Maybe you are here in Montreal going to university. Maybe you're single. Maybe you're in high school or cegep. Maybe you're young and newly employed. Or maybe you're married and just starting a home of your own. Or you've been married a long time and have several kids. But question is the same for all: How will you handle the money you earn?
Some objections that people have to tithingToday, I would like to appeal to you from the Scriptures not just to tithe but also to go beyond the tithe in the way you release money out of your hands into the cause of Christ and his kingdom. I will deal with these and other objections. I have subtitled this message: "Moving Towards the Tithe and Beyond in your giving" because many of you are not there yet and may be moving "toward" the practice of giving 10% of your income to the Work of Christ. The way I would like to handle this is to give six reasons for why I believe all Christians should give at least 10% of their income to the work of Christ, and then grow beyond that as God prospers them.
You recall that in the Old Testament God designated one of the twelve tribes of Israel, the tribe of Levi, to be the tribe that would have the ministry of the tabernacle and the Temple. So instead of giving them a portion of the land, God said that these vocational ministers of the tabernacle should live off the tithes of the other eleven tribes.
One major issue that people raise is whether Jesus, in the New Testament, continued and taught this principle for the sake of his church. Interestingly, Jesus never explicitly abolished the tithe. You won't find him saying in the Sermon on the Mt. "You have hear that it was said, give 10%, but I tell you the truth, 5% will do." You won't find a "Thou shalt tithe" verse in the NT, but I believe the NT does endorse the tithing principle for believers.
Yet one might say that he is only talking to Jews in an essentially Old Testament setting. Maybe so. But there is another pointer that the principle was preserved in the early church.
The Bible makes it clear that all our money belongs to God.
Personal story: As I said earlier, growing up, my parents taught me to give a tenth of everything I earned to the cause of Christ. I didn't really question it until I started receiving a pay check. Then, I was faced with the issue personally Ð and I was very reluctant to tithe. I thought, this is my hard earned money. I can barely pay all my bills, I thought. Then, I grudgingly gave away a tenth because I thought God should get his share. My attitude towards money was all wrong. Fortunately God worked in my heart. What I failed to grasp was that it was not my money. It was God's money. And it was not about giving God his share. All of it belongs to him. Seeing and believing this totally changed my outlook on tithing. Jesus said, "you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free". The truth that all the money I earn is God's money has set me free to be a cheerful giver.
The last of the ten commandments says: "You shall not covet." Jesus said in Luke 12:15, "Beware, and be on your guard against every form of covetousness (or greed)." And in Colossians 3:5 Paul calls covetousness "idolatry." Which is also listed in Galatians 5:20 as one of the acts of the sinful nature. Paul warns that "those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God." (Gal. 5:21) Wanting things too much is incredibly dangerous for our soul.
Story: Mexican Villager: A boat docked in a tiny Mexican village. An American tourist complimented the Mexican fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took him to catch them. "Not very long," answered the Mexican. "But then, why didn't you stay out longer and catch more?" asked the American. The Mexican explained that his small catch was sufficient to meet his needs and those of his family. The American asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?" "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, and take a siesta with my wife. In the evenings, I go into the village to see my friends, have a few drinks, play the guitar, and sing a few songs...I have a full life." The American interrupted, "I have an MBA from Harvard and I can help you! You should start by fishing longer every day. You can then sell the extra fish you catch. With the extra revenue, you can buy a bigger boat. With the extra money the larger boat will bring, you can buy a second one and a third one and so on until you have an entire fleet of trawlers. Instead of selling your fish to a middle man, you can negotiate directly with the processing plants and maybe even open your own plant. You can then leave this little village and move to Mexico City, Los Angeles, or even New York City! From there you can direct your huge enterprise." "How long would that take?" asked the Mexican. "Twenty, perhaps twenty-five years," replied the American. "And after that?" "Afterwards? That's when it gets really interesting," answered the American, laughing. "When your business gets really big, you can start selling stocks and make millions!" "Millions? Really? And after that?" "After that you'll be able to retire, live in a tiny village near the coast, sleep late, play with your children, catch a few fish, take a siesta, and spend your evenings drinking and enjoying your friends!"
Every time you give a tithe, you must deal with the desire for what you might have bought for yourself. To give is not to buy. And that weekly crisis is utterly important to maintain. We must fight covetousness almost every day. And God has appointed a practical way of doing this: giving. He tests us again and again: what do we desire most -- the advancement of his name or 10% more security and comfort and fun? As Jesus says, "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." Tithing guards us from covetousness.
If you make more you buy more, and the things you buy have to be stored and repaired and insured. Quote: When you get stuff, you need stuff for your stuff. This includes stuff to protect your stuff and stuff to be able to use your stuff, not to mention stuff to keep your stuff from looking out of place."- Anonymous
If you have less at your disposal you spend less. And most of the time you don't even think about it. I spend absolutely no time thinking about world cruises and $80,000 cars. But if I made $ 400,000 / year, pretty soon things like that wouldn't seem any more strange to me than all the stuff I buy now -- because I could afford it. How do we restrain ourselves from accumulating more and more stuff and more and more expensive stuff? The answer is that as our income grows we move beyond the tithe. We resolve to give a greater and greater percentage of our income to advance the kingdom. This puts the brakes on our natural impulse toward luxury.
Illustration: John Wesley Take John Wesley for example. He was one of the great evangelists of the 18th Century, born in 1703. In 1731 he began to limit his expenses so that he would have more money to give to the poor. In the first year his income was 30 pounds (30K) and he found he could live on 28 and so gave away two. In the second year his income doubled but he held his expenses even, and so he had 32 pounds to give away (a comfortable year's income). In the third year his income jumped to 90 pounds [90K] and gave away 62 pounds [62K]. In his long life Wesley's income advanced to as high as 1,400 pounds [1.4 million] in a year. But he rarely let his expenses rise above 30 pounds. He said that he seldom had more than 100 pounds in his possession at a time. This so baffled the English Tax Commissioners that they investigated him in 1776 insisting that for a man of his income he must have silver dishes that he was not paying excise tax on. He wrote them, "I have two silver spoons at London and two at Bristol. This is all the plate I have at present, and I shall not buy any more while so many round me want bread." When he died in 1791 at the age of 87 the only money mentioned in his will was the coins to be found in his pockets and dresser. Most of the 30,000 pounds [30 million] he had earned in his life had been given away. (Quotes from Mission Frontiers, Sept./Oct., 1994, No. 9-10, pp. 23-24)
Some preachers use this verse as a formula for getting rich. This is not at all what the verse is saying. Firstly, this verse is teaching that God will supply for all our physical and material needs when we are generous givers. The money that we give away is far from being lost; Just like precious seed which is cast into the ground is not lost, though it is buried there for a time, eventually it will spring up, and bear fruit; the sower shall receive it again with increase. So too in our lives. Giving in a regular, disciplined, generous way -- up to and beyond the tithe Ð supplies for other people's needs in ministry and God will certainly take care of us when we give generously to the Lord's work ("having all that you need") This seems to be Paul's way of expressing Malachi 3:10
This is an amazing challenge from God. Test me, he says. You think you can't afford to tithe? Well test me. And what we will find when we test him is that we cannot afford not to tithe -- and beyond! This is the only safe way to handle our money. Secondly, what this passage is teaching is that there are spiritual blessings that will occur through our giving. The money we give produces spiritual fruit. God's kingdom grows, his work is built up, and we ourselves are storing up "treasures in heaven." There will be spiritual blessings not only to others through our gifts but we will also reap great spiritual blessings ourselves ("all grace will abound" It is rather a guarantee that we will not be lacking for any need and for every good work that God calls us to do.
The reason that we can give generously is because God has promised that he will never leave us or forsake us. Every time you doubt that you can live on 90% of your income let the glorious promise of God strengthen your faith:
Personal story: Every time I go to write a check for my tithe, there is a battle in me. My flesh protests and says thinks like: There are more bills this month. You can't afford to give that money to the church. How can you save up for those home renovations when you're giving all that money away. Think of the extra money you would have if you didn't give it away. You could buy lots of stuff. But, then I remember God's promises, I remember his word. And I think, "I can not afford not to move toward the tithe and beyond."
How about you? Where are you at? Will you tithe the money you earn? Will you go beyond the tithe if God prospers you financially?
Bible Gateway which has several translations and many languages from which you can choose
or Crosswalk's Bible Study Tools which has many English translations, including the NKJV.
Peoples Church of Montreal
2097 Union Avenue
Montreal, Quebec H3A 2C3