Generosity Beyond the Tithe: New Testament Giving

Acts 2 gives a sweet picture of the newborn church. The believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, fellowship, breaking bread, and prayers because they were more than a Bible study. The early church was a family that wanted to be around God’s Word, around one another, and around the ordinances Christ gave them. God added to their number day by day because this fellowship was full of awe, wonder, glad hearts, and generous hearts.

Acts 2 also shows that New Testament giving is not socialism or merely funding. The believers willingly sold possessions and distributed the proceeds as needs arose because they loved God, loved one another, and wanted to see the gospel go forward. Generosity flows from fellowship. The great commandment and the great commission give Christian giving its purpose: God’s people leverage what belongs to them for the glory of God, the care of the saints, and the rescue of the lost.

The Macedonian churches in 2 Corinthians 8 show what that generosity looks like in real life. Their severe affliction and extreme poverty overflowed in a wealth of generosity. Their first concern was not the need in Jerusalem, though that need mattered deeply. Their first concern was God. They gave themselves first to the Lord, then gave themselves by God’s will to the work of caring for the saints. Tithing trains the heart to begin there: God first. Offerings beyond the tithe become opportunities for that trained heart to overflow in generosity.

Paul calls this giving an act of grace and a picture of the gospel because Christ, though rich, became poor for His people. Giving does not earn favor with God, and it is not a command to meet some random amount. Giving proves that love is genuine. It puts money where the mouth is when God leads His people to trust Him, obey Him, and give sacrificially.

Second Corinthians 9 also keeps generosity from becoming pressure or guilt. God loves a cheerful giver, one who has decided in the heart what God is leading him to do. God supplies seed to the sower and bread for food, and God gives His people what they need to do what He tells them to do. The gift meets a real need, but the blessing does not stop there. The giver gives thanks to God, the receiver gives thanks to God, and thanksgiving overflows to God through the whole chain.

Christlikeness grows in this act of grace. Generosity is not just paying bills or meeting budget. Generosity is fellowship with God and one another for the sake of making Christ known.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Generosity flows from real fellowship. Acts 2 joins glad and generous hearts to teaching, prayer, worship, and life together. Christian giving is not a detached financial transaction. Love for God, love for the church, and love for the lost give generosity its heartbeat. [29:01]
• 2. Give yourselves first to God. The Macedonian churches gave beyond their means because they had already given themselves to the Lord. Needs matter, missions matter, and neighbors matter, but God must remain first. Humanitarian good without worship misses the deepest purpose of generosity. [42:48]
• 3. Tithing trains hearts for overflow. The tithe serves as training wheels, teaching believers to put God first before doing the rest of the math. Regular faithfulness trains the heart to recognize and obey opportunities for offerings beyond the tithe. Overflowing generosity grows out of a life that has learned to say, “Lord, all this is yours.” [48:09]
• 4. Cheerful giving trusts God’s provision. God does not call His people to reluctant giving or giving under compulsion. God supplies what His people need to obey what He tells them to do, even when obedience feels risky. The amount may be small or large, but faithfulness means doing what God has put on the heart with joy. [64:14]
• 5. Giving multiplies thanksgiving to God. God blesses His people so they can become a blessing to others. A gift can meet a need, but it can also cause both giver and receiver to glorify the God who supplied it all. Generosity draws believers into a chain of joy that ends in praise to God.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [18:15] - Growing in the Area of Giving
• [21:08] - The Sweet Picture of Acts 2
• [25:29] - Generosity, Not Socialism
• [27:14] - Beyond Funding to Fellowship
• [32:31] - The Jerusalem Collection
• [35:36] - Macedonian Generosity and the Gospel
• [41:11] - Giving Ourselves First to God
• [47:16] - Tithes, Offerings, and Overflow
• [49:43] - Learning to Give Beyond the Tithe
• [57:22] - Giving as an Act of Grace
• [62:07] - Giving Willingly and Cheerfully
• [65:00] - Blessed to Be a Blessing
• [70:03] - Generosity That Glorifies God
• [73:22] - Not Just Funding, But Fellowship

