Good morning. If you’ve got a Bible, go ahead and get it out. You’re going to need it. We’re going to go to a few places in Scripture. I apologize for my voice. I got in the wind this last week, and the allergies got a hold of me, and so I’m going to sound like a cat or something. Somebody told me. I don’t know what that means. I think it’s bad though. We’re in a series called “First Fruits”. If you’re new, we talk about money at least once every four years, you hit the jackpot, proverbially. And we are doing this series. We’re in part two of a message called, “Is Tithing For Today? Part 2” Is Tithing For Today? Today is what we’re going to do. We’re going to answer it related to the New Testament. Now last week, we looked at tithing as God ordained it in the Old Testament. Today, we’re going to see what the New Testament says, and then next week, we’re going to cover how it’s been perverted and how it’s been distorted. And it’s really going to be a good time. We’re going to cap some false teachers. It’s always a good time when we do that. So last week, we answered a few things. What is the tithe? The tithe is 10% off the top of all our increase. Who does the tithe belong to? It belongs to God. He says it’s His. And what is the tithe for? It’s for provision in God’s house. What happens when there is no tithe? Nothing. The work ceases in God’s house. And then finally, did Jesus abolish the tithe? The answer is no, based upon Matthew 5:17, and the two places we looked at where He actually affirms the tithe in the New Testament, even. But I’ve got two points here this morning. But before I get to it, I want to answer an objection that you can often hear when you talk about tithing in the New Covenant, in the New Testament. And people will say this, “Well, the tithe is null and void. The tithe has been abolished because the tithe was simply a way for God to fund the theocracy of Israel.” And people will offer that as an argument, but I’m here to tell you that’s an empty argument. I don’t know how unstable and uninformed the people are who propagate that, but I feel like they probably are unaware that there were actually three tithes in the Old Testament. There was the Levitical tithe, which is the one we’re dealing with, that was for support of the Levite within God’s house. And then there was the festival tithe, and that was annually, you would bring a tithe of what you had, and you would eat all of it. You’d have a party, you’d get together. Then there was the triennial tithe for the poor. That’s basically every three years. There was a tithe for widows, orphans, the strangers, those in need, okay? And then there was the half shekel temple tax that every male over 20 would pay, not to mention the fact that nowhere in the Old Testament do we see the theocracy being funded by anything like the tithe. What we do see, and if, especially if you look at King Solomon, you see he got, he was the wealthiest man ever, the nation in the government was funded by spoils of war, mining operations, trade and trade routes, tributes, taxes and gifts from other foreign nations and various other, you know, opportunities that they would grow wood and sell it. For instance, that’s how the nation was funded. All of those tithes, the half temple shekel, or half shekel temple tax, and all of the other kind of income, only one place does God say that’s mine. He says that of the Levitical tithe, He says that’s mine, and then He chooses to give it unto the Levites who serve in His house. So, it’s an empty argument to say, well, there’s no theocracy, and so we don’t fund it. That’s a misunderstanding what the tithe was for. So again, I have two points very, very simple, and the titles of these two points are very important.
Here’s number one.
1. A Devastating Misunderstanding
A devastating misunderstanding. Now, why do I call it that? Because it has devastated local churches for about 150 years, and it is the misunderstanding and misapplication, namely, of one main verse. I want to show you what the verse is. And here’s what I’m going to do, I’m going to read you this verse, this one verse out of Second Corinthians. I’m going to read you this verse completely out of context, and maybe it’s been your experience that you’ve heard this taught as this is how the local church is to be supported. This is 2 Corinthians 9:7. Just going to read the one verse, because that’s usually how you hear it. It says this, “Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” “A cheerful giver.” Now I want you to notice this word “give” and this word “giver”. Nowhere in your Bible is the tithe ever given because it already belongs to God. The tithe is always either brought or returned. It is very sad, and I want to cry just like that. Poor thing. Oh, he thought it meant something that it didn’t. Some of you might be crying by the end of this. Listen to me, this is not talking about the tithe, and I’m going to prove it to you. Here’s what I want to do. I want to show you the verses that lead up to it, which are actually in First Corinthians, and talk about what this is actually referring to. And I want to show you the bookend of Paul, referring to it about a year later, when they were going to finally do what they’re talking about here. This is what’s known in the Bible as a free will offering. I want you to see it. Tithes are separate from free will offering. God never says the free will offering is His. In fact, that’s why it’s called a free will offering. You’re not required to do it if it’s in your heart.
