There’s always something that fuels the debate over tithing and as believers try to come out on the right side of the issue, there’s one thing that has always been missing from the giving puzzle – how God frames giving in the new covenant, which is the new lens that changes everything.

It was never God’s intention to teach us the value of giving, but rather the value of His new covenant. When teaching points are picked up about the merits of giving, there’s a lot of truth to be had, if we were interested in learning about giving. But we’re not interested in the merits of giving, we’re interested in the merits of reciprocation to God according to the new standards of His new covenant.

Every time a nugget or two is sifted from a teaching about giving, those nuggets may seem like a priceless truth you can pocket, but it is a partial truth (fool’s gold), which means that it only looks like the real thing, but upon closer inspection, it’s not. Partial truths are not only disappointing, but downright dangerous.

Partial truth becomes a lie as full obedience cannot follow. For example, it is true that God is the same yesterday, today and forever more, but that includes the reality that He has always given new direction for faith through a steward of His election, and only those who obeyed those directives retained His sanctification.

Abraham by the revelation of God built altars in high places, but God gave new direction through Moses to build a tabernacle for His altar, and again through David He gave the pattern for the temple in Jerusalem. When Jesus spoke with the woman at the well, she spoke of the tradition of worship in the mountains (as with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob), but Jesus said: “Ye worship ye know not what…”, because the Samaritans still held to those old traditions instead of heeding His voice to follow each new direction He had given through subsequent stewards, leading His people to the temple in Jerusalem.

Jesus then continued on to show that new direction was about to be affected in Himself again, saying:

“But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:23-24)

Jesus spoke of Himself being the new steward through whom God would once more shut one door (Rev 3:7) – to the physical tools of worship (temple, circumcision, tithing, animal sacrifices etc.) and open another door – to a new and better covenant which worship MUST be in Spirit and truth.

Jesus indeed came to fulfil the law in Himself that only in Him (the terms of His new covenant) believers would be made spotless (which the law could not do, only the covering of His righteousness.)

And He indeed taught to give unto man what is due to man (as the taxes due to the Roman’s was to be paid with the Roman money) and to GOD what is due to God (as under the covenant of Moses which at the time was still in place, the tithe was to be paid to the temple with the Shekel of the sanctuary). Jesus was fulfilling all things of that first covenant, before establishing the second covenant.

But after His death and resurrection (and by it establishing the new covenant, which worship is in Spirit and truth), for one to still insist on serving God with the physical (weak and beggarly) things, is to not know what you worship (that which no longer bears God’s sanctification.)

Galatians 4:9
But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?

The temple in Jerusalem no longer bears God’s sanctification, for our bodies are now the temple of the Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 6:19
What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

HIS tithe and offerings and first fruits are indeed due to God, but not of money, animals and crops, but of Christ in the form of Spirit and truth, which the apostles called spiritual sacrifices.

1 Peter 2:5
Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

People find it easier to let go of some of the customs of that previous covenant than others, as if faith is a democracy where believers can choose their preferences. But faith is not a democracy. God communicated to us the terms of our contact with Him and He set the terms with His promise of reciprocation.

So much false doctrine has been built around the tithe and financial contributions to ministries, because of the love of money – misusing scripture to appeal to believers’ aspirations, in promising great gain in exchange for the giving. How can a person hear something that sounds true about giving and yet not be able to discern why it isn’t true?

God is reproving ministers for this evil which has caused untold damage to believers as many ministers fattened their pockets whilst leaving the souls of God’s people starving for His life, and their hopes directed to carnal gain instead of the greater things of the Spirit.

Not only have believers been robbed, but God has thus been robbed of His due contributions – that spiritual tithe and first fruits of faith; the spiritual sacrifices which form an integral part of the spiritual priesthood of believers in Jesus’ covenant. The apostles understood and taught these things, as those to whom Jesus transferred His stewardship to give direction and function for faith.

God has again provided sanctified stewardship in our time to once more restore the knowledge and function of the covenant and priesthood, for believers to walk in the fullness of what He intended, and to honor Him with the due offerings of their spiritual tithe – knowledge that is equal to Christ, who is our Sabbath, our tithe, and our worthy sacrifice.

Keeping all these things in mind, let’s now look at Mal 3:6-10, which ministers love to quote to get believers to dig deep into their pockets, only keep in mind that as God spoke here to Israel to return to the ordinances of Moses’ covenant, so is He speaking to Christians today regarding the terms of Jesus’ spiritual covenant and priesthood service:

Malachi 3:6-10
⁶ For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.

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?

⁸ 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.

Those who have heeded this call of God in these last days, and have been converted to Jesus’ covenant can attest to the boundless spiritual blessings of God’s daily direct involvement in our faith, so that each has somewhat to give when we assemble in His name: gifts of the Spirit, manifold graces, increased discernment, peace, wisdom, knowledge, understanding, strength, faith, joy. And as the Lord teaches through His steward, so indeed is our living experience – the more you sow, the more you grow.

Quoting from our IDCCST online course:

God defines his divine love towards us. He calls his love his Son Jesus Christ because Jesus is the divine expression of God’s love. Love has to do with the charity that transforms the soul.

And then God calls his love a gift. So we do the same, we define our love for God in the same manner and return to God his divine gift—Jesus Christ. That’s reciprocation in kind.

Reciprocation in kind means a gift of equal value, or according to God’s fullness and is, therefore, also called an ‘equal exchange’. Our signature gifts and talents cannot be offered to God because they are not an equal exchange; they are less than God because our signature gifts do not represent Jesus Christ.

The tithe of money cannot be offered to God because it is not an equal exchange; it also is less than God.

Are you still robbing God of the spiritual reciprocation of faith He is in expectation of in the new covenant? Has your minister failed to direct your faith in these greater things by keeping believers in the instability of one foot in Moses’ covenant, another in Christ’s – mixing the seed for the whole to become unsanctified? It is time for some much-needed re-education, and God has made perfect provision for you, if you are willing to humble your heart to enter into the door of obedience.

Our IDCCST Course is fully comprehensive and freely available on the s8w.org website, and we are available to assist you all the way – see you in the course.