The Tithing Perspective of Grace

Goodness...was surfing on Choo Thomas and tithing when I suddenly chanced upon ANOTHER forum that speaks ill on the act of tithing.

http://65.108.220.179/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=8&start=0

And as normal, my reply

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Whatever is said, let's reconsider the act of tithing from the point of a biblical principle.

Definition of principle: Principal is an adjective meaning "foremost" or "major," a noun meaning "chief official," or, in finance, a noun meaning "capital sum." Principle is a noun only, meaning "rule" or "axiom." Her principal reasons for confessing were her principles of right and wrong.

Now the principle of tithing appears right from the beginning of the bible, even in the book of Gensis, in the garden of Eden.

Let me list 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).

Since it is a principle, that tithing is a norm and a Godly one as well, is it not also logical to include it in the law of behavior?

Let's question the rational of the above. If one says that murder is wrong, then is it logical to include in the law of God too since the law is to guide people towards good and not evil.

Let's look at Andrew's bible verse here:

"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices - mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law - justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter without neglecting the former." (Matt 23:23, NIV)."

True, I agree these are matter of the law that Justice, Mercy and faithfulness is inclusive in the law BECAUSE they are Godly principles. Does that mean that Justice, Mercy and faithfulness are needless when Christ redeemed us from the law? Oh God forbid!!

Jesus teaches that law demands justice, mercy and faithfulness because they are God's standard of conduct, so is the act of tithing. If Jesus lumps it together, then tithing, justice, mercy and faithfulness are given equal weightage since he already said, "You should have practiced the latter without neglecting the former." In short, we all should practise tithing, mercy, justice and faithfulness.

If we are to go about shouting that since Christ redeemed us from the law of being good not to tithe, then by the same token we are freed not to have justice, mercy and faithfulness. I really do hope you read the verse carefully and see what the Lord is really saying and not by your own conclusion what you want it to say.

Contrary to what was proposed, this tithing verse is there for all to see and one mention of it doesn't mean that we could erase it off from memory. It is there for a reason, God protects His book through 2 millenia of persecution for a purpose and this verse has its purpose. If it mentioned once it does not mean that it is not the truth.

Like I said, contrary to what was said in the post, there is a verse in the NT that speaks of tithing.

[color=orange]Hebrews Chapter 7:8

(ASV) And here men that die receive tithes; but there one, of whom it is witnessed that he liveth.

(BBE) Now at the present time, men over whom death has power take the tenth; but then it was taken by one of whom it is witnessed that he is living.

(CEV) Priests are given a tenth of what people earn. But all priests die, except Melchizedek, and the Scriptures teach that he is alive.

(KJV+) And2532 here5602, 3303 men444 that die599 receive2983 tithes;1181 but1161 there1563 he receiveth them, of whom it is witnessed3140 that3754 he liveth.2198

(YLT) and here, indeed, men who die do receive tithes, and there he , who is testified to that he was living, [/color]

It clearly shows here that tithing is important because the act speaks of Jesus who received our tithes in heaven.

Now I have to continue saying somethings with regards of the splitting of the old and new testaments.

I just use this verse to demonstrate that the splitting of the two testaments is unjustified and surely is not what God intended.

Malachi Chapter 3:6 "I am the Lord and I do not change."

There we have it.

The summary of what has being said

a) God do not change
b) His laws and principles are everlasting to those who do not believe
c) His laws and principles are everlasting to believers but we are given life despite our inability to meet those laws.
d) We still practise mercy, justice and faithfulness and since Jesus places the act of tithing as important as mercy, justice and faithfulness, then we should practise the later since we hold dear to the same principles.
e) The act of tithing is a principle that is mentioned from the first book of the bible to the New Testament in Hebrews.

Now...am I giving all of you a guilt trip because you do not tithe?

Well no because if Jesus can tell the thief that he is with Him on paradise when both of them are on the cross, I won't expect a born again believer on the death bed to tithe before He is allowed access to heaven.

