Understanding Tithing
“Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house…” (Malachi 3:10).
There’s a lot of confusion about the biblical topic of tithing. Some people erroneously believe that because tithing is in the Old Testament, that we don’t need to tithe anymore. But even if tithing was strictly a part of the Old Testament law, that wouldn’t mean that we are no longer bound to keep this practice. Jesus Himself said, “Don't misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to fulfill them. I assure you, until heaven and earth disappear, even the smallest detail of God's law will remain until its purpose is achieved.” (Matthew 5:17-18). However, we don’t tithe just because it was a part of the Old Testament law. Abraham – the father of our faith – tithed before the Mosaic law was given. Genesis 14:20 says, “Then Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of all the goods he had recovered.” His grandson, Jacob, also tithed before the law was given: “This memorial pillar will become a place for worshiping God, and I will give God a tenth of everything he gives me.” (Genesis 28:22). So to say that “tithing is an Old Testament law and we aren’t under the law” is not a valid argument. We don’t tithe just because it is a part of the law; we tithe because it is a universal principle instituted by God.
A side note on the law of God: It is important for us to realize that none of us get saved by keeping the law of God. However, if we are saved – if we are children of God through faith in Jesus – then we should keep the moral law of God, because we have been saved. As Christians, God doesn’t want us to be lawbreakers. He doesn’t want us to be murderers. He doesn’t want us to commit adultery. He wants us to keep His moral law. And in the same way, God wants us to honour Him with our finances through tithes and offerings.
Jesus Himself endorsed tithing in His teaching ministry. In Matthew 23:23, He said, “How terrible it will be for you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest part of your income, but you ignore the important things of the law – justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but you should not leave undone the more important things.” It doesn’t get much clearer than that. Jesus said, “You should tithe.” That should be enough for us! In Luke 11:42, we see the same statement recorded, for emphasis: “But how terrible it will be for you Pharisees! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest part of your income, but you completely forget about justice and the love of God. You should tithe, yes, but you should not leave undone the more important things.” So you see that not only is tithing an Old Testament principle, it is a Testament principle for the church as well.
Finally, if there is still a question mark in anyone’s hearts and minds as to whether or not God wants us to tithe, we see the answer here: “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right. It is God's way of preparing us in every way, fully equipped for every good thing God wants us to do.” (2 Tim. 3:16-17). All Scripture – both the Old and New Testaments – are inspired by God and useful to teach us how to live. So don’t adopt the mentality that says, “The Old Testament doesn’t apply to us!” God has given us the whole Bible – the whole counsel of Scripture – so we know how to live a life that pleases Him.
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Pastor Chris Jordan
http://www.beausejourchurch.ca/
Monday, November 30, 2009
Friday, November 27, 2009
A Story That Illustrates Stewardship
A STORY THAT ILLUSTRATES STEWARDSHIP:
Note: In the following parable, the word ‘talent’ does not describe natural ability. Rather, it is a term that was first used for a unit of weight (about 75 pounds) and then for a unit of coinage. In this story, Jesus is using the term talent in the latter sense, to refer to units of money.
Jesus said: “For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord's money. After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them. So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, 'Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.' His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.' He also who had received two talents came and said, 'Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.' His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.'
Then he who had received the one talent came and said, 'Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.' But his lord answered and said to him, 'You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. Therefore take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents. For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'” (Matthew 25:14-30).
We must remember that everything is the Lord’s – it all belongs to Him, and He has entrusted us with it. But you might say, “I really don’t have that much, Pastor Chris. I look at that person over there, and they have more money and resources than I do.” But it’s not about how much you have, whether you have little or much. In Jesus’ story, one person was given five talents, one person was given two talents, and they both got the same reward. The only one in the story who didn’t receive a reward was the one who didn’t do anything. If the person with one talent had gotten one more talent, Jesus would have responded to him with the same “Well done, good and faithful servant” that the other ones had received.
To be a good steward doesn’t mean that we have to do as much or make as much as someone else does. It just means that we need to be faithful with what the Lord has given to us. We need to be good faithful stewards because it all belongs to Him.
Pastor Chris Jordan
http://www.beausejourchurch.ca/
Note: In the following parable, the word ‘talent’ does not describe natural ability. Rather, it is a term that was first used for a unit of weight (about 75 pounds) and then for a unit of coinage. In this story, Jesus is using the term talent in the latter sense, to refer to units of money.
Jesus said: “For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord's money. After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them. So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, 'Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.' His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.' He also who had received two talents came and said, 'Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.' His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.'
Then he who had received the one talent came and said, 'Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.' But his lord answered and said to him, 'You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. Therefore take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents. For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'” (Matthew 25:14-30).
