Tithes & Offerings

“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit," says the LORD Almighty. "Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land," says the LORD Almighty.” (Malachi 3:10-12) God has designed a wonderful process to support the spreading of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is God's will that all should hear the truth of the Gospel. In order for that to happen churches must be established, missionaries and evangelists sent to other countries, believers discipled, and ministries supported if we are to reach and teach a lost and dying world. The way these needs are met is by returning our tithes and offerings to the storehouse, the local New Testament church. Here we are taught that God expects us to return one-tenth of our total income, the tithe, back to Him. When every believer returns at least one-tenth of their total income as a tithe to the place where they are being fed from, giving from their hearts, as well as offerings above their tithe, the Great Commission can be fulfilled (Matthew 28:19,20). “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.” (1 Corinthians 16:2) Here God teaches us that our giving to Him should be done on the first day of every week – consistency is important. Tithing is the scriptural way of giving to God. Offerings, on the other hand, are free-will gifts because the amount is not determined. An offering is anything above the tithe. Just as is true with tithes, offerings should come from the heart. Every born-again believer should begin tithing when they are saved. Why should we give our tithes to the Lord? We must always remember that it is God Who gives us the ability, health, and work to make money – everything we have is because of Him. He is the One Who has given us our homes and every material thing that we have. Giving to God guards our hearts from loving things more than Him. When we give, we are obeying God’s Word. When we give, we receive. “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." (Luke 6:38) We are to give to God with a joyful heart. “Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 Corinthians 9:7) When we give, our attitude is more important than the amount we give. We should never be embarrassed if we can give only a small gift. God is concerned about how we give from the resources we have. From Mark 12, we learn that in the Lord's eyes, this poor widow gave more than all the others combined, though her gift was by far the smallest. The value of a gift is not determined by its amount, but by the spirit in which it is given. A gift given grudgingly or for recognition loses its value. When you give, it is important to remember that gifts of any size are pleasing to God when they are given out of gratitude and a spirit of generosity. “Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything - all she had to live on." (Mark 12:41-44) What The Bible Says About Tithes And Offerings: Abraham gave to God. “After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King's Valley). Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, and he blessed Abram, saying, "Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. And blessed be God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand." Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.” (Genesis 14:17-20) Jacob gave to God. “Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father's house, then the LORD will be my God and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God's house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth." (Genesis 28:20-22) From the Law, Moses commanded Israel to give. "'A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the LORD; it is holy to the LORD. If a man redeems any of his tithe, he must add a fifth of the value to it. The entire tithe of the herd and flock--every tenth animal that passes under the shepherd's rod--will be holy to the LORD. He must not pick out the good from the bad or make any substitution. If he does make a substitution, both the animal and its substitute become holy and cannot be redeemed.'" These are the commands the LORD gave Moses on Mount Sinai for the Israelites.” (Leviticus 27:30-34) We are no longer under the Law, but under grace – we give to show and prove our love for God. “Therefore show these men the proof of your love and the reason for our pride in you, so that the churches can see it.” (2 Corinthians 8:24) Paul told the Corinthian church to set aside a certain amount each week and give it to the church. “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.” (1 Corinthians 16:1,2) Everything we have is from God; when we refuse to return to Him a part of what He has given, we rob Him. "Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. "But you ask, 'How do we rob you?' "In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse--the whole nation of you--because you are robbing me.” (Malachi 3:8,9) God removes His blessings from those who disobey Him: money can become a curse when we think more of money than of God. "Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. "But you ask, 'How do we rob you?' "In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse--the whole nation of you--because you are robbing me.” (Malachi 3:8,9) God promises to greatly bless those who tithe. “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.” (Malachi 3:10) Those who give little receive little in return. “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.” (2 Corinthians 9:6) Our lives should