What's In YOUR Wallet?

Recently, in a seminary class in Biblical Hermeneutics, we were working on Malachi 3:6-13 and one of my classmates suggested that I should blog my work on the text so here it is!

What are the theological principles in this text?

•  To be faithful to God we must obey His Word.

• When we refuse to honor God with our money, the work of the kingdom suffers and the  worker suffers as well. 

•  A refusal to give back to God in tithes and offerings is a clear indicator of a heart that suffers from a life that is out of balance. 

• When our lives are out of  balance with God, not only do we suffer personally but we jeopardize how others see God through our lives. 

• Unfaithfulness in giving is opposition toward God.  

     These principles have been modified in the New Testament in the following ways: 

Though Jesus didn't directly command the tithe, He did commend it when He told the Pharisees, 

²³  “… For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things. Matthew 23:23 (NLT) (Emphasis mine). 

     1 Corinthians 16:1-2 gives instructions to each person to, 

“…put something aside and store it up as he may prosper…”  In 2 Corinthians 8-9, Paul talks about “grace giving…not as a command but to prove the genuineness of their love…”  

Paul in 2 Corinthians 9:6-15, spoke of the law of the harvest when he wrote, 

“…sowing bountifully…reaping bountifully.” 

As to the application to the church today, Paul was clear on this point: 

⁷  Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 2 Corinthians 9:7 (ESV) 

     We are called to be cheerful givers as well!  Given the fact that Jesus was the greatest giver of all time and if we are to be like Jesus, we will be compelled to give also.  The question then is if believers under the Old Covenant gave ten percent (plus other temple taxes), how could believers under the New Covenant do less?  Therefore, ten percent should only be a starting point as a generous giver who loves the Lord Jesus Christ.  That being said, we have challenged people who are strapped financially to trust God and start with some amount, any amount, and see what God will do as they trust Him with their finances.  

“What’s down in the well comes up in the bucket!” SDG