Bible Reading

Acts 2:42–47

42. And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. [22:09]

43. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. [23:53]

44. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. [24:17]

45. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. [24:24]

46. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, [24:31]

47. praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. [24:58]

2 Corinthians 8:1–9

1. We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, [36:07]

2. 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. [36:23]

3. For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, [38:56]

4. begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints— [39:12]

5. and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us. [40:49]

6. Accordingly, we urged Titus that as he had started, so he should complete among you this act of grace. [57:40]

7. But as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you—see that you excel in this act of grace also. [57:58]

8. I say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine. [59:18]

9. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich. [01:01:56]

2 Corinthians 9:6–15

6. The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. [01:02:29]

7. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. [01:03:43]

8. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. [01:05:09]

9. As it is written, “He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.” [01:05:15]

10. He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. [01:05:15]

11. You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God. [01:06:03]

12. For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God. [01:06:15]

13. By their approval of this service, they will glorify God because of your submission that comes from your confession of the gospel of Christ, and the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others, [01:10:07]

14. while they long for you and pray for you, because of the surpassing grace of God upon you. [01:10:42]

15. Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift! [01:10:46]

Observation questions

1. In Acts 2:42–47, what practices held the early believers together, and what words describe the atmosphere of their life together?
2. What details in Acts 2 show that the believers’ sharing was willing generosity flowing from fellowship, rather than people being forced to give up their possessions? [26:03]
3. In 2 Corinthians 8:2–5, what difficult circumstances did the Macedonian churches face, and how did they respond to the opportunity to help the saints?
4. According to 2 Corinthians 9:10–13, what results come from generous giving besides the immediate need being met? [01:06:15]

Interpretation questions

1. The Macedonians gave themselves “first to the Lord” before giving to the collection. What does this order reveal about the difference between Christian generosity and simply doing humanitarian good? [42:48]
2. Paul calls giving an “act of grace” and says it helps show whether love is genuine. How can giving reveal genuine love for God, fellow believers, and people who need the gospel without becoming a way to earn God’s favor? [59:18]
3. Paul says each person should give what has been decided in the heart, “not reluctantly or under compulsion.” How can a believer take giving seriously while avoiding guilt, comparison, or pressure from others? [01:03:33]
4. When Paul says God supplies seed to the sower and bread for food, what kind of confidence does that give a believer who senses God leading him or her to be generous? [01:05:09]

Application questions

1. When you think about giving to the church, do you mainly think about paying bills and meeting a budget, or about fellowship with God and His people for the sake of reaching the lost? What needs to change in your thinking? [01:14:01]
2. Acts 2 describes believers who wanted to be around God’s Word, prayer, the Lord’s Supper, and one another. What is one practical way you can grow from simply attending church into actively living as part of the church family? [23:18]
3. Is there a need in the church, neighborhood, or mission field that you have noticed but quietly assumed someone else would meet? What might it look like to pray specifically, “Lord, show me how to love You and my neighbor with my resources”? [32:24]
4. Regular giving trains the heart to put God first, while special offerings and other opportunities can become overflow from that habit. What would it look like for you or your household to plan giving faithfully and also remain open to opportunities God brings? [47:16]
5. Think about your first reaction when a need or giving opportunity is presented. Is it more often fear, frustration, joy, eagerness, or something else? What would help you move toward the cheerful willingness described in 2 Corinthians 9:7? [01:04:07]
6. Generosity is not always about a large amount; it can include a practical gift, a meal, supplies, hospitality, or meeting a specific need. What is one tangible way you could serve someone this week with the resources God has already placed in your hands? [45:52]
7. Can you recall a time when God used someone’s generosity to meet a need in your life and lead you to thank Him? How could remembering that gift help you become part of the same chain of thanksgiving for someone else? [01:06:37]