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E. Is tithing to be practiced by the New Testament Christian?

  1. Abraham and Jacob were tithing five hundred years before the law was given.
  2. Moses, the prophets, and Jesus spoke of tithing during the period of the law.
  3. The Apostle Paul explained tithing after the Law.

F. How should Christians practice tithing? Bring the tithe to church on the Lord’s Day.

1 Corinthians 16:2, “Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.”

  1. Under the Law, tithing was commanded.
  2. He did not leave giving to the discretion of the giver.

Certainly, God would not ask less love, less faith, and less giving from a New Testament Christian than from a Jew under Old Testament law. As a matter of fact, tithing for the Christian is not bondage, but liberty.

G. Where should a Christian place his or her tithe?

  1. God designated the local church as the place to give our tithe and offerings.
  2. In Malachi 3:10, the tithes were to be brought into the storehouse.
  3. In the Old Testament, the storehouse was the Temple.
  4. In Acts chapter four and five, Christians brought their tithes and offerings to the Apostles’ feet.
  5. In 1 Corinthians 16:2, we are to lay up our giving in store.

This store was the Church at Corinth. Today the storehouse for our tithe is our church. It was never God’s plan for the Christian to give his tithe whenever or wherever he decides.

H. Why are we to give the tithe to our Church?

  1. The tithes and offerings in the Old Testament were used for the Temple ministry.
  2. The tithes and offerings in the New Testament are for the support and ministry of the local Church. The tithe should never be designated to any outside (para-church) ministry because it is to be left free for the use of the local church.

I. What does God call us if we refuse to tithe?

Malachi 3:8 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.

J. What is the promise God gives to those who faithfully tithe?

Malachi 3:10, “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there should not be room enough to receive it.”

K. To whom does the tithe belong?

  1. The tithe belongs to God according to Leviticus 27:30 And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD’S: it is holy unto the LORD.
  2. The basis of giving is the Bible, not our own preferences.
  3. Ten percent of our gross income is not ours—it belongs to God.

L. How can I please God when tithing?

1. Give cheerfully. “God loveth a cheerful giver”
2. Let the Lord have first place in everything,

Matthew 6:33, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

3. Honor the Lord with your firstfruits,

Proverbs 3:9-10, “Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.”

4. Give the tithe before all other bills, because if you leave the tithe until last, God is usually left out.

It is not my purpose to convince anyone to tithe (that is between the Christian and God). My purpose is to convince you to obey God in every area of your Christian life. Christian giving has more to do with our personal walk with God than with a program for giving.

Proverbs 11:24, “There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty.”

Proverbs 19:17, “He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.”

Luke 6:38, “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.”

The greatest giver of all is God Himself, for He gave us His only begotten Son.

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Hans Nikoley, GSBC Staff

Bro. Nikoley emigrated from Germany to the United States with his family at age 13. He served full time in the Nevada Air National Guard for six years. At age 32, He was saved, and in 1977, he graduated from Bible College. He pastored for over 31 years, 27 of them at Pomerado Road Baptist Church in Poway, California. Bro. Nikoley has served at Golden State Baptist College in the Bible Department and also as the Student Employment Director since 2007. He and his wife Mary have two children and have been married for 58 years.