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Why Do We Teach Tithes
?
Most Christian churches teach the Biblical principle
of stewardship, which is the management over another person's affairs or
possessions. When we become Christians, we come to realize that we, our
possessions, and literally everything on earth comes from God. And as His
heirs, we become the stewards over those things which are God's.
Tithing is an act of stewardship. The scripture says
that the tithe, the first tenth (10%) of our income, is the property of
the Lord and we are to always return it to Him. "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 to the LORD" (Lev. 27:30).
According to the Word, tithing is a such a serious
matter with the Lord, that He calls those who do not tithe as "robbers"
and pronounces a curse upon them. "Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed
Me! But you say, In what way have we robbed You? In tithes and offerings.
You are cursed with a curse, for you have robbed Me, even this whole
nation" (Mal. 3:8-9).
What kind of curse is this? A curse is the opposite of
blessing, and the non-tither will neither have the promise of God's
bountiful blessings, nor protection from the devourer of the fruit of
their labors. "Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be
food in My house, and prove 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. And I will
rebuke the devourer for your sakes, so that he will not destroy the fruit
of your ground, nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the
field, says the LORD of hosts" (Mal. 3:10-11).
Tithing has sometimes been falsely attributed to the
Law of Moses, but it actually originated long before that with Abraham's
tithe to Melchizedek, who was the priest of the most high God and the king
of Salem [Jerusalem] (Gen. 14:18-20).
Tithing is an expression of at least six important
things:
(1) It is the acknowledgment of God's
proprietorship. Tithing expresses our belief that everything on
this earth came from God, and that He is responsible for all we earn or
receive as increase (Psa. 24:1).
(2) It is a "believer's" expression of
faith. Tithing is a statement of our faith and worship toward
God. It is for believers only (Gen. 14:19-20).
(3) It is a test of our continued obedience to
God's Word. Tithing is an expression of faithfulness to His Word
and stewardship over His possessions (1 Cor. 4:2, Mal. 3:10).
(4) It is an act of sowing spiritual seed.
God promises the faithful tither, to continue to bless and
flourish him with increased return and to meet his needs (Mal. 3:10, 2
Cor. 9:6).
(5) It is a continual memorial of God's
universal laws of sowing and reaping. Virtually everything that
the Lord does is based on these same divine principles (Gal. 6:7).
(6) Tithing is the means which God has chosen
to meet the expenses of the work of the ministry. The tithe is a
sacred offering to God so that there would be spiritual meat in His house
(Mal. 3:10).
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