Page 87 - Personal Spiritual Life Syllabus w videos

need to have HIS perspective, have HIS desires and attitude about handling money, and be content with
all that God has given us.

Psalm 24:1 The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it;

Not only does God own our money, but also our job, our promotion, our ministry, our family, our
home, all our belongings and everything we have.

I Chronicles 29: 11-13 Yours, LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and
the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, LORD, is the kingdom; you are exalted as
head over all. 12 Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are
strength and power to exalt and give strength to all. 13 Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise
your glorious name.

Our responsibility is to be good stewards (servants) of everything that God LOANS us as stewards,
remembering that the source of all we have on this earth comes from God and belongs to Him. It is NOT
OURS!

So how much of what God gives you does he want you to give back to Him? If all of what we
have belongs to Him, how much does He want us to give back to Him, and how much should
we borrow from Him to live on?

God takes generosity and giving very personally. We are commanded to take care
of those less fortunate than we are. Jesus told us that when we care for those who
are less fortunate, then we are really caring for Him. When it comes to giving, God
promises a special blessing and a return on investment. We give to God as an
expression of our love for Him. We give to honor Him. We are to give with a
joyous heart with thanksgiving for all that He has done and provided for us.

Are we under the law of the tithe?
Many pastors of churches today teach that believers are commanded to tithe 10% of their income to the
church. For the amount of money you receive, you need to give one tenth of it to the church. Most of
the time, these preachers use many Old Testament passages like Malachi 3:8-10 and Haggai 2:8 to
support their teaching. So is this teaching accurate for the New Testament church? Has God
commanded you to tithe 10% of your income? Are you to teach this to your
church members? Let’s study the tithe in God’s Word and try to answer these
questions.

What is the Tithe?
The word "tithe" comes from an Old English root meaning "one tenth." It is the
common English translation for the Old Testament Hebrew asar word group. The
tithe was an offering of one's agricultural or animal income to the Lord as an expression of thanks and
dedication. In the Old Testament agricultural economy, tithes were paid not in cash, gold or goods, but
in crops or livestock, since only the agricultural products of the Promised Land were to be tithed—no
other forms of income.

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