P2 - God's lightning rod of blessing

Proverbs 3:9-10 "Honor the Lord from your wealth and from the first of all your produce; 10 So your barns will be filled with plenty And your vats will overflow with new wine."

Introduction & review: The beauty and purpose of lightning rods and God's lightning rod of blessing

I can recall when living in Pennsylvania the many farms that dotted the rolling hills and lush valleys.  On top of the farmhouses and red barns one could spy two, three or more ornate but functioning lightning rods.  Lightning rods function to take a lightning strike and direct the powerful current safely and quickly into the ground.  Much can be learned from considering the relationship between lightning rods and what they do to another type of lightning rod that God has prescribed to His people to direct the blessings He intends to the right areas of their lives. What is that lightning rod of blessing of which we speak? Tithing and stewardship.

Yesterday we considered the first two reasons from our acrostic r.o.d regarding as to why it is important to tithe to the Lord. 

Relevant to you today.

Opens you to God's supernatural power

Today we will consider the third and final reason why it is important to give of one's firstfruits or tithe to the Lord, namely it.....

Directs you to walk by faith, not by sight

Truly we will not hear or sense God's leading in the realm of finances and resources until we take Him at His Word. Whenever you survey the contexts in which God's people brought their tithes and offerings, you discover an interesting pattern that leads them to view everything by faith and not by sight. 2 Corinthians 5:7 plainly states that we walk by faith and not by sight.  What benefits to our faith-walk occur from being directed in our tithing to walk by faith and not by sight. 

Willing faith. We find that we go from having to give to wanting to give.  Read the accounts of the building of the tabernacle in Exodus 25-40.  God through Moses told the people to bring various materials and to give to the work at hand.  As the people did so, their attitude toward giving changed and Moses had to tell them to stop giving, being that "much more than enough" had been brought for the construction of the tabernacle.  Truly when we do things God's way, He takes our "have to's" and transforms them into "want to's".

Christ-honoring faith.  In other words, we want to give because of seeing what God gave. One of the concepts associated with tithing and stewardship is the principle of "first-fruits". Simply put, a "first-fruit" represents the first portion of a harvest.  When a person brought that first-fruit of grain to the Lord, they were trusting God for the remainder of their fields to be blessed. Passages such as Deuteronomy 26:10 and 26:12 associate the principle of "first-fruits" with the "tithe". Paul describes Jesus Christ as the "first-fruit" from God in regards to His resurrection from the dead and being the Premier Preview of things to come. ( 1 Corinthians 15:20,23). Quite literally we can say that God gave Jesus as a "tithe". In tithing to the Lord, I give not out of grudging submission but because of the grace of God's most precious gift - Jesus Christ. As the old hymn says: "He gave His life, what more could He give". 

As we learn to view everything through the eyes of faith and not our circumstances, we are able to increasing our willingness because of faith and focus on Jesus who is the Author and Perfector of faith.  Yes - tithing can do all those things because of Him who has prescribed it for us. We go from having to give to wanting to give and we give because of thanksgiving for what God gave in Jesus Christ.  But notice a third way in which tithing and stewardship benefits out faith in walking by faith and not by sight, namely...

Visionary faith. The infusion of vision into our faith results from simply cooperating with God. Notice 2 Corinthians 9:7-8 & 10 7 "Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed; 10 Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness."  When we cooperate with God, his power of blessing will proceed to us like electricity down a wire from a lightning rod.  When there is a path of least resistance, God's power to bless is directed to the areas He desires to bless.  Soon we begin to envision things as He does.  We begin to see potential in people and in areas that at present may very well be barren. Truly stewardship is meant to support and forward the mission that God has given to reach a lost world for Christ and to promote His glory in worship.

Our cooperation is so important. As Jesus notes in Matthew 6:33 "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."  When we give to the Lord, when we cooperate, we will want for nothing. Visionary faith comes when we come to God with open hands rather than clinched fists. The resources needed for doing ministry in God's churches will never run low when God's people individually and together give of their tithes and offerings.  Why is it we make things so hard? We miss out on so much when we fail to cooperate with God.  If I can trust the living God for my eternal welfare, surely it is a small thing in comparison to trust Him with my general welfare. 

