Category
108 Offering and Tithes
Think about this: Christ loved us so much that he gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering to God.1 He made the ultimate sacrifice for you on the cross, loving you to death and beyond. Even as time marches on, His love stays constant.
It's so important for you to grasp that the biggest sacrifice has already been made. But now, you get to be a pleasing offering to God, too. Let your service, your honor, and your giving be a delight to your Heavenly Father. Know that Jesus has given you everything, and anything you offer pales in comparison to His love.
Giving to God, supporting His work, it's an expression of love. Don't see it as a burden or an obligation, but as a response to God's love and Jesus' sacrifice. It's a way of saying "thank you" for everything Heaven has poured into your life.
1Ephesians 5:2
and he adds, “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.”
Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.
He spoke these words while he was teaching in the treasury of the temple, but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.
Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in my house, and thus put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts; see if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you an overflowing blessing.
Then Jesus said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”
and walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things; I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’
Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you did not scatter,
Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not regretfully or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
He sat down opposite the treasury and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums.
A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny.
Then he called his disciples and said to them, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury.
For all of them have contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”
Honor the Lord with your substance and with the first fruits of all your produce;
then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine.
“All tithes from the land, whether the seed from the ground or the fruit from the tree, are the Lord’s; they are holy to the Lord.
But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay. Deliverance belongs to the Lord!”
He it is who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds.
He who did not withhold his own Son but gave him up for all of us, how will he not with him also give us everything else?
all shall give as they are able, according to the blessing of the Lord your God that he has given you.
give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap, for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.”
For if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have.
Take from among you an offering to the Lord; let whoever is of a generous heart bring the Lord’s offering: gold, silver, and bronze;
“But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to make this freewill offering? For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you.
I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, on the basis of God’s mercy, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable act of worship.
Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.
“Set apart a tithe of all the yield of your seed that is brought in yearly from the field.
In the presence of the Lord your God, in the place that he will choose as a dwelling for his name, you shall eat the tithe of your grain, your wine, and your oil, as well as the firstlings of your herd and flock, so that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always.
On the first day of every week, each of you is to put aside and save whatever extra you earn, so that collections need not be taken when I come.
He blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, maker of heaven and earth,
and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!” And Abram gave him one-tenth of everything.
It is well with those who deal generously and lend, who conduct their affairs with justice.
Some give freely yet grow all the richer; others withhold what is due and only suffer want.
A generous person will be enriched, and one who gives water will get water.
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cumin and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. It is these you ought to have practiced without neglecting the others.
He looked up and saw rich people putting their gifts into the treasury;
he also saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins.
He said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them,
for all of them have contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in all she had to live on.”
Faithfully they brought in the contributions, the tithes, and the dedicated things. The chief officer in charge of them was Conaniah the Levite, with his brother Shimei as second;
In all this I have given you an example that by such work we must support the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus, for he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”
I have been paid in full and have more than enough; I am fully satisfied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God.
and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple—truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.”
Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them and not to hide yourself from your own kin?
Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it.
Do not say to your neighbor, “Go and come again; tomorrow I will give it,” when you have it with you.
As for those who in the present age are rich, command them not to be haughty or to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches but rather on God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.
They are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share,
thus storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of the life that really is life.
“Tell the Israelites to take for me an offering; from all whose hearts prompt them to give you shall receive the offering for me.
“When you have come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess and you possess it and settle in it,
you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from the land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a basket and go to the place that the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his name.
This “Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham as he was returning from defeating the kings and blessed him,”
and to him Abraham apportioned “one-tenth of everything.” His name, in the first place, means “king of righteousness”; next, he is also king of Salem, that is, “king of peace.”
Whatever the Lord pleases he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps.
He it is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth; he makes lightnings for the rain and brings out the wind from his storehouses.
In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.
And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work.
But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, so that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your ancestors, as he is doing today.
I know, my God, that you search the heart and take pleasure in uprightness; in the uprightness of my heart I have freely offered all these things, and now I have seen your people who are present here offering freely and joyously to you.
Sell your possessions and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
“So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward.
But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
so that your alms may be done in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house, and of all that you give me I will surely give one-tenth to you.”
for Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to share their resources with the poor among the saints at Jerusalem.
So Moses gave command, and word was proclaimed throughout the camp: “No man or woman is to make anything else as an offering for the sanctuary.” So the people were restrained from bringing,
for what they had already brought was more than enough to do all the work.
With a freewill offering I will sacrifice to you; I will give thanks to your name, O Lord, for it is good.
Do you not know that those who work in the temple service get their food from the temple and those who serve at the altar share in what is sacrificed on the altar?
In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel.
Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.”
In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground,
and Abel for his part brought of the firstlings of his flock, their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering,
but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.
Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering, and come into his courts.
Those who go out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, carrying their sheaves.
Those greedy for unjust gain make trouble for their households, but those who hate bribes will live.
Through him, then, let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name.
“The best of the first fruits of your ground you shall bring to the house of the Lord your God. “You shall not boil a kid in its mother’s milk.”
Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching,
for the scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain” and “The laborer deserves to be paid.”
Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that I need,
lest I be full and deny you and say, “Who is the Lord?” or I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God.
And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me.’
So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up.
So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all and especially for those of the family of faith.
You Philippians indeed know that in the early days of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving except you alone.
For even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me help for my needs more than once.
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters;
Whoever gives to the poor will lack nothing, but one who turns a blind eye will get many a curse.
Moreover, in addition to all that I have provided for the holy house, I have a treasure of my own of gold and silver, and because of my devotion to the house of my God I give it to the house of my God:
if you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday.
Happy are those who consider the poor; the Lord delivers them in the day of trouble.
The Lord protects them and keeps them alive; they are called happy in the land. You do not give them up to the will of their enemies.
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal,
but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal.
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Give liberally and be ungrudging when you do so, for on this account the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake.
They have distributed freely; they have given to the poor; their righteousness endures forever; their horn is exalted in honor.
We want you to know, brothers and sisters, about the grace of God that has been granted to the churches of Macedonia,
for during a severe ordeal of affliction their abundant joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part.
For, as I can testify, they voluntarily gave according to their means and even beyond their means,
begging us earnestly for the favor of partnering in this ministry to the saints,
and not as we expected. Instead, they gave themselves first to the Lord and, by the will of God, to us,
and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!” And Abram gave him one-tenth of everything.
Then the people rejoiced because these had given willingly, for with single mind they had offered freely to the Lord; King David also rejoiced greatly.
the encourager, in encouragement; the giver, in sincerity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.
who executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free;
They asked only one thing, that we remember the poor, which was actually what I was eager to do.
And when I arrive, I will send any whom you approve with letters to take your gift to Jerusalem.
If it seems advisable that I should go also, they will accompany me.
You will be enriched in every way for your great generosity, which will produce thanksgiving to God through us,
when you give to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.
The effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever.
If you, then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!
Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.
He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap,
to make them sit with princes, with the princes of his people.