Bible Truth Foundations
Part 2 of 3: Growing in Christ
Please begin by answering this question honestly in your own words.
When did giving last cost you something you actually felt? What went through your mind as you let it go?
Luke 6:38
Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.
The verse begins with a command of one word and spends the rest describing the return. Note whose measure sets the size.
The central idea of this lesson
Giving is the engine of biblical finance: measured by proportion not amount, powered by love not obligation, and trusted to a God who repays what is lent to Him.
Part 1 established God's attitude to provision; Part 2 turns to the believer's side of the covenant: giving. Scripture treats giving not as fundraising but as the central discipline by which money is mastered and faith is exercised.
Mark 12:43–44
So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood."
Jesus watched the offering and did the mathematics of heaven: two mites outweighed fortunes, because God measures gifts by proportion and sacrifice, not by amount. "I cannot afford to give" is answered forever by a widow; the question is never capacity but heart.
Note
God's own giving sets the pattern: He gave "according to His riches" and out of love, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son" (John 3:16; Ephesians 1:7). Giving that is not motivated by love profits nothing, though it gave all (1 Corinthians 13:3); love is the only currency heaven recognises behind the gift.
Proverbs 11:24–25
There is one who scatters, yet increases more; And there is one who withholds more than is right, But it leads to poverty. The generous soul will be made rich, And he who waters will also be watered himself.
The world's arithmetic says keeping increases and giving depletes; the kingdom's arithmetic runs the other way. Scattering increases; withholding impoverishes. Luke 6:38 attaches the return to your own measure, and Proverbs 19:17 makes the boldest claim in the book: "He who has pity on the poor lends to the LORD, And He will pay back what he has given." Giving to the poor is lending to a Borrower who has never defaulted.
Caution
This is not a slot machine. Giving to get is not giving; it is shopping. The promises of return are real, but they are made to cheerful, love-driven givers, "not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver" (2 Corinthians 9:7), and empty words to the needy prove faith dead (James 2:15–16).
Luke 16:10–11
He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?
Jesus calls money "what is least", the training ground of stewardship. How you handle pounds determines what God can trust you with in true riches: people, ministry, spiritual responsibility. Faithfulness in the small unlocks the great; there is no promotion past a failed apprenticeship in mammon.
Psalm 41:1–3 pronounces blessing on the one who considers the poor: deliverance in trouble, protection, preservation, blessing on the earth and strength on the bed of illness. God notices open hands and stands behind them. The giving life is the securest financial position on earth, because its guarantor cannot fail.
Practical Tip
Set a proportion, decide it in your heart before God (2 Corinthians 9:7), and give it first when income arrives, not last from what survives the month. Firstness is what makes giving worship instead of leftovers.
Work through these on your own before your group meets. Type your answers directly into the table below. Your answers are saved automatically in your browser.
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| Question | My Answer | Group Discussion Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Jesus measured the widow's two mites as more than all the rest (Mark 12:43–44). What does your current giving look like when measured by proportion and sacrifice rather than amount? | ||
| Proverbs 11:24 describes scattering that increases and withholding that impoverishes. Where have you seen each half of the verse proven in real life? | ||
| Luke 16:10–11 makes money the test for true riches. What might God be waiting to entrust to you on the far side of faithfulness in the least? | ||
| 2 Corinthians 9:7 rules out grudging and pressured giving. What would need to change for your giving to become genuinely cheerful? | ||
| Proverbs 19:17 says giving to the poor is lending to the Lord. Do you have any such "loans" outstanding? What is stopping the next one? |
These questions are designed for open conversation at any level of experience. There are no trick questions and no single correct answer.
Giving is learned by giving. Consider these areas of practice.
| Context | How I Apply This |
|---|---|
| Personal life | Decide your proportion before God this week and automate its firstness: it leaves when income arrives. Review it yearly with one question: is my measure growing with my trust? |
| Church community | Support the work of the gospel and the needy within reach: those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel (1 Corinthians 9:14), and no member of the body should face a genuine need alone while the rest have surplus. |
| Difficult seasons | When money is tightest, do not stop giving; shrink the amount, never the habit. The widow gave in her poverty, and the God who watched her watches you. Psalm 41:1–3 was written for the giver's hardest bed. |
Tap each card to reveal the answer.
What follows the command to give?
Luke 6:38
"Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you."
Luke 6:38
Who gave more than all the rich?
Mark 12:43–44
"This poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood."
Mark 12:43–44
What happens to the one who scatters?
Proverbs 11:24–25
"There is one who scatters, yet increases more; And there is one who withholds more than is right, But it leads to poverty. The generous soul will be made rich, And he who waters will also be watered himself."
Proverbs 11:24–25
What is giving to the poor?
Proverbs 19:17
"He who has pity on the poor lends to the LORD, And He will pay back what he has given."
Proverbs 19:17
What kind of giver does God love?
2 Corinthians 9:7
"So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver."
2 Corinthians 9:7
What does faithfulness with money determine?
Luke 16:10–11
"Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?"
Luke 16:11