Friday: Further Thought ~ The Tithing Contract
Further Thought:
Read Ellen G. White’s most comprehensive tithe document in volume 9 of Testimonies for the Church, Pages 245-252. Study Section III of Counsels on Stewardship, Pages 65-107.
Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com
“If all the tithes of our people flowed into the treasury of the Lord as they should, such blessings would be received that gifts and offerings for sacred purposes would be multiplied tenfold, and thus the channel between God and man would be kept open.” — Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 4, p. 474. This is an amazing statement. If we were all faithful tithers, God would bless us with funds to increase our offerings 1,000 percent.
“In the third chapter of Malachi is found the contract God has made with man. Here the Lord specifies the part He will act in bestowing His great gifts on those who will make a faithful return to Him in tithes and offerings.” — Ellen G. White, Review and Herald, December 17, 1901.
“All should remember that God’s claims upon us underlie every other claim. He gives to us bountifully, and the contract which He has made with man is that a tenth of his possessions shall be returned to God. The Lord graciously entrusts to His stewards His treasures, but of the tenth He says: This is Mine. Just in proportion as God has given His property to man, so man is to return to God a faithful tithe of all his substance. This distinct arrangement was made by Jesus Christ Himself.” — Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 6, p. 384.
Discussion Questions:
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This week, there has been an emphasis on the tithing texts in Malachi:
As I said earlier in the week, this was not about ensuring that the priests and Levites were well-fed. It was a national crisis and the lack of tithe was symptomatic of something that was more seriously wrong with the nation.
I like to link this quote with the mention of tithing in the New Testament:
It is also recorded in Luke 11:42
I submit that the real issue in both these scriptures is that those who claimed they were God's people were selfish and had forgotten about compassion and justice and mercy. They needed to get these right in order to get the tithing right.
When I look at the tithing picture in the books of Moses, I see, not just the support of the Levites and priests but a whole system of benevolence designed to benefit the nation including the poor and oppressed. By taking it apart and concentrating on the priestly bit, we run the risk of losing the big picture.
I am not suggesting that we do not pay tithe to the church. We need a heart change, not just a financial change. The Pharisees were good tithe payers. Imagine going out into the garden and counting 3255 mint leaves and putting 326 of them in the tithe envelope! Seriously, it is not about the letter of the law. It is about generosity and compassion.
There is one more reference to tithing in the Gospels"
My prayer is that the Holy Spirit continues to work on our hearts - then we will get the tithing thing right.
Tithing is one aspect of the totality of a life that is based on 'living to give'. Why is it more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35)? Because when we genuinely 'live to give', we are in harmony with how true life operates. There is no other (viable) alternative. Keeping that principle in mind will assist working out the details in your situation.
I consider the ‘honest and faithful tithe’ to be the life we live. Under the Covenant of Faith, the keeping of the 10 Commandments was transferred from the letter of the Law to the spirit of the Law. In my opinion, the giving to support the greater work of the church is part of this transfer from the letter to the spirit of the law, now guiding all decissions of the heart of the believer.
When we believed that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and speaks to us the Word of God, we accepted to live by a His new Covenant – the Covenant of Faith. It teaches us that each individual believer represents the temple of God and lives by God’s Word governing the kingdom of God – John2:19. I do not find the ‘tithing contract’ to be a sup-contract in this Covenant by Faith.
As Maurice’s post provided in his Wednesday comment points out, Israel’s system of tithing helped establish, support, and sustain Israel’s civic and religious way of Life. Today’s, faith-based system to support the organization of the church gives everyone the choice to give as much as one is guided by the heart – 2 Cor.9:6-8.
Eph.1:22-23 teaches that “God put all things under Christ’s feet and gave Him to the church as supreme Lord over all things. The church is Christ’s body, the completion of Him who Himself completes all things everywhere.”
1 Cor.12:12-13 states that all who believe are one body in Christ – v.13 ”for by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.”
The church are the people of the Kingdom of God. Living in the kingdom of God by faith, inspired by the Holy Spirit to teach us and guide us, all believers now understand that they are, by faith, members of the same family – brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ.
The love of God and our fellow man empowers us to joyfully and generously care for each other and support the greater work of the church. God's Love does not set a limit to the giving and receiving when sharing His love with mankind.
> Share with others what you have learned and experienced from giving tithe. What can you teach others about the practice?
I feel this could be a double-edged sword.
If I were to share I've had a good life because I was a faithful tither, this might lead others to conclude that giving would result in an easy-going life, the more you give the more abundant of blessings you get, but this is not necessarily the case. Life as a Adventist is not easy: you might lose your job due to Sabbath keeping, people have misconceptions about Adventists (e.g. Waco, ex Adventists on youtube, "dingo ate my baby", etc), you have to curtail corporate social activities, and so on.
On the other hand, if I were to share that as a result of faithfully tithing, my car is over 20 years old, I have to pack my lunch whereas people making less than me buy cafeteria food everyday, I could not afford modern conveniences for my kids like what their friends have, or going out to dinner with my family ... then, why would anyone follow my example?
Some subjects are sensitive to humans; one of them is money. Since God is interested in all aspects of human welfare, it'd be impossible for Him to avoid the discussion about something that is directly involved with life management. Money surely is an important subject and God gives several counsels about how to deal with it, in the Bible. Tithing is mentioned as a covenant between God and His believers. Again, God does not need tithing, I need tithing. Also, God gives me freedom to choose whether I use this principle of dealing with money in my finances or not. The same principle is very much used by governments, in a much higher level than 10% in most countries. Regarding the matter of gross or net income, just check on the legislation that deals with taxes in any given country. As paying taxes is related to honesty, tithing is related to faith.
Jesus said, “...give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.” Mark 12:17
The Cambridge Dictionary brings "telling the truth or able to be trusted and not likely to steal, cheat, or lie" as the definition for honest. There is no way one can be honest to men and not to God, or vice versa.
In my opinion, what we shouldn’t feel is guilt and despair that if we don’t give tithes we won’t be blessed. In my experience, that is not true. Should we give back to God? Absolutely. Does tithing build faith? Absolutely. Let Him lead your heart and know that He loves you no matter what!