Let me prove it to you, because this is a devastating misunderstanding. Let’s go back in time to First Corinthians, which he wrote before, obviously Second Corinthians, and the free will offering that he’s referring to. It was a long campaign, probably about a year and a half, of gathering funds together for one purpose. It wasn’t for the local church. It was to send that money back to the poor in Jerusalem, right? Because those are people who were still in descendant from what? Well, from Pentecost, they had nowhere to go. There was not another church where they would go home to or they were put in poverty by persecution, and they needed help. Okay? We see this. He’s talking about the same churches, the same purpose. Look at 1 Corinthians 16:1-3, he says. “Now concerning the collection, (watch) for the saints (you’re going to see. It’s the saints at Jerusalem) as I directed the churches of Galatia.” So, you also are to do and now this verse two gets misunderstood because they think, ‘Oh, this is talking about the tithe. No, it’s not. This is a free will offering. He says this, “On the first day of the week each of you is to put something aside and store it up as he may prosper, so that there will be (what?) no collecting when I come.” In other words, he’s going to come and he’s going to take the whole sum total from all of these churches, and then they’re going to take it to Jerusalem to support the saints. Next verse, verse three. “And when I arrive, I will send those whom you accredit by letter to carry (watch this) to carry your gift (the tithe is not a gift) to Jerusalem.” Why? Because they’re starving. That’s what it’s talking about. That’s what Second Corinthians nine is giving directions for. We’re going to come back to Second Corinthians nine but now we went back in time.
Now let’s go ahead in time, and we’ll look at what a free will offering is. I’ll get to Romans here in just a second, but I want to show you a free will offering one instance, only one verse. There’s multiple free will offerings in the Old Testament. This is one of them, Exodus 35:29 says “All the men and women, the people of Israel (watch) whose heart moved them to bring anything for the work that the Lord had commanded by Moses to be done, brought it as a free will offering to the Lord.” This is not the tithe. A free will offering. What is a free will offering? It’s an offering you give of your own free will. Not too complicated, is it? You say this, “You know what? In my heart I feel I want to give this” and then you give it. And, by the way, next week, we’ll talk about how false teachers actually even manipulate this. And they do. They manipulate the tithe, and they manipulate free will offerings. And you’ll understand that, and I promise you, you’ll be immune to it from that moment forward, but this is what it’s referring to. Now, by the way, Jesus fulfilled the free will offering, didn’t He? He did. How so? He willingly laid His life down. Right? John 10:18, what does He say? No man takes my life. I lay it down willingly. It’s I give it of my own accord. He was the free will offering. He fulfilled it, just as He fulfilled the tithe. And we still walk it out in a new living way, and it’s called generosity. Now, let’s go forward in time from Second Corinthians nine. Okay, this is in Romans 15:25-26. Now this is going to be about a year later, maybe a year and a half later. He says this, “At present, however, I’m going to Jerusalem bringing aid to the saints. “Still talking about the same offering. Watch these two places. Look verse 26, “For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem.” It’s among the, it’s for the poor. It’s a free will offering. It’s called “benevolence”. We would call it these days. That’s what he’s talking about here. He says that is what he is planning on finally collecting and he’s got it and so he’s going to take it over there. Now, with that understanding, let’s go back to the devastating misunderstanding of that verse in Second Corinthians nine, except I want to show it to you in context. Okay? Okay, here it is in context, 2 Corinthians 9:1-7, Paul writes, he says “It is superfluous for me to write to you about the Ministry for the saints (okay?) for I know your readiness, of which I boast about you to the people of (look familiar?) Macedonia saying that Achaia has been ready since last year, and your zeal has stirred up most of them.” You see where he’s going with this? “But I am sending the brothers so that our boasting about you may not prove empty in this matter, so that you may be ready, as I said, you would be (right? in First Corinthians 16, remember that?). Otherwise, if some Macedonians come with me and find that you are not