Malachi 3:8-10, 'Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings, v9 Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. V10 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, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.'

What the Bible Says about Tithing:

Abraham commenced it. Genesis 14:18-20 'And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth brad and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. And he blessed him and, blessed be Abram, of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: and blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thine hand. And he gave him tithes of all. Hebrews 7:1-6 For this Melchisedec, King of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him. To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace. Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually. Now consider how great this man was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils, and verily they that are of the sons of Levi, who receive the office of the priesthood, have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law, that is, of their brethren, though they come out of the loins of Abraham: but he whose descent is not counted from them received tithes of Abraham, and blessed him that had the promises. And without all contradiction the less is blessed of the better.

Tithing was given before the law. It was not instituted before the law and did not end with grace. It did not start with Moses nor end with Jesus Christ. Note also that Abraham's tithe was voluntary. Cheerfully given from the heart with a right heart attitude.

Jacob committed it. Genesis 28: 20-22 'And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, if God will be with me and keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, So that I come again to my father's house in peace: then shall the Lord be my God: and this stone which have set for a pillar, shall be God's house: and of all that thou shalt give me, I shall surely give the tenth unto thee.'

Jacob committed to tithe here. Note again that Jacob's tithe was voluntary, cheerfully given with a right heart attitude. It did not become a commandment until Numbers 27: 30 when,

Moses codified it. Leviticus 27:30 'And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is Lord's: it is holy unto the Lord.

Now Dr. Jerry Vines of Jacksonville Florida wrote this part of the outline and codified is a word that he used so that he could have all Cs in his outline. I had to look it up to see what it meant. To arrange or to systematize. Moses made it into an orderly process of commandment. I have read some Bible scholars who write of two or even three different tithes. In fact Dr. Stephen Schrader of Liberty Baptist Seminary says that a consistent Israelite might give 23.5 % annually.

Malachi commands it. Malachi 3:10: 'Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse'

Malachi gives the solution for the problems that the Israelites were facing, a curse from God. Be obedient! Bring all the tithes. Jesus said in Matthew 23:23 that Pharisees, who were very strict Jews, tithed even the smallest seeds and all that they possessed. I take His mention of this as an encouragement to tithe.

Paul continued it. I Corinthians 16:1-2 'Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the saints at Galatia, even so do ye. V2 Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by in store, as God has prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.'

How to take the offering? Church centered, regular, everyone, proportionate and carefully handled. Paul wrote again in 2 Corinthians C8:10-15 Paul emphasizes proportionate giving. Tithing is the only fair way to give. Paul emphasizes that wealth is like manna, it will not bear hoarding.

2. Proportion: ALL Leviticus 27:30-32 'And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or the fruit of the tree, it is the Lords: it is holy unto the Lord'

v30 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.'

In view of the cross would we consider giving less than the Jews did under the law? Song sung by Diane Giddens, 'After Calvary'. I am asked, nowadays should the tithe be on the gross or the net? We will talk some about that in the workshop, Six Steps to Financial Freedom. But I ask you now, if the legalistic Jew under the law could give at least a tenth of all, how can we, Christians living under God's grace stop there?

3. Place: STOREHOUSE Malachi 3:10, 1 Corinthians 16:2
Some Bible students may debate this but not this preacher. I believe that the tithe belongs to the local church and should be given to and through the local church. If for no other reason than the local church is the method God has anointed to accomplish His will and work in this time frame, we should channel our tithe through the local church..

4. Purpose: KINGDOM WORK Numbers 18, Malachi 3 and I Corinthians 16:2 all tell us that the tithe brought to the church for the purpose of the meeting the needs of the workers in the kingdom, and for kingdom work. What could you invest in that would pay better dividends than the souls of men & women and boys & girls. What would you give for a man's soul?

Paul's teaching was to give to the church and the church would distribute and administer the kingdom work.

5. Tithing was instituted far before the law. If it was not instituted by the law, neither then was it ended by grace. It did not start with Moses and did not end with Jesus Christ.

6. FYI. 31 mentions of tithing in the OT, 7 mentions in the NT.

7. God said in Malachi 3:8 that man had robbed God. It has been written that this could be in three ways:
Not paying tithes and offerings at all or in part.
Withholding a part of their tithes and offerings.
Not paying their tithes and offerings into the House of God.
Liberty Commentary, Volume 1, page 1978 ' To withhold the tithe is to renounce the sovereign authority of God and to be guilty of the same sin as Lucifer in the beginning, a failure to recognize the sovereignty of God and be in subjection to Him.'

8. The McSwain's three benefits of tithing:
A.When the Pastor asks for it, your blood pressure won't go up.
B. When the offering plate goes by, you won't feel guilty.
When you meet Jesus, you will have the distinction of having being obedient

9. Tithing is another way of saying to the Heavenly Father, I LOVE YOU! Thanks for Loving Me!

Testimony:
Smile a while: We are not looking for the loot, we're looking for the fruit. Get a life, TITHE!

5 Most Important Words in the Bible 'Ye must be born again'