Malachi 3
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Malachi 3:1:
“Behold, I will send My messenger, and he shall prepare the way before Me; and the Lord, Whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger of the covenant, Whom ye delight in: behold, He shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.” |
Malachi writes AFTER the destruction of the Temple of Solomon by Babylon in 586 BC, so this prophecy cannot refer to that temple. Also, there has been no temple since 70 AD when the Romans destroyed the Second Temple (built and restored by Herod the Great). The only time that the above passage could have been fulfilled was the time the Second Temple was still standing! The first “messenger” of Malachi 3:1 who will prepare the way of the Lord was John the Baptist. The second “Messenger of the covenant” is the Messiah Himself!
The Messiah would come into this world (the first time) to suffer and die for the sins of all humanity (Isaiah 53). The Bible teaches very clearly that Jesus not only died on that Roman cross for our sins, but that He arose from the dead on the third day after He died. Talk about incredible news! The Messiah is NOT dead – HE IS ALIVE! After ascending back to heaven (Acts 1:9-11), He promised that He would come again (John 14:1-6). He is the hope of the entire world! [SOURCE: William Cody Bateman: http://codybateman.org/2014/06/24/who-is-messiah/] |
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Malachi 3:2-5:
But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap: 3 And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness. 4 Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old, and as in former years. 5 And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the Lord of hosts. |
“I will come near to you to judgment” (v. 5a). The process of refining separates metal from its impurities, which are drawn off and discarded. In like manner, the process of purifying the people of God will result in some being purified and others being judged—condemned.
“and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against the perjurers” (v. 5b). Jewish law included prohibitions against sorcery (Leviticus 19:26, 31; 20:6; Deuteronomy 18:10-12), adultery (Exodus 20:14), and swearing falsely (Exodus 20:16; 23:1; Leviticus 19:12). These were serious offenses—in some cases requiring the death of the guilty party. “and against those who oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and who deprive the foreigner of justice” (v. 5c). Hired workers, widows, orphans, and aliens were considered to be vulnerable, and so Jewish law made special provision for their protection (Deuteronomy 24:14-15; Exodus 22:21-24). The victimization of vulnerable people was a special emphasis of the prophets—and also of Jesus. “‘and don’t fear me,’ says Yahweh of Armies” (v. 5d). The phrase, “fear of Yahweh,” has to do with reverence and faith that lead to obedience. Fear of the Lord is serving the Lord and the Lord only (Deuteronomy 6:13). It is observing God’s commandments (Deuteronomy 28:58). Fear of the Lord is “the beginning of knowledge,” in the sense that the person who fears God will be open to instruction by God (Proverbs 1:7). It is often the result of seeing God’s power in action (Exodus 14:31). Fear of the Lord requires righteousness (Acts 10:22), faithful service to God, and rejection of false gods (Joshua 24:14). Fear of the Lord insures God’s mercy (Luke 1:50), and results in spiritual prosperity (Acts 9:31). “Behold, Yahweh’s eye is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his loving kindness” (Psalm 33:18). But those who refuse to obey the Lord have demonstrated that they do not fear the Lord. |
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Malachi 3:6:
"I am the Lord, I change not" |
Charles Spurgeon referred to this as the "doctrine of THE IMMUTABILITY OF GOD." Unchanged is the essence and attributes of God (His Character), along with his intent and promises, as we do not know what God is made of (spirit) and so remains the question of boundaries. Once in his younger and cruder days, God may have spoken about weights and measures, diet, money, sanitation, politics, economics, education, and more, but, now that man and science have supposedly caught up with him in these areas, and passed him, God is silent, and He deals only with spiritual matters as befits an aged declining person. The laws of this old and shriveled God are now primitive and obsolete, and man can now do a much better job in these areas. Yes? No!!! Such thinking limits God. It declares that God is not sovereign and has no word for every area of life and thought.
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God is JEHOVAH, and He changes not in His essence. We cannot tell you what Godhead is. We do not know what substance that is which we call God. It is an existence, it is a being, but what that is, we know not. However, whatever it is, we call it His essence and that essence never changes.
The substance of mortal things is ever changing. The mountains with their snow-white crowns, doff their old diadems in summer, in rivers trickling down their sides, while the storm cloud gives them another coronation. The ocean, with its mighty floods, loses its water when the sunbeams kiss the waves and snatch them in mists to heaven. Even the sun himself requires fresh fuel from the hand of the Infinite Almighty, to replenish his ever-burning furnace. All creatures change. Man, especially as to his body, is always undergoing revolution. Very probably there is not a single particle in my body which was in it a few years ago. This frame has been worn away by activity, its atoms have been removed by friction, fresh particles of matter have in the meantime constantly accrued to my body, and so it has been replenished, but its substance is altered. The fabric of which this world is made is ever passing away. Like a stream of water, drops are running away and others are following after, keeping the river still full, but always changing in its elements.
But God is perpetually the same. He is not composed of any substance or material, but is Spirit—pure, essential, and ethereal spirit—and therefore He is immutable. He remains everlastingly the same. There are no furrows on His eternal brow. No age has palsied Him, no years have marked Him with the mementoes of their flight. He sees ages pass, but with Him it is ever now. He is the great I AM—the Great Unchangeable. Mark you, His essence did not undergo a change when it became united with the manhood.
When Christ in past years did gird Himself with mortal clay, the essence of His divinity was not changed, flesh did not become God, nor did God become flesh by a real actual change of nature. The two were united in hypostatical union, but the Godhead was still the same. It was the same when He was a babe in the manger, as it was when He stretched the curtains of heaven. It was the same God that hung upon the cross, and whose blood flowed down in a purple river, the self-same God that holds the world upon His everlasting shoulders, and bears in His hands the keys of death and hell. He never has been changed in His essence, not even by His incarnation. He remains everlastingly, eternally, the one unchanging God, the Father of lights, with whom there is no variableness, neither the shadow of a change. -Charles Spurgeon
The substance of mortal things is ever changing. The mountains with their snow-white crowns, doff their old diadems in summer, in rivers trickling down their sides, while the storm cloud gives them another coronation. The ocean, with its mighty floods, loses its water when the sunbeams kiss the waves and snatch them in mists to heaven. Even the sun himself requires fresh fuel from the hand of the Infinite Almighty, to replenish his ever-burning furnace. All creatures change. Man, especially as to his body, is always undergoing revolution. Very probably there is not a single particle in my body which was in it a few years ago. This frame has been worn away by activity, its atoms have been removed by friction, fresh particles of matter have in the meantime constantly accrued to my body, and so it has been replenished, but its substance is altered. The fabric of which this world is made is ever passing away. Like a stream of water, drops are running away and others are following after, keeping the river still full, but always changing in its elements.