Conclusion:
We have endeavored to answer the question regarding why it is so important to tithe to the Lord. We have used the imagery of a lightning rod to suggest that tithing and stewardship is God's prescribed lightning rod of blessing.  We noted the following three main thoughts by utilizing the acrostic r.o.d: Relevance of tithing for today; Opening of God's supernatural power to you and how tithing directs you to walk by faith and not by sight. 

P1 God's lightning rod of blessing

Proverbs 3:9-10 "Honor the Lord from your wealth and from the first of all your produce; 10 So your barns will be filled with plenty And your vats will overflow with new wine."

Introduction: The beauty and purpose of lightning rods and God's lightning rod of blessing

I can recall when living in Pennsylvania the many farms that dotted the rolling hills and lush valleys.  When driving on those winding two lane highways, I would behold herds of black and white Holstein cows, endless rows of field corn with tassels waving in the early summer winds and Amish buggies clip-clopping their way on cold fall mornings.  On top of the farmhouses and red barns one could spy two, three or more ornate but functioning lightning rods.  Lightning rods function to take a lightning strike and direct the powerful current safely and quickly into the ground.  As any scientist will tell you, electric current follows the path of least resistance and the most direct and shortest path.  Much can be learned from considering the relationship between lightning rods and how they picture another type of lightning rod that God has prescribed to His people to direct the blessings He intends to the right areas of their lives. What is that lightning rod of blessing of which we speak? Tithing and stewardship.

When you consider all of the scriptures that speak of giving of one's first-fruits or tithing (roughly 100 in all), it is without question God's intention to bless His people and instruct them about how He views resources and His people's relationship to their resources. Today we will take the acrostic r.o.d and consider some of those texts as we aim to answer the following question: why is it important to tithe to the Lord? The following three headings will be used in bring that question to bear on your life and mine:

Relevant to you today.

Opens you to God's supernatural power

Directs you to walk by faith, not by sight

With this subject being so vital, we will only cover the first two thoughts and continue with the third thought for tomorrow's post.  So why should you and I put up God's lightning rod of blessing? Why is it important to tithe to the Lord? Notice first of all that it is...

Relevant to you today.

As you read through scripture, the particular word "tithe" or "tithing" occurs more than forty times, the closely related concept of "first-fruits" (for crops) and "first-lings" (for animals) occurs over 30 times and the idea of "tenth" in the realm of stewardship appears over 20 times. The last time we find tithing mentioned in the Old Testament is in Malachi 3:10 "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says the Lord of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows." Now many well-meaning Christians assume that tithing was nothing more than an Old Testament regulation, given by God under the period of the Law. Often I have heard Christians say, and I'm sure you have as well, that since we are no longer under law but under grace, that means we can now give whatever we want, since tithing went away due to Christ's accomplished work.

Is that true? Did Jesus' death, burial and resurrection do away with the standard of tithing? Whenever studying both the Old and New Testaments, unless God has either removed or replaced a given institution or command, we can assume that the command or institution carries forth from Old to New Testament. Jesus for example used very similar language as that of Malachi 3:10 in his first sermon in Luke 6:38. When Jesus rebuked the Pharisees in Matthew 23:23 for focusing on tithing above the "weightier matters of the law", He is not abolishing the tithe, rather He is admonishing the attitude of their hearts and neglect of God's Word. If anything, Jesus' teaching gets us to the heart of stewardship (Matthew 6:33) and does not do away with the Divine standard of tithing. 

As one journeys into the New Testament, several key Old Testament practices or institutions were replaced and removed.  For example, the Levitical priesthood was done away with when Christ came, since His priesthood is of a different order. (Hebrews 7-10) We also don't sacrifice animals due to the fact that Christ's subsitutionary death satisfied the wrath of God against the sins of those who receive His work by grace through faith. (1 Peter 3:18) 

However, we discover not one prohibition against tithing. The standard of 10% was ordained by God some 400 or so years before the giving of the law. Abel (Genesis 4:4), Abraham (Genesis 14:20) and Jacob (Genesis 28:22) were tithing millennia before Christ and centuries before the giving of the law. The law of God served to reinforce the standard, however when Christ came, the standard was never removed nor replaced.

