Does God punish us if we do not tithe sufficiently?
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Introduction:
Introduction:
Many Christians struggle with this issue of tithing/giving. In some churches giving is over-emphasized. At the same time, many Christians refuse to submit to the biblical exhortations about making offerings to the Lord. Tithing/giving is intended to be a joy and a blessing. Sadly, that is sometimes not the case in the church today.
The Bible, both Old and New Testaments, does have much to say about giving.
There have been many abuses and misinterpretations of what the Bible says about tithing.
Some churches have walls that annually picture the previous year's top givers.
Some churches require members to provide the church with a copy of tax returns so the church can verify 10% giving was achieved.
Some preachers emphasize tithing to the extent that it becomes a legalistic requirement for salvation.
Some pastors are quick to pronounce any financial difficulties as evidence of a lack of tithing.
and so forth and so on.
At the same time, many refuse to submit to biblical exhortation about giving.
Giving/tithing is meant to be a joy and blessing not a burden to the child of God and the Bible has much to say about this topic.
1.) What is tithing?
1.) What is tithing?
Tithing is an Old Testament concept and was a requirement of the Law of God given to the Jews. The Lord required them to give 10% of the crops they grew and livestock they raised to the tabernacle and later the temple. It is mentioned 18 times in the Law as it related to the Tabernacle and later to the temple (2 Chronicles 31)
‘This is the law of the grain offering: The sons of Aaron shall offer it on the altar before the Lord. He shall take from it his handful of the fine flour of the grain offering, with its oil, and all the frankincense which is on the grain offering, and shall burn it on the altar for a sweet aroma, as a memorial to the Lord. And the remainder of it Aaron and his sons shall eat; with unleavened bread it shall be eaten in a holy place; in the court of the tabernacle of meeting they shall eat it. It shall not be baked with leaven. I have given it as their portion of My offerings made by fire; it is most holy, like the sin offering and the trespass offering. All the males among the children of Aaron may eat it. It shall be a statute forever in your generations concerning the offerings made by fire to the Lord. Everyone who touches them must be holy.’ ” And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “This is the offering of Aaron and his sons, which they shall offer to the Lord, beginning on the day when he is anointed: one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour as a daily grain offering, half of it in the morning and half of it at night. It shall be made in a pan with oil. When it is mixed, you shall bring it in. The baked pieces of the grain offering you shall offer for a sweet aroma to the Lord. The priest from among his sons, who is anointed in his place, shall offer it. It is a statute forever to the Lord. It shall be wholly burned. For every grain offering for the priest shall be wholly burned. It shall not be eaten.”
And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord’s. It is holy to the Lord.
“You shall truly tithe all the increase of your grain that the field produces year by year.
As soon as the commandment was circulated, the children of Israel brought in abundance the firstfruits of grain and wine, oil and honey, and of all the produce of the field; and they brought in abundantly the tithe of everything.
The Old Testament Law however actually commanded multiple tithes be brought were to be given. In fact, in total the Old Testament Israelites were required to give around 23% of their income to support the tabernacle/temple, the Levites, to fund celebrations like passover and to help the poor. This giving was a mandatory legal requirement in Israels theocratic form of government. Think of it as a sort of method of taxation. Plus, they were also commanded to give “free will offerings” above and beyond these mandatory tithes.
Then you shall keep the Feast of Weeks to the Lord your God with the tribute of a freewill offering from your hand, which you shall give as the Lord your God blesses you.
2.) How Tithing is often taught.
2.) How Tithing is often taught.
Malachi 3:9-10 is usually the place that is gone too when the teaching of tithing comes up in the church.
You are cursed with a curse, For you have robbed Me, Even this whole nation. Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try 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 such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it.
They use this passage to say that the storehouse is the local church and if you don’t give 10% of your income you are robbing God and he will curse you by doing things like make your car break down, flat tire, major appliance blow up, or even lose your job. Because God’s going to get his money out of you one way or another.
This kind of teaching actually makes God a petty monster instead of the Sovereign Lord of the universe and is nothing more that using fear tactics to compel people to give.
The context of this passage is very important. The Bible must be understood within its proper context.
