Radical Generosity with Finances:

Good morning everyone, I truly hope you all had a great week and you are all preparing for a great coming week. Can I tell you something this morning. Can I just be honest with everyone this morning? This past week has been kind of hard for me. I spent some time doubting myself and what God was doing, and specifically spent some time doubting if I should be teaching on the topic of money, because I have had quite a few unexpected expenses come up this week and frankly it put me in a bit of a bad headspace. I was reading about Scripture, and responding to myself with, “Yeah but”. If that’s what I was doing, then how can I come up here and talk to you all about finances. Besides that this is a bit of a touchy topic because no one wants to share about finances…thats too personal. Pretty much from the time that you start getting paid for something you are told not to tell anyone else what you make. Don’t talk about finances at work…don’t talk about finances with friends…don’t talk about finances with family, including your kids (or parents). So why is that? Well, at work its because everyone makes their own deal. You don’t want to tell someone what you make and cause discontent in them, or yourself. With your friends its the same thing. you don’t want to cause friends to look at you differently, or potentially loose friends because you make too much, or don’t make enough. Really, if we think about it, it’s the same for family as well. You don’t want your brother or sister know what you make so they don’t become jealous, or so you don’t. Well, your kids just aren’t old enough to understand, and its disrespectful to talk to your parents about money. There are alot of thoughts that revolve around money, and well, the church frankly better just stay out of this topic all together. There is no reason to talk to the church about money, after-all, they will only ask me to give more.

So this morning guess what we are going to do? We are in a series called Radical Generosity and this week we are going to talk about the topic of finance, but specifically what the Scripture teaches us about tithing. This is a topic that I am very passionate about. This is also a topic that there is alot of disagreement with and so I hope that by the end of the day today you will be able to at least understand where I land on the topic of tithing and what the Scriptures teach about tithing. Here is the thing that we should all acknowledge though. Tithing is a concept that good well meaning Christians can have differing views on and that does not discount their working and serving together. That said…I want to tell you a story this morning before we move into the passage. This is a story I read this week and I thought it was simply fantastic and so I couldn’t not share it with you…Here it is.

Two men went sailing and ended up being marooned on an Island. One man paced back and forth worried and scared while the other man sat back and was sunning himself.  The first man (that’s pacing back and forth) said to the second man, "aren’t you afraid we are about to die." "No," said the second man (who is just laying there), "I make $100,000 a week and tithe faithfully to my church every week. My Pastor will find me."  

OK, so that was a little fun, although if you gave $10,000 per week I would potentially put a life alert on you to make sure you are ok at all times :) Just saying...

Actually, this is a topic that has debate all around it. And while there is debate, I have never met a Christian that has legitimately said that Christians should not be generous with the church or others. I have have met Christians however that said, “Christians don’t tithe.” Therefore the first question I really want to look at is ...

Is Tithing Biblical?

In order to answer that question, well, I think maybe we should look at some Scriptures together this morning.

Old Testament:

Well the first thing to think about is that the concept of tithing goes all the way back to Genesis 14. This is a story of Abram and Lot being separated, by choice. However, that choice led to Lot being captured and coming in need of rescue. That is what Gen. 14 is about, Lot’s rescue. That is when a King (who was also a priest) named Melchizedek came out and Abram gave the Priest/King Melchizedek a tithe, or a tenth of everything they had. You can study story that on your own. Then in Genesis 28, Jacob has a dream, and at the end of that dream he makes a commitment to God to give him a tithe of everything he receives from God. These are examples prior to the commandment of the tithe. However, as we continue in the Old Testament we see that there are numerous examples of a tithe.

We see in Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Nahum, 2 Chronicles , all throughout the Old Testament that tithing is a pretty normal part of the covenant with the people of Israel. This is a place that I cannot think of a single Christian disagreeing with the fact that tithing is all over the O.T. This is pretty common place. As a matter of fact, there was more tithing that we might think about today. You see, there were multiple tithes. Commonly there are three tithes in the O.T. that we will look at this morning.

1st Tithe

The first tithe that we learn about comes from way back in Genesis where Abram met and gave a tithe to the Priest/King Melchizedek. This is a sacred tithe that is talked about in Numbers 18:21, this is also considered the sacred tithe. This is the tithe that is used to support the Levites and the work of the Lord through the Levites and what they are responsible for. This is how the Levites lives and what they ate since they were unable to have land. This first tithe is dedicated to the work and furtherance of the Lord.