In studying the over 100 passages that speak on the subject of stewardship and tithing, here is what we discover:

1. A person is free to give whatever they want (offering) only after they have been already tithing. 

2. Tithing represents the most basic level of stewardship, the ground floor if you will. Whenever we begin to tithe is whenever we begin to hear God in the realm of giving.

3. Wherever the believer is told to give in the liberty of his heart and conscience, it can be assumed that the believer has already been tithing. (2 Corinthians 9:6-10)

So yes dear friend, tithing and stewardship is relevant for you and me today. It still remains God's lightning rod of blessing. However there is a second reason as to why we should tithe to the Lord....

Opens you to God's supernatural power
The only way you and I can accomplish the impossible or believe that God can do impossible things is by humbly acknowledging that His words are more trustworthy than our opinions. By His Spirit the Christian is able to conclude and continue entrusting God with the salvation of their souls. (2 Timothy 1:12) Yet why is it when it comes to resources and finances we hesitate? In the realm of lightning rods, lightning will seek the path of least resistance. All the time people will quote passages such as Philippians 4:19 without considering the context within which occurs - namely that of giving and stewardship. 

Whenever you and I are converted to saving faith, our relationship toward four books should change. First, our relationship to The Book, the Bible, ought to change, being that as converted saints we conclude it to be what is really is: God's precious, infallible, inerrant word. (1 Thessalonians 2:12-13). Secondly, our datebook ought to change, being that your appointments and plans are directed by the Lord moreso than circumstance or person preference.  Thirdly, your songbook ought to change.  Overtime the believer will learn to appreciate music that edifies the spirit man and not just the senses. 

However there is a fourth book that ought to become different - and that is the checkbook. Solomon writes in Proverbs 3:9-10 "Honor the Lord from your wealth and from the first of all your produce; 10 So your barns will be filled with plenty And your vats will overflow with new wine." In a texts where we are told to "trust in the Lord with all our heart and lean not unto our own understanding...." (Proverbs 3:5-6), scripture gives us a test to see whether we believe that truth - namely our resources and finances.  Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 9:8 "And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed." Space does not permit, but the Old Testament text quoted by Paul in the context of the passage (Psalm 112:9) indirectly alludes to tithing and stewardship. 

God prescribes tithing to you and I dear Christian not to shackle us but to free us.  He desires and wants to bless us far more than we do.  He aims to raise our idea of blessings from the material to Himself, for to be blessed simply means I have His power and presence coursing through my life.  The lightning rod of blessing - tithing, is given by God to give me a chance to open a doorway whereby He can unleash His supernatural power into my finances and so much more.  

More tomorrow.......

Why Jesus declared war on Satan

Luke 3:38-4:1  3:38 "the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God. 4:1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led around by the Spirit in the wilderness."

Introduction

The main concern of today's post is discovering why Jesus came to declare war on Satan. Luke 4 will be the main text of this lesson. We will note the following headings as we attempt to answer the question: why Jesus declared war on Satan?

1. Defeat Satan as the New Adam. Lk 4:1-13

2. Deliver people from bondage. Lk 4:14-41

3. Declare the Gospel. Lk 4:42-44

Defeat Satan as the New Adam. Lk 4:1-13

In the opening verses of today's post, you may notice that one chapter is ending and another is beginning.  As the Holy Ghost superintended Luke's writing of his Gospel, He arranged to have Jesus' genealogy go all the way back to Adam and take the reader right into the beginning of Jesus' temptation by Satan. Such a curious feature alerts the reader to the fact that side by side we see Old Adam (Lk 3:38) and Jesus the "New Adam". The New Testament picks up this theme of Jesus Christ being the "New Adam" or the "second Adam" to show that He came to be the head of a redeemed humanity composed of those choice saints who have freely believed on Him as Savior and Lord. (Romans 5:11-21; 1 Corinthians 15:20-28, 42-49).  