ready, we would be humiliated to say nothing of you for being so confident.” In other words, keep your word you said you were going to have a gift ready. You’ve been storing it up each week as we saw in First Corinthians, right? So, have it ready. Verse five, “So I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to go on ahead to you and arrange in advance for the gift you have promised, so that it may be ready (watch this) as a willing gift and not an exaction.” In other words, not a requirement. How do we know that’s not the tithe? Because the tithe is an exaction. It is. It’s ordered by God, at least in the Old Testament, and we’ll see if it’s in the New here in a moment. But I want you to see the context of what’s usually misunderstood. It’s a willing gift. It’s a free will offering. He keeps going. Look at verse six and seven. “The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap. Sparingly. Whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.” That’s basic Hebrews 11 six, right? God is and he’s a rewarder of those who seek Him. Does that mean you’re going to get more money? It does not necessarily mean that. We’re going to cover that next week. But do you see the flow before, after and during? This is a free will offering, Family, and it’s for the saints in Jerusalem, the next verse says this, and this was the verse, right? “Each one must give, as he has decided in his heart (why? Because it’s free will) not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” Yeah, He does. That’s called generosity. Returning the tithe isn’t generous at all. You’re simply giving back to God which already belongs to Him. Then He says, what the rest is yours to do with as you please. If you choose not to give a freewill offering that doesn’t move in your heart, okay, but you’ve fulfilled what He has commanded. Now, at least in the Old Testament, we’ve seen that. Family that verse taken out of context, apart from understanding I have to eat. I even have to guess if some people have a motive for not wanting to see it for what it is, because maybe there’s greed, and maybe they want to they just want to believe something so they don’t experience what they would think would be a 10% net loss in their income. But that is disobedient to Hebrews 11:6, because God is a rewarder for those to seek Him, and to seek him is to obey Him. So that is a devastating misunderstanding. That’s point number one.
Here’s point number two, a vital
2. A Vital Understanding
Now, why do I use the word “vital”? Well, because it’s key for maintenance of life. In fact, let me give you the dictionary definition of vital it is this
Vital: “Concerned with, or necessary to the maintenance of life.”
Think about that. If you get rushed to the hospital, what’s the first thing that they do? What? Wrong! They ask for your money. Am I wrong? Okay. Anyway, that was side note. Yeah, they take your vitals. Right? Is his heart beating? Is he breathing? Does he have brain activity? Is he have blood pressure? That’s your vitals. It has to happen because it’s vital. It is vital that we have, excuse me, sorry again. It’s vital that we have an understanding of the difference between Second Corinthians nine and First Corinthians nine, because in First Corinthians nine, Paul is talking about the tithe. Now I just want to remind you what the tithe is for. Again, this is from the Old Testament, but nevertheless, get used to it, because Paul is going to speak from the Old Testament as well. This is Malachi 3:10a, chapter three, the first part of verse 10, “Bring the full tithe into the storehouse so that there may be food in my house…” Right? And then what does God do? He turns around and gives it to the priests and the Levites so they can take care of the temple. So, here’s the question, where’s God’s house today? I wonder. Let me give you a hint, you’re in it right now. This is God’s house. Now, do I say that on human authority, or does the Scripture say it? The Scripture says, I want to show you just one instance twice in this chapter, but I’ll only show you once. This is 1 Timothy 3:4-15. Paul, the apostle, is writing to the senior pastor of the church at Ephesus. His name is Timothy. He’s his son in ministry, and he says this, “I hope to come to you soon, but I’m writing these things to you so that, if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church, church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth.” The household of God is the church. The church is the household of God. So, if the tithe is for the household of God in the Old Testament, guess what? The tithe is for the household of God in the new as well, if it stands up to the test of Scripture, that the tithe is still in effect.
