A Sower of Seeds

All right, we're gonna pray, and then we'll get started. Blessed Lord, you've caused all holy scriptures to be written for our learning. Grant that we may so hear them, read Mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, so that by patience, comfort of your holy word, we may embrace and ever hope fast in the blessed hope of everlasting life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Questions About Tithing and the Joy of Faith

All right, so the question is, were there any questions here? And holy guacamole, the chat was just going nuts. So I can't scroll through all of that presently. Wow, so one person said that we just came out of a church where the pastor told us we had to tither, or both we and our finances would be cursed.

Are you kidding me?

Wow, wow.

Okay, so would you guys like a quick Bible study on tithing? You know, I think that would be a helpful thing. What I wanted to do in light of last week's Bible study, which was a crash course in eschatology, would be to also begin a study of the book of Revelation.

So how is the joy of faith different than the happiness of life? Joy is something that you can experience regardless of your circumstances. Happiness oftentimes is tied to your circumstances. So funny enough, you can be depressed and still have joy.

That's, it's a weird thing, but that's true. And the joy of our salvation is anchored in the hope that we have in Christ, the forgiveness that we have in him. And so you'll note then that this is something produced in us by the Holy Spirit.

It doesn't, you know, I hate it when somebody preaches a sermon and they say something to the effect of, you know, that you need to have more joy. How am I supposed to have more joy by you telling me I need to have more joy?

It's like me yelling at a grapevine, saying you need to produce more grapes. You know, that's not how you do it, you know?

It's like, get busy, get me more fruit, would ya?

You know, so the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy. Notice second one listed, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, self-control. And so we can have joy in the midst of our sufferings. We can have joy in the midst of persecution.

And that joy is anchored, again, in our salvation and the hope that we have of eternal life. And those things can't be taken away from us by our circumstances. You know, if Christ is for us, who can be against us?

Christ is for us, who can be against us? Nobody can. And the reality is that oftentimes we allow people to kind of get under our skins, but that's not how that works. Now, regarding the tithing thing, over and again, I try to point this out, but it's always a good thing here.

And that is that it's a common practice for people to talk about tithing. But the Old Testament tithe is something way different, way different than what you would think it is. So let me see if I can hunt this down in my Hebrew text real quick.

I'm gonna look for some words. I'm gonna look for tithe and, yeah, 14, Deuteronomy 14. This is what I'm looking for. All right, so let's start by looking at Deuteronomy 14 and what the Old Testament tithe was according to the Mosaic Covenant.

So over and again, when you have a Christian pastor who says, you have to tithe. If you don't tithe, then you're under the curse of Malachi. You know, how have we robbed the Lord in tithes and offerings?

And, you know, you need to bring your tithe into the storehouse and I'll rebuke the devourer, right? This is what they claim. Well, that's out of context, because in the New Covenant, in Christianity, there is no command to tithe.

But it's good to know what it is that you're supposed to be doing if you were tithing in the Old Covenant. So you shall, this is Deuteronomy 14, 22. You shall tithe all the yield of your seed that comes from the field year by year.

And before Yahweh your God, in the place that he will choose to make his name to dwell there, you shall eat the tithe of your grain, of your wine and of your oil. So note here in verse 23, it says you shall eat the tithe of your grain.

You eat your own tithe. Let me keep explaining what's going on here, okay? So Deuteronomy 14 is like the televangelist's worst nightmare. I've never heard of them preach on this text. So you shall eat the tithe of your grain and of your wine and of your oil in the firstborn of your herd and your flock that you may learn to fear Yahweh your God always.

And if the way is too long for you so that you're not able to carry the tithe, when Yahweh your God blesses you because the place is too far from you, which Yahweh your God chooses to set his name there, then you shall turn it into money, bind up the money in your hand and go to the place Yahweh your God chooses, spend the money for whatever you desire.

Have you ever heard anybody preaching on this? You want me to do what with my tithe? You go ahead and you buy whatever you desire, oxen or sheep or wine or even strong drink. They clearly were not Norwegian.

