The fear of the law of tithing (Part I)
Today I begin a new teaching that will take ten days (ten parts) in order to understand what the bible says about money. Why money? Because in the last few decades, many doctrines based on financial prosperity were born in the West and continue to be born so much so that even Africa is not spared. In churches, the gospel has changed to the point that creating a church seems to be a good business for a living and this is why we are witnessing struggles (mostly in Africa) among pastors who want to take the seat of honor and almost wherever there is a fight between pastors and leaders of a church, money is always the source of conflict. All is well at the beginning of the ministry or the church but when the church is growing and there is a consistent income or new finances appear, it is often the beginning of the war.
It is for this reason that we are going to dig into the bible to discover God's thinking about money. Fifty years ago, it was inconceivable that a Christian is forced to pay money to hear the Word of God, or to enter into his church to praise the Lord. Your church is your spiritual family and your church Christians are your brothers and sisters in the Lord.
Your church is your place to commune with others, you unload your burdens by sharing with others and when it is time to praise the Lord, the bible says that we must converse with spiritual hymns singing and praise the Lord (Eph 5: 18), and we must support the weaker financially (Acts 2: 45). But what is it happening today? Crusades of praise are held in churches and even church members have to pay to enter. My question is simple: "Do I pay to praise and worship God? Or I pay to see a performance? If I’m forced to pay for a show, I can understand but if we must enter to praise and worship the Lord, I am confused because the singers are on the pulpit to guide us (because of their gifts) in praise and if we have to contribute financially, it must be willingly and not a condition to enter.
I did not want to write about such a delicate subject but a strong voice told me SPEAK AND DO NOT KEEP QUIET!!!!
I have a series of questions in my head: Is it normal that a Christian is forced to pay to enter his own congregation to praise the Lord? What about if he cannot afford to pay? Is it normal that a Christian has to pay to listen to a new biblical teaching or seminar? Is it normal that there has to be someone standing at the entrance of the church to sell and check the entry tickets in the house of God? Is it normal that churches leaders get rich from the money of poor Christians?
If a millionaire preacher comes to teach the Word in Malawi which is the poorest country in the world, is it normal that the millionaire obliges Malawians Christians to pay his private jet’s kerosene and all the costs for a five-star hotel for the sole purpose of listening to his teachings? Is it normal to convince Christians that they are cursed because they could not pay their tithes regularly? What does the bible say of tithing and above all what does the bible say about money? The answer lies in the nine teachings that follow.
Chris Ndikumana
The fear of the law of tithing (Part 2)
Verse of the Day: Matthew 6: 24 "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon"
Mammon is known as the god or spirit of finance and as the world is led by the power of money, Jesus said that we cannot serve God and Mammon. He says we can choose to serve one of the two but we cannot serve both. The bible does not say that money is the root of all evil, but it is the love of money which is the one (1 Tim 6: 10).
If you often read the bible, you can realize that Jesus talked about money more than all the apostles including even Paul. He talked about money in many parables and he did not only talk about it, but he also owned it. He lived from money, he bought food for his disciples with the money he kept in a safe that was kept by Judas Iscariot. He had enough money to live and to help the poor. Jesus even paid the taxes charged by the government (Matt 17: 27). All these verses confirm that Jesus had money and was not poor as some people say.
I know some of you are surprised to hear that Jesus had money wherever he went during his ministry, but it must be proven by the Word: Let's read in John 13: 29 " Since Judas had charge of the money, some thought Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the festival, or to give something to the poor "
The verse of John 13:29 tells us that Jesus had someone (Judas) to keep his money and he did not only use it to live as we find in the verse, he sometimes organized feasts. The thought of his disciples came out of the things that they were used to see. Jesus was not poor because the poor cannot organize feasts. The same verse reveals that he even supported the poor.
The big question is to know where did the money come from? The answer is found in Luke 8:3 “And Joanna the wife of Chuza Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others, which ministered unto him of their substance". Back then, the steward of the king was very rich and Joanna was the wife of Chuza the steward of King Herod. The verse says that she ministered unto Jesus of her substance, not only her but many others did the same. On one hand, God put on Jesus’ road men and women who were wealthy and influential in order to support his ministry and on the other hand, He put the poor around him to assist them in their needs from the money collected from those rich people.
In the third part, we will see what Jesus thinks of the rich regarding heaven.
Chris Ndikumana
The fear of the law of tithing (Part 3)
Verse of the day: Matthew 19: 23 "I tell you the truth, a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven"
The word of today is particularly aimed to the rich or those who aspire to wealth. Unlike some ancient teachings, Jesus never said that poverty is the condition to enter heaven. He has not said that the rich cannot enter the kingdom of heaven, but he just said (according to the verse of the day) that the rich hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.
