The
Scientific proof
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Riches © 2014. All rights reserved.
Individual use is permitted.
Many
philosophers and scientists are heard saying that God cannot be proven using
logic, and neither can He be proven by any scientific means. According to the
scientific and academic intelligentsia of the world, there is no quantifiable way
of proving the existence of God.
One
of the misconceptions that is produced as an argument by those who claim the
Bible is a book of myths is that it does not have a scientific means by which
the Author can be verified; or that it has been inspired by the true God and
Creator of the Universe. However, this
is untrue. Unlike other religious texts, the Bible has within its pages an
invitation extended to readers to put the God of Whom the writers testify to
the test and discover whether He does honor His word.
The
Devil would prefer all Christians to live in a delusion. If Christians start
genuinely proving God to be real and demonstrate this in their lives, then he
is powerless. The Devil only has a victory over Christians when they possess an
uncertain faith. When Christians become absolutely certain that God is real,
and honors His word, there is no doubt expressed, only the full conviction in
the power of the Holy Spirit of where each one of us stands in relation to our
purpose for existing on Earth. Surprisingly, it is only when people return to
the Lord by means of the tithe that the conviction of their faith becomes
certain. This is because they are able to prove God and then give Him the
praise and glory for honoring His word.
When
it comes to science, there is only one verifiable means acceptable to
scientific research and recognized by scientists as valid. This is to state a
hypothesis of what is expected to take place in conducting an experiment and
its outcomes. If the experiment can be repeated often, then the hypothesis (the
working theory) is considered to be more than a mere theory and is declared a
principle. This is because the idea can be applied under the criteria expressed
within the hypothesis and proven; therefore the idea becomes a principle and
ceases to be merely a theory. In the event, that a principle proves to be
universal it becomes known as a law.
The
law of gravity is considered a principle because of its universal nature. However,
the theory of how it works has changed since its first formulation. This is
because more knowledge has become known about interplanetary behavior and the
laws of magnetism; not to mention the formulation of the general theory of
relativity, which has brought into question previous assumptions asserted to be
true. Scientific explanations serve to better understand the Universe and how
we can benefit from them. Unfortunately, because humanism is hostile to God,
scientists like to claim that theories have to be disproven rather than proven.
Since God, according to the humanists, is not a theory but a myth, there is no
need to disprove God. However, if we take the view that the theories of man
have to be proven, then the theory of evolution is a mere theoretical construct
that is unproven to date and held on to by atheists in the delusion that their
wish might come true and they will not have to face accountability for their
actions after all. Contrary to this, the existence of the Creator is not only
evident in the laws and principles of that which enables life to exist on
planet Earth, but also in those that govern the Universe. Furthermore, the
Almighty God has given us the opportunity to prove the Bible has been inspired
and authorized by Him.
In
the book of Malachi we read the following:
For I, Yahweh, don’t change; therefore
you, sons of Jacob, are not consumed. From the days of your fathers you have
turned aside from my ordinances, and have not kept them. Return to me, and I
will return to you,” says Yahweh of Armies. “But you say, ‘How shall we
return?’ Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed
you?’ In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with the curse; for you rob me,
even this whole nation. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there
may be food in my house, and test me now in this,” says Yahweh of Armies, “if I
will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that
there will not be room enough for. I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and
he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast
its fruit before its time in the field,” says Yahweh of Armies. “All nations
shall call you blessed, for you will be a delightful land,” says Yahweh of
Armies. (Malachi 3:6-12)
1)
We
note that Yahweh (YHWH, meaning I AM LIFE, in most English versions, rendered
“the Lord”) does not change. This is an emphatic statement, an absolute
statement regarding the nature of God. God, that is the Godhead, in this case,
otherwise known as our Heavenly Father does not change. This is because God is
righteous and always does what is just. If our Heavenly Father were a whimsical
tyrant, as many people like to claim, who becomes angry when he does not get
his own way, then there would be no laws or order in the Universe. However,
there are laws and order in the Universe, and the Lord God, our Heavenly Father
states through the Holy Spirit that He does not change.
