Twisted Scripture Week 2

Malachi 3:8–10

Today we will exegete a Scripture which has been used to brow beat and manipulate people into giving to the church. I was not raised in the church and so I, and many non-believers, would say, “The church only wants your money.” Because that was the experience we had. The so-called preachers on TV only talked about money and this is still common place in many churches. This is tragic. How sad is it, to someone would go to a church and be spoken to as though the most important thing they brought with them was their pocket book or wallet? I strongly disagree! Nothing is greater than your presence among the Body of Christ. Nothing is more valuable than the giving of your time and Spiritual Gifts for the edification of another. We talked about that a couple weeks ago. The Scripture we are covering today, has even been used to call one’s salvation into question. To be up front, as your Pastor, I am completely unaware of how much or even that you give to the church. My relationship with you will not be shaped by that knowledge. That brings us back to the problem at hand, the unbiblical nature which Scripture is being twisted? This week we will exegete Scripture looking at a few areas: The Old Covenant, Tithing, The New Covenant, and giving. We will be a church who worships God is all areas of faith and we will not be a church which see’s your value being defined by what you put in the offering plate. Nor are we going to pressure people to do so.

Malachi 3:8-10

Malachi 3:8–10 ESV

Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.

1. The first thing we must note is the location of the text: Is it Old Covenant or New Covenant? Old Covenant. This is important, because as we go through this series, we have 3 passages which are connected to the Old Covenant.

a. In short, God made a covenant with Israel. Not just the people but the Nation. This is why God would punish the nation as a whole due to their disobedience and bless them as a whole due to their faithfulness. Within this Covenant God made specific promises and commands to the Nation of Israel which do not apply to us today. In many cases, one we will see today, because Jesus fulfilled the Law. We are under the New Covenant. We will get more into this as we go through this sermon. But allow me to talk about some of the ways this passage is twisted. We know that giving to your church is a part of our Christian faith. Giving, in no way means that the more someone gives the more say they have. No that is corruption, not giving. We understand that a church is not for profit. At the end of the year the Elder’s will not come to me and say, “Well we have about $1000 more in giving than we budgeted for so, here ya go JR.” No, that money will be put back into the church for ministry or the building. Saving to replace an air-conditioning unit, increasing the children’s ministry budget, saving for a playground, etc. This church is not going to make the staff rich. This passage is used in fear-mongering, saying your life will be under a curse if you do not give. No, that was Old Covenant. God’s Covenant with Israel and its people. Speakers will say that tithing is a test which God gives the Christian and by not giving the right amount you have failed the test leaving you subject to a curse.

b. At staff meeting this week it was interesting to see the different approaches to giving that Ross and I have which result in our landing in the same spot. Two different routes to the same destination. I said that by giving I purge from myself this desire to covet money. To make money an idol in my heart. I do not want to be on the fence about this. Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.” I recognize that in order to make sure I do not fall into this snare, that I understand what I have is not my own. As a Christian if I am to wage war against my sin, then I have to fight all of it, and this is the way I fight a covetous heart. Ross on the other hand got all spiritual, but he was absolutely right. He recognizes that God is giving. This is who He is, He is gracious in His giving. John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” God gave. We know that in our sanctification, which a fancy word for what God the Holy Spirit does in the life of a believer. He works in our lives and He shapes into being more like Christ. Ross said, if God is giving, then I want to be giving.

c. Already, just in this line of thought we see on the subject of giving, two people can have two different motivations or purpose in their giving and yet arrive at the same place. False teachers, do not allow this kind of diversity. “Wait God can work in people differently and get them to the same place? NEVER!” But it is because of these false teachers that we must address this text. Maybe still as the offering plate is passed, we have a sour disposition about it. We still feel pressured. I truly hope, by the end of this sermon you will no longer feel that way.

2. So, we know giving is a part of the Christian faith. We also know that this text is being twisted. One such twister of Scripture is Robert Morris, he says that when you get paid you take a test, “Whom are you going to thank for your income.” He then goes on to say that these are to be your first fruits. Maybe you have heard this. But, here in the United Sates, we have something called withholding. Government gets the first swipe at our paychecks. So, what does that mean Robert? I have failed the test and I am under a curse because taxes have been taken out before what I give? You got to think this through Bob.

a. What is the context of Malachi 3? We know God is speaking to the people and Nation of Israel because of His Covenant with them, specifically the Mosaic Covenant. 3 rules to Biblical interpretation? Context, context, context. In Malachi 3 God is addressing the tithe. But what is the context of Malachi 3 in the book of Malachi?

