The Biblical Teaching on Tithing

The title of today's sermon is Biblical Teaching on Tithing. Oh no! Boring doctrinal sermon. Yeah, no, it's actually a pretty important topic. And I want to give... I'm very actually eager to give this sermon. Not for the benefit of the church, and not... it's not self-serving either. Although I am a full-time minister, I... and I do get a little tiny salary, but I actually pay 100% of that salary back in tithe. So I actually don't get a salary from the church.

The only reason I'm salaried is because they have great health insurance, and I get really good health insurance from the church. So my family's covered under health insurance. So I feel very comfortable giving a tithe sermon, because it's not self-serving at all. There's no benefit to me in tithing. I'm actually a tither.

I'm one who pays tithes. So I can give this sermon with absolute credibility. But there's something really important, neat, and actually exciting about tithing that you may not understand. There are so many theories and ideas about tithing. So what we're going to do in today's sermon is, hopefully... and I think I've got plenty of time to do this... we're going to define what tithing is, because that can be confusing sometimes. So we're going to get the biblical definition of tithing, number one.

Then number two, we're going to overcome some very common Christian objections to tithing. Very common misconceptions of what tithing actually means today in the New Testament church. And then we're going to have done all of that to finally get to the actual point of tithing, to which I think is a really neat point that God is doing. So I hope you get it. I hope this makes sense to you, because it makes so much encouragement for me. First of all, let's define tithing. So let's define two very important biblical terms so we understand what we're talking about.

This isn't an offering we're talking about. This isn't voluntary. This isn't whatever you feel like. This is a tithe. What does it mean? Okay, the Hebrew word translated tithe means a tenth, ten percent. So a tithe is not an undefined amount. It biblically means a tenth. When God says an offering, you come up with the amount. When God says a tithe, He comes up with the amount. Why would He do that? This is, I think you're going to like. The word translated increase in the Old Testament has the sense of product yield, income, revenue, gain, or increase.

So when we talk about tithing, we're talking about giving what God has given us and giving about a tenth of it back. It's giving a tenth of what God gives. That is the point. I would define it, personal definition, as net increase. Not every dollar that passes through your hand is titheable, but God has actually increased. That is what you tithe. UCG teaches that tithe can be calculated on the net income after income tax has been deducted, although you are free to tithe on the gross if you want to.

Just realize that part of what you're giving is offering, because it's a tenth of the increase. It's not a tenth of every dollar that passes through your bank account. Okay. I want you to notice Abraham's example, and we're going to talk about Abraham's example, and then we're going to talk about Jacob's example, and I want you to remember these examples, because we're going to come back to them when we're answering one of the objections, but we're not going to, for time's sake, read the Scriptures again.

We're going to read them once here, and then I'm just going to refer back to them. Okay. Abraham's example, Genesis chapter 14, verses 18 through 20. By the way, this is before Moses was ever born. This is before Mount Sinai. This is before the Old Covenant began. So a lot of people think this is not part of the law. Onei nei. Who wrote the book of Genesis, and who wrote this down for us? Moses wrote it down for us. What is Genesis part of? The books of the law. This is called narrative law. Narrative law is not like a direct command. A direct command like the Ten Commandments in Exodus chapter 20, it's easy to understand.

Thou shalt not kill. It's a command. It's an instruction from God. Narrative law doesn't give a direct command. So what does narrative law do? Narrative law explains the command. It's still part of the law. It's just narrative law. Okay. So Genesis 14, verses 18 through 20, narrative means a story. So we're going to learn something about God from a story.

Verse 18 of Genesis 14, And Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God most high, and he blessed him and said, Blessed be Abram by God most high, professor of heaven and earth, and blessed be God most high, who has delivered your enemies into your hand. And Abram gave him a tenth of everything. Now what did Abram tithe? Spoils of war. Sodom and Gomorrah had been captured. Abram went back, and they took everything from the city. Anything valuable these raiding kings took, including the people to use as slaves. So Abram went, and God gave him victory. God gave Abram victory. And Abram said, God, I'm going to give a tenth back to you of everything.

Why did Abram give a tenth to God's priest Melchizedek? Because Abram recognized that God had provided. God had delivered. So Abram gave a tenth. That's really important. Tithing is about faith and relationship. It's not really about money.

