TITHE IS A SELF-SACRIFICIAL GIVING FOR OUR BENEFIT!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

FRIDAY DECEMBER 02, 2022.

SUBJECT : TITHE IS A SELF-SACRIFICIAL GIVING FOR OUR BENEFIT!

Memory verse: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." (John 3 vs 16.)

READ: Second Corinthians 9 vs 6 - 7:

9:6: But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 

9:7: So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.

INTIMATION:

The entire Gospel comes to focus in our memory verse. God's love is not static or self-centered; it reaches out and draws others in. Here God sets the pattern of true love, the basis for all love relationship. When you love someone dearly, you are willing to give freely to the point of self-sacrifice. This was what God did—sacrificially offering His Son for our sin due to His love for us. We are expected to love Him in return, and sacrificially offer to Him as He did for us.

We have been taught to believe that the tithe is mandatory. We were told that we owed God a tenth of our income and if we didn't pay up, we'd be cursed. Not tithing, we were told, is the same as stealing from God. "You're robbing God," they will tell us, and God is going to get you." Fortunately, none of that is true. God loves us independent of our performance, which includes whether or not we tithe. New Testament giving isn't a debt or an obligation.

In the passage we read today, the apostle Paul reveals that we are not of any necessity to give. I don't know how any Christian can read these passages, and still think we are of necessity to tithe, or that we are cursed if we don't. It says we're not supposed to give "grudgingly, or of necessity." If the reason you pay a tithe is because you don't want to be under a curse, then you are paying out of necessity and it isn't cheerful. It's paying hush money to God. 

Some ministers are vicious about tithing. They harp on the curse of not tithing and talk about the wrath of God. Disappointingly this is not right. Yes, tithing is a biblical principle that existed before the law, and curses on tithing came from Moses. Abraham paid tithe over 400 years before the law came. 

Abraham wasn't living under the law, yet he tithed. I believe very strongly that we are supposed to tithe too because it is to our own benefit of letting God into our finances, and actually it should be our starting point. It's unwise not to tithe, but God will still love you if you don't.

The teaching on curses of not tithing is based on prophet Malachi's preaching to the children of Israel after their return from exile and their abandonment of those godly principles and practices they practiced before they were exiled. (See Malachi 3 vs 8 - 11.) During Malachi's days the people were not giving tithes, so the Levites went to work to earn a living, thereby neglecting their God given responsibilities to care for the temple and the service of worship. I will discuss those verses in detail later.

Some people, reacting against the ‘curse’ teaching, have swung in the completely opposite direction and say that the tithe was an Old Testament thing. They don't think it has any bearing on our lives today. I don't believe that is true. In the New Testament Book of Matthew 23 vs 23, Christ talked about tithing, and this shows it is a fundamental biblical principle. 

Christ admonished the scribes and the Pharisees who were very precise and faithful about giving ten percent of their money to God, but were neglecting the weightier matters of justice, mercy and faith. Christ said these things they have to be do without leaving the others undone. Therefore, they should do the right things as well as pay their tithes.

Since God doesn't send payment overdue notices, it is easy to take care of other financial responsibilities while letting our gift to Him slide. Giving to God first out of what He has allowed you to have demonstrates He has first priority in your life. It's always tempting to shortchange God because we think we won't get caught. But our giving shows our real priorities. When we give God the leftovers, it's obvious that He is not at the center of our lives. It's absolutely important to give God the honor of having first claim on your money, time and talents.

Prayer: Abba Father, You are our Sacrificial Savior. For the love You have for us You gave Your Son to die for our sins. Endue me, most Loving Father, with the spirit of love that I may give sacrificially to You in demonstration of my love and faith in You, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!