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After the last post, I found that there are still some brothers and sisters out there who are still doubtful about the teaching behind the tithing issue
Let me quote a long section of a book by Robert Morris "The Blessed Life"
"It is amazing to me how many people try to overlook this Scripture (Mal 3:8-9) or explain it away. Some say, "Well, that's in the Old Testament." But in the very same chapter of Malachi, God says, "For I am the LORD, I do not change" (v. 6).
We have already seen that the Lord clearly says that the firstborn belongs to Him (see Exodus 13:2) and the firstfruits are His (see Exodus 23:19). We also just heard Him say that the tithe belongs to Him (see Malachi 3:8-9).
Here is my question to those who contend that the principle of the tithe is no longer active: If God declares, "I do not change" (Malachi 3:6), then when did those things supposedly change? When did God change?
The tithe, the firstborn and the firstfruits all belong to the Lord. This isn't a law! It's an unchanging principle established by an unchanging God.
Many people say, "Well, tithing was under the Law, so I don't have to do it. We're under grace now." They need to know that there are many things that were under the Law that continue to be principles with God.
Would you believe anyone who asserted that because adultery was forbidden under the Law, it is now acceptable under grace? Would you accept the argument that stated that because stealing was forbidden under the Old Testament law, it is now acceptable under the New Covenant grace? Of course not.
There are eternal principles throughout the Word of God, and tithing is clearly one of them. It is a principle that runs from Genesis to Revelation.
The tithe belongs to God. The firstborn belongs to God. And firstfruits belong to God."
Taken from The Blessed Life, Robert Morris, Chapter 2: God Must Be First, Page 37-38
Here are some examples from the book of Genesis that speaks of tithing and the principle of firstfruits/firstborn
a) The tithing of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil (Gen 2:16)
b) Abel tithing of the firstborn sheep (Gen 4:4)
c) Abram tithes to Melchizedek (Gen 14:20)
d) Abraham sacrifice of Isaac as firstborn burnt offering to God's promise to Abraham being the father of many nations (Gen 17:5).
Even in the new Testament other than the book of Hebrews there is a mention of giving that reflects the tithe (1 Corinthians 16:1-2).
(NIV) Now about the collection for God's people; Do what I told the Galatian Churches to do. On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made. (NIV)
(NLT) Now about the money being collected for the Christians in Jerusalem: You should follow the same procedures I gave to the churches in Galatia. On every first day of the week, each of you should put aside some amount of money in relation to what you have earned and save it for this offering. Don't wait until I get there and then try to collect it all at once (NLT)
(NKJV) 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 on of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come. (NKJV)
(ASV) Upon the first day of the week let each one of you lay by him in store, as he may prosper, that no collections be made when I come.
(BBE) On the first day of the week, let every one of you put by him in store, in measure as he has done well in business, so that it may not be necessary to get money together when I come.
(CEV) That is, each Sunday each of you must put aside part of what you have earned. If you do this, you won't have to take up a collection when I come.
(CUV-S) 每逢七日的第一日，各人要照自己的进项抽出来留著，免得我来的时候现凑。
(ESV) On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come.
(GNB) Every Sunday each of you must put aside some money, in proportion to what you have earned, and save it up, so that there will be no need to collect money when I come.
(ISV) On the first day of the week, each of you should set aside and save some of your money in proportion to what you have, so that no collections will have to be made when I come.
(KJV+) Upon the first2596, 3391 day of the week4521 let every one1538 of you5216 lay5087 by3844 him1438 in store,2343 as3748, 302 God hath prospered2137 him, that2443 there be1096 no3361 gatherings3048 when(3752) I come.2064
(KJVR) Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.
(LITV) On one of the sabbaths, let each of you put by himself, storing up whatever he is prospered, that there not be collections then when I come.
(MKJV) On the first of the sabbaths let each of you put by himself, storing up what ever he is prospered, so that there may be no collections when I come.
(RV) Upon the first day of the week let each one of you lay by him in store, as he may prosper, that no collections be made when I come.
(Webster) Upon the first day of the week, let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no collections when I come.
(YLT) on every first day of the week, let each one of you lay by him, treasuring up whatever he may have prospered, that when I may come then collections may not be made;
Generally speaking, the other more direct way of saying the above is that we ought to put aside more money as our income grow due to God's grace. So as the income grows, so does the giving. The key word here is 'as'.
