November 28, 2007

For if the Gentiles have been partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister to them in material things. Romans 15:27

As I was reading the Word this morning, this verse caught my attention. It is similar to;

1 Corinthians 9:11-12 where Paul wrote, “If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you? If others have this right of support from you, shouldn't we have it all the more?”

This is a call to us to support those who minister to us of spiritual things. It reminds me of common arguments against tithing. I have heard many arguments against tithing which is the giving of our first 10% to the storehouse. I have heard that tithing is old covenant and does not apply today because tithing isn’t mentioned in the New Testament. I have also heard that tithing is under the law, and we are not under the law anymore. We only have to give what is in our hearts today.

I really do not understand these arguments. We must return to scripture to discover the truth! I find little evidence to back these arguments. I do find that tithing started before the law was given. In Genesis 14:18-20 Abraham gives Melchizedek a tenth of all the spoils recognizing him as the priest of the Most High God. Later Moses receives the command of the tithe from the Lord. The tithe was given to the priests to live on since they were given no land, because the Lord was to be their portion. They in turn were to tithe on their portion as well. This lines up with Romans and 1 Corinthians as well. The Old Testament is always to point us to Christ. It is a picture of how God’s Kingdom operates. Christ is the reality, the fulfillment of the law.

I also know that Cain and Abel brought offerings to the Lord in Genesis 4. I also read that God did not respect Cain’s offering, so God cares what and how we bring our offerings-- not just what is in our hearts. Let us remember what Jeremiah 17:9 tells us, “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?”

God has always required us to give our first fruits of everything! He wants to be first in our lives. He is a jealous God. The very first commandment is: You shall have no other gods before Me. The Old Testament shows a people who rebelled by worshipping other idols. In other words, they continued to trust anything other than the Almighty God. They continually betrayed God by turning to idols. Hosea’s life was a living picture of God and His relationship to the adulterous nation of Israel .

Tithing is mentioned in the New Testament in Matthew 23:23 , "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. Jesus himself is talking. He tells them that they pay the tithe, but miss the point of the law—love. He then makes the statement that they should do both! It also says in Acts 20:35, “I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'” Again this scripture is talking about supporting those who are ministering the Gospel. Wouldn’t it make sense that we be called to give more under the New Covenant and not less?

Of course what would a teaching on tithing be without Malachi 3:6-12? God was chastising Israel for not tithing. Matter of fact, He equated it with robbing Him. He even explained that by not tithing, they were under a curse. He wanted them to bring in the tithes so there would be food in His house. Remember the Levites were the workers in the House of God and their ability to stay and work in the house depended on the people bringing in the tithes. Then He even encouraged them to test Him and see that He is faithful to His word! DO NOT miss the important scripture in verse 6. "I the LORD do not change.

Scripturally it is clear to me. Most importantly however, is that God has shown Himself faithful to me personally! He called me to tithe and taught me about it many years ago. I have been through many financial ups and downs, but I have never lacked for what I needed. As a single mom, barely making ends meet, God provided over and over. I was faithful to tithe and give as the Lord required even to the point of crying as I wrote a check for $50 of the last $75 I had in the bank (I still needed groceries). I owed almost $5000 in bills that I didn’t know how I could pay. God asked me to test Him. I wrote the check and a windfall of blessings began to pour out that week. Not only did someone give me a gift card to a restaurant that allowed me to enjoy lunch with my co-workers, but also a friend of mine called and told me to come over and bring all my bills, because she was going to pay them! Did you catch that? It was a 100 fold return? I wrote a check for $50 and God paid my bills of $5000!!!

Tithing is a principle in God’s Kingdom. It doesn’t work the same way as the world. We cannot serve God and mammon!

Can you afford NOT to tithe?

Janet F.

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