Financing the work costs money and it is the privilege of all who believe to contribute to this end in accordance to the measure in which God has prospered them. Paradoxically, some of the richest blessings and promises in the Scriptures are applicable to those who willingly contribute of their means to finance the ministry. Everything we posses, we possess by the grace of God. It is He that grants us our abilities and capabilities including the capacity to make money.

"And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day." Deuteronomy 8:18

Everything belongs to God, but He has granted us the privilege of managing the earth.

"The God blessed them, and God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.'" Genesis 1:28

This privilege does not jeopardize God's ownership.

"The earth is the Lord�s and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein." Psalm 24:1

"'The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine,' says the Lord of hosts." Haggai 2:8

For every beast of the forest is Mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. Psalm 50:10

The methods of financing the gospel have been spelt out by God. They are divided into two categories, namely tithes and offerings.

"Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, 'In what way have we robbed You?' In tithes and offerings." Malachi 3:8

A tithe is a tenth and the tithing system was introduced by God for the financing of the ministry. The tithe was to be used to pay the priests. The first instruction written in regard to tithing is recorded in the book of Leviticus.

"And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord's. It is holy to the Lord." Leviticus 27:30

The use to which the tithe was to be put is recorded in the book of Numbers:

"Behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tithes in Israel as an inheritance in return for the work which they perform, the work of the tabernacle of meeting." Numbers 18:21

Some might argue that the tithing system was only applicable in the Old Testament times and that it was meant for the Jews. However, the system of tithing was in operation before the nation of Israel was called by God, and Paul in his letter to the Corinthians applies the system of tithing to the ministers of the gospel.

"Do you not know that those who minister the holy things eat of the things of the temple, and those who serve at the altar partake of the offerings of the altar? Even so the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel." 1 Corinthians 9:13,14

Indeed it is a command of God that the minister be paid 'in the same way' as those who ministered in the temple, and that was through the system of tithing. In no way does the New Testament negate the system of tithing. On the contrary it places it on a higher plain. We should not pay tithe out of a forced feeling of duty. It should come from the heart.
"...for God loveth a cheerful giver." 2 Corinthians 9:7

The Pharisees did everything according to the law, but they neglected the matters of the heart. Jesus rebuked them:

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone." Matthew 23:23

They should have practiced the former without neglecting the latter. It is a change of heart that God requires.
God knows our natures and so He has promised rich blessings to those who will heed His command. God does not need our money, but He wants us to be co-workers together with Him so that we may become co-sharers in the blessings of the gospel.

"'Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in 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.' Malachi 3:10

God challenges us to put Him to the text: "...shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" Genesis 18:25

"'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 for you in the field,' says the Lord of hosts." Malachi 3:11

The promise to rebuke the devourer, Satan, on our behalf will restore much more than we presume to lose by paying our tithes. God will not let His children suffer want , poverty, pain and emotional hurt for the sake of the gospel, but never because we pay tithe. We should never allow ourselves to confuse the two issues. Paul describes his trials in his letter to the Corinthians particularly with regard to the Jews who relentlessly persecuted him.

Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? So am I. Are they ministers of Christ? - I speak as a fool - I am more: in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often. From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in feastings often, in cold and nakedness - besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble, and I do not burn with indignation? If I must boast, I will boast in the things which concern my infirmity.

The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying. In Damascus the governor, under Aretas the king, was guarding the city of the Damascenes with a garrison, desiring to arrest me; but I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall, and escaped form his hands." 2 Corinthians 11:22-33

The trials were part of the cross he bore for the sake of the gospel. God, however, promises to meet our temporal needs and we must learn to take God at His word.

"Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For after all these things the Gentiles seek,. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added to you." Matthew 6:31-33

"I have been young, and now am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging bread." Psalm 37:25 (NIV)

The tenth of our increase goes to finance the ministry. We cannot choose the purpose for which our tithe is to be used. The choice has already been made by God. Once the tithe is paid, the responsibility for its correct application lies with the church administration. Offerings, on the other hand, are freewill offerings, and the choice as to their application lies with each individual. We should not neglect offerings because we feel that we pay tithe. The blessings promised by God cover tithes and offerings. We are told in the letter to the Corinthians:

"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 gives as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver." 2 Corinthians 9:6,7

The blessings of God carry with them eternal consequences and should be sought diligently.

"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Matthew 6:19-21

God promises reward for our diligence.


"'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 same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.'" Luke 6:38 (NIV)

Our blessings come from God and we should acknowledge this. We should also make sure that we do not fall into the same trap as the rich farmer in Luke chapter 12 who had a great crop but then decided:

"...'I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. And I will say to my soul, 'Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.�' But God said to Him, 'Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?' So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God." Luke 12:18-21

For:

"...'If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?" Matthew 16:24-26

True repentance brings faithfulness in all things, including the paying of tithes and offerings.

"For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their
Being an odd number I was stunned and concluded that God, knowing my stubborn heart, had decided to pay my first tithe Himself, and so I started paying tithe. Moreover, I realized that God had a sense of humor - for He could have chosen the lesser amount.

Have I suffered because I have had to pay tithe? No, never. God has never let me down. There were times when we had no money, when we were taken to the brink, but God has always provided. I have learnt that if I want to survive I need to pay my tithe. Indeed, when the going gets tough, I pay my tithe quick, or else I know I will not make it.

God has taught us wonderful lessons of trust, not only in terms of tithes, but also in terms of offerings. Sometimes He has required of us to sell something which we felt we could ill afford to lose, or to take steps in faith and spend money that we did not have, on furthering His work, but every time, God poured out a blessing in accordance with His promises.

"God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?" Numbers 23:19

by Professor Walter J. Veith Phd.