CONCLUSION
In the last episode of Thinking Thursday, we looked at how the early Christians gave. We saw that they gave generously, to help those who were in need.
But what about Malachi 3:8-10, you may ask? It says, “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.”
Doesn’t this mean that those who don’t tithe are robbing God?
Many pastors say that tithe is commanded by God; all believers are to pay it, and those who don’t will not be blessed. Is this what the Bible teaches?
READ ALSO: DOES GOD CHARGE FOR MERCY?
The Truth About the Matter
In Matthew 23, the Lord Jesus said to the Scribes and Pharisees:
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel.”
At this time, the Lord Jesus was speaking to people who were under the old covenant, because the new covenant was it not established till Jesus died.
Currently, the Bible says that in Christ, there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is no middle wall of partition, and the ordinances have been removed (Galatians 3:28, Colossians 3:11; Eph 2:14-15).
From the words of the Lord Jesus in Matthew 23, we see that the tithes were made for the purpose of attaining mercy, justice, and faithfulness. Deuteronomy 10:18 says, “He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing.” The Lord’s care for the poor was manifested in His seeking to provide for them.
READ ALSO: LUXURY (PART 1)
Time to Think
Does the majority of the church today who insist that Christians should pay tithes, follow the strict application of the law applicable to tithes? Do they ever preach that the tithes are also to be given to the poor, the widows, and the orphans? Do they have a clue of the purpose of the tithe? The fulfilment of the law (including the law on tithe) is love (Romans 13:8, 10; James 2:8). And so, to love is a better way to pay your tithe.
READ ALSO: SHOULD CHRISTIANS TITHE? (PART 1)