Jesus acted as the New Adam and did what Adam could never do: successfully defeat Satan toe to toe. Whenever you see the genealogy prefacing the temptation account, you discover that over 70 generations of humanity represented one rusted link after another - marked by failure, sin and defeat.  Adam failed to defeat Satan in Genesis 3, as well as Abraham in his temptation (Genesis 12:10-11); Isaac in his (Genesis 26); Israel in the book of Numbers and King David in his temptation in 2 Samuel 11. From the corrosive sea of history the Holy Spirit displays the rusted chain of humanity, and on the one end is Old Adam, and on the other end is a golden link - The sinless New Adam, Jesus Christ.

According to 1 John 2:15-17, Satan's three primary weapons are the lust of eyes (2:16), the flesh (2:16) and the boasting about what one has (2:16). Satan did to Jesus what he did to Adam and his wife: he tempted in the realm of the drives, the senses or the lust of the eyes (Luke 4:1-4). Next Satan appealed to Jesus much like Adam in the realm of the visual, of the heart, or the boastful pride of life by showing him all the kingdoms of the world. (Luke 4:5-8) Then Satan appealed to Jesus like he did Adam by the lust of the flesh, the reliance of self by tempting Jesus to cast himself to the floor of the temple. (Luke 4:9-13) All three of these temptations overlapped and intertwined like newly woven ropes.  Would Satan be able to tie up Jesus like he had with the other great but sinful men of the past? Thankfully not.  Jesus was sinless, they were sinful.  Despite being in a barren wasteland in contrast to Old Adam's idyllic settings in Genesis 3, Jesus the New Adam soundly defeated Satan. Jesus as God in human flesh warred with Satan and won this first of many battles.  However there was to be further warfare, which leads us to the second reason why Jesus came to declare war on Satan, namely....

Deliver people from bondage. Lk 4:14-41

It is astonishing to consider the number of references in the four Gospels regarding Jesus' battles and warfare with Satan and the demonic realm.  Why? Why did Jesus need to wage war against Satan and the demonic realm? The New Testament epistles explain that He came to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8) and to deliver people from bondage underneath the Devil's tyranny of fear (Hebrews 2:14-15). 

As Jesus began to teach and preach in the local Jewish meeting houses or synagogues of his day, the first sermon ever preached by Him is recorded.  In Luke 4:18 we see Jesus explaining why it is He came to wage war on the kingdom of darkness from His quotation of Isaiah 61:1: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, And recovery of sight to the blind, To set free those who are oppressed." Following His dramatic reading and announcement of His fulfillment of that text, it is clear that the people's violent reaction shows that what He said was radical.

However what happens next in Luke 4:30-41 is truly astonishing.  Prior to the advent of Jesus as God in human flesh, no recorded successful exorcism has ever occurred. You can comb the entire Old Testament and not find one instance of any prophet casting out a demon.  However, we find two successful exorcisms performed by Jesus in Luke 4. (Luke 4:33-37; 4:41) Something indeed had been altered as a result of Jesus' coming.  A new era was dawning.  Truly Jesus' waging of war on Satan and the Kingdom of darkness was no empty threat.  Like a mighty iceberg crawling atop the surface of a mighty tract of land that clears away the terrain, Jesus' walk across the bridge of time meant the pushing back of Satan's tyranny and the diminishing of the kingdom of darkness. 

However there is one more reason why Jesus came to declare war on Satan, namely..

Declare the Gospel. Lk 4:42-44

Jesus Himself  says plainly in Luke 4:43 "But He said to them, “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose.” What was the outcome of Jesus' declaration? Note Luke 4:44 "So He kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea." The battle was fought and won by Jesus for our sake.  The church's main task is to continue what Jesus came to do in declaring war on Satan: declare the Gospel, preaching wherever the lost are at and set people free from the tyranny of the evil one. (compare Acts 26:18;  2 Timothy 2:1-4).

Conclusion: 

The main concern of today was to discover why Jesus came to declare war on Satan. We will noted the following reasons

1. Defeat Satan as the New Adam. Lk 4:1-13

2. Deliver people from bondage. Lk 4:14-41

3. Declare the Gospel. Lk 4:42-44

A short, practical overview of the Book of Acts

Acts 1:1 "The first account I composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach."