2)
We
note the children of Israel, that is the sons of Jacob, are not written off
already because of their iniquities and rebellious behavior. On the one hand,
after following the desires of their carnal nature, and taken up Devil worship
and committing many abominations that discredit God, it would seem that the
only right thing would be to annihilate the Israelite nation and remove it from
the face of the Earth. However, at this point of time, God informs the people
of Israel, and us, that the reason they, and ourselves, are not judged for our
iniquities is because our Heavenly Father is faithful and keeps His promises.
3)
God
invites the Israelites who have forsaken Him to return. Likewise we have the
same invitation because the Bible is written for the benefit of all people and
records the historical plan and purpose of God for humankind. It is one thing
to say that we are born Christians by natural birth, but it is another to
actually engage in a personal relationship with the unseen God and Creator of
the Universe.
4)
The
question is posed as to how can people demonstrate that they have returned to
the Creator of the Universe, whom they cannot see, when we live in a material
world that has physical objects that can be touched and seen and looked upon.
This is a valid question; and it is one that those who claim there is no proof
of God’s existence like to pose. But if we are genuine, in pursuing a personal
relationship with our Heavenly Father, as Jesus said, that by continuing in His
word, we will prove to be His disciples; so too, by exercising obedience of
faith, we are doing the same thing.
5)
How
we return to our Heavenly Father comes in the form of a cryptic answer posing
as the question, “Shall a man rob God?”
The reason for this answer is to see whether we really want to
understand the truth about the tithe. How can we rob God? Surely, the unseen
God, Creator of Heaven and Earth has no need of material goods to provide Him
sustenance. This being the case, we have to be robbing God of something else.
6)
We
are robbing God in our tithes and offerings, because there is no food in His
house. Now we know that God does not need the food, so the tithe is to support
the priesthood. By honoring the priesthood with our tithes and offerings we are
honoring God.
7)
We
see that we have a curse upon us when we do not bring in the full tithes and
offerings to the Lord. The reason there is a curse associated with not bringing
the full tithe and offerings into the Lord’s house to support the priesthood is
we are not honoring our Heavenly Father and this means we are honoring the god
of this world instead.
8)
We
are invited to put the Lord to the test to see if He will not bring forth
blessing by bringing in these tithes and offerings. This is where we challenge
God’s word. Does God keep His word or not? Is God trustworthy? Does God honor
the law or statute of the tithe?
9)
The
Devourer, who was a hindrance to us beforehand, will no longer have power over
us to prevent us from prospering in all that we do. The Devil has rule of every
aspect of our lives if we let him. Sin came into the world through his
beguiling Eve and now he reigns over the affairs of humans. Since the Devil reigns,
we cannot overcome him on our own. We need the Lord God to protect us from him,
so that we are free to make the decisions and appropriate changes in our
thinking necessary for us to enjoy the blessings that are ours in Lord Jesus
Christ.
10)
All the nations will call us blessed of the
Lord because we will demonstrate to them that we are His delight. This is
because as we grow in the knowledge of God, we also are set free from the
ignorance we previously possessed and are able to adequately demonstrate, and
explain to others why, we are living in the favor of our Heavenly Father.
Many
people say that tithing is invalid and does not apply today. Their reasoning is
that this belongs to the Law of Moses and therefore has no bearing on a
Christian since the gospel was preached. Consequently, we will always find
these people exhibiting a lack of faith in God and genuine conviction that God
honors His Word. When we do not acknowledge the truth of Scripture, we prevent
ourselves from overcoming the Devil and his designs. We shall discover that
this is actually how our faith in God increases, and through the means of the
principle of the tithe, we bring genuine glory to God and stop robbing Him of
what is rightfully His.