Money is used because money is important to us. It's not important to God. God owns everything. He's looking for trust, not money. Jacob understood the same thing. Genesis chapter 28. Turn a few pages forward. Genesis chapter 28 verses 20 through 22. Then Jacob made a vow, saying, if God will be with me, and will keep me in the way that I go, notice what precedes the vow to tithe. Is God providing? This is the whole point.

And will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear. Who's giving him bread and clothes? God.

So that I come to my father's house in peace. Who's giving the peace? God. Then the Lord shall be my God, and of all that you give me, I will give a full tenth to you.

We're not giving a gift that something that God needs. It's something He has already given us. And we're giving a tenth back. A tenth of what? A tenth of everything that God has given.

That phrase matters. All that you have given me, or all that you give me, Jacob understood that what he received came from God. So he committed to return a tenth of everything back to him. And Proverbs gives this principle so beautifully. I love this principle, because I'm going to explain this principle in a personal story in just a moment. Let's go to Proverbs chapter 3 verse 9. Proverbs chapter 3 verses 9 and 10. This is one of our key scriptures for the whole sermon today. This is like our anchor scripture. Proverbs 3 verses 9 and 10. We're going to have another key scripture at the end, but this is our starting point. Verse 9. Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce. Then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine. Tithing begins with honoring God. It's a way of saying, Father, you come first, because everything I have ultimately comes from you. And then God says, give it back. And then when we do that, a little give a little bit back, He gives it back to us.

It's the neatest relationship. It's not like you owe me a tenth and you'll never see it again. It's like you give it to me and I'll give it back. And then you give it to me and I'll give it back.

The barn represents what we store up. You might call that your bank account today, but don't think of it in that narrow of a term. A barn is what you have. It's what you store. It's what you keep. Right? It's more important than just a bank account. Wine. What does wine represent? Wine is enjoying life. So it's not just about money. It's about God taking care of His people and giving them a quality of life that comes from walking with Him and it shines a light to the world.

Now it doesn't mean we're preaching a health and wealth doctrine. Far from it. And let me explain. It doesn't mean when you tithe that you'll never have trials. We all know better than that.

But it does mean that God is faithful and He takes care of His people.

I remember growing up. We were poor. But we always, always had enough.

Back then, we were below the national poverty line. But you would have never known it.

One time we had to move to Spokane, Washington, because my dad's job moved him there. But we really didn't have the resources. So where would we live? What would we wear? What would we eat? My parents faithfully paid tithes. When we moved to Spokane, we found a house that had been on the market for a long time. And the foundation had cracked. And the basement had flooded. And nobody wanted it. So the sellers let it go super cheap. They fixed the foundation. Everything worked perfectly in the house. But everybody was like, oh no, that house broke. We're going to want that house. And it was there for us when we moved. At a price poor people could afford.

And it didn't have enough bedrooms in it. But it didn't have an office for dad. But it had a full unfinished basement. Full. The entire length of the house.

Had an entire another house underneath it. Just concrete. We were coming from Florida and we had a boat. But you don't need an 18-foot boat in Spokane, Washington. So we traded it for skilled labor to finish out the basement. And then we had enough bedrooms, enough bathrooms, and dad even had an office. And since he was a minister serving God, that house served the church for so many years. And years after that, because another minister then rented the house and finally bought the house after us and continued to serve the church of God. Two families who faithfully tithed. And that house served other people so well. God provided. Now we were poor. We would go hunting. We would hunt for meat to help the food budget. We shopped at thrift stores to buy what we would, you know, would wear. Nobody ever knew it. We bought good clothes. We never missed a meal. We always had a warm house. We always had transportation. And we really enjoyed life. We enjoyed ourselves. Life was good. We tithed.

That's not a health and wealth promise. We weren't wealthy. We weren't rich. We had health issues. But God really does care for those who obey Him. And He takes care.

Tithing is an object lesson. He gives us life. He gives us the ability to work. He blesses that work. We gain things. And then we give a little bit back to Him. We remember Him. And we say thank you. And then He keeps giving. So again, what is tithe? It is a tenth of your increase, your net gain, given to God. Okay, now I want to cover three common objections to tithing. And once you hear the end point, I think these objections will become irrelevant to you. But they are common objections that you hear in the church. And one of them is super common. And two are less common, but we'll go through them anyway. The first objection is that there is actually only one tithe in the Bible, used in three different ways. So first tithe, second tithe, and third tithe. It's really just one tithe split into three. The second objection is that tithing is only agricultural in the Old Testament, and it does not apply to money, and therefore does not apply to our wages today.