Okay, whatever your appetite craves and you shall eat there before Yahweh your God and rejoice in your household and you shall not neglect the Levite who is within your towns for he has no portion or inheritance.

So you're to share your tithe with the Levites but notice they're not the ones who have control over it. So the purpose of the tithe, the idea is that when you have a tithe, you bring 10 of what it is that's produced on your land, you take it to Jerusalem, to the temple and you have a big blowout Thanksgiving feast and you share some of it with the Levites.

Okay, so in the new tithe system, it's a totally different thing, okay? But the principle is the same, that the Levites made their living from serving in the temple. Pastors also to make their living by the preaching of the gospel.

That's what scripture says. And so, but we started with our data point here. Data point number one, tithing isn't what you've been told it is, okay? So if this is tithing and it is, Deuteronomy 14 defines it, is this any way to be able to support a pastor?

Once a year, we're gonna gather up all of our crops pastor, we'll share some of it with you and we can go from there. You know, and we're gonna have a big blowout party and you're invited, you know, you can bring some of the leftovers home if you want.

That's not gonna do, okay? So Deuteronomy 14 tells you what the tithing is and so it's not what you think, all right? So when, in Malachi, when it says you're robbing God, you're not bringing your tithes into the storehouse, the idea then is that people weren't taking their tithe, they weren't having their blowout parties in the presence of God, the Levites were not getting their portion to support themselves and so by doing so, they were robbing God, but God wanted to have a tithe meal with them.

That was the point. And so, you know, going to the Old Testament tithe is not an appropriate thing for Christians as far as a way to support the pastors, plus the commands as it relates to supporting a pastor are totally different.

Paul’s Right to Be Supported and His Example of Working for Free

So the next passage then was 1 Corinthians 9 and the Apostle Paul was a fellow who, funny enough, and this is strange, he worked for his living and didn't burden any of the churches that he planted or that he served and so he made a living as a tent maker and in making a living as a tent maker, he supplied all of his own needs and there were people, oddly enough, who faulted him for that, okay?

The so-called super apostles, you know, who charged the highest dollar for their great oration skills, they mocked Paul and basically said, well, the reason why he doesn't charge anything is because he's such a terrible speaker that he could only charge pennies anyway, you know, compared to us who charge you more.

I know that sounds weird, but that's kind of how that went. So in 1 Corinthians 9 then, Paul is constantly, everything he does, anything he does good for the church, somebody's gonna spin right around and use it as a slander against him.

It's a fascinating thing. So he says, am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? You are free, you are an apostle, and yet you've seen, yes, you've seen Jesus. Are not you my workmanship in the Lord?

If to others I am not an apostle, at least I am to you, for you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord. So this is my defense to those who would examine me. Do we not have the right to eat and to drink?

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? You gotta note here, Rome's got a real problem because their first pope was married and brought his wife with him everywhere he went, all right?

So, or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working for a living? Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard without eating any of its fruits? Or who tends a flock without getting some of the milk?

Then he says this, do I say these things on human authority? Does not the Torah say the same thing? And now this is where Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, is going to reach into the Old Testament and give us a commandment that we then are to apply as it relates to supporting men who preach the gospel.

And I love this one, it's like my favorite of all time, all right, for it is written in the law of Moses, you shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain. Is, so yeah, so good thing to think, think about your pastor as an ox and he's the beast of burden for your congregation.

He may smell like one too, but that's a different thing. So the idea then here is that the person who says you gotta tither your curse, that they're pulling forward the curses of the Mosaic Covenant into the New Covenant, they do not apply.

And the command then that is the one standing as it relates to men in the pastoral ministry and those who preach the gospel, it says the commandment is you shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain.

That's your governing commandment. Then he asks, is it for oxen that God is concerned? Does he not speak certainly for our sake? It is written for our sake because the plowman should share in the hope and the thresher should thresh in the hope of sharing in the crop.

If we have sown spiritual things among you, is it too much if we reap material things from you? If others share in this rightful claim on you, do we not even more? Nevertheless, we have not made use of this right.

