TITHING AND THE LAW
As with most teachings,
it is necessary to understand some biblical research principles if we
are ever going to be able to rightly divide God's Word on this important
subject of tithing. Some Christians are confused as to whether they should
tithe or not. Some people say that tithing was a principle in the Old Testament
and no longer applies to us today and therefore we do not need to tithe. That's
not what the Word says as we shall see.
The following section
of this study is designed to prepare you to understand a very important point
brought up later in this teaching. Where, according to God's Word, does
the Old Testament end and the New Testament begin? This needs to be understood.
And more importantly, if we are not under the Law [Old Testament], does that
mean that everything that was written in the Law does not apply to us
today? Are there exceptions to this rule? There absolutely are exceptions as we
shall see. The exceptions adhere to a general, simple rule which finally
enables a believer to easily recognize what's written to him and what is
written for his learning.
The closest to the
original texts of the Bible from which we have our translations DID NOT
have any capitalization, chapters, punctuation, chapter headings, center
references, verses, or paragraphs. These were all added by man AND ARE NOT
PART OF THE ORIGINAL GOD-BREATHED WORD which holy men of God spake as they
were moved by Holy Spirit.
II Peter 1:
21 -- For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they
were moved by the Holy Ghost.
There is an example in
the Bible where one comma in a certain verse causes massive confusion in a
major area. When the comma is moved from in front of the word to behind that
same word, the Word of God fits like a hand in a glove. Remember, punctuation
of any type did not exist in the closest to the original texts of the
Bible. There are no original biblical texts left on the earth. To give you an
even better understanding of this, some available manuscripts were written in
UNCIAL or CURSIVE:
EXAMPLE: "For God so loved"
UNCIAL:
FORGODSOLOVED
CURSIVE:
forgodsoloved
I'D LIKE TO GIVE YOU
ONE EXAMPLE WHERE YOU CAN CLEARLY SEE MAN'S ERROR PERTAINING TO CHAPTERS.
Take a look at John Chapter 8: 1. From a grammatical point of view, verse 1 of
Chapter 8 should be the last verse of Chapter 7. It appears obvious that the
translator made a human error. Verse 2 of Chapter 8 should be verse 1. Can you
see it? You should be able to. In this example, a contradiction or major
problem did not occur because it was only a chapter error. However, in some
cases, translators made mental errors that can cause major mistranslations and
misinterpretations. THIS IS THE FAULT OF MAN, not God. The original
God-breathed Word was PERFECT. When the Word is worked and researched,
what seems to be a contradiction or mistranslation is actually found out to be
a translator's error. That's why RESEARCH must come before teaching and
then fellowship -- in that order. The whole point here is that you understand
where verses, chapters, punctuation and center references come from. THEY COME FROM MAN AND NOT GOD. Now, I can
teach you from God's Word, about tithing, the law, the New and Old Testaments,
and what applies to us today and how to recognize any exceptions. All of
this will pertain to the subject of TITHING.
II Peter 1:
20 -- Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private [idios - one's own]
interpretation.
The Word of God
interprets itself in one of three ways -- in the verse -- in the context – or where
it was used before. Private interpretation
(guesswork) will always result in an UNclear understanding of what the Word
says. Most 'unbelieving' believers really don't want the principle of tithing
to apply to us today. Let's face it, when it comes to the 'pocketbook', the
uncommitted and unfaithful will always take a hike. One of the true signs of a
committed believer is whether they tithe or not. It is more than likely that
your friends do not want to tithe -- it's their prerogative but they
'have their foot on the hose'. They are seriously limiting God in their lives.
You must be quite strong and stand on the Word and not be swayed by what people
think and say. I learned this great principle of tithing many years ago and God
proved Himself to me. It works but you will never know until you do it. YOU
MUST ACT FIRST AND THEN YOU WILL SEE.
Now let's go to the
Supreme Authority -- our blueprint for living -- the Word of God. It would take
weeks or months to do an exhaustive study on this topic. The following examines
basic foundational truths to help you to understand and apply the principle of
tithing.