It is also important to note that even the Levite was required to set aside this tithe from what he recieved as a tithe. This is seen in Numbers 18: 25-26, Moses is sharing with the Levites that they are also instructed to tithe from the tithes that are given for them. In other words, as Moses wrote, a tithe of the tithe.

2nd Tithe

The second tithe is a tithe that is called the festival of the feasts. This is a really interesting tithe that is talked about in Deuteronomy 14:22-27. This tithe is a used for people or families to go to a place (that God will choose) and focus on worshiping God and eat the tithe that was set apart at that time.

The Levitical law required that a Jew had to go up to Jerusalem on certain occasions. In reality this religious ordinance included a definite social provision—periods of vacation for the family. And how should the head of the household pro­vide for the vacation expense? By setting aside this second tithe. This second tithe is dedicated for the good of man, a vacation with religious purposes.

3rd Tithe

The third tithe is a tithe that is called the tithe for the poor. This is a tithe that is given once every three years and has a very specific purpose as well. This tithe is seen in Deuteronomy 14:28-29. The really cool thing is that this tithe is used for those that have need, for the poor and travelers. The really cool thing here as well is that this tithe is given to the community to decide the best way to use it. This third tithe is dedicated to the “neighbor”, those in need. You could even think of this as a benevolence tithe.

Now, there is something really interesting here that I would like to make sure that we all see when looking at these different tithes here. I am going to summarize these three tithes for us. Basically the first tithe is one that is focused on the ministry and work of God. A second tithe that is focused on the spiritual and physical health of man, and third tithe that is focused on caring for others with need. Thats great stuff…But thats all O.T., what does the N.T. have to say about tithing?

New Testament:

Well, actually the N.T. doesn’t say an awful lot about tithing the way the O.T. talks about tithing. However, there are some places that we should in fact take note of. First of all and likely most importantly we have Matthew 23:23 This is a passage that Jesus is speaking with the scribes and pharisees and he is pointing out to them that they are keeping the letter of the law, but ignoring the spirit of the law. In other words, they were giving what they had to give, but not really caring about those in need around them. We see the same concept at the end of Mark 12 with the woman who gave 2 coins that we talked about a few weeks ago. There were those that were giving loudly and what they had to, while there was a woman who had nothing next to them. You see, Jesus doesn't specifically teach about tithing in either of these scenarios.

So what does this mean? If Jesus did not talk about it, doesn’t that mean that this is no longer in effect today? I mean, Jesus came to fulfill the law and we see that all of the law and the commands are filled up in the commands of “love God, love others”.

Well, this is where many well meaning good Christians disagree with each other. I will share with you both views and I will share with you why I lean the way I lean and allow you to make up your own mind.

View 1: Yes, the tithe continues

This view is a pretty straight forward view of saying that just because Jesus did not talk about it anymore, doesn’t mean that he abolished the command. In Matthew 23:23 we see that Jesus does in fact condemn the religious leaders. However, he does not do so because they are giving a tithe. He does so because they are living lives unfaithfully. These men were so focused on one part of the law and living that out tediously that they were completely ignoring the rest of the law. In other words, they were hypocrites. The fact that Jesus tells these men that they should be focused on the more important parts of the law, while still not neglecting the tithe, tells us that Jesus does see the tithe as a legitimate practice to continue.

The N.T. goes on to say that the giver should give generously and that God loves a cheerful giver. 2 Corinthians 9:7 says that “Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”

However, this is not the only view...

View 2: No, the tithe does not continue

Now this view dives into various Scriptures around the N.T. and realizes that the O.T. law no longer rules over the N.T. Christian, therefore the law of tithing is not relevant to us today. Jesus fulfilled the law. We see that is Rom. 6, Gal. 3, Eph. 2, and when we see that we are no longer under the law, we must realize that this includes the law of tithing. Paul does have some things to say about giving however, and so we should look at that. In 1 Cor. 16:2 we see that Paul tells the church in Corinth to collect money on the first day of the week so that they will be prepared when he gets there to take their offering elsewhere. Then again in 2 Cor. 9:7 that says we must give as we have decided in our hearts.