be given to God first. “And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God's will.” (2 Corinthians 8:5) God’s blessings come through those who obey Him. “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." (Luke 6:38) One of the greatest privileges we have been given by God is to partner with Him as we cheerfully give our tithes and offerings. “Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 Corinthians 9:7) Lastly, when we invest what God has given us in His work, He provides us with even more to give in His work. One of the greatest privileges we have been given by God is to partner with Him as we cheerfully give our tithes and offering. “Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.” (2 Corinthians 9:10) Giving is God’s pathway for receiving blessing, learning obedience, and partnering with Him as we continue the work He began. Are you giving obediently, regularly, and joyfully?   Financing the Kingdom of God by R.C. Sproul I used to think that it was futile to talk to church members about tithing. At one point in my ministry I made it a studied practice not to talk about money. I adopted that position for several reasons including a desire not to sound like the professional hucksters of religion watching for a "sea of green" in every collection basket. I was convinced that it was a waste of time to discuss tithing as I assumed that every Christian automatically tithed as a matter of course and didn't need to be reminded of their duty. Thus to tell true Christians to tithe was like carrying coals to Newcastle. Such appeals would be wasted on the believer or only serve to alienate the unbeliever. So when the opportunity to address the subject arose, I passed. It was a denominational stewardship program that prompted the crisis that awakened me from my dogmatic slumbers. The program was based on the theme "Take a Step Toward Tithing." The idea was simple: if a person was currently giving 1% of their income they were urged to increase it to 2%. If their current level was 2% they were, encouraged to move to 3% and so on down the line. I said to my ministerial comrades, "I can't implement this program in our local church.." Some said, "Why not? It sounds like a practical way to get people to move in the right direction in a less than severely painful way." I objected on the grounds that the program contained two serious errors: 1) it made tithing an ideal that only super-committed Christians ever reach, a zenith point of sacrificial giving; 2) it gave the tacit blessing of the church to people robbing God. It was like saying "Last year you robbed God of 9% of what you owe Him. This year please rob the Deity of merely 8%." So I began speaking about the subject and church member after church member came to me and said, "I really didn't understand my obligation . . . ." Others said, "I haven't been tithing and know I should, please help me work this through." It was then that I read the statistic that nationally only 4% of all church members tithed. That figure astonished me and made it clear we really haven't communicated God's requirement to His people. Some object right away with an age-old protest, "But tithing is an Old Testament law and we don't live in the Old Testament." To be sure the mandate of the tithe was instituted in the Old Testament. But to use that fact as an excuse for negating its weight for the New Testament era is to fly in the face of everything the New Testament teaches about our involvement in the New Covenant. When the two covenants are compared the point is made emphatically that the covenant benefits enjoyed by the Christian far exceed the benefits conferred upon Old Testament saints. With the greater benefit comes greater, not lesser, responsibility. The tithe is an act of response to God's goodness. If the rank and file under the old structure were required to tithe, it is an insult to grace to assume that some level of gratitude would now be an ideal attainable only by a spiritual elite. The New Testament principle could be translated as saying not "take a step toward tithing," but rather "take a step from tithing." That-is, the tithe becomes a point of departure, a starting base for New Testament stewardship. It represents the minimum response of a grateful soul, a response that is-to be made cheerfully. What about the need for sacrificial giving? We are urged by our Lord to pray for harvesters to be raised up to go into fields white unto harvest. In a real sense that prayer has been answered. Willing workers abound--most churches are faced with a glut of ministers and willing missionaries who have the desire, the education and the vision to fulfill the Great Commission. What is lacking are the friends to underwrite ministry. Virtually every ministry I know of is hurting for funds. There seems always to be more work to be done than funds available to finance the work. The church appeals to the conscience of her people to bring in their tithes voluntarily. The church has no IRS backed up by a fraud division carrying the weight of Caesar's sword. The church doesn't audit its members while seeking pledges. Even with the tax deduction advantage our secular state provides, we are still at the abysmal level of 4% of professed Christians tithing. This is a moral issue of grave consequence for Christ's church. Our duty is to give as the Lord prospers us--a duty to God which must be seen as far greater than any duty we have to the state. The Kingdom of God must be financed by the King's people.