But God is perpetually the same. He is not composed of any substance or material, but is Spirit—pure, essential, and ethereal spirit—and therefore He is immutable. He remains everlastingly the same. There are no furrows on His eternal brow. No age has palsied Him, no years have marked Him with the mementoes of their flight. He sees ages pass, but with Him it is ever now. He is the great I AM—the Great Unchangeable. Mark you, His essence did not undergo a change when it became united with the manhood.
When Christ in past years did gird Himself with mortal clay, the essence of His divinity was not changed, flesh did not become God, nor did God become flesh by a real actual change of nature. The two were united in hypostatical union, but the Godhead was still the same. It was the same when He was a babe in the manger, as it was when He stretched the curtains of heaven. It was the same God that hung upon the cross, and whose blood flowed down in a purple river, the self-same God that holds the world upon His everlasting shoulders, and bears in His hands the keys of death and hell. He never has been changed in His essence, not even by His incarnation. He remains everlastingly, eternally, the one unchanging God, the Father of lights, with whom there is no variableness, neither the shadow of a change. -Charles Spurgeon
First of all, we have set before us the doctrine of THE IMMUTABILITY OF GOD. "I am God, I change not." Here I shall attempt to expound, or rather to enlarge the thought, and then afterwards to bring a few arguments to prove its truth.
1. I shall offer some exposition of my text, by first saying, that God is Jehovah, and he changes not in his essence. We cannot tell you what Godhead is. We do not know what substance that is which we call God. It is an existence, it is a being; but what that is, we know not. However, whatever it is, we call it his essence, and that essence never changes. The substance of mortal things is ever changing. The mountains with their snow-white crowns, doff their old diadems in summer, in rivers trickling down their sides, while the storm cloud gives them another coronation; the ocean, with its mighty floods, loses its water when the sunbeams kiss the waves, and snatch them in mists to heaven; even the sun himself requires fresh fuel from the hand of the Infinite Almighty, to replenish his ever burning furnace. All creatures change. Man, especially as to his body, is always undergoing revolution. Very probably there is not a single particle in my body which was in it a few years ago. This frame has been worn away by activity, its atoms have been removed by friction, fresh particles of matter have in the mean time constantly accrued to my body, and so it has been replenished; but its substance is altered. The fabric of which this world is made is ever passing away; like a stream of water, drops are running away and others are following after, keeping the river still full, but always changing in its elements. But God is perpetually the same. He is not composed of any substance or material, but is spirit—pure, essential, and ethereal spirit—and therefore he is immutable. He remains everlastingly the same. There are no furrows on his eternal brow. No age hath palsied him; no years have marked him with the mementoes of their flight; he sees ages pass, but with him it is ever now. He is the great I AM—the Great Unchangeable. Mark you, his essence did not undergo a change when it became united with the manhood. When Christ in past years did gird himself with mortal clay, the essence of his divinity was not changed; flesh did not become God, nor did God become flesh by a real actual change of nature; the two were united in hypostatical union, but the Godhead was still the same. It was the same when he was a babe in the manger, as it was when he stretched the curtains of heaven; it was the same God that hung upon the cross, and whose blood flowed down in a purple river, the self-same God that holds the world upon his everlasting shoulders, and bears in his hands the keys of death and hell. He never has been changed in his essence, not even by his incarnation; he remains everlastingly, eternally, the one unchanging God, the Father of lights, with whom there is no variableness, neither the shadow of a change.
2. He changes not in his attributes. Whatever the attributes of God were of old, that they are now; and of each of them we may sing "As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end, Amen." Was he powerful? Was he the mighty God when he spake the world out of the womb of nonexistence? Was he the Omnipotent when he piled the mountains and scooped out the hollow places for the rolling deep? Yes, he was powerful then, and his arm is unpalsied now, he is the same giant in his might; the sap of his nourishment is undried, and the strength of his soul stands the same for ever. Was he wise when he constituted this mighty globe, when he laid the foundations of the universe? Had he wisdom when he planned the way of our salvation, and when from all eternity he marked out his awful plans? Yes, and he is wise now; he is not less skillful, he has not less knowledge; his eye which seeth all things is undimmed; his ear which heareth all the cries, sighs, sobs, and groans of his people, is not rendered heavy by the years which he hath heard their prayers. He is unchanged in his wisdom, he knows as much now as ever, neither more nor less; he has the same consummate skill, and the same infinite forecastings. He is unchanged, blessed be his name, in his justice. just and holy was he in the past; just and holy is he now. He is unchanged in his truth; he has promised, and he brings it to pass; he hath saith it, and it shall be done. He varies not in the goodness, and
generosity, and benevolence of his nature. He is not become an Almighty tyrant, whereas he was once an Almighty Father; but his strong love stands like a granite rock, unmoved by the hurricanes of our iniquity. And blessed be his dear name, he is unchanged in his love. When he first wrote the covenant, how full his heart was with affection to his people. He knew that his Son must die to ratify the articles of that agreement. He knew right well that he must rend his best beloved from his bowels, and send him down to earth to bleed and die. He did not hesitate to sign that mighty covenant; nor did he shun its fulfillment. He loves as much now as he did then, and when suns shall cease to shine, and moons to show their feeble light, he still shall love on for ever and for ever. Take any one attribute of God, and I will write semper idem on it (always the same). Take any one thing you can say of God now, and it may be said not only in the dark past, but in the bright future it shall always remain the same: "I am Jehovah, I change not."
3. Then again, God changes not in his plans. That man began to build, but was not able to finish, and therefore he changed his plan, as every wise man would do in such a case; he built upon a smaller foundation and commenced again. But has it ever been said that God began to build but was not able to finish? Nay. When he hath boundless stores at his command, and when his own right hand would create worlds as numerous as drops of morning dew, shall he ever stay because he has not power? and reverse, or alter, or disarrange his plan, because he cannot carry it out? "But," say some, "perhaps God never had a plan." Do you think God is more foolish than yourself then, sir? Do you go to work without a plan? "No," say you, "I have always a scheme." So has God. Every man has his plan, and God has a plan too. God is a master-mind; he arranged everything in his gigantic intellect long before he did it; and once having settled it, mark you, he never alters it. "This shall be done," saith he, and the iron hand of destiny marks it down, and it is brought to pass. "This is my purpose," and it stands, nor can earth or hell alter it. "This is my decree," saith he, promulgate it angels; rend it down from the gate of heaven ye devils; but ye cannot alter the decree; it shall be done. God altereth not his plans; why should he? He is Almighty, and therefore can perform his pleasure. Why should he? He is the All-wise, and therefore cannot have planned wrongly. Why should he? He is the everlasting God, and therefore cannot die before his plan is accomplished. Why should he change? Ye worthless atoms of existence, ephemera of the day! Ye creeping insects upon this bayleaf of existence! ye may change your plans, but he shall never, never change his. Then has he told me that his plan is to save me? If so, I am safe.
