The First Offering

Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. In the course of time Cain brought to the LORD an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. The LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.”
(Genesis 4:2-7 ESV)

Having looked at positive law in the Garden of Eden and Adam and Eve's disobedience to the Word of God by eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, we come now to the first generation of fallen men. Abel and Cain were two of the first men (if not the first men) born under the curse of death, conceived in sin due to Adam's disobedience and the Fall of man. In Genesis 4, we see all too tragically how far mankind had fallen in the fratricide of Abel by Cain. God's Word reveals that the fratricide was provoked by Cain's sinful jealousy of his brother's acceptance by God for his offering. Now, it is certainly possible that there were hundreds of offerings brought before the Lord before Cain and Abel brought theirs before the Lord. Some argue that this is a sacrifice (which I will address below), but the Hebrew language denotes an offering (the Septuagint uses sacrificial language). Although Abel and Cain may have been taught by their parents how to present an offering to God before this, this is undoubtedly the first offering recorded in the Scriptures, and there is much we can learn from what God reveals about this first offering.

First of all, the Pulpit Commentary makes an interesting observation that I will only share and allow you to research further if you so desire. It is observed that Abel and Cain brought their offering to the LORD. The commentator explains that the location of their giving was, "Probably to the gate of the garden, where the cherubim and flaming sword were established as the visible monuments of the Divine presence." Certainly, given the place of the Ark of the Covenant in the Tabernacle and the Temple it would stand to reason that where the cherubim and flaming sword were was the established place of worship for the first family. Like I said, this is an interesting observation and I would have to research further how widely this position is shared and what significance scholars place upon the location of Abel and Cain's offering. However, as this is another discussion altogether, I digress.

There is a lot of controversy surrounding why the LORD regarded Abel and his offering and did not regard Cain and his. The two most popular positions are that 1) this was a sacrifice and Abel brought an offering that required blood to be spent while Cain only brought produce, or that 2) Abel brought the best of his flock while Cain only brought some fruit that he had grown (not the firstfruits and not wholeheartedly). I have been presented with arguments for both positions, but I have always been of the position that the LORD had no regard for Cain and his offering because he did not bring the first and best of the fruits he had grown with a thankful and generous heart.

In the IVP Bible Background Commentary on the Old Testament, John Walton, Victor Matthews, and Mark Chavalas (2000) explain that:

"The sacrifices of Cain and Abel are not depicted as addressing sin or seeking atonement. The word used (minhâ) designates them very generally as 'gifts'--a word that is most closely associated with the grain offerings of Leviticus 2. They appear to be intended to express gratitude to God for his bounty. Therefore, it is appropriate that Cain should bring an offering from the produce that he grew, for blood would not be mandatory in such an offering. It should be noted that Genesis does not preserve any record of God requesting such offerings, though he approved of it as a means of expressing thanks. Gratitude is not expressed, however, when the gift is grudgingly given, as is likely the case with Cain."

In Banner of Truth's Sermons on Genesis: Chapters 1-11, John Calvin argues that, "God looks at the quality of the heart. That is why he accepted Abel's sacrifices, but not Cain's." Calvin's position is that Cain and his offering were not regarded because they were offered halfheartedly and not because he offered produce while his brother spilled blood for his offering. In his commentary on the passage, Calvin further explains that:

"The Jews foolishly imagine that the oblations of Cain were unacceptable, because he defrauded God of the full ears of corn, and meanly offered him only barren or half-filled ears. Deeper and more hidden was the evil; namely that impurity of heart of which I have been speaking; just as, on the other hand, the strong scent of burning fat could not conciliate the divine favor to the sacrifices of Abel; but, being pervaded by the good odour of faith, they had a sweet-smelling savor."