So Paul has a right here to make a living from the gospel and he's chosen of his own volition to not access that right and that right is found in don't muzzle an ox while it's treading out the grain. That's the interpretation of it.

So he says this, but we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ. Do you not know that those who are employed in the temple service get their food from the temple?

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. And there's your full stop.

So those who proclaim the gospel are to make their living by the gospel and so when a congregation decides they're gonna call a pastor, they sit down and work out, well, God wants him to make his living from the gospel, so can we make sure that he can put clothes on his back, clothes his family, his wife, have a roof over his head, food on the table, braces and dental work for little kids and school and all that other kind of stuff.

So the idea then is that this is gonna rule out the idea.

Of you need to sow a seed, you need to sow a seed, make a payable to Chris Rose, bro. And send it in now and God's gonna bless it a hundredfold, a thousandfold. Yeah, I feel a thousandfold anointing coming on me right now.

Yeah, this is nonsense, right?

We'll send you the magic juice.

Yeah, so this completely rules that out and you'll note then God wants pastors to make their living from the gospel, make their living not to exploit the sheep. So when somebody pulls forward and says, you've gotta tithe and all this kind of stuff, they got it wrong.

And I would note this then also, is that when somebody has a legalistic and a false understanding of tithing, what they end up doing is abdicating their responsibility when it comes to caring for the poor among us.

And so what'll happen is that let's say you get a single mom who comes to your church and that single mom, she's barely hanging on, that's how it goes with single moms, right? And so she's coming to church and she's hearing week after week, you gotta tithe, you gotta tithe, you gotta tithe.

No, the job of the church is to care for those in need. And so the idea here is that they lay a heavy burden on them. And I've even heard of churches and seen the news reports of churches where the pastor sends a bill to those people who are not tithing and refuses to visit them in the hospital if they're sick or to do their funeral because they're behind on their tithing.

It's wrong. And so you'll note then, pastors are to be taken care of, absolutely. How much? They need to make their living by the gospel. Is tithing applicable in the New Testament? You can tithe if you want, but it's not a requirement.

And that's where the next part will come in and we'll talk about this. So Paul then continues, he says, I have not made use of any of these rights, nor am I writing these things to secure any provision, for I would rather die than have anyone deprive me of my ground for boasting.

For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid up upon me, woe to me if I do not preach the gospel. For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward, but if not of my own will, I am still entrusted with a stewardship.

That when, what then is my reward? That in my preaching I may present the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel. And so you'll note that the Apostle Paul, the exemplary thing he strives for, is to not charge anybody, so that he can kind of boast in that sense.

But the second part of this then comes into play in 2 Corinthians 9. So you note 1 Corinthians 9, 2 Corinthians 9, they always work together. 2 Corinthians 9, let's see here. Now it is superfluous for me to write to you about the ministry for the saints.

And so in 1 Corinthians 9, we're talking about caring for one another. We're talking about saints caring for one another. For I know your readiness, of which I boast about you, to the people of Macedonia, saying that in Achaia has been ready since last year, and your zeal has stirred up most of them.

But I'm 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. 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.

So I thought it necessary to urge you brothers to go on ahead to you, and arrange in advance for the gift that you have promised, so that it may be ready as a willing gift, and not as an exaction. And so you'll note here, this is talking about a special collection that was being taken up for Christians who were experiencing famine in a different part of the Mediterranean world.

And this is a gift specifically for them, and watch what Paul says. Being ready as a willing gift, not as an exaction. And so when you, in the church then, since we're not under the tithe, our giving is not an exaction.

It's absolutely out of place. So the point is this, whoever sows sparingly also reaps sparingly, whoever sows bountifully also reaps bountifully. Now over and again, what'll end up happening is the televangelist or the preacher will quote this verse without any context here.

And we're talking about sowing in the sense of giving for the express purpose of supporting other believers who are in dire need. This is in the centuries and millennia before there was social services, before there was welfare, before there was socialism or any kind of government way in which people had a safety net underneath them.

