The principle of giving is a law; it is a principle that God set up to govern life. This law of giving works for anyone, whether you are a Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, or atheist. It is a law.  God is a giver. He so set life up that we are to follow His pattern and be givers also. Giving is a physical act. The act of giving is one of the fundamental rules of prosperity. God invented these rules, and men have discovered them by observation and have written books about these rules or laws. For example, consider the law of gravity. Newton did not invent the law; he simply observed it and then wrote the observation down.  Although we could study these rules or principles or laws about prosperity from other books, it is best to go to the source. God is a giver. God set life up to operate on the principle of giving because that is what He is, and we are to follow His example.

Remember John 3:16: “God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son.”  By the death of God’s only begotten son, God was able to pay for the sins of the whole world so that all who would confess Christ as Lord and believe in their hearts that God raised Christ from the dead would be saved. God gave His son and received back millions of children.  It is the principle of giving and receiving, and God shows us how it works by operating it Himself with His son. He does not ask us to give our firstborn – only a few dollars.  Nice! 

Philippians 4:15  Now ye Philippians know also, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only.

When we give we also receive back from God way more than we gave.  Once we have given, we need to expect the promises of God to come to pass in our lives. We not only learn to give, but also we learn to expect His bounty, His abundance flowing back toward us. It is what He wants to do.  It is not automatic, but it comes as we believe or expect God to bring His Word to pass in our lives.

Once we incorporate this principle of giving into our lives, we should expect to see God’s abundance flow back to us.

Luke 6:38   Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.

Proverbs 19:17   He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.

God says that which you give is the same as giving it to Him, and He will repay you again.  Nice! God is not a taker.  If He asks you to give or to teach or minister in some capacity, He will abundantly repay you for your help and service.

Proverbs 11:24   There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty.

2 Corinthians 9:6-8  But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.   Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.   And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:

When we learn these rules of prosperity along with the promises, we need to expect the promises of God to come to pass in our lives.

Remember:

3 John 1:2   Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.

The prospering of the soul should involve reading and studying the accounts of the Word, thinking, pondering, or mediating on what you know from God’s Word.  Make the Word part of your life because of your love for God.  For example, being kind, forgiving and loving one another becomes part of our lives as we meditate on God’s love for us in Christ. As our soul prospers, our believing of God’s Word increases; we learn the principle of giving and receiving, and we find it easier to prosper.

In some of the verses above, God tells us, rather implores us to give.  Then He explains that we will not be poorer for doing so, for we will receive back in the same measure that we gave.  If we give sparingly, we will receive back sparingly, but if we give bountifully, we will receive bountifully.

As a side note, the record in 2 Corinthians says that He makes all grace (or money, in this context) abound toward us – so we will have enough to give even more!!

We have learned that we will receive back as we give.  But we also learn that if we do not give, if we withhold what is proper, that tends towards poverty.

Giving is one of the overall fundamental principles of prosperity.

What we are going to look at now is giving within the church. It is still giving but in a specific area — in or to the church.

This form of giving is a subset of the general overall principle of giving. There do not seem to be any additional promises, except that when we stand at the bema (the judgment seat from which rewards are given at the return of Christ), this giving qualifies as walking in the love of God, according to Romans 13:1-6.

This giving is often called tithing, giving, abundant sharing, or, as in Galatians, it is called sharing fully.

Here are some verses talking about this form of giving in or to the church:

(Technically, in the Old Testament, the temple was not called a church, but it functioned as the center of spiritual growth for God’s people, similar to how the church functions today.)

Malachi 3:10-11  Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.  And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts.

“Prove me” is used only here, and it is used in conjunction with prosperity.

Proverbs 3:9-10  Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the first fruits of all thine increase:  So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.

Galatians 6:6-7   Let him that is taught in the word communicate (share fully) unto him that teacheth in all good things. Be not deceived: God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

Galatians 6:6-7   Those who are taught must share all the blessings of life with those who teach them the Word.  Make no mistake — God is not to be mocked — a man will reap just what he sows; (Moffatt’s Translation)

To “communicate” simply means “to share fully.”  Thus, it is giving in to the church.

