LES FIELDICK EXPLAINS WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS ABOUT TITHING Are we supposed to give 10% of our income for a tithe ? Book 30 LESSON ONE * PART IV I Corinthians 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. We may not reap the rewards of our labor in this life. We may go to the grave as poor as church mice, but dont let that discourage you. God hasnt promised that, Just because were believers were going to drive cadillacs, and live in mansions. No way, but God has promised that He is keeping a record of our earthly activities. Then one day were going to cash in on the rewards in glory, and remember that Paul is always teaching that. We are to run the race for rewards. Now go to Chapter 16 to wind up I Corinthians. Here Paul is going to deal with something totally different from resurrection. Here he is going to come down to the nitty-gritty of, How were to give. Many people are hung up on the legal system of tithing. Ive got nothing against giving. But you are not under the tithe. Now I know this is going to ruffle a few feathers, but remember the tithe was part of the Law. Tithing was given only to the tribe of Levi. I dare say if we could ask some of our Jewish friends whether they teach tithing today, Id be very surprised if they would say yes. Because they, too, do not know who the Levites are so I just have to doubt that good Jewish people still tithe. Always remember that Paul never says tithe, because that was part of the Law, but that doesnt say that God doesnt expect you to give. Lets look how Paul puts it. I Corinthians 16:1a Now concerning the collection (of money) for the saints,... Paul was always instructed to remember the poor saints at Jerusalem. Why? They had cashed in land and everything they had and brought the money to the feet of the Twelve disciples. It all went into a common kitty back there in Acts Chapters 2 and 3 in light of the Kingdom. But the Kingdom didnt come because the Jews had rejected it. So what happened to these poor Jewish saints? They had to live off the kitty and I imagine it was a pretty good existence for a while. But God took care of them through Pauls Gentile converts, and the money was taken back to Jerusalem for them. Now continuing on: I Corinthians 16:1,2 Now concerning the collection for the saints, (Jewish saints at Jerusalem) as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye (at Corinth). Upon the first day of the week (not on the seventh day Sabbath. Why first day of the week? Resurrection day!) let every on of you lay by him in store, (as a tithe? No, but rather) as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come. Now thats one of the beauties of the Christian life, thats the beauty of Gods Grace. He has left us with that free will. We can give as much as we want to, but God is not putting the thumb on our head, and saying, You will give 10%! Now thats a guideline, and Ill always say that. God more or less lets it be known that 10% is a guideline for giving. But Gods not going to zap you if you dont give 10%. Now you may lose some reward in glory, but you are under no mandate under Pauls teaching to give a set amount. Thats up to you as a believer as God has prospered you. And God has enough respect for your free will as a believer that youre going to give as much as you can. Paul told these believers at Corinth to take this offering before he came so that they wouldnt be under his influence. He wanted that all taken care of before he arrived. Paul doesnt want them to dig down in their other pocket and say, Paul is here, and hed better see how much Ive given. But Paul wanted that all taken care of before he got there. Book 31 LESSON THREE * PART I Philippians 2:6,7a Who, (speaking of Christ Jesus in verse 5) being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: (because He was God, the God of creation, the God who owns everything in the universe) 7. But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant... Now too often we read that word servant and we kind of glide over it without realizing what is the better term for servant? Slave. How much material goods did a slave have? None. He may be here today and gone tomorrow. The rowers in the ships of those days were down there in the stench-ridden hot areas of the ship. They rowed until they died and then they were just pitched overboard. How much of this worlds good did those fellows have? None. Well this is where the Lord Jesus took Himself. He took Himself to the depths of being a slave with absolutely nothing of this worlds goods to call His own. Unbelievable? It is from the human side. I cant comprehend it, but its what the Word declares. The Almighty God Himself in the Person of Christ became a slave in so many words. Now reading on: Philippians 2:7b ...was made in the likeness of men: Now imagine from the exalted area of the Godhead to come down to this earth, and become nothing more than a human being like the rest of us, how far can you go? And yet thats what He did. Philippians 2:8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, (He didnt have to) and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Now why is Paul using that in relation to Christian giving? Well we have to take that same kind of attitude. If God, in the Person of Christ, was willing to leave that area of absolute control of the universe and took on the role of a slave for our salvation, then who are we to say, Yeah, but I cant give anything. Now