We see that the largest push that we, as modern day Christians are no longer compelled by the tithe by the fact that we are no longer under the law as a rule. We also know that not all of the things that are spoken of in the O.T. are normative for us today. For instance, we do not advocate slavery, or polygamy. When Jesus affirmed the tithe, which he did, he did so before the implementation of the new covenant that was brought with his blood.

Now, these are the two views in a bit of a stripped down form. However, let me share with you a piece that I did not share above. The argument that Jesus did not speak about tithing after his death I find very weak. Jesus did in fact teach that tithing should be continued in Matthew 23. Some would say that was only 1 time out of the many times that the N.T. speaks about generosity. To that, I would agree, but that does not mean that the tithe is no longer taught, it simply means that the tithe seems to be a baseline for Christianity. Why would Jesus need to teach about something that everyone already did on a regular basis. However, generosity did not happen often, did it. We see it in the same stories that those that gave, gave for a position or maybe they gave from compulsion, and that is not a heart that is pleasing to the Lord, is it? Additionally, I have heard some say that Jesus doesn’t just tell people what part of the law is no longer valid, he simply teaches them the new. If that is you, then let me encourage you to look at Mark 7:18-19, Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.) Jesus did not shy away from rejecting the parts of the law that no longer apply to his disciples. So, if tithing was no longer something to be done, then, I believe, Jesus would have been clear on the subject.

Ok, if tithing is something that is biblical then why do we need to tithe...

Why Should I Tithe?

I would like to take these next few minutes to look at Malachi 3:6-15. In this passage we will be able to see why we should in fact tithe. This passage is applicable to us this morning as we have just determined that tithing is something that we should see as a baseline giving. We’ve also seen that the N.T. has not removed the command to tithe, therefore let’s look at the OT reasoning for tithing. (read Mal 3:6-15)

So I believe we will see the things that are incredibly important through this passage. I actually believe that this is speaking of robbery, but what does that mean? In other words…Not tithing is robbery. Who are we robbing, when we skip, or lessen the impact of a tithe to God? Theologian Warren Wiersbe says,

“When the people heard Malachi call them to return to the Lord, instead of obeying that call, they began to argue with God’s servant. They remind me of those people who evade the issue by saying, “Define your terms! What do you mean by ‘return’?” But Malachi didn’t hesitate to tell them how to start returning to God: “Bring God the tithes and offerings that are rightfully His!” Theirs was the sin of robbery in at least three different areas.”

Robbing God:

First of all we are robbing God. Tithing as an act of worship is as old as Abraham, who gave tithes to Melchizedek, acknowledging that Melchizedek was the representative of the Most High God Jacob vowed to God that he would tithe, so tithing predates the Law of Moses. Over the centuries, many of the Jews committed two mistakes with regard to the tithe: (1) the legalists obeyed the Law so scrupulously that, like the Pharisees, they found ways to technically keep the tithe, all the while thinking that their obedience would earn them righteousness before God; (2) the irreligious neglected the tithe and by disobeying God deprived the temple ministry of what it needed to keep going. Since God made and owns everything, He doesn’t need anything that we can bring Him (Acts 17:25). But when we obey His Word and bring our gifts as an act of worship with grateful hearts, it pleases him. When we ignore the tithe, then we are not being pleasing to the Lord, and worse, when you don’t tithe, you are robbing God of worship.

Robbing Yourself:

Next we can see that you are actually robing yourself. Whenever we rob God, we always rob ourselves. To begin with, we rob ourselves of the spiritual blessings that always accompany obedience and faithful giving. But even more, the money that rightfully belongs to God that we keep for ourselves never stays with us. It ends up going to the doctor, the auto body shop, or the tax collector. If we don’t trust God to care for us, whatever we do trust will prove futile. People who lovingly give tithes and offerings to God find that whatever is left over goes much farther and brings much greater blessing. Yes, giving is an act of faith…but God rewards faith in every way. Let me be clear right now. This DOES NOT MEAN that if you give then you will get rich. It does mean that when you are faithful to God, then he is faithful to you. When you don’t tithe, you are robbing yourself of God’s blessing.

Robbing others:

Finally when we neglect to tithe, we are robbing others. When we are not faithful to God, then others are not able to see his faithfulness to us. God’s promise was, “The Lord will establish you as a holy people to Himself, just as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in His ways. Then all the peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they shall be afraid of you” (Deut. 28:9–10). The Gentiles would have come to Jerusalem to learn about this great and wonderful God who could take a group of refugees and turn them into a blessed nation. People from all over the nations would have come to learn about this God that provided in such a great way. In other words, when you don’t tithe you are robbing others of the opportunity to see God work.