"My name from the palms of his hands
Eternity will not erase;
Impress'd on his heart it remains,
In marks of indelible grace."
4. Yet again, God is unchanging in his promises. Ah! we love to speak about the sweet promises of God; but if we could ever suppose that one of them could be changed, we would not talk anything more about them. If I thought that the notes of the bank of England could not be cashed next week, I should decline to take them; and if I thought that God's promises would never be fulfilled—if I thought that God would see it right to alter some word in his promises—farewell Scriptures! I want immutable things: and I find that I have immutable promises when I turn to the Bible: for, "by two immutable things in which it is impossible for God to lie," he hath signed, confirmed, and sealed every promise of his. The gospel is not "yea and nay," it is not promising today, and denying tomorrow; but the gospel is "yea, yea," to the glory of God. Believer! there was a delightful promise which you had yesterday; and this morning when you turned to the Bible the promise was not sweet. Do you know why? Do you think the promise had changed? Ah, no! You changed; that is where the matter lies. You had been eating some of the grapes of Sodom, and your mouth was thereby put out of taste, and you could not detect the sweetness. But there was the same honey there, depend upon it, the same preciousness. "Oh!" says one child of God, "I had built my house firmly once upon some stable promises; there came a wind, and I said, O Lord, I am cast down and I shall be lost." Oh! the promises were not cast down; the foundations were not removed; it was your little "wood, hay, stubble" hut, that you had been building. It was that which fell down. You have been shaken on the rock, not the rock under you. But let me tell you what is the best way of living in the world. I have heard that a gentleman said to a Negro, "I can't think how it is you are always so happy in the Lord and I am often downcast." "Why Massa," said he, "I throw myself flat down on the promise—there I lie; you stand on the promise—you have a little to do with it, and down you go when the wind comes, and then you cry, 'Oh! I am down;' whereas I go flat on the promise at once, and that is why I fear no fall." Then let us always say, "Lord there is the promise; it is thy business to fulfill it." Down I go on the promise flat! no standing up for me. That is where you should go—prostrate on the promise; and remember, every promise is a rock, an unchanging thing. Therefore, at his feet cast yourself, and rest there forever.
5. But now comes one jarring note to spoil the theme. To some of you God is unchanging in his threatenings. If every promise stands fast, and every oath of the covenant is fulfilled, hark thee, sinner!—mark the word—hear the death-knell of thy carnal hopes; see the funeral of thy fleshly trustings. Every threatening of God, as well as every promise shall be fulfilled. Talk of decrees! I will tell you of a decree: "He that believeth not shall be damned." That is a decree, and a statute that can never change. Be as good as you please, be as moral as you can, be as honest as you will, walk as uprightly as you may,—there stands the unchangeable threatening: "He that believeth not shall be damned." What sayest thou to that, moralist? Oh, thou wishest thou couldst alter it, and say, "He that does not live a holy life shall be damned." That will be true; but it does not say so. It says, "He that believeth not." Here is the stone of stumbling, and the rock of offence; but you cannot alter it. You must believe or be damned, saith the Bible; and mark, that threat of God is an unchangeable as God himself. And when a thousand years of hell's torments shall have passed away, you shall look on high, and see written in burning letters of fire, "He that believeth not shall be damned." "But, Lord, I am damned." Nevertheless it says "shall be" still. And when a million ages have rolled away, and you are exhausted by your pains and agonies, you shall turn up your eye and still read "SHALL BE DAMNED," unchanged, unaltered. And when you shall have thought that eternity must have spun out its last thread—that every particle of that which we call eternity, must have run out, you shall still see it written up there, "SHALL BE DAMNED." O terrific thought! How dare I utter it? But I must. Ye must be warned, sirs, "lest ye also come into this place of torment." Ye must be told rough things; for if God's gospel is not a rough thing & the law is a rough thing; Mount Sinai is a rough thing. Woe unto the watchman that warns not the ungodly! God is unchanging in his threatenings. Beware, O sinner, for "it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."
6. We must just hint at one thought before we pass away and that is—God is unchanging in the objects of his love—not only in his love, but in the objects of it.
"If ever it should come to pass,
That sheep of Christ might fall away.
My fickle, feeble soul, alas,
Would fall a thousand times a day."
If one dear saint of God had perished, so might all; if one of the covenant ones be lost, so may all be, and then there is no gospel promise true; but the Bible is a lie, and there is nothing in it worth my acceptance. I will be an infidel at once, when I can believe that a saint of God can ever fall finally. If God hath loved me once, then he will love me for ever.
"Did Jesus once upon me shine,
Then Jesus is for ever mine."
The objects of everlasting love never change. Those whom God hath called, he will justify; whom he has justified, he will sanctify; and whom he sanctifies, he will glorify.
--Charles Spurgeon 1834-1892 [The Immutability of God Jan 7, 1855]
1. I shall offer some exposition of my text, by first saying, that God is Jehovah, and he changes not in his essence. We cannot tell you what Godhead is. We do not know what substance that is which we call God. It is an existence, it is a being; but what that is, we know not. However, whatever it is, we call it his essence, and that essence never changes. The substance of mortal things is ever changing. The mountains with their snow-white crowns, doff their old diadems in summer, in rivers trickling down their sides, while the storm cloud gives them another coronation; the ocean, with its mighty floods, loses its water when the sunbeams kiss the waves, and snatch them in mists to heaven; even the sun himself requires fresh fuel from the hand of the Infinite Almighty, to replenish his ever burning furnace. All creatures change. Man, especially as to his body, is always undergoing revolution. Very probably there is not a single particle in my body which was in it a few years ago. This frame has been worn away by activity, its atoms have been removed by friction, fresh particles of matter have in the mean time constantly accrued to my body, and so it has been replenished; but its substance is altered. The fabric of which this world is made is ever passing away; like a stream of water, drops are running away and others are following after, keeping the river still full, but always changing in its elements. But God is perpetually the same. He is not composed of any substance or material, but is spirit—pure, essential, and ethereal spirit—and therefore he is immutable. He remains everlastingly the same. There are no furrows on his eternal brow. No age hath palsied him; no years have marked him with the mementoes of their flight; he sees ages pass, but with him it is ever now. He is the great I AM—the Great Unchangeable. Mark you, his essence did not undergo a change when it became united with the manhood. When Christ in past years did gird himself with mortal clay, the essence of his divinity was not changed; flesh did not become God, nor did God become flesh by a real actual change of nature; the two were united in hypostatical union, but the Godhead was still the same. It was the same when he was a babe in the manger, as it was when he stretched the curtains of heaven; it was the same God that hung upon the cross, and whose blood flowed down in a purple river, the self-same God that holds the world upon his everlasting shoulders, and bears in his hands the keys of death and hell. He never has been changed in his essence, not even by his incarnation; he remains everlastingly, eternally, the one unchanging God, the Father of lights, with whom there is no variableness, neither the shadow of a change.
