Good morning. Gordon Wood of Ellison Bay, Wisconsin told of the time he tried something different in his church’s worship service. He said, “Instead of preaching at the end, I did it first, with music, communion, and offering afterward. As I stood behind the pulpit, I could see people getting ready for the offering, until they realized I was starting my message. Caitlyn, a first grader in the congregation, was perplexed by this change of routine, and whispered frantically to her mom, “Doesn’t he know we haven’t paid him to talk yet?””
Well, this morning, we’re going to do things in the same way. And we are going to talk about WHY we give. As we begin today, we have a couple of weeks before we have a guest speaker from the Gideon’s. So rather than begin a new series, and have to take a break in the middle, we are going to take a 2 week look at offering. A few weeks ago, you may remember that in the bulletin there was a note about our offering, and then a couple a weeks ago, one of the leaders of the church reminded us of that need.
As the note said, we are very glad that at the beginning of last year, the building was paid off, and we thank all of you who put money and prayers towards that. However, just because the building is paid off, that does not mean that we don’t still need your offerings. So, with that said, in the next couple of weeks, I want to focus our attention on giving back to God part of what He has blessed us all with.
Let’s pray as we begin this topic.
Well, to that little girl in the opening illustration, the morning offering was taken up to pay the preacher to talk. Many people give their money on Sundays with much the same reasoning. They give their money to take care of the church building. To keep the electricity on, heat the church building in winter, cool it in summer. They give their offerings because they want to make sure the congregation has enough to pay their preacher and their youth minister’s salary. They give because they want to make money available for the missionaries their church supports, and to allow the youth to do things as well. And you know what, there’s not a thing wrong with that.
An old country preacher was earnestly exhorting his congregation to give more liberally. He was interrupted by a deacon who said, “Preacher, you told us that salvation is free; as free as the air we breathe and the water in the river. If that’s true, why are you always asking us for money?”
The elderly preacher solemnly replied, “Brother, you’re right. Salvation is free; as free as the water you drink. But if you want that water in the kitchen, somebody has to pay for the pump!”
That was the concept behind the requirement in the Law that commanded a Tithe from the people. Turn with me to Numbers 18:20-21. Here in this passage it is talking about the tithe that God has designed. Here is what it has to say. Numbers 18:20-21 says, “1”
In other words, God designed the tithe to pay the bills, to keep the doors open and pay the workers who committed themselves to full time service to God.
God repeatedly told His people that the tithe was important to Him. In Malachi 3:8-12 God said, “2”
Notice God’s purpose for the tithe: that there may be food in my house. Then God went on to say, “If you’ll do this for me… then I’ll do this for you: I’ll pour out blessings, I’ll protect your crops, and you’ll end up being so blessed that everyone around you is going to notice it.
Now turn with me to Matthew 23:16-19. Even here in Matthew where Jesus is rebuking the sinful attitudes of the Pharisees, He teaches about tithing. Now, the Pharisees were very strict about playing by the rules. In fact, if God’s Law didn’t have a rule about something, the Pharisees would make one up. That’s what Jesus was talking about when He condemned them here. Listen to this, Matthew 23:16-19 says, “3”
The Pharisees used their “rules” to take advantage of the people around them, and Jesus hated that. But, in the midst of His rebuke He tells the Pharisees that their problem wasn’t in their tithing, that was a “good rule” to follow. It was God’s rule.
Notice what it says in verse 23: “3”
The Pharisees were very serious about tithing. They’d even go into their gardens and pick out every 10th strawberry, and every 10th cucumber and every 10th potato, and they’d take the whole bushel basket to the temple. Jesus doesn’t complain about that. In fact, He tells them not to neglect that. Their problem was that their tithing wasn’t as important to God as justice, mercy, and faithfulness. But He didn’t want them to stop tithing. He merely wanted them to add to their tithing deeds that pleased God even more: justice, mercy, and faithfulness.
So here we learn that God liked tithing. In fact, God has ALWAYS liked tithing. If you have your Bible turn with me to Hebrews 6:19, and we are going to read our way into chapter 7 as well. Here is what it has to say. Hebrews 6:19- 7:7 says, “4”
Abraham’s gift for God, given to Melchizedek, was NOT required by the Law. There was no “rule” that said Abraham or anyone else had to “tithe.” But this “tithe” pleased God BECAUSE Abraham WASN’T giving this 10th out of obligation. He WASN’T giving this tithe to God because HE HAD TO. Abraham gave the tithe because He loved God. Abraham offered God a 10th of all he had taken in battle because this was his act of worship to God.
