Tithing & Stewardship - Part 3

Thank you for listening to this message from the ministry of Morse Corner Church in Leverett, Massachusetts.

Morse Corner is a non -denominational church that is committed to the preaching and teaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Our church was founded in 1896 by two students of the famous evangelist

D .L. Moody. We seek to encourage and edify the body of Christ through the proclamation of God's Word through the ministries of the local church.

If you'd like more information, visit our website, morsecornerchurch .com. We hope you enjoy the message.

They will point to this and say, see there was tithing before the Mosaic Law, therefore there should be tithing after the

Mosaic Law. That's one of the common arguments and then some people say, well no, no, tithing is not for today.

It was obligatory under the law or not under the law and besides it was it's like paying your taxes, so it has nothing to do.

So there's people on both sides and everywhere in between. But let's look at verse 18 of Genesis 14.

Abraham had gone to war to rescue his nephew Lot and then he collected the spoils of war.

Look at verse 18, then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine and he was the priest of the

Most High God and he blessed him and said, Blessed be Abram of God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth and blessed be

God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand.

And he, that is Abram, gave Melchizedek a tithe of all.

So this is the first time in the scripture that we see the tithe referenced.

So one thing we can say is that it was already an established practice.

I mean people knew what a tithe was. It may have been a very common practice.

However, notice that Abraham, there's nothing in the text to suggest that Abraham was obligated to give the tithe to Melchizedek.

Rather he gives to the Lord by giving 10 % to the priest, who is also a king.

And make a long story short, some people believe that this is actually a pre -incarnate appearance of Jesus Christ.

I don't know that I hold that view. It certainly Melchizedek foreshadows Christ. We could say that.

Alright, so now turn to Malachi chapter 3. So as you're turning there, yes,

Abraham pays the tithe. Nothing would indicate that he was obligated to do it.

I believe he gave freely. I mean it doesn't say he wasn't obligated, I suppose, but it appears that he gave freely.

So we at least know that this was a practice before the law. That's true.

So while tithing there seems optional, it does become mandatory for the

Israelites once the law of God is given. And what was the purpose of the tithe in the

Old Testament? It was to support the priests and the Levites, their work of ministry and offering sacrifices with the tabernacle and then later the temple.

So some people have said that essentially the tithe in the Old Testament, it would be equivalent or it's very similar to us paying our taxes because back then the state and the religion, they really weren't separated.

They're kind of one and the same. I think that is a fair statement to compare the Old Testament tithe to us paying our taxes.

Malachi chapter 3 starting in verse 8. The prophet is writing this, but it's really

God who's speaking. Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed me.

But you say, in what way have we robbed you? In tithes and offerings.

You are cursed with a curse for you have robbed me.

Even this whole nation. So remember the Israelites under the

Old Covenant, this is a very simple agreement. You either obey God, obey the law and be blessed or you disobey the law and be cursed.

So were the Israelites obeying or disobeying? They were disobeying and therefore they were cursed.

But God loves the children of Israel. He loves them and He wants to be merciful to them.

So now the Lord is challenging them. He is challenging the

Jews to trust Him by faith. Look at verse 10. The Lord says, bring all the tithes into the storehouse that there may be food in my house.

And try me now in this, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such a blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it.

So the Jews, at least at this time in their history, their thinking was, well if we hold on to our money we'll have more.

Right? On paper that that's true. Right? On paper that makes sense.

The more we hoard or the more we hold on to, the more we will have.

There's one thing they didn't account for though. God. They didn't account for for God and His law, the fact that God is in control of everything.

So the Lord, He could stretch that 90 % and just bless them, open up the windows of heaven.

Or He could send famine, pestilence, disease. God could cause droughts to happen.

God can crash the stock market. Did you know that? He can do it.

God can make your car break down. Now I'm not saying He does that kind of a thing, but He could. What I do know for sure is that for the

Israelites at least, blessing and prosperity was at least partially connected to the tithe.

Alright, so that leads us to our question. You can turn back to 2 Corinthians chapter 9. What's the question?

We've looked at freewill offerings, how Paul doesn't want a grudging obligation.

He says, let each one give as he purposes in his heart. So listen now,

I feel confident in saying that 2 Corinthians chapter 9 is not actually addressing tithing.

That's my belief. If you want to disagree with that, that's fine. I don't believe that Paul is actually addressing tithing specifically.

He does give some principles. God loves a cheerful giver. But what about this question, is tithing for today?