Romans 6: 14b
-- ... for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
There are a number of
other scriptures that mention this such as Galatians 3: 24 where
"schoolmaster" is referring to the Law. We were under a
'schoolmaster' until Christ. Now, let's look at the next verse in Galatians.
Galatians 3:
25 -- But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster [the Law].
You should know that
the Bible is divided into Seven Administrations or time periods [see The Seven Administrations]. We are in The Church
of Grace Administration AND NOT UNDER THE LAW. The Christ Administration (4th
Administration) is the period of time of the gospels. Were we under GRACE then?
NO. Christ was fulfilling the law. Christ ascended and is at the right
hand of God until God sends him back. So we are under grace or The Church of
Grace Administration which is the fifth (5th) Administration. You
will now see the importance of understanding the Seven Administrations which
will enable you to more fully understand God's Word. We are getting into some of
the 'meat' of the Word and you need to work this material if you are going to
understand it. Take your time studying and don't try to get it all at once. But
if you study it, you will see that it is simple.
Were we under grace
or were we under law in the CHRIST ADMINISTRATION? This is during the
time of the four gospels. Let's approach this question a different way. When
did the New Testament begin? It began with the day of Pentecost because
this was the beginning of the Church of Grace Administration in which we now
live. Christ was still fulfilling the Old Testament Law so believers in that
time were still under the Law until Christ died and was raised from the dead.
(Again, the New Testament began at the Day of Pentecost with the outpouring of
Holy Spirit.) All the prophecies of the Law were completely FULFILLED. NOW WE
ARE NO LONGER UNDER THE LAW. WHAT LAW? THE LAW CHRIST CAME TO FULFILL.
Where it states that
the New Testament began in your Bible, DID MAN PUT
THAT THERE OR DID GOD? You know the answer to that. That's why I went
over what I did before showing you this biblical truth. The New Testament officially began on the Day of Pentecost, not
where the translators decided to write 'New Testament'. Now this does not take
away from the gospels by any means! But if you don't understand what's written
to you and what's written for your learning, you will never understand the
Bible. The seven (7) CHURCH EPISTLES are addressed to the Church of the Body of
Christ, the saints, in this Age of Grace. And yet most ministers and preachers
stay away from them because they simply do not understand them. Look at verse 1
of I Corinthians to see to whom the book is addressed.
I Corinthians
1: 2 -- Unto the CHURCH OF GOD.... [emphasis
added]
That's the born-again
believers. Look at the first verse in the epistle of Ephesians.
Ephesians 1:
1b -- ...... to the saints which are at Ephesus [born-again believers],
and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:
NOW, YOU NEED TO
UNDERSTAND THIS: It should clear up a lot of confusion
about many things written in the law or Old Testament:
If
something that is written in the Old Testament, during the Law Administration,
has not been changed in the New Testament [AFTER the Day of
Pentecost], then that Word of God STILL APPLIES TO US TODAY. In fact, most
often, a principle established in the Old Testament is many times REINFORCED,
verified, and stated AGAIN IN THE NEW TESTAMENT. PLEASE READ THIS PARAGRAPH
AGAIN UNTIL YOU UNDERSTAND IT.
Remember, the NEW
TESTAMENT began on the DAY OF PENTECOST and this is when the Church of Grace
Administration began. During the Christ Administration, it was not available
for a person to be born again. Why? Because that came on the day of
Pentecost which began the Age of Grace or Church Administration in which we now
live. So when Jesus Christ was on earth, man could not be BORN AGAIN.
When Jesus Christ said that 'greater works than these' can we do, he was
referring to the fact that we could lead people to the NEW BIRTH which was
still in the future. Jesus Christ was fulfilling the Law.
John 14: 12
-- Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do
shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto
my Father.
So what about the TWO GREAT
COMMANDMENTS that he spoke in Mark 12: 30 - 31 about loving God with all your
heart, soul, mind, and strength and loving your neighbor as yourself?