That's false, and we'll go through why that's false. We've already read the Scriptures. You should have them in mind, but we'll go through them. The third objection is very common in the Protestant world, and it's extremely common in the church that tithing was or is eliminated because of Hebrews chapter 7, because there was a change in the law. And so we'll go through what that change in the law was. So let's take those one at a time. The first one is that there's only one tithe. This is incorrect. There are three tithes. They are distinct from one another, and I want to show you the distinction today. First tithe is a tithe for the work of God.

10 percent goes to God. He directs how it is used. He assigns it to the Levites during Moses' time. It's been reassigned today, and I will show that to you. But Levi didn't have an inheritance. Their function was to serve God, the work of God. Right? They were set apart to serve the tabernacle and later the temple. Let's go to Numbers chapter 18 and verse 21. Numbers 18 and verse 21. It's very important to read the details. It says, to the Levites, not to you. You don't keep part of this to go to the feast. Notice what goes to the Levites. To the Levites, I have given every tithe in Israel. What's a tithe? 10 percent. It's not a, you know, movable amount. It's not voluntary. It's 10 percent. For an inheritance, it's their inheritance. 10 percent of all increase in Israel went as an inheritance to those who worked for God. In return for their service that they do in the service of the tent meeting. God even directed why it was to be given to the Levites because they served God. So the first thing was not merely a voluntary gift of whoever needed help. That's coming.

That's not this. God specifically assigned this 10 percent, this tithe. It was given to the Levites for an inheritance for their service. That matters because the Levites didn't receive a tribal inheritance like the other tribes did. Their inheritance was tied to service. Their inheritance was service of the temple. And God gave that to them to perform. God says the same thing in verses 23 and 24. The Levites were to do the service of the tent meeting and the tithe of Israel was given to them as an inheritance. And notice the instruction in verse 24. It says, this is a critical distinction. Verse 24 says, tithes of the Israelites are offered to the Lord.

Who gets this tithe? Technically, God receives and directs this tithe and says how it is spent. Okay? The tithe is first presented to the Lord and the Lord gives it to Israel, or to the Levites. That means the tithe wasn't human income redistributed by human preference. It's God's tithe assigned to His work. Leviticus also says in chapter 27, Leviticus 27 in verse 30, every tithe of the land is the Lord's, and it is holy to the Lord. This is speaking of the first tithe, that you tithe every year. So this wasn't tithe for personal use at the feast. It was holy to God. It had a different purpose, and that makes it distinct. The first tithe was holy. It belonged to God. He directed its use to sustain those who served his work, and that's important because the next tithe is very different. Second tithe, the festival tithe, had a different purpose than the first tithe. The first tithe was given to God at God's discretion. It belonged to Him. He directed Israel to give it to the Levites. But in Deuteronomy 14, there's a tithe that is different. This tithe wasn't given to God, and it wasn't given to the Levites, but it was tithe. Ten percent! And it was used by the Israelites themselves with his household, and they were to rejoice before God in a place that God chose. Deuteronomy 14 verse 22. Deuteronomy 14 and verse 22. You shall tithe all the yield of your seed that comes from your field year by year. Okay, this is every year. Every year, another tithe, another ten percent. But what do you do with this ten percent? And before the Lord your God, you shall eat the tithe, that you may learn to fear the Lord, your God always.

This tithe is like the first tithe every year, but you don't give it to the Levite. You eat it. Now, if the Levite ate it, you wouldn't get to eat it, because he already ate it.

This tithe, you get to eat. And if you ate it, the Levite wouldn't get to eat it. You can't eat, you can't both eat the same thing.

This tithe was eaten before the Lord, and its purpose was worship, rejoicing, and learning to fear God always. And then God gave practical instructions for those who live too far away to carry it. Hang on to this as well. In verses 24 through 26, we're not going to read it for time's sake, if it was too long to go, you could turn it into money.

Tithe wasn't just agriculture, which we're going to get to in just a moment, it was money. You could take money to the place God chose, and spend it there, and rejoice before God, and it still counted as tithe.

The wording is very different from the Levitical tithe.

The first tithe, God said, I have given every tithe of Israel to the Levites. With this tithe, God says the Israelites may spend the money for whatever he desires.

With the commanded purpose of rejoicing before God, that distinction is important. The Levitical tithe was used at God's discretion alone.

