The question was simply, "Pastor Linda, I am confused, I heard on a your show on Blog Talk Radio that I should tithe. You mentioned that is not just an Old Testament covenant but Jesus affirmed it in the New Testament. I would really like a Bible study on this so I can search out the truth according to God's Word. Please help me."
My answer:
So many have the same question and I would like to take my time and really help you explore this. In the end I pray that you are ready to accept the truth as God reveals it to your heart. It seems so few people these days give tithes, offerings, and alms, yet they profess to be walking with God. This applies to people all over the world. By their actions, they deny Him. The Bible clearly states in John 14:14-16:
"You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— "
If you love Me keep my commands. So let's pray that god will open your heart and mind to hear the words of the Lord. It is God that will reveal the truth through the Holy Ghost that rest in you. Then we will be able to keep His commands and thus be pleasing to Him. Let's pray:
Father, in Jesus name, I thank You that You are instructing me in the way I should go and that You are guiding me with your eye. I thank you for your guidance and leading concerning Your will, Your plan and Your purpose for my life. I do hear the Voice of the Good Shepherd, for I know You and follow You. You lead me in the paths of righteousness for your name sake.Lesson 1 - What is a Tithe?
Thank you father, that Jesus was made unto me wisdom. Confusion is not a part of my life. I am not confused about your will for my life. I trust in you and lean not to my own understanding. as I acknowledge you in all my ways, You are directing my paths and enlightening my understanding. I believe that as I trust in You completely, You will show me the path of life. Amen. Taken from "Prayers That Avail Much" 25th Anniversary Commemorative Edition
Introduction
Every person is to give 10% of their total income to God. This is called a tithe. Tithing is a command from God. In addition, as the Lord provides, a person should give extra (an offering) and also should give to the poor (alms). Giving an excuse, such as, "I don’t have enough," is not acceptable to God. There is no one that is exempt, even a housewife or a person in prison receiving an income or other items is to tithe on them.
Every Pastor, Preacher, Minister, Missionary, Church Member and every ministry ought to tithe. Ministries should consider tithing to other ministries as God directs. Would it cause offense to suggest that you give an offering, when asking a ministry for a cassette or book? Those that can ought not only to give an offering but give generously according to their ability. In Proverbs it says,
"Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it.
Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and to morrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee." Proverbs 3:27-28
Do you want the truth, or do you wish to continue living in deceit? God forbid, all too often, those that profess Christ are yielding to the lusts of the flesh, covetousness, and evil desires. They are struggling to make ends meet and wondering why there is not enough money to last the month. No where in the Word of God do I see that Christians are be concerned about money or not have their needs met. What I do see is promises that God will supply your need. So let's back up a bit and talk about tithing, as it pertains to you and I, in today's society.
The subject of giving tithes and offerings is covered in Mal 3:6 - 12
"For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the LORD of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return? Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. 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. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts. And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the LORD of hosts."
There is a lot of misleading preaching on prosperity in the church today. Some may say, "Just send me $100.00, and a financial blessing will be poured out on you." Note, Malachi said, ye are cursed with a curse, if you are not giving tithes and offerings. So we are to give tithes and offerings. Why? because we are commanded to. We are also to give alms. Many are sick, hurting financially, or have multitudes of problems. One area to examine is whether or not you are obeying God in the area of tithes and offerings.
What Is A Tithe, Specifically?
Now what is meant by a tithe? A tithe is ten percent of your income or increase. For instance, if you are paid $100.00 a week then your tithe would be $10.00 per week. Do you have a garden? Tithe ten percent of the increase of your garden. Do you rent houses to others? Tithe ten percent of your profit. Let me be clear, if you own an apartment/house and rent it out. This does not mean you begin spending lots of money to fix it up, saying, "I’ll give what is leftover to the Lord." Perhaps, you try to justify spending large amounts of money on your taxes—as tax write-offs. You are not to do that with God. You are not to play games with God's money. Ten percent of your total income, before bills, before food, before shopping belongs to God. Ten percent of your net income is God’s. If you rob God, you can expect to have a curse on you.
