Lk. 9:24 – “For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.”
This is one of many paradoxes in scripture. You must die to live; you must give to get; you must be weak to be strong; you must be humble to be exalted; and the foolish confound the wise. The scripture above simply states that you can only gain by giving away! Only those who are born again can truly understand this because it defies human logic. Paul wrote, “For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence” (1 Cor. 1:26-29).
One of the greatest challenges we face in this “me-first society” is the spirit of self-preservation. This is particularly true with finances. The carnal mind and selfish nature wants to “get all it can and can all it gets!” This carnal instinct leads to nothing but poverty. Prov. 11: 24-26 – There is one who scatters, yet increases more; and there is one who withholds more than is right, but it leads to poverty. The generous soul will be made rich, and he who waters will be watered himself. The people will curse him who withholds grain, but blessing will be on the head of him who sells it.” Our attitude towards money is an indicator of our faith in God. John writes of the financial seal of total self-centeredness of unconverted man in his metaphor of the mark of the beast in Rev. 13:16-17 – “He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or name of the beast, or the number of his name.” When I see the financial condition of much of the church today, I’m reminded of Jesus words, “…Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth” (Lk. 18:8)?
Dan. 11:32 – “Those who do wickedly against the covenant he shall corrupt with flattery; but the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits.” When a person knows God; they know the covenant and trust Him and His word explicitly. Today, mentioning the “tithe” is an invitation for a religious argument from those with hardened hearts of unbelief. Their argument is that the tithe was Old Testament Law and that we’re no longer under the law, but under grace. I would agree that we’re no longer under law; however, grace is not about your liberty not to give, but your covenant privilege to give. In the Old Covenant, Israel was the only nation which had the opportunity to pay tithe; no other nation had that covenant right. When one has no understanding of covenant, they think tithing is a liability when it is an incredible, miracle asset. When two parties enter into covenant, whatever belongs to one belongs to the other; and vice versa. In our covenant relationship with Almighty God, we have been given “all things that pertain to life and godliness” through Holy Spirit. In turn, God owns all we possess as well. When we offer to God the tithe – a tenth – we are in effect saying “God, You are my life, my protector, my provider, my all in all. God responds with His blessing – His supernatural empowerment to prosper in all we put our hand to. The tithe is merely a test of faith. It really has very little to do with money, but our heart attitude towards God. Jesus said in Lk. 6:38 – “Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.” You can agree about the tithe being Old Testament all you want. How do you deal with Jesus’ statement in Lk. 6:38? What about Paul – “But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work” (2 Cor. 9:6-9).
Now, let’s examine the first place the tithe was mentioned, before the Law came into existence! Gen. 14: 18-20 is the account of the king of Salem, Melchizedek approaching Abraham with the elements of communion and covenant. The very first thing Abraham does is pay a tenth of all he had to Melchizedek. Abraham recognized that Melchizedek offered all he had, and ever would have to him. By accepting his offer, Abraham reciprocated and they entered into covenant on with the other. This very same act was recorded in Matt. 26:26-28 when Jesus took bread; blessed it and broke it saying, “Take, eat; this is My body.” Jesus then took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it to the disciples saying, “Drink from it, all of you. For this is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” The tithe is inextricably tied to covenant blessings.
Consider God’s heart to bless His covenant people – “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and try Me now is this,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, so that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit in the field.’ Says the Lord of hosts; ‘And all the nations will call you blessed, for you will be a delightful land,’ says the Lord of hosts” (Mal. 3:10-12). God is daring you to step out in faith in His word so He can bless you. One more witness – “Honor the Lord with your possessions, and with the firstfruits of all your increase; so your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine” (Prov. 3:9-10). Most of us don’t have barns or vats, but we do have bank accounts and cupboards that God promises to fill up when we are obedient and faithful to His covenant.
I have so much more to say about covenant, but let me end where I started – “For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it” (Lk. 9:24). This makes no sense whatever to those who are in the flesh, but my hope is that it is crystal clear to you!