What
these unbelieving people, who claim to be Christians, overlook is the Lord
calls these people the sons of Jacob and not the descendants of Israel, whom He
delivered from Egypt. The significance in this is that although the Israelites
were descendants of those who came out of Egypt and who received the Mosaic
Covenant, Jacob tithed before being called Israel. For this is what the
Scripture records:
Jacob rose up early in the morning, and
took the stone that he had put under his head, and set it up for a pillar, and
poured oil on its top. He called the name of that place Bethel, but the name of
the city was Luz at the first. 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
clothing to put on, so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, and
Yahweh will be my God, then this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, will
be God’s house. Of all that you will give me I will surely give a tenth to
you.” (Genesis 28:18-22)
Notice
that Jacob looked to God and not only acknowledged Him as LORD but also desired
to enter into a covenant of blessing with Him. This event occurred centuries
before the Mosaic covenant was brought into effect. Therefore for anybody to
say that this is a Mosaic ceremonial law that has no value for today is in
cohorts with the Devil and under a curse in his or her own life. They might be
raised from the dead at the resurrection, but having lived a life that produced
only straw, hay and wood, they would not have been able to enjoy the blessing
of God.
When
Jacob returned to the Lord and said that he was going to give Him a tenth of
everything, he was a fugitive on the run from Esau and possessed little, if
anything at all; all he was looking for was guidance, clothing, food and
protection. However, the big question is: To whom was Jacob going to give this
tenth? This is rather baffling, if there
was no Levitical priesthood to receive the tithes and offerings. The tithes and
offerings were to be given to the priesthood so that there might be food in
God’s house. Jacob from that time onwards made a habit of sacrificing the first
one of every ten born of his herds of goats, sheep, cattle, donkeys and camels.
Now if they were offered to God, this would mean that Jacob did not eat them,
so we would have to say fire came down from heaven and consumed them. However,
there is one more possibility: Jacob gave them to the Melchizedek priesthood
that existed in Salem.
Abraham
tithed to Melchizedek (Genesis 14:20). Melchizedek was Shem, the righteous son
of Noah who lived for six hundred years. Jacob would have known about Shem and
what his grandfather Abraham did. Abraham died at the age of one hundred and
seventy five, when Jacob was a young man. Melchizedek died when Jacob was
around fifty years of age. Jacob could have tithed to Melchizedek himself but
in all probability made a commitment to give his tithe to the Melchizedek
priesthood.
Now
if Abraham and Jacob tithed to the Melchizedek priesthood, then the tithe as a
covenant by humans returning to God, and receiving divine blessing has nothing
to do with the Levite priesthood and the covenant made with Moses.
Nevertheless, the important truth about all this is the fact our Lord says that
He does not change. The principle of tithe that was originally given to the
Melchizedek priesthood, under the covenant of Moses, was given to the Levite
priesthood. Now that the Levite priesthood is no longer a necessity, since the
sacrificial offerings of animals has been done away with and the Melchizedek
priesthood has been reinstituted, it does seem as if God has changed. However,
the Bible says the Lord God does not change, which suggests the Melchizedek
order never ceased to be, even though the Levite priesthood was instituted for
a time on a temporary basis. This fact concerning the enduring Melchizedek
priesthood is testified to in the Psalms, for we read:
Yahweh has sworn, and will not change
his mind:“You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.” (Psalm 110:4)
No
wonder so many of us Christians walk outside the blessing of God and under the
curse of Satan. No wonder many are called, but few are chosen. No wonder people
claiming to be Christians are lacking the faith to overcome the world. God
wants to bless us Christians. God wants us to be a blessing to others. God
wants us to be overflowing with so much blessing, that it is impossible to
contain it. God wants us to have a life of abundant blessing that others will
be able to rejoice in our blessings with us.
There
are a number of significant truths attached to the tithe that are missed by so
many people. These truths are missed even by those who practice tithing. All
those who tithe as a part of their expression of love towards God know the
blessing they receive in their lives. One television program was critical of
the fact that a certain church had so much money going through its coffers
because the people in the congregation tithed. The general feeling from the
narrator was that tithing was an imposition forcibly placed on members of the
congregation like an excise tax. Every person they interviewed who said they
tithed, also said that they found giving to the church produced more blessing
in their lives; their money went further and their lives were much happier as a
result.