Book: Acts of the Apostles

Author: Luke. A co-worker with the Apostle Paul and author of the Gospel of Luke.

Personal information concerning the author as found in the book: The book of Acts is Luke's second volume, with the Gospel of Luke being the first. It is written to Theophilus, the same recipient as the Gospel.

Theme: The Person of the Holy Spirit at work in the church to accomplish Christ's great commission.

Key Verse: Acts 1:8

Outline: Acts 1-2 The birth of the church by the Spirit

             Acts 3-8 The mission to Jerusalem

             Acts 9-12 The mission to Samaria

             Acts 13-28 The mission to the 

             uttermost parts of the earth.

Three Promises of God found in the book:

1. The Person and power of the Spirit has come. (Acts 2)

2. Christ will return just as He ascended, in physical, bodily, post-resurrected, glorified form. (Acts 1:11-14)

3. The church is able to reach unbelievers and make disciples by the power of Christ, the Person of the Spirit and the preaching of the scriptures. (Acts 2-8; 9-12; 13-28).

Three commands of God found in the book:

1. "Wait for what the Father had promised" Acts 1:4

2. "You shall be my witnesses..." Acts 1:8

3. "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved...." Acts 16:31

One thing I learned about:

God the Father. The Father has promised and sent the Spirit in the name of the Son.

Jesus Christ. He is the resurrected, ascended, enthroned King in heaven over His church who will return at the end of this age. He operates in a more profound and exalted way as the Post-Pentecost Jesus, retaining His humanity but displaying more of His Deity by the agency of the Holy Spirit through the church by the scriptures. 

The Holy Spirit. He is found roughly 40 times in the the book of Acts. He is the illuminator, empoweror and pointer to Christ. He calls, converts and applies Christ's achieved work and ensures the completion of the church's mission.

What does God want  me to do? (one specific measurable goal?)

Read and study the Book of Acts more this upcoming year. 

The need to wait on The Holy Spirit

Acts 1:1-2 "The first account I composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach, 2 until the day when He was taken up to heaven, after He had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen."

Introduction:

We find reference to the Holy Spirit some 40 times in the book of Acts.  In this post today we aim to understand the Spirit's purposes in leading us to wait.  Acts 1:1-2 tells us that "after He had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen". Acts 1:3-8 proceeds to tell us what Jesus told his apostles and followers to do from the time He ascended until the Holy Spirit came - namely wait. The word "wait" is a word we Christians often do not like to hear.  We often equate "waiting" with "inactivity".  However there are times in seasons of waiting that the Lord will pour into us insights that will empower us to do His bidding.  Notice the two purposes of waiting here in Acts 1:3-8

The Spirit has us to wait for the purposes of illumination. Acts 1:3

Notice what Acts 1:3 states - "To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God."  Christian conversion is a work wrought by the Spirit of God whereby He shows Jesus to you. The Christian life following conversion is all about the Spirit of God making Jesus known in you.  By the agency of the Holy Spirit, Jesus in His physical, post-resurrection state illuminated his chosen apostles to truths hither-to-fore unrealized by them.  

They got to know Jesus in His post-resurrection power and appearances and gained greater insight about God's kingdom.  The Old Covenant era had been legally drawn to a close at the cross, however what was legally accomplished at the cross needed to be applied in the realm of their hearts and minds by the Spirit. It would be in Acts 2 that the New Covenant age would be ushered in by the full-manifestation of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost. The disciples were getting a "down-load" from the post-resurrected Jesus of all they would need for the New Covenant church age that was dawning upon them.  

Waiting is prescribed by the Spirit to illuminate us.  1 Corinthians 2:12 "Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God". Ephesians 1:18 has Paul praying: "I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints." The Apostle John writes about the illuminating work of the Spirit in 1 John 2:27 "As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him." Now notice a second reason why the Spirit has us to wait...

