The Law of Tithting

by Rev. Rick L. Patterson, Th.D.
President
Miami Christian University
Miami, FL

This paper will address itself to the issue of tithing, and more specifically, " The Law of Tithing." It is my hope and desire that this brief look into the Christian principles of tithing will stimulate your interest in studying and ultimately becoming obedient to the Word of God - the Bible!

I am not going to give you 1,001 reasons why you should tithe on your income. I am not going to try and "sell" you on tithing. Rather, I am going to present the Word of God to you and believe that by the power of the Holy Spirit you will be obedient to God's commandment to tithe!

The way in which you handle your finances will mark your spiritual commitment to God! It has often been said that more could be learned about a person's commitment to Christ by looking at his checkbook rather than his prayer book. We are no farther along in our walk with God than the point to which we have learned to trust Him with our tithes and offerings.

There are so many books, tracts, tapes, and teachings today attempting to convince the Christian to tithe that it is amazing. Many of them are excellent, but many are nothing more than weak compromises trying to gloss over the issue.

For example, I visited a church where the pastor had written a tract entitled, "Moving Towards the Tithe." The tract encouraged people to move in a positive direction to give 10% to God. It later emphasized, however, that the believer need not concern h imself with the consequences of not tithing, which was an obvious contradiction of the subject of his tract. My question is not whether or not you are moving towards the tithe, but rather, WHY A REN'T YOU TITHING?

I realize that many people do not tithe simply because they have not had the proper teachings about tithing. Then there are others who know they should, but willfully don't. My main concern is with the latter group - those who are w illfully rebellious a nd disobedient to God's commands. Jesus clearly taught us that if we love him we will keep his commandments. Clearly that includes tithing and giving!

We have all seen the bumper stickers that say,

"HONK IF YOU LOVE JESUS!"

Recently, I saw another bumper sticker that said,

"TITHE, IF YOU LOVE JESUS...ANYONE CAN HONK!"

PRINCIPLE OF DIVINE OWNERSHIP VERSUS THE PRINCIPLE OF DOMINION

Many Christians have not learned the concept of Divine Ownership nor that of Dominion. As a result, they have a distorted view of the purpose of their finances. Here is an explanation of these two important principles.

THE PRINCIPLE OF DOMINION

GENESIS 1:26
Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all th e earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." (NKJ)

GENESIS 1:27
So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

GENESIS 1:28
Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living t hing that moves on the earth." (NKJ)