Let's Get Back to the Basics (Giving) (September 6, 2026)

Oh, the thoughts, sermons, ideas and more I have heard about the subject of giving over the past several years. More Christians / Church folks are finding that “Christians are not supposed to give”. I have heard more social media sermons about this than I care to count. Instead of listening to these folks, let’s see what the Bible says about it.

Before we get started, I want this known - This is not a sermon to guilt anyone into starting to give NOR giving more. This is to enlighten us as to what the Bible says ONLY!

You find giving back to God all throughout the Bible. And when we talk about giving, it doesn’t always have to be about money. You find giving in the story of Elijah allowing the widow to give him a cake first and thereafter she and her son lacked for nothing at mealtime. You also find giving when the boy has his lunch and saw the Master’s multiplication miracle and the enormous leftovers the satisfied thousands were too full to eat. How about the widow who give the two mites, all she had, and having given them received both a commendation from Christ and an eternal memorial in the Bible.

Tithing and offering is an investment into the kingdom of God and has the greatest possible dividends; it has offers other benefits: a means to worship, a way of showing our gratitude to God and an expression of our faith and obedience to the Word of God.

Modern debates happen often about whether New Testament Christians should pay tithes. The argument holds that tithing is an Old Testament principle and was somehow replaced with a different concept in the New Testament. Many are looking for all the loopholes both in the Word of God and just in the world we live in on NOT giving back to God.

This morning let’s look at two methods of tithing and hopefully put these loopholes lookers to rest on what we as Christians should be doing.

Tithing By Convenience

Tithing by convenience is when the person gives to God what he feels he can, if there is something left over. This kind of giving is capricious and inconsistent and leaves the giver with a feeling of guilt, defeat and inadequacy. Those are feelings, incidentally, which should be felt under these circumstances. Those who give by convenience are well meaning, hoping too someday do better. These givers have a major hindrance in their giving; insurmountable and often continuous debt obligations.

We must understand that tithing is God’s way of funding the Kingdom, Satan will naturally attack this method to try to defeat the Kingdom. Unfortunately, he is winning is so many Christians lives.

Debt is an obligation that we must pay back. Power bills, medical bills, car loans, mortgage, and the list goes on and on. You took out the loan, you took out the line of credit, it is an obligation to pay back. No one is happy about being under crushing debit. Don’t make debts that you can’t payback. Planning is essential to good financial management; this starts with prayer and giving to God.

Here is a great truth: most of us do not need more money; what we need is more wisdom in managing what we have.

James 1:5 “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.”

Tithing By Commitment

Tithing by commitment is based on the conviction that it is God’s will to tithe, regularly and scripturally; and that such is beyond negotiation and compromise. This type of tithing puts God first. It expresses the conviction that the remaining 90 percent will accomplish more than the 100 percent without tithing.

Tithing is no special nor unusual requirement among God’s standards.

Matthew 11:29–30 “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.””

The dedicated Christian would no more miss tithing than he would miss prayer. He has found that tithing is a part of worship, tithing is service, tithing is obedience. As a Christian, we should find joy in giving!

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.”

Tithing is spiritual yet it has earthly as well as eternal consequences. The hungry thousands were not fed until the boy gave his lunch. The church cannot grow without our support; the Kingdom cannot expand on earth without our commitment to tithes. The difference will be the souls saved or lost because of your tithing or not. We are the key, God uses us.

Matthew 6:20–21 “but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

The greatest statement on material possessions in all the world is what Jesus said ...

Matthew 6:33 “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

Our quest is not really for more possessions or things in life, but our quest is for happiness. Only God can give us that. When we obey God in all things, including tithing, we can be happy as He desires for us to be.

John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”

By the way, the devil wants your tithe, first to keep God from getting it, and secondly, to use for evil purposes. We actually owe our tithes to God, for it is He who blessed us, prospered us, provided food, rest, air, health, and strength for us to earn income. But God wants to use it for the ultimate good—the salvation of souls. He pays great dividends, on earth and in heaven.

Hebrews 11:24–26 “By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.”

Conclusion

Let me ask this question: What is most important to you financially? your car payment? house payment? charge account? or God?

If you have not made that decision, then you are faced with it regularly. The Christian’s conscience and the Holy Spirit shows us what is right. We cannot ignore God and be at peace.

Do you want to have righteousness? One definition of righteousness is simply “being right.” That is why Jesus taught: Matthew 6:33 “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” We must have righteousness in our lives to be acceptable before God. We cannot be right unless we obey Him in terms of finances.

Let us remember, we can do all things through Christ, who strengthens us.

Let us begin now to tithe faithfully. God will take care of the rest.