Verse of the Week:
"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ." (Ephesians 1:3)Give to Get?
Do I have to give anything to receive God's blessings? Growing up it was emphasized to me to tithe 10% of my income and then God would bless me in my finances. I was always bothered by this; not by the giving part, but by the blessing part. I felt that the motive was wrong: give to get something, in this case, God's blessings. However, I tithed willingly because I wanted to serve my sweet Lord and give Him so much for all that He had ALREADY given to me. I would never want to downplay the experiences of some people who lived, shared, and experienced blessings from God from tithing, but the idea of tithing in order to receive blessings bothered me.Lets look at a few of the verses that teachers insist deal with tithing and being blessed.
When Abraham defeated the 4 kings with his men, he took the spoils of war and gave 10% of his loot to the high priest Melchizedek. Lets read the verses in Genesis 14:17-20:
After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley).
Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, and he blessed Abram, saying,
“Blessed be Abram by God Most High,
Creator of heaven and earth. And praise be to God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand.”
Creator of heaven and earth. And praise be to God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand.”
Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.
Lets talk about how if we give God a tenth of our salary, He will bless us. Notice in Abraham's story, he was ALREADY BLESSED by God. Melchizedek blessed Abraham FIRST. In return, Abraham gave 10% back to God through the High Priest Melchizedek. God didn't bless him AFTER he gave a tenth of everything, He had already given Abraham a blessing.
Let's look at another verse that people use to back up the idea of tithing, and then look and see if Jacob got blessings from doing it. Genesis 28:20-22
Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father’s household, then the Lord will be my God and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.” Notice the underlined portion of the verse, once again, Jacob was not giving in order to receive blessings from God. God gave to Jacob first. Jacob said, that ALL THAT YOU GIVE ME, I will give you a tenth. God had already blessed him, and he in return would give.
Last major verse that people would say about being blessed when you tithe is one that I heard all the time growing up. God is talking to the Jews after they had been disobedient. Malachi 3:8-11:
“Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me.
“But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’
“In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse—your whole nation—because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe,” says the Lord Almighty.
First off, this verse is taken from the OLD COVENANT of the law. In the old covenant, God made an agreement with the Israelites that if they would follow his laws, he would bless them, if they did not follow the law, he would curse them. That is why you see Him challenging the Jews to tithe as He had commanded in the Old Covenant to prove that He would do his part of the bargain and bless them for it. However, we are no longer under the old covenant and the curses/blessings that God placed upon the Israelites. Galatians 3:13 says, "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.” We are no longer under the old covenant of the law. Christ took that away. So when God curses the Jews for not tithing, it is based on the old covenant. God wanted to bless the Israelites and said so, "Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it." Unfortunately the Jews broke the tithing law and God had to curse them.
What does the new covenant in the New Testament say about tithing? Sadly enough, there is NOT ONE verse on tithing in the New Testament.
There is one verse in the New Testament that people use to back up the concept that if you tithe you will be blessed. It comes from the words of Jesus himself: "So that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." In this verse, it sounds like God rewards us if we give, but notice what Christ is emphasizing here, giving in SECRET. We need to read the verses in the right context. Apparently men in the synagogues were giving in public so that they could be praised by men for their giving. Matthew 6:2 says, " So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full." The people in the synagogues motives were wrong. Jesus wants us to have the right motives in giving. He does not want us to give so that we can win the approval of people, but to give out of the love and joy in our hearts, that in itself is the reward.
Since there are no verses on tithing in the New Testament, lets look at verses on giving.
There is one verse in the New Testament that people use to back up the concept that if you tithe you will be blessed. It comes from the words of Jesus himself: "So that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." In this verse, it sounds like God rewards us if we give, but notice what Christ is emphasizing here, giving in SECRET. We need to read the verses in the right context. Apparently men in the synagogues were giving in public so that they could be praised by men for their giving. Matthew 6:2 says, " So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full." The people in the synagogues motives were wrong. Jesus wants us to have the right motives in giving. He does not want us to give so that we can win the approval of people, but to give out of the love and joy in our hearts, that in itself is the reward.
Since there are no verses on tithing in the New Testament, lets look at verses on giving.
In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus himself said: It is more blessed to give than to receive. Acts 20:35b
The people of the early church would give their possessions to the needy. Acts 2:45 "Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need."
Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. (2 Corinthians 9:7) God wants us to give joyfully and cheerfully, to whomever he leads us to give to, not reluctantly or under compulsion! He loves a cheerful giver. People who are under the burden of debt and fail to tithe 10% feel like guilt is heaped upon them, and they expect God to curse them as it says he will under the Old Covenant. However, we are not under the Old Covenant but under the New Covenant. Here is the point I am trying to make. It is not about tithing to receive blessings, it is about giving freely in your hearts because of all that God has blessed you with through Christ Jesus. Here is the point I want to make: God has ALREADY BLESSED us! Every spiritual blessing has been given to us already. "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ." (Ephesians 1:3) Lets give all that we want to give because of the love and blessings God has already poured out to us through Christ Jesus.
Let me point out something. When Brian and I got married, I have received so much love and support from my husband. Because he loves me so much, I can't help but want to love, give and serve him in return. It is the same way with God. We love Him because He first loved us. We give because He has given us so much. Lets give not to get something, but because we have already been blessed with so much in Christ.
***I received a lot of my thoughts from the book, Grace, the Forbidden Gospel, by Andre van der Merwe. I am not saying I have the correct answer on this topic, but I felt the need to share my thoughts. This blog entry may spark discussions on tithing but I hope it does not create arguments among others on the idea of tithing. The main point of this entry is not to debate tithing but to emphasize God's loving character and how He loves us so much that blesses us anyway, tithing or not.
However, there will be some people who will want to discuss tithing in more detail. To share my understanding of tithing, here is some more information on some ideas I have on this topic. Tithing is under the Old Covenant not the New. It was created based on Old Testament verses that I shared above. Am I saying we shouldn't tithe? I believe that if we truly love the Lord, we will gladly give. However, we are not obligated under the New Covenant to give 10% but we give what we have decided in our hearts to give as it says in 2 Corinthians 9:7 whether it be 10%, 50%, or 5%. God loves a cheerful giver. Perhaps you have a different interpretation; I respect that, but this is what I have concluded thus far.
Let me point out something. When Brian and I got married, I have received so much love and support from my husband. Because he loves me so much, I can't help but want to love, give and serve him in return. It is the same way with God. We love Him because He first loved us. We give because He has given us so much. Lets give not to get something, but because we have already been blessed with so much in Christ.
***I received a lot of my thoughts from the book, Grace, the Forbidden Gospel, by Andre van der Merwe. I am not saying I have the correct answer on this topic, but I felt the need to share my thoughts. This blog entry may spark discussions on tithing but I hope it does not create arguments among others on the idea of tithing. The main point of this entry is not to debate tithing but to emphasize God's loving character and how He loves us so much that blesses us anyway, tithing or not.
However, there will be some people who will want to discuss tithing in more detail. To share my understanding of tithing, here is some more information on some ideas I have on this topic. Tithing is under the Old Covenant not the New. It was created based on Old Testament verses that I shared above. Am I saying we shouldn't tithe? I believe that if we truly love the Lord, we will gladly give. However, we are not obligated under the New Covenant to give 10% but we give what we have decided in our hearts to give as it says in 2 Corinthians 9:7 whether it be 10%, 50%, or 5%. God loves a cheerful giver. Perhaps you have a different interpretation; I respect that, but this is what I have concluded thus far.
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