Tithes, Offerings and Giving

"Will a man rob God? 

Yet you have robbed Me! 

But you say, 'In what way have we robbed You?'

In tithes and offerings. 

Malachi 3:8

GOD says that a tenth of our income belongs to Him.
 GOD does not need money.
 GOD'S Kingdom work on earth needs provision for His servants
 and for the the practical work of the proclamation of the Gospel.
 This includes the cost of printing Bibles and Christian literature, mail, transport and so on.
Not giving a tenth of our finances to the work of the Kingdom equals to robbing GOD.
If you are holding back what belongs to GOD, 
you will live in constant fear that GOD would catch you out.
 You would perceive GOD to be a policeman Who is after you and you would be afraid of Him. 
You cannot receive GOD'S blessings in such a situation.

                               ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! 

For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin,

and have neglected the weightier matters of the law:

justice and mercy and faith. 

These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. 

Matthew 23:23

You may be diligently paying your tithes, carefully accounting to cents and to a dollar. 
You may even be receiving back from the government some of what you give to the Church,
 making use of tax benefit laws!
 You are following GOD'S law and the law of your nation legally and feel good about it. 
What you do and give is not great in the eyes of GOD.
 GOD is more interested in the attitude of your heart. 
If this is your situation, your relationship with GOD is a legalistic one. 
GOD is a Judge to you and you are constantly trying to justify yourself by obeying the law.
 Your righteousness is dependant on your tithing. 
You must understand that no one can be justified by the works of the law.

"Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets.

I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.

Matthew 5:17

All the law is fulfilled in the LORD JESUS CHRIST.
We can be justified before GOD only through JESUS.

"For I say to you,

that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. 

 Matthew 5:20

Therefore if you think that you are in good standing with GOD by lawfully paying your tithes,
 this is bad news for you. 
The LORD JESUS says, "..You will by no means enter the Kingdom of heaven.!"
"What then does the LORD require of me ?" You may ask.

"Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar,

A gift is something you give to someone you love.
The act of giving is what GOD wants from you.
If you are in a love relationship with your GOD, you will bring your gift to Him to the altar.
 The first and greatest commandment, JESUS said,
 is to love the LORD your GOD with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.
If this is your way of giving to GOD, He is pleased with you,
 but He wants to take you one step further!

and there remember that your brother has something against you,

"leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. 

First be reconciled to your brother,

and then come and offer your gift. 

Matthew 5: 23-24

If you remember that another believer has a grudge against you, you need to first put that right.
You may say, "I don't have anything against him/her. I am not at fault.
 I don't even know what he/she has against me?"

JESUS said the second commandment is like the first, "You shall love your neighbour as yourself."
When we sinned against GOD and went astray, GOD took the initiative to reach out to us.
We love because He first loved us.
 JESUS said to His disciples that they should keep His commandments if they loved Him,
 and  His commandment is, "Love one another as I have loved you."

Why, what and how we give to GOD is an indication of our relationship to Him. 

In which category are you?  

A robber? 

                                                                    

 A tither-in-law?

                                                                                                  

A loving giver? 

Will you progress to be a lover of GOD
 so that you can bring your gift of love to Him with a pure heart? You will be blessed beyond your imagination
 and you will be GOD'S instrument of love in this world.

"Give, and it will be given to you: 

good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom.

 For with the same measure that you use, 

it will be measured back to you."  

Luke 6:38