TITHE STILL APPLIES - Mike Peralta (e ink epub reader txt) 📗

also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also.

Notice that Jesus appeared to more than 500 at one time. This is a great deal of witnesses that testified that Jesus was and is living. This will be of significant importance in the final mention of the tithe in the New Testament.

Now let us take a look at Hebrews 7:1-10,

Hebrews 7:1-10, 1 For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham as he was returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, 2 to whom also Abraham apportioned a tenth part of all the spoils, was first of all, by the translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then also king of Salem, which is king of peace. 3 Without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, he remains a priest perpetually. 4 Now observe how great this man was to whom Abraham, the patriarch, gave a tenth of the choicest spoils. 5 And those indeed of the sons of Levi who receive the priest’s office have commandment in the Law to collect a tenth from the people, that is, from their brethren, although these are descended from Abraham. 6 But the one whose genealogy is not traced from them collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed the one who had the promises. 7 But without any dispute the lesser is blessed by the greater.

8 In this case mortal men receive tithes, but in that case one receives them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives on. 9 And, so to speak, through Abraham even Levi, who received tithes, paid tithes, 10 for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him.

In general, Hebrews chapter 7 talks about Jesus being our High Priest in the order of Melchisedek. I underlined verse 8 because that is the key verse we will concentrate on here. Verse 8 in four (4) translations reads are follows:

Hebrews 7:8, and here, indeed, men who die do receive tithes, and there He, who is testified to that He was living, (YLT)

Hebrews 7:8, And here men that die receive tithes; but there He receiveth them, of whom it is witnessed that He liveth. (KJV)

Hebrews 7:8, In this case mortal men receive tithes, but in that case One receives them, of whom it is witnessed that He lives on. (NASB)

Hebrews 7:8, In the one case, the tenth is collected by people who die; but in the other case, by Him who is declared to be living. (NIV)

A word-for-word Greek-to-English translation is as shown in the table below. This is based on Strong’s Greek-to-English reference.

 

Word-for-Word Greek-to-English Translation of Heb 7:8,

 

 

So starting with the Young’s Literal Translation (YLT) of Hebrews 7:8 and considering that over 500 testified that Jesus lives (1 Cor 15:3-8 then Heb 7:8 reads as follows:

Hebrews 7:8, And here, indeed, men who die do receive tithes, and there He [Jesus], who is testified to that He was living, (YLT)

Hebrews 7:8, And here men that die receive tithes; but there He [Jesus] receiveth them, of whom it is witnessed that He liveth. (KJV)

So we see from this scripture alone that Jesus, because He is our High Priest, is the One that now receives our Tithes! Jesus is the only one that can fit this verse as there were over 500 witnesses of His resurrection and that He is currently living. There is no one else in human history to which this verse can apply. No one else in human history is resurrected and lives on. NO ONE ELSE! What a privilege and honor it is that we can tithe to our High Priest – Jesus Christ – Who lives forever!

Notice also that verse 7 clearly shows that Jesus (the greater) blesses us (the lesser) just like Melchizedek (the greater) blessed Abraham (the lesser).

The fact that Jesus now receives our Tithe in the New Testament dispensation is extremely clear in this passage of Scripture. With this scripture alone there is no excuse for robbing God of His rightful Tithe.

The first part of Heb 7:8 is also revealing: “And here, indeed, men who die do receive tithes.” Already in the New Testament dispensation, mortal men were receiving tithes to carry on the work of Christ’s ministry. And notice that Paul did not rebuke anybody for the giving of tithes during this time.

People of the Jewish tradition were so accustomed to the giving of tithes that it was seen as a common and proper practice to give tithe to God for the work of God’s ministry. This giving of the tithe was so good and proper that Paul used it as an example of Christ’ status as High Priest by likening it to when Abraham gave the tithe to Melchisedek – a high priest and a type of symbol of Christ. And in the second part of Heb 7:8 - as an illustration of Jesus as our High Priest – Jesus is now receiving our tithe in the New Testament dispensation! This is such an awesome illustration of Jesus’ status of High Priest on our behalf.

The fact that our giving of our tithe shows how Jesus is now our High Priest, shows very vividly the validity of us now giving the tithe in the New Testament dispensation. Since Jesus is our High Priest we now give our tithe to Him – our loving Lord and Savior! This act of course is an act of worship and honor to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

This is such a beautiful illustration of Proverbs 3:9-10, “Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.”

