A Means of Worship Pt. 2
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Recap from last week
19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
17 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). 18 Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High,
19 and he blessed Abram, saying, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. 20 And praise be to God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand.” Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.
1 This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings and blessed him, 2 and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. First, the name Melchizedek means “king of righteousness”; then also, “king of Salem” means “king of peace.” 3 Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, resembling the Son of God, he remains a priest forever.
30 “ ‘A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord; it is holy to the Lord.
29 so that the Levites (who have no allotment or inheritance of their own) and the foreigners, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied, and so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.
10 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.
This morning we will look at tithing in the new testament
We read earlier about the heart behind giving back to God.
We do so because of what He has done for us
He should be Lord of everything in our lives, including our money!
Tithing is mentioned only a couple of times in the new testament.
In fact, there are only 4 times it is mentioned.
Hebrews
we mentioned this earlier and I don’t want to spend a ton of time on it - I think there is good indication here that the principle of tithing could continue based on worship of the “king of righteousness”
2nd Luke 18 12
9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ 14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
So, here we see and example of the legalism that was so prevalent
We know that part of the problems with the pharisees is that they lost sight of the point behind the law
Here we have Jesus using an example of someone who does “everything” right, yet missed the point
So, with this reference to tithing we can’t pull out much…
Other than the fact that if we are giving as a means of looking good on the outside, but not really having a change of heart on the inside, we have missed the whole point..
I present this morning that tithing/giving seems to be more of a heart issue in the NT
So, for the first two reference to tithing, we don’t see a command
Let’s look at the 3rd and 4th references.
Cross reference
42 “Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone.
and
23 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.
So, here is the closest reference to a command of tithing.
Remember, that when we are looking at whether or not we are still to keep a law of the old testament, one of the things that we look at is if it is reinforced in the new testament.
Here we see Jesus rebuking the teachers of the law and pharisees because they gave what they were commanded to give, but again, missed the point.
Jesus calls out their behavior and says you should have given without neglecting justice, mercy and faithfulness
We have to remember that the point of the law was to teach us the heart of God…
17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
I believe that this doesn’t mean that the law was never important or still doesn’t have a purpose, but we are no longer found righteous by the law
We are found righteous by the blood of Jesus!
Meaning, there is still principles in the law……
So, does Jesus command us to continue to tithe?
There is some debate. Some take this as Jesus saying that we should continue to tithe, but honestly, I am not convinced that was His main point here
I don’t see this as a command for the future, but rather a rebuking of past behavior…
However, at minimum, Jesus shows that it was and probably still is important to give
So, the debate is on
Are we still supposed to tithe
Here is what I believe to be the most biblical position
God honored both Abraham and Jacob with the idea of giving the first 10% by making it a law
In the old testament, it was a way to honor, revere, and remember who the giver of all things is!
The law in the old testament was there to teach them how they should be living.
Jesus came to fulfill the law. We are no longer accountable to keeping the law, however we are accountable to honoring Christ
The OT tithe was used for the Levites, who were the priests, the foreigners, the fatherless, and the widows
I would say that though we are no longer responsible to the law, we are still responsible for the ministries of the church, the fatherless, and the widows
I believe the heart behind the law was to first, honor God with out first 10% for the working of His ministry among us, and secondly, maybe even more importantly, for us to remember who gives us everything. To honor him and revere Him as Lord!
So, are we legally bound to give 10%, no, however should we?
I would say yes. I believe the concept of having a storehouse is replaced by the ministry of the local church.
I don’t think 10% is a law anymore, however, if God saw fit for it to be a good number, I think it is wise to honor what He thinks is best.
Finally, as we consider giving as a means of worship, let’s consider……
41 Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42 But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. 43 Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.
44 They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”
You see, it wasn’t the amount, it was her heart……
Those against the 10% thing, since they believe it’s not in the NT, well, we could look at this story and the rich young ruler, Jesus told him to sell everything, and give his money to the poor…
Many in the early church in acts sold their possessions so no one was in need.
So, maybe, 10% isn’t commanded in the NT, but that number exponentially increased to 100%.
We can be legalistic on either side
Both miss the point, because the point is the heart!
So, I believe 10% is a great number to pray about and place to start, but really, what’s Jesus telling you to give?
And, as we read earlier, the principles of sowing and reaping are still very much a new testament principle.
The idea that God blesses us when we give is still very much applicable.
So, I think it is wise to decide to give back to God for what He has given us! But let’s also consider Jesus’ teaching in:
1 “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. 2 “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.
3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
We give because we want to honor and revere God, not to receive great praise
As the title of this message suggest, tithing/giving is a means of worship
Pouring our heart out to God and giving Him praise!
I believe best practice is to give 10% of your income to the storehouse, which is the local church
I want to quickly share how we handle tithing/giving here
Every year we have a budget committee who gets together and creates a projected budget for the year.
We budget off of last year’s giving to the general fund
Out of that comes several things:
10% always goes to missions - the deacons decide where this goes - btw, we have a little left this year if you have a mission you would like for us to support, let a deacon know!
Then we delegate the reminding 90%
Out of the general fund are several important things:
Pastor, secretary, and custodian salaries
Utilities
Insurance
and many other things
We then give to Christian education, youth ministry, flower and card, worship, and several others
If you want to look at the budget to see where our money goes, you are welcome to! We just approved it last week.
So, based on what I understand of scripture, the way that I see it working is that our “general” fund is our storehouse - that is where our operating come from
So, I think the best application of the biblical principle is for us to give our first 10% to the local church general fund and then anything above and beyond that to whatever other ministries that we feel led to give to
Again, not a law…but as a way for us to revere Christ as Lord
Not not out of obligation, but with a cheerful and glad heart!
And the promise, is that God will bless us!
The principle of reaping and sowing is still around.
When we give to God, first and best, we are blessed because of it!
This isn’t a prosperity teaching as Paul says
10 I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. 11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
The amount isn’t the issue, it’s the heart…
So, we give to honor and revere God, and I believe we are blessed because of it!
So, I encourage you to pray about deciding in your hearts what you will give to honor God!
What is He truly worth to you?
Is He worth the first? and the best?
I believe so much in the principles laid out in scripture, that you will find out quickly how God will honor you when you make a commitment to giving to Him!
Let’s commit to praying about the discipline of tithing/giving and let’s worship him, with our money!
God says to test Him in this…will we?