back to II Corinthians Chapter 8: II Corinthians 8:10,11 And herein I give my advice: for this is expedient for you, who have begun before, not only to do, but also to be forward, (zealous) a year ago. 11. Now therefore perform (or complete) the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to will, so there may be a performance also out of that which ye have. Whats Paul driving at? Well for the last year he has been encouraging these churches in Greece to get their offerings ready for the day when someone would come along and pick them up and transport them to Jerusalem. Now as I was studying this, I couldnt help but remember something that Gary, the station manager, had told me a long time ago. For those who are in this business of television that statistically - and I know that there are lies, and then there are statistics, but nevertheless statistics do have a certain amount of relevance here. But statistically, out of 300 people who may be listening to me over the next several weeks, most will say, Now Im going to send that man an offering. How many will actually get around to doing it? One. Isnt that amazing? But you see thats human nature, and Paul was dealing with the same thing. For a whole year they had been talking about getting these collections ready for the poor saints in Jerusalem. But they still hadnt done it. So Paul says, Lets get busy and complete it. Paul wanted it all done before he got there so they wouldnt give because of his presence. And I understand exactly how he felt because you never like to make someone feel obligated to give just because you happen to be there personally on the scene. So this is exactly what hes talking about. Now verse 12. Remember this is all in regard to Christian giving, and notice theres not a word in here of him naming ten percent. He never says a tithe. All hes talking about is the general concept of giving. II Corinthians 8:12 For if there be first a willing mind, (remember everything we say or do has to begin with the thought process.) it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not. Now does God expect someone who is on a very meager income, maybe nothing more than just a little social security check, to give all that to ministry or some church? No way. More than once Ive had to write to someone and tell them, Now listen, if youre on a meager income I dont expect a dime. Now thats between them and God, and if they feel that God is still instructing them to give some then thats fine. But I never want someone on a meager income to feel obligated to support this ministry. Other ministries may not care, but I dont want it on this one. But here God is making it so clear that giving is based on that ability to give. And now in verse 13. II Corinthians 8:13 For I mean not that other men be eased, and ye burdened: In other words, Paul says, He is not going to make anybody, whether they are wealthy or poor, to feel obligated to give because of his presence. Do you see that? Now he comes all the way down through verse 16 - 24 speaking of the men who would be coming along to pick up these offerings. And again hes showing the need for integrity in handling the affairs of God. Paul is telling the Corinthians that the men who are probably headed up by Titus, are men of integrity, they dont have to worry about turning over their offerings to them because they will get every penny of it to Jerusalem where its supposed to go. Now I want to come quickly over to Chapter 9 and begin with verse 1. II Corinthians 9:1,2a For as touching the ministering to the saints, (the poor saints in Jerusalem who had been left destitute because of their offerings into the common kitty back there beginning with Acts Chapter 2) it is superfluous (or it goes beyond saying) for me to write to you: 2. For I know the forwardness (the zealousness) of your mind, for which I boast of you to them of Macedonia,... In other words what was Paul actually doing on behalf of the Corinthian believers? He was boasting to other congregations on what a good job they were doing in making these collections. Now verse 3. II Corinthians 9:3 Yet have I sent the brethren, (these that will be picking up the offering) lest our boasting of you should be in vain in this behalf, that, as I said, ye may be ready: Now I think Paul is using a little psychology isnt he? He is building them up as he says, Now look Corinthians, Titus, and the gentlemen that are already making collections up here in the poorest part of mountainous Greece, when they come into a culture and commercial center like Corinth, then it stands to reason theres going to be more wealth available than there would be up there in the mountains. So I think Paul is sort of setting them up and preparing them that these men are going to be expecting something of you, because you have so much more to offer than these poor churches up in northern Greece. Now reading on: II Corinthians 9:5 Therefore I thought it necessary to exhort the brethren, that they would go before unto you, and make up beforehand your bounty, (their offerings) where of ye had noticed before, that the same might be ready, as a matter of bounty, and not as of covetousness. Do you see this constant drumming of the fact, Now have this done when these fellows get there, dont put it off, dont procrastinate, have these offerings collected and ready so that they can pick it up and take it on to where it has to go there in Jerusalem. Now verse 6. Here we