Saturday 21 January – TITHING
By Pastor E.A. Adeboye
Memorise: Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Malachi 3:8
Read: Genesis 14:16-20
Tithe is a tenth of your income or profit, which is entirely God’s share of every increase He gives to you. He asked specifically for a tenth and left the balance to us to decide how we want to spend it. The saints and patriarchs of old paid tithes and when Jesus came, He further threw His weight behind it. Tithe is an act of worship. It is a mark of your covenant with God. God does not expect tithe from unbelievers no matter how rich they are, but He requires it at the hands of all believers in Christ no matter how impoverished they are. Some people pay tithe on big incomes but fail to pay tithe on little ones. This is wrong. Pay tithe on all your income – big, medium and small. Even if you earn in kobos, cents or pennies, pay your tithe. Tithe both your main income and other smaller incomes. Pay tithe on the gifts you receive also. Never think that God does not know how to calculate. He knows it better than the greatest mathematician on earth.
Your tithe is a mark of dependence on God and not on your earnings. It is a mistake to depend on your income. Your income is only a little allowance as far as God is concerned. You need so much beyond that salary. Depending on your income displaces God from being your source. If you find it difficult to pay your tithe, then your income has become your only source. Such an individual will be extremely limited. The wise who understands this principle would rather move up to 20%, 30%, 40% or 50%. I once met an American who gave 90% to God of all he earns and takes 10% to himself and a business he started with 500 dollars grew to 50 million dollars in five years. In other words, you can increase your dependence on God by giving more than 10% of your income or profit. If your faith can carry it, you can pay your tithe on your gross salary which the wise fellow would do. But if your faith cannot carry it, then you can pay tithe on your net. The blessings God will return will either be on your gross or net depending on what you gave to Him. How regularly do you pay your tithe?
KEY POINT:
“Tithers” walk by faith while “Non-tithers” walk by sight.
Bible in one year: Deuteronomy 17-19
Tags: act, allowance, believers, cent, Christ, covenant, earning, faith, Genesis 14, God, impoverished, income, increase, kobo, Malachi 3, non-tithers, patriarchs, penny, profit, saints, salary, sight, source, tenth, tithe, tithing, unbelievers, worship
Jan 21, 2012
Loved d discuss of 2day on Tithing. My thot tgough is ow do u quantify d tithe in say a gift dat was given, n wat if @ dat time u av not d cash equivalent 2 pay d tithe on dat gift.
Jan 21, 2012
Oh well.. Neka S, I believe parting with a gift valued at no lower than 10% to one who needs such gift would do.
There would always come the time when the cash flows-in, it’s up to us to recall that we have a pending spiritual transaction.
Be Blessed!
Jan 21, 2012
Ok wat ur saying is dat a gift equivalent of d tithe given 2 sme person in need amounts 2 d tithe? On dat basis, can we gve out tithes 2 say d less priviledged cos smetimes I see d church as too rich dat I’d rather sow dat tithe 2 d Orphanage or beggers as d case may be. Would dat b right?
Jan 21, 2012
Yes, equivalent or more.
It should be best to present the tithe-gift to the church stating its for the needy.
I Think anything tagged tithe is usually for God.
Jan 23, 2012
This piece is rather confusing and one finds it really difficult to understand exactly what you are trying to say. Are you talking about giving or tithing as they are 2 completely different things.
Tithing is was a form of Old Testament system of taxation on agricultural produce alone. It was the TENTH part (not 10%) of crops and livestock. The command to tithe money does not exist in the bible.
God never asked the New Testament church for “10%” neither does He allow us to decide how we like to spend the balance. This is quite unscriptural. The command to tithe was only given to those of the Old Testament and not the New. And of course Jesus threw His weight behind the tithe as He did all the Old Testament laws seeing that He came to fulfil the law.
Giving on the other is voluntary and this is what the New Testament admonishes; anything we give is acceptable as far as it has been given willingly and cheerfully. Nowhere in the bible do we see this so-called 10% commanded on the New Testament church.
This piece is completely unscriptural and I find it amazing how someone can read the bible and arrive at this conclusion.
God bless.
May 04, 2012
@Tony Isaac: Your comment is very true.
Tithing as a law was abolished in the new testament. All these churches advocating tithes have brainwashed their gullible members.
May 06, 2012
@Tony, @Michael
1 Corinthians 2:14
But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. (KJV)
A person who isn’t spiritual doesn’t accept the teachings of God’s Spirit. He thinks they’re nonsense. He can’t understand them because a person must be spiritual to evaluate them. (GOD’S WORD® Translation)
May 08, 2012
Dejy Onabiyi:
I am a christian and so is Tony.
The difference between us and you is that you have failed to properly study your bible. Instead, you rely on what your G.O tells you as truth.
Be a berean and search the scriptures yourself. Read the book of deuteronomy and the books written by Paul especially Galatians, Ephesians, Hebrews and Acts of the Apostles.
If you think that you will enter heaven by the deeds of the law, you are surely mistaken. You have ridiculed the grace of our Lord Jesus who died to free us from the yoke of old testament ordinances which our fathers were unable to fulfil.
Give offerings freely according to the desires of your heart and do not be brought under the legalistic 10 percent bondage.
May 24, 2012
@Dejy, Michael has given you a fantastic response – The New Testament church has not been given the command to tithe my friend.