As I said before, the bible does not say that money is the root of all evil, but it is the love of money which is one (1 Tim 6: 10). In the first part of the teaching, Jesus said that we cannot serve two masters i.e. God and Mammon. In other words, one cannot serve God and money at the same time. According to the mind of Jesus, the one who loves money cannot love God completely. If you feel the love of money in you, I advise you to pray for deliverance for you are in a very bad position in regarding with the Lord. You can tell me that everyone loves money but my answer is No, because everyone does not love money but everyone needs money. There is a big difference between to love money and to need money. He who loves money will never be satisfied because he is totally dependent. In fact, he becomes a slave of money and can never please the Lord.
The verse of the day comes from Jesus' encounter with the rich young man who apparently lived a life of integrity and followed all the commandments but Jesus touched the most sensitive part of the rich, saying, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me"(Matthew 19: 21). The young man was very disappointed to hear such words and the next verse says: "After hearing these words, the young man went away sad; for he had great possessions "(Matt 19: 22).
Here I have to say that Jesus is not against the rich but he is against greed. If you are rich, do not think that Jesus asks you to sell everything you have to distribute to the poor and follow him, but he does not want to see greed in you. Zacchaeus was rich and he was enriched by stealing the people's money, but after his conversion, Jesus did not ask him to sell all the property because he had been generous when he said, "Behold, Lord, I give to the poor half of my possessions, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I restore him fourfold "(Luke 19: 8). He who loves money could not take such a decision. Jesus finally said, "Today salvation has come to this house."
In the fourth part, we will see that it is not enough to confess biblical verses to become real.
Chris Ndikumana
The fear of the law of tithing (Part 4)
Verse of the Day: Philippians 4: 19 "And my God shall supply all your needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus"
Most Christians know the verse of the day by heart because it is very encouraging and offers hope to those who are in material need. It tells us about God who is ready to supply all our needs according to his riches. We all take it as a promise and constantly confess it by faith but the problem is that sometimes our needs are not provided despite this good promise.
I'm afraid to disappoint you because this promise only concerned the Philippian church (or those who are like them) because of their generosity to the work of God. In writing this letter to the Philippians, Paul praises them in comparing them to the other churches that have done nothing to him when he was with them and only the Philippians assisted him even when he was in other cities like Thessalonica. One may wonder why the Thessalonians did not financially assist him while working at their home and had to wait for donations from the Philippians?
It has been a while since I have learned that every biblical promise is followed by a condition ... there is always an "if." Let us see what the Philippians did to deserve such a promise: Paul wrote that since he began his ministry of preaching the Gospel and starting from Macedonia, no church entered into account with him in what they were giving and receiving (Phil 4: 15). We can see that churches received money but ignored Paul even though he served the Lord through them and his support had to come from Philippians for he says: " for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid more than once when I was in need"(Phil 4: 16).
In verse 17 he says: Not that I desire your gifts; what I desire is that more be credited to your account". It is precisely this account that I will talk about. Every child of God has an account in heaven and the richness that Paul speaks in the verse of the day was referring to everyone’s account. Some are creditors while others are unfortunately debtors.
As I said in the beginning of this teaching, many Christians feel guilty because they are unable to pay monthly tithes and when they come to church on Sunday, the preacher informs them that in the eyes of God they are thieves and they will live a cursed life. I talked to many Christians who may lose their faith and are desperate because they fail to repay every month they did not honor the payment of their tithes. This is why in the next six parts I will go into details so that God's people understand what He thinks of tithing in the New Testament.
To be continued
Chris Ndikumana
The fear of the law of tithing (Part 5)
Verse of the Day: Malachi 3: 8 “Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me. But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’ In tithes and offerings"
The teaching on tithes and offerings sow confusion in the Church of Christ. We will move forward step by step in order to discern the mind of the Holy Spirit.
In the teachings that I have heard in over 98% of churches, tithing is exactly as practiced in the Old Testament. In the Old Testament, tithing was not a choice but a duty or more a law. If someone does not give a tithe (10% of income), it was a sin before God and had to face the consequences related to his disobedience. By consequence, I mean curse as it is said in the following verse: Malachi 3: 9 " You are under a curse—your whole nation—because you are robbing me”
A few years after my conversion, I felt in my heart that something was not right regarding the teaching on tithing because a preacher could spend more than an hour to condemn those who do not give tithes in charging them to a terrible sin to the point that some could even not pray because of guilt. These teachings gave an image of an angry God with a rod in hand to punish all those who rob Him by not giving their tithes. What was the result? They gave their tithes by pressure and not by love and very few people could give them regularly.
