What does New Testament grace giving look like?

Short Answer: What does New Testament grace giving look like? Are we to give a set percentage of our income, like a tithe, or is it something different? New Testament grace giving is founded upon our freedom in Christ. We are not under the Law or any spiritual regulation requiring that we give a certain amount. Instead, we can decide from the heart how much we want to give to support the Gospel message (2 Corinthians 9:7).

Diving Deeper: New Covenant giving can be done in genuine freedom without concern for hitting a benchmark. Because we have new hearts, we can give what we want to give to further the Gospel. We can decide the amount, without any compulsion or guilt (2 Corinthians 9:7).

The New Testament says we can give according to the needs of others (2 Corinthians 8:12); when we have abundance (2 Corinthians 9:17-18); and to advance the Gospel as we join in God’s mission to reach the world (2 Corinthians 9:17-18).

All of this is to be done according to what we truly desire in our hearts. There is no passage in the New Testament that coerces or guilts or manipulates a person into giving money, and there is no amount specified as a benchmark.

And despite what we might hear today in some religious circles, there are zero mandates to tithe 10% in the New Testament. Jesus taught that tithing was a matter of the Old Testament law (Matthew 23:23), and believers are not under the Law (Galatians 5:18).

Here’s the bottom line: You don’t have to give money to remain in good standing with God. Instead, you can give what you truly want to give to help proclaim the Gospel and to love others. That’s grace giving in action!

Let’s Make It a Conversation!
1. Have you ever felt pressured to give money? What was the context?
2. React to this statement: The New Testament never once instructs believers to tithe 10%.
3. What would it look like for you to give from the heart, not under compulsion?
4. What does God’s instruction to give “from the heart” say about our new hearts?