2. He changes not in his attributes. Whatever the attributes of God were of old, that they are now; and of each of them we may sing "As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end, Amen." Was he powerful? Was he the mighty God when he spake the world out of the womb of nonexistence? Was he the Omnipotent when he piled the mountains and scooped out the hollow places for the rolling deep? Yes, he was powerful then, and his arm is unpalsied now, he is the same giant in his might; the sap of his nourishment is undried, and the strength of his soul stands the same for ever. Was he wise when he constituted this mighty globe, when he laid the foundations of the universe? Had he wisdom when he planned the way of our salvation, and when from all eternity he marked out his awful plans? Yes, and he is wise now; he is not less skillful, he has not less knowledge; his eye which seeth all things is undimmed; his ear which heareth all the cries, sighs, sobs, and groans of his people, is not rendered heavy by the years which he hath heard their prayers. He is unchanged in his wisdom, he knows as much now as ever, neither more nor less; he has the same consummate skill, and the same infinite forecastings. He is unchanged, blessed be his name, in his justice. just and holy was he in the past; just and holy is he now. He is unchanged in his truth; he has promised, and he brings it to pass; he hath saith it, and it shall be done. He varies not in the goodness, and
generosity, and benevolence of his nature. He is not become an Almighty tyrant, whereas he was once an Almighty Father; but his strong love stands like a granite rock, unmoved by the hurricanes of our iniquity. And blessed be his dear name, he is unchanged in his love. When he first wrote the covenant, how full his heart was with affection to his people. He knew that his Son must die to ratify the articles of that agreement. He knew right well that he must rend his best beloved from his bowels, and send him down to earth to bleed and die. He did not hesitate to sign that mighty covenant; nor did he shun its fulfillment. He loves as much now as he did then, and when suns shall cease to shine, and moons to show their feeble light, he still shall love on for ever and for ever. Take any one attribute of God, and I will write semper idem on it (always the same). Take any one thing you can say of God now, and it may be said not only in the dark past, but in the bright future it shall always remain the same: "I am Jehovah, I change not."
3. Then again, God changes not in his plans. That man began to build, but was not able to finish, and therefore he changed his plan, as every wise man would do in such a case; he built upon a smaller foundation and commenced again. But has it ever been said that God began to build but was not able to finish? Nay. When he hath boundless stores at his command, and when his own right hand would create worlds as numerous as drops of morning dew, shall he ever stay because he has not power? and reverse, or alter, or disarrange his plan, because he cannot carry it out? "But," say some, "perhaps God never had a plan." Do you think God is more foolish than yourself then, sir? Do you go to work without a plan? "No," say you, "I have always a scheme." So has God. Every man has his plan, and God has a plan too. God is a master-mind; he arranged everything in his gigantic intellect long before he did it; and once having settled it, mark you, he never alters it. "This shall be done," saith he, and the iron hand of destiny marks it down, and it is brought to pass. "This is my purpose," and it stands, nor can earth or hell alter it. "This is my decree," saith he, promulgate it angels; rend it down from the gate of heaven ye devils; but ye cannot alter the decree; it shall be done. God altereth not his plans; why should he? He is Almighty, and therefore can perform his pleasure. Why should he? He is the All-wise, and therefore cannot have planned wrongly. Why should he? He is the everlasting God, and therefore cannot die before his plan is accomplished. Why should he change? Ye worthless atoms of existence, ephemera of the day! Ye creeping insects upon this bayleaf of existence! ye may change your plans, but he shall never, never change his. Then has he told me that his plan is to save me? If so, I am safe.
"My name from the palms of his hands
Eternity will not erase;
Impress'd on his heart it remains,
In marks of indelible grace."
4. Yet again, God is unchanging in his promises. Ah! we love to speak about the sweet promises of God; but if we could ever suppose that one of them could be changed, we would not talk anything more about them. If I thought that the notes of the bank of England could not be cashed next week, I should decline to take them; and if I thought that God's promises would never be fulfilled—if I thought that God would see it right to alter some word in his promises—farewell Scriptures! I want immutable things: and I find that I have immutable promises when I turn to the Bible: for, "by two immutable things in which it is impossible for God to lie," he hath signed, confirmed, and sealed every promise of his. The gospel is not "yea and nay," it is not promising today, and denying tomorrow; but the gospel is "yea, yea," to the glory of God. Believer! there was a delightful promise which you had yesterday; and this morning when you turned to the Bible the promise was not sweet. Do you know why? Do you think the promise had changed? Ah, no! You changed; that is where the matter lies. You had been eating some of the grapes of Sodom, and your mouth was thereby put out of taste, and you could not detect the sweetness. But there was the same honey there, depend upon it, the same preciousness. "Oh!" says one child of God, "I had built my house firmly once upon some stable promises; there came a wind, and I said, O Lord, I am cast down and I shall be lost." Oh! the promises were not cast down; the foundations were not removed; it was your little "wood, hay, stubble" hut, that you had been building. It was that which fell down. You have been shaken on the rock, not the rock under you. But let me tell you what is the best way of living in the world. I have heard that a gentleman said to a Negro, "I can't think how it is you are always so happy in the Lord and I am often downcast." "Why Massa," said he, "I throw myself flat down on the promise—there I lie; you stand on the promise—you have a little to do with it, and down you go when the wind comes, and then you cry, 'Oh! I am down;' whereas I go flat on the promise at once, and that is why I fear no fall." Then let us always say, "Lord there is the promise; it is thy business to fulfill it." Down I go on the promise flat! no standing up for me. That is where you should go—prostrate on the promise; and remember, every promise is a rock, an unchanging thing. Therefore, at his feet cast yourself, and rest there forever.
