God And His Word - A Question And Answer Approach To Understanding The Bible

LESSON 3: GOD LOVES A CHEERFUL GIVER! 1. ARE WE EXPECTED TO GIVE OUR SUBSTANCE TO GOD? We cannot escape the frequency of Bible references on giving, and it becomes obvious that a vital part of fellowship with God is the worshipful act of offering our substance to Him. This principle is one which remains unchanged in both Old and New Testaments. Genesis 4:4; Mark 12:41-44. In the Old Testament time, the tithes and offerings were brought to the "storehouse" (Malachi 3:10; Nehemiah 13:12) which meant the local place designated by the spiritual leadership for the storage and disbursement of the people's substance. In the New Testament the same principle applies to the church's operation, with the people of a given area bringing their support to recognized local leadership (Acts 4:34, 35; 1 Corinthians 16:1-3, 2 Corinthians 8 and 9). This indicates that your tithe should be given in the support of that local church program that ministers to your spiritual needs. 4. WHERE DOES TITHING FIRST APPEAR IN THE BIBLE? A. ABRAHAM (Genesis 14), 430 years BEFORE the Law, gave God tithes! He tithed as a result of a revelation of one of God's names (v. 20), not by a compulsion of the Law. Abraham spurned the spoil of the grateful kings, for he had met the God who possessed all things. 2. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO TITHE? To tithe is to give or pay a tenth part of our income or substance for the support of God's program. 3. WHERE IS THE TITHE TO BE GIVEN?

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