God said that it was his. The festival tithe was used by the worshipper within God's commanded purposes to attend, rejoice, and worship before him at a place he chose to learn the fear of the Lord.

Here's a simple way to picture it. Let me draw a picture for you.

Imagine laying out 10 equal blocks.

These blocks represent your increase.

Now one block is the Levitical tithe. God says it belongs to him, and he directs it to the Levites. Now if there were only one tithe, once the block was given to the Levite, it would be gone. It would no longer be in your set of 10 blocks. It's now in the Levite's hands.

You would not then take that same block and use it to travel, eat, rejoice, and keep the feast before God. Why? Because you wouldn't have that block.

That block is gone. Now you need to take one of the remaining nine and take that to the feast.

The same tithe cannot be fully given away to the Levites, and also personally used at the feast.

Once you give it away, you've given it away. So Deuteronomy 14 points to a distinct tithe with a distinct purpose, and it was to worship God. It was a worship fund to set aside to celebrate its festivals. And there's a third tithe, and you're like, wait, what? We've got to give even more?

Yes, there's a third tithe. Deuteronomy 14, verse 28. Now, this tithe is also very different from the other two tithes. This one isn't every year.

This one shows up every three years in a seven-year cycle.

At the end of every three years, you shall bring out all the tithe of your produce in the same year and lay it up in your towns. Now it doesn't get given to the Levite. It's stored locally. So you can't take that same block, give it to the Levite, and then take it back and put it in the storehouse. It's a different tithe. And a lot of people get confused, and here is where the confusion begins, because the Levite also has access to this tithe. And the Levite and the sojourner and the fatherless and the widow shall come and eat and be filled.

But this tithe was not the first tithe. The first tithe was collected every year and given to the Levites for service. This tithe was for the needy, and it was collected in the third year of the cycle and stored locally for the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow. Again, different timing, different administration, and a different purpose.

Three unique distinctions of this tithe.

Today, a lot of people question, so why don't we have third tithe? If you go to donate.ucg.org, you will not see a third tithe button. You will see a first tithe button, but you won't see a third tithe button. Hmm, is there a change in the law? No.

Not at all, brethren. The United Church of God recognizes that many nations' government taxation, those funds are equivalent to the intent and purpose of third tithe. The church's administration statement says that where such programs are funded by taxation, greater than the biblical third tithe, greater than third tithe. In other words, the money the government takes out of your paycheck is more than 10 percent every three years in a seven-year cycle. It's more than third tithe. You're already paying third tithe every time you get a paycheck. A portion of your income tax goes to the welfare program, and it is a significant portion. And that doesn't come out every third year. That comes out every single paycheck.

And then social security comes out on top of that, and that goes to the widows, largely, to the widows, to pay them. So there is a double whammy on third tithe you're already paying.

All right? So we have, instead of third tithe, a church assistance fund. If you have extra, it's an offering, because we recognize in the United Church of God you are already paying third tithe through your paycheck. So yes, we still believe in third tithe, but we also recognize that our modern system, much of that purpose has already been covered through taxation. Does the government handle that tithe well? Oh, that's a whole other sermon. We're not even going to touch that. So the first objection fails. There's not one tithe used three different ways. There are three very distinct tithes used for very distinct purposes. First tithe supports the work of God. Second tithe feasts observance. Third tithe supports the needy.

Going back to the blocks analogy, where you have 10 blocks that represent your increase. You cannot give one block away wholly to God that's collected every year and given to the Levites, and then take that block back and use it for the feast, nor can you change that block's collection time from every year to every three years and somehow come up with first tithe collected every year. You just can't do it. It doesn't fit. So three separate blocks, three separate tithes. Okay, objection number two. I took much longer than I did with Austin. Okay, objection number two. Tithing was only agricultural. The second objection is that the New Testament was largely agricultural society. I understand why people say it, because the Old Testament was largely agricultural society. So they had crops, they had herds, they had flocks, they had oil, they had wine, they had grain, and that's what they tithed.

It doesn't mean the principle was limited to farming. We've already covered that with Abraham and with Jacob. Abraham... I'm just going to cut through this one really quickly, because Abraham tithed spoils of war, which had nothing to do with agriculture.

Jacob said he would tithe everything, not just agriculture. The proverb that we read said, you tithe everything. And very, very importantly, in ancient Israel, they were allowed to convert their tithe, their grain and their crops, their wine, their oil, into money, and it still counted as tithe. So even back in Moses' day, they understood money. So to say they were a purely agricultural society would be false. They knew what money was. They had money, and tithe counted as... or money counted as tithe. Okay, so it's not just agriculture, it's everything. Third objection. And this is the most common objection. Did Hebrews 7 do away with tithing in the New Testament? It can read that way. And if you're not careful when you go through Hebrews chapter 7, you could think that the Apostle Paul was doing away with tithing. And I say Paul, most people are very careful to say the writer of Hebrews because Paul doesn't identify himself, but I gave a Bible study on that with tons of reasons why it's the Apostle Paul. And so Paul wrote it. Okay, and if he didn't, I'll apologize to the author when we get there. Okay, but the proof, the evidence, it's not proof, it's not scientific, it's more legal proof. The evidence is overwhelming that it's the Apostle Paul. Okay, most common objection in the New Testament. A lot of people say that tithing was done away because Hebrews 7 says there's a change in the law. The argument usually goes something like this. The Levites received the tithe, the vertical priesthood ended, and therefore tithing ended. And now what we donate to the church is voluntary. But Hebrews 7 doesn't actually say that. Hebrews 7 says that there is a change in the priesthood. The passage itself defines the change. Let's start back with Abraham and Melchizedek in Hebrews 7 verses 1 and 2. For time's sake, I'll just review it. Melchizedek was king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, and Abraham at the time Abram gave him a tenth of everything. That matters because Abram's tithe came long before the vertical priesthood existed. Levi wasn't even born yet, let alone Aaron, when the tithing system started. And Abraham tithed to Melchizedek. This is a major point. The tithe didn't originate with Levi. Levi, in a sense, paid tithes through Abraham. So when we come to Hebrews chapter 7, the question is not whether tithing existed only under Levi. This passage is already shown. Tithing preceded Levi. Notice the key verse in Hebrews 7 verse 11. Now, Hebrews 7 verse 11, if perfection had been attainable through the Levitical priesthood, what further need would there have been for another priest to arise in the order of Melchizedek? For when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law. What was the change in the law?

That we're not using Aaron's Levitical line anymore. It's Jesus Christ now. And that isn't the first change in the law. Paul's point here in Leviticus chapter 7 is, the law had already changed to Levi. We're just changing it back to the original.

Right? Abraham tithed to Levi. I mean, Abraham tithed to Melchizedek. And Levi was still in Abraham's loins, so to speak. That's literally Paul's point. Levi is subordinate to Abraham. And Abraham was subordinate to Melchizedek. So don't freak out that there's a change in priesthood. It's not a downgrade. It's an upgrade. Okay, this is the heart of the matter. The change in the law, yes. Hebrews tells us what kind of change it was. It was a change in priesthood. It doesn't ever say, because the priesthood change tithes this terminator. It does not say, because Christ is now the high priest, God no longer has a ministry to support. It does not say, now that Christ is high priest, a tenth of what you give is no longer holy.

It just says the priesthood changed. The law changed because the administration changed. The priesthood moved from Levitical order to Melchizedek, with Jesus Christ as our eternal high priest.

So we still have a priesthood. We still have a high priest. But that priesthood is now centered in Jesus Christ, not in the sons of Levi. So the question becomes, how is the work of God supported under the New Testament administration? And is there a Scripture that helps us with that? Yes. And believe it or not, it's the Apostle Paul again who wrote it. 1 Corinthians 9.

1 Corinthians 9. Paul helps us answer this point precisely.

1 Corinthians 9, verse 7. Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard without eating any of the fruit? Who tends a flock without getting some of the milk? Paul is explaining that those who labor in the service of God have the right to be supported by that service. Then he points back to the temple system. Now we've just covered in a very long and boring way that the temple service was what 1st tithe was for, those who serve God. Now Paul gives that as our New Testament example. And notice what he says about it. Verse 13. Do you not know that those who are employed in the temple service get their food from the temple and those who serve at the altar share in the sacrificial offerings? So there's offerings and there's tithes, and those Levites get that.

Paul points back to the system that God established that we went through. And then he applies the principle in the New Testament ministry. Verse 14 is the key.

1 Corinthians 9 verse 14. In the same way, not some way we get to make up, the same way the Levites ate their food. And what was that? The tithes and the offerings. 2 Corinthians 9 verse 15. In the same way the Lord commanded, not suggested, that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel.