No! The promise of salvation is based on one thing only: Believe Jesus and the work on the cross.

So why do the act of tithing came to the fore?

For 2 reasons if you look at Malachi 3:10

Bring in all the tithe unto the treasure-house, And there is food in My house; When ye have tried Me, now, with this, Said Jehovah of Hosts, Do not I open to you the windows of heaven? Yea, I have emptied on you a blessing till there is no space.
(Malachi 3:10)

a) For Lord God to bless us further

Did Jesus die for us while we are righteous or sinners? God already bless us with things that we do not deserve, so much so even Job can complain why evil people still can run afoul of the law and get away with it! It is God's huge grace, OUR undeserved favour from HIM to feed us while we are still sinners.

So now we are saved, does that mean He would not provide if we do not tithe? Of course not! He will STILL bless us.

So why the need to tithe then? So that we can allow God to bless us more so that we can bless more to the people around us! It is not just 10% more, it is more than 100%! It is over the brim, heaven emptied blessings that over floweth with good things!!

Not just that, tithing allow God to protect our work and will cause the devourer to leave what is our's alone.

God provides since He commands us not to worry. The tithe shows FAITH in HIS provision, in HIS promise and in HIS blessings which is MORE than enough.

b) To feed his house.

The storehouse of Malachi's time and the church of the church age is different in form but the substance is the same. The house of the Lord which is the temple, is now the church and ourselves for the Lord lives in all of us.

Now if we can squarely tell our pastors to live in faith. Why don't we work for employers in faith as well instead of demanding salary?

The pastors are here for us to become our spiritual feeder. We come to church to get spiritual food, which is our storehouse.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now if tithing is such a bad thing after all and I agree it is misused by some ministers to 'extort' money, then it is just plain old blackmailing.

Jesus died on the cross to enable us to enjoy HIS divine exchange, His Health, His Riches, His Power, His Wisdom, His Love for our lack in every area of our lives.

Honestly, do God really need the 10% from us? No!! Of course NOT! He owns the universes, what more can we give Him? There has got to be another reason for wanting the tithe since He already said He does not change, so His accusation of believers stealing from Him through withholding the tithe is still valid.

So why we still need to give the tithe? The tithe is God's abounding grace to allow HIM to bless us even more! So is that a good thing? Of course it is!

I also agree with the brother that we should not just give 10% we should give HIM EVERYTHING. But can I ask, how can you give him EVERYTHING when we are squabbling over a measly 10%? How can a heart that holds dear to 10% of just the financial part of our lives, able to give everything readily from every spore of our lives? This is one question we all have to answer.

Show faith in the little things first (you may call it a giving instead of a tithe), and your faith will grow in your giving of your 100% of EVERYTHING not just in finance because you allow God to grow it for you! (Come to rememberance of the parable of the 10 talents: Matt 25)

Whatever I am going to say from hence is not about the act but about the heart.

Let's turn to Mathew 6:24

`None is able to serve two lords, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will hold to the one, and despise the other; ye are not able to serve God and Mammon.

(Matthew 6:24)

And then to the Parable of the Rich Man Mathew 19:16-30

Please take note of this particular verse:

Jesus said to him, `If thou dost will to be perfect, go away, sell what thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven, and come, follow me.' And the young man, having heard the word, went away sorrowful, for he had many possessions;

(Matthew 19:21-22)

And lastly the Story about Taxes to Caesar (Matthew 22:15-22)

And take note of this verse

they say to him, `Caesar's;' then saith he to them, `Render therefore the things of Caesar to Caesar, and the things of God to God;'
(Matthew 22:21)

If the thing I preach about the principle of tithing, does Matt 22:21 that appears in 3 of the 4 Gospels mean anything? It dovetails nicely. Have we all wondered why are the story about tax to caesar is mentioned not once but three times? It speaks of importance.

Now we are to give back to God what is his and this is in New Testament! Does it dovetail with Malachi 3 as well; That whatever is God has to be given back and since it is not given back is it considered as stealing?