So what did the church do? They took care of each other, all right? So even this point is not about sowing money for the purpose of so that you can be blessed and receive from God a private jet or health, wealth, or prosperity.

That's completely out of, not even the point here. So each one must give then as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. So what are you to give?

Whatever you want. How much? That's between you and God. Full stop. Are you in dire need? Are you, you know, tithing is not a thing that should be happening. What should be happening is the church should be figuring out how to help you.

It's all backwards when you run everything through the Mosaic Covenant and act like it applies today. And it lays a heavy burden on people and makes it so that Christianity is a financially untenable religion because God demands after salvation by grace through faith alone apart from works, free gift of God, it's no longer free, right?

But you'll note then when it comes to giving, everything should be done freely. What you give is between you and God. The end. You wanna give as much as you can afford, you can do that. You wanna give 5%, 10%, that's between you and God.

So you'll note then as far as Kongsvinger goes, I haven't been really pushing the screws down on people. Don, do you think I should tighten things up.

A little bit here?

No, no, no.

No, no, no. Don says no.

No, we're not a screw.

Yeah, so.

I did it once.

Yeah. Yeah.

Oh my goodness, so this is really fun. On the chat, people are talking about, since they understand what the tithe is, one says I'm bringing the wine and another says I'm bringing raviolis. I've got the, you get the point.

Now, funny enough, this is right on track. This is right on track, you know. So I was, when I taught this a few years ago to the Letheans online, in the first service, there's folks that are there from the Netherlands and at the time, I was gonna see them shortly after I taught on this and I said I'm looking forward to enjoying a tithe with you.

So, you know, and we had a good tithe party, you know. And the pastor got to have, not just some of the leftovers, actually got to have part of the meal, so it was fun. But really, that's the point. And so you'll note then that even the tithe itself was never intended to be a burden.

It was never intended to be a burden. You take the 10%, you bring it, and you're going to consume it. And if the journey's too long, you convert it into money and when you get there, you buy whatever you desire.

You feel like lamb chops, you can buy some lamb. You feel like some steak, you can buy some steak, you know. And you and your family are gonna have a blowout party in the presence of your God. And the Levites get to share.

That's the point. So, Tony says, you've just shut down a few Rolls Royce dealerships. I wish. One of the things I've noticed about false teachers is that when I teach the truth, they lash out at me. So, rather than fold up shop and say I repent, they lash out at me.

That just seems to be a thing. So, current events, great example. So he says, I know a few people outside this church who saw this for what it is and would not attend church because of what they sensed.

Yeah, yeah. So, and then Elizabeth says, God supplies what we give. It all comes from him. Exactly. So, you're gonna note here, I got a lecture from one of my pastors years and years and years ago. We had changed membership and we became members of Faith Lutheran Church in Capistrano Beach, California.

And Ron Hodel, he made a visit to our house to bring our tithe envelopes. And I was thinking, whoa, this is quite the visit. You're gonna bring us tithe envelopes. And he said, here's the deal, Chris.

He's all, everything you own belongs to God. It's all his, all right? So how much you put in these envelopes, that's between you and him. And he says, it's none of my business.

And I don't wanna know.

And he said, and so the idea here is that, just understand scripture says that we gotta keep the lights on and I'm supposed to be making my living from the gospel and this is Southern California. So, that's pretty much what he said.

Yeah, and that's the idea. And so, you can do this then joyfully. And you can do it with an open hand. In fact, I've found that people are more generous when you don't put any restrictions on them, when you don't put any demands on them.

And when they give, they give cheerfully. And here's the thing, if I'm not preaching the gospel, then don't support us, you know? But if you're hearing the gospel and God's word rightly preached, then it's the will of God that I make my living from the gospel.

So, and Kongsvinger has bills to pay before they pay me as well, so. And that's the idea. How much you wanna give, I don't care. It's between you and God. It's, God loves a cheerful giver. I don't, you know, there's no compulsion here.

