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The World to Come. The Restored Church of God presents David C. Pack. Answering life’s
greatest questions straight from the Bible, and announcing the wonderful good news of
the World to Come.
No one thinks they have enough money. Millions are concerned---many even obsessed---by the
need for more. Despite most households having more than one income, this is often still
not enough to pay the bills. And just budgeting does not always help.
Everyone wants to end their money worries. The Bible holds the key! Here comes fascinating
knowledge.
Despite unparalleled affluence in the Western World, personal bankruptcies are soaring.
Why? Consumer credit has never been higher. Why? Millions of people in America are literally
just “one paycheck from the street.” Why? The U.S. national debt is measured in trillions
of dollars, requiring hundreds of billions in annual interest payments! None of this
need be. Much of today’s news is devoted to the “leading
economic indicators”---unemployment, inflation, recession, interest rates, declining markets,
home values and auto sales, and rising layoffs, energy and fuel prices. All are household
words. What about you? If you are honest, you will
admit to spending a lot of time thinking and talking about MONEY. You probably wrestle
with financial difficulties daily. Sometimes you feel that you are winning the battle,
only to learn you are either treading water or falling behind. For most, the “money
struggle” is constant, and the pressure can seem unbearable. Just the stress can drive
away the happiness and peace that everyone seeks.
All of this is unnecessary---IF you have God’s key to financial prosperity.
Some questions: Your house belongs to you, right? So does your car, doesn’t it? You
bought the clothes you wear with your money, didn’t you? Haven’t you heard yourself
say, “I earned my money, it’s mine”? Isn’t it true that “what’s yours is
yours and what’s mine is mine”? Not so fast!
Let’s reason. Certainly we all agree that before we have fully paid off the things we
have purchased, they are not truly ours. Banks and other lenders hold liens against houses,
cars, boats and other expensive things people buy on credit. Everyone understands this.
But have you considered whether you really own everything you think you do? Do you really
have title to the things you own “free and clear”?
We must consider whether others could lay claim to what is “ours.”
Most know the phrase, “Nothing is certain in life except death and taxes.” Indeed,
death is certain. Of course, everyone also recognizes the government is entitled to a
certain percentage of one’s income. Few dispute this, though most seek to get around
taxes as much as possible. No one wants to give the government a penny more than its
fair share. Most feel less than its share is better.
Have you considered whether God instructs us to pay taxes? He does! These scriptures
prove it: “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers...Wherefore you must needs
be subject...For this cause pay you tribute [taxes or assessment] also...render therefore
to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due.”
Jesus was asked if taxes should be paid. Notice: “Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar,
or not? Shall we give, or shall we not give?” Holding a penny to illustrate, He answered,
“Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
Christ taught there are things that belong to man’s government and things that belong
to God. What belongs to the government are taxes!
Woe to those caught not paying them! Interest, penalties and even prison can result for tax
evasion. The guilty have disobeyed not only the laws of the land but also God’s plain
instruction. Taxes are an undisputed fact of life for most
people on earth. That you earned the money you have does not negate the fact that human
governments have a prior right to a certain legal portion of it to insure their own operation.
No government can function without tax revenue. This is one way that what is yours is not
always entirely yours. However, no one would suggest governments
own everything else that a taxpayer has. This belongs to the taxpayer---or does it?
Notice. God says, “For all the earth is Mine” and “Behold, the heaven and the
heaven of heavens is the Lord’s your God, the earth also, with all that therein is”
and also “whatsoever is under the whole heaven is Mine.” King David wrote, “The
earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.”
I Corinthians 10:26 repeats his words. God also says, “For every beast of the forest
is Mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills...If I were hungry, I would not tell you: for the
world is Mine, and the fullness thereof.” Finally, the prophet Haggai wrote, “The
silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine, says the Lord.”
All money is God’s (remember, the value of money is generally attached in some way
to gold and silver). He owns absolutely everything there is to own. Human beings are “squatters”
on His land and “renters” in His homes. Everything you think you own is actually owned
by God. You are merely its temporary custodian. Look around and ask yourself: Where do we
get the things that we have? Where did they actually come from?
People manufacture products from natural resources, which come from the earth, but it is God who
makes both the natural resources and the earth in which they are found. Men may own mining
or timber rights, but it is ultimately God who owns the mine and created the timber---which
grew because of elements in the soil, which He created and owns!