“Every text of scripture devoid of its context becomes a pretext. “
The Israelites were being called to task for not bringing their offerings to the temple like the Law commanded. Because of their disobedience to God’s law, God had judged them by giving them a very mall harvest. The Lord, through Malachi, is commanding them to bring the “full tithe” (Leviticus 6: 14-23) of their grain sacrifices and if they did, they would see that he would bless them with abundance in future harvest of crops. The “storehouse” is literally the place where grain was stored in the temple. And the giving of this grain was part of their temple worship to God.
Malachi was written about 400 years before the first church at Jerusalem was founded. So applying the command of temple giving to the church is to take these verses out of their original God-given context.
3.) So are christians today commanded to tithe?
3.) So are christians today commanded to tithe?
Jesus actually rebuked the religious leaders during his time regarding the tithe.
“But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass by justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.
They were following the letter of the law as it related to tithing but were forsaking the most important Law, to love God.
“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.
This was fulfilled upon Jesus death and resurrection. Following this, you never see tithing commanded or even mentioned in the New Testament. In fact there is no percentage of income set aside for a person to give in the church. Instead we are commanded to give as we are able.
On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come.
For some people, that may be 10%; for others that may mean less; and still for others more. Our giving should be dependent on the ability of the giver and the needs of the body of Christ.
and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need.
We need to pray and ask for the Lords leading as it relates to giving.
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
But now I am going to Jerusalem to minister to the saints. For it pleased those from Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor among the saints who are in Jerusalem. It pleased them indeed, and they are their debtors. For if the Gentiles have been partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister to them in material things.
Our giving should be done with motives that are pure and hearts full of worship toward God. Not compulsion or hoping we can somehow bribe God into blessing us.
But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.
We are to give in order to fund christian workers
If we have sown spiritual things for you, is it a great thing if we reap your material things? If others are partakers of this right over you, are we not even more? Nevertheless we have not used this right, but endure all things lest we hinder the gospel of Christ.
For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain,” and, “The laborer is worthy of his wages.”
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Now you Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church shared with me concerning giving and receiving but you only. For even in Thessalonica you sent aid once and again for my necessities.
4.) Principles to guide our giving.
4.) Principles to guide our giving.
God owns everything and gives His things, including money, to whom He chooses.
The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein.
The rich and the poor have this in common, The Lord is the maker of them all.
Everything we have is from God.
The question should never be “How much of my money should I give?” but “How would God have me use His money?”
2. How we spend and give away God’s money is a fundamental aspect of worship.
And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
This applies even to how we spend and give our money. We need to be confident tht how we handle our finances is bringing glory to God.
This includes all of our giving be it to the church or other gospel ministries.
It also includes what we do with all of the money entrusted to us by God.
3. Giving to the church and the ministry of the gospel is commanded by God.
Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given orders to the churches of Galatia, so you must do also: On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come.
Consistent giving to the church for the ministry is a directive of God to Christians.
4. Giving is to be done with thoughtfulness, sacrifice, generosity, and joy.
1 Corinthians 16:2, 2 Corinthians 9:6-7, which we’ve already looked at give us that guidance.
Thoughtfulness, generosity, freedom, and joy are all part of our giving.
After prayer and consideration, we should give as we feel God would have us give.
Believers have liberty in this area of worship. As the Lord prospers us, we should consider giving more.
5. Our giving is to be done quietly.
Jesus warned us against giving in a way that would draw attention to ourselves.
But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.
God’s reward will be far better than the accolades of men.
6. As we give for God’s glory, sacrificially, generously, and joyfully, God promises blessing.
The one who gives generously also reaps generously (2 Corinthians 9:6).
He who has a generous eye will be blessed, For he gives of his bread to the poor.
Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”
When we give we dont do it to seek earthly, material prosperity, but we can be that God will reward and bless us somehow, someday.
Perhaps the blessing will come here on earth, but it will most definitely come in heaven.
Conclusion:
Conclusion:
The christians giving should be based on nothing more than our relationship with the Lord. As we grow closer to the Lord, he will guide us in this area of how to give.
If thats 10% to you, glory to God. However, we should also be willing to offer to the Lord whatever he asks of us.
We give as an act of worship for all that Christ has done, not in order to keep from getting in trouble. Our giving should flow from gratitude, not compulsion.
New Testament giving is actually radically different than the OT tithe. Id even say, it can be greater if we allow the Lord to lead.