Throughout Scripture, God instructs believers to live generously. This is not because God desires our wallets—he already owns everything in them. God cares about our relationship with money because of its tie to our hearts. Money management reflects heart management.

The Gospel of Matthew provides us with some key lessons about biblical generosity. The words found in Matthew’s letter are just as true today as the day he wrote them. You are free to use these lessons for personal study or teaching preparation.

Here are four generosity lessons found in Matthew:

1. Our stewardship will be judged (Matthew 25:14-30).

The Parable of the Talents demonstrates the nature of God’s Kingdom. God gives us resources for the advancement of His Kingdom. Those who leverage the resources well are rewarded. Those who never understand God’s nature and keep the resources to themselves result in wrath. This is a serious call for disciples to manage God’s resources for His mission, not our own. And what is one of the best ways to leverage those resources? Living generously.

2. Our reward for giving will either be earthly or heavenly.

And we choose the location (Matthew 6:1-4).In Matthew 6, Jesus teaches us that motivations matter. Those who give to glorify themselves may receive a reward—honor from other humans. But this reward is earthly, momentary, and will not result in long-term fulfillment. Those who give to glorify God will receive a different type of reward. This reward is heavenly and eternal. Our motivations for giving determine the location of our rewards.

3. Tightfistedness indicates that a heart is not fully committed to Jesus (Matthew 19:16-22).

Jesus’ interaction with a young, rich man teaches us an invaluable lesson. Jesus asked that the young man let go of his god, his possessions, to take hold of the true God. Sadly, the young man refused. He looked the Son of God in his eyes and walked away. Tightfistedness is not an insignificant issue. It reveals a problem deep in the heart of a person. Tightfistedness indicates that the person is holding on to another god and not fully committing themselves to Jesus.

4. God leads us by providing the ultimate gift (Matthew 27:32-56).

God doesn’t just tell us to live and give generously. He leads by providing the ultimate gift. There is no more significant gift than Jesus’ death on the cross. The generosity of our God is unfathomable. We don’t serve a God who simply says, “Go do.” No, we serve a God who says, “See, I did.” And it is His gift that moves us to generously give.

In His perfect wisdom, God weaves verses about generosity throughout Scripture, including the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew reminds us to take stewardship seriously, let our giving be driven by a desire to glorify God, and that God leads us in generosity through the giving of His Son. Let these lessons guide you in your study and your generosity journey.