5. But now comes one jarring note to spoil the theme. To some of you God is unchanging in his threatenings. If every promise stands fast, and every oath of the covenant is fulfilled, hark thee, sinner!—mark the word—hear the death-knell of thy carnal hopes; see the funeral of thy fleshly trustings. Every threatening of God, as well as every promise shall be fulfilled. Talk of decrees! I will tell you of a decree: "He that believeth not shall be damned." That is a decree, and a statute that can never change. Be as good as you please, be as moral as you can, be as honest as you will, walk as uprightly as you may,—there stands the unchangeable threatening: "He that believeth not shall be damned." What sayest thou to that, moralist? Oh, thou wishest thou couldst alter it, and say, "He that does not live a holy life shall be damned." That will be true; but it does not say so. It says, "He that believeth not." Here is the stone of stumbling, and the rock of offence; but you cannot alter it. You must believe or be damned, saith the Bible; and mark, that threat of God is an unchangeable as God himself. And when a thousand years of hell's torments shall have passed away, you shall look on high, and see written in burning letters of fire, "He that believeth not shall be damned." "But, Lord, I am damned." Nevertheless it says "shall be" still. And when a million ages have rolled away, and you are exhausted by your pains and agonies, you shall turn up your eye and still read "SHALL BE DAMNED," unchanged, unaltered. And when you shall have thought that eternity must have spun out its last thread—that every particle of that which we call eternity, must have run out, you shall still see it written up there, "SHALL BE DAMNED." O terrific thought! How dare I utter it? But I must. Ye must be warned, sirs, "lest ye also come into this place of torment." Ye must be told rough things; for if God's gospel is not a rough thing & the law is a rough thing; Mount Sinai is a rough thing. Woe unto the watchman that warns not the ungodly! God is unchanging in his threatenings. Beware, O sinner, for "it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."
6. We must just hint at one thought before we pass away and that is—God is unchanging in the objects of his love—not only in his love, but in the objects of it.
"If ever it should come to pass,
That sheep of Christ might fall away.
My fickle, feeble soul, alas,
Would fall a thousand times a day."
If one dear saint of God had perished, so might all; if one of the covenant ones be lost, so may all be, and then there is no gospel promise true; but the Bible is a lie, and there is nothing in it worth my acceptance. I will be an infidel at once, when I can believe that a saint of God can ever fall finally. If God hath loved me once, then he will love me for ever.
"Did Jesus once upon me shine,
Then Jesus is for ever mine."
The objects of everlasting love never change. Those whom God hath called, he will justify; whom he has justified, he will sanctify; and whom he sanctifies, he will glorify.
--Charles Spurgeon 1834-1892 [The Immutability of God Jan 7, 1855]
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Malachi 3:7:
Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the LORD of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return? |
Sacrilege is robbing God, and it is sacrilege to compromise or limit our obedience to God, or to set our own standards as to what constitutes valid obedience. The people were amazed at the idea that God wanted them to "return" unto Him. As far as they were concerned, they were good faithful worshippers of the Almighty. Most members of the church (any church) today have the same opinion of themselves. The idea that their limited obedience to the tithes and offerings, and other matters, was an offense to God and had ended a curse was no doubt distasteful to them. They were, after all, the best people God had, and He should be pleased with them!! Hence the cry "wherein shall we return?"
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Malachi 3:8-10:
Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. 9 Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. 10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. |
Emphasize "meat." The place which is considered a storehouse is to provide weighty deep truths about God. Giving your tithe to a social club that runs under the guise of a church is not the same thing.
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Thomas Schreiner
What does the Old Testament say about tithing? Abraham gave a tenth of his spoils of war to Melchizedek (Gen. 14:20), and Hebrews appeals to this account to support the superiority of Melchizedek’s priesthood over Levi’s (Heb. 7:4–10). God met Jacob at Bethel and promised him covenant blessings; the patriarch promised God a tenth of everything granted him (Gen. 28:22).
A tenth of Israel’s seed, fruit, and flocks were given to the Lord (Lev. 27:30–32; Deut. 14:22–24; cf. 2 Chron. 31:5–6; Neh. 13:5, 12). The people gave a tenth to the Levites to support them (Num. 18:21–24; cf. Neh. 10:38; 12:44), and the Levites, in turn, were to give a tenth to the chief priest (Num. 18:25–28). Those who didn’t tithe were threatened with a curse, while those who did tithe were promised blessing (Mal. 3:8–10).
A tenth of Israel’s seed, fruit, and flocks were given to the Lord (Lev. 27:30–32; Deut. 14:22–24; cf. 2 Chron. 31:5–6; Neh. 13:5, 12). The people gave a tenth to the Levites to support them (Num. 18:21–24; cf. Neh. 10:38; 12:44), and the Levites, in turn, were to give a tenth to the chief priest (Num. 18:25–28). Those who didn’t tithe were threatened with a curse, while those who did tithe were promised blessing (Mal. 3:8–10).
First of all, through Malachi, the Lord was talking to the Levites, and not the congregation. Secondly, according to 2 Chronicles chapter 31, the storehouse was not the Tabernacle, it was not later the Temple, and it is certainly, not now the church. The storehouse was exactly what it said; a house to store the tithes. Under the law, tithes was NEVER MONEY. They were primarily crops and animals. Many have been taught for years that the church is the storehouse which is a lie that has been permeated for centuries. As a matter of fact the church is not the building where we have worship services. The church is not brick and mortar. The church is people. As a believer you are the temple of God, you are the house of the Lord. According to Peter, the church is made up of lively stones, (Born-again people), who make up a spiritual house and a holy priesthood of the Most High God.
Thirdly, many have been deceived into paying tithes because if we do so, God said he would open up the windows of heaven and pour us out a blessing that would be too big for us to keep it all. In its proper context, opening up the windows of heavens always in the Old Testament meant RAIN!!! If you will allow the Holy Spirit to teach you, you will be able to see the truth and reality of the entire Book of Malachi.
Malachi 3:10 is a perfect example of the difference of being under the law versus being under grace. The law was about you doing something so God can do something for you. Grace is about what God has already done and you responding to his grace. More importantly, those believers who have a law mentality because of the way they have been taught, are always trying to do something in order to get a blessing. But those of us who truly understand we are under grace have a mentality of knowing I AM ALREADY BLESSED AND I RESPOND TO GOD BECAUSE I AM.
To be more specific, there are actually three tithes required under the law. In order to meet the requirements of the law, most Jews paid 23.33 percent in tithes yearly. So if you believe you are required to pay tithes and you are only paying 10%, you are in violation of the law!!!
But again, we are not longer under the law. We are under grace. As a result, you can never be under a curse, you can never rob God because there is no longer a requirement or a necessity to pay a tithe.
God cannot accept the payment of tithes because of what Jesus has done. But God will accept you GIVING A TITHE. He will not punish you if you do not give a tithe. There is a big difference in paying tithes and giving tithes. God does not was us the pay Him anything because everything has been paid by His Son, Jesus Christ. Since we are now under grace all of our giving is based on 2 Corinthians 9:7, which says every man should give as he is purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity because God loves a cheerful giver. God does not obligate anyone to PAY him a tithe. --Gilbert Owens; Kingdom of God Ministries Church
Thirdly, many have been deceived into paying tithes because if we do so, God said he would open up the windows of heaven and pour us out a blessing that would be too big for us to keep it all. In its proper context, opening up the windows of heavens always in the Old Testament meant RAIN!!! If you will allow the Holy Spirit to teach you, you will be able to see the truth and reality of the entire Book of Malachi.