The reason why I asked readers to flipped through these verses is that I want to show that the whole New Testament puts the intention of the heart as paramount because it affects the level of faith. The heart that holds dear to something will put more faith in it. Isn't that true?

Next is the story about the 3 servants. If you can see, the first 2 servants are given accolades because they did what is right with the money given to them. Note the heart of the 3rd servant. He says the master is hard that's why he do not dare to do anything to it. The master speaks of God who give us talents (in money and in our talents) so as to be use for His glory. If we view our generous God with such a suspicion that He is NOT generous, what did the Master in the parable do? He pass more blessings to the one who is faithful.

The story of the rich man speaks of the heart as well. Here he told Jesus that he has done EVERYTHING that the Law requires (including the giving of the tithe) but when it comes to giving his ALL he cannot do it. Why? The Bible did not give the answer and it just says that he has a lot of possessions. He walked away disappointed because there's only one logical answer: He value his possessions more than eternal life.

Even Jesus preached that we cannot have 2 masters. We either serve one and despise the other. That's why there a need to tithe because it is a test not for God's benefit but for OUR benefit since God is already so rich so why he would want our measly 105?. It is for OUR benefit to allow us to serve the Lord instead of Mammon, to allow God to bless us even more!

So there will be other reasons for not owning up to the principle of tithing.

Consider these verses

and the sting of the death is the sin, and the power of the sin the law;
(1 Corinthians 15:56)

Christ did redeem us from the curse of the law, having become for us a curse, for it hath been written, `Cursed is every one who is hanging on a tree,'
(Galatians 3:13)

Since we are redeemed from the effects of sin that is the curse of the law (we are not redeemed from law...it is the law that shows sin and sin cursesd us with death and separation from God).

Now we have escaped the effects of sin which is the law. The law REQUIRES us to do something which does not show the true INTENTION of the heart. People can do something but do not do it sincerely. But the works of the redeemed heart will do something, that's the basis of James epistle.

and he who did look into the perfect law--that of liberty, and did continue there, this one--not a forgetful hearer becoming, but a doer of work--this one shall be happy in his doing.
(James 1:25)

So we all look to the perfect law of perfect freedom, and that perfect freedom allow us to do the important things of the Lord (justice, mercy, faithfulness and tithing), we shall be happy in the doing.

THIS brothers and sisters in Christ, is that tithing is a work of faith out of a heart of faith that shows that Christ is alive and well today!

If we are so readily to hide behind GRACE since we are not in the law, let me tell you a 'bad' news. Under grace we are required out of our hearts to give more than the law

Just consider this verses from Christ

"You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.' But now I tell you: do not take revenge on someone who wrongs you. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, let him slap your left cheek too. And if someone takes you to court to sue you for your shirt, let him have your coat as well. And if one of the occupation troops forces you to carry his pack one mile, carry it two miles. When someone asks you for something, give it to him; when someone wants to borrow something, lend it to him.
(Matthew 5:38-42)

Isn't the above the pure teaching on the law of Grace? That if one asked for 10 dollars we ought to give more than what is demanded?

It is so clear...if we are truly under grace, we ought to give more than what is demanded.

So may I ask, why are we fighting over that 10% and give reasons NOT TO GIVE or TO GIVE WHAT THE HEART IS IMPRESSED?

May I know a heart that is not convinced of God's providence, would he or she give more than the 10% under the law of grace? Search your heart!

If we are not faithful with the little, how can we be faithful with much?

God graciously provides Jesus as the sacrifice on the cross to give us a hope and a future, to bless us and not to harm us (Jer 29:11)

Let's give the tithe with THANKGIVING of the heart. If we worry about how the church is using the fund, we are not faithful that Jesus has the power to govern His own church. If we feel that the church is blackmailing the congregation, then leave the church and search for one that preaches the true intention of the act of tithing.

God is a generous God who cares more for your heart than your money!