i. Malachi 1:6-10 “A son honors his father, and a servant his master. Then if I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is My respect?’ says the Lord of hosts to you, O priests who despise My name. But you say, ‘How have we despised Your name?’ “You are presenting defiled food upon My altar. But you say, ‘How have we defiled You?’ In that you say, ‘The table of the Lord is to be despised.’ “But when you present the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? And when you present the lame and sick, is it not evil? Why not offer it to your governor? Would he be pleased with you? Or would he receive you kindly?” says the Lord of hosts. “But now will you not entreat God’s favor, that He may be gracious to us? With such an offering on your part, will He receive any of you kindly?” says the Lord of hosts. “Oh that there were one among you who would shut the gates, that you might not uselessly kindle fire on My altar! I am not pleased with you,” says the Lord of hosts, “nor will I accept an offering from your hand.” The people are not honoring the Mosaic covenant. They are offering to the LORD animals who are blind, about to die, or lame. We see the context of Malachi 3 in light of Malachi 1, They are robbing God of their tithe because they are not honoring their Covenant with Him. So let’s hold up Malachi 3 over the OT where the Old Covenant is found. What was the tithe under the Mosaic Covenant?

ii. Deuteronomy 14:22-23

Deuteronomy 14:22–23 ESV

“You shall tithe all the yield of your seed that comes from the field year by year. And before the Lordyour God, in the place that he will choose, to make his name dwell there, you shall eat the tithe of your grain, of your wine, and of your oil, and the firstborn of your herd and flock, that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always.

The tithe is to be given to the LORD, in the place that that He will choose, we know that place will be Jerusalem. You are to take your tithe and do what? You shall eat the tithe, drink the tithe. Next month we have a yearly celebration of food coma, otherwise known as thanksgiving. The tithe is more akin to that. That is not all, let’s also look at, Deuteronomy 14:24-27

Deuteronomy 14:24–27 ESV

And if the way is too long for you, so that you are not able to carry the tithe, when the Lordyour God blesses you, because the place is too far from you, which the Lord your God chooses, to set his name there, then you shall turn it into money and bind up the money in your hand and go to the place that the Lord your God chooses and spend the money for whatever you desire—oxen or sheep or wine or strong drink, whatever your appetite craves. And you shall eat there before the Lord your God and rejoice, you and your household. And you shall not neglect the Levite who is within your towns, for he has no portion or inheritance with you.

If the journey is too far you can sell your tithe, take that money, go to Jerusalem and buy whatever you want, why because you will be eating or drinking your tithe. So whether you bring your own or buy it, the same standard still applies, the animal or the grain are to be of highest quality. So when we go to the NT we have context to Jesus flipping tables in the Temple. We remember the story John 2:13-17

John 2:13–17 ESV

The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.” His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.”

Why was Jesus so angry? Two-fold: first the Temple was not to be a place of commerce. The temple would exchange the Imperial money the Denarii, because it had a graven image on it. The face of the Emperor was on them and they would exchange it for Temple shekels. The money changers in the temple did no exchange the money straight up, they took a fee as well. The temple was not to get rich off the people, by the way the same goes for the church. Shepherds getting rich off their flock. Jesus would flip some tables in the church today. The second reason, the animals they were selling were of poor quality. Nothing had changed since Malachi 3. The only difference, instead of the people bringing their janky animals to the LORD, the Temple was selling the people janky animals. Which, by the way, is worse. Thus Jesus flipped some table and whipped some folks.

iii. So the tithe, what was done with the tithe? It was eaten by the entire assembly. They either brought their animal, their grain, their wine to the Temple and there it would be cooked, prepared, and eaten. This is not preached in the church today. No, instead you are being beaten over the head over your tithe. The tithe was a tenth of your grain or vine, the best animal, etc. Yes, it took a financial expense from the tither but they ate of the tithe. They did not bring it and leave it. In addition, they also helped support the Levite who worked in the Temple. But today we hear from the pulpit, “You need to trust the LORD with your tithe.” No, that’s not what the Bible teaches us about the tithe. The tithe is Old Covenant. You do not bring your offering to Jerusalem. We are not under that Covenant. There is no tithe under the New Covenant.

3. So, the question must be asked, as Christian’s what does the New Covenant say?

a. First, let’s talk about the Levites. I want to just gloss over this but it is all intertwined. Paul in 1 Corinthians 9:3-12

1 Corinthians 9:3–12 ESV

This is my defense to those who would examine me. Do we not have the right to eat and drink? Do we not have the right to take along a believing wife, as do the other apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas? Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working for a living? Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard without eating any of its fruit? Or who tends a flock without getting some of the milk? Do I say these things on human authority? Does not the Law say the same? For it is written in the Law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain.” Is it for oxen that God is concerned? Does he not certainly speak for our sake? It was written for our sake, because the plowman should plow in hope and the thresher thresh in hope of sharing in the crop. If we have sown spiritual things among you, is it too much if we reap material things from you? If others share this rightful claim on you, do not we even more? Nevertheless, we have not made use of this right, but we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ.

