Making a Differencewith Pastor Phil Erickson

Feb 13th First Things First: Honoring God with Our Finances

Listen to today’s passage – Leviticus 26 – 27

Follow along on Blue Letter Bible – Leviticus 26

Second Milers also read – John 19 – 21; Proverbs 13; Psalms 66 – 70

Listen to this morning’s Scripture Song – Psalm 48:1 & 2

Read the “0213 Evening and Morning“ devotion for today, by Charles Spurgeon.

Read a previous post from today’s passage – “The Choice is Yours“

“And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD’S: it is holy unto the LORD.” – (Leviticus 27:30)

I really do not understand why the subject of giving back to God is such a difficult one for many people. Everything we own ultimately belongs to God anyway. We are merely custodians, or stewards, of His possessions. The principle of tithing has been around for a long time, well before the Law was established. You will remember that Abraham gave tithes to Melchizedek (Genesis 14:20), and Jacob promised God that he would give Him the tenth all that God blessed him with (Genesis 28:22). Jesus even commented that the Pharisees were right when they gave their “tithe on mint and anise and cummin” (Matthew 23:23).

In Malachi, the Israelites were rebuked for not giving. In fact, God stated that they were robbing Him:

“8 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. 9 Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. 10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. 11 And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts. 12 And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the LORD of hosts.” (Mal 3:8–12)

Did you notice that God promised them that He would not only bless them by supplying their need (“open the windows of Heaven”), but He would also protect their crops and cause their resources to last longer (“rebuke the devourer”).

I do not believe, however, that the New Testament Christian is under any law to give ten percent of his or her income to the church. We do live in the age of grace and all such laws have been nailed to the cross. Having said that, though, when I teach new believers regarding principles of stewardship, I will tell them that the tithe is a good place to begin in giving. They often look at me as if I am crazy, and I guess if you were to judge me by the world’s standards, I am. But, think about it. What better way is there for a young believer to declare that they acknowledge God’s ownership of their money and possessions. There is also no better way for them to demonstrate their dependence upon the blessing of God. To many new Christians, this is a tremendous leap of faith, and unfortunately, some will never take it.

I remember when I first trusted Christ. My wife and I were only married a few years, and as is typical with many young, married couples, my financial situation was a mess. Wouldn’t you know it, the first church service that I attended as a new believer, the pastor preached on tithing. I was sure that all that these people wanted was my money. Slowly, however, God began to impress upon my heart that I needed to trust Him and to put Him first in my life, and if I was going to do that, it would mean that I would have to trust Him with my money. We started tithing, fearfully at first, but God has always kept His end of the deal. He has been faithful to take good care of me and my family. There has always been food on the table, clothes on my back, and a roof over my head; and their have even been many wonderful “desires” thrown in along the way. God is good.

Consider the following New Testament verses:

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Matt 6:33)

“Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.” (Luke 6:38)

“15 And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.” (Luke 12:15)

“6 But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. 7 Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.” (2 Cor 9:6–7)

“I speak not by commandment, but by occasion of the forwardness of others, and to prove the sincerity of your love.” (2 Cor 8:8)

Years ago, my son and his wife purchased a beautiful home in a nice part of our community. He paid less than half of what his neighbor paid for a similar house ten years ago. We have other young couples in our church who have purchased homes, and they were similarly blessed. Why? Because they had learned to put God first. They have recognized that God can be trusted to take care of them. All of these couples that I am thinking about right now give far above the tithe, by the way. And their giving is not limited to money, either; they give of their time and talents as well. Like the Macedonian Christians of Paul’s day, “they gave their own selves to the Lord” (2 Corinthians 8:5). And because of that, God is blessing them abundantly.

Today, it seems like it is much more difficult to give to the Lord’s work at this level. Considering the costs of housing, food, utilities, insurances, and taxes, it is very difficult to survive, let alone give. However, this principle of putting God first in your life needs to be prioritized. You can trust that God will supply all your needs (Philippians 4:19) if you are prioritizing the Kingdom of God in your life.

The practical suggestion that I give to all the new believers at our church is to pray about what God wants you to give, and then be consistent about it. Give faithfully.

Friend, you can trust God. Keep “first things first” in your life; and the first thing needs to be God.