“TITHING: A Covenant of Blessings from God”
By The Rt Rev Dr M.O. Fape

“Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, 'In what way have we robbed You?' In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, for you have robbed Me, even this whole nation. Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this," says the LORD of hosts, "If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, so that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field," says the LORD of hosts; and all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a delightful land," says the LORD of host” (Malachi 3:8-12).

God is no respecter of persons. Whoever honours him, he will honour in return. From the text of our theme, it is clear from the scripture that the mere fact that the children of Israel are in covenant relationship is not enough for them to enjoy the uninterrupted blessing of God. There are conditions attached to the covenant, which when fulfilled will result in blessings, and when ignored would result in curses. If the Israelites of the old were not spared when they contravened part of the terms of the covenant of being a blessed people, Christians of the present milieu, who are Israelites of the New Testament dispensation should not think that they will be spared by God if not living in accordance with the commandments of God, among which is the payment of Tithes and giving of Offerings.

Tithe was first mentioned in the Bible in connection with Abraham’s encounter with Melchizedec, the Priest of the Most High as chronicled in Genesis 14:
“Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High. And he blessed him and said: "Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand." And he gave him a tithe of all” (Gen. 14:18-20).

The above passage has an antecedent. The land of Sodom and Gomorrah where Lot was had been invaded; and Lot with his goods were also carried away. When the news came to Abraham, he decided to rescue his nephew by staging a war; and this he did successful with his troops after which he rescued Lot and brought back everything that had been taken away from him. On his return, he was met by Melchizedek, the priest of the Most High, who refreshed Abram, and in return, Abram gave him the tenth of his spoils.

The first mention of anything in the bible is very important and instructive. Christians, who belong to God through Christ are children of Abraham, since we have been incorporated into the seed of Abraham (Galatians 3:26-27); and we are therefore to walk in the faith and steps of Abraham, (Romans 4:12).  And of course, if Abraham gave tithe to Melchizedek, Christians cannot do less insofar as Christ is our High Priest after the order of Melchizedec (Hebrew 5:8-11).

During the dispensation of the law and at the time the mantle of leadership in Israel was directly on Moses, God commanded all the nations of Israel to bring their tithes into “the place of which the Lord your God shall choose,” (Deut. 12:5-6), for the furtherance of God’s work in the hands of the Levites (Num. 18:21, 26). If God commanded the Israelites of old to bring their tithes into his house, it is equally imperative that we Christians, the New Testament Israelites should see tithing as an obligation to our God to further enrich his house and help promote his work.

In the New Testament era Jesus’ attitude to tithing was positive as he declares, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone” (Matt. 23:23). In his rebuke of the Scribes and Pharisees, while Jesus was stressing the need to focus on “weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith,” he did not condemn tithing. In actual fact, the Pharisees and Scribes of the New Testament time incurred Jesus’ wrath because they were supplanting justice, mercy and faith with tithes. The fundamental truth that Jesus brought out here in his teaching is that tithes and offering should go hand in hand with justice, mercy and faith; and even with the love of God (Luke 11:42).  What is the implication of the above? Therefore, if showing justice, Mercy, faith and loving God are for the New Testament dispensation, then the giving of believers’ tithes to God is a valid and irrevocable New Testament teaching.

The express message on tithing is explicitly underscored in the Book of Prophet Malachi.  It is a trio-Message in the form of Reproof, Warning and Promise of the Lord.  First, God began the reproof of the Israelites by challenging them for robbing Him since they have with-held their tithes from Him. Hence they were reproved in the words: “Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me.  But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed you?’ in tithes and offerings.  You are cursed with a curse for you have robbed Me, even this whole nation” (Malachi 3:8-9).
Some Christians today have not seen the payment of tithes as part of what God has commanded them to do.  Such Christians think it is absolutely impossible to pay tithes because tithing is an Old Testament practice. We want to ask such Christians if anyone can throw into obscurity what Christ has approved and replace it with a new order?  (Matthew 23:23).  Jesus Christ says, “If you love me you will keep my commandment” ((John 14:15).  If any Christian holds back his tithes from God he or she does so out of complete ignorance and lack of a sound knowledge of the scriptures.
It is a common practice among some churches to substitute pastorate fees or church dues for tithes.  If a Christian sacrifices tithes for pastorate fees or Church dues, he or she goes contrary to the commandments of God.  It should be noted however, that the Israelites were still bringing into the house of God different kinds of offerings at the expense of their tithes when God reprimanded them and called them “ROBBERS”.

It is a laudable act of Christian charity to contribute generously into the coffers of the Church during Easter, Harvest, Christmas and such other Christian Festivals but these are never considered as substitutes for tithing.  As a matter of fact if tithing is faithfully and regularly done by our Christian folks as God had directed, the Church will have more than enough funds to take care of its financial needs and run its administration without much complaints with the result that those endless levies the Church throws at the members will become a thing of the past. It is because of lack as a result of not doing what we should do by doing what we should not do that there is no health in us, and because of our unfaithfulness, we have turned the house of God to a place of merchandise. Hence the complaints by our members (us), that the Church is demanding too much; we try to turn every service to a fundraising affair. Beloved, this ought not to be!
All Christians are required to bring their tithes to the altar of sacrifice, co-operating with God to the utmost of their ability so that God, through their instrumentality may reveal the beauty of His truth. God deserves a portion of whatever we have. In other words, God has a legitimate right to demand for a portion of our wealth. Because God is the creator, life giver and Sustainer of every human being, it follows that He has the prerogative to ask something in return from those who live as tenants on His property.