Blog Diyiin Bi

This article is rather long, and so will be posted in three parts. Here is part one.

Just how much should Christians give in support of various ministries? If you watch many Christian programs on cable or satellite, you might think that ministers spend most of their time either begging for money or thinking up novel ways to beg on their next broadcast. Is this really what being a Christian is all about?

ABSOLUTELY NOT! And let’s see what God’s Word really has to say on the subject.

Many people say that since we live under Grace, not Law, the Old Testament laws (Mosaic law) do not apply to us. Is that so…?

Mosaic law can logically be broken down into three parts: ceremonial law, national law, and personal moral law. Ceremonial law, things such as sacrifices offered for sin, were perfectly accomplished by the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross, and so no longer need to be observed. Read the book of Hebrews to see that this is so. National law was that body of law that applied to Israel as a nation, such as utterly destroying the people of Canaan, stoning people for practicing idolatry, or leaving the corners of your field unharvested for the poor. These commandments may not have much authority to Gentile Christians who are called not to form one earthly nation, but to live in all nations of the world.

So taking out ceremonial law and national law, what is left – personal moral law – DOES apply to us. Or do you think that it is OK for a person to steal, commit adultry, worship idols, take the name of the Lord in vain, and beat up on his wife?

The earliest record of tithing in the Bible is found in Genesis 14:18-20: “And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. (19) And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: (20) And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.”

Why did Abraham give tithes to Melchizedek? Well, tithing was practiced by those who lived under a king. In fact, the oldest known writing that has been found by archeologists is a list of goods paid as TITHES to King Scorpion I of Egypt! Archeologists date these tablets as being about 5,300 years old – I dispute that date, for that would make them pre-Flood by about 1,000 years, but that is a topic for another time. By paying tithes to a king, the king’s subjects were acknowledging that first, he was their king; second, the king owned the land; and third, that the king protected them. So Abraham, in paying tithes to Melchizedek, priest of the Most High God, was acknowledging that God was his King, God owned the land, and God protected him. We see the concept of paying tithes to a king in I Samuel 8:15-17, when Samuel was telling the people what a king would demand from them: “…he will take the tenth of your seed and of your vineyards…He will take the tenth of your sheep…”

So tithing was a concept with which people were already familiar, and which God formalized in the Mosaic law. In so doing, He was telling His people that He was their King, that He owned the land, and that He was their protector. So does this place tithing under ceremonial law, national law, or personal moral law? Well, is God still our King? Does He still own everything? Does He protect us? Nothing in the New Covenant has changed these truths, so the answer to all three has to be YES. That would place tithing right smack dab in the realm of PERSONAL MORAL LAW. In fact, I will go so far as to say that tithing transcends the law.

Tomorrow, Tithes and Offerings Part Two will be posted. We will talk about the purposes of tithing.

in His service,
Pastor Marv

Related Reading:

Related Posts:

• Tithes and Offerings Part Three
• Tithes and Offerings Part Two
• Is Anything Too Hard For The Lord?

(Read Genesis 18:1-14)

Genesis 18:14 KJV Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.

Imagine an old man sitting in the shade provided by the door of his tent. It is hot, much like the weather we have this time of the year, and the invention of air conditioning is still nearly 4,000 years in the future.

Then, when the old man looks up, there are three men standing there. There is no indication that they had been riding any animals, and nothing indicates that they walked from anywhere – they just appeared.

So who were these three visitors? Abraham knew that they were important, and most likely sent by God with a message for him, but apparently did not know at first that one of them was God. He called Him “Lord,” but the Hebrew word translated as “Lord” is also used for important humans, such as a king. However, after the three visitors had finished their meal, the Lord said something that caused Abraham to know exactly who He was. In verse 10, the Lord said that He would return and that Sarah would have a child. Only God could bring that about – Sarah was not only well past child-bearing age, but when she was young, she had been barren. So she laughed within herself.

It must have strengthened Sarah’s faith when the Lord asked why she had laughed, because, as the Bible records it, she “laughed within herself” and even Abraham had not heard her. So if someone knew that she was laughing – and remember, not only was her laughter unheard by anyone, but she was also out of sight – then that person must indeed be at least an angel sent by God, if not God Himself!

24 years before the events recorded in this chapter, Abram had been called by God to go to a land that God would show him. So, acting in faith, he obeyed God. On several occasions, God had appeared to him and renewed His promise that Abram would be the father of many nations. And in chapter 17, just a short time before the events of this chapter, God had not only renewed His promise, but had also changed Abram’s and Sarai’s names to Abraham and Sarah.

Now, once again, God will renew His promise – but this time, with a difference. He was very specific about when Isaac would be born. Always before, there had been nothing to indicate when the promise would be fulfilled, just the promise that Abraham’s seed would be like the dust of the earth and the stars of the heavens.

How do we know that God is powerful enough to do miracles? I’m glad you asked!

First, we serve a God Who called the entire universe into existence with just His spoken Word. This is a stumbling block for many people today. Modern so-called science denies that there have ever been any miracles at all. There is absolutely no room in evolutionary belief for a God Who can do miracles.

Second, we serve a God Who loves and cares about us. This is evident by the fact that He has given us His Word, the Bible, so that we may know about Him. It is evident by the fact that He gave His only begotten Son, the Living Word, to die in our place.

Third, we serve a God Who desires that we have a part in His unfolding plan. If God did not want us to have a part in His plan, He would simply take us to Heaven the moment we were saved. But we have work to do! Every one of us has something to which God has called us. It might be that He has called us to be a truck driver, or a silversmith, or a Sunday school teacher, or a pastor, but the one thing that is absolutely certain is that God HAS called each one of us to serve Him.

Fourth, we serve a God Who desires to have fellowship with us. He desires our sincere worship, and He alone is worthy of receiving our praise, honor, and worship. We are admonished to give thanks to God in every situation. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 KJV “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”

Pastor Marv

Related Reading:

Related Posts:

• Tithes and Offerings Part One