Any time He wishes, God could take back all that is His. After all, it is His! This includes
your income. While you may have “earned it,” God OWNS it.
What things belong to God? Remember, we are to “Render...to God the things that are
God’s.” Render means give. Since the heavens and the earth (or the land on which we live)
cannot be “rendered” back to God by human beings, what does this mean?
We saw our entire income (salary, wages, interest earned, investments, bonuses, commissions
and any other financial increase) actually belongs to God.
What of a farmer and the produce from his field? What is the process whereby things
grow? The farmer does his part---tilling, planting, fertilizing, watering, etc.---but
so does God, in that He sends rain and sunshine and provides the very soil in which the fruit,
vegetables or grains grow. Who did most of the work? In truth, the farmer did little
more than a fraction of it, while God did perhaps 90%. And the farmer is far more dependent
on God’s effort than God is on the farmer’s. Without God’s contributions, the farmer
would produce nothing---and would not even be alive because no one would be able to produce
the food necessary for all human beings to survive.
The day you chose a profession, job or vocation, you formed a partnership with God---whether
you knew it or not. You use materials that belong to God. To invest, sell, distribute
or produce goods or services, whereby you can earn a living, you have become a partner
with God! Admit that, without God’s role and help in earning a living, it would be
impossible to produce anything! God knows this and has chosen to make a special arrangement
with you. His Word describes it.
God lays prior claim to the first 10% of everything people earn as income. This is called the
tithe, meaning “the tenth.” To be a tithepayer means the same as being a “tenthpayer.”
Tithe is an old English word commonly used to mean tenth. People have long understood
that to tithe is to pay a tenth of one’s income.
There are small and large points within God’s law. Some commands carry more “weight”
than others. When speaking of some lesser points within God’s law, Christ said, “Whosoever
therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called
the least in the kingdom of heaven.” Regarding tithing, He said, “Woe unto you,
scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and ***, and
have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these [the
weightier matters] ought you to have done, and not to leave the other [careful tithing]
undone.” Love, mercy and faith are, indeed, weighty matters within the overall Law of
God. Christ acknowledges this. However, He also explains that tithing should not be something
people “leave undone.” The argument is often raised that tithing is not important---that
it is least among God’s laws. This verse does not actually say it is “least.” Matthew
5:19 merely says that, if it were, it is still required by all who value the commands of
God! Any learning the truth of God’s tithing
laws must pay His tithe---once it is clear where His chosen representatives are working!
We will learn later that tithing is the manner in which He finances the Work His true servants
perform. Only after His tithe has been paid does God give the rest of one’s income back
to the tithepayer. God’s generosity and love for His children is why He gives nine-tenths
of what He owns to the one faithful in tithe-paying. In other words, we are not giving God one-tenth
of what is ours. God is giving us nine-tenths of what is His!
Let’s examine scriptures about tithing. People who dismiss this command often attempt
to make the truth of tithing into a highly technical subject. But it is not difficult
to understand. It does require careful examination of a relatively few scriptures. Tithing has
always been, is now and always will be the means whereby God finances His Work and His
Church. Some theologians and Bible critics create
confusion by saying tithes in the Old Testament belonged only to the Levitical Priesthood
of ancient Israel. Is this true? Does the Bible say this? Is there a scripture where
God plainly says that tithes belong to Him? There is! God declares, “All the tithe of
the land...is the Lord’s: it is holy unto the Lord...And concerning the tithe of the
herd, or of the flock, even of whatsoever passes under the rod, the tenth shall be holy
unto the Lord.” This is plain. Tithes belong to God alone. He may choose to give them to
His servants, but it is completely within His discretion what He does with them.
These same “higher critics” use Numbers 18:21 and 24 to prove the tithe belonged to
the Levites. Careless reading causes misunderstanding. “And, behold, I have given the children
of Levi all the tenth in Israel for an inheritance, for their service which they serve...But the
tithes of the children of Israel...I have given to the Levites to inherit.”
Did Israel give their tithes to the Levites? No! God gave His tithe, which was merely supplied
by the Israelites, to the Levites, twice saying, “I have given.”