Many
people who call themselves Christians and oppose the tithe claim that it is not
a New Testament teaching. Some even say that tithing is a form of bondage. To
see if this is true, we will look at what the New Testament says about tithing
and giving to the work of the Lord.
One
of the passages of Scripture that is sometimes raised to point out that tithing
is an unnecessary obligation and merely a form of self-righteousness that is
produced by those who keep rules and commandments and law is the following
parable told by Jesus:
He spoke also this parable to
certain people who were convinced of their own righteous-ness, and who despised
all others. “Two men went up into the temple to pray; one was a Pharisee, and
the other was a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed to himself like
this: ‘God, I thank you, that I am not like the rest of men, extortionists,
unrighteous, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week.
I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far away,
wouldn’t even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be
merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you,
this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone
who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.
(Luke 18:9-14)
As
is evident in the parable, the Pharisee attempted to justify his position on
the basis of works rather than grace through faith in the promises of God. This
self-righteousness occurred because the Pharisee fasted twice a week and, in
doing so, commended himself to God. He also tithed and thought this constituted
merit as well; so according to the anti-tithing advocates, this is evidence of
the dangers of tithing. However, Jesus said that tithing was not something that
was to be done away with. In fact, He endorsed the tithe when castigating the
scribes and Pharisees, as we find in two of the gospels:
Woe to you, scribes and
Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cumin, and have left
undone the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faith. But you
ought to have done these, and not to have left the other undone (Matthew 23:23)
But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe
mint and rue and every herb, but you bypass justice and the love of God. You
ought to have done these, and not to have left the other undone. (Luke 11:42)
As
we can see, Jesus said that it was not tithing that was the problem; rather the
Pharisees and scribes were neglecting the weightier matters of the Law of
Moses. Contrary to what many people believe, the Law of Moses was not about
judgmental legalism, but understanding matters such as faith, mercy, justice
and the love of God. However, these intangible elements of life are not evident
in physical substances that can be seen and touched, even though the ceremonial
laws were designed to evoke these ideas in the people as they were making their
sacrifices and bringing their offerings to the altar of God.
Another
objection to tithing is raised by citing that Abraham merely tithed from the
plunder or spoils that he obtained from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer and the
kings who were with him (Genesis 14:17). For we read in the book of Hebrews
(7:4) that Abraham gave Melchizedek the best of the plunder. The Scripture
should actually say, instead of
“plunder” or “spoils”, “the top of the heap”. This expression can also refer to
“the first-fruits of the treasure”; except most translators have gone for the
idea of the plunder from war. To quote Thayer’s Greek Lexicon in respect to the
Greek word that is translated plunder or spoils:
κροθίνιον, τό (from ἄκρος extreme, and θίς, genitive θινός, a
heap; extremity, topmost part of a heap), generally in plural τά ἀκροθίνια the first-fruits, whether of
crops or of spoils (among the Greeks customarily selected from the topmost part
of the heaps and offered to the gods, Xenophon, Cyril 7, 5, 35); in the Bible
only once: Hebrews 7:4.[i]
However,
what is overlooked is that after Abraham had tithed to Melchizedek, it appears
that his tithe may not have been from what he had obtained from the plunder of
the slaughter of the kings, but could have been what he obtained from Pharaoh
(Genesis 12:16). The reason for this is that we tithe only what is ours, and on
behalf of ourselves, not on behalf of other people. The tithe is about us
returning to God, not other people returning to God. This becomes apparent when
we consider what Abraham said to the King of Sodom after their meeting with
Melchizedek:
The king of Sodom said to
Abram, “Give me the people, and take the goods for yourself.”
Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have
lifted up my hand to Yahweh, God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth, that
I will not take a thread nor a sandal strap nor anything that is yours, lest you
should say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’ I
will accept nothing from you except that which the young men have eaten, and
the portion of the men who went with me: Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre. Let them take
their portion.” (Genesis 14:21-24)
Even
if we were to concede that Abraham saw to it that a tenth of the plunder
obtained from the battle was given to Melchizedek, this would only make sense
if Abraham were already tithing. This is because the tithe is about God
blessing us as part of our covenant in seeking Him out and establishing divine
favor. As the book of Malachi states the Lord does not change. Therefore, it is
to be expected that Abraham had tithed the best of the treasure he obtained
from Pharaoh; which is what he needed to do, if he were to keep the statutes of
the Lord as claimed in the book of Genesis; for we read:
I will multiply your offspring as the
stars of the sky, and will give all these lands to your offspring. In your
offspring will all the nations of the earth be blessed, because Abraham obeyed
my voice, and kept my requirements, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.”
(Gen. 26:4-5)
Concerning
what is written in the book of Hebrews regarding the tithe, Abraham and
Melchizedek, it is worth considering the whole passage of chapter seven, because
it begins with Abraham tithing to Melchizedek and finishes in speaking about
hope and drawing near to God. According to the Apostle Paul, God has set the
boundaries of our habitation in the hope that we might seek after our Lord and
find Him (Acts 17:26-27). The suggestion in Hebrews is that Abraham found the
One Who Lives forever and in the hope of better things, drew near to Him and
sealed the blessing in having done so with the tithe. For we read:
For this Melchizedek, king of
Salem, priest of God Most High, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of
the kings and blessed him, to whom also Abraham divided a tenth part of all
(being first, by interpretation, king of righteousness, and then also king of
Salem, which is king of peace; without father, without mother, without
genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the
Son of God), remains a priest continually. Now consider how great this man was,
to whom even Abraham, the patriarch, gave a tenth out of the best plunder. They
indeed of the sons of Levi who receive the priest’s office have a commandment
to take tithes of the people according to the law, that is, of their brothers,
though these have come out of the body of Abraham, but he whose genealogy is
not counted from them has accepted tithes from Abraham, and has blessed him who
has the promises. But without any dispute the lesser is blessed by the greater.
Here people who die receive tithes, but there one receives tithes of whom it is
testified that he lives. We can say that through Abraham even Levi, who
receives tithes, has paid tithes, for he was yet in the body of his father when
Melchizedek met him. Now if there were perfection through the Levitical
priesthood (for under it the people have received the law), what further need
was there for another priest to arise after the order of Melchizedek, and not
be called after the order of Aaron? For the priesthood being changed, there is
of necessity a change made also in the law. For he of whom these things are said
belongs to another tribe, from which no one has officiated at the altar. For it
is evident that our Lord has sprung out of Judah, about which tribe Moses spoke
nothing concerning priesthood. This is yet more abundantly evident, if after
the likeness of Melchizedek there arises another priest, who has been made, not
after the law of a fleshly commandment, but after the power of an endless life:
for it is testified, “You are a priest forever, according to the order of
Melchizedek.
For there is an annulling of
a foregoing commandment because of its weakness and uselessness (for the law
made nothing perfect), and a bringing in of a better hope, through which we
draw near to God. (Hebrews 7:1-19)
When
Abraham tithed to Melchizedek, he broke bread and drank wine. It is interesting
to note the connection between this and what Jesus instituted at the Last
Supper; where he broke bread and drank wine with his disciples. For it is clear
that the Scripture is informing us that Jesus is after the order of Melchizedek
and as such, this includes bringing in the tithe for the keeping of those who
labor in God’s work. What is surprising is that the Apostle Paul appeals to the
Law of Moses to justify supporting those in the work of ministry. For he wrote:
For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle the ox when
it treads out the grain.” And, “The laborer is worthy of his wages.”
