Greetings RC family and friends, in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!
Today, I will finish answering the question: “Is tithing still relevant in today’s culture?” In this week’s Connect Point, I will show you that Jesus, himself, endorsed the timeless principle of tithing.
Jesus makes it clear in John 7:16 that He didn’t go about speaking His own doctrine but the principle of God. Jesus said, “My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me.”
From this statement, we know that everything Jesus spoke came directly to Him from the Father. With this in mind, I want you to pay close attention to what Jesus had to say about tithing.
Matthew 23:23 TLB says, “...woe upon you, Pharisees, and you other religious leaders—hypocrites! For you tithe down to the last mint leaf in your garden, but ignore the important things—justice and mercy and faith. Yes, you should tithe, but you shouldn’t leave the more important things undone.”
Jesus told the religious leaders they should obey the law, which included justice, mercy, and faith. However, in this portion of Scripture, He also told them He was not doing away with the tithe, for He was careful to emphasize that God required tithing. He said, “Yes, you should tithe....”
Many people believe that these few words were the last time the subject of tithing appeared in Scripture and that there’s no record of anyone tithing in the New Testament.
Go with me and read Hebrews 7. In this chapter, the author writes about Abraham giving tithes to Melchizedek, and he begins by explaining who Melchizedek is. Then he makes a significant statement. He tells us that New Testament saints were paying tithes when writing his epistle to the Hebrews, which was AD 65.
Look carefully at Hebrews 7:8. It says, “In the one case, the tenth is collected by people who die; but in the other case, by him who is declared to be living.” The writer is telling us that people were tithing in his presence at the very moment he was writing this statement.
According to several widely accepted authorities on the dating of Scripture, the author of Hebrews wrote this portion of the book approximately thirty-five years after the death of our Lord Jesus Christ. By this, we know it was a common practice for Christians to pay tithes in early New Testament churches.
According to this verse, we have a biblical account of the Christian church receiving tithes well into the church age. Add to this knowledge the promise that God never changes, and it becomes irrefutable that tithes are definitely for today.
Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ the same yesterday and today and forever.” Even with all this proof that tithing is for our day, it is a shame that it remains one of the most violated timeless principles found in God’s word.
Religious surveys tell us that only about 2% of believers actually biblically tithe. This statistic is a terrible indictment against the end-time church. However, the saddest thing about this violation is that non-tithing Christians are cheating themselves, the lost people of this world, and God Himself out of a blessing. Remember, God is not trying to get something from you, but He’s trying to get something to us.
Think about this, when we refuse to tithe, it affects three groups of people:
- Yourself
- The Unsaved
- God
Not tithing affects YOU because you lose the blessings of God. Heaven closes over your lives, and you can’t receive the physical, financial, and spiritual benefits that God has set aside for you.
Not tithing also affects the unsaved. Without all of us tithing and giving generously, RC and other ministries around the world cannot fulfill their mandate. At RC, our mandate is: “EMPOWER EVERY PERSON TO LOVE-CONNECT-SERVE.” Romans 10:14-15 says, “how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them unless someone sends him?”
Not tithing also involves God. It affects God because He loses the opportunity to bless us. Acts 20:35 says, “it is more blessed to give than to receive.” Family, non-tithers close heaven, thereby robbing God of the privilege of blessing them. They also deny God the benefit of saving many lost souls who will never hear the gospel and never be saved.
Family, the truth is, it doesn’t matter how righteous your life may be or how much Scripture you may have committed to memory; if you are a non-tither, the Bible says you are forfeiting your right to walk under an open heaven. Tithing is so important to you, the lost, and God Himself that He openly invites you to put Him to the test and make Him prove to you that He will open the windows of heaven and pour out His blessings.
Malachi 3:10, “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.”
At this point, something else becomes very obvious. If you refuse to tithe, you are putting God to the test to prove to you that He will close heaven over your life and withhold His blessings from you. There are many reasons God’s children fail to tithe. Some have followed after false teaching. Some have been unable to recognize the scriptural importance of tithing. Still, others have been ignorant of the many benefits that come from tithing. Finally, some fail to tithe because of the fear of insufficiency. I think I’ve fallen in all three of these areas throughout my life.
Regardless of your reason for not tithing previously, God wants you to know that forgiveness, as well as total restoration of all the blessings, are available to those who desire it. God graciously extends an open invitation to all of us to return to Him and to start putting Him to the test by beginning to tithe.
Malachi 3:7,8,10, “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. 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.”
No sincere seeker of biblical truth can read the scriptures and honestly say God doesn’t expect every Christian to tithe. But ultimately, the decision is YOURS!
I challenge you to begin praying this prayer…
Father, I know that you own everything, that your resources are there for me. Help me to become a generous giver. To trust you to keep your promise to return back everything that I give. So that I can give even more. I thank You in advance for the financial blessings that are coming to me! I know that You will meet all my needs according to Your glorious riches. Father, I put my trust in You. I trust not in my job, my friends, my family, or anything else. I place my trust in You because You are my provider. I know that You will take care of me and that I will prosper. I know everything will be okay. Calm my anxiety and help me to focus my eyes on You. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
My blessing for you…
May you--more and more in the days, weeks, months, and years ahead--take your cues from God’s “timeless principles” (and not from culture) and become a generous giver! May you dream big dreams with God! He intends to solve some of the world’s problems through you. When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Lord raises a standard against him. This is no time for cowering in fear. This is a time to rise up in faith! Trust God’s Word. Believe His promises. Do what He says. And in due time, you’ll see the waters part, the mountains move, and the answers you’ve been waiting for. You are mighty in God. Walk full of faith and become a generous giver and an excellent receiver today!