They did it by terror and not by faith, and if unfortunately someone was over a month without paying his tithes, he could lose himself in guilt before God and his Pastor because many Pastors closely follow the payment of tithes. They know those who regularly pay and those who do not as it should be because in some churches they have one book reserved for the payment of tithes in which are registered the names and the amounts paid. In other churches they simply write the name on an envelope and precise that the money paid is for tithing.
Therefore, I spent some time to meditate and I asked myself the question to know why in the New Testament we do not talk at all about tithing? From the Gospel of Matthew to the book of Revelation, you will not find anywhere that Jesus and the disciples taught about giving tithes (except the case of Melchizedek in Hebrews 7 but it was not the Law of Moses, and it was not an order). Yet the disciples taught how to give money to God's work, but they never talked about tithing (1/10 of income). If the non-payment of the tithe was a serious sin as claimed by most preachers, why neither Jesus, nor Paul, nor the apostles never spoke or warned the people of God on the subject?
Our meditation begins with the revelation of Jesus when he said he did not come to abolish the law, but he came to fulfill it (Matthew 5: 17). If you do not understand this sentence, you cannot understand this teaching because today one does not need to be circumcised in order to ally with God and All Christians agree that eating pork meat is no longer a sin, while the Law of Moses in the Old Testament forbade! Many Christians are working on the Sabbath (Saturday) without feeling guilty and apparently the new covenant (New Testament) is very different to the old covenant and yet Jesus said that he has not come to destroy the law?
In Part 6, we will see how we can put ourselves under a curse by focusing on the works of the law
Chris Ndikumana
The fear of the law of tithing (Part 6)
Verse of the day: Galatians 3: 10 "All who are of the works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, and does not put it into practice "
In the verse of the day, Paul was writing to the Galatians who were puffed up with pride by touting within the law. He reminds them of a law of the Old Testament that says " Cursed is anyone who does not uphold the words of this law by carrying them out " (Deuteronomy 27: 26)
When talking about the Law of Moses, many think of the Ten Commandments, but the Law of Moses consisted of 613 commandments including payment of tithing. The same law said that if someone does not practice ALL the 613 commandments, he was under a curse. Even if someone managed to observe 612 commandments and failed on one, he became guilty of all and fell under the curse! In short, NOBODY (even Moses) has managed to keep the law as it should, which means that everyone was guilty and that is why Jesus came on earth to save the humanity.
Back to the tithe: Tithing is one of the 613 commandments. If someone faithfully tithe by touting himself within the law but continues to work on Saturdays (the Sabbath day) or keeps eating ham or meat from pork, he is automatically under a curse because he is attached to the law (the tithe) as I pointed out in the verse of the day, it is clear that those who are of the works of the law are under a curse.
The bible clearly says in Colossians 2: 16-17 "Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or Sabbaths: which are a shadow of things to come, but the body is of Christ "
All the law is a shadow of things to come but the body is in Christ. It means that all the law spoke of Jesus Christ. When you see the shadow of someone, you cannot discern his true face but when you discover his body, everything becomes clear. This is exactly the case with the law: It was a shadow of what we have to live in the New Testament. That is why Jesus said he did not come to abolish the law, but he came to accomplish it (Matthew 5: 17). He had to come so that we may be delivered from the curse of the law to live by faith in Him. Today many continue to focus on the law and, therefore, they live under the curse despite the blood of Jesus.
In the same chapter, Paul wrote to the Galatians, saying: "Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith" (Galatians 3: 24). Paul described the law as a teacher who had to lead us to Christ to be justified by the law but in the following verse, it clearly shows that through faith in Jesus, we do not need to be under the teacher (law) ... he said, "faith has come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster" (Galatians 3: 25)
Here's the big question: How should we give in the New Testament? You will have the answer in the seventh part.
Chris Ndikumana
The fear of the law of tithing (Part 7)
Verse of the Day: 2 Corinthians 9: 7 "Each man should give what he has decided in his heart, so let him give; for God loves a cheerful giver”
As I said before, Jesus and the disciples have NEVER taught about tithing but they all talked about money. In all the New Testament they talk about sowing (give) in order to reap, but Paul was more explicit in the verse of the day (2 Cor 9: 7) because he says that everyone must give as he has decided in his heart which was not the case in the Old Testament. In the New Testament, God is interested in the heart and not the acts.
In the verse of the day, we see two conditions to give: The joy and the freedom of giving.