(1 Timothy 5:18)
For it is written in the law of Moses,
“You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain.” Is it for the oxen
that God cares, or does he say it assuredly for our sake? Yes, it was written
for our sake, because he who plows ought to plow in hope, and he who threshes
in hope should partake of his hope. If we sowed to you spiritual things, is it
a great thing if we reap your fleshly things? If others partake of this right
over you, don’t we yet more? Nevertheless we did not use this right, but we
bear all things, that we may cause no hindrance to the Good News of Christ. (1
Corinthians 9:9-12)
Those
who have issues about being generous and bringing the tithe often point to the
fact that the Apostle Paul did not always make use of his right to receive the
tithe and offerings from the Corinthians when he was there. Nevertheless, the
Apostle Paul did enter into a partnership with the saints at Philippi (where he
visited before going to Corinth) to supply his needs through the tithe and
offerings. For we read:
Paul and Timothy, servants of Jesus
Christ; To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the
overseers and servants: Grace to you, and peace from God, our Father, and the
Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God whenever I remember you, always in every
request of mine on behalf of you all making my requests with joy, for your
partnership in furtherance of the Good News from the first day until now; being
confident of this very thing, that he who began a good work in you will
complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. (Philippians 1:1-6)
However you did well that you shared in
my affliction. You yourselves also know, you Philippians, that in the beginning
of the Good News, when I departed from Macedonia, no assembly shared with me in
the matter of giving and receiving but you only. For even in Thessalonica you
sent once and again to my need. Not that I seek for the gift, but I seek for
the fruit that increases to your account. But I have all things, and abound. I
am filled, having received from Epaphroditus the things that came from you, a
sweet-smelling fragrance, an acceptable and well-pleasing sacrifice to God. My
God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ
Jesus. Now to our God and Father be the glory forever and ever! Amen.
(Philippians 4:14-23)
When
it comes to tithing and giving offerings to the work of ministry, unless we do
this willingly there is no real blessing. The tithe is not an obligation. The
tithe is a freewill offering that is given to the Lord for those who are
engaged in the edification of the saints by bringing them to salvation and
helping them grow in the knowledge of the truth. The promise of the blessing is
contingent upon whether we are cheerful givers. This is what the Apostle Paul
has to say about giving:
Remember this: he who sows sparingly
will also reap sparingly. He who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.
Let each man give according as he has determined in his heart; not grudgingly,
or under compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make
all grace abound to you, that you, always having all sufficiency in everything,
may abound to every good work.
(2 Corinthians 9:6-8).
The
tithe is not obligatory. There is no compulsion that a person should tithe.
However, the truth is that those who do not tithe have not truly returned to
God and are under a curse. The only reason these individuals do not tithe is
they are not prepared to open their hearts and trust God. This really is what
the tithe is about. The tithe is not essential for salvation, otherwise
deathbed repentance would be in vain. However, it is necessary to obtain the blessings
of God on Earth. The tithe is a statute that demonstrates we are prepared to
honor God in all aspects of our life, even with the material components of this
world.
If
we are to overcome the Devil, there are five things that are necessary for us to
do. These are the four that we have considered so far:
1) We need to lay down our lives for
others; or in other words, love others as ourselves. This can be expressed as
forgiving others, as we would have them forgive us for misdeeds or offenses
taken.
2) We need to submit ourselves to leaders
who have been appointed by God and are doing His will by demonstrating they are
servants who edify the saints, and grow in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus
Christ and the plan and purpose of God for ourselves and this generation.
3) We need to fellowship around the table
of the Lord and partake of the bread and the wine.
4) We need to bring in our tithes and
offerings with a cheerful heart in order to prove that God is genuine and that
He honors His word.
And, of course there is one
more:
5) We need to learn to give God the glory
in the most effective way possible as we testify to how Lord Jesus Christ has
changed our lives.
These
five things are what we need to do if we are to become overcomers. We do not
have do any of the above if we do not desire. Only if we are seeking the truth,
then we will want to be sure that we have the truth. The tithe is the one
element that enables us to do this from a legitimate scientific means. It is
through the tithe that we grow in faith and this is what enables us to overcome
the ruler of this world and demonstrate that we have returned to God.