Mark 12: 30,
31 -- And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy
soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as
thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.
IN THE NEW TESTAMENT,
THE AGE OF GRACE, we are to live by these two laws and yet they were stated BEFORE
The Day of Pentecost in a time when the Law was still being fulfilled.
HOWEVER, there is
nothing in the New Testament that says that these principles no longer apply to
us. In fact, as I said before, the New Testament REINFORCES these two laws that
Jesus Christ stated especially in I Corinthians Chapter 13 which clearly
defines the love of God in the renewed mind in manifestation without which we
are nothing.
The principle of
TITHING was first established in the Old Testament as part of the Law, but in
God's Word, it was never changed or done away with in the New Testament. So it
still applies to us today. It is not difficult to understand. People make it
difficult because they want to hold on to their religion or tradition instead
of making God's Word the supreme authority in their life. Now let's go again to
God's Word for some clear-cut examples:
Although tithing is
mentioned in many biblical records, let's take a look at one very clear record
in the Old Testament in the book of MALACHI:
Malachi 3: 8 - 11 -- Will a
man rob God? Yet ye have robbed
me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed
thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for
ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. 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. And I will
rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your
ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field,
saith the Lord of hosts.
You see that God says
to "prove" Him and He "will open you the windows of heaven, and
pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive
it" -- IF YOU TITHE. That's the condition. Verse 11 talk about GOD'S
PROTECTION. He "will rebuke the devourer for your sakes......" and
the rest of the verse goes on with more benefits of His protection IF YOU
TITHE. Tithing is God's basic law of prosperity and it is God's Will for you to
prosper and be in health.
III John 2 --
Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health,
even as thy soul prospereth.
Note that prosperity
and health is dependent on your soul prospering. Your soul [what make you, you]
will never prosper until you know, understand, and apply God's Word. So it is
God's Will for you to PROSPER. We've established that. And now we will go to
one record in the Church Epistles -- IN THE NEW TESTAMENT that is written
directly to us, the Church of the Body of Christ, concerning tithing.
Turn to II Corinthians
Chapter 9, verses 6, 7 and 8. The context of this section is about TITHING.
[Before beginning, you should understand that the word "bounty" in
verse 5 is a Figure of Speech called an IDIOM and means "your gift to
the saints."]
II
Corinthians 9: 6 -- But this I say,
He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth
bountifully shall reap also bountifully.
The Bible says that the
person who tithes a little above the minimum tithe will not receive much back
in return as compared to the person who tithes a greater amount. The next verse
talks about the "attitude of giving" that God expects.
II
Corinthians 9: 7 -- Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let
him give; not grudgingly, or of
necessity: for God loveth a cheerful
giver.
If a person doesn't
tithe cheerfully and willingly, they should not tithe at all because there is
no benefit to someone who does not do something with the love of God in the
renewed mind in manifestation. [See I Corinthians 13: 2] Now remember about the
benefits and protection mentioned in the book of Malachi. It's mentioned again
in verse 8:
II
Corinthians 9: 8 -- And God is
able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all
sufficiency in all things, may
abound to every good work:
So you see that tithing
is indeed mentioned in the New Testament and even though it was established in
the Old Testament, it still applies to us today. In fact, it is a
principle that is of major importance. I will mention a few of the benefits of
tithing, but first I would like to simply point out another Church Epistle that
speaks about tithing. In Philippians Chapter 4: 14 - 17, Paul is speaking about
tithing in the context. There are other examples also but you should have
enough information from God's Word to have most of your questions answered
about this important principle from God's matchless Word. God wants His people
to know that they know that they know.
SOME
BENEFITS OF TITHING:
-- God's absolute
minimum law of financial liberty, prosperity and abundance.
-- One who tithes owns
his possessions without his possessions owning him.
-- It is our minimum
financial, health and accident insurance.
-- It is thanksgiving
by "thanksliving."
-- It develops
believing in God for individual security, dispelling doubt, fear, greed, and
vanity.
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