God does not care if we have money. In fact, God desires to bless all of His children financially, but will do so only when we manage our money according to His plan. God intends for us to give of our finances and has given us guidelines in Word to go by, however, the actual money is not God’s primary concern. God is more concerned with our ATTITUDE toward money. A person can obey God’s plan, but if they do so grudgingly, they have missed the point and God cannot bless them. Money is not the root of all evil, the LOVE OF MONEY is. The Love of Money is at the foundation of every sin and every evil way. We should provide the basic necessities for our family, because the Bible says someone who does not is worse than an “infidel,” or non-believer (I Timothy 5:8). But after providing for the necessities of life, we should be content! To accumulate wealth and riches should not be the primary goal of our life, because this is the trap many have fallen into and have “erred from the faith.” Receiving eternal life is our goal, and our attitude toward our money will either help us or stop us from reaching that goal.

Some Christians hate for a preacher to teach or preach on finances. Too often these Christians view tithing and offerings as something that they “have to do.” The Scriptures say to not give “grudgingly,” but “cheerfully.” In reality, Christians should love to hear a sermon on giving of their finances, because with obedience to it comes wonderful blessings from God. Teaching on money should cheer us up! Some people give and never get blessed as they should because of their attitude toward money! A truly spiritual person has no problem with supporting the work of God or giving of their finances, if fact they love to do so! Offering time should be our favorite time of the service because it is an opportunity to give back financially to the One who has blessed us so much!

Do you control your money, or does your money control you? Do you have to work extra to pay bills that you have placed upon yourself? How much of our debts are really for necessities? Compare the time that you spend serving your spending habits by working to pay for them, with the time that you spend in daily devotion to God and His Word. To what does the first check go to each month, the debts or God? These questions make many Christians uncomfortable because Americans tend to serve and trust in riches. If a person misses church because of sickness or excuse, yet is able to go to work on Monday, to whom are they being more faithful? Do you pay the bills and then pay God, or do you pay God and then pay the bills? According to the verses above, which is more scriptural? Jesus said that “if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?” True riches are treasures that do not corrupt such as forgiveness, grace, and eternal life. If we cannot manage or be faithful with the earthly riches that God has given us, then why would He trust us with heavenly riches? How we manage our money really does matter to God! Jesus taught on money and financial stewardship more than He taught on heaven, hell, and salvation combined! In fact, of the 32 parables that we have of Jesus, 16 deal with money! The way we handle our finances is often a mirror of how we handle God’s truth and both are important!

It is not God’s will for a Christian to be drowning in debt! The number 1 reason for divorce in America is financial hardship and debt. Financial stress is also the leading cause of depression. America has been convinced that we must “have it all now” and our society is reaping the repercussions of that philosophy. The Bible clearly states that the borrower is servant to the lender. When you are in debt, you are enslaved to that debt. This does not mean a Christian must never take out a loan, but be aware that by doing so, you are enslaving yourself to that debt and must repay it! Some things in America are hard to achieve without borrowing money, and because of our system, some debts make good financial sense. One example of “good debt” is a home mortgage. Renting throws money away and a home can be a great investment over a long term period, but if we purchase such a large home that we cannot take care of our obligations to God, Church, and family then we have fallen into the financial trap that Satan has set for us. If a Christian constantly uses credit to purchase such things as gas, groceries, and normal monthly bills, they are not being good stewards of what God has given them. A Christian should be very cautious with credit cards and other lines of credit available to them, because God does not have to use “credit” to bless you! When God blesses you financially, you do not owe on it!

When you take out a line of credit, God expects you to repay it! “Owe no man anything!” Every Christian should be working to get out of debt. But we cannot get out of debt by continuing to borrow money! How much less worry and stress would we have to fight through each day if there were not financial worries? How much more open and relaxed would our minds be in learning and accepting God’s Word if we were debt free? God does care about our financial stewardship!

Tithing, God’s Plan For Supporting The Ministry

Many people think of tithing as being under the Mosaic law, but the principle of giving the man of God tithes goes back to the time of Abraham. The word “tithe” simply means “a tenth.” So Abraham gave a tenth of his wealth to the man of God in his life, Melchizedek.

When Jacob began to develop a relationship with God and decided to follow after God’s ways, he took a vow to reverence God’s house and give a “tenth” of all that he had unto God! Jacob paid tithes as part of his dedication to God!