The tithes were God’s, not Israel’s, to give to whom He chose. Verse 20 makes this
more plain. God says that He will provide for the Levites, since they had no physical
land inheritance in the nation. Those teaching that only ancient Israel was
required to pay tithes, and this was always to the Levites, have another serious problem
in their thinking. The patriarch Abraham, often called the father
of the faithful, paid tithes! The following account occurred when Abraham was still known
as Abram. Notice: “And He [God in the Person of Melchizedek] blessed him [Abraham], and
said, Blessed be Abram of the Most High God, possessor of heaven and earth: and blessed
be the Most High God, which has delivered your enemies into your hand. And [Abram] gave
[Melchizedek] tithes of all.” Abraham tithed on everything he received.
This account took place over 100 years before the birth of Levi---Abraham’s great-grandson.
(The tribe of Levites came from Levi!) However, God did not establish the Levitical Priesthood
until after Israel left Egypt, over 500 years after Abraham paid tithes! The 12 tribes of
Israel, with Levi one of them, were not recognized as a nation until that time. Abraham was paying
God’s tithes long before Moses recorded Leviticus 27 and Numbers 18.
Hebrews 7:1-6 proves Melchizedek was the Person who became Jesus Christ. (This will be shown
later.) But understand---Melchizedek was God because
Christ is God. Abraham paid tithes directly to God, 500 years before the Levitical Priesthood
was formed. Hebrews 7:6 explains that Melchizedek (Christ) did not descend from Levi, and yet
Abraham paid Him tithes. Abraham’s grandson, Jacob, later named Israel,
also paid tithes to God. He fathered 12 sons (Levi was one). Notice: “And, Jacob vowed
a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will
give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on...then shall the Lord be my God: and this stone,
which I have set for a pillar, shall be God’s house: and of all that you shall give me I
will surely give the tenth unto you.” Many are familiar with the story of “Jacob’s
Pillar Stone”---or “pillow stone.” However, most people do not recognize its connection
to Jacob’s vow to pay God His tithes! This scripture introduces a vital principle. Notice
the phrase “IF God will be with me.” Jacob wanted to know that paying God’s tithes
meant blessings, guidance and protection from God would always be insured. God inspired
this crucial connection be recorded for all time.
A remarkable prophecy about tithing is found at the end of the Old Testament. The prophet
Malachi asks, “Will a man rob God?” Now be careful you do not say this is an Old
Testament verse with no effect today. Did you realize the New Testament Church is built
directly on the prophets? Notice: “Fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God
[the Church]; and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ
Himself being the Chief Cornerstone.” There it is---the Church stands directly on a foundation
that includes the prophets! Therefore, what is written in the prophets is instruction
to God’s New Testament Church! Do not lose sight of this.
Now for a powerful series of verses. The first two set the stage for a verbal exchange between
God and His people: “For I am the Lord, I change not...Even from the days of your
fathers you are gone away from My ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto Me and
I will return unto you, says the Lord of hosts.” The exchange shifts to a rhetorical question
from the people to God: “Wherein shall we return?” Then God answers with His own question:
“Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me.” Next comes another rhetorical question
from the people: “Wherein have we robbed You?” God answers, “in tithes and offerings.”
When people do not pay God His tithes---nor give Him His offerings---He considers them
to be robbing Him. Robbing is thievery---stealing! Not only is it stealing, but it is stealing
from God! All sin is against God, but few things could be more serious than this!
Stealing from God brings consequences. God continues: “You are cursed with a curse:
for you have robbed Me, even this whole nation.” This statement is directed to all modern-day
nations that descended from ancient Israel. Generally, these are the democratic nations
of Western Europe, and the primarily English-speaking nations of the world---the United States,
Canada, Britain, Australia and New Zealand. These nations are under a growing curse---more
evident every day---for their sin of stealing God’s tithes. Remember that Abraham and
Isaac were not Israelites, yet were required to tithe. Therefore, all nations suffer---and
will continue to---from the curse of not obeying God’s financial laws. Let no one tell you
otherwise. This world is based on the “get” way rather
than the “give” way, which is God’s Way! People constantly strive to “get”
more for themselves. This violates the Tenth Commandment, forbidding coveting. Notice what
God says of His people, and of all nations, in a prophecy directed to those living at
the end of the age: “For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them EVERY
ONE is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even unto the priest EVERY ONE deals
falsely.” Just one look around will end any doubts you
have about both these national sins. Two chapters later is an almost identical
statement, except God also warns of the horrific punishment He will bring because of this worldwide
attitude. The subject of Malachi’s prophecy is God’s
coming punishment on the entire world during the Day of the Lord---called the Day of God’s
Wrath. This theme is found in nearly all the last 12 short books of the Old Testament.
