Christians Should Give Voluntarily - 2 Corinthians 9:7a

Paul had been raised in a strict Pharisaical home (Acts 23:6), and was taught to practice the Jewish laws meticulously, including laws concerning the tithe.  The Torah required Israelites to give a tenth, a tithe, of their income to the Lord (Leviticus 27:30; Deuteronomy 14:22).  When Paul became a Christian he learned the difference between following the letter of the Law of Moses and following the liberating Spirit of God.  Giving to the kingdom of God was not to be driven by a sense of regret, "Oh, I wish I didn't have to give THAT", or motivated by some fear-laden sense of necessity, "God will punish me if I don't give Him this."  Instead it was to be based on what a person "has decided in his heart" (2 Corinthians 9:7).

Likewise, Christians today are just as free in Christ as the redeemed Paul was.  Since we have died to the Law, with all its requirements, we are not bound to the law of the tithe.  Something much greater is to motivate us to give - Christ's love for us, which brought us out of death into life.  God's great gift of love on our behalf compels us to give generously and gratefully.  Rather than give only a tenth of our income, many of us are blessed enough that we can give more than that.  In hearts transformed by the blood of Jesus we are to decide what we can give as an expression of our love to the One Who gave Himself for us.

Question:  Do you think that we who live under grace should give less than what was required of those who lived under the law?  For the Christian, the tithe, 10% of gross, is the starting point!  Something to think about until next time!