Principles of Tithing

Matthew 23:23
1 Peter 3:15

INTRODUCTION: There is no question that the Old Testament law required tithing (Lev. 27:30; Deut. 14:22ff.). Abraham had practiced tithing long before the law was given (Gen. 14:20), and Jacob followed his grandfather’s example (Gen. 28:20-22). The principles of Christian giving under grace are given in 2 Corinthians 8–9. We are not content simply to give a tithe (10 percent), but we also want to bring offerings to the Lord out of hearts filled with love.

Jesus did not condemn the practice of tithing. But He did condemn those who allowed their legalistic scruples to keep them from developing true Christian character. (Matthew 23:23)

We give because we love God and want to obey Him, and because He’s very generous to us. When we lay up treasures in heaven, they pay rich dividends for all eternity.

Principles of tithing can be traced from Abraham to Paul.
Abraham commenced it Gen 14:18-20
Jacob continued it Gen 28:22.
Moses commanded it Lev 27:30
Jesus commended it Mt 23;23
And Paul concluded it 1 Cori 16:1-2

I. I TITHE BECAUSE GOD BLESSED THE FIRST TITHER.
Abraham paid tithes to “Melchizedek, king of Salem… the priest of the most high God” (Gen. 14:18). Melchizedek was a type of Jesus Christ, the believer’s King-Priest (Heb. 5:5-10).

2. I TITHE BECAUSE IN DOING SO I ACKNOWLEDGE GOD’S OWNERSHIP OF ALL
Jacob, fleeing from home frightened and penniless, God appeared to him in the way, and Jacob vowed (pledged): “Of all that thou shall give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee” (Gen. 28:22). Jacob thus acknowledged God’s ownership of all by promising to give to the Lord a tenth of “ALL that THOU shalt give me.”

3. I TITHE BECAUSE GOD PROMISED OVERFLOWING BLESSINGS TO TITHERS
“Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse… and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it” (Mal. 3:10). “Therefore, the believer should prove God with tithes and offerings, and then claim the blessings God has promised.”

4. I TITHE BECAUSE JESUS COMMENDED TITHING
Jesus commended tithing: “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.” (Matt. 23:23.)

5. I TITHE BECAUSE I AM SO COMMANDED TO SUPPORT THE MINISTRY
In 1 Corinthians 9:13 Paul reminded Christians that the priests and Levites in Israel lived by the tithes of the people. In the very next verse he said: “Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel.”

6. I TITHE BECAUSE JESUS LIVES AND RECEIVED MY TITHES
“And here men that die receive tithes; but there HE RECEIVETH THEM, of whom it is witnessed that HE LIVETH” (Heb. 7:8), “and God loveth a cheerful giver” (2 Cor. 9:7). Unless a person tithes because he loves Christ, he will not be blessed for it, but if he tithes out of love for Christ and lost souls, he will be blessed in the same degree God blesses a man for any good work. We tithe because we love the Lord, and tithe belongs to the Lord.

7. THE DEFINITION OF THE TITHE
Somebody said, Everybody ought to tithe. Well, what is the tithe? Let me say first of all, it is giving what belongs to God Leviticus 27:30. “And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD’S. Now the definition of tithe is one-tenth of everything. Everything because everything is God’s. One-tenth of all. God said is mine

8. THE COMMAND TO TITHE
Malachi 3:10. “Bring ye all the tithes (that’s a tenth of everything) into the storehouse.” The storehouse in our case is the Bible, it’s the place of provision, it’s the place where you get your spiritual food, that’s God’s storehouse.

9. THE PURPOSE OF THE TITHE
The purpose of the tithe is to evangelize. Romans 10:15, “And how shall they preach, except they he sent? it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things.”

10. THE MANNER OF THE TITHE
1 Corinthians 16:2: “Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store as God path prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.” It’s to be done consistently, every Sunday morning, the Lord’s day, that’s Sunday every Sunday morning.

11. THE PROMISE TO THE TITHER
2 Corinthians 9:8, here’s the reason, “God is able, to make all grace abound toward you: that ye, always having all: sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.” Malachi 3:12, “And all the nations shall call you blessed.”

CONCLUSION:
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 (2 Cor. 9:6-15). 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. “You have sown much, and bring in little … and he who earns wages, earns wages to put into a bag with holes” (Hag. 1:6). 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 further and brings much greater blessing. Yes, giving is an act of faith, but God rewards that faith in every way. (Warren W. Wiersbe)

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