Under the old covenant, there was a tax that was levied on the people of Israel. The proceeds were given for both civil and religious purposes. The priests were supported in their ministry, the temple was maintained, and the administrative work of the government was paid for. This is what has been traditionally known as the “tithe,” or 10 percent offering, given by the people and collected by the Levites.

In the new covenant, however, we see something remarkable with regard to the giving of God’s people. In Acts 4:32-37, we see God’s people, not meting out a strict 10 percent of their income, but rather, out of the abundance of their joy for the arrival of the kingdom of God in Jesus, giving all that they had.

Of course, this is not to say that the church has a right to its members’ property. Acts 5:4, in a very unhappy scenario, makes clear that the earthly possessions of God’s people remain their own – at least up to the point where they purpose in their heart what to give. But once purposed, the obligation is there to give what is purposed (2 Cor. 9:7). To withhold after that is sin.

But in Acts, God’s people do not give out of a sense of legal exaction or tax (2 Cor. 9:5). Rather, there is a glorious freedom in the gospel to give more than 10 percent. The biblical example is God’s people giving their whole selves. They lose their lives, so that they might find them in the crucified Christ. It is this “cruciform” perspective that drives them to give all. No longer is 10 percent the standard; now it is 100 percent!

This is not to say that Christians are all called to poverty and must give away all their earthly possessions. Compulsion undermines the very principle of gospel freedom expressed above! But it also means that 10 percent is not the bar. Rather, 10 percent is the minimum and 100 percent is the maximum. Our entire lives are now given over to God. He deserves our all.

Lastly, let our cheerfulness increase with the increase of our giving. What good is it for us to grow in our giving if we become increasingly resentful in proportion to our giving? No, the two should go hand in hand. Therefore, as we move from 10 percent to 100 percent, may we also by God’s grace increase in our cheerfulness in giving.