Each one must give as he has made up his mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 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.

2 Corinthians 9:7,8

In a culture dominated by materialism and individualism, there is something radical about Christian giving. Christian giving arises because everything belongs to God and our resources are at His disposal to be used for His service – financial giving is just one expression of this.

The Old Testament people of God gave a tithe of ten per cent which many Christians still find a useful benchmark of their own giving but the New Testament teaches much more about giving. One of the passages most focussed on giving is in 2 Corinthians 8 and 9. Some principles of Christian giving that come out of these verses are:

• Giving sacrificially may be appropriate (8:3)
• Giving springs from a relationship with God first (8:5)
• It is part of our grateful response to God’s grace (8:7-9)
• We should match our actions to our willingness to give (8:10)
• We should give realistically (according to means (8:10)
• Giving is about sharing of our resources in an equitable way (8:14)
• Our corporate giving should be a means through which we encourage others (9:4-5; 9:13-14)
• We should give generously (9:6)
• We should give willingly and cheerfully (9:7)

If you would like to think more about why give, there’s a short booklet by John Stott entitled The Grace of Giving available on Sundays.

If you want to know more about giving to Emmanuel Church, please contact us at martin.christian[at]emmanuelonline.org.uk or download our giving booklet.