Tithes and offerings

Text: Malachi 3:7-12
Tithes and offerings are divine injunction to believers. It is God’s financial policy to bless Christians. Tithes and offerings are ways of funding, sustaining and executing God’s projects in the church. God also uses these sources to execute His projects in the church.

Tithe is one-tenth of one’s gross income and should be deducted first from the gross income before other expenses are attended to.

As a salary earner, once the salary is paid, tithe should be deducted and given to God immediately, because it belongs to Him. While businessmen and women are to calculate their daily or monthly profits and remove one-tenth as tithes. Obedience and faithfulness in paying tithes attract blessings and open doors of breakthrough, while disobedience brings calamity and hardship.

Tithes and offering are obligations on all believers. It is not a choice, but a command from the Lord. There are instances of people who paid tithes in the scriptures. Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek, the King of Salem, who was a typical of God. Jacob also paid one-tenth of all that the Lord blessed him with. Similarly, when a believer makes a vow to the Lord, it is required that he fulfills it. Jacob made a vow unto the Lord and he kept to his promise. It is instructive to note that whoever touches or eats his or her tithe, attracts a curse to him/herself.

In the time of law and the Kings, people paid their tithes. The Lord gave this command to various dispensations. In the time of the prophets, tithes were paid. At various times and dispensations, those who paid tithes, did it faithfully and in turn, received abundant blessings.

As believers, we are to pay our tithes to the Lord at the altar where we receive teachings and blessings from the Lord. It is wrong to pay tithes to orphanage homes or to use it for charity organisations. There is no place in the scriptures where God commanded that tithes must be paid to these places. Unfortunately, modern social media preachers have misled their followers to pay their tithes to orphanage homes.

Tithes are to be paid promptly without delays. Those who delay the payment of their tithes, delay their blessings and open doors for devourers to come into their lives.

Conversely, those who are faithful in paying their tithes will never suffer loss. In fact, God assures that He would rebuke devourers for their sake; they will not cast their young; their businesses will flourish; where others encounter defeat, they will encounter breakthrough.

Jesus Christ was in support of tithes in the New Testament. In Matthew 23:23, He unequivocally rebuked the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and established tithes. He never condemned tithes, but spoke in support of it to buttress the fact that He came not to destroy the law, but to fulfill it. Jesus Christ came to fulfill the scriptures. The foundational Apostles on the other hand, established tithes in their teachings.

Offering is different from tithes. It is a freewill giving to the Lord. It must be given with a cheerful heart and must not be blemish. The money that is being offered to the Lord must not be dirty or torn; it must be clean and pure. Whenever offering is given, it is expected that the individual sends a definite message through the offerings to the Lord.

To attract God’s blessings to your lives and businesses this year, you must be faithful in paying your tithes and offerings.

• For further reading: Gen. 14:13-20; 28:10-22; 35:1-15; Numbers 18:20-21,24; Lev. 27:30-31; 2 Chron. 31:11-12; Nehemiah 13:12; 10:38; Mal. 3:8; Deut. 26: 12; Mal. 3:10-12; Mat. 23:23; Luke 11:42; Matt. 13:52; Heb. 7:5-10; Lev. 22:17-25; 1 Pt. 1:19; Mal. 1:13-14.

• You can fellowship with us @ Kingdom Power International Christian Praying Centre, 65, Oluwatedo Road, Cele Road, Isashi, Ojo, Lagos. For details of our programme, visit: www.kpicpc.org. You can also follow us live on Facebook @kpicpc & YouTube @ kpicpc.