Now, the Pharisees in contrast gave their tithe not because they loved God, BUT because they loved rules. And the Pharisees measured their righteousness by how well they kept those rules. Not only the rules that God had given, but also the rules they made up along the way.
Righteousness, to the Pharisees was dependent upon how well one kept all the rules that they had been given as well as what they had made up on their own.
But we can’t measure our righteousness that way. In fact, Paul writes in Galatians 2:20-21, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”
If your righteousness could be measured by how well you keep the rules rather than by how much you love Jesus Christ, then your faith would be based not on Jesus, but on yourself. A person who relies on how well they keep the rules is basically saying, “I don’t need Jesus. I can be acceptable to God all on my own.” And you know what, that is not true. Without Jesus, and what He did for us, we can never make it to Heaven.
Now, this brings me to the command in the New Testament that we should tithe. Well, actually, there is no such command. Search as much as you like, but I don’t believe that you will EVER find in the New Testament that Christians are ever commanded to tithe.
But why not? Because for the Christian, the Tithe is NOT a “rule of righteousness,” it’s a “rule of thumb.” Let me say that again, for the Christian, the tithe is not a “rule of righteousness,” it’s a “rule of thumb.”
The Tithe is not commanded of us, because we’re no longer under the law. Instead, we are now under grace. Let me make it clear right now. Your salvation does not depend upon how much you give on a Sunday morning. God’s love for you is not effected by how much you write your check out for each week. We are not under Law, we’re under grace. And because we are under grace, what we give should come from our love for God.
But throughout Scripture, God has made it abundantly clear that He likes the tithe. And for the Christian the tithe is a great place to START in our giving.
Some of the greatest givers in the history of the church have been people who started out tithing and kept increasing their giving. J. L. Kraft, head of the Kraft Cheese Corporation, gave approximately 25% of his enormous income to Christian causes for many years.
William Colgate, the great soap and perfume manufacturer, rose to fame and wealth while consistently paying a tithe of his earnings into the gospel treasury. He recognized this as a minimum and year by year as God prospered his efforts and multiplied his wealth, Mr. Colgate gladly gave far more than a tenth.
John Wesley supposedly determined that he could get on quite nicely with the salary that he was given as a preacher and, based upon that decision, gave whatever raises he received directly to the poor or to missions.
Now, not everyone can give like that. In fact, because of unwise decisions that people have made, the best they can do is give a buck or 2 a week. But you know what, that is a great place for that person to start, and work their way up. Turn with me to Luke 21:1-4. Here in this passage, it is talking about gibing what you have to give. Luke 21:1-4 says, “5”
Let me share with you a story that I found in one of my illustration books. It is a very powerful story, and here is what it says,
Give with a sincere heart, and give what you can. That is what God has asked of us today. To give out of love, and not because of a law. In Romans it tells us that certain people have the “gift of faith” and that effects how they give. But there are many churches that could not survive it weren’t for those people who gave above and beyond the “tithe.”
The tithe pleases God because it shows Him that we understand what is important to Him. And I believe it please Him because of the effect it can have on us and our faith.
One person shared this testimony: “The church means more to me now, since I began to tithe. It brings the church right into the center of our home, into the center of the family.”
In closing, The Soviet preacher Richard Wurmbrand, who wrote “Tortured for Christ,” suffered terribly for his faith in the Lord. Yet he said that even while in prison, he saw fellow Soviet believers practice generous giving.
Here is what he wrote: “When we were given one slice of bread a week and dirty soap every day, we decided we would faithfully “tithe” even that. Every 10th week we took the slice of bread and gave it to the weaker brethren as our “tithe” to the Master.”
Now, next week we are going to look at our giving once more, but next time we are going to look at the impact that it can have, and the importance of giving to God your very best.
Now, as we progress into our service, we are going to do things just like we do on a regular Sunday morning, with the exception of our invitation time. If you have a decision that you need to make, simple simply come forward at any time during the rest of our worship service, and I will meet with you.
And as we approach the time of offering, remember to give with a grateful heart, and to do it for the right reasons. Whether you have to give the widow’s mite, or you can give above and beyond the tithe, do it with a grateful heart, and give it to the Lord because you love and are thankful to Him for all that He has done for you.
Let’s Pray |