Just to be clear, the word “tithe” appears only three times in the King James Version of the New Testament: twice in the gospels and once in Hebrews.  The church epistles, Romans through Thessalonians, do not use the word “tithe”.

To distinguish between the overall principle of giving and giving to or in the church, I have chosen to call it “giving in or to the church.”  It communicates well to people, and there can be no argument over the use of the word “tithe.” Sometimes in this work, you will still see the word “tithe,” but what I mean by that is “giving in or to the church.”

Romans 13:1  Let every soul be in subjection to the excelling authorities, In fact, there is not real authority except from God, and those that exist have been appointed by God.  (A Journey through the Acts and Epistles)

These authorities are the governing ministries in the church.

Romans 13:6 For this reason, pay tribute also, for they are servants of God giving persistent attention to this same thing. (A Journey through the Acts and Epistles)

The footnote on verse 6, (Pg. 248 in A Journey Through the Acts and Epistles) is interesting: “The word phoros was also used to refer to any payment.  Here, in Romans 13:6 and 7, it is used in comparison to refer to that which is due to the excelling authorities mentioned in verse 1. As a citizen of Rome would pay the tribute, the custom, the respect and honor to Rome, so verses 6 and 7 speak of rendering that which is due to the excelling authorities commissioned by God. ”

This rendering would then be another place where God tells us to give in or to the church – those excelling authorities that govern in the church and that teach God’s Word.

Since the word “tithe” is not used in the church epistles, the question arises: how much do I give to or in the church?  As we read before, “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.”

Romans 15:4   For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.

1Corinthians 10:11   Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

In the Old Testament times, they did not have Bibles as we do.  The scriptures were in the temple, and perhaps the king had a copy if he made himself one as God told him to do, but the everyday person had no copies. God had many things that happened back then written down for our learning, for our admonition.  We should feel greatly privileged to own a Bible and go to it daily to determine if the things we believe and are taught are so.

If we wanted to know an amount to start with for giving in or to the church, in the Old Testament they gave a tithe, or a tenth (some say that when you totaled up all they were to give it came to about 40%).  Now, at least, we have a number.  If you cannot do that much, do what you can and ask God to help you grow the amount. Remember, he that sows bountifully reaps also bountifully.

Just to clear up a point.

I have heard this question asked on a couple of occasions and never heard a good answer for it, nor I did not know what to say either. “Does it count as tithing if I give my money to someone in need?  For instance, the neighbor girl is a single mom with three kids, not much money, and the tires on her car are threadbare.  Can I give her my tithe?”  That is a good honest question.  But, I believe they are asking the wrong question.  What they really want to know is:  “Will God bless me back if I give her the money?”  The answer is:  “Absolutely, yes!”  But does giving to the girl qualify as giving in or to the church as in Romans 13:1-6 and Galatians 6:6-7 that we read?  The answer is, “No.”

We are to have enough to give both in and to the church and to give to every good work!  We should be so prosperous that we can give to every good work that we desire.

I was taught that if you were going to give, you should give it to the church and only to the church.  Anything else was second rate. However, God says that He will enable us to give to every good work.  Here is another verse along that line:

Ephesians 4:28  Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.

We are to so prosper that we can give in or to the church (to those that teach and share God’s Word), and we are to so prosper that we can give to those that need, and to every good work.

Now I can buy Girl Scout cookies without feeling guilty, tip the waitress, and be blessed doing it. We can also give to those that help with storm relief or for any good work we desire to give to, or that God puts in our hearts, anything we know is His will, and He will abundantly bless us back financially for doing so.

When your child receives his first dollar, teach him to give part of it and to save part of it. Then teach him that God will bless him back for doing His Word.  Teach this to your children. Learning these truths and principles and God’s word, practicing them, and then teaching them to your children is all part of The Prosperous Life.