Today many Christians give under the pressure of pastors and with sadness but I remind you that we have just read that God loves a cheerful giver, which means that God does not love the one who gives sadly. If you give your money to the church against your spirit, by fear of the pastor or anything else, the bad news for you is that God does not like your sacrifice because He ONLY wants what comes from a joyful heart! This could walk in the Old Testament but today (in the New Testament), God is interested in the heart and not in what you give.
Today we hear a lot of preachers who accuse Christians who do not give their tithes faithfully of being robbers of God and without realizing it, they push them in the curse of the 613 laws of Moses. Many Christians live in constant guilt of being thieves. I saw those trying for a month or two but very few manage to do it through the year. What’s the result? They give by force and not voluntarily, they give by fear and not by faith and love. Ultimately, God does not find joy in what we give because we are filled with guilt and often afraid of the curse that could hit our business, work or even our children.
I always wondered why these pastors are picking on the law of tithing while there are hundreds of other legislation in the bible; Remember the law of Moses consists of 613 commandments, and to be deprived of the curse, we must put into practice all the 613 WITHOUT EXCEPTION!
Jesus said that we know the truth and the truth will set us free (John 8: 32). The truth that I am sharing with you can set you free from the curse and fear. Many of the people who followed these teachings are now completely free as they give to God with joy in the direction of the Holy Spirit.
In the New Testament, the law is not carnal but spiritual. We are not obliged to give 10% but the verse of the day told us that we give according to the percentage of our heart provided we do so voluntarily and joyfully. Those who understood the greatness of God give more than 10%.
In Part 8, we will see that according to the bible, giving is comparable to sowing.
Chris Ndikumana
The fear of the law of tithing (Part 8)
Verse of the Day: 2 Corinthians 9: 6 “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously"
The law of sowing and harvesting is a valid principle in the Old and the New Testament as God's principles do not change. The law has not been abolished but it changed the shape (It is no longer carnal but it is spiritual). For example, in the New Testament we no longer speak of the flesh circumcision as a condition for men to have the covenant with God but we talk about the circumcision of the heart. We no longer talk of the Sabbath day for rest but we talk of a spiritual rest (Hebrews 4: 9).
The verse of the day says that in order to reap abundantly we must sow abundantly. I have seen Christians who want to be richly blessed by praying and fasting for weeks or months, but the principle is clear: In order to reap more, we must sow more.
In other words, many Christians want to reap without sowing and it will not work despite their great faith and all the time spent in prayer. Prayer is extremely important to access the promises of God but in addition to prayer, we must respect the principles of God.
God may let us pass throughout a difficult financial situation to shape us or to teach us something, but it's only a passage. If we give correctly, we must reap at God's appointed time.
So, how to give? Remember that in the New Testament we give according to our hearts and Jesus said in Matthew 6: 21 "where your treasure is, there will be your heart." This means that the heart and treasure are attached and cannot be separated. If you give your heart to God, the money should follow automatically and God seeks your heart and not your money.
Unfortunately, there are those who claim to give their hearts to God without giving Him their treasure. You know what God says about those people? "This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me" (Matthew 15: 8).
You may say that this verse talks about a heart which is far from God but remember that where your heart is, there will be your treasure. So if God says that this people honor Him with lips and their heart is far from Him, it is as if He said that they honor Him with lips and their treasure is away from Him; because the heart is attached to the treasury.
The heart you have for the Lord is manifested by what you give. What you give is just the product that comes from the heart. If you think you are spiritual, praying for hours a day, speaking in tongues and constantly reading the bible but you do not give anything for the Lord, I must tell you that you deceive yourself because if you do not manage to give your money to God, it means that God has no room in your heart.
It could be that you are in the process of reading this message and when God sees you praying or singing He says about you: "He / She honors me with lips, but the heart is far from me." If this is the case, it's time to give Him a part of your heart by sowing in His kingdom for the manifestation of His glory because when we give, we manifest His glory through our gratitude.
I know there are a lot of questions about it but in the ninth part, I will talk about how to give according to the principles of God. I have seen Christians who give in disorder to quiet their consciences but if you want your seed and your sacrifice to be productive, you must give according to the principles of God.
Chris Ndikumana
The fear of the law of tithing (Part 9)
Verse of the Day: 1 Corinthians 9: 11 " If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you?”
One of the major reasons that discourage people to give is the wrong teaching. People are poorly taught when they learn that when we give money to the church (tithes and offerings) they are automatically blessed financially. What we often forget to specify on the subject is that between the seed and harvest there is a time of trial.
