Many don’t! God says in Malachi 3:8 that you are robbing Him! I Cor. 6:10 says thieves shall not inherit the Kingdom of God, yet billions do it every week! Unless you are returning one-tenth of your income to God’s house, you are not tithing! Think of parents whose child steals money from them. The money itself is not the issue. It’s their child's lack of honesty, love, and trust that’s so disappointing.
Some think tithing was part of the Mosaic Law and it ended at the cross, but Abram gave tithes, long before Moses was born, to Melchizedek (Gen. 14:20) who was the priest of the most high God. Even before Moses, Jacob (Israel) promised to pay tithes to God in Gen. 28:22 saying “if you’ll be with me, give me bread to eat and clothes to wear until I get back to my father's house in peace; then shall you be my God, and this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house: and of all You give me I will surely give the tenth of it back to You.” We can safely conclude that tithing came before the law, and that you should be giving it into the “storehouse” meaning your church!
Jesus didn’t abolish, but established tithing in Matthew 23:23 when he called the scribes and Pharisees hypocrites because they paid tithes of mint, anise and cummin, but left out the weightier matters of judgment, mercy, and faith. He said “these ought you to have done, and not to leave the other undone.
Numbers 18:21 says tithes should be used to give the children of Levi an inheritance for their service since they received no portion of land to grow crops on or for business operations. The other 11 tribes did! Since Levites worked full-time taking care of the temple and ministering to God’s people, the tithe was to support them and their families. In the New Testament Paul established the same principle in 1 Corinthians 9:13-14 saying "they which minister holy things live of the things of the temple - even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel." Tithes are first used to support ministers in the ministry, then the rest should be set aside for ministers to use to help save souls! The flaunting of riches by some preachers reduces the influence of the church! It brings reproach causing people to turn away in disgust saying "I ain't giving them another dime!" No minister should be overpaid. All ministers should receive the same salary (varying only a few dollars monthly) regardless of their title or the size of their church! If the focus remained on ministering to lost souls - more would join the church!
Hebrews 7:8 says “here, men that die receive tithes; but there He [Jesus] receives them! So when you tithe, who really receives your money? No wonder He pours us out blessings we won’t have room to receive!
Adam and Eve failed the test we all must pass. They took the thing that God said not to touch! They were told to leave it alone, but they did not trust God. Leviticus 27:30 clearly says everything is ours - except one-tenth of our income, which is His. Like Adam and Eve, He leaves it within our reach with the warning “don't touch it because it’s mine." Since EVERYTHING is His, God does not NEED our money. It’s simply a matter of trust. To not tithe because you don't like the way your church is using God's money is also a matter of trust. Don’t you think He’s big enough to take care of that? Your responsibility is to tithe. Let God deal with the misuse!
Psalms 96:8 says “give unto the LORD the glory due his name: bring an offering, and come into His courts.” An offering is DIFFERENT from tithes. It’s an expression of our thanksgiving for His blessings. How much of an offering should you bring? 2 Corinthians 9:7 says “according as he purposes in his heart, so let him give, just do it cheerfully – not grudgingly!” YOU decide, but keep these two points in mind: (a) 2 Cor. 8:2-3 shows the Macedonians “though in deep poverty themselves, they gave beyond their power to give,” and (b) remember the widow’s mite. The Lord measures our gifts by the amount of sacrifice we make and by our attitude when we give. "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also" Luke 12:34.
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