That's the phrase that matters. In the same way. Paul makes a direct comparison between the support of those serving at the altar and the support of those who preach the gospel. And he said this was not merely a suggestion, but the Lord commanded it. So Hebrews 7 shows the priesthood change from Levi to Christ after the order of Melchizedek. And 1 Corinthians 9 shows the ministry of the gospel is supported in the New Testament administration by the command of Jesus Christ in the same way the Levites were supported. Therefore, the New Testament does not present a change in the priesthood as an end to God's work or the end of the ministry or the end of the commanded support. So what was the change in Hebrews 7? A change in the priesthood. The administration changed. So what technically changed? Who the high priest was.

The work continues under Jesus Christ. Okay, so that wraps up the three objections. There's only one tithe, there's one objection, not three. There was objection for it was only agriculture.

And no, they turned it into money, so it was everything that God increased that you tithed on. And the third objection was the change in the law in Hebrews terminated the requirement of tithing.

And that change only changed from Levi to Jesus Christ. It didn't change the commanded way that his servants were paid. So let's move to the heart of the matter. This is where we really need to end. And we're close. Don't worry, we won't go that far over time. This is the main point. Why does God have us go through this at all? All of these numbers and accounting. I always fell asleep in accounting. I'm surprised you guys are still awake.

Why does God require tithing? Because tithing is all about relationship. Our second key scripture for the sermon. We had Proverbs chapter 3. Now let's go to Malachi chapter 3. Malachi chapter 3 verses 8 through 10.

When we read this, listen to the personal insult to God. Listen to the relationship that's being tread upon in this verse.

Malachi 3 verse 8. Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing me, but you say, how have we robbed you in your tithes and offerings? Contributions in the ESV. Bring the full tithe into the storehouse and thereby put me to the test, God says. Says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you. That is very strong language. God says failing to tithe is robbing him. But notice what he's really after. God is not broke. He's not short on money. He's not sitting in heaven worried about cash flow. He's not wondering how he'll pay the bills to keep the lights on. God owns everything. So why does he care? Why does he care so much that we're robbing him? Because tithing touches the heart. Money doesn't matter to him. So who does it matter to?

You. It matters to you. So you have to give back something that matters. It touches trust. It touches priorities. Whether or not we believe that God is the source of what we have, whether or not we put him first, when it actually cost us something. And that's why tithing is such a powerful object lesson. Every time we tithe, we say, God, I recognize you as the source. I recognize this came from you. I recognize your claim comes before mine. And I trust you to take care of me. That's what tithing is for. Because you have to trust God to tithe, because it doesn't make sense otherwise. It doesn't work on paper. This is relationship language in Malachi 3. And God responds to this relationship. He says, try me in this. That's unusual. We're not supposed to tempt God to put him to the test. But He actually says, put me to the test. In other words, trust me and watch what I'll do. Trust me. Again, it's not health and wealth. It's not pay your tithe and get rich. It's not send your money to God and He owes you a miracle. Oh, no. It's not what He's saying.

But God does say that He will bless obedience. And He does say the windows of heaven will open. Sometimes those blessings are financial. And sometimes, you know what? The car just keeps running longer than it should. I remember going to the feast in Corpus Christi and being so strapped for cash that we prayed that the car would make it home without something falling off on the road. And you've been there probably, and it did every time. Every time. Sometimes the right job opens. Sometimes the right house works out. Sometimes somebody just helps when it's needed.

I remember I was out of work for a couple of years. Odd jobs here and there. And sometimes just a gift card, an HEB gift card, was on my seat at church with nobody taking credit for it. No card. No, like, hey, this is from me. You owe me. It was just a card on the seat. Sometimes God just sends somebody to take care of you. And we didn't even say anything. It was just there sitting on our seat on our books. So we knew it wasn't a mistake. It was for us. Sometimes the blessings not money at all. Sometimes it's peace. Sometimes it's just contentment. Or simple enjoyment. The ability to have friends over and make some nachos and watch a good movie.

Sometimes it's learning not to be ruled by fear. Sometimes it's really just realizing I can actually live on what remains if I put God first. Sometimes we live a little to the excess.

That's a blessing, too. You know what? Money can become our master very quickly. And this is the point of tithing. Jesus said you can't serve God and mammon. And tithing is one of the ways that God trains us not to serve money. It reminds us that money is a tool. It's not our God. And always remember that God gives us back.

