Sermon Tone Analysis

We are to be devoted, in all things, to Christ.

The habits of the redeemed are to be Christward in all things

We are to be devoted to the word of God, the Apostles teaching, which sets us Christward in our thinking and view of the world

We are to be devoted to the Fellowship, the community of believers that are to direct each other Christward in all that we say and do

We are to be devoted to the Breaking of Bread, which is to set our whole worship Christward, that we devote ourselves to meet christ at the table with fellowship each week.

We are to be devoted to the Prayers, praying the Psalms, which keeps our telos, our goals, our affections, emotions, hearts and thoughts Christward

He is the risen king, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, he has been given all authority, he is the Lord not only of our hearts but of our world.

For he is the one we are to be devoted too.

So each of these devotions we have looked are devotions that point us Christward toward our ultimate devotion, the King of Kings!

To be devoted to Christ is to see him rightly, it is to see him for who he is.

The one we are devoted too is the one who rules the universe, who is high and lifted us, and causes the bravest of men to tremble upon his appearing.

As followers of Christ, we pledge our allegiance to him.

Did you know that this is in large part what it means to have faith.

Faith (pisitis) in the Bible has a much fuller meaning than the word faith has in our world.

Faith is to be devoted to, to pledge allegiance, reliability, fidelity, commitment.

So as we think about what is means to have faith in Christ, to be devoted to him we must see our whole lives come under his authority, and our whole lives be devoted to him.

Now, what we are going to talk about this morning is one area that many Christians truly struggle to be devoted to Christ.

This morning we are going to be talking about giving of our financial resources in tithes and offerings as a devotion to Christ.

These early followers of Christ who had devoted themselves to the aposltes teaching, the fellowship, the breaking of bread, and the prayers, also devoted their resources for the building up of the church.

They were selling their possession and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as they had need.

Here we see the model of generous giving, offering, tithing, at play in the early church.

They lived with such a devotion to Christ that they were willing to sell and offer their proceeds to the church.

We live in an age when studies tell us that evangelical Christians give less than 3 percent of their income to the church or any ministry.

3% is less than a third of what God has called us to give - as a whole Christians have failed to be devoted to Christ in their giving.

And what we see in the scriptures is that when the people of God stop obeying, when they don’t give as the Bible commands us to give, the church suffers, and when the church suffers, the world suffers.

So this morning as we look at what the scriptures call us to in regards to tithing we pray that God gives us a heart to joyfully submit ourselves the the teaching of God’s word, the apostles teaching, and devote our full selves, all that we are and all that we have, to Christ.

Tithing in the Bible

Often times tithing is connected to the Mosaic law, and as such believe that the tithing is no longer required for believers.

However, I think even with a short survey of the Bible we will see that tithing is something that is near and dear to the heart of God before, during and after the Mosaic law.

Tithing Before the Law

We see the first explicit references to the tithe appear in Genesis 14, where Abraham tithes a tenth of everything to Melchizedek, and in Genesis 28, where Jacob promises to give God “a full tenth.”

Now, this is helpful to see that the tithe, like the sabbath, and like the promises given to Abraham all come before the Law was given.

Tithing is one of the ways God forms us, and a way we worship God.

Tithing According to the Law

We do see the tithe become an essential part of the Mosaic Law

When God gives the Law to Moses we see in many places the tithe being mentioned as an act of worship before the Lord.

The tithe that the people of God would bring was not so much a gift for the Lord, but it was giving to the Lord a portions of what was already his.

So the Israelites would bring a tenth of their produce, grain, and wine, and animals and give them back to the Lord.

These tithes would go to provide for the Levites (priests), help the poor, keep the tabernacle and temple from wearing out.

There is a great story in Exodus 36 where the craftsman of the tabernacle, those who were building it were receiving everything they needed to build the tabernacle.

And the people kept giving and giving to the point where the craftsmen had to talk to Moses and tell him that they had more than enough.