Malachi 3:10 is a perfect example of the difference of being under the law versus being under grace. The law was about you doing something so God can do something for you. Grace is about what God has already done and you responding to his grace. More importantly, those believers who have a law mentality because of the way they have been taught, are always trying to do something in order to get a blessing. But those of us who truly understand we are under grace have a mentality of knowing I AM ALREADY BLESSED AND I RESPOND TO GOD BECAUSE I AM.
To be more specific, there are actually three tithes required under the law. In order to meet the requirements of the law, most Jews paid 23.33 percent in tithes yearly. So if you believe you are required to pay tithes and you are only paying 10%, you are in violation of the law!!!
But again, we are not longer under the law. We are under grace. As a result, you can never be under a curse, you can never rob God because there is no longer a requirement or a necessity to pay a tithe.
God cannot accept the payment of tithes because of what Jesus has done. But God will accept you GIVING A TITHE. He will not punish you if you do not give a tithe. There is a big difference in paying tithes and giving tithes. God does not was us the pay Him anything because everything has been paid by His Son, Jesus Christ. Since we are now under grace all of our giving is based on 2 Corinthians 9:7, which says every man should give as he is purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity because God loves a cheerful giver. God does not obligate anyone to PAY him a tithe. --Gilbert Owens; Kingdom of God Ministries Church
Emphasize "meat." The place which is considered a storehouse is to provide weighty deep truths about God. Giving your tithe to a social club that runs under the guise of a church is not the same thing.
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What has the modern-day Christian church concept of offerings replaced? A burnt offering would be a perfect male from the flock or herd, which would be offered at the door of the Tent of Assembly and whose blood, after being killed, would be sprinkled over the altar by the priest (Leviticus 1: 2-5). Later, the priest would burn the parts of the head, the fat, the entrails, and the feet on the altar (Leviticus 1: 6-9). Turtle doves and pigeons could also be offered as sacrifices (Leviticus 1: 14-17). Baked goods also could be burnt as offering (Leviticus 2: 1-10). There were thank-offerings (Leviticus 3: 1-16), sin-offerings (Leviticus 6: 17-23), and national offerings (Leviticus 6: 2-11). Burnt sacrifices were involved. These are a few examples. Is there a Christian church that follows these practices? Christians will say that Jesus was our once-and-for-all-time sacrifice. They are right. However, these offerings are what is meant in the passage from Malachi. Church organizations have expenses. How can they be met? There would be no problem if one situation could be overcome. Who comes first in the lives of many Christians? It certainly is not God. The two great commandments stated by Jesus are not kept (Matthew 22: 37-40). Money that is spent on elaborate buildings could be used to assist in the work of missionaries at home or abroad. It could help alleviate the poor. Congregations were not so large in Bible times because they were split into smaller groups. Can this not be done more today? Also, Christians cannot always distinguish between personal needs and personal wants. Again, we have replacement theology. Since tithes and offerings are decreed in the Mosaic law, should not other aspects of the law be included in Christian practice? Some creatures forbidden for human consumption included the following: swine, any fish that lack fins and scales, any animal that walks on its paws, and all reptiles (Leviticus 11: 3-47). The fat of any acceptable animal was also forbidden for food (Leviticus 7: 22-27). How often do Christians break these laws! There are laws of festivals to be observed (Leviticus 23: 1-44). How many Christians know that they exist and know what they mean, not to mention the observance of them? When has a Christian congregation stoned adulterers (Deuteronomy 22: 20-24)? These are just a few aspects of the law of Moses. Is it not selective use of the Scriptures in picking out one verse of the law, applying man's interpretation of convenience to it, and discarding the rest? How well do Christians really know and understand the Bible, particularly the Old Testament? Christians tend to have the attitude, "What can the church do for me?" rather than, "What can I do for the church?" In the second case, I am using the term church to mean the people who have accepted Jesus. Here is more replacement theology. --Tyndale Archive |
Tithes went, in part, to the poor. The same thing would be true of offerings. And offerings were entirely voluntary — but a man could rob God by refusing to offer them. He would be guilty before God of the sin of theft (greed, covetousness, and so on). But he would not be guilty of the crime of theft. Consider the case of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1). Peter told them that they could have sold their land, kept all the proceeds at home, sitting on top of the pile cackling like Scrooge McDuck, and they would not have bought the farm, so to speak.
“Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God” (Acts 5:4). After he sold it, was it not within his power? Yes — as far as the authority of fellow creatures could reach. But could he do whatever he wanted with it, and not have to answer to God? No, of course not. And this is what I am arguing. When any creaturely entity assumes the prerogatives of the Deity, assuming the power of control over the property of others, that entity has become lawless and wicked. And the Bible does not say, “Thou shalt not steal, except by majority vote.” The Bible does not countenance the notion that two coyotes and a sheep can form a rudimentary democracy, and then vote on what’s for lunch. If I am walking down the street and encounter someone begging alms, and I have twenty bucks in my wallet, and I receive an unmistakable burden from the Lord to give him that twenty bucks, and I suppress the impulse and walk on, am I being disobedient? Yes. Am I robbing God? Yes. Am I robbing the beggar? No. For if I were, he would have the right to chase me down and take the twenty bucks. If a woman had her purse snatched by a bicyclist, and fifteen minutes later she pulls into a drugstore parking lot, and that same bicycle is outside with her purse hanging on the handle bars — the thief having run inside to buy smokes with some of her dollars — is she stealing if she takes her purse back? Of course not. We must learn to distinguish that which is sin in the eyes of God, and that which should be a crime in the eyes of man and God. Being a selfish pig is a sin, but must not be made a crime. If we outlaw “being a selfish pig,” I have ten dollars here that says that within two weeks this crime of selfish piggery will be vigorously policed (and fined) by tribunals made up entirely of selfish pigs. When we make something a crime without scriptural justification, and penalize it, we invert the order of God. When we make property ownership a crime, and fine people heavily for being guilty of it, we have a society as corrupt and as mendacious and as greedy as . . . well, as our own. If we love people, if we love our neighbors, we will consider their stuff inviolate. We will form governments that respect our neighbors’ property as much as we ourselves do. But as it is currently, we form the kind of government we now have because we the people have larceny in our hearts. We are governed by thieves who represent us well. (SOURCE: Blog & MaBlog) |
“Not even the most ardent tither would say that the Sabbath should be observed today because it was observed before the law (Exodus 16:23-36), yet this is the very reasoning used in promoting tithing today. The New Testament teaches us about a new day of worship, and it also gives us new directions for giving. To tithe today following the examples of those who did it before the law would mean that only 10 percent of one’s income would go to the Lord and only on certain occasions; to tithe on the basis of the teaching of the law would mean that 22 percent would be given to the Lord as payment of what was owed Him; but to give on the basis of the principles of the new Testament might mean any percent, and given in recognition that 100 percent belongs to 28 Him. The Lord’s work will never lack support if we preach and practice New Testament principles of giving.”
