We left Part 2 with the questions:
What happens to a nation if God’s people fail to honor Him through tithes? Who has the authority to enfore the tithe? Let’s discuss.
What if God’s people fail to honor Him through tithes? Deuteronomy 28:1, 15. 1 If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. 15 However, if you do not obey the LORD your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you.
For those of us who are concerned with the matters of our nation welcome to Part 3 of 3 in the series Financing the Work of God’s Kingdom. This series of messages is based on Biblical principles and how they affect the economics of our nation and Christian individuals. The theme in all my writings is:
- God’s laws work whether you believe in them or not. (Romans 8:28) Any attempt to ignore God’s laws, whether they are creational (related to the created order) or moral, will be met with judgment. The law of gravity works whether you believe in it or not. Try jumping off a building.
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We left Part 2 with the questions:
What happens to a nation if God’s people fail to honor Him through tithes? Who has the authority to enfore the tithe? Let’s discuss.
What if God’s people fail to honor Him through tithes? Deuteronomy 28:1, 15. 1 If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. 15 However, if you do not obey the LORD your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you.
God considers failure to pay the tithe robbery (Malachi 3:8-12). The entire nation is affected by failing to pay the tithe. Malachi 3:9 says you are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the whole nation of you. When a nation pays the tithe God’s “good storehouse” will be opened.
God will exact His “tax” (tithe), when the people fail to give as they have been commanded, by bringing in oppressors like king Saul and Caesar. Only when a nation restores the tithe will the governments of tyranny cease to exist. God believes in restitution. He will exact His due payment. If it is theft to rob another man how much more is it theft to rob God of what rightfully belongs to him? Our problem today is that self comes before God. When this happens we don’t even consider that all we have his. His first making it easy for us to ignore His word and placing him and our obedience to Him second to all else. Or maybe we only do this when it comes to our money. Maybe we don’t steal from others as the law would define it. But if we are not paying our tithes we are stealing from God. If we steal from our neighbor the authorities will come and we will receive our just punishment. Just because God doesn’t show up on our doorstep doesn’t mean that he doesn’t see all and know all. I go back to the theme of my writings… God’s laws work whether you believe in them or not. Even though you may not experience a knock on your door, His law is working, which brings me to the next question to further elaborate on His laws.
Who has the authority to enforce the tithe? The Bible has some laws that prohibit certain behavior but does not have any civil penalty for such disobedience. One of those laws might be adultery. You won’t be arrested for cheating on your spouse, but when the sin comes to light you will suffer the consequences. Scripture is silent on which human agency has the power. The Word of God does not give any human agency the power to force compliance of God’s laws of taxation because whomever claims that power is claiming to be God on earth. Whoever forces payment of God’s taxes (tithes) will define what is good or evil in our society and that is tantamount to claiming to be God.
The next step after taking the tax is determining who receives the benefits. If the tithe is used for education and the state has the power to enforce, then they can decide who receives the money. We have just witnessed this with the government takeover of student loans. This takeover eliminates private lending and adds $52 Billion to the deficit of our country. If history repeats we will see the government enforce its will on those who receive the student loan. First it requires that you devote a certain amount of time to government service in order to have your debt forgiven after 10 years. Your financial debt may be forgiven but now you are indebted to Uncle Sam. It begs the question, if the student is not paying back the loan, who is? Could it be you from your taxes? Could this be another slippery slope? What if the government determines that there are enough doctors? Your passion to be a doctor might now be required to channel into another aspect of medical care. Could the government then decide which institution gets the tuition? Could Christian colleges be forced to change the curriculum in order to receive students with government loans? What if the state rejects God’s truths and funds atheistic institutions? The tither would be powerless to channel his money to the cause of truth. That is not to say that a particular church or denomination could also reject the truth, but the tither would have the option not to support any organization that is opposed to the truth of Scripture.
I am aware that there can be some argument for what I have written or the way I have written it. I don’t claim to be an accomplished biblical scholar, but, that does not mean that God is not the final judge and enforcing agent when His truths are ignored or disobeyed. God blesses those who obey and curses those who do not. The blessings and curses are in economic terms: “Honor the LORD from your wealth and from the first of all our produce; so that your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine” (Proverbs 3:9 10)
Jesus Christ is our Hope
Reverend Elaine Johnson
2 Chronicles 7:14 Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.
