This is the final article in the tithing series and I want to answer some questions that might have been raised through the previous three. I suggest you read those first before reading this one. (Read Part 1, Part 2 or Part 3) If you have any questions, please write to us at contact@charismaministries.org

1. So does this mean I don’t have to tithe?

Yes. You do not have to tithe. Tithing was a practice demanded under the law to celebrate the increase God already gave you, by holding a feast with other people. Only animals and produce were to be tithed. The act of tithing was done by holding a feast with 10% of the increase of your livestock and produce and by inviting the Levites, orphans, widows, strangers and other people in your city to join you in a celebration of God’s goodness.

2. So does this mean I can stop giving to the church?

Giving and tithing are not the same thing. You do not have to tithe, and technically, you do not have to give either. But if you have the nature of God, the new nature of a born-again believer, you will exhibit the characteristics of God’s nature. His nature is to give. If you have a desire to give, then give.  That is God’s nature and Spirit in you seeking expression through you. If you lift the law of tithing off of people and giving decreases as a result, it shows the people’s hearts were never expressing the desires of God anyway. If you remove the law of tithing and giving remains the same or increases, then you know the desires of the people are in tune with God’s will, they were just inhibited and strangled by religiosity. God is not under law, yet He gives. You are not under any laws or obligations to give either, but like God, you can’t help it because it is your nature.

3. Why then do we give to the church?

Eph 4:11-12 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ (NKJV)

If your church is serving and equipping you, then support them. If they are not serving and equipping you, why do you go there? Or more importantly, if they are not equipping you, why are they there? Find a place or ministry that is actually serving the body and support them. The more support they have, the more time they can spend serving you. (Also see 1 Cor 16:2-3)

4. Why do we support them financially?

Though we are not FROM this world, we do live IN this world. If you like going to a big flashy building with good sound and effects, then remember that all those things cost money. If you go there and you enjoy it and are being served, then support them. They have bills to pay. If you meet in somebody’s home, often times they are footing the bill for drinks and snacks. Help them by offering to buy some stuff, washing the dishes, bringing stuff from home. Help one another by serving one another. (Also see Rom 12:13)

5. Why doesn’t the church just trust God for the money?

They are. But you are God’s answer to most of the prayers prayed in this world. When you pray for revival, God is going to send on-fire believers. If you ask for provision, He will send somebody with money to bring that provision. God sends people to DO His will. So if you can help meet the needs of your church by giving finances, then that is a good thing. If you can’t give financially, find out where they might need volunteers and give yourself as a living sacrifice. Giving is God’s nature. Giving is your nature too.

6. So are there any do’s and don’t for giving?

Do’s and don’ts are tricky. They tend to come off as laws. Yet there is a practicality that is good to adhere to. Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians is all about this. He wrote to them telling them how to use the gifts and how not to use the gifts. Was he giving them laws? No, he was just being practical and wise. He never told them they needed to start using the gifts because they were using the gifts more than any other church at that time. Yet they were using the gifts wrongly. You can use your gifts wrongly too. How do you use or do something good in a wrong and improper way? By doing it without love. (1 Cor 13). Giving without love is useless. You can accomplish a lot without love, but nothing that is eternal. Below are a few do’s and don’ts I personally stick to when it comes to giving:

When To Give:

1. When you can meet a need. (Matt 25:34-45; )
2. When you are happy to. (2 Cor 9:7)
3. When you are being equipped, served and edified by somebody. (2 Cor 9:10-11, 1 Cor 16:2-3)

When NOT to Give:

1. When you feel guilty or condemned for not giving. (2 Cor 3:4-9)
2. When you are told you have to give before God will bless you. (Acts 8:20-21)
3. When you are afraid God will curse you if you don’t give. (Gal 3:13-14)
4. Anytime really where giving is commanded as a law and that not giving would result in a negative effect.

7. What did Jesus say about giving?

Mark 12:41-44 Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury. And many who were rich put in much. 42 Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans. 43 So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; 44 for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood.” (NKJV)

• Jesus doesn’t look at how much you give. He looks at why you give. Your motives far outweigh the amount you give. Always has, always will.

Luke 11:41-42 But rather give alms of such things as you have; then indeed all things are clean to you. 42 “But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass by justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. (NKJV)

• Justice, mercy and love is more important than what is given. Give to let justice reign. Give to show mercy. Give  as an act of love.

8. What did Paul say about giving?

2 Cor 9:7-8 So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. (NKJV)

• You can decide how much of something you want to give. You can give 10%, you can give 100%. You can even give 0%.
• Give cheerfully. NEVER give out of obligation, necessity, stipulation, duty or requirement.
• Give with thanksgiving.

1 Cor 16:2-3 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. 3 Then, when I arrive, I will give letters of introduction to the men you approve and send them with your gift to Jerusalem. (NIV)

• Support those people who are in ministry and on mission trips.
• Note Paul said you need to chose who you approve of, and then support them.
• Also note how he says that he DOESN’T want to be going around collecting money, but that he expects believers to take responsibility to make sure those people get the support they need.