Charles Ryrie “Balancing The Christian Life” p.92
Charles Ryrie “Balancing The Christian Life” p.92
“Dr Witherow most admirably says in words which it would do us good to ponder: ‘When told by sceptics that we are bound by the Bible to pay tithes, to execute the idolater and blasphemer, to put the Sabbath-breaker and witch to death, our answer is that the apostolic decree sets entirely free from these and all other peculiarities of the old Jewish economy. They are not names among the exceptions, and therefore are of no biding force upon the Gentile believers (p.193)'”
BB Warfield “The Presbyterian Review, Volume 10” p.332; 1888
“The New Testament nowhere explicitly requires tithing to maintain a ministry or a place of assembly.”
Bruce Metzger “Oxford Guide to Ideas and Issues of the Bible” p.493
“Tithing proponents typically fail to recognize that tithing is an integral part of the Old Testament sacrificial system that has been once and for all fulfilled in Christ. Hebrews, Rom 10:4, and Matthew 5: 17-20 all point to this reality. This may be the best reason why tithing is not commanded in the new covenant era: it was fulfilled in Christ.”
David Croiteau “A Biblical and Theological Analysis of Tithing” 2005
“I don’t believe you are required to give a certain amount of your income. From my study of scripture, as i look through this, when i look at the New Testament; i don’t believe that we’re required to give this ten percent.”
Francis Chan “How To Respond When Bad Things Happen” 1/17/2010
“Tithing does appear in the Bible. So, yes, tithing is biblical. But it is not Christian. The tithe belongs to ancient Israel. It was essentially their income tax. Never do you find first-century Christians tithing in the New Testament.”
Frank Viola “Pagan Christianity” 2002
“Today we are living in an age of grace. Under the Mosaic Law, men were required to give one-tenth to God. (Actually, I think that if the Mosaic Law is examined correctly, they not only gave one-tenth but they gave three-tenths.) Today we’re to give on an altogether different standard or basis. That is, we’re not under Law; we’re not under compulsion relative to this matter at all.”
J Vernon McGee “Q&A with McGee”
“You know what’s wrong with the 10%? Number one, it isn’t biblical and it’s giving for the wrong reason. It’s giving to fulfill an obligation rather than a response to a loving, willing heart, right?
Second thing that’s wrong with it is, it hinders what you could do by making you think you’re done. Giving is never to be by coercion. It is never to be by fundraising. It is never to be by compulsion. It is any gimmick is offensive to God.”
John MacArthur “God’s Plan for Giving, Part 1” February 09, 1975
“why curates are so severe in exacting tithes, since Christ and his apostles took no tithes, as men do now ; neither paid them, nor even spoke of them, either in the Gospel or the Epistles, which are the perfect law of freedom and grace. But Christ lived on the alms of holy women, as the Gospel telleth ; and the apostles lived sometimes by the labor of their hands, and sometimes took a poor livelihood and clothing, given of free will and devotion by the people, without asking or constraining.” ” Paul proved that priests, preaching truly the gospel, should live by the gospel, and said naught of tithes. Certainly tithes were due to priests in the Old Law — but it is not so now, in the law of grace.”
John Wyclife “Tracts and Treatises of John de Wycliffe” 1845 Translation by Robert Vaughan
“In the new covenant. in the new relationship to God through the Messiah, who has fulfilled the law for us; we are not under the law. It is not the primary way by which we relate to God or by which we discern and find strength to do what is pleasing to God. And in its place has come what Paul twice calls the law of Christ. ‘Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ’ Galatians 6:2”
John Piper “Is Tithing Commanded for Christians” 9/27/2013
BB Warfield “The Presbyterian Review, Volume 10” p.332; 1888
“The New Testament nowhere explicitly requires tithing to maintain a ministry or a place of assembly.”
Bruce Metzger “Oxford Guide to Ideas and Issues of the Bible” p.493
“Tithing proponents typically fail to recognize that tithing is an integral part of the Old Testament sacrificial system that has been once and for all fulfilled in Christ. Hebrews, Rom 10:4, and Matthew 5: 17-20 all point to this reality. This may be the best reason why tithing is not commanded in the new covenant era: it was fulfilled in Christ.”
David Croiteau “A Biblical and Theological Analysis of Tithing” 2005
“I don’t believe you are required to give a certain amount of your income. From my study of scripture, as i look through this, when i look at the New Testament; i don’t believe that we’re required to give this ten percent.”
Francis Chan “How To Respond When Bad Things Happen” 1/17/2010
“Tithing does appear in the Bible. So, yes, tithing is biblical. But it is not Christian. The tithe belongs to ancient Israel. It was essentially their income tax. Never do you find first-century Christians tithing in the New Testament.”
Frank Viola “Pagan Christianity” 2002
“Today we are living in an age of grace. Under the Mosaic Law, men were required to give one-tenth to God. (Actually, I think that if the Mosaic Law is examined correctly, they not only gave one-tenth but they gave three-tenths.) Today we’re to give on an altogether different standard or basis. That is, we’re not under Law; we’re not under compulsion relative to this matter at all.”
J Vernon McGee “Q&A with McGee”
“You know what’s wrong with the 10%? Number one, it isn’t biblical and it’s giving for the wrong reason. It’s giving to fulfill an obligation rather than a response to a loving, willing heart, right?
Second thing that’s wrong with it is, it hinders what you could do by making you think you’re done. Giving is never to be by coercion. It is never to be by fundraising. It is never to be by compulsion. It is any gimmick is offensive to God.”
John MacArthur “God’s Plan for Giving, Part 1” February 09, 1975
“why curates are so severe in exacting tithes, since Christ and his apostles took no tithes, as men do now ; neither paid them, nor even spoke of them, either in the Gospel or the Epistles, which are the perfect law of freedom and grace. But Christ lived on the alms of holy women, as the Gospel telleth ; and the apostles lived sometimes by the labor of their hands, and sometimes took a poor livelihood and clothing, given of free will and devotion by the people, without asking or constraining.” ” Paul proved that priests, preaching truly the gospel, should live by the gospel, and said naught of tithes. Certainly tithes were due to priests in the Old Law — but it is not so now, in the law of grace.”