This is, so we give the gospel away for free. And, you know, and we're gonna keep giving you the gospel even if you're not supporting. And if you wanna support, all the better. So, that's the idea. Yes, ma 'am.

Yes.

How the Church Helps the Poor and Why Christians Give Freely

Okay, so how, the question is, how does the church help the poor? Well, oddly enough, there's lots of different ways that you can help the poor. So, one of the things is, is the scripture says that God wants the church to support the widows, all right?

In our day, I would almost argue that widows do just fine today. The women who have the most difficulty are the single moms.

All right?

So, there are tangible ways to help them. Financially, babysitting, you know, because here's the deal. You know, when you're a single mom, oh, good night. You get no breaks, okay? When Barb and I were raising our kids, I mean, Barb made sure that we took turns, you know?

And she'd tap in and I'd go take a nap and then I'd tap in and she'd go and unwind. But single moms, they don't get any downtime at all,.

You know?

So, the idea here then is that when it comes to helping people in need, there's many different ways in which you can do it. And oftentimes, if you can provide childcare for a single mother and in a way that makes it so that they can save money by not having to put their kids in daycare, those are other things that the church can do.

So, the idea here is that get creative with how you want to help. And then the idea then is that their suffering is our suffering and our job is not to exact money from them, our job is to help them, to alleviate some of their need.

That's the idea. And so, I would just say get really creative.

Yeah.

Oh. Yeah.

Like itemized per person or?

No, no, no, just the total.

That's what I thought.

The shame board.

The shame board.

Oh my.

Yeah, that is a shame board. Yeah, that's what that is. 50.

Okay. Yeah.

Oh no.

Hopefully you guys are hearing this, but wow, that's terrible. So, there used to be a shame. Your giving was discussed in the annual meeting?

Wow.

No pressure. Yeah, no, I'm not in favor of any shame boards or. Yeah, I can't imagine why.

Yeah. Yeah.

I have seen churches where in the bulletins, they'll just state what the total giving was, you know. And usually that was like, it could be a weekly number and sometimes it's been a monthly, you know.

Just to keep the church apprised of like where they are in relation to the budget and things like that. But it's never pointed to in the, you know, at all. It's just there as a piece of information and I think that that's okay, so.

Elizabeth writes, elderly people on fixed incomes. Elderly peoples on fixed incomes need help. Social security doesn't go far.

No, it doesn't.

That's another thing, you know. And you'd be surprised. A little bit goes a long way in helping people. It really does. Laura says, expecting widows living on a limited income to give their mites is where it goes bad for sure.

Love how John MacArthur says, that system is coming down. Yep, yep. So we are to take care of church members in need, Elizabeth says, before outside people. Yeah, actually, I would kind of argue in that direction.

But you'll note that if you're part of a small congregation, there seems to be long periods of time when things are going smooth for people. And then when you hit, somebody hits the bumps,.

They hit them hard, you know.

It's kind of an interesting thing I've noticed. In the bigger congregations, in larger congregations, there's always somebody who's kind of down for the count. And so there's different opportunities there.

But don't feel bad if you're in a situation where you know of a neighbor who isn't even a believer, and they are in dire need, and don't feel bad helping them as if somehow helping them, you're cheating your Christian brothers.

When it comes to love your neighbor as yourself, it doesn't say love your Christian neighbor as yourself, it says love your neighbor. And so Christ wills then for us to do our good works for the purpose of them seeing our light, which shines the light of Christ.

And so that's the other bit of it, is that our good works are done for our neighbor's sake. And when you get long gospel confused, you do your good works for your sake. I'm doing, I'm tithing so that the devourer won't destroy my finances.

Well, you're tithing for yourself then, right? You're not helping your neighbor. And anybody who doesn't give the same amount that you do, at least percentage wise, is somehow cursed, and you look down your nose at them, and this is nonsense.

So the idea then, with money that we have, Scripture gives very strong instructions that we are to basically care for our needs with the work of our own hands, and then Christians are admonished to put aside a little bit for people who are in need.