Is tithing for today? Well, let’s answer the question, the clearest passage there could ever be now. You’ll remember last week, we saw Jesus affirm the tithe two separate times, two separate groups of people, two separate places, where He could have abolished it. He could have said, you don’t need to do that anymore. He said, remember these things you should have done without neglecting the others. He’s referring to tithing. So, what does the what does the epistle say? What does the apostle write? Here’s 1 Corinthians 9:1-14. We’ll start in verse one again, a vital understanding of this. Of these verses, I’m gonna go one through 14. Now let me just give some a little bit of context here. Paul planted this church. Paul led the first believers here to Christ. He evangelized them. Paul was the first senior pastor here. And Paul set in elders, and he said in other pastors. And then when Paul would come through, he would stay with them for seasons, and he would operate as one of the teaching elders. Obviously, you’ve got Paul there. This is the church he planted. He loves them dearly, right? So, he says this to them, “Am I not free?” Now that’s a weird question. Well, what do you mean, Paul? Well, what does he mean? “Am I? Am I not free to be like a normal human being, right? Yeah, I’m an apostle. But am I not free?” Because he’s going to explain what the freedom is in here, and you’re going to see it. He goes on. He says, “Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not my workmanship in the Lord?” Now, what does he mean? Does he mean he saved them? No. He means God used him as what? As what? As a leader in the house of God, as someone who was tasked with serving the Lord through the gospel. And these are the people that benefited from him eternally, I would add. He goes on, he says, “If to others, I am not an apostle, at least I am to you, for you are the seal of my apostleship. This is my defense to those who would examine me.” So, he’s about to talk about what his freedom entails as the former senior pastor and a current teaching elder. And then, yeah, he’s writing them letters right now, but this is going to refer to him as well as the men who are still there. Look at the next verse. “Do we not have the right to eat and drink?” What does he mean? What does he mean? Am I free to chew? That what he’s talking about? Am I free to swallow some water? No, no, no, no. He’s talking about provision. You’ll see it. You’ll see it.
By the way, let me just warn you, checkmate is coming, and if this starts hurting your heart a little bit, please just agree. If it’s God’s will, you want it, that is your “yes” on the table. But he says, look, “Do we not have the right to eat and drink?” In other words, let me say it to you in Texas way, do we not have the right to go to Walmart? Right? You realize the apostles had to eat. I don’t know if you know this, but your pastor has to eat too. Did you know that? I eat and drink. Did you know that? It’s amazing people see me in the store. Sometimes they’re like, “I never see you outside of church.” It’s like, “I don’t live here.” “Do we not have the right to eat and drink?” Look at the next question, because the answer that would be “yes”. “Do we not have the right to take along a believing wife, as do the other apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas?” Now is he asking if him and Barnabas have the right to get married? No, he’s not. You’ll see it in context. What he’s saying is, don’t we have the right to be able to provide for our wife? Right? I mean, you get married, it’s the husband’s responsibility. That doesn’t mean the wife can’t work. That’s matter of personal preferences, I think. But if the house isn’t provided for, that lands on the man, right? If he doesn’t provide for his own household, he’s worse than an infidel. He’s denied the faith. It says, don’t we have a right to be able to do this? Gee, I wonder how he’ll get these things paid for. Look at verse six, “Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working for a living?” That’s a strange statement, isn’t it? Is Paul saying, “Hey guys, we’re lazy and we really just want to kind of kick back.” No. When he’s saying refrain from working for a living, he’s talking about making a living outside of the church, outside of the proclamation of the gospel, outside of the labor and prayer and preaching and teaching. You’ll see this clearly. That’s what he’s referring to, in other words, doesn’t he look just like the Levites in the Old Testament? Yes, because this is actually in the new and living way, the household of God has people that manage it, that care for it, and that do the ministry there and train others. It’s just that way. He’s saying, don’t we have the right to refrain from working outside of there? That’s what he’s referring to. And then he asks some questions. These are piercing questions. Look verse seven, “Who serves as a soldier at his own expense?” My son’s in the Marines right now. And boy, I tell you what, he doesn’t have to pay for anything. I mean, if he goes to the PX and buys, you know, candy bar. I guess he has to do that, but he everything else is provided for. The answer is, no one, right? Who signs up as a soldier and then has to fund it? Look at this, “Who plants a vineyard without eating any of its fruit?” What’s the answer? No one. No one. You’re at least going to get compensated in some way, even if you can’t eat the actual fruit. “Or who tends a flock without getting some of the milk?” Look, no one. No one.