So does this reflect the tithe? The tithe means as more is given, the 10% also grows in terms of size. If I earn 100 dollars, then the 10% is 10 dollars; if I earn 10000 dollars, the 10% is represented by 1000 dollars. If we take away the proportion in the scriptures, then it is not in the same nature as a tithe and thus can be construed as an offering since offerings has no "fixed formula" unlike the tithe (which incidentally meant a tenth or 10%). These verses show that as God prosper us, the more is set aside for the giving, thus the spirit of the tithe is presented here.
We must also see that in 1 Corinthians 16 v 1, Paul has already instructed the church of Galatia or the Galatians to do the same as he has instructed the Corinthians. Are the Corinthians and Galatians primarily Jewish believers? Paul has already said that God is also the God of gentiles (Romans 3:29) as He is also the God of the Jews, therefore the teaching about giving even of tithes is applicable since God is unchanging.
So the tithe is not about ethnicity or race or even gender. The issue here is not us humans, the created, but the focus is on the creator. If the creator demands tithes of firstfruits and firstborns, then we who are the created, are to adhere to His principle since He is the one that teaches it in the first place.Let me quote a long section of a book by Robert Morris "The Blessed Life"
"It is amazing to me how many people try to overlook this Scripture (Mal 3:8-9) or explain it away. Some say, "Well, that's in the Old Testament." But in the very same chapter of Malachi, God says, "For I am the LORD, I do not change" (v. 6).
We have already seen that the Lord clearly says that the firstborn belongs to Him (see Exodus 13:2) and the firstfruits are His (see Exodus 23:19). We also just heard Him say that the tithe belongs to Him (see Malachi 3:8-9).
Here is my question to those who contend that the principle of the tithe is no longer active: If God declares, "I do not change" (Malachi 3:6), then when did those things supposedly change? When did God change?
The tithe, the firstborn and the firstfruits all belong to the Lord. This isn't a law! It's an unchanging principle established by an unchanging God.
Many people say, "Well, tithing was under the Law, so I don't have to do it. We're under grace now." They need to know that there are many things that were under the Law that continue to be principles with God.
Would you believe anyone who asserted that because adultery was forbidden under the Law, it is now acceptable under grace? Would you accept the argument that stated that because stealing was forbidden under the Old Testament law, it is now acceptable under the New Covenant grace? Of course not.
There are eternal principles throughout the Word of God, and tithing is clearly one of them. It is a principle that runs from Genesis to Revelation.
The tithe belongs to God. The firstborn belongs to God. And firstfruits belong to God."
Taken from The Blessed Life, Robert Morris, Chapter 2: God Must Be First, Page 37-38
Here are some examples from the book of Genesis that speaks of tithing and the principle of firstfruits/firstborn
a) The tithing of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil (Gen 2:16)
b) Abel tithing of the firstborn sheep (Gen 4:4)
c) Abram tithes to Melchizedek (Gen 14:20)
d) Abraham sacrifice of Isaac as firstborn burnt offering to God's promise to Abraham being the father of many nations (Gen 17:5).
Even in the new Testament other than the book of Hebrews there is a mention of giving that reflects the tithe (1 Corinthians 16:1-2).
(NIV) Now about the collection for God's people; Do what I told the Galatian Churches to do. On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made. (NIV)
(NLT) Now about the money being collected for the Christians in Jerusalem: You should follow the same procedures I gave to the churches in Galatia. On every first day of the week, each of you should put aside some amount of money in relation to what you have earned and save it for this offering. Don't wait until I get there and then try to collect it all at once (NLT)
(NKJV) 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 on of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come. (NKJV)
(ASV) Upon the first day of the week let each one of you lay by him in store, as he may prosper, that no collections be made when I come.
(BBE) On the first day of the week, let every one of you put by him in store, in measure as he has done well in business, so that it may not be necessary to get money together when I come.
(CEV) That is, each Sunday each of you must put aside part of what you have earned. If you do this, you won't have to take up a collection when I come.
(CUV-S) 每逢七日的第一日，各人要照自己的进项抽出来留著，免得我来的时候现凑。
(ESV) On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come.
(GNB) Every Sunday each of you must put aside some money, in proportion to what you have earned, and save it up, so that there will be no need to collect money when I come.