We must remember that everything is the Lord’s – it all belongs to Him, and He has entrusted us with it. But you might say, “I really don’t have that much, Pastor Chris. I look at that person over there, and they have more money and resources than I do.” But it’s not about how much you have, whether you have little or much. In Jesus’ story, one person was given five talents, one person was given two talents, and they both got the same reward. The only one in the story who didn’t receive a reward was the one who didn’t do anything. If the person with one talent had gotten one more talent, Jesus would have responded to him with the same “Well done, good and faithful servant” that the other ones had received.
To be a good steward doesn’t mean that we have to do as much or make as much as someone else does. It just means that we need to be faithful with what the Lord has given to us. We need to be good faithful stewards because it all belongs to Him.
Pastor Chris Jordan
http://www.beausejourchurch.ca/
Thursday, November 26, 2009
On Stewardship
Any discussion about money must begin with stewardship. What is stewardship? The Bible says, “The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him.” (Psalm 24:1). This is one of the foundational Scriptures that teaches us about stewardship. The Bible also says, “In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth… So God created man in His own image… Then God blessed them, and said, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it, have dominion…” (Gen. 1:1,27-28).
What do these Scriptures teach us? Everything that exists – every penny, every dollar, every material possession in the world – it all belongs to God. Sometimes people get upset when pastors preach on tithing, teaching their congregation that God calls us to give 10% of our income to the Lord through the local church. But the truth is, not only does the first 10% belong to God, all 100% of our income and resources belong to Him. The Bible makes it crystal clear that everything belongs to the Lord! And God has entrusted you and I to be stewards, to take care of all of His creation resources. So forget about the ten percent for a minute, and let’s talk about the one hundred percent that belongs to the Lord! God wants us to realize that everything that we have is a gift from Him. James 1:17 says, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights.” So every time we receive something good in our lives, we should say, “Thank you, Jesus.” But you might stay, “No, this didn’t come from Jesus. The paycheque came from my boss, or the gift came from my mom or dad.” And yes, they may have been the human channels that God used to give it to you, but ultimately, every good and perfect gift comes from the Lord.
Tom Gardner, the pastor of a Foursquare Church in British Columbia, wrote, “A steward is someone who has been entrusted with the resources of another… A steward stands in stark contrast to the consumer or user… The basis of stewardship is the recognition that God owns everything and we own nothing.” (Purses with Holes). Notice the two different categories of people that Tom refers to here: stewards and consumers. In the 21st century in North America, we are living in a generation of people who are consumers. When you turn on the TV or walk through the mall, everything is shouting, “Buy, buy, buy! Get, get, get! More, more, more!” We feel the exigency to ‘keep up with the Jones’s’ and get more stuff. We are pressured to ‘buy now and pay later!’ and get ourselves into debt, and get another credit card, and another credit card, and so many Christians have been sucked into our society’s consumer mentality. But God says, “I don’t want you to be a consumer. I don’t want you to use things up.” He says, “I want you to be a steward, one who is responsible for all of the things that I have given to you.”
It’s important also to realize that stewardship is not just about money. God wants us as Christians to be good stewards of our time, talents, and our tithe. How are we using our time? Every one of us has the same 24 hours in a day, but how are we stewarding our time? What are we spending our time doing? Do a little inventory sometime and take a look at how much time you spend watching TV, playing video games, or being engaged in other leisure activities. How does that amount of time compare to how much time you devote to reading our Bibles or praying or pursuing things that pertain to the Kingdom of God? It’s really easy to find out what’s important to a person: Find out what they spend their money on, and what they spend their time doing. Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matt. 6:21).
Not only are we to be good stewards of our time and our tithe (finances), but we are also called by God to be good stewards of our talents. Maybe you’re gifted in the area of administration. Maybe your spiritual gifting lies in the area of music and worship leading, or preaching and teaching, or prayer, or craftsmanship, serving or mercy. Whatever area God has gifted you in, you need to be a good steward of those gifts and talents. And God’s gifts aren’t so that you can become rich, famous or successful, although many people have used their talents in that way. God gives us gifts so that we can be a blessing to other people, and give Him honour and glory. “God has given gifts to each of you from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Manage them well so that God's generosity can flow through you. Are you called to be a speaker? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Are you called to help others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then God will be given glory in everything through Jesus Christ. All glory and power belong to him forever and ever.” (1 Peter 4:10-11). And so I want to challenge you – use your gifts! If you don’t know what they are, then embark on a journey to discover and develop those God-given talents and abilities, and use them to bring Him glory. So we need to be good stewards of our time, talents, and our tithe (money).
