Stewardship Series:
TITHING
“A Joyful Plan That Cannot Fail”
Preaching Portion: Selected Scriptures
Subject: Tithing
Theme: Biblical Giving
INTRO: Becoming a joyful Biblical giver requires a PLAN! The
old adage is true; “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will take
you there. If you aim at nothing you will hit it every time.”
- Consider
our current national attitude:
- By a
margin of 3 to 1 Americans believe that spiritual development is
absolutely important.
- By
the same 3 to 1 margin Americans will pursue their own spiritual system
and reject established denominational systems.
- Eli
Lilly Endowment in a research report entitled; “Pastors: The Reluctant
Stewards” discovered that 90% of pastors had never been taught
stewardship principles in seminary.
- One
national study discovered that 85% of pastors did not feel prepared
through their seminary or denomination.
- 80%
of pastors surveyed indicated their church has no active vision to
advance biblical stewardship teaching in their churches.
- 90%
of the denominations in the National Association of Evangelicals they had
no minimal effective programs or resources to assist pastors.
- In a
recent survey of Christian College libraries found that the books
available on biblical stewardship were written between 1889 and 1945.
There has been no real advancement made in Christian writing on this
subject in the last fifty years.
- The
“Empty Tomb Inc.” has completed a thirty-year study on the decline of
Christian giving. Their discovery has shown that 2 of 10 Christians
actively give 10% or more of their income to the Lord’s work in America.
- Being
a joyful Biblical giver in the face of a negative American economy is the
goal. You need a plan of action. Not a shot-gun blast approach, rather a
rifle shot approach. A plan that will not fail.
PROP: Every Christian can become a biblical giver.
T.S: Every Christian can become a biblical giver by gleaning
insights on the biblical pattern that God instituted through various
scriptures.
1)
A Required Plan: The Ancient Hebrews – Selected
Scriptures
a)
Tithing Before The Law – Genesis 14:17-20
i)
Tithing (returning one-tenth of one’s income to
God) was the normal practice in the Old Testament. While it was prescribed in
the Mosaic Law (Leviticus 27:30-33; Numbers 18:26), it started long before God
chiseled his commandments into stone at Sinai.
ii)
Abraham had just defeated the King that sacked
Sodom and Gomorrah and captured Abraham’s nephew Lot. Abraham gave a tenth of
all which was recognized by King Melchizedek.
iii)
Abraham’s grandson, Jacob also offered tithes to
the Lord in Genesis 28:20-22. The
morning after God had revealed himself in a dream to Jacob at Bethel, the
patriarch set up a sacred stone to commemorate the event.
b)
Tithing Under The Law – Numbers 18:24
i)
“For the tithe of the sons of Israel, which they
offer as an offering to the Lord, I have given to the Levites for an
inheritance; therefore I have said concerning them, ‘They shall have no
inheritance among the sons of Israel.’”
ii)
The Levites had no inheritance of land among the
Israelites. There job was to care for the tabernacle. Their sustenance came
from the tithe. The Levites in turn gave a tenth to support the High Priest.
iii)
They honored God by giving back a portion that
God had given to them. Tithing was a law with heart and purpose.
c)
Tithing was not the only provision for giving
under the Mosaic Law. They were encouraged to give on special occasions, such
as building the tabernacle and freewill offerings as their heart moved them.
d)
God Took Tithing Serious
i)
“Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But
you say, ‘How have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings.” Malachi 3:8
ii)
Christians in Malachi’s day had stopped obeying
this part of the Law, of which tithing was part. In dismissing that part of the
Law, they were not only robbing God materially, they were robbing Him of his
rightful place within the community.
2)
A Similar Plan: The First-Century Church –
Selected Scriptures
a)
Christ renounced the pharisaic method of tithing
– which had become heartless, legalistic obligation. He never rescinded tithing
as a legitimate method of consistent giving. The New Testament clearly supports
planned systematic giving.
b)
Systematic Giving – 1 Corinthians 16:1-4
i)
Paul is not prescribing a percentage of gross
income here. But he is supporting the deliberate, consistent setting aside of
funds for the work of the ministry.
c)
Spontaneous Giving – The early church gave from
time to time special offerings to help other churches that were struggling.
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