(ISV) On the first day of the week, each of you should set aside and save some of your money in proportion to what you have, so that no collections will have to be made when I come.
(KJV+) Upon the first2596, 3391 day of the week4521 let every one1538 of you5216 lay5087 by3844 him1438 in store,2343 as3748, 302 God hath prospered2137 him, that2443 there be1096 no3361 gatherings3048 when(3752) I come.2064
(KJVR) Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.
(LITV) On one of the sabbaths, let each of you put by himself, storing up whatever he is prospered, that there not be collections then when I come.
(MKJV) On the first of the sabbaths let each of you put by himself, storing up what ever he is prospered, so that there may be no collections when I come.
(RV) Upon the first day of the week let each one of you lay by him in store, as he may prosper, that no collections be made when I come.
(Webster) Upon the first day of the week, let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no collections when I come.
(YLT) on every first day of the week, let each one of you lay by him, treasuring up whatever he may have prospered, that when I may come then collections may not be made;
Generally speaking, the other more direct way of saying the above is that we ought to put aside more money as our income grow due to God's grace. So as the income grows, so does the giving. The key word here is 'as'.
So does this reflect the tithe? The tithe means as more is given, the 10% also grows in terms of size. If I earn 100 dollars, then the 10% is 10 dollars; if I earn 10000 dollars, the 10% is represented by 1000 dollars. If we take away the proportion in the scriptures, then it is not in the same nature as a tithe and thus can be construed as an offering since offerings has no "fixed formula" unlike the tithe (which incidentally meant a tenth or 10%). These verses show that as God prosper us, the more is set aside for the giving, thus the spirit of the tithe is presented here.
We must also see that in 1 Corinthians 16 v 1, Paul has already instructed the church of Galatia or the Galatians to do the same as he has instructed the Corinthians. Are the Corinthians and Galatians primarily Jewish believers? Paul has already said that God is also the God of gentiles (Romans 3:29) as He is also the God of the Jews, therefore the teaching about giving even of tithes is applicable since God is unchanging.
With this as the backdrop, it is no wonder that Paul told the Corinthians this
You are so rich in all you have: in faith, speech, and knowledge, in your eagerness to help and in your love for us. And so we want you to be generous also in this service of love.
(2Co 8:7)
But just as you excel in everything - in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us - see that you also excel in this grace of giving.
(2Co 8:7, NIV)
So what is this service of love? The clue comes in verse 2 where Paul commended the sacrifices made by the Corinthians that even though they are poor, they are still generous! That's why Paul gave the famous verse (which I think is often misused) in verse 9 to encourage the poor that Jesus through the work on the cross will make them rich (in terms of money)!
*Note: Before anyone says that this 'richness' is spiritual richness, one ought to refer to the strong's concordance with regards to the word 'rich' as presented in verse 9. I have included it here for easy reference:
G4148; to be (or become) wealthy (literally or figuratively): - be increased with goods, (be made, wax) rich.
As the readers can see, the meaning here is literally meant that one would increased with goods! So this is rich in the material sense, not spiritual. Let those who have eyes see!
I think of the same as Paul when the issue of tithing surfaced (2 Cor 8:8), that the matter of tithing is a test of sincerity towards the Lord. It is not for the Lord to test but for our own benefit, to question our own hearts.
I do not speak according to command, but through the earnestness of others and testing the trueness of your love.
(2Co 8:8)
The giving of tithe is not a command but it is also a test of the trueness of your love! How do Paul test the Corinthians? By the giving of money! As one read through the whole of chapter 8, one would have realised that the giving that is presented is about money.
The issue now: Do we need to pass this test to go to heaven? No. Like I mentioned in my earlier posts, we are the redeemed of God through Jesus. We are bound for heaven no matter what since we have received the Lord and being made a new creation therefore there is no more tests involve.
However, how well we live on this earth depends on how obedient we are to the Lord. The principle of tithing is something that the Lord demands that we ought to obey. The reward is that God will bless us more, protect us from the evil of this earth that is controlled by the devil.
The second reward is that the act of tithing frees us from the clutches of the love of mammon.
The third reward is that we are free from worrying about mammon.
Lastly, we are conditioning our hearts to become true to the Lord and the act of giving/tithing is a test to be used for us to strive to become perfect just as our Father in heaven is perfect.
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