The tithe is the first ten percent. If you receive something, you tithe or give the best. You do not give the worst to God or what is leftover, but the best. For example, if you catch ten fish, you tithe the best one to God. If you are given ten apples, you give God the best one. This is considered a tithe. You can tithe money, items, food and etc. The only thing that can not be tithe is time or if you are taking a loan. Time can not be extended we all have 24 hours and loan must be paid back. You cannot have an increase in time nor is a loan considered an increase.
It's A Holy Thing
We read in Lev 27:30-33
"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. And if a man will at all redeem ought of his tithes, he shall add thereto the fifth part thereof. 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. 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."
Now here's the thing, the tithe is holy unto the Lord. It is to be set apart for him only. But when we read verse 33 we find that anything we give to the Lord is Holy unto to him. So that makes the offering a holy thing also. This is why it is important that we not rob God.
Here's an additional note for you, if you pay unless than a tenth of your increase, then you need to know that god is looking for the tithe plus the amount you choose to substitute for it. An Example: you are paid 100.00 and you only pay five percent as a tithe. God is expecting you to give him the ten percent in addition to the five percent paid. He is now concerning it all a tithe. All of it become holy to the Lord.
Also, in verse 31 it speaks of redeeming or borrowing the tithe, as we would put it today. Then you must pay an additional fifth part of the tithe. This means that you would pay ten percent plus an additional twenty percent of the tithe. For an example: You are paid 100.00 and you decided to use the tithe and pay it the next time you are paid. Then you would pay ten percent of the 100.00 (10.00) and additional twenty percent of the 10.00 (2.00). in addition to the tithe you owe for your current increase.
Let me ask you a hard question: Do you think you are going to heaven, If you do not tithe? Is a robber going to enter heaven? Unless he repents, no, he will not. Well, which is worse? To rob a bank or to rob God? Sin cannot enter God presence and in heaven we will be in God's presence. Sin is disobedience and blatant rebellion. In Matthew 7 we are told there will be those that say Lord I did great things in your name and he will say depart from me ye worker of iniquity (sin), I never knew you. A person who says, "I’ve been a Christian for 5 years," but does not tithe, can expect a surprise at the judgment, as their actions indicate they have not truly repented and have no real relationship with Christ. They have not obeyed God’s Word.
Even Jesus Commended Tithers
many preachers today teach that tithing went away with the Law and that in the New Testament it is not mentioned. Instead they teach: God wants you to give whatever He lays on your heart. If that is all that you have, so be it. God loves a cheerful giver. Let's read Matt 23:23-24:
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth (tithe) of your spices—mint, dill and cumin (whatever is the increase). 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 (tithing). You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel."
What was the former? The tithe. Without neglecting tithing. There it is. You see, the problem was they were giving the tenth, but they were not walking in faith; they were not practicing justice. Jesus tells us to do both. In the New Living Translation it says:
“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens,[g] but you ignore the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. YOU SHOULD TITHE,YES, but do not neglect the more important things. Blind guides! You strain your water so you won’t accidentally swallow a gnat, but you swallow a camel!"
even Jesus was aware that tithing is important. However, it is more important to live a holy life that is acceptable to God and not take advantage of others or deal with them harshly. Jesus still said tithing is a part of the christian life even after the Law. For we know that Jesus came not to do away with the Law but that the Law through him would be fulfilled. Even though, we live by grace and mercy...meaning we can not do anything to change how much God loves us, we can do something about how pleased he is with us. again I am reminded, If you love me keep my commands.
What Is An Offering And Alms?
So robbing God is not just in the tithe but also in the offering. It states in Malachi 3: 8-9, that we are robbing God and because of it we are cursed with a curse. We are to give ten percent and that goes to the church you attend. You ought to always give a little more, because the Bible also says offerings. Let’s explain in more detail what is meant, and then cover the Scriptures. You have offerings (which are over your ten percent). Your tithe and offering goes to your church, you may also send additional offerings to any born-again ministry that God directs you. However, the Lord does not lead you contrary to Scripture.
Alms are given to the poor. My personal opinion is give to those in need in the household of faith first, and then you can give to those in and around your community as a witness of Christ's love and mercy.
Next lesson: we will go back to the first mention of the tithe and explore why tithing is still a command for us today.
Evangelist Linda Hillman
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