Pastor Chris Jordan
http://www.beausejourchurch.ca/
What do these Scriptures teach us? Everything that exists – every penny, every dollar, every material possession in the world – it all belongs to God. Sometimes people get upset when pastors preach on tithing, teaching their congregation that God calls us to give 10% of our income to the Lord through the local church. But the truth is, not only does the first 10% belong to God, all 100% of our income and resources belong to Him. The Bible makes it crystal clear that everything belongs to the Lord! And God has entrusted you and I to be stewards, to take care of all of His creation resources. So forget about the ten percent for a minute, and let’s talk about the one hundred percent that belongs to the Lord! God wants us to realize that everything that we have is a gift from Him. James 1:17 says, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights.” So every time we receive something good in our lives, we should say, “Thank you, Jesus.” But you might stay, “No, this didn’t come from Jesus. The paycheque came from my boss, or the gift came from my mom or dad.” And yes, they may have been the human channels that God used to give it to you, but ultimately, every good and perfect gift comes from the Lord.
Tom Gardner, the pastor of a Foursquare Church in British Columbia, wrote, “A steward is someone who has been entrusted with the resources of another… A steward stands in stark contrast to the consumer or user… The basis of stewardship is the recognition that God owns everything and we own nothing.” (Purses with Holes). Notice the two different categories of people that Tom refers to here: stewards and consumers. In the 21st century in North America, we are living in a generation of people who are consumers. When you turn on the TV or walk through the mall, everything is shouting, “Buy, buy, buy! Get, get, get! More, more, more!” We feel the exigency to ‘keep up with the Jones’s’ and get more stuff. We are pressured to ‘buy now and pay later!’ and get ourselves into debt, and get another credit card, and another credit card, and so many Christians have been sucked into our society’s consumer mentality. But God says, “I don’t want you to be a consumer. I don’t want you to use things up.” He says, “I want you to be a steward, one who is responsible for all of the things that I have given to you.”
It’s important also to realize that stewardship is not just about money. God wants us as Christians to be good stewards of our time, talents, and our tithe. How are we using our time? Every one of us has the same 24 hours in a day, but how are we stewarding our time? What are we spending our time doing? Do a little inventory sometime and take a look at how much time you spend watching TV, playing video games, or being engaged in other leisure activities. How does that amount of time compare to how much time you devote to reading our Bibles or praying or pursuing things that pertain to the Kingdom of God? It’s really easy to find out what’s important to a person: Find out what they spend their money on, and what they spend their time doing. Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matt. 6:21).
Not only are we to be good stewards of our time and our tithe (finances), but we are also called by God to be good stewards of our talents. Maybe you’re gifted in the area of administration. Maybe your spiritual gifting lies in the area of music and worship leading, or preaching and teaching, or prayer, or craftsmanship, serving or mercy. Whatever area God has gifted you in, you need to be a good steward of those gifts and talents. And God’s gifts aren’t so that you can become rich, famous or successful, although many people have used their talents in that way. God gives us gifts so that we can be a blessing to other people, and give Him honour and glory. “God has given gifts to each of you from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Manage them well so that God's generosity can flow through you. Are you called to be a speaker? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Are you called to help others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then God will be given glory in everything through Jesus Christ. All glory and power belong to him forever and ever.” (1 Peter 4:10-11). And so I want to challenge you – use your gifts! If you don’t know what they are, then embark on a journey to discover and develop those God-given talents and abilities, and use them to bring Him glory. So we need to be good stewards of our time, talents, and our tithe (money).
Pastor Chris Jordan
http://www.beausejourchurch.ca/
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Stewardship, Tithing and Giving
STEWARDSHIP, TITHING AND GIVING
In preparation for a message that I am preaching on "Giving and Generosity" this Sunday morning, I want to share with you some foundational thoughts on Stewardship, Tithing and Giving. Next week, we will continue our series on the Supernatural.
“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” (Joshua 1:8).
What an amazing gift that God has given us in the Bible. He didn’t leave us alone on Planet Earth to figure out how life works, but He gave us a blueprint for successful living. Someone described the Bible once in terms of this acrostic: Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth. I like that. When we live our life in obedience to God’s Word, we will both make our way prosperous, and have good success. This is true of every area of our lives – from personal and family relationships, to how to manage our finances.
But money is a challenging topic for a pastor to teach on. There are people who have wrong ideas about the church and say, “The church just wants your money!” Perhaps you have seen the television evangelist who uses guilt and manipulation to try to get people to give to their ministries: “Send us money, or we’ll go off the air!” or “If you send us money, God will bless you!” It’s no wonder Pastor Jerry Cook said, “The subject of money in the church world is loaded with emotion, legalism, fear, nonsense and borderline religious magic.” And although it is true that there are excesses and abuses that have happened in the name of teaching on finances, we cannot neglect this important subject matter.
