You are a robber, you are a thief, you are cursed and are laboring under a curse! How many times have you heard a Minister of the Gospel of Christ make that statement? How often has Malachi 3:8-9 been used as the basis for collecting tithes and offerings? Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed me.
But ye say, wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.
Ye are cursed with a curse for ye have robbed me even this whole nation.
Did you know that at the time Malachi was written, tithes and offerings equaled 33%? I am sure that in 2009 most of the Body of Christ is NOT giving 33% for Kingdom purposes.
So does that mean that the entire Body of Christ is cursed? God forbid - of course not and let us not forget that the principle of tithing was established prior to the law being given.
How long will this erroneous teaching be taught to the Body of Christ? Is it being taught to browbeat us into giving or is it being taught because the "teachers" have not taken the time to research and study what the Lord has said and is actually saying about giving? Did you know there is more written in the Bible about finances than there is written on heaven, hell, prayer and faith? Remember that 2 Timothy 2:15 admonishes us to "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth", which lets us know that the Word can be wrongly divided.
Let's dig a little deeper.
If we are cursed according to Malachi 3:8-9, how do we reconcile and/or harmonize these scriptures with 2 Corinthians 9:7 which states that "Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity for God loveth a cheerful giver? Since the Word of God does not contradict itself, how do we or can we harmonize the two scriptures? We cannot because the scriptures are contrasts-they are opposites-one given under the Old Covenant (Malachi) and one given under the New Covenant (2 Corinthians).
The Body of Christ must realize that the Old Covenant and the New Covenant is more than a blank page in the Bible.
Under the Old Covenant (Malachi 3:8-9) - laws and commands were given and if they were not followed to the letter, punishment was automatic because of the old fallen nature.
Under the Old Covenant people could not be born again, they could not be internally changed; therefore, punishment was given as a reminder of the commandments such as being cursed with a curse.
It was negative motivation and fear of punishment that drove people to give under the law and there is no joy in giving when it is given out of guilt, fear, debt or obligation.
The obvious impossibility of carrying out such a moral program should make it plain that no one can sustain a relationship with God that way.
The person who lives in right relationship with God does it by embracing what God arranges for him.
Doing things for God is the opposite of entering into what God does for you.
Habakkuk had it right: "The person who believes God, is set right by God-and that is the real life.
" Rule-keeping does not naturally evolve into living by faith but only perpetuates itself in more and more rule-keeping, a fact observed in Scripture: "The one who does these things [rule-keeping] continues to live by them.
" (Galatians 3:11-12 The Message).
Under the New Covenant (2 Corinthians 9:7) - we have a relationship of love and grace and by the Holy Spirit we are born again, we have a new nature, a nature whereby the Holy Spirit dwells and communes with us on the inside; He leads us and guides us to give out of our love for God and what has been done for us through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Christ redeemed us from that self-defeating, cursed life by absorbing it completely into himself.
Do you remember the Scripture that says, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree"? That is what happened when Jesus was nailed to the cross: He became a curse and at the same time dissolved the curse and now, because of that, the air is cleared and we can see that Abraham's blessing is present and available for Gentiles too.
We are all able to receive God's life, His Spirit in and with us by believing-just the way Abraham received it.
(Galatians 3:13-14 The Message).
So what am I saying? Am I saying that you should not tithe? I certainly am not - I am saying, however, that you are not cursed if you do not tithe.
You are not very wise since tithes and offering is the Kingdom of God's way to prosperity - but you are not cursed.
I believe that we should live to give, live to give out of love for what Father God has done for us through Jesus Christ, live to give to promote God's kingdom on earth, live to give to be a blessing to others.
Luke 12:34 tells us "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
" Luke 6:38 tells us to "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.
" So if giving is all there is to prosperity, all tithers should be millionaires at a minimum.
So I suggest that it is not our giving that is the problem rather the motive or attitude of the heart of our giving that is the problem for there is no joy in giving when it is given out of guilt, fear, debt or obligation.
Speaking of tithing, Malachi 3:10 states to "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.
Well, what is the "storehouse" and what is the "meat" referred to in that scripture? We will deal with that in my next article.
Until then, remember that Jesus Loves You and Father God is not mad at you but He is madly and unconditionally in love with you.
Stay Encouraged!