Under the Law of Moses, when God ordained that the children of Levi would be the priests and conduct the services and ordinances of the temple, He also provided that they would get the tenth of Israel. The tithes were to go for the “service which they serve.” The tithing did not go for the upkeep of the temple but was for payment to the ministers for their service. Also the Levites were commanded to pay tithes on what they received “a tenth on the tenth” (Numbers 18:26-28). Ministers are to pay tithes also!

When Nehemiah set up the worship in the rebuilt temple and returned the people to worshipping God the way that they were commanded, he commanded that the people would bring their tithe and their offering and would “not forsake the house of our God.” The tithing was for the priests and their services, and the offering was for the upkeep of the physical house of God. God always ordained that tithing be for ministry and the offering be for the structure of God.

In the time of the prophet Malachi, the people had stopped paying tithes and offering. God called it “robbery,” and stated that the way a man robs God is through not paying “tithes AND offering.” Because of the people’s robbery, they were cursed with a curse. How many people feel like that they cannot save money and that money slips through their fingers no matter how much they make? It does not have to be that way, because God commanded us to “prove” Him and see if He would not “open... the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it!” When people begin to pay tithing and offering, God rebukes the “devourer,” and not only will He increase the financial blessing, but will also cause the money to last longer! God wanted Israel to be financially blessed so that He could show them off to the evil nations as what happens when people are submissivness to God’s plan. Even today, God wants to financially bless His church to reveal the blessings that come with submission to His plan, but cannot if we do not pay our tithes and offerings! God’s plan is not to move a millionaire into each church, but to bless the people of the local church. However, God can not trust us with large blessing until we have been faithful over the small blessings!

Some people have misinterpreted this scripture to mean that Jesus did not want people to pay tithes, but that would be contradictory to Jesus’ teaching elsewhere (Matthew 6:1-4 Luke 6:38) Jesus was rebuking the Pharisees because they were so proud that they obeyed the scriptures concerning tithes, but left out other parts of the scriptures that they did not want to obey. Jesus was not rebuking there paying of tithes, but of neglecting to follow ALL of scripture. In fact, Jesus said these things they “ought to have done” meaning that they should pay tithes but should also follow the other scriptures as well. Jesus then endorsed tithe paying!

Jesus taught that we should give to the government what we owe. This of course reflects paying taxes, but notice what else Jesus said: “Give to God the things that are God’s.” The only principle that is referred to throughout scripture as being “God’s” is TITHING AND OFFERING! The prophet Malachi said the people had “robbed God” by not paying their tithing and offering. When you rob someone, you take what is rightfully theirs. tithes and offerings are rightfully God’s and by not paying them, we disobey the commandment of Jesus!

Some people have errantly taught that the paying of tithes is not under grace, but a careful study of scriptures reveal this teaching to be false. Let’s now look at a few scriptures that support Tithing and Offering under Grace.

Paul taught the church in Corinth, that in the same manner as the Priests of old lived off the ordinances of God, then so should they that preach the gospel live of the gospel! In other words, the ministry under Grace would be supported as it always had, through tithes and offering!

Remember that Abraham paid tithes well before the giving of the Law. Even Cain did not find favor with God because he did not give according to God’s method. Tithing and Offering are not a dispensational principle but a divine plan of God. Notice the following scriptures:

If we have been baptized into Christ then we have put on Christ. If we are Christ’s then we are Abraham’s seed or, in other words, sons and daughters of Abraham.

Jesus said that if we are Abraham’s children, then we will do the works of Abraham! Everything that was required of Abraham is still required of a child of God today! Abraham sought after a deeper relationship with God. Abraham separated himself from the world in lifestyle. Abraham was circumcised (which we do through water baptism Colossians 2:11-13). Abraham got a promise from God. Abraham PAID TITHES to the man of God in His life, Melchizedek!

Hebrews chapters 5 and 6 discuss how that Jesus Christ was a priest after the order of Melchizedek and not of the Levites. The Hebrew people had trouble accepting how that Jesus could be their High Priest and be of the tribe of Judah and not of the Levites which was the priestly tribe under Moses’ law. Some people have misinterpreted Hebrews 7:2-3 to mean that Melchizedek was God Himself, but the writer was discussing that the order of Priesthood of Melchizedek is forever and that the order of the Priesthood of the Levites was temporal.