In his An Old Testament Theology, Bruce Waltke (2007) also agrees with this position when he explains that:

"The key to the Cain and Abel story (Gen. 4:3-4) is found in the narrator's choice of minhâ to designate the kind of sacrifice they offered. Minhâ means tribute, and to a king, and even more so to God, one offers the best--of domesticated animals the firstborn and of cultivated grain the firstfruits. Abel brought the best, 'fat portions from some of the firstborn,' but Cain brought 'some of the fruits,' not the firstfruits. By his choice of words, the narrator indicts Cain of tokenism."

In InterVarsity Press' Dictionary of the Old Testament: Pentateuch, T. Desmond Alexander and David W. Baker (2003) argue that:

"If animal slaying were integral to this act of worship, the writer could have selected any of several other terms that often (or in some cases always) required slaying an animal. These include [the Hebrew words for burnt offering, fellowship offering, sin offering, and guilt offering] to list the primary sacrificial categories. In contrast, minhâ in Leviticus is restricted to grain offering, absent of blood. Thus by its definition a minhâ was designed to obtain favor--not expiation--thus explaining why it need not include animal sacrifice. Is it possible that the Septuagint's translation thysia ("sacrifice") for Cain's minhâ ("offering," Gen 4:3) has misled interpreters to presume a divine requirement of blood in the elder brother's gift?"

Therefore, regarding the question of whether or not Abel and Cain's offering was one seeking atonement and the forgiveness of sins or was one presented as a thanksgiving offering and as an acknowledgement of the provisions that God had graciously granted, I lean more towards the latter than the former.

Before I leave the debate, I do want to note that those who argue that this offering was a sin offering typically point to the cursed ground from which Cain's gift came from, while Abel's gift was not of the ground and required the spilling of blood (which is required for atonement). I too think that the cursed ground is significant and plays a major role in this offering. Both Abel and Cain present an offering to the Lord that is a gracious product of God's love and provision for man after the Fall, because despite the cursed state of the ground due to man's disobedience, God still provided pastures for livestock to graze upon and nourishment for produce that required good soil in order to grow. Despite their sinfulness and hardened hearts, God still provides for His image bearers. I am reminded of Christ's words on the sermon on the mount that are significantly pertinent to Abel and Cain:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." (Matthew 5:43-48 ESV)

Jesus draws a connection between the love God pours out upon mankind by His common grace and the love His followers should have for their neighbors and their enemies. Our Father brings success to those whose lips cry out for His destruction, and He cares for His beloved children who are persecuted for their unabashed faith in Him. God's common grace can appear to bless those who seek to spit in His face and curse those who recognize that their every last breath is a gift from Him. However, God hears the cries of His beloved, and their persecutors will receive God's righteous judgment and He will bless those who suffer for His name's sake. This we see as God responds to the cry of Abel's blood from the ground and His judgment upon Cain. Like His common grace, God's saving grace is poured out upon His enemies: every man that draws breath. Consider Paul's words to the Romans:

"For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:6-8 ESV)

God takes good care of His enemies, and Abel and Cain recognize God's common grace poured out towards mankind. There is no doubt that we are enemies of God and that our sin has cursed the ground we walk upon. God's grace is far more powerful than man's sin, however, and God brings life where man can only bring death. God nourishes Abel's flock and Cain's fruits and vegetables from the cursed ground.

The author of Genesis does not tell us if God required such an offering from Abel and Cain, but I do not think it is necessary that He did. Thanksgiving for the provisions that God graciously pours out upon His enemies rightfully stems from a recognition that apart from the grace of God there is no good thing in this world of which man can enjoy. Therefore, how much greater should the thanksgiving be when there is a recognition of God's gracious provision of a Savior, having been adopted as children of our Almighty Father by the blood that speaks a better word than Abel's? But more upon that later.

All of this to say, Abel and Cain presented an offering of thanksgiving to God for the many gracious provisions He supplied upon the first generation of fallen men from the cursed ground. They were not seeking atonement by this offering, but rather, they were returning a portion of all that the Lord had bestowed upon them. They recognized that they were enemies of God as they witnessed the cherubim guarding the Garden of Eden, and yet God sustained their flock and crops. However, one brother was truly thankful, giving back to the Lord the best that the Lord provided while the other brother merely went through the motions of giving a portion back to God. One brother's heart was resting by faith in the Lord's provision of all that man needed not only for physical life but spiritual life, and the other brother couldn't see past the fruits and vegetables he hardheartedly brought before the Lord.

God provides man with all that He requires of him. God does not ask anything from us that He does not first give us freely. As the Puritan Richard Sibbes articulated, "God knoweth we have nothing of ourselves, therefore in the covenant of grace he requireth no more than he giveth, and giveth what he requireth, and accepteth what he giveth."

A passage that clearly demonstrates this Biblical principle is Genesis 22, where God tests Abraham's faith by requiring the sacrifice of his only son, the son of promise. Just before Abraham faithfully fulfills God's requirement, an angel cries out for Abraham to stop his swift, lethal, downward stroke of the knifeblade. Behind Abraham, with horns caught in a thicket, is a ram that the Lord provides as a substitute burnt offering for the sacrifice of his only son. Abraham calls the place "The Lord will provide" and to the day of the writing of Genesis is was said, "On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided." Obviously this is an allusion to God's future provision of salvation by the sacrifice of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, in our place on that very mountain.

The Lord requires perfection from those who will see His face, and He provides that perfection in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ as our substitute. Christ's substitutionary atonement is the pinnacle example of the concept that God provides us with all that He requires from us, but our tithes and offerings are another example of where we see God giving us all that is required to obey His commandments.

Back to Abel and Cain as we wrap up here. Both brothers give an offering back to the Lord in thanksgiving for God's provision. Abel brought the firstborn of his flock and the fat portions and Cain only brings a portion of the fruit of the ground. Abel brings the firstborn. Abel brings the best of what the Lord provided. Abel holds nothing back. Abel brings it all and places it before his Lord and Savior, faithfully proclaiming that all he has is a bountiful gift provided to him by God. Abel's heart for the Lord is clearly evidenced by his offering. Cain, on the other hand, brings some of the fruit of the ground that he had grown. Cain is not said to have brought the firstfruits of his crop, but rather, he brings fruit of the ground. Cain brings a portion, but whether or not it is the firstfruits, his heart is obviously not in the giving.

In the account of Abel and Cain, we have two lessons to learn as Christians concerning tithing.

1) We shouldn't require a clear articulation of a law or commandment in order to bring a tithe and offering to the Lord (although I believe such a requirement could easily by fulfilled by careful and thoughtful consideration of Scripture). The writer of the account in Genesis does not tell us whether or not God required the offering that Abel and Cain brought before Him, and it does not really matter. If God did require it from Abel and Cain, then why would we think that God doesn't require a similar offering of thanksgiving for all that He has provided us. If God did not require it from Abel and Cain, then we see that God had regard for Abel and his offering. If the offering wasn't required, then we see that God regarded the gift and it was not an abomination before Him. Either way, God enjoys a cheerful giver.

2) Tithes and offerings must, first and foremost, be given from the heart. Cain parted with his precious produce, but his heart still clung to his crop. His hands let go of the offering before the Lord, but his heart still clung to his precious food. Tithing is not about money, just like Cain's offering before the Lord was not about produce. God did not regard Cain and his offering because Cain had not really made an offering. He merely went through the motions of bringing his offering before the Lord as if that was all that was required of him by God. God did not need the firstborn of Abel's flock, He didn't need the produce that Cain brought, and He doesn't need your money. Rather, God wants us to love Him with our whole heart, soul, and might (Deut. 6:5). Therein lies our offering. God does not require the physical offering but, rather, He requires the sacrifice of what is precious to us in thankful, loving, faithful worship of Him, resting by faith that He truly is our Alpha and Omega.

I wanted to use this passage as the foundation of the argument for tithes and offerings that I will make. I'm not going to go about trying to prove to you that the Old Testament tithe of produce is still binding upon New Covenant believers in the form of a tenth of your income. My main points in the blogs to follow will be that regardless of whether or not God requires a tenth from the Church today, the New Testament teachings on bringing a thanksgiving offering before the Lord do not differ from those of the Old Testament. Christ and His apostles placed a special emphasis on giving to the poor and giving a portion back to the Lord (a message that is no different from that of the Old Testament). Also, I want to emphasize in the following series of blogs that tithing is not the mere process of taking a portion of your income and throwing it at the poor or the church. To do so would be no different from what Cain did. Tithing and giving to the poor is primarily a condition of the heart. God will only have regard for you and your tithe, thanksgiving offering, and gift to the poor inasmuch as your heart truly let's go of it, that you pray that the Lord would truly bless it to the service of His Kingdom, and faithfully desire that God would be glorified by your gift and by those who receive your portion.

For our next stop...Genesis 14!

A Trip to Eden

The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Genesis 2:15-17 ESV)

A beautiful, lush garden with every type of fruit imaginable. What a strange place to start a series of blogs about tithing. What in the world does Genesis 2:15-17 have to do with tithing?

You might be rolling your eyes at this point and thinking that I'm off my rocker, and you have very good reasons for thinking so. However, what better place to start looking at the Biblical teaching of tithing than in the Garden of Eden?

First, let's review what we know about the Garden of Eden from what is revealed to us in Scripture:

    And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground the LORD God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
 
    A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers. The name of the first is the Pishon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. And the gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there. The name of the second river is the Gihon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Cush. And the name of the third river is the Tigris, which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates. (Genesis 2:8-14 ESV)

I want to mainly focus on what is revealed to us in verse 9 wherein we learn that every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food was made to spring up in the Garden. I cannot imagine a garden full of every type and variety of fruit imaginable let alone a garden that also contained the tree of life! God provided Adam with everything he needed for sustenance and then some. God planted the Garden, then He placed Adam within it, and then He charged Adam with working it and keeping it. God provided a home for Adam, a steady job for Adam, a never ending supply of food for Adam, and all that was required of Adam in order to remain in this paradise was obedience to one simple command, "Of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat."

What was so bad about the tree of the knowledge of good and evil that God required Adam to stay away from it? Would Adam know a secret that God was trying to keep away from him if he sunk his teeth into its nectar? Was it's fruit poisonous and God was trying to protect Adam? Would Adam gain an ability to be godlike if he ate that fruit? No on all three accounts.

Parents and Sunday school teachers, try this little experiment with your kids and students. Buy an assortment of snacks and candies and spread them all out on the table. Sort out the number of a certain kind of candy and separate that candy off to the side. Introduce your children or class to the large assortment of candy and tell them, "You can eat any kind of candy you see here to your heart's contentment. But you may not eat any of this candy over here." The first question out of the mouths of babes is, "Why can't I eat those?!" You're response, "Because I said so."


Due to our sinful inclination our hearts will gravitate towards and obsess with that one candy which has been removed rather than focusing on all of the assorted candy at our disposal. The only thing wrong with the candy that you set aside is that you set it aside and told your students or children that it was off limits. There is nothing inherently immoral about that candy, but because of the fifth commandment, your children and students now need to heed and obey your instruction as their superior or risk sinning against the command of God. This is an example of positive law.

A positive law is one that requires or prohibits that which is not inherently moral or immoral but God has commanded something so that disobedience to it is therefore immoral. A.W. Pink explains that:

"By 'positive' law we mean that God also placed certain restrictions upon Adam which had never occurred to him from either the light of nature or from any moral considerations; instead, they were sovereignly appointed by God and were designed as a special test of Adam's subjection to the imperial will of his King. The term 'positive law' is employed by theologians not as antithetical to 'negative,' but in contrast from those laws which are addressed to our moral nature: prayer is a 'moral' duty: baptism is a 'positive' ordinance." (From Divine Covenants)

 In The Economy of the Covenants Between God and Man, Herman Witsius explains:

"For its being called the tree of knowledge of good, intimated, that man, if from principle of love he obeyed this probationary precept, should come to the knowledge, sense, and fruition of that good which is truly and excellently so, and the full knowledge of which is only obtainable by sense and enjoyment. On the other hand, when called the tree of the knowledge of evil, thereby is signified, that man, if found disobedient, should be doomed to the greatest calamity, the exceeding evil and wretchedness of which he should at last know by experience."

There was no evil contained in the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Additionally, Adam and Eve did not have to taste of the fruit of this tree to know what was good because God created them in His image, perfectly sinless, and surrounded them by His pronounced "good" creation. Also, shortly after commanding Adam not to eat of the tree, God further reveals what goodness is by revealing that Adam's being alone was "not good." Therefore, all that Adam and Eve stood to "gain" by eating of the forbidden fruit was a physical, intimate, destructive, and eternally damning taste of evil.

In the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, we see how can God set aside a good thing and prohibit it's consumption from those He loves not only as a test of their obedience and fidelity but also as a demonstration of how man's greatest good is to obey and glorify God. As good as the fruit of that tree appeared, Adam and Eve were to place their trust in the Lord above their every desire, knowing that which God forbid would only cause destruction upon consumption. Witsius explains it further when he states:

"[Man] was sincerely to contemplate and desire the chief good, but not to endeavor after it, but only in the manner and way prescribed by heaven; nor here to give in to his own reasonings, how plausible soever that might appear...[Man]'s happiness was not to be placed in things pleasing to the senses of the body. There is another and a quite different beatifying good, which satiates the soul, and of itself suffices to the consummation of happiness."

Now, what does all of this have to do with tithing?

Imagine your bank account as the Garden of Eden. Now, imagine that ten percent of your income is the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God constantly replenishes the "fruits" you have already consumed week in and week out, and one of every ten trees that grow in your bank account are off limits. The fruit of these trees are "good for food, and [they are] a delight to the eyes" (Gen. 3:6), and they will surely be pleasurable to consume. They'll pay a few more bills. They'll give you that much more cushion in your tight financial situation. They'll give you that extra edge you need to be able to afford that one thing that you're saving up for. You're right, there is nothing evil about that ten percent but it would be evil to spend it for your own desires. Ninety percent of the trees in the Garden are not off-limits and you can eat of their fruit to your heart's desire, but ten percent are to be set aside for another purpose.

Much like the law given to Adam and Eve in the Garden, tithing is another positive law wherein our fidelity to God is tested. Tithing is as much about money as the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was about food. Satan was able to tempt Eve into believing that God had only forbidden the fruit because He wanted to withhold some good thing from her and her husband. Is not Satan's temptation the very same when it comes to setting aside a tenth of all that the Lord provides? Is it not a struggle to tithe because that tenth is perfectly good money that we can take to the bank? Was not the forbidden fruit perfectly good fruit that would satiate Eve's hunger? But Eve did not consume the fruit for she was hungry, and God's people do not hold back their tithe today because they are poor.

No, the Garden of Eden is not about tithing, but therein we see the same temptation that consumes Christians today when it comes to tithing. We fail to trust and obey God's Word, allowing ourselves to be convinced that it would be far better for us to consume that which God has prohibited. Either we excuse ourselves because we believe that tithing is not required of God's people any longer, or we believe that it is not required of us when we cannot seemingly afford to spare any more of God's provision for us. Neither positions, however, have a trust in the promises of God as their focus. For even if God no longer requires a tithe, should we not use all that the Lord has provided in order to bless those who have less than we with an abundance of provision and thanksgiving? Is that not a teaching that permeates the New Testament where the word "tithe" may be lacking? As for those who close their purse when funds are tight, does not Jesus command us to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and rest in the knowledge that God will provide for your every need (Matthew 6:24-34). 

We have forgotten Psalm 52's warning to the those who place their trust in riches, and its wonderful contrast with God's faithful servant and the rich man:

But God will break you down forever;
        he will snatch and tear you from your tent;
        he will uproot you from the land of the living. Selah
    The righteous shall see and fear,
        and shall laugh at him, saying,
    “See the man who would not make
        God his refuge,
    but trusted in the abundance of his riches
        and sought refuge in his own destruction!”
   
    But I am like a green olive tree
        in the house of God.
    I trust in the steadfast love of God
        forever and ever.
    I will thank you forever,
        because you have done it.
    I will wait for your name, for it is good,
        in the presence of the godly.

(Psalm 52:5-9 ESV)

For our next excursion on the subject of tithing we won't be going very far from Eden. In fact, we only jump to Genesis 4...

Is God Worth a Tenth?

"There are few subjects on which the Lord's own people are more astray than on the subject of giving. They profess to take the Bible as their only rule of faith and practice, and yet in the matter of Christian finance, the vast majority have utterly ignored its plain teachings and have tried every substitute the carnal mind could devise; therefore it is no wonder that the majority of Christian enterprises in the world today are handicapped and crippled through the lack of funds...Does God leave us to the spirit of gratitude and generosity, or has He definitely specified His own mind and particularized what portion of His gifts to us are due to Him in return?" A.W. Pink (emphasis added)

Well, does that brief but revealing paragraph leave a nasty taste in your mouth? Does it sour your stomach? Are you rolling you eyes, thinking, "Oh great, another judgmental, on-a-pedestal-looking-down-on-the-rest-of-us effort to make me feel guilty about not giving every last penny of mine to the church"...? Are you already thinking, "Yeah, this is exactly what I was expecting it to be. What else can I spend ten minutes reading. I'm sure there's something else out there"...? If so, good. Stick around. Your conscience is begging for you to keep reading. I want you, my dear reader, to stop and think about this question. Think about the question long and hard before you make up your mind. Think it through, come up with an answer, and then we'll move on.

Is God worth a tenth of your income?

It is not difficult to count the number of times I have heard a pastor preach on the subject of giving. If an unfortunate firework accident were to result in the loss of nine of my fingers, I would still be able to show you on one hand how many times I have heard a sermon about tithing. Perhaps nothing unsettles the pews more than a exposition of Biblical passages regarding the subject of generosity, giving to the poor, or tithing. I have heard far more sermons on the far more uncomfortable subject of sexual immorality than I have heard teaching and admonition behind the pulpit upon the subject of converting earthly treasures into heavenly ones.

Perhaps no subject causes more strife and admonition from church members than this. Everything is fine and good, but don't you dare mention the "t" word. Maybe nothing burns more bridges than a pastor, elder, or deacon gently approaching a member about their lack of giving. As soon as a church starts preaching or teaching about tithing and giving, many members pack up their bags and look for a different church that's interested in more than just what's in their pockets.

Is Christ's bride, the church, a gold-digger? All they ever want is you money. What would they ever need your money for?

Why are they always trying to get you to give more money to them? You work hard for your money. You have a family to provide for. You have loans to pay off. You have a mortgage, a car payment, school loans, and a dozen more different bills. You give what you can, but things are tight right now. I mean, have you seen the economy lately? I just heard on the news that China's economy is about to surpass the American economy as the best in the world. You wish you could give more, you really do. And honestly, once things pick up at work, you get that really nice promotion you've been working so hard to obtain, then you'll have enough to start giving more to the church. But until then, you gotta focus on priorities. Right?

Is God worth a tenth of your income?

