Friday, April 30, 2010

A WORD ON TITHING

I have written several hundred blogs without mentioning a preacher favorite--tithing.

What is a tithe? Glad you asked.

It is a tenth of the increase which God has given us which we "bring" to the house of the Lord. It is the portion that God says is His. We don't "give" it, we "bring" what is His to His House. It is the "first" of that which God has blessed us. It doesn't belong to us to give, but God has declared repeatedly in His Word that the tithe is His.

Why tithe?

1. God says to tithe.
2. It was practiced before the Law, in the Law, and under Grace.
3. Jesus said we should tithe.
4. To miss the curse that comes if we don't tithe.
5. To receive the blessing promised if we tithe with the right heart and motive.
6. God tithed. He gave the "first born" of heaven for us.
7. God has been too good to us for us to be cheap with Him.
8. Tithing requires faith. Faith pleases God.
9. It is the means God has ordained for the care of His servants and His house.
10. Souls are saved when we tithe.
11. It is a test of the heart. We need to pass this test.
12. It shows who and what we love. Look at your checkbook and you will find out what you truly love.
13. It is the one test we can give God. God said to try me, test me on this one issue.
14. There is joy found in tithing.
15. It is a proven promise. Tithers testify of blessings. Non-tithers testify they don't have enough to tithe. Seems like non-tithers should want to get on the blessing side of this equation.

Why don't people tithe?

1. Unbelief, fear, sin.
2. Lack of knowledge.
3. Blindness of the Devil.
4. They failed the test.
5. Disobedience.
6. Yielding to the sin of thievery.
7. They love mammon more than Jesus.
8. They don't have a love for the lost.
9. They're cheap and want someone else to pay for
the food at God's house.
10. Ungratefulness. If we are truly grateful that Christ died on the Cross for our sins and we have been saved, then bringing a tithe is a joy.

Don't worry. I am not going to take up an offering.

I just needed to preach a little. Can someone say a big "Amen!"

14 comments:

  1. I give as the Spirit of God leads me to give, which is usually more then the OT tithe system. I can find no wheres in the NT that teaches us to be burdened down by the OT tithe. The Christian church is not a "temple" or "storehouse" and we are no longer under the law. God's blessings, Lloyd

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  2. Lilts, grace always gives more, but tithing came lond before the Law. The Spirit always points to Jesus and He said we ought to tithe. Following Jesus is a joy. He has done so much for me.

    Blessings, Milton

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  3. Milton, can you do me a favor and let me know what verses in the NT when Jesus said we ought to tithe? I must have missed it. God bless, Lloyd

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  4. AMEN and AMEN!!! God Bless you always!!!

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  5. Luke 18:12 I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.

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  6. Loyld: Thanks for your interest in this blog and truth.

    Here are the verses:

    Jesus is talking here. He said,

    Matthew 23:22-24 (New King James Version)

    22 And he who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by Him who sits on it.
    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. 24 Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!

    Jesus is saying that they "ought" to "pay tithes" AND show justice and mercy. He was obviously endorsing and perpetuating tithing and adding that we are to also include living by grace.

    He didn't say, "Now that we're under grace show justice and mercy and it's ok to quit tithing." He said "You ought to tithe and also live by grace."

    Tithing is a wonderful truth given long before the Law and continued by our Lord.

    By the way, do we now have the "right" to lie, or kill, or commit adultery or break other of the teaching of The Law because we are now under grace. I don't think so. Even more that we are under grace we go far more to honor God. I believe this carries over in our bringing our tithe and giving offerings besides.

    Blessings!

    Milton Dykes

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  7. Amen, bless Lloyd's heart. We've tithed all of our lives and it has proven itself. The one thing you mentioned was about souls being saved. That's one thing we want to see more of in our ministry. Our altars are barren. The 90% goes so much further than 100. Not just in having more money, but in knowing how to manage it and being able to have widsom in what God gives to us. Tithing is such a pleasure even without a return. But if one really wants to touch God's heart, open up and give to missions. When one gives above a tithe to missions, it's like a double blessing, if it is done with the right spirit and intent.
    Blessings to you for addressig this subject.

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  8. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  9. Milton,
    I would like to address these one by one, if you don't mind.

    Where does the Scriptures specifically say that "Jesus said we should tithe?"

    Thanks,
    Jason

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  10. Jason:

    Read my comments above. Jesus said we "ought to do these things" referring specifically to tithing. When Jesus says we "ought" to do something that means we should do it. Right? Certainly we should want to do what our Lord says we "ought" to do.

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  11. 1 - Jesus was born, lived, and died under the Old Covenant. The New Testament doesn't begin until after Calvary. Therefore, in Matthew 23:23, Jesus was merely confirming what the law keepers were required to do under the Old Testament Laws.

    2 - God defined His tithe in Leviticus 27:30-33. You aren't following His definition. You have changed it from God's miraculous increase of the land and animals to man's income.

    3 - God gave His ordinances, or instructions, in Numbers 18. You are ignoring ALL of them.

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  12. Thank you Arnold, that is where I was going.
    When Jesus was talking to the Pharisee in Matthew 23, he was talking to a man under the Mosaic Law, before the cross and inside Israel. This was not a message intended for the NT church, after the cross and under grace.

    Why don't pro-tithers humble themselves and just admit, "Wow, I haven't thought about it that way before." Could it be that you have been teaching this all wrong? Could it be that your beliefs on tithing came from traditions of men and not true biblical teaching?

    I hope and pray that maybe some people will get the whole picture and not just a word from the picture.

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