John F Avanzini - Is tithing for today?

Is Tithing for Today?

Tithing is one of the most important things you must do to live the abundant life God has planned for you.

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Jeremiah 29:11, NIV

In the Book of Malachi, God tells us how He will supply all the blessings this scripture promises. He will give them to us from heaven, through the windows of heaven that our tithe has opened.

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....

Malachi 3:10

It only stands to reason that if tithing will open the windows of heaven, not tithing will close them.

Living under an open heaven makes the difference between a life of abundant blessings and a life of shortage and lack. It makes the difference between having good health or faltering health. It makes the difference between the joy of having your prayers answered or the heartbreak of unanswered prayer. Your decision to tithe, or not to tithe, will either release to you a multitude of benefits, or it will leave you unprotected from the curses that came into the world when Adam and Eve sinned.

When you realize that all of God's many blessings come to you from heaven, you will insist upon having an open heaven.

Pay close attention to what the Apostle James said about the origin of everything good.

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights....

James 1:17

This verse says that all the good things are gifts from God, and they come down from heaven. Therefore, it becomes extremely important to keep the windows of heaven wide open, so you will be able to receive all the blessings God has planned for you.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord....

Jeremiah 29:11, NIV

Before going any further, it is important that I reveal the most sinister plot the devil has ever devised. Satan knows that if you get sufficient money, you will immediately become very dangerous to his kingdom. He also knows that tithing plays a very important part in the fulfillment of God's plan to prosper you. Therefore, he continually raises doubts in the minds of believers about their financial responsibility in the kingdom of God. He conducts an ongoing campaign to confuse believers about whether or not tithing is really for our day.

How easy it would be to teach believers to tithe if it weren't for the misguided instruction about tithing that constantly circulates through the church. Because of this misinformation, I will have to take some of our time to reestablish the truth about tithing from the Scripture.

Many of those who teach that Christians don't have to tithe, do so because they mistakenly believe tithing is part of the Law of Moses. Then they reason that because our Lord's atonement removed the curse of the law, it must have also removed tithing.

This belief causes them to think a New Testament saint can never come under any form of curse. To explain why this is a wrong conclusion, let's examine a curse that came upon two New Testament saints. Their names were Ananias and Sapphira . The Bible tells us this couple lost their lives over a wrong decision they made about money matters. They lied to the Holy Ghost about an offering they were making, and they died (Acts 5:3-10).

Now here's the question: Did God do something terrible to this couple, or did Ananias and Sapphira cause their own deaths? The answer to this question is simple. Ananias and Sapphira violated a spiritual principle when they lied to the Holy Ghost. By their own actions, they exposed themselves to the penalty of sin.

... the soul that sinneth , it shall die.

Ezekiel 18:4

It was their willful violation of God's established ordinance that brought about their deaths. Read the account as carefully as you can, and you will find that God took no specific action against either of them. They simply collected the wages of sin, which is death.

For the wages of sin is death....

Romans 6:23

All Christians will quickly agree that lying to the Holy Ghost is a sin! We also know the penalty for sin is death. God has clearly stated this principle in both the Old and New Testaments.

Liars are sinners, and sinners die. Ananias and Sapphira lied, and true to God's Word, they died. Please keep in mind that the Bible does not give a set amount of time that has to pass after a person commits sin before the penalty of sin takes effect. It may take fifty years, fifty days, or fifty minutes. Or as it was in the case of Ananias and Sapphira , it took less than 50 seconds for the penalty of sin to become their portion.

When you understand the consequences of sin, it becomes easy to see that God did not curse Ananias and Sapphira . It was their own willful violation of a God-ordained principle that brought the penalty of death upon them. Notice God's Word doesn't change!

... the soul that sinneth , it shall die.

Ezekiel 18:4

The violation of any God-ordained principle always brings the promised penalty. This truth is parallel in the natural realm. For instance, as long as you obey the established principles of aerodynamics, you can safely fly through the sky. However, if you violate these principles, you will stop flying and crash.

If you violate a principle that carries with it the penalty of death, you will die. If you obey God's principles, you will live. God doesn't crash airplanes or kill liars. It is the violation of established principles that brings about these disastrous results.

Not Tithing Carries a Preordained Penalty

Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.

Malachi 3:9

When God says you are cursed with a curse, He is speaking of the penalty that conies to those who willfully violate His established principle of tithing.

... all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lords: it is holy unto the Lord.

Leviticus 27:30

God states clearly that a predetermined penalty comes automatically to those who refuse to give God His portion of the increase. He simply closes heaven over those who don't tithe. In other words, divine protection, as well as promised blessings, come to an abrupt stop.

Adam and Eve Tithed

Now let's answer the question: Is tithing for today? If you carefully study the Bible, you will find that God has always required His people to set aside a portion of their increase (the tithe) for Him. Setting aside this divine portion literally spans all of human history. If you can keep an open mind to the Word of God, you will find the next statement to be among the most important you have ever read.

God expected Adam and Eve to set aside a portion of their increase (tithe) for Him.

I can hear someone ask, "Brother John, are you serious? They were tithing all the way back in the Garden of Eden? Don't you think that's taking things just a bit too far?"

Adam and Eve Had Jobs

Contrary to the belief of some, God did not put Adam and Eve in His garden as tourists. They had clearly defined work assignments. They were the caretakers of the garden.

The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.

Genesis 2:15, NIV

It is clear from this verse that God required Adam and Eve to bestow their labor on the trees and plants of the garden.

Are we to assume that God required Adam and Eve to work for free? Certainly not! God paid them generously for their labor . Their wages were the fruit of almost every tree in the garden.

... Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat.