The Bible addresses giving to the church multiple times in both the Old and the New Testaments. God expects His people to give to the church, and then God will bless them for their obedience. The Bible says that those who give generously will be blessed generously. The Bible also says that God cares more about our attitudes toward giving to the church than He does about the actual amount that we give.
History
1. The concept of giving to the church goes all the way back to Abraham, who was the founding father of the Jewish faith, and, by extension, the Christian faith as well. Genesis 14:18-20 records Abraham giving a tenth of all he had to Melchizedek, who was both the king of Salem and priest of "God Most High." The only other person referred to as both king and priest in the Bible is Jesus. See Hebrews 6:19-20.
Size
2. The Bible says that God is more concerned about our hearts than the amount of money that we give to the church. In Mark 12:41-44, Jesus noted that a widow who gave only two very small copper coins actually gave more to the church than the wealthy people who gave more monetarily because the widow gave out of her poverty rather than her wealth. However, the Bible says in Act 5:1-10 that God was not pleased with Ananias, who gave a lot of money to the church but lied about it being all he had.
Considerations
3. The Bible says that God wants us to "sow generously," and He does not want us to give to the church grudgingly. According to II Corinthians 9:6-8, "God loves a cheerful giver." God wants us to give to the church what we have decided in our hearts. He does not want us to give "reluctantly or under compulsion." However, the Bible reminds us that those who give generously will also reap generously. See II Corinthians 9:6-8.
Warning
4. God sees failing to give to the church as "robbing" God. The Bible addresses this issue in Malachi 3:8-9. The Bible says that the failure to give full tithes (a tenth of your increase) and offerings (a "gift" to God in appreciation for what He has done for you) to the church is the equivalent of "robbing" God. As a result, the entire nation was under a "curse." God wants there to be "food in my house." (Malachi 3:10)
Benefits
5. In Malachi 3:10, the Bible follows up God's warning not to "rob" Him with the benefits of giving the full tithes and offerings to the church. The Bible says that God will richly bless us for giving to the church. In Malachi 3:10, the Bible encourages us to "test" God on his promise to "throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it."