come to the whole concept of Christian giving. II Corinthians 9:6 But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Now you want to remember that the vast majority of people in this day and time were agriculturally connected. So Paul is talking about sowing a crop of grain. And any farmer knows that if you sow half a crop of the required seed, youre not even going to get half a crop. Now you dont sow more grain than is necessary, but you put on the stipulated amount to get a full crop of grain. However, its brought into the Christian experience on the same level. If youre going to be tight with your giving, if youre going to hold back when you have the ability to give, then God will kind of hold back on His blessing. And thats exactly what Paul is teaching here. Now Im not a name it and claim it type. I do not claim that if you give a $1000. dollars a year, then Gods going to pour you out $3000. No way does this Bible teach that. But I think that we all realize that our God is so great that if we do it with the right attitude, we do it by faith, we cant out-give God. One of my favorite clichés is There is a line between faith and fantasy. By faith I can do certain things and realize that God is going to respond, but I cant be foolish. Fantasy would say, Well Im just going to give that ministry $500. because I just feel that Gods going to turn back and give me $50,000. Now thats what a lot of people think, but its not going to work that way. Thats fantasy. But we know that God is able, and here I must qualify. A lot of time we think that our giving should immediately have something returned in kind. But its doesnt necessarily have to work that way. Have you ever stopped to think of all of the potential expenses that God can spare you because you were liberal in your giving? In other words, that old car may go another 50,000 miles where otherwise it may break down. You may end up as fortunate as Iris and I have over the years with practically no money spent for medical expenses. Do you know what I call that? Thats the pay back. So you have to look at this whole thing on the big picture, not just in, If I give a $100, will I get $500 back? Thats not the way to look at it, but rather look at the whole concept of how God is going to respond. Now verse 7. Here is the very foundation for our giving. II Corinthians 9:7 Every man (person) according as he purposeth in his heart, (and the Holy Spirit will motivate the heart) so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity:... (legalism) I can remember years ago a gentlemen up in Iowa was so upset that his particular pastor had came out to his farm, and looked at the size of his home, and furnishings, his car and pickup, and he turned around and said, Well it looks to me like you should be able to give $600 a month. Well, how do you think the guy felt? He was totally turned off. He said, Nobody is going to tell me how much Im supposed to give. And I agreed with him. No one has a right to do that. Thats strictly between the individual Christian and his Lord. Now reading the verse again. II Corinthians 9:7 Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: (legalism, or because somebody has laid it on you) for God loveth a cheerful giver. Now if you have a marginal Bible the word cheerful in the Greek meant Hilarious. How many people go to church on Sunday morning, and lay that offering on the plate with a hilarious attitude? Not many. They do it out of a sense of duty, they do it because they think somebody is laying a burden on their shoulder that they have to give. No you dont. If you dont want to give, and if you cant give hilariously, God in so many words says, I DONT NEED IT, AND I DONT WANT IT. But for a believer to give as God has prospered and do it joyfully, and give it to a place where the Word is honored, where the Gospel is proclaimed for salvation. (I Corinthians 15:1-4 or Romans 10:9-10) then God will give you the direction, and God will show you how much to give and where to give it. I wanted to take you back to the Book of Malachi, Exodus, and Leviticus, and the giving stipulations were all given to the Nation of Israel. All I ask people to do is go back and read Malachi 1:1 Malachi 1:1 The burden of the word of the LORD to Israel ( not the Church in the Age of Grace) by Malachi. Book 31 LESSON THREE * PART I Now remember believing what God says is the whole basis of studying and understanding the Word of God. Now granted we have to be careful. Were not going to bring into operation things that God told Israel to do back in the Old Testament. In fact we had a call from a person who said, Doesnt the Book of Malachi say to bring your tithe and offerings into the store house? And I said Yes, but doesnt the same Old Testament say bring me your sacrifices? The caller said Yeah. Well then what are you going to do? Just because the Bible says to bring an animal sacrifice, are you going to go out and buy a lamb? Well of course not, were not under that today, we know better than that. And yet it carries all the way through on everything. Just because the Old Testament told Israel to do something, that doesnt mean thats still valid for us today, and so we have to shake these things out. You cant just pick and choose what you want, like a lot of people are doing. Remember what was for Israel is completely different from what Paul tells us in the Church Age. Now continuing on with verse 7.
Posted on: Fri, 25 Jul 2014 19:02:46 +0000