Where is he going with this? He’s going to the tithe being the provision for God’s house in the New Testament, and he’s talking about this. And you say, “Wow, I don’t know that’s Old Testament.” Guess what? He’s about to quote the Old Testament. Uh oh. Now if you’re starting to sweat, I’m not making you sweat. We are turning up the heat, right? If they’re working, don’t they get paid? Look at verse eight, “Do I say these things on human authority?” I can say the same thing right now because I’m simply representing this. I’m showing you what it actually means. “Do I say these things on human authority? Oh, does not the law say the same up. I see Paul didn’t get the Andy Stanley memo, and we’re supposed to unhitch from the Old Testament. See, no one told Paul that tithing was passa, no one told Paul that tithing was no longer needed, no longer biblical. No Paul recognized we need to eat too, and if we’re working, we get paid, and we do it God’s way. And so, when he’s referring to this, does not the law say the same. What is he talking about? You want to take a guess? He’s talking about the tithe. I’ll prove it to you. It’s in here. I’m warning you checkmates coming. The only question is going to matter is if I checkmate you, it doesn’t matter. But if the Holy Spirit does it and puts that oak tree finger of His, so to speak, in your face and says, “You are the man”, and I don’t mean “You’re the man”, it’s time to repent. It’s time to obey the Word. He says, “Do I say these things on human authority? Does not the law say the same?” And now he’s going to quote it. Look, “For it is written (look) in the Law of Moses, (and he’s going to quote it, and what does he say?) ‘You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain.’” Now if the Scripture didn’t show us what that meant, we would never, ever, I would never guess this, because I would think, “Well, God cares about the beasts,” and I’m sure He does, right? They’re all His, ultimately. But he quotes this in terms of provision for himself, for Barnabas and the other men who are laboring at that local church, (because he asked the question) “Is it for oxen that God is concerned?’” Not in this context? No, it’s not. Look at the next verse. “Does he not certainly speak for our sake?” Yes, he does. When you read in your Bible and you’re going through and you get there and you read, “You shall not muzzle the ox while it treads out the grain.” I want you to know it’s not talking about oxen only. It’s talking about the men who will labor at a local church and be provided for by the tithe. Now, “why does it say muzzle the ox as it treads out the grain?” Well, here’s what happens is you tread out the grain. We don’t do a lot of treading out of grain anymore with oxen, right? But the ox would get tired as he’s going around treading the grain, so he’d put his head down, and he would eat some of it. It’s just another illustration, but it’s the actual biblical one. Don’t cover his mouth. Don’t starve him as he’s laboring for you. That’s the picture here. Is He concerned about oxen, or does He say it for something else? He says it, “For our sake”. It was written, “For our sake.” We now know why it was written. Why? “Because the plowman should plow in hope, and the thresher thresh in hope (of what?) sharing in some of the crop.” There it is. In other words, getting the provision, having your needs met so that you can continue to do what you’re called to do in your labor of the gospel. And by the way, it’s extremely hard for me to get up here and teach this, because I get it. It looks like it’s self serving, but it was there too, and I don’t have any choice. I’m not gonna leave people in the dark and “Well, you know, we don’t wanna talk about that. We might offend someone’s sensibility.” Let me tell you this, if you’re not drawn here by the Word, you won’t last any longer than a light bulb. Actually, light bulbs last a long time, so never mind. You see the picture here? I’m sure you do.
And then he makes this statement, and it’s, it’s a sad statement, because it says, “If we have sown spiritual (this is verse 11, if we’ve sown spiritual things) among you, is it too much if we reap material things from you?” This is the answer people give, “Yes, that is too much. That is too much. You labor, you prepare, you lead, you feed, you study, you pray, you do these things. Thank you for the benefit of it. I really hope your grocery bill gets paid somehow.” I’m here to tell you that that’s a heart problem. Once you’ve been taught this, if you continue down that course, because there are men here who labor, and by the way, if we don’t labor well enough, you can fire us. You can go somewhere else. You can do a lot of things with your life. But if you’re fed and someone’s feeding you, then labor went into that and God’s plan is that those men are provided for by the tithe. That’s exactly what he’s talking about. He’s referencing it. “If we’ve sown spiritual things among you, is it too much that we reap material things?” Look at verse 12, “If others share this, (watch what he calls it, I mean, this is awkward for me) if others share this rightful claim on you, do we not even more?” That’s not a might’s in my heart. That’s a rightful claim. What is he saying? I labor for you. I feed you now, obey God and make sure I’m fed. Boy. It’s quiet in the Methodist church here this morning. I mean, Paul didn’t have a wife that we know of, right? We don’t know the details of those situations, but the men that labor here, do. They do and I don’t know how you think their health care gets paid for? I don’t know how you think we put gas in our vehicles. I don’t know how you think that people make their house payment or go to Walmart. It’s not money doesn’t just rain out of the ceiling here. That’d be awesome. And it’s not a bunch of millionaires that walk around here funding this. Paul is actually talking to every single person. And there were some people in Corinth that had a lot of money, and there were a lot of people that didn’t, a lot of middle class were there. That’s what he’s saying to them. Feathers had this rightful claim. Do we not even more?