John Wyclife “Tracts and Treatises of John de Wycliffe” 1845 Translation by Robert Vaughan
“In the new covenant. in the new relationship to God through the Messiah, who has fulfilled the law for us; we are not under the law. It is not the primary way by which we relate to God or by which we discern and find strength to do what is pleasing to God. And in its place has come what Paul twice calls the law of Christ. ‘Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ’ Galatians 6:2”
John Piper “Is Tithing Commanded for Christians” 9/27/2013
We are called to live out our faith and have an impact on society. A verse in the scriptures that reiterates this calling is Micah 6:8, which says “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” In this verse Micah points out what God requires of us. We are to do Justice. How are we “to do Justice”? What does that mean for us? Justice comes in different forms. We can do Justice by lending help to the parent who is struggling to put food on the table and is earning just enough to put a roof over their children’s heads. We can lend our help by offering to buy them groceries, maybe filling up their car with gas or connecting them to resources that can give them financial assistance and build their credit. We can do justice by assisting the homeless in our community to find shelter and get them connected to resources that will supply them with food and daily necessities. We can do justice by giving our time, talent and treasure to community organizations that give back to youth, those who are less fortunate and those who are struggling to make it each day. -Edward Ford Jr.;Urban Faith
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Malachi 3:7-12:
Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the LORD of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return? Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts. And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the LORD of hosts |
Not only did the people bring the Lord defective sacrifices, but they failed to bring tithes and offerings commanded by the law. Consequently, He cursed their blessings and destroyed their crops. When we rob God, we only rob ourselves. We cannot keep anything that rightfully belongs to God.
This text has often been used to promote tithing, and rightly so, but the usual emphasis is on the blessing which follows tithing and too rarely on the curse which marks its absence. But this is not all. What God plainly requires is “their and offerings.” The tithe is His tax, the offering is evidence of gratitude for His care and mercy. Because God is Lord over all things, all men owe Him a tithe as the great landlord. His covenant people are expected to bring Him offerings as evidence of their gratitude. The absence of tithes and offerings results in Gods curse. |
Emphasize "meat." The place which is considered a storehouse is to provide weighty deep truths about God. Giving your tithe to a social club that runs under the guise of a church is not the same thing.
Tithes went, in part, to the poor. The same thing would be true of offerings. And offerings were entirely voluntary — but a man could rob God by refusing to offer them. He would be guilty before God of the sin of theft (greed, covetousness, and so on). But he would not be guilty of the crime of theft. Consider the case of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1). Peter told them that they could have sold their land, kept all the proceeds at home, sitting on top of the pile cackling like Scrooge McDuck, and they would not have bought the farm, so to speak.
“Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God” (Acts 5:4).
After he sold it, was it not within his power? Yes — as far as the authority of fellow creatures could reach. But could he do whatever he wanted with it, and not have to answer to God? No, of course not.
And this is what I am arguing. When any creaturely entity assumes the prerogatives of the Deity, assuming the power of control over the property of others, that entity has become lawless and wicked. And the Bible does not say, “Thou shalt not steal, except by majority vote.” The Bible does not countenance the notion that two coyotes and a sheep can form a rudimentary democracy, and then vote on what’s for lunch.
If I am walking down the street and encounter someone begging alms, and I have twenty bucks in my wallet, and I receive an unmistakable burden from the Lord to give him that twenty bucks, and I suppress the impulse and walk on, am I being disobedient? Yes. Am I robbing God? Yes. Am I robbing the beggar? No. For if I were, he would have the right to chase me down and take the twenty bucks.
If a woman had her purse snatched by a bicyclist, and fifteen minutes later she pulls into a drugstore parking lot, and that same bicycle is outside with her purse hanging on the handle bars — the thief having run inside to buy smokes with some of her dollars — is she stealing if she takes her purse back? Of course not.
We must learn to distinguish that which is sin in the eyes of God, and that which should be a crime in the eyes of man and God. Being a selfish pig is a sin, but must not be made a crime. If we outlaw “being a selfish pig,” I have ten dollars here that says that within two weeks this crime of selfish piggery will be vigorously policed (and fined) by tribunals made up entirely of selfish pigs.
When we make something a crime without scriptural justification, and penalize it, we invert the order of God. When we make property ownership a crime, and fine people heavily for being guilty of it, we have a society as corrupt and as mendacious and as greedy as . . . well, as our own.
If we love people, if we love our neighbors, we will consider their stuff inviolate. We will form governments that respect our neighbors’ property as much as we ourselves do. But as it is currently, we form the kind of government we now have because we the people have larceny in our hearts. We are governed by thieves who represent us well.
(SOURCE: Blog & MaBlog)
“Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God” (Acts 5:4).
After he sold it, was it not within his power? Yes — as far as the authority of fellow creatures could reach. But could he do whatever he wanted with it, and not have to answer to God? No, of course not.
And this is what I am arguing. When any creaturely entity assumes the prerogatives of the Deity, assuming the power of control over the property of others, that entity has become lawless and wicked. And the Bible does not say, “Thou shalt not steal, except by majority vote.” The Bible does not countenance the notion that two coyotes and a sheep can form a rudimentary democracy, and then vote on what’s for lunch.
If I am walking down the street and encounter someone begging alms, and I have twenty bucks in my wallet, and I receive an unmistakable burden from the Lord to give him that twenty bucks, and I suppress the impulse and walk on, am I being disobedient? Yes. Am I robbing God? Yes. Am I robbing the beggar? No. For if I were, he would have the right to chase me down and take the twenty bucks.
If a woman had her purse snatched by a bicyclist, and fifteen minutes later she pulls into a drugstore parking lot, and that same bicycle is outside with her purse hanging on the handle bars — the thief having run inside to buy smokes with some of her dollars — is she stealing if she takes her purse back? Of course not.
We must learn to distinguish that which is sin in the eyes of God, and that which should be a crime in the eyes of man and God. Being a selfish pig is a sin, but must not be made a crime. If we outlaw “being a selfish pig,” I have ten dollars here that says that within two weeks this crime of selfish piggery will be vigorously policed (and fined) by tribunals made up entirely of selfish pigs.
When we make something a crime without scriptural justification, and penalize it, we invert the order of God. When we make property ownership a crime, and fine people heavily for being guilty of it, we have a society as corrupt and as mendacious and as greedy as . . . well, as our own.
If we love people, if we love our neighbors, we will consider their stuff inviolate. We will form governments that respect our neighbors’ property as much as we ourselves do. But as it is currently, we form the kind of government we now have because we the people have larceny in our hearts. We are governed by thieves who represent us well.
(SOURCE: Blog & MaBlog)
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Malachi 3:16-18:
Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name. And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him. Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not. |
The importance of maintaining ones fear of God is always relevant.
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