And so our savings account budgets should look like, okay, well, this much for housing, this much for food, this much for insurance, and tuck away a little bit for people in need. And you go, well, that's my savings account.

Well, that's a different budget item altogether. Part of your savings account, if you have one, is Scripture really makes the admonition for Christians to set aside a small portion for the purpose of meeting the needs of those who are in need.

And that's up to you who you want to do that with, all right? So, you know, as a member of the congregation lost their job, you help them, you help them, you know? And you sit there and go,.

Well, they need to go on unemployment.

They already have, still help them, you know?

Yeah.

Christian Charity Versus Social Welfare and the Church’s Duty to the Poor

54.

Boy, that's a tough question. So the question is, did the governments take over the church's role, or the churches abdicate their role when it comes to social welfare?

Yeah.

So I will say this, though. Here's the interesting thing, is I can tell you of a particular phenomenon, maybe, I can't answer the question directly because I think it's a little bit more complex than just a yes or no one way or another, is that each of us, because we have the law written on our hearts, and the law says love your neighbor as yourself, we all, down deep, kind of on the ROM of our psyche, we know that helping those in need is a requirement of the law of God.

We know this. But the thing is, is that when you do it directly, what's that gonna mean? It's gonna mean sacrifice on your part. You're gonna know about it. And so what I've noticed about socialism and social welfare programs is kind of a fire and forget kind of giving, and it's no longer free.

It's compulsory. And what ends up happening is that people's consciences are assuaged. Oh, I feel like I've really helped because I voted for that party, and they raised welfare so that more people can have it.

Yeah, and that's right. It's never charity when it's done at the point of a gun. And so you'll note, then, that in our society, then, socialism and social welfare programs then compete with Christian charity.

And I really think that Scriptures make it clear that Christians are to be active in their giving for other people. And note, I'm not talking about giving to the church. I'm talking about you actually have a bonafide neighbor who's short on cash.

You go in your ATM, and you take some money out, and you give it to them, okay? And if they won't take it, then you basically find a way to make them take it without them knowing that you're giving it to them,.

You know?

Yeah.

Yeah.

Oh, look what's in your cookie jar. I don't know how it got here, you know?

Yeah.

If you look at our healthcare system in the past,.

Yes, and still are to some extent. Yeah, that's right. They've lost their churches. Yep, and then look at the book of Acts, too. So you brought up the fact that it was churches, that it was church organizations that really were the ones who put up the first hospitals.

And it's churches that have been setting up the outreaches for people who are on Skid Row and other things like this. Churches are the ones who've always been active in these things. But this goes all the way back to the beginning of the church.

So if you think about it, the church is meeting each other's needs. And let me find deacons. I'm looking for the first deacons in the book of Acts. Hang on a second here.

Deacon.

No, not in the Gospels. In the New Testament, there we go.

Let's see here.

Book of Acts, hang on a second here. It may be chapter four or five. I think it may be at the end of chapter four. Give me a second here. Oh, what's it say in six?

Seven chosen to serve.

Oh, that's it, that's it, that's the one. Okay, all right, so listen to this one. In these days, the disciples were increasing in number. A complaint by the Hellenists, so these are gonna be your Greek-speaking Jews, arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution.

So just look at the circumstance here. The circumstance here is that the church has taken it upon themselves, we have widows. And in those days, widows are, you know, women are not really, they don't own land.

They don't have the same rights as men do, and so if you're a widow and you don't have, you're not under any kind of patriarch, you're financially, you're in dire straits. And so the church has taken it upon itself to make sure the widows are being fed.

Well, as what ends up happening with human beings, sometimes you favor your own. You know, those Norwegians, they kind of stick together, don't you know? And, right? So this would be like the Norwegians and those who are Polish descent not getting along.

All right, and wouldn't you know, the Norwegians get the upper hand. That's kind of the issue. So there was a complaint that arose regarding the distribution. So the 12, they summed the full number of the disciples and they said, it's not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables.

But at the same time, it's not right that they give up serving tables.