I know that Jesus is very pleased when we honor Him with the tithe and offerings. Jesus sees it as a sincere act of worship on our part to submit our tithe and offerings to Him. And notice in Prov 3:10 that Jesus promises to provide abundantly with provisions even bursting at the seams.

And now I leave you with a true testimony of how a very poor congregation learned to give tithes – and were miraculously blessed in their obedience to the tithe.

(NOTE: There are thousands and even millions of testimonies like this throughout the world. But the following is representative of them – when people would obey the tithe commandment.)

 

-- Tithe Testimony By Chile Missionary --

Excerpt from the book: The Secret Kingdom by Pat Robertson.

A missionary to Chile shared some insights into this law of the Kingdom some time ago. As pastor of a group of extremely poor peasants, he did everything he could to minister to their needs. He revealed what he considered to be the full counsel of the Lord, teaching the Bible as the Word of God and leading them into many significant and deep understandings. But one day the Lord spoke as clearly as if He had been standing face to face with him. “You have not declared My whole truth to these people,” He said.

“But Lord ,” the missionary replied, “I don’t understand. I’ve taught them about justification by faith and forgiveness of sins and baptism in the Holy Spirit, about miracles and walking in Your power. I’ve taught them about the church, about history, about doctrine. I’ve taught them about godliness and holy living, about the Second Coming.

“What, my Lord, have I failed to teach them?”

He waited a moment. The voice was very clear. “You have not declared My tithe to them.”

The missionary was stunned. “But Lord, these are very poor people! They hardly have enough to live. I can’t ask them to tithe. They have nothing.”

Again, a silent moment. “You must declare to them My tithe.”

He was a faithful, obedient man. And the debate ended.

The next Sunday morning, with heavy heart, he stepped into the pulpit of the little rustic church in that poor, backward community, took a deep breath, and began.

“My beloved brethren,” he said, looking into the open, uplifted faces of his flock, “God has shown me that I haven’t been faithful in declaring to you His whole counsel. There is something you have not been doing that I must tell you about. You have not been tithing to the Lord.”

And he began a trek through the Scriptures with them that lasted nearly an hour. He explained everything, including the Malachi portions urging that the Lord be proven on the matter.

The next Sunday, it was their turn. In they came, obedient to the Word. They didn’t have money, so they brought eggs, chickens, leather goods, woven articles, and all manner of things from their poor peasant homes. The altar area was heaped high.

The missionary felt badly about taking the gifts, but he too was faithful, so he sold some and used the money for the work of the church. He distributed some of the gifts to the destitute in the neighborhood and kept some for his own sustenance, in lieu of income.

The same thing happened Sunday after Sunday. The people tithed.

It wasn’t long before the effects of drought were seen throughout the countryside. Poverty gripped the people of the land worse than ever. Crops failed; buildings deteriorated; gloom covered everything.

But, miraculously, this was not so with the members of that little church. Their crops flourished as though supernaturally watered. But more than that, the yields were extraordinary, bounteous, healthy, flavorful. Their fields were green, while those around were withering. Their livestock were sleek and strong. Relative abundance replaced abject poverty.

They even had an overflow of crops and goods that could be sold, and before long their tithes included money. They were able to build a much-needed new meeting house.

Despite his misgivings, the missionary and his people had learned that no matter how desperate the situation, no matter how deep the impoverishment, the principles of the Kingdom can turn deprivation into abundance.

-- End of Tithe Testimony By Chile Missionary --

 

 

As you can see above, God really, truly, keeps His Word as He says in Malachi 3:10-12:

“10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. 11 I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe,” says the LORD Almighty. 12 “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the LORD Almighty.”

It is very important to realize that God always keeps His promises – whether they are promised blessings or promised judgments.

For those who still think the tithe is not a New Testament commandment I wish to point out the following:

1. Notice that the missionary did not want to preach the tithe message to the congregation – because they were very poor: “The missionary was stunned. “But Lord, these are very poor people! They hardly have enough to live. I can’t ask them to tithe. They have nothing.”.. “The next Sunday morning, with heavy heart, he stepped into the pulpit of the little rustic church in that poor, backward community, took a deep breath,