Rom 12:13 Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. (NIV)

• Share means to partake together. If you want to share food, go eat with the person you are sharing with. Otherwise they might think you are only showing them pity.
• PRACTICE hospitality, kindness, and generosity. That means if it doesn’t come naturally, do it until it does!

Don’t worry so much about what to give, instead, let God’s generous giving nature be expressed through you in the way that you give, the way that you serve and the way that you meet needs with what you’ve been entrusted with.

Bless you all!

Cornel

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Click here to read Part 1 or Part 2.

The Malachi Misunderstanding

Mal 3:8-10 “Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. 9 You are cursed with a curse, For you have robbed Me, Even this whole nation. 10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this,” Says the Lord of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it. (NKJV)

We hear about this passage so often when it comes to modern day tithing doctrines. God says people have robbed Him through tithes and offerings. Now we are usually told because the tithe belongs to God, by not giving it we are robbing Him of what is His. Such a subtle manipulation and guilt trip to get people to give more money when we have already seen from Part 2 that the tithe was only ever edible commodities. Whenever you feel guilty for not apparently having done something you were “supposed” to, you are being ministered to by the ministry of condemnation and death (2 Cor 3:6-9), otherwise known as the law, that old useless and weak covenant (Heb 7:18), the very thing Jesus came to take away (Rom 7:6). Sela – Think about that…

Just before it says we rob God, it says this, “You are cursed with a curse.” This is often used to teach people that if you don’t tithe, you will be cursed by God. Now doesn’t that sound an awful lot like Deut 28? Do good to get good, don’t do good and be cursed… Isn’t that exactly what Jesus came to set us free from? (Col 2:14). He did all the good things on our behalf. He became a curse for us. He canceled the written code that stood opposed to us! What is so difficult to understand? But wait, there’s more! If you look at the Hebrew text of ‘You are cursed with a curse’ you will notice that the word ‘are’ is not in the original text. Yes, it was added by the translators. That is why it is written in italics in your Bible. So let’s take that out and read it like God said it: You cursed with a curse. Suddenly the whole meaning has changed! It changed from they are cursed to they are the ones who did the cursing. Can that be right? Shockingly, yes! You can give in such a way that God sees it as a curse. Let me explain:

Notice that God didn’t say they robbed Him by not giving. They robbed Him IN tithes and offerings. To me that says God saw the way they gave as robbing Him. How can you rob God by giving? Does it mean you can give (which is good) but in an improper way (which is bad)?  Yes. We know from many other passages that God looks past the actions and deeds to the motives and heart conditions of the person. When I give, God doesn’t look at what I give, He looks at why I am giving. Let me try to explain with an example. Let’s say a person is in need of a financial breakthrough. They go to church to find help from God. Then they hear a preacher say, “God can only bless you if you tithe. The more you tithe, the more you will be blessed. If you don’t tithe, God is cursing you.” So they think to themselves, “God must not be pleased with me at the moment; that is why I am in need. He has cursed me for not tithing. Let me try to please God and get myself on His good side again so my breakthrough can happen and the curse can lift.” The biggest problem with this is that firstly it paints a picture of an angry God who needs to be pleased. Secondly, this angry God is only pleased when we are able to do what He requires of us. So if the basis of the reconciliation is our ability and obedience, does that not equate to self-righteousness? Self-righteousness says, “God is pleased with me because of what I can do, how holy and good I can be.” Not what Jesus could do on my behalf, but what I can do. Well, if you are so great and able to please God, why do you need Jesus? If you are in Christ, then God is pleased with you based on what Jesus did. Jesus + anything = nothing. Jesus + nothing = everything.

Don’t give in order to be blessed. That is like trying to buy the blessing. That is why God said they robbed Him. They tried to manipulate Him through giving so He would see how good they were and bless them because of their obedience. We are not made righteous by our obedience, we are made righteous by Jesus’ free gift of righteousness. All the blessings start there. I don’t want any blessing that doesn’t start and end with Jesus! Now let’s look at another person. He is also in need of a financial breakthrough. He has a little money and is thankful to God for it. On his way to church, he sees a person in need. He decides to give the little he has, the little he wanted to give thanks to God with, to the person in need. He goes to church and hears a preacher say, ‘Whenever you give selflessly to help out others in need, it is like you were giving it to Jesus directly.’

Matt 25:34-45 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ 37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ 41 “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; 43 I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’ 44 “Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ 45 Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ (NKJV)

Remember from Part 2 how the tithe was to be shared with those in need? With widows, orphans, strangers and any other person in your city? Seems like God still hasn’t changed His mind about that… Whenever you say thanks to God for what you have by giving it away to meet somebody else’s need, you are truly ‘tithing’. It is as if you gave that money to Jesus in person. See the need, meet the need. Look past your wallets…

Thank you God for being pleased with me through Jesus! Thank you for giving me all I need to meet even the smallest of needs.

Read my final thoughts in Part 4 here!

Cornel

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