In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus actually raised the bar with the NT in that He went beyond actions and started addressing attitudes and motives of the heart. What I am getting at here is that the NT teaches to be free with money, and if anything not be limited to 10% (as others have shared).
He said in the OT you were not to kill, but in the NT He calls us not to hate. In the OT we were told not to commit adultery, in the NT we are told not to lust.
In prayer He taught it is about sincerity of heart, not religious phrases or trying to look good.
In giving He told us to be free – Matt 10:8, freely you have received freely give.
Paul teaches in 2 Cor 9:6-7 to also give freely and cheerfully:
6 But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.
In the book of Acts those in the first church practiced giving away a lot, like selling what they had and giving it away. They were free with their money and resources and had all things in common.
Jesus and Paul also talk about not being lovers of money, but to be lovers of God. 1 John 2:15 tells us to not love the world or the things of the world, money being one of them.
The teachings of the NT have to do about denying self and following Christ, about His way, not our way. The NT teaches us to be led by the Spirit, to lay our lives down for others, to serve them, to help them, and yes – to even give money away.
I find that there is not freedom with most when it comes to money, but rather many are in bondage with money – they are not free to give it away or to bless others with it. Many have money problems because they are deeply in debt, they have sought to buy or obtain that which is beyond their income level – and the borrower has become slave to the lender.
I find the NT teachings about money and generosity and being willing to bless others and to to be about having freedom to give, to enjoy blessing others with our time, our talents, and our resources. I find that the NT supersedes the OT in the subject of money in attitude and in motive of the heart – we need to be free and ready to give more than 10%, not be limited by it. Is there a NT rule about this? No, there is not – for it is about frredomhelp them, and part of that is about using money to do so.
Let me put it another way, there are people who don’t give because they say they are not required to, that the NT is about grace not rules. So if a person doesn’t give and keeps all the money to themselves just how free are they? The same question applies to a person’s time and their talents too. If we are not giving are we following the example and teachings of the NT?
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