Everything that we accomplish has to do with faith. What we accomplish with the
help of God has to do with our faith in Him. Moreover the extent to which we
bear fruit in the Holy Spirit and bring glory to God, depends on our faith
towards our Heavenly Father.
When
we tithe, we put God to the test. God promises to bless up materially. If we
tithe because we feel we are under compulsion to do so, then we are not
approaching the Lord freely. In essence, we are speaking about how much we love
God and desire to prove His love for us. This is what the tithe is all about.
If we love someone, we give freely. If we love God, we give freely, not under compulsion
and not sparingly. This is why the Apostle Paul wrote that God loves a cheerful
giver who gives generously. The truth is
while God has provided us with every means to have whatever we so desire, it is
up to us, whether we possess it. God shows no partiality, but permits each one
to have according to his or her desire. Those who desire evil are permitted to
revel in evil and reap its consequences. Those who desire good are permitted to
enjoy as much goodness as eternity will allow. Whatever the case, everything
depends on us, because we have been given a free will. God has provided the way
for us to obtain salvation, but it is up to us to seek it out. Likewise, the
degree to which we are saved from the world depends upon our faith. If we say
we have faith in God but do not demonstrate the evidence then we may as well be
dead. This is why faith without works is dead. However, faith is not like the
grace of God which is given freely to every person. Faith is something in which
we grow, as we give glory to God, for what we know He has done on our behalf.
Unfortunately, this truth is obscured from most people because of the way
various Bibles are translated. In which case, unless our eyes are opened by the
Holy Spirit, we will not understand this truth. Nevertheless, the key
Scripture that highlights this
truth is found in the book of Romans, when speaking about Abraham, the Apostle
Paul writes:
Yet, looking to the promise of God, he
didn’t waver through unbelief, but grew strong through faith, giving glory to
God. (Rom.4:20)
When
we read this Scripture from the World English Bible, which follows the King
James Version, except using more modern language, it is not immediately
apparent that giving glory to God is how Abraham grew strong in faith. This truth
tends to be overlooked, unless highlighted by the Holy Spirit. Other
translations pick this up when saying. “He grew strong in his faith as he gave
glory to God.” The Amplified Bible expounds the importance of what is meant and
reads:
No unbelief or distrust made him waver
(doubtingly question) concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong and was
empowered by faith as he gave praise and glory to God.
This
provides a clearer understanding of how Abraham, the father of the faithful,
grew in faith. The key to growing in faith is giving praise and glory to God.
Only we have to ask the question, For what would we give the praise and glory
to God that would strengthen our faith towards Him?
We
could point to having our prayers answered. Many people pray for all sorts of
events to happen and sometimes they do and sometimes they do not happen. In
fact, among Christians there are those who pray that they will receive a sunny
day and when it is sunny they thank God. Some people pray that the flowers in their
garden will grow; they do, and they give God praise. But the flowers in the
atheist’s garden grow also, as does his wish for a sunny day come to pass. Whereas
one woman I knew, who attended Church, would often say, “Surely there has to be
a God, just look at those beautiful flowers.” She gave the impression that she
was not sure that God really existed, but hoped that He might.—That is not faith.
Faith
is something that we possess and believe that God will honor us, when we
exercise it. An example of this would be
praying for rain when there is no hope of rain. This is what Elijah did (1
Kings 18:1-2; 40-45). But then false prophets also are known to have the
miraculous occur and people get healed. This is what Jesus said occurs. Jesus
said that some people would claim they performed miracles in His name but He would
not acknowledge them. This raises the question of whether these people would
have ever returned to God. They have the faith that healings and miracles would
be wrought in the name of Jesus, but they have not returned to God. The Bible
says that in order to return to God we need to tithe. So the question becomes,
do these false prophets tithe? The answer to this has to be a definite no! The
reason we can say this is because Jesus said of the false prophets that he does
not know them. However, Jesus knows those who return to Him.