This is one of many paradoxes in scripture. You must die to live; you must give to get; you must be weak to be strong; you must be humble to be exalted; and the foolish confound the wise. The scripture above simply states that you can only gain by giving away! Only those who are born again can truly understand this because it defies human logic. Paul wrote, “For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence” (1 Cor. 1:26-29).
One of the greatest challenges we face in this “me-first society” is the spirit of self-preservation. This is particularly true with finances. The carnal mind and selfish nature wants to “get all it can and can all it gets!” This carnal instinct leads to nothing but poverty. Prov. 11: 24-26 – There is one who scatters, yet increases more; and there is one who withholds more than is right, but it leads to poverty. The generous soul will be made rich, and he who waters will be watered himself. The people will curse him who withholds grain, but blessing will be on the head of him who sells it.” Our attitude towards money is an indicator of our faith in God. John writes of the financial seal of total self-centeredness of unconverted man in his metaphor of the mark of the beast in Rev. 13:16-17 – “He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or name of the beast, or the number of his name.” When I see the financial condition of much of the church today, I’m reminded of Jesus words, “…Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth” (Lk. 18:8)?
Dan. 11:32 – “Those who do wickedly against the covenant he shall corrupt with flattery; but the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits.” When a person knows God; they know the covenant and trust Him and His word explicitly. Today, mentioning the “tithe” is an invitation for a religious argument from those with hardened hearts of unbelief. Their argument is that the tithe was Old Testament Law and that we’re no longer under the law, but under grace. I would agree that we’re no longer under law; however, grace is not about your liberty not to give, but your covenant privilege to give. In the Old Covenant, Israel was the only nation which had the opportunity to pay tithe; no other nation had that covenant right. When one has no understanding of covenant, they think tithing is a liability when it is an incredible, miracle asset. When two parties enter into covenant, whatever belongs to one belongs to the other; and vice versa. In our covenant relationship with Almighty God, we have been given “all things that pertain to life and godliness” through Holy Spirit. In turn, God owns all we possess as well. When we offer to God the tithe – a tenth – we are in effect saying “God, You are my life, my protector, my provider, my all in all. God responds with His blessing – His supernatural empowerment to prosper in all we put our hand to. The tithe is merely a test of faith. It really has very little to do with money, but our heart attitude towards God. Jesus said in Lk. 6:38 – “Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.” You can agree about the tithe being Old Testament all you want. How do you deal with Jesus’ statement in Lk. 6:38? What about Paul – “But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work” (2 Cor. 9:6-9).
Now, let’s examine the first place the tithe was mentioned, before the Law came into existence! Gen. 14: 18-20 is the account of the king of Salem, Melchizedek approaching Abraham with the elements of communion and covenant. The very first thing Abraham does is pay a tenth of all he had to Melchizedek. Abraham recognized that Melchizedek offered all he had, and ever would have to him. By accepting his offer, Abraham reciprocated and they entered into covenant on with the other. This very same act was recorded in Matt. 26:26-28 when Jesus took bread; blessed it and broke it saying, “Take, eat; this is My body.” Jesus then took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it to the disciples saying, “Drink from it, all of you. For this is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” The tithe is inextricably tied to covenant blessings.
Consider God’s heart to bless His covenant people – “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and try Me now is this,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, so that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit in the field.’ Says the Lord of hosts; ‘And all the nations will call you blessed, for you will be a delightful land,’ says the Lord of hosts” (Mal. 3:10-12). God is daring you to step out in faith in His word so He can bless you. One more witness – “Honor the Lord with your possessions, and with the firstfruits of all your increase; so your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine” (Prov. 3:9-10). Most of us don’t have barns or vats, but we do have bank accounts and cupboards that God promises to fill up when we are obedient and faithful to His covenant.
I have so much more to say about covenant, but let me end where I started – “For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it” (Lk. 9:24). This makes no sense whatever to those who are in the flesh, but my hope is that it is crystal clear to you!