But then watch what he says. “Nevertheless, we have not made use of this right, but we endure anything rather than to put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ.” In other words, the church was so immature and so just they were just really like toddlers, he did not want to cause them to have any reason not to be part of the local body by demanding that exaction. So, you know what he did? He worked a job, and he was a tent maker. I came to Sherman Bible. I offered the elders this opportunity. I had a job. I had a great paying job. I said, “I can keep my job. It’s going to take away from a lot I’m able to do. Things won’t go as fast. I’m not sure how I’ll prepare as much, but I’m willing to do that if the church cannot afford me.” They said “No”, they prayed. And they said “No”, they didn’t really, I think they prayed. I hope they prayed. And so, I do this. This is what I do full time since 2016 and I graduated four kids. Watch my kids get a job, get married, have grandkids for us. It’s awesome, but the church has been the place where my provision has come, and that has come through the tithe. It is a right. Now, some men lay that down, and they’re bi vocational brothers and sisters, trust me, most of the time because there’s not enough money in the storehouse to feed the man who’s feeding the people. And that is a devastating problem. That’s why this is a vital understanding. Now he’s going to drive it home. One to one ratio is the tithe for today? Look at the very next verse, “Do you not know that those who are employed in the temple service get their food (what?) from the temple through the (what? through the tithe).” We saw that last week. It’s a one to one if the Bible says it. And the only reason you won’t be able to understand this is if you don’t want to, because it’s tremendously clear. Second, Corinthians nine is talking about the free will offering. First Corinthians nine is talking about the tithe. It’s in the New Testament, and people pop off, “Well it’s not in the New Testament.” I’m like, “Well, you don’t read the New Testament.” You should try it. I really don’t talk like that. “Do not those who are employed in the temple service get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in the sacrificial offerings. (Look at the next statement) In the same way.” Now you might be here going, “Well I thought it was a new and living way.” It is. The motivator of it is, we’ll see that next week. But the principle of the provision that God has ordained for His house, it’s “In the same way.” “In the same way (what?) the Lord (suggests? No, the Lord infers? No, the Lord says, ‘Hey, if it’s in your heart’? No, the Lord) commanded (what did He command?) that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel.” How else will you do that but for the tithe? It’s how God funds His house.
And again, I want to remind you of something, what happens when there is no tithe? Nothing, nothing. We saw it in Nehemiah, and it happened all through the book of Judges. The priests would just leave. Why? Well, we have to go feed our families. Something has to pay for it. And that’s God’s way of doing it. And by the Word of God, through the authority of His Word, your conscience is now bound to obey it. That’s the way it works. If you’re a true Christian in here and, by the way, if you’re not, it doesn’t even apply to you. Although tithing wouldn’t hurt, we won’t turn your money away. I mean, I’m just being honest, but this is not a grab. I’m super glad we have no debt here at Sherman Bible. And you know why you never hear about financial problems? Because we don’t have any. We just don’t have any. We teach on this every four years, the people of God have always been faithful and responded and provisions been made. And is it lavish? No, it’s really not. But our needs are met, and we operate on a tight budget, and we’re very conservative financially. I run that the way I run my house is the way that I pour into the eldership, and in my and my portion of the eldership, I weigh in on let’s be as conservative as we possibly can. Let me say it to you this way, if our ownership ran the government, you’d like it. The same way the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel. That’s always in a local church.
Again, let me refer you back to Numbers 18:21 which is what Paul’s referring to. God says this, “‘To the Levites, I have given every tithe in Israel for an inheritance in return for their service that they do their service in the tent of meeting.’” Where is the household of God? Where is the tent of meeting? Now it’s here. Why? Because you’re the temple of God, and we all gather together. It’s the corporate expression of the presence of God, and that’s what he’s actually referring to. So, let’s answer two questions. Are all born again Christians, priests? Yes. You don’t need another priest. You have a great high priest. You don’t need another priest. I’m not your priest. You don’t need a priest. You do have pastors, teachers and evangelists. We do have those but you don’t need another priest. You are a priest. All believers are. But are all believers appointed to manage God’s household and to make their living by the gospel? No, no. In fact, I would argue there’s not that really that many. We’re very gifted here to have several, and we’re thankful to God as He’s building His church. But look, that is still God’s way of doing it, even if you say, “Well, it’s a priesthood of all believers.” What are you going to do? You’re going to tithe to yourself? I’m returning the tithe to myself. That makes no sense. And again, it’s not generous, because you’re giving God back what He’s already provided for you, and He demands it be returned.
Now I want to give you a second instance, a mouth of two or three witness let every word be established. I want to show you where the apostle writes to a senior pastor and tells him the same thing. Okay? He writes to the senior pastor, Paul does of the church at Ephesus. His name was Timothy. Maybe you’ve heard of him? He got a couple of famous letters. In the first one, First Timothy in chapter five. The context here, I’ll prove this to you, the context is provision for people, two groups, widows and those who minister the gospel. Widows goes first. I’m not going to read you the entire passages here, but I want you to get the context. 1 Timothy 5:3-4 says this, “Honor”. Now this word has to do with remuneration. This is talking about provision. This is not talking about it says, “Honor widows, who are truly widows.” This does not mean you see a widow and you go, “Oh, hello widow. I just honor you.” No man, the widow doesn’t need that. What the widow needs is something to eat, something to drink, something to wear, somewhere to live, right? That’s what it’s talking about. How do we know? Because look at the rest of the context. “But if a widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to show godliness to their own household and to make some return to their parents, for this is pleasing the sight of God.” In other words, you pay for it. You pay for it. And then from verse, what is the number five, all the way down through the rest of that statement, he gives the high bar of what it takes to get on the list to be on the payroll of a local church as a widow. It’s a high bar. It’s not talking about people out in the community of the world. It’s talking about in the local church, you take care of those that are yours. That’s called benevolence, right? “But honor.” I want you to notice that we’ll finish his thought, if you go down to verse 16, go down to verse 16, and it says this, it’s still talking about widows. “If any believing woman has relatives who are widows, let her care for them. Let the church not be (what?) burdened (how? Financially) so that it may care for those who are truly widows.” You see, it’s provision, but then he switches to honoring someone else. Verse 17, “Let the elders who rule well be worthy or considered worthy of what of double honor.” Now again, this does not mean that you see a widow in the lobby, and you say, “Oh widow,” and then you see an elder who rules well, you go, “Oh elder”. We don’t need that nor do we want that. Those are accolades of people. What is this referring to? It’s referring to provision. It’s referring to provision. It’s referring to paying the people who feed you the Word of God, if they rule well. And, by the way, if we don’t, why are you here? If you’re here and you’re going, “I don’t get anything out of this. Guy, I don’t know man, I don’t know. When he talks, I zone out. I really hate this.” Well, go try another place. Man, the doors go in and out. I love you. I don’t want you to bail. I don’t want you to bail. I’m just simply saying, if you’re not fed spiritually, well, then you don’t know anything. But don’t just, don’t just be here and absorb that’s like an appendage that’s detached. It makes absolutely no sense. If you’re fed the Word of God here, you owe the check. Boy, it’s quiet, except for that one sister. How many of you would go eat at a restaurant when you got done, you’re like, “There was a Oh, it was a great meal. Man, I really loved it. You know what I think I’m going to do, I think I’m going to leave a tip,” but you don’t pay the check, and you can pat yourself on the back, but I’ll tell you what, eventually you’re gonna be in handcuffs because you stole from that restaurant. Do you think that’s true? Yeah, I do. I believe that’s true. Now, if you’ve never learned this before, it’s cool. You’re hearing it, and you can believe it. And, by the way, what you’ll see next week, and you don’t want to miss next week, because I’m not going to yell at any of you. I’m going to yell at any of you. I’m going to yell at others. But if that’s been you, you need to repent. You need to repent. How do you know that’s talking about the tithe? Well, still in verse 17, “Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who (do what?) they labor in preaching and in teaching.” I don’t know if you know this, but AI does not write these sermons. I study to show myself approved unto God. A workman doesn’t need to be right there. Doesn’t need to be ashamed. Rightly dividing the word of truth. I want to serve you in that way. And I’m sincere when I say this, if you get fed better, somewhere else go do that. And listen to me you’re watching online. I’m gonna tell you what? If you’re fed here, tithe here. Somebody online maybe will hear that. Now, I think they need to be in a local church, but there are some people that watch us all over the country, and I don’t think they pay the check. I mean, if you think I’m after selfish gain, I’m not. I’m not after a raise. In fact, I won’t have one. I refuse it. You ask any elder. I’m not doing that. It’s not what I’m here for. But if you’re fed somewhere, you pay that that place, that’s God’s way of doing it. I didn’t make this up. The scripture says this. “So especially those who labor in preaching and in teaching.” Then watch what he quotes two places from the Old Testament you’ll see it as familiar. Next verse, “For the scripture says, ‘You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain’ and ‘The laborer deserves his wages.’” “Labor deserves wages.” If you’re fed spiritual things, you owe that. You owe it to God because He’s the one doing the work, bringing the increase, but those who He uses to labor, you are to support. And it’s not throwing them a tip. It is returning the tithe. That’s what it is. Is tithing for today? Here’s the answer, yes. Next week, we’ll see how it’s different from the Old. But right now, you’re seeing how it’s the same because it is, because Paul literally said it, it’s in the same way. God breathed that out.