God does not act immediately but He waits to test our sincerity and faith. So if you sow, you must learn to wait, but you have to wait in sowing on a continual basis. Many are discouraged when they do not see immediate results but the Word of God says in Galatians 6: 9 " Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up"
An important principle is that if you belong to a church or a Christian organization or a church that feeds your soul with the Word of God that acts and wear fruits in your life, you are supposed to financially bless it because God used it to enlighten you and open doors in your life. Giving to the church should not be a simple act of religious routine but it has to be a spiritual act that God accepts according to His principles. Your money should normally go where your soul is nourished.
In the verse of the day, Paul wrote to the Corinthians, saying: " If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you? "(1 Cor 9:11). Paul wants them to understand that if he sowed in them spiritually (by teaching the Word that transforms), they are supposed to (according to the divine principle) assist him materially. In verse 14, he is more direct when he says that this is an order from the Lord: "Even so the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should live of the gospel" (1 Cor 9: 14). He made the same point in the church of the Galatians when he wrote: "Let him who is taught the word share all good things with him who teaches" (Galatians 6: 6)
If you are a pastor, a spiritual guide or a minister of God, and that there are Christians who materially assist you so that you can exercise your ministry, you have to assist them spiritually by praying daily and fighting spiritually for them.
Similarly, if you are a Christian and you are spiritually assisted by a shepherd, a spiritual guide praying for you or feeds your soul regularly, you are supposed to materially assist him according to the principle of God.
Concerning the law of tithing, nobody said that we should not tithe, but we must give according to the heart (the percentage of your choice) and with joy (2 Corinthians 9: 7) without condemnation or pressure. If there is no joy, you are not giving to God.
Do not write your name on the envelope for Jesus said, " But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing" (Matthew 6: 3). You must give discreetly. This is not easy for Westerners as the USA, where the church has to inform the tax office about the Christians who gave money and they receive a percentage back at the end of the year. But in the church I attend, it was decided not to write names on the envelopes: we just write "gift" or "thanksgiving." This allows leaders to treat everyone the same way and they give glory to God and not to men.
Here is my advice: If you have a monthly income, pray and decide a certain amount and give an order to the bank. With an electronic permanent wire, it will allow you to focus on other things.
In the tenth part, I will end this teaching by speaking of another principle of God which is extremely important, even essential as regards the law of giving.
Chris Ndikumana
The fear of the law of tithing (Part 10)
Verse of the day: Proverbs 19: 17 "He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, who reward him according to his work"
Throughout the bible, God insists on assistance for the poor whether it is in the Old or the New Testament. If God has blessed you with money, the poor are supposed to have part of it according to the principle of God. This does not mean that you have to be rich to help the poor but as long as you earn money (any amount), think about the poor.
The verse of the day (Proverbs 19: 17) says that if we are kind to the poor, we lend to the Lord. Why "lend to the Lord"? Because a poor shall never be able to repay you and God will repay you on his behalf.
God's heart is very committed to the poor and if you make a gesture of love for the poor, you touch the heart of God. If you are close to the poor, you are close to God. If you do good to the poor, they are grateful and they do not know what to do for you but God will know what to do for you. He will do it, but in due time (depending on Him). Meanwhile, continue to do good without murmur or complain but with joy and gratitude.
Today we rarely hear in Church the teachings regarding the assistance of the poor but when you see how James describes the church or religion according to the mind of God, I think we should more think about it. He said: "Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world" (Jacques 1: 27). When the bible speaks of the poor, it is especially widows and orphans or persons without assistance.
Actually, the assistance of the poor should be a priority in the church of Jesus Christ. Early in his ministry, Paul had to leave with Barnabas with the church blessing that recommended them many things but especially to remember the poor. Paul says in his letter to the Galatians, where he writes: “All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I had been eager to do all along" (Galatians 2: 10)
LAST IMPORTANT ADVICES:
Let no one judge you on what you give as money because you give to the Lord and not to men. No one has the right to know what you give; If you give, give secretly and God who sees in secret will reward you (Matthew 6: 3-4).
Do not be bound by 1/10 but give according your heart and especially give with joy and without pressure (2 Cor 9: 7) according to the direction of the Holy Spirit.
Do not write your name on the envelope to avoid the pressure and the honors of men.
No matter what you earn per month, share your income with the poor. There must be at least a real widow or orphan on your way that would thank the Lord for your generosity.
If you find someone to help, make a commitment to help monthly as long as you have something to give.
Invested in the heavenly kingdom by sowing in the work of God in blessing his works and his servants.
Take care of your family because it is the fulfillment of the word of God (1 Timothy 5: 8)
Money has value only when used for good and God will not bless what you keep, but what you give.
May the Lord be praised for these revelations
Chris Ndikumana