So Moses gave a command

Here illustrates the difference between tithes and offerings.

The tithe is what we are commanded to give back to the Lord - all we have is his, and he has called us to give back 10% to the church.

Offerings are when we give above that 10%

The people gave their tithes, but when it came to building the sanctuary they continued to give above and beyond their tithe so that that work God had called them to do could be accomplished.

SO even in the law, tithing was worship, intentional, and formative.

Tithing is something that continues into the NT as well.

Tithing After the Law

Jesus often speaks of tithing and offerings.

He condemns the pharisee’s for the tithing in a prideful way, and he praises the widow who gives her two mites.

Jesus condemns the pharisee’s for an unbalanced view of tithing in matthew 23

Here Jesus actually affirms their tithes, “These you out to have done” BUT you should have done them without neglecting the weightier matters of the law - justice, mercy and faithfulness.

The Apostle Paul never mentions tithing explicitly, but he does build off the principles of tithing as he encourages the people to give generously to the work of the gospel.

Even at the end of revelation we see the nations coming to the kingdom of God bringing tribute, they bring the glorious of their nations to the church as an offering.

So even in this short survey we see that God has called his people to give back to him a portion of what he has given to us.

“The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness”

The tithe is based on the fact that “The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness”(Ps.

24:1).

God does not need our tithes to finance His kingdom for He is already the owner of everything (Acts 17:24-25; Ps. 50:10,12).

God is not wishing you could make him richer by giving money to his church.

God is not in any way in need.

David says,

Every penny in your bank account, every crumb in your kitchen, and every fiber of clothing in your closet belongs to the Lord.

Everything you have has been given to you by the loving and faithful King.

David continues this point in Psalm 50…

Paul likewise makes this point in acts 17

Church, you have nothing that does not belong to the Lord.

For all creation and everything in creation is his.

And everything you have has been given to you for you to steward for his glory.

This is a very powerful truth that puts so much of life into perspective

Everything you have is a gift of God, and a gift you are to steward faithfully.

The breath in your lungs, the body which holds your lungs are a gift you are to steward faithfully.

The talents you have, the skills you have acquired , the education you have received, are all gifts of God that you are to faithfully steward.

The jobs you have, the houses or apartments you live in, the cars you drive, the food you eat, the clothes you wear are all gifts of God for you to faithfully steward.

And the money you have received or earned likewise are gifts to you, for you to faithfully steward.

And the Bible has told us how to steward our finances faithfully.

In fact it has a lot to say about how to steward finances faithfully.

And the very first principle; faithful stewardship 101, is to tithe.

To give back to God 10% of what he has given to you.

And when we do, when we give our full tithes and offerings, we image the God who has so generously given all things to us.

We serve a God who has generously given us all things,

He Gives Us His Love

He Gives Us His Peace

He Gives Us His Promises

He Gives Us His Riches

He Gives Us His Spirit

He Gives Us His Grace

He Has Already Given us more than we could ever hope to deserve.

And he calls us to give back to him a portion of what he has given us.

Yet he has called us to give him back a portion of that thing we most want to hold on to.

We struggle to faithfully tithe because we either forget or don’t believe that he will provide for us

We struggle to faithfully tithe because we are fearful and faithless.

We struggle to faithfully tithe because we find ourselves loving the gift more than the gift giver.

We struggle to tithe because we don’t actually believe in his promises, nor do we believe that all we have actually belongs to God.

If we believed that all we have is God’s and God has called us to give back to him 10% and we refused, what would that be?

It would be attempted robbery.

If I offer you to my truck because your car broke down, and then I ask for it back and you refuse to give it back, what would that be?

God has given us all things, and he has called us, for our own good, to give back to him 10% of what he has given, and we refuse… we end up like Israel in the book of Malachi

God accuses his people of “robbing” him by failing to tithe (3:8).

When we refuse to offer back to God our tithes and offerings we assume the role of a robber.