You know some pastors would say, yes, absolutely. If you're not tithing you are robbing

God, period, end of conversation. There's plenty of pastors, Bible teachers, theologians who take that viewpoint.

Others, as you probably know, would say, well, no, that's not true. It's part of the

Mosaic Law and we're not under the law. So, there's two opposite sides.

You say, well, okay, Mike, what do you think? Well, I think a lot of things, actually.

Honestly, though, you know if I feel strongly about something, if I have a position on something, I'm not afraid to let people know what it is.

For me, it's always hard to be dogmatic about this subject. I remember what

I was taught. One teacher that I had said, well, if tithing 10 % was required under the

Old Covenant and now we're under the New Covenant and the New Covenant's better, how can we give less?

That was his attitude. I'm gonna, some will say I'm dodging the issue, but I'm so far.

But as the, I'm not dogmatic on it, I'll say that, but as the pastor of this church and upholding what this church has always believed, and I don't feel strongly enough to say that I think otherwise, so I'm just gonna simply read to you what is in our church constitution in the section on membership and members' responsibilities.

It says, and this can't bind the conscience, but this is the way the church has always approached this.

Members shall attend church meetings and participate in church activities insofar as is possible.

Let me just stop there. The coronavirus pandemic has been going on for almost a year.

We are at a point now where it's been almost a year where there have been many, many church members, and I'm not speaking to the people here because obviously you're here.

Did I say this in a spirit of love and as your pastor, I am concerned.

We are concerned for your health, and you can talk to your doctor whether your doctor thinks staying in your home for a year is healthy physically.

It's hard to imagine that, but maybe that's what your doctor tells you. Certainly if somebody's over 75, because 99 % of people, 99 .9

% of people survive this, except if you're over 75 and have serious underlying conditions.

So if somebody is up there in age and they have serious underlying conditions, I think we all understand why attending church is difficult, and that's not what

I'm talking about. But you can talk to your doctor whether staying in your home is healthy for you mentally.

I don't think it is, and again, I say this out of genuine love and concern.

I'm concerned about your spiritual health. I'm not going to apologize for that.

I'm concerned about the spiritual health, because being in church, church is what?

It's the fellowship. If you're not in the fellowship, are you out of fellowship?

I understand there could be exceptions where people, again, are elderly and they have serious conditions, and they're in the word, and they're praying, and they're watching online.

There can be exceptions. I agree with that, but you know, you have to deal with the

Lord. That's between the two of you, but I am concerned. So that's the first part of the membership responsibilities.

Members shall attend church meetings and participate in church activities insofar as is possible, and they shall give to the church financially as God has prospered them.

So whatever a church's view of tithing is, one thing I am confident about,

God's blessing is tied to our obedience.

Salvation is a free gift, but how God blesses you depends on our obedience.

So if we want him to give to us and to bless us, we need to be willing to give of ourselves and of that which we have.

All right, verse 8, and God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.

As it is written, he has dispersed abroad, and he has given to the poor. His righteousness endures forever.

Now may he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness.

Just a few closing thoughts. One commentator said this, I think this is good. He said, money bestowed in charity may to the carnal mind seem thrown away, but when given from the proper principles, it is seed to be sown from which a valuable increase may be expected.

It should be given carefully. Works of charity, like other good works, should be done with thought and design.

And then he asks the question, can a man lose by doing that which is pleasing in the sight of God?

Can a man lose? No. So in conclusion, giving is a form of worship.

Giving is a form of worship. It is inseparable from the work of ministry.

So when we give glory to God, when we are generous, God is praised. And by doing so, we prove that we are obedient to the gospel.

Let's close in prayer. Lord, you've been so good to each one of us.

We live in the most prosperous nation this world has ever seen.

We all have food, clothing, shelter. We have enough indeed, Lord. We have more than enough.

In our church, we have a nice building with heat, air conditioning, Wi -Fi.

We have enough money to pay the bills, support missionaries, to support radio ministries, to help people who are less fortunate.

And Lord, while we give you all the glory, we understand that this is possible because you have done a wonderful work in the hearts of the men and women of this church who give generously to the work of the

Lord. So I ask that you would bless each and every gift and each and every giver.

We pray it all in Jesus name. Amen. Thanks for listening.

I'm Pastor Michael Grant from Morris Cornick Church. If you'd like to listen to the complete message or if you'd like more information about the ministry, visit our website

MorrisCornickChurch .com. We'd love to have you join us some Sunday morning here in Leverett.