The point in all of this is that by understanding that Jesus Christ, and thus you and I, are priests after order of Melchizedek and not under the order of the Levites, we can understand that tithing is not a dispensational principle. In other words, tithing was not for Law only, but the plan of God before Law AND the plan of God after Law in the Dispensation of Grace. The Book of Hebrews was written during the Dispensation of Grace, and with this understanding, we will go through the following passage verse by verse:

The Levites (the priests under Law) were commanded by Law to receive the tithes, but the principle of tithing did not originate in law, but came from Abraham.

Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek and was in return blessed. In other words, tithing and offering bless both the giver and recipient.

Here men that die receive tithes. This means that now mortal men receive tithes, but it really started because it was the plan of God from the beginning. The writer goes on to use the paying of tithes as proof to the Hebrew people that Jesus was after order of Melchizedek and vice versa and thus did not need to be from the tribe of Levi in order to be our High Priest. The point for reading this scripture in our study is that the writer stated “here men that die receive tithes.” In other words, “now under Grace mortal men receive tithes.” Tithing was still the plan for the Early church and thus should be for us!

Some people also do not realize that Grace is stricter than Law. For example, under Law the Word of the Lord was read to the people every 7 years (Deuteronomy 31:10-13). Under Grace the Word of the Lord is to be written upon men’s hearts (Jeremiah 31:33). Under Law, if a man had sexual relationship with a woman that was another man’s wife, he committed adultery. Under Grace, Jesus said if a man even look upon a woman desiring her, he has committed adultery in his heart already (Matthew 5:27). In fact the entire Sermon on the Mount is proof that Grace has much more requirements than law. Under law a person had only to live up to a rule, but Jesus taught us to go the second mile (Matthew 5:41). Under the law, the minimum that was financially required was a tenth plus offerings. Under Grace, this should be the MINIMUM that we give!

We thus conclude that Tithing and Offering is still necessary under the Dispensation of Grace because:

1. Tithing and Offerings precede Law and thus did not end with the ending of Law.

2. If we are children of Abraham’s, then we will do the works of Abraham and he paid tithes.

3. Jesus commanded that we are to give God that which is due to Him.

4. Jesus said that we “ought” to pay tithes.

5. The writer of Hebrews mentioned that even under Grace, tithes were paid to the ministry.

6. Paul told the Corinthian church that in the same manner of the priests of old received payment for their services so should the ministers of the gospel.

7. God said that failure to pay tithes was robbery and we know that under Grace no thieves shall enter into eternal life. (I Corinthians 6:9-10)

Tithing is a tenth of our income. Offerings are what we give to God beyond our Tithing. Offerings are an expression of our love to God.

Some people preach what is known as the “prosperity gospel” which teaches that you can just claim whatever financial blessings that you want in Jesus’ name and you will receive it. The Scriptures teach us that God will return the blessing to us using the same size measure that we used. Also notice that God said that MEN would give into your bosom. In other words, when you bless God, God will respond by using men to bless you. The only way that we can Biblically bless God financially is through our tithing and our offering. God in turn uses other people’s finances to bless us, but when God returns the blessing, he may be using the same measure but He returns it pressed down, shaken together, and running over! We will be blessed according to our offerings.

The tithing and offering should be the “firstfruits of thine increase.” In other words, you pay God first and then pay the bills. By paying God first, we show our love and willingness to give, but we also tell God that “I am trusting in you to take care of me.” For some people, this is a hard step, but remember that it is the attitude toward your money in which God is the most interested. When we put God first in our finances, then we are blessed bountifully, and God will even give us excess. In Old Testament typology, wine represents the Holy Spirit. When we give God the firstfruits of our increase, we will reap both physical and spiritual blessing!

Notice that the verse says to give of “all thine increase.” If someone gives me $20 for my Birthday, then that is increase as cash is the trading commodity of our culture. That is $20 dollars more than what I had, so $2 belongs to God plus and offering. The 10% + is God’s anyway, He just loaned it to us to see if we would obey His Word. When I get a paycheck, then my worth has increased and 10% + belongs to God. You cannot out give God. He will always bless you abundantly when you have the right attitude and obey His word by giving of the firstfruits of our increase.

God wants to bless us financially, but we must follow His plan for our money. More people lose out on a close relationship with God because of stinginess with their finances. When you are living according to God’s financial plan, you no longer have to worry about money because it is God’s responsibility to take care of you. Worry only comes when we are trying to do something for ourselves and realize that we cannot make it work! Remember what the Scriptures teach: