“Generosity Changes Everything”
Part One – Tithing

Each year in Calvary we take four weeks to teach the Bible’s perspective on finance. Faith in Jesus is not an escape from reality, it speaks to our real lives, including how we approach money.

The idea that it’s inappropriate to talk about money in church is rooted in Gnosticism, a second century heresy that taught the material world is evil, but the spiritual world is good, therefore the church should only talk about things that relate to the immaterial world (soul, spirit, prayer, forgiveness, peace etc)

A more Biblical view acknowledges God is Creator of the heavens and the earth, physical and spiritual, material and immaterial, and He called it all good. Further, Jesus dignified the physical and material by coming in flesh and being raised from death in a glorified body. Jesus is coming again to usher in a new heaven and a new earth, one we can touch, taste and smell. Faith in Jesus recognises that all that we have and all that we are, material and immaterial, belongs to the Lord and we are called to steward all of it to the glory of God.

Tithing, or ‘tenthing’ is a spiritual discipline the Bible teaches - bringing the first tenth of our income to God as a tangible way of acknowledging His place in our lives.

Malachi 3:6–12
“For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the LORD of hosts. But you say, ‘How shall we return?’ Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the LORD of hosts. Then all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight, says the LORD of hosts.

Four Keys to Understanding Tithing.

1. Tithing is about lordship, not law.

A common objection to tithing is that it relates only to the Old Covenant – that it started and finished with the Law of Moses.

Malachi 3:6
For I the LORD do not change…

Tithing did not originate with Moses; it originated with Abraham.

Genesis 14:18–20
And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.) And he blessed him and said,

“Blessed be Abram by God Most High,
Possessor of heaven and earth;
and blessed be God Most High,
who has delivered your enemies into your hand!”

And Abram gave him a tenth of everything.

Hebrews 7:3
He is without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever.

Melchizedek is likely a pre-incarnate manifestation of Jesus. Abraham, the father of all who would believe by faith, encounters this Christ figure, King of Peace, King of Righteousness, Priest of God Most High, who offers Abraham bread and wine, typifying Jesus who would offer us his body and blood. Abraham recognises his authority and responds by giving Melchizedek (Christ) a tenth of everything.

Abraham’s grandson recognised the same, so likely the principle was taught and practised by the first family of faith.

Genesis 28:22
“And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you.”

Tithing is not being forced to give up what belongs to us – it’s returning to God a tenth of all He has given to us.

The Law of Moses came 430 years after Abraham, 350 years after Jacob. It’s clear that before tithing was encoded in the Law of Moses, it was recognised as a tangible way to acknowledge God as the owner and supplier of all we have. So, why would the tithe be abolished under the New Covenant, if it didn’t originate under the Old Covenant? Covenants have changed, but God has not changed.

The tithe is a timeless principle in Scripture, symbolising our acknowledgement and faith in Jesus as Lord over our lives.

2. Tithing is about supply, not selfishness.

In the Old Testament, the priests were those who dedicated their lives to the Lord’s service, and the pastoral and leadership functions of God’s family. Tithing was God’s strategy to provide abundant support for those who had committed their lives to God’s service and the other functions of the worshipping community.

Malachi 3:10
Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house.

The flow of provision ensured the flow of ministry. During the times of Hezekiah (2 Chronicles 31) and Nehemiah (Nehemiah 13), the restoration of ministry went hand in hand with the restoration of tithes and offerings. Where tithes were neglected, ministry slowed. Where tithes were restored, ministry was restored.

1 Corinthians 9:13–14
Do you not know that 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? In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel.

Paul applies the principle to the church context. Today, tithes provide for the needs of those who have committed their lives to the Lord’s service. Rather than take a cynical view, we ought honour and recognise those who’ve committed the best of their lives to minister the gospel. We gratefully and joyfully bring the tithe to ensure our pastors and ministers can devote their time to outworking the pastoral and leadership functions of the faith community.

Note, Malachi says we “bring” the tithe, which means it goes where you go. We don’t “send” the tithe to our favourite online ministry or not-for-profit. The tithe comes with you to the house where you receive spiritual nourishment and instruction.

3. Tithing is about faith, not fear.

For many, our hesitancy around tithing is not intellectual, it’s practical. Fear makes us to withhold or whittle down the tithe. God knows this tendency in us, so assures us with a promise.

Malachi 3:10
Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.

We tend to make a promise to God that if He blesses us with more, then we will tithe. But God desires for us to trust Him and live with an attitude of faith. So, he calls us to tithe and then promises to bless us with more.

Tithing is designed to shift us from a place of fear to a posture of faith.

Matthew 6:33
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Jesus says this in the context of talking about our relationship with money and material things. The knowledge that we have a Father in heaven who loves us, knows us and provides for us, ought to shift us from anxiety to trust.

4. Tithing is about love, not legalism.

Malachi 3:7
From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the LORD of hosts.

God doesn’t simply say “Return to tithing”; He says, “Return to me.” Tithing is more than returning a tenth to God; it’s about returning our hearts to God.

Matthew 6:21
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

There’s an observable trend in Scripture: when the hearts of God’s people fell away, their tithes and offerings fell away too. When their hearts returned, their tithes and offerings returned too.

Randy Alcorn
“Giving back to the Lord what was rightfully his was a thermometer of faith. When Israel slid spiritually, they ceased to give as they should. When they ceased to give as they should, they slid spiritually.”

Restoration or revival in the Old Testament was accompanied by an increase in giving or a restoration of tithing (For example, during the times of Moses, David, Solomon, Hezekiah, Josiah)

When the Lord has our hearts, he has our treasure. How we use our money is a barometer for our heart. The Lord gets our hearts when we begin to tithe.