So, where’s the problem then? Why would it be if someone is well taught, and you are now, and you understand it, and you do, I pray you do. Where is the disconnect? If somebody hears this and goes away and says, “No”. I want to tell you the root of it, the root of it is a lack of love. It’s a lack of love. I don’t see how you can say, “Jesus, I love You.” That doesn’t mean you don’t love them at all. But I don’t see how someone can say, “I love Jesus, but I don’t love His house, His bride, and I don’t care for those who represent Him in the gospel and who are teaching me the Word of God. Oh, but I love Jesus.” Let me offer you this illustration, if I were to go away on a long trip, and I would task you, and I would say, “You know what? I’m going to provide income for you. I only ask that you take 10% of it and you give it to Kelly to support my bride.” What kind of love would you have for me if you wouldn’t take care of my wife when I’ve provided everything for you in advance anyway? I would come back one day and I would say, “Why didn’t you take care of her? I love her. She’s the love of my life. I asked you to care for her.” You say, “Oh, that feels like a guilt trip.” Well, if you’re guilty, it’s a trip. 1 John 3:16-18 says it best, “By this we know of that He (Jesus) He laid His life down for us, and we ought to lay our lives down for the brothers. But if anyone has this world’s goods and sees his brother in need (now this could be tithe, absolutely applies, but it’s also offering. Again, it’s free will) sees his brother in need yet closes his heart against him. (How? How?) How does God’s love abide in him?” I don’t know. I can’t answer that. If we say, “We love the Lord”, but our hearts with the treasure on Earth. Our heart’s in something else. It’s you might have Jesus and money confused. And then he ends it this way and I will too. “Little children, let us not love in word or talk, but in deed and in truth.” These are always connected. If you’re telling the truth, there’s going to be a deed to it. Every year if you give anything, if you return the tithe or give free will offerings, you receive a giving statement. Actually, you get it every quarter a year, which I believe is really good. It’s good control. And I want to tell you what that what that statement is, that is an EKG of your heart. It really doesn’t matter what your mouth says. That’s the EKG. Cheryl sends it out. And you can look where your heart is and you can say, “Am I obeying the Lord by returning the tithe? Or am I saying, Well, I’m the exception, or I found an internet theologian who helped me slip the knot.” My counsel would be this, support him, but I believe in taking care of the ones that take care of you. It’s a hard message. I appreciate your prayers as I go into third service, they’re the really mean ones. Next week, we’re going to look at how it got perverted. Some of you were put under false yokes. You were lied to about the tithe. You were lied to about free will offerings. You were lied to about God being bound to do something for you. You were lied to about what a curse means in Malachi chapter three, we’re going to clear all that up, and I think we’ll have a little bit of fun doing it because false teachers are fun to mock.
KEYWORDS
Tithe, Tithing, Give, Giver, New Testament, Old Testament, Levitical Tithe, Festival Tithe, Triennial Tithe, Half Shekel Temple Tax, Free Will Offering, Cheerful Giver, Local Church, Provision, Apostle Paul, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Generosity, Vital, Widows, Honor, Benevolence, Church, Bible Church, Texas
Steve LeBlanc