Let’s make this a little practical for us this morning...

Practical Conversations:

That was alot of stuff we covered here this morning and I wanted to close by having some real conversations with people. You see, I have been blessed by having my entire adult life being a life that believed in the principle of tithing. I have been blessed to have been taught that and had this concept reinforced in my life at a very young age. Do you know what else I am? I am a person who always has what I need to do the things that God has called me to do. I began tithing prior to Beth and I getting married and she tithed as well. That made the conversation really easy for us because we were on the same page. Now, its pretty easy to give $20 a week when you are a young couple that makes $200 a week. As you get older however, it begins to get harder to start tithing if you have never done this. I can tell you I can completely understand the emotional and spiritual change that must take place in a person in order to be so commited to writing that check for 10% of all of your income weekly, or monthly depending on when you get paid. I can tell you there is a level of trust in God that you cannot fake. I can also tell you that God already knows what you are doing?

So I could tell you 100’s of stories in just my life where God has provided exactly what I needed in order to live. I mean times of car repairs and house repairs, and frankly extra money being in my account that was not there previously. You are welcome to ask me about any of those stories. However, this morning I would like to tell you about a person named Ashley. Ashley was married to Bob and they had 2 kids. Ashley came to me one time while I was in Lafayette and they had a need of an electric bill. I sat down with Ashley and Bob and talked through their finances with them. One of the first questions I always ask is about giving. Do you currently give on a regular basis? Well, Ashley and Bob told me they did not and I asked them why not. They were honest and told me that they did not feel they could afford to tithe, or even give at a regular level. Well, my response was that they could not afford not to give regularly. Well, as part of my responsibilities as a pastor I decided it would be good for us, as a church, to make the electric payment for them. However, we also decided to bless them with a little more than they needed because I believe in the truth of tithing that much. We gave them enough money to tithe that next Sunday. After Ashley placed her tithe check in the offering she went on about her business until later that week when she was due to pay for her childcare bill. She had enough to pay that bill, but it was going to be tight. Well, when she showed up to make that payment she was informed that someone had already made that payment for her. To this day, she still does not know who made that payment for her. She called me immediately and said “Billy, I know this won’t happen every time, but how cool is it that God provided my need.”

Whenever we think about giving or tithing especially in the O.T. we are told that they are to take the first fruits of what they own. I believe that same concept is alive today. If you are here this morning I don’t want you to simply reach into your wallet and put in a $20 or a $10, or whatever you have in your wallet, unless you are viewing that as an offering above and beyond your normal giving. You see, I want you to give the way that we see in Scripture, with purpose and being the first of what you have. That means when you budget your paycheck, you take the 1st 10% out and apply that to God. However, I know that can be hard. So, if you are not accustomed to tithing I want to ask you to right now make a decision to percentage based giving. You see in 1 Cor. 16:2 we see that Paul asked them to take aside money “as they may prosper”. In other words, Paul is asking them to set aside money that is in keeping up with your income, or set aside a percentage of your income to give away. When we match that to the Scriptures teaching us that we should be giving the first fruits of what we get, then we can see that we should take a percentage off the top. Now, I don’t want to ask you to change that percentage weekly. No, you need to make a commitment and begin trusting God with your finances and begin to be obedient to his Word and not to your wishes. Make a commitment to percentage based giving, from the first fruits of what you receive. That is hard, and that is scary, but we know that when we obey, we are being pleasing to the Lord, and when we obey we are honoring others with our obedience as well.

Lastly, let me say this, if you are giving regularly, when is the last time you changed things up a little bit? When is the last time you looked at your giving levels and determined if you are giving at the level that God has asked you to give at. When is the last time that you supported a new missionary, or another cause close to your heart? When is the last time you thought about your giving instead of just writing the check and marking that off the list?

Folks, tithing is a very important step of discipleship. If you are not giving regularly with percentage based giving, then you need to look at your spiritual life. Tithing is the baseline, Christian 101, level of giving. Just like baptism is the first step of obedience as a Christian, I believe tithing is the first step of faith as a Christian. In other words we shouldn’t stop at 10%, but as God blesses we give more. We keep looking for ways to be radically generous with our finances. So, today, are you willing to step into the role of tithing in your life.

—Prayer--