The Levites, now the Pastors, serve the church and the church takes a portion of what is given and allows the Pastor to work full-time for the purposes of the Gospel. Paull calls back to the ox. The ox would work and tread out the grain and this is a shadow of the minsters who would serve the church. The Pastors are the churches beast of burden, and it is not unbiblical to eat of some tread out grain.

i. Paul in his second letter to the church in Corinth writes them 2 Corinthians 9:6-8

2 Corinthians 9:6–8 ESV

The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.

Ah ya see! Paul says it! You need to give a lot generously! You need to pass the test! Easy Seabuscuit. First, Paul uses a proverb, a saying. It is found nowhere else in Scripture. Paul kind of says it again in Galatians 6:7 but we see it nowhere in Scripture. Paul is using a saying to make a point. But let’s look at this proverb. To give of your crops would mean you gave a portion. You did not give the entire harvest. Paul is simply saying, the more we go out so sow, or to plant, when the harvest comes there would be more. But this sowing is for the Gospel, will the people of Corinth receive a monetary blessing. There is no such promise. This is where they want to go back to Malachi 3. But the Old Covenant is between God and a Nation. The blessing would be for the country as a whole. The second point to be made is Paul does not leave this proverb alone, Paul gives qualifications to one’s giving. “Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” So, even under this proverb Paul makes it known that this giving is to be done joyfully. “Well, what if I will not give joyfully?” Keep it. The sowing which we will harvest will be all those who the LORD has saved. Our giving is not for our own pockets, it is for God’s Kingdom and the furthering of the Gospel. If you cannot give to that joyfully, keep it. That is between you and God.

4. There is one last point to be made.

a. Luke 21:1-4

Luke 21:1–4 ESV

Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box, and he saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. And he said, “Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”

We know this story as, the widows mite. There are two important points to be made here. First, what Jesus says here is a commentary on what they just saw. Jesus is not praising the woman for giving what was likely all she had. Jesus was making an observation. Second, we know this because of the context. We forget these chapter divisions did not exist. We put them in to make it easier to navigate the Bible. Let’s read Luke 20:45-21:4

Luke 20:45–21:4 ESV

And in the hearing of all the people he said to his disciples, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love greetings in the marketplaces and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, who devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.” Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box, and he saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. And he said, “Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”

What do we see? We see a condemnation of what is being done, the devouring of widow’s houses, and then what do we see? A widow being devoured. Jesus does not praise her, but prior to her giving He has condemned the scribes and Pharisee’s for what they have pressured this widow into doing.

It is the churches responsibility to take care of the widow not to extort them. “You need to sow a seed. You need to trust the LORD with your tithe.” Leave the church that says such garbage. Here is why, Paul writes to Timothy on how the church is to handle the care of widows and in that Paul writes, 1 Timothy 5:8

1 Timothy 5:8 NASB95

But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

We have all heard Pastors, inject the Old Covenant into the New. Maybe it is laziness. Maybe they are Biblically illiterate. Maybe they are worshippers of money. They will say, the first check you write is for God.

Here is my response, how about this, let’s make a budget. How about we help you know where your money is going. How about we do that first. Because if you write your first check and it goes to the church, and your power gets shut off, you are not providing for your family. You may have given to the church, but you sinned in doing so. There are some people who can’t give financially. You are on a fixed income and a very tight budget. You want to give, but in light of 1 Timothy 5 you would not be providing for your family. Then give your time. Give of the gifts the LORD has given you. A couple weeks ago we went through how important your Spiritual Gifts are to the Body of Christ. You want to give but you’re on a fixed income, do not sin by giving money to the church and not provide for your family, lead a discipleship group. Come and serve with our kids. Serve in our prayer ministry. Serve in our card ministry.

The church is to be a family who cares for one another, not a place that extorts one another. Yes, we are growing in our faith and we are to worship the LORD and one way we do that is giving. But I tell you this, do not give if you feel pressured, do not give out of fear, do not give out of a reluctance, and do not give instead of paying your rent or mortgage. Give with Joy and worship to God. Who cares how much, I certainly don’t. Give of your time. Give Joyfully. I may not want to admit it, but Ross was right. God gave, He gave His son, and He gave with Joy. God gave more than we would ever be able to give Him.

Isaiah 53:10

Isaiah 53:10 (NASB95) But the Lordwas pleased To crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, And the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand.

We cannot leave here today without recognizing it was out of the LORDS submission to the Father, the Giving of the Son that you and I are saved in Christ. He gave, and we will be a part of that harvest. Praise God for His gift of Salvation.