Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Evangelical
Generosity as Witness

Generosity as Witness

Last updated on: November 5, 2026 at 9:34 am by Randy Alcorn

0 Comments

Generosity as Witness 2026-10-05T09:38:06-08:00 Randy Alcorn

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

There’s an intriguing phrase in Acts 2:47 that describes the church in Jerusalem as “having favor with all the people.” What exactly were these early Christians doing that brought them such esteem? The preceding verses tell us: “And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts” (v. 45-46).

When unbelievers witnessed the generosity of these believers, they saw how they loved one another. Many came to faith partly through the power and integrity of this refreshing alternative to materialism: “And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47, italics mine). Their generosity demonstrated the life-changing power of the gospel. While being attracted to the generous giving of Jesus-followers, unbelievers were attracted to the gospel of Jesus.

Paul says in 2 Corinthians 8:1: “We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia.” How was God’s grace demonstrated? Through their giving to needy Christians. In verse 6, Paul calls the Macedonians’ giving to help the hungry in Jerusalem an “act of grace.” The same Greek word is used for Christian giving and for God’s grace.

Christ’s grace motivates and puts in perspective our giving: “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich” (v. 9).

As thunder follows lightning, giving follows grace. When the lightning of God’s grace strikes us, the joyful giving of our time, talents, and treasures should follow.

In 1 Timothy 6:17–19, Paul makes clear it is God’s will for us to be open-handed givers, generous and rich in good deeds. This passage tells us that through giving, we’ll “take hold of that which is truly life.” The materialistic, self-centered life is not the “good life.” The true good life is the life of generosity. When we live that way, the world will notice.

Jesus said, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). Our tangible love for others witnesses to the gospel truth that Christ loves us and died for us. This is explicitly related to what 1 John 3:17–18 says: “But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.”

There is a long history of Christian generosity as a powerful witness. The Roman emperor Julian had an interesting complaint about early Christians: “The impious Galileans support not only their own poor but ours as well; everyone can see that our people lack aid from us.” The theologian Tertullian said, “It is our care of the helpless, our practice of loving kindness that brands us in the eyes of many of our opponents.”

Aristides, an unbeliever, was sent by Emperor Hadrian to spy out those people called “Christians.” His words to the emperor have reverberated through the centuries: “Behold! How they love one another.”

Helping the needy has always set Christians apart, showing the world that we operate on a radically different value system. What religions besides Christianity have established hospitals worldwide, or networks of famine relief and development to help starving people, victims of disasters, and refugees?

True, Scripture tells us not to give in order to be seen by men (Matthew 6:1). Glorifying God is our primary motive, and we should be careful to avoid pride. But sometimes our generosity will be seen by men and even should be, just like when the early Christians sold their property and gave away the proceeds.

Earlier in the same sermon where he says we’re not to give in order to be seen by men, Christ commands us “let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).

Acts 4:36-37 tells us that Barnabas sold a field and brought the money to the apostles. His act of generosity was commonly known among believers and permanently recorded in Acts. The body of Christ can benefit from seeing open models of generous giving like that of Barnabas. The world can benefit from seeing the Church’s generosity as an attractive witness to the grace of Christ.

Every local church also needs examples of other churches that are models of giving generously. When thousands of churches are giving more than half of their income to reach the lost, when they’re as excited about giving to the poor as they are about building projects, the world will observe God’s grace at work.

When the world sees the beauty of such generosity, they’ll be drawn to the good news of our Savior. They will notice our good deeds and glorify our Father in Heaven.

Previous Post

November 2, 2026

God’s People Don’t Become Angels at Death

Next Post

November 9, 2026 Meet the First Embryo Ever Adopted

Recent Comments

0 | Leave a Comment

"The biblical references and examples make the message easy to follow, while the focus on ..."

harry085drop

Being with God Is the Heart ..."

"As we do good works (no matter how small), and struggle to live holy lives ..."

Tom Hering

How Can We Be Ready to ..."

"Katy Faust's "articles" are junk science at best."

Roger J.

Every Child Is Known and Loved ..."

"People can feed their thoughts or a few notes into AI and be delighted with ..."

rrhersh

AI, Ghostwriting, and the Ethics of ..."

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category About Me Animals Books Books and Resources Christ Christian Life Christians Past and Present Church Creation Culture and Worldview Doctrine and Theology Eternal Perspective Ministries Fun Grace and Truth Grief Happiness Heaven Marriage and Family Missions Money and Giving Persecuted Church Politics Prayer Prolife Salvation Sexual Purity Sovereignty and Free Will Suffering and Evil Uncategorized Writing

Select a Month November 2026 October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz