HOW TO GROW IN THE LORD STUDY GUIDE

LESSON 7   

Tithes & Offerings

(Malachi 3:10 KJV) Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

God has designed a wonderful program to finance the spreading of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is God's will that all men should hear the truth of the Gospel. In order for that to happen churches must be built, missionaries must be sent to other countries, evangelists must be sent to local churches to evangelize the Gospel and many other ministries but be financed to get the Gospel to a lost and dying world. The way these needs are met is by the returning of the tithes and the giving of the Offerings to the local New Testament Church.

Here we are taught that God expects us to return one-tenth of our total income back to Him through the local New Testament church. The church is where the treasury for God's work is collected. By every Christian returning at least one-tenth tithes to God's treasury and giving from their hearts, offerings above the tithe, we can carry out God's financial program.

(1 Cor 16:2 KJV) Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.

Here God teaches us that our giving to God ought to be done on Sunday, the first day of the week. Tithing is the scriptural way of giving to God. The amount of the offerings is a free-will offering because no one is forced to give a certain amount. This offering is suppose to come from one's heart. Every Christian ought to begin to return the tithes and give the offerings the very first week they are saved.

Why should we give our tithes unto the Lord? It is God that gave us our jobs and health to work. It is God that has given us our homes and every material thing that we possess. Giving to God guards our hearts from loving things more than God. Giving is obeying the Word of God.

Giving is the way we receive the blessings of the joy-filled Christian life.
(Luke 6:38 KJV) Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.

Here God definitely teaches us that the way to receive God's blessings in our incomes is to give. Every Christian should learn to give for God wants to bless us greatly and He does this through the amount that we give to Him based on the attitude of our hearts when we gave it.

We are to give to God with a joyful heart:
(2 Cor 9:7 KJV) Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.

NOTICE AS YOU ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS THE BIBLICAL BASIS FOR GIVING OUR TITHES AND OFFERINGS TO GOD.

1.  Abraham gave to God:
(Gen 14:17 KJV) And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings that were with him, at the valley of Shaveh, which is the king's dale.(18) KJV) And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.(19) And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth:(20) And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.

2.    Jacob also gave a certain amount to God.
(Gen 28:20 KJV) And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on,(21) So that I come again to my father's house in peace; then shall the LORD be my God:(22) And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.

3.    Moses in the law commanded Israel to give:
(Lev 27:30 KJV) And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD'S: it is holy unto the LORD. (31) And if a man will at all redeem ought of his tithes, he shall add thereto the fifth part thereof.(32) And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the LORD. (33) He shall not search whether it be good or bad, neither shall he change it: and if he change it at all, then both it and the change thereof shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed.(34) These are the commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses for the children of Israel in mount Sinai.

4.    Today we are not under law but under grace. We are no longer bound by the law but we give our tithes to show and prove our love for God.
(2 Cor 8:24 KJV) Wherefore show ye to them, and before the churches, the proof of your love, and of our boasting on your behalf.

5.    The Corinthian church collected their offering on Sunday: First day of the week:
(1 Cor 16:1 KJV) Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye.(2) Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.

6.    Israel robbed God by not tithing and by not giving their offerings to God:
(Mal 3:8 KJV) Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.(9) Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.

7.    God removes his blessings from those who disobey Him: Our money becomes a curse when we think more of our money than we do of God:
(Mal 3:8 KJV) Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.(9) Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.

8.    The Church is God's New Testament storehouse. God promise to bless those who will tithe:
(Mal 3:10 KJV) Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

9.    Here is a rule to live by:
(2 Cor 9:6 KJV) But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.

10.    We should always give ourselves first to God, then our riches: and in that order:
(2 Cor 8:5 KJV) And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God.

11.    Gods blessings always come from God through His obedient children:
(Luke 6:38 KJV) Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.

12.    It is one of the greatest privileges God has given to us to be able to give tithes and offerings. Giving is the only way God's work can continue in this world. God want us to give to Him joyfully?
(2 Cor 9:7 KJV) Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.

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