosity is a voluntary response from the heart. (vs.4, 13-15)
4. Generosity flows from our devotion to God. (vs.5, 12)
5. Generosity excels as I grow in grace. (vs.6-7)

Proverbs 3:9 – "Honor God with everything you own; give him the first and the best." (The Message)

As I studied the idea of the "tithe", I was surprised to read from one commentary that the word "tithe" does not appear in the New Testament. When the concept of tithe ("tenth") is mentioned in the NT (like in Matthew 23:23-24), it's used in a negative context. In fact, the tithe is not prescribed anywhere in the New Testament. So one has to wonder whether the "tithe" is still binding for New Covenant Christians today.

Consider this: The tithe was for Israel in a day in age where there was no federal government and no form of taxation. Thus, the tithe seemed to be the minimum (10%) taxation system for the nation to carryout the religious and political duties for the country that often times found themselves wandering the desert or restored after being conquered by pagan neighbors. In other words, the NT Christian is no longer bound by the OT Tithe (legal taxation percentage for all peoples). In fact, the idea of freewill offering occurs all throughout the OT and NT.

Why should we give to God through what we term 'offering'? Not because we are required to, but because we desire to, practice the Treasure Principle and it's Keys.

Generosity is not legalistic, but it flows from our hearts that have experienced the riches of God's grace. We are generous because we recognize that God owns everything.

How much should one give back to God? The percentage that you have come to a personal conviction through prayer with God.

Final Thought: Some people say, "Can I afford to give offering?" In reality, "Can any of us afford NOT to give?"