If you missed part one of this post, check it out here.
Some people try to argue that when Jesus showed up on the scene tithing stopped. But the reality is that Jesus didn't abolish the tithe, he AFFIRMED IT. Not only that, but he raised the bar on giving. He said that the heart behind our giving is more important than how much we give.
Luke 11:42 (NLT) “What sorrow awaits you Pharisees! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore justice and the love of God. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things.
Jesus doesn't do away with the tithe here, he just elevates the reason for doing it. He says, "You Pharisees are giving but you're not doing it for the right reason - because you love God and people."
So the Bible, in both the Old and New Testaments, clearly teaches the principle of tithing. Ten percent of our income is to be brought to his house (the church we attend) and given to him because we love God and we want to see more people come to him.
The second expression of our giving is called an OFFERING. With the tithe we have a clear cut amount that God wants us to give - 10%. But when it comes to the offering it's a different story. Many folks refer to them as "freewill offerings" because it's a matter of our free will. We give offerings above and beyond the tithe, but it's out of the overflow of our hearts. They're given out of the level of spiritual maturity we have, and out of the level of God's provision in our lives.
Offerings are also different from our tithes in another way. The tithe is specifically to be used to fund the ministry of the local church but the offering can be used in many ways - to build new facilities, to fund ministry outreaches or for benevolence needs, just to name a few.
Believe it or not there are lots of folks at New Horizon who give their tithe, plus above and beyond offerings. It was above and beyond offerings that we used to fund the M25 Food Drop, the Hope Pack outreach and the purchase of a motorcycle for a church planting pastor in Bolivia this year.
So, to those of you who give so generously here at New Horizon, both in tithes and offerings, I just want to say a big "Thanks!" God is using you powerfully to help more and more people experience the life change that only Jesus can bring.
And for those of you who might be new to this whole idea of giving to God, check out tomorrow's post for an idea many around here have used to get started with giving to God for the right reasons.
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