As a pastor, I teach many different topics from God’s Word – from relationships, knowing God, defeating discouragement, and using your spiritual gifts, to the death and resurrection of Jesus, healing, the Kingdom of God, and more. But it’s interesting to note that in the Bible, there are only 500 Scripture verses that talk about prayer, but there are over 2,000 verses that teach principles about money and finances. (As an aside – if we want to be biblically proportionate, then I should preach four sermons on money and finances for every sermon I preach on prayer!). However, I realize that this is a sensitive issue, and the reality is, I have probably only preached one sermon wholly devoted to the topic of finances in the nearly three years that I have been the senior pastor of the church in Beausejour.
If we believe that Jesus came to give us abundant life, and that the Bible is good news, then the topic of money should not be one that we should avoid. What the Bible teaches about money is not sad, depressing and miserable – it too is good news. In Acts 20:27, the Apostle Paul boldly declared, “For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27). What this means is that Paul didn’t ignore teaching parts of the Bible that were potentially controversial, or that might offend people. He said, “I have told you everything that I know about the Bible.” And the truth is, it wouldn’t be very pastoral of me if I didn’t share with you what God’s Word had to say about the topic of money. We’re living in a world today where many people don’t know how to handle their money, and because of that they end up in crippling debt or financial trouble. But God’s Word has a lot of wisdom pertaining to money management. In Jesus’ own teaching, 16 of the 38 parables that He taught were about finances.
So tomorrow, we will take a look at what the Bible has to say about stewardship, tithing and giving.
Pastor Chris Jordan
http://www.beausejourchurch.ca/
In preparation for a message that I am preaching on "Giving and Generosity" this Sunday morning, I want to share with you some foundational thoughts on Stewardship, Tithing and Giving. Next week, we will continue our series on the Supernatural.
“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” (Joshua 1:8).
What an amazing gift that God has given us in the Bible. He didn’t leave us alone on Planet Earth to figure out how life works, but He gave us a blueprint for successful living. Someone described the Bible once in terms of this acrostic: Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth. I like that. When we live our life in obedience to God’s Word, we will both make our way prosperous, and have good success. This is true of every area of our lives – from personal and family relationships, to how to manage our finances.
But money is a challenging topic for a pastor to teach on. There are people who have wrong ideas about the church and say, “The church just wants your money!” Perhaps you have seen the television evangelist who uses guilt and manipulation to try to get people to give to their ministries: “Send us money, or we’ll go off the air!” or “If you send us money, God will bless you!” It’s no wonder Pastor Jerry Cook said, “The subject of money in the church world is loaded with emotion, legalism, fear, nonsense and borderline religious magic.” And although it is true that there are excesses and abuses that have happened in the name of teaching on finances, we cannot neglect this important subject matter.
As a pastor, I teach many different topics from God’s Word – from relationships, knowing God, defeating discouragement, and using your spiritual gifts, to the death and resurrection of Jesus, healing, the Kingdom of God, and more. But it’s interesting to note that in the Bible, there are only 500 Scripture verses that talk about prayer, but there are over 2,000 verses that teach principles about money and finances. (As an aside – if we want to be biblically proportionate, then I should preach four sermons on money and finances for every sermon I preach on prayer!). However, I realize that this is a sensitive issue, and the reality is, I have probably only preached one sermon wholly devoted to the topic of finances in the nearly three years that I have been the senior pastor of the church in Beausejour.
If we believe that Jesus came to give us abundant life, and that the Bible is good news, then the topic of money should not be one that we should avoid. What the Bible teaches about money is not sad, depressing and miserable – it too is good news. In Acts 20:27, the Apostle Paul boldly declared, “For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27). What this means is that Paul didn’t ignore teaching parts of the Bible that were potentially controversial, or that might offend people. He said, “I have told you everything that I know about the Bible.” And the truth is, it wouldn’t be very pastoral of me if I didn’t share with you what God’s Word had to say about the topic of money. We’re living in a world today where many people don’t know how to handle their money, and because of that they end up in crippling debt or financial trouble. But God’s Word has a lot of wisdom pertaining to money management. In Jesus’ own teaching, 16 of the 38 parables that He taught were about finances.
So tomorrow, we will take a look at what the Bible has to say about stewardship, tithing and giving.
Pastor Chris Jordan
http://www.beausejourchurch.ca/
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