See the verses shown. Malachi continues the theme of the Day of the Lord and actually
pictures tithing as the key to a repentant attitude.
Consider! How could God punish the nations of Israel---and the world---for robbery, if
the tithing law is not in effect today? Think about this!
The context of Malachi continues with an offer from God directed both to the modern peoples
of Israel and to any individual who chooses to take Him at His word: “Bring you all
the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in My house, and prove Me now
herewith, says 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.”
This is plain! Pay God His tithes, and He will bless you beyond what you have room to
receive! But will you believe this? Jacob believed God and this is what he expected---once
he began paying His tithes. Faithful tithing activates a promise to which
God has bound Himself, and it is “impossible for God to lie.” He is bound by His promises.
When God makes a promise, He keeps it---and we have read that He tells Christians to “prove
Me” through tithing. We also read that Jacob took God up on this promise.
What about you? I have known men who made God their partner.
In my hometown of Lima, Ohio, a well-known, successful businessman put a sign on his factory
saying, “God is my Partner.” He certainly did prosper.
John D. Rockefeller, the famous patriarch of the Rockefeller family, tithed. Other well-known
tithepayers have prospered because they followed this principle.
No one can make God his partner. We cannot “let God in” on a “business deal”
with us. But God can choose to make individual tithepayers His partners!
To not pay our bill to God is theft, pure and simple. Stealing is dishonesty. No businessman
could remain in business if he stole from his partner. Getting caught stealing is enough
to put people in prison. This fear keeps most from attempting it.
But men do not fear a God who does not immediately punish them. To most, God seems far off, unreal---and
people think they can get away with disobeying His tithing law. The consequences are financial
curses. Some believe they should pay off existing
debts before paying God’s tithe. Is this correct? Realize that tithing is actually
a debt that all of us have to God. It is no less so than any other debt, and it is no
less an obligation than any other obligation we have!
Since God promises to bless the tithepayer, there will actually be more left to pay the
other debts, because the most important one was not left unpaid. God is a faithful partner
who keeps His word. He will pour out blessings to make up for the financial problems a person
may have gotten himself into prior to tithing. In God’s form of “higher math,” $10
minus $1 is more than ten dollars, not less. I have seen God’s math at work hundreds
of times in people’s lives and experienced it many times myself. I have seen many who
were blessed in ways they could never have anticipated, simply because they put God first
and faithfully paid His tithes. Little by little, their debts melted. Extra, unexpected
income always seemed to arrive to cover additional bills and emergencies that all people encounter.
You can have faith that God will always keep His promise---always!
The Bible is filled with places where God says that He wants to bless His people---if
they will faithfully obey Him. Solomon wrote, “Honor the Lord with your
substance, and with the first fruits of all your increase: so shall your barns be filled
with plenty, and your presses shall burst out with new wine.” The apostle John recorded,
“I wish above all things that you may prosper and be in health.” Moses wrote, “Observe
and hear all these words which I command you, that it may go well with you, and with your
children after you forever, when you do that which is good and right in the sight of the
Lord your God.” Tithing is for our own good---as are all God’s
commands. He wants to bless people, but requires their obedience beforehand.
The Christian is told, “Seek you first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and
all these things shall be added unto you.” Being part of the soon-coming kingdom of God
must always be the FIRST goal of a Christian. Everything else (including all debts and financial
concerns) is less important than this greatest goal. You are promised that when you remember
this priority, all other necessary things will be “added unto you.”
First pay your tithes. Do not delay. They belong to God. Even temporary withholding
is stealing. Jesus said, “He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in
much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.” Tithing is far from
the “least” of things that matter to God. Those who are faithful in all matters will
be given great rulership (which would certainly qualify as “much”). And be sure to give
offerings willingly, not grudgingly or sparingly, because God says He especially loves “cheerful
givers” and promises they will reap “bountifully.” Read II Corinthians 9:6-7.
There is more to this vital subject, but we are out of time. We will finish this subject
in Part 2. In the meantime, read End All Your Financial Worries. You will not regret it.
(SMILE) Until next time, this is David C. Pack saying, “Goodbye, friends.”
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