The
principle of the tithe engenders real faith and produces genuine blessing;
because by this means we prove God in our lives in an objective way. Either God
honors His word or He does not. Those who are not prepared to prove the Lord by
this means, may claim they have faith in God, but to what extent do they have this
faith in God? The principle of the tithe teaches us to put God first in our
lives, give with a generous cheerful heart, and expect Him to keep His word.
Jesus
taught that the measure with which we give, is the measure with which we will
receive. What is interesting about this teaching is how it is couched between
teaching on judgment and teaching on being spiritually blind.
Don’t judge, and you won’t be judged.
Don’t condemn, and you won’t be condemned. Set free, and you will be set free.
“Give, and it will be given to you: good
measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be given to you.
For with the same measure you measure it will be measured back to you.”
He spoke a parable to them. “Can the
blind guide the blind? Won’t they both fall into a pit? (Luke 6:37-39)
When the laws for sacrifices and
tithing was given to the Israelites who had come out of Egypt, there was a
common theme. The Israelites had to give for the tithe the best of their
first-born animals and the best tenth portion of their crops. When it comes to
the first born of every female, the first-born had to be dedicated to the Lord.
What this meant is an extra year was to be incurred before a herdsman could
enjoy the benefits of increase from his herd. Only if a person loved the Lord,
would he do this willingly and be prepared to believe that God would honor His
word. In practice, what happened, people cheated on giving the best portions of
their produce to the Lord and were not prepared to lose the firstborn birthed
from every camel, donkey, cow, goat, and sheep they possessed. However, in not
honoring God as the Creator of the Universe and the Sustainer of life they
brought a curse upon themselves. Likewise, those who reject the truth regarding
the tithe may one day be saved, but their works will be tested by fire.
When it comes to forming any
philosophy or theology or any reason for living, we need something in which we
can have absolute confidence. Merely expressing a hope in the resurrection is
not the same as having returned to God and put Him to the test, and then knowing
after having done so, we have proof that we are accepted by our Heavenly Father
because of the overflowing blessing that has occurred according to His word.
Real faith demands real proof. Genuine faith requires genuine reasons for
having a conviction of that which is unseen, and confidence in things hoped
for.
If we are to be overcomers of the
ruler of this world, the Devil, it is impossible for us to do so, unless we do what
Abraham did. This includes, tithing, learning, laying down one’s life,
partaking of the fellowship around the table of the Lord by celebrating the
bread and the wine, and growing in faith by giving God the glory for what we
know He has actually done because we have put Him to the test by tithing our
income. This needs to be done cheerfully and because we love God, the first
thing we think of as soon as we receive any income. Indeed, when our heart is
so tuned towards receiving from God, the devourer is truly rebuked, and the
Lord does our fighting for us.
There is one other important
element that comes into being when we tithe. This is expectation. If we do not
tithe and we are like those who think that God loves them regardless of whether
they tithe or what they do, then we will not have a great expectation of the
Lord God honoring His promises. When we tithe, we introduce a level of
expectation in our lives that God will honor His word to us, which otherwise
does not exist. This is why tithing is so important for the Christian. Those
who do not tithe cannot experience this level of expectation, the same as a
women who is not pregnant cannot expect to have a baby. Accompanying this
expectation is the increase in our hope; which is how we envisage our relationship
with our Heavenly Father. The greater our hope, the greater our faith, and the
more love that is poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit (Romans
5:1-5). These three virtues are interconnected, and the more our love for God,
the more we want to give Him the glory. This is why the tithing is an important
component of the Christian experience on Earth, if we desire to overcome the Devil.
[i] THAYER'S GREEK
LEXICON, Electronic Database. Copyright © 2011 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights
reserved. Used by permission.
Recommended Further Reading
Prayers That Heal The Heart by Patti and Mark Virkler
Communion With God by Mark Virkler
Other works by the Author
The Only Words Written By The Finger Of God
How To Have An Effective Bible Study
You Will Know Them By Their Fruits
Return To The Lord Of Blessings
How To Shine Like A Star
The Milk Of The Word
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