So He gives it first, and then we give a little bit back to Him, and He gives it back.

So you're not losing it. Think about that. God gave us life. He gives us breath. He gives us the ability. He gives us the opportunity. He gives us the work. He gives us the increase.

It all came from Him anyway. And He just says, return a tenth to me. Probably with a smile.

Knowing that that hurts, knowing that that's so important to us, it's something that we struggle with. But from God's perspective, He gave it to us anyway. He asked us to return a small portion, not because He needs it, but because we need the lesson. Tithing is not just a financial doctrine. In fact, I would make the argument that tithing is not a financial doctrine. Tithing is a relationship doctrine. Tithing is a trust doctrine. So what does tithing teach us? Quite a few things. First, it teaches us God owns everything. Second, we might say, okay, this is my paycheck. And in one sense, that's true. We did work for it. But who gave us the work? Who gave us the life? Who gave us the mind? Who gave us the strength? Who gave us the opportunity? Who gave us the time? Who invented time? God did. He gave it all. So tithing teaches us to say, this came from you. Secondly, tithing teaches us to put God first. You know, you don't tithe what's left over. You tithe first. When the paycheck hits my account, I tithe. I don't pay a credit card bill. I don't pay the car payment. I don't pay the mortgage until I tithe. It's important. That's important. You don't pay him last.

It's not if anything is left over, I'll pay you. It's not after we see if it works in the budget first. That's why Proverbs says, honor him with your first fruits. I had a sermonet on that today. Because let's be honest, sometimes it's hard.

Sometimes the budget is tight, and that's an understatement.

Sometimes we look at the numbers and we think, this doesn't work.

Trusting him is the point. No matter what the outcome, trust him. You know what else tithing teaches? It teaches us to rejoice before God, that second tithe. God actually commands his people to set aside a resource to rejoice at his feast days. That tells us something about God. He doesn't just give us commands and duty.

He also instructs joy. He wants families to come together. He wants them to eat together, to rejoice together, to worship together, and to learn to fear him always. It's a relationship doctrine.

Tithing also teaches us compassion. That's third tithe. God made provision for the fatherless, the widow, the stranger, those who are in need. Those who are in need. He wants his people to care about the vulnerable. Why? Because he does.

And that's our purpose in life.

Our purpose in life is not to grow rich.

Our purpose in life is to grow in love.

So tithing teaches us that God owns everything so that we'll have faith, so that we'll have joy and enjoyment, so that we will do his work, so that we will have compassion.

It's so much bigger than money. So let's bring it all together. A tithe is a tenth of increase. It is not a subjective amount that you come up with. Abraham tithed before Levi tithed. Jacob committed his tithe of everything he had that God gave him. And Proverbs tells us to honor God with all of our wealth and our firstfruits.

First tithe is holy to God, and it's used to support its work. Second tithe was set aside to rejoice at his festivals. And the third tithe is for the needy. The objection that there's only one tithe doesn't fit the Scriptures because the purposes, the uses, the timing, and the administration is different for each tithe. The objection that tithing was only agriculture misses the point because the principle is all increases holy to God.

An agricultural economy increases in crops and herds, yes. In our economy, it's income, wages, salary, or profit.

The objection that Hebrews 7 ended tithing also really misses the point.

Hebrews 7 teaches a change in the priesthood. It doesn't teach the end of God's work or the end of commanded support. The priesthood changed from Levi to Christ. The administration changed.

The work continues.

And underneath all of that is the real point that tithing is about relationship. It's about honoring God as provider. It's about trusting Him with what matters to you and me. Money.

It's about learning the way of give. It's about remembering everything that we have came from Him in the first place. So when we tithe, we're not paying a bill.

We're not just meeting an obligation.

If I may, when we tithe, we are loving God back. God comes first, and then He returns to favor over and over again.

My mother used to tell me, Rod, you can't outgive God. And it is so true. I've seen it in my own family. Many of you have seen it in yours. It's not always in some dramatic way. It's not always in the way we expect or want. But God is faithful. He gives us life. He gives us love. He gives us strength. He gives us the increase, and we return a tenth.

And when He keeps teaching us, He keeps providing for us. He keeps drawing us deeper in the relationship with Him, and we grow to become just like Him.

And that's the biblical teaching on tithing.