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Tithes
& Offerings:
(Malachi
3:10 KJV) Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse,
that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now
herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you
the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that
there shall not be room enough to receive it.
God has designed a wonderful program to finance the
spreading of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is God's will
that all men should hear the truth of the Gospel. In order
for that to happen churches must be built, missionaries
must be sent to other countries, evangelists must be sent
to local churches to evangelize the Gospel and many other
ministries but be financed to get the Gospel to a lost and
dying world.
The way these needs are met is by the returning of the
tithes and the giving of the Offerings to the local New
Testament Church.
Here
we are taught that God expects us to return one-tenth of
our total income back to Him through the local New
Testament church. The church is where the treasury for
God's work is collected.
By every Christian returning at least one-tenth tithes to
God's treasury and giving from their hearts, offerings
above the tithe, we can carry out God's financial program.
(1 Cor 16:2 KJV) 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.
Here God teaches us that our giving to God ought to be
done on Sunday, the first day of the week. Tithing is the
scriptural way of giving to God. The amount of the
offerings is a free-will offering because no one is forced
to give a certain amount. This offering is suppose to come
from one's heart. Every Christian ought to begin to return
the tithes and give the offerings the very first week they
are saved.
Why
should we give our tithes unto the Lord? It is God that
gave us our jobs and health to work. It is God that has
given us our homes and every material thing that we
possess. Giving to God guards our hearts from loving
things more than God. Giving is obeying the Word of God.
Giving
is the way we receive the blessings of the joy-filled
Christian life.
(Luke 6:38 KJV) Give, and it shall be given unto you; good
measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running
over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same
measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you
again.
Here God definitely teaches us that the way to receive
God's blessings in our incomes is to give. Every Christian
should learn to give for God wants to bless us greatly and
He does this through the amount that we give to Him based
on the attitude of our hearts when we gave it.
We
are to give to God with a joyful heart:
(2 Cor 9:7 KJV) Every man according as he purposeth in his
heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity:
for God loveth a cheerful giver.
NOTICE
AS YOU ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS THE BIBLICAL BASIS
FOR GIVING OUR TITHES AND OFFERINGS TO GOD.
1. Abraham
gave to God:
(Gen 14:17 KJV) And the king of Sodom went out to meet him
after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and
of the kings that were with him, at the valley of Shaveh,
which is the king's dale.(18) KJV) And Melchizedek king of
Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest
of the most high God.(19) And he blessed him, and said,
Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven
and earth:(20) And blessed be the most high God, which
hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave
him tithes of all.
2.
Jacob also gave a certain amount to God.
(Gen 28:20 KJV) And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will
be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and
will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on,(21) So
that I come again to my father's house in peace; then
shall the LORD be my God:(22) And this stone, which I have
set for a pillar, shall be God's house: and of all that
thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.
3. Moses in the law commanded Israel
to give:
(Lev 27:30 KJV) 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 unto the LORD. (31) And if a man will
at all redeem ought of his tithes, he shall add thereto
the fifth part thereof.(32) And concerning the tithe of
the herd, or of the flock, even of whatsoever passeth
under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the LORD. (33)
He shall not search whether it be good or bad, neither
shall he change it: and if he change it at all, then both
it and the change thereof shall be holy; it shall not be
redeemed.(34) These are the commandments, which the LORD
commanded Moses for the children of Israel in mount Sinai.
4. Today we are not under law but
under grace. We are no longer bound by the law but we give
our tithes to show and prove our love for God.
(2 Cor 8:24 KJV) Wherefore show ye to them, and before the
churches, the proof of your love, and of our boasting on
your behalf.
5. The Corinthian church collected
their offering on Sunday: First day of the week:
(1 Cor 16:1 KJV) Now concerning the collection for the
saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia,
even so do ye.(2) 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.
6.
Israel robbed God by not tithing and by not giving their
offerings to God:
(Mal 3:8 KJV) Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed
me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and
offerings.(9) Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have
robbed me, even this whole nation.
7. God removes his blessings from
those who disobey Him: Our money becomes a curse when we
think more of our money than we do of God:
(Mal 3:8 KJV) Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me.
But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and
offerings.(9) Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have
robbed me, even this whole nation.
8. The Church is God's New Testament
storehouse. God promise to bless those who will tithe:
(Mal 3:10 KJV) Bring ye all the tithes into the
storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and
prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will
not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a
blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive
it.
9. Here is a rule to live by:
(2 Cor 9:6 KJV) But this I say, He which soweth sparingly
shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully
shall reap also bountifully.
10.
We should always give ourselves first to God, then our
riches: and in that order:
(2 Cor 8:5 KJV) And this they did, not as we hoped, but
first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by
the will of God.
11. Gods blessings always come from
God through His obedient children:
(Luke 6:38 KJV) Give, and it shall be given unto you; good
measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running
over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same
measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you
again.
12.
It is one of the greatest privileges God has given to us
to be able to give tithes and offerings. Giving is the
only way God's work can continue in this world. God want
us to give to Him joyfully?
(2 Cor 9:7 KJV) Every man according as he purposeth in his
heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity:
for God loveth a cheerful giver. |
