Financial Giving-Part Three
Biblical Principle of Tithing and Offerings
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Malachi 3:8-11
"Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, 'How have we robbed Thee?' In tithes and offerings. [9] "You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the whole nation of you! [10] "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this," says the Lord of hosts, "if I will not open for you the windows of heaven, and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows. [11] "Then I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it may not destroy the fruits of the ground; nor will your vine in the field cast its grapes," says the Lord of hosts.”
The principle is that we tithe to the storehouse (the church that we
fellowship at and receive blessings from). By doing this the Lord will protect
our finances from being devoured. If we don’t tithe, we are keeping something
that belongs to God. Tithing is a minimum and we should also do offerings.
Some will argue that tithing was only in Old Testament times. They
saying tithing is not necessary now.
What was the purpose for tithing? One of the purposes was to support
the Levites-those who were priests. The only work they did was to minister to
the people and God. The tithing also helped to cover the expense to keep the
services going at the temple.
Tithing today supports the pastor who works full-time as a minister and
to cover the expenses of the church.
Malachi is saying the tithe belongs to God, not us. What about today?
The New Testament principle would be that all our money belongs to God. He only
is asking for 10% to be given back to Him.
Did Jesus support tithing? Yes
He did.
Matthew 23:23
"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.”
Did He say their tithing was wrong? No, He said they should tithe, but
not neglect justice, mercy, and faith.
2 Cor. 9:6-7
“Now this I say, he who sows sparingly shall also reap sparingly; and he who sows bountifully shall also reap bountifully. [7] Let each one do just as he has purposed in his heart; not grudgingly or under compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver.”
When we are tithing and giving offerings we are sowing bountifully.
Acts 24:17
"Now after several years I came to bring alms to my nation and to present offerings;”
When Paul was presenting his defense before Felix, he mentions he went
to Jerusalem to bring alms and offerings.
1 Cor. 16:1-2
“Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I directed the churches of Galatia, so do you also. [2] On the first day of every week let each one of you put aside and save, as he may prosper, that no collections be made when I come.”
Paul was telling the people to gather their funds together ahead of
time, so the money could be collected at one time when he was there. He was
encouraging the giving of offerings. The text makes it clear that Paul was
going to take the offerings with him. There were expenses for the Corinthian church.
These would have been paid by tithes. The offerings would have been beyond the
tithe.
Read all of 1 Corinthians 8, to see Paul’s position on the giving of offerings.
Bottom Line–As Christians, all we are and all we own belongs to God. That includes our money. Every cent we spend should be according to the will of God. The minimum we should do is give tithe, and as finances are available, we give offerings.
In the next nugget we will discuss excuses people give for not giving tithes and offerings.
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Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations used are from the New American Standard Version (NASB).