In later posts I'll extract gems out of Scripture that show that tithing is not really optional, but regardless of your exegetical position on whether or not the tithe is required of the New Covenant Church, what is your answer to the question? The question doesn't require an exhaustive understanding of Scripture, but rather, it only requires a heart regenerated by the Spirit. It's not a trick question, but rather, it is straight-forward and to the point. Either God is worth a tenth of your income or not. So, on which side of the coin do you land?

I'm not making you uncomfortable; you're making yourself uncomfortable.You know the answer to the question. You don't need dozens of Biblical passages to convict you of the correct answer. You know that God is worth far more than a tenth of your income. You could never place a price-tag on the gift that Christ has given you. God's grace is priceless. The sanctification of the Holy Spirit is greater than much fine gold. But until somebody proves to you, without a shadow of a doubt, that God requires a tithe from you, then you will keep your purse closed and only give according to what you think your checkbook can spare.

Are you starting to see it, now? That love of mammon deeply engrained in your heart? That love of what you cannot take with you over the love of that which can never be taken away from you? That idolatry rooted in the love of money?

Be honest, is God worth a tenth of your income?

Then why do you get mad anytime someone in the church tries to remind you that He is? Why is it so upsetting to sit through a sermon about tithing and your need to give a tenth of your income to Christ's bride, the Church? Why is it so disheartening to be reading this blog by another deacon and employee of a non-profit challenging you to review your giving habits? Why do you want to stop reading? Why do you keep reading?

Yes, I am a deacon at my church. Yes, I am an employee of a non-profit organization that completely relies upon the generosity of others to care for and feed the homeless. That doesn't change what the Bible teaches about tithing. If you think that I have an ulterior motive, you have me all wrong. I just don't want to see churches struggling to provide for their pastors and I just don't want to see non-profits that seek to minister to the poor struggle to balance their budget at the end of the year. That's all.

I don't understand why the majority position in the church today on the subject of tithing is: Prove to me where it says I have to tithe in the New Testament and then I'll start tithing. How can a Church that believes that God redeems sinners by the most precious blood of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, not struggle to render what is Caesar's to Caesar year in and year out, yet constantly refuse to render to God what is God's week in and week out? In fact, for many, the only reason they give to charities is so that they do not have to render as much to Caesar. How can a denomination full of people that call themselves "reformed," pride themselves in their knowledge, care for, and defense of every doctrine of Scripture, and are stringent observers of setting aside a seventh of their week for worshiping God refuse to give God a tithe regularly? It's baffling.

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich. (2 Corinthians 8:9 ESV)

Thank God Christ had a completely different perspective on giving up His riches for our sake!

Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. (Matthew 19:21-22 ESV)

Jesus didn't tell the rich young ruler to do something that He Himself hadn't already done from an infinitely grander scale. Christ humbled Himself to become a man and die man's death so that He might redeem sinful men from their sins by His resurrection. How many of us are just like the young man, having heard another sermon on tithing or giving we go away sorrowful for we have great possessions? Salvation is priceless, but is it worth a tenth of my income?

And so, I'm beginning a series of blogs on tithing. I am going to start reviewing several passages of Scripture that speak about tithing in an effort to convince you that God does require a tenth (a tithe). But before I do so, I just wanted to try to put it all in perspective. Why do we require proof from Scripture before we change our giving habits? Why must it be forced out of us?

Honestly, it had to be forced out of me too. I was not a cheerful giver, and I gave a tithe for the sake of giving the tithe. That's not what God wants from us. It's not about money. It is about faith. No one is alone when they find it difficult to sell what they possess, give to the poor, store treasure in heaven, and follow Christ. After all, the disciples response to Jesus' requirement of the rich young ruler was,"Who then can be saved?" How can we possibly take the tangible, physical riches that we possess and lay them down hoping that we are investing in a far greater treasure in heaven by using our money for God's glory? Jesus answers, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible" (v. 26).

So, before you start to read the next blog in this series, I want you to consider this:

Does God require ten percent of what is yours or does God allow you to keep ninety percent of what is His?