The Spirit has us to wait for purposes of empowerment. Acts 1:4-8

As the Spirit of God has the believer to be in a holding pattern, illumination to new truths or already known truths from the word is certainly one purpose.  However its not just about information but transformation. Acts 1:4-5 states - "Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, “Which,” He said, “you heard of from Me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” 

In those seasons of waiting there will be a time where we wonder about the purpose in the waiting.  I have heard many Christians and even myself say something to the effect: "well lets get this over with, I want to learn whatever God has to show me quickly so that I can then move forward once again." In waiting, God will illuminate, and then He will grow silent and do a deeper work of empowering.  

The disciples said to Jesus in Acts 1:6-7 "So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority."  They were ready for another theology lesson.  However Jesus' whole point in gathering them by His Spirit was just for instruction, but empowerment.

From the time Jesus would ascend into the sky before their very eyes until the Holy Spirit would come in full power would be ten days.  Until He came, the disciples were to keep on waiting in the upper room. From what we can tell, their waiting time was not one of complete inactivity.  In that time God had them united in one mind and purpose to the point where they were continually praying. (Acts 1:12-14) Evidently Peter and the remaining disciples concluded by examination of the scriptures that a twelfth man needed to be chosen to replace the traitor Judas. (1:15-23) Such an activity led to further praying and further seeking until the answer was made known. (1:24-26)

Unless the disciples and early Christians had waited, they would not had been ready.  God "scooped them out" in that waiting time in order to fill them and empower them to do His bidding in Acts 2.  As you walk the rest of the way through the Book of Acts, we see the Apostles preaching nearly 20 sermons and multiple outpourings of the Spirit's power on his people.  Such seasons of empowerment were the only explanation as to why the church was able to advance as far as she had. 

Conclusion: It pays heed the Spirit's call to "wait"

Imagine what would had happened if those early Christians had ignored Jesus' instructions by the Spirit to "wait". There would had been no illumination, no empowerment. By the Spirit's empowerment, what began as a small gathering of 120 people in an upper room exploded into the movement and phenomenon called the early church. In a span of nearly 30 years, the Gospel had come to blanket Europe and a large portion of Asia minor by the end of the Book of Acts.  The Holy Spirit will lead you and I into those seasons of waiting not to put us on the shelf, but to position us to do greater and more effective works than we could ever think or imagine on our own. 

Yes dear friend, tithing is still for today

Malachi 3:10 "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says the Lord of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows."

Introduction
In today's post we will explore what is perhaps the most often confused aspect of the discussion over tithing and stewardship - namely: should Christians tithe?

Meet the Bible's first tithers

A quick survey of the entire Bible reveals that three closely related terms are used to describe the act of tithing.  We find the term "first fruits" (for crops) or "firstlings" (for animals) used over 30 times; the term "tenth" used in giving situations almost 25 times and the word "tithe" used 40 times.  Three ancient believers mentioned in Genesis could be termed "the Bible's first tithers".

The first is Abel. In Genesis 4:4 "Abel, on his part also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and for his offering." Quite literally, God decided to bless Abel for the fact he had brought the "first" or the "best" to God.  The principle of first fruits or firstling is connected to "tithing" in passages such as Deuteronomy 18:4,12,21,24. 

Genesis 14:20 is where we see the second tither, Abraham.  This passage is significant being that it is the first mention of the term "tithe" in the Bible. God gave Abraham a mighty victory over the confederation of the five kings of Chedorlaomer. As Abraham returns from battle, he meets the mysterious figure Melchizedek, whom according to Psalm 110 and Hebrews 5-7 is none other than a pre-incarnate (before the flesh) appearance of Jesus Christ. As Melchizedek blesses Abraham, we read in Genesis 14:18-20 "And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; now he was a priest of God Most High. (19) He blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; (20) And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” He gave him a tenth of all." There we see Abram giving Melechizedek, Who is Christ in disguise, a tenth of the spoils of victory. 

The third tither in the early Biblical record is Abraham's grandson Jacob. Genesis 28:22 reads: "This stone, which I have set up as a pillar, will be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You.” Just as his grandfather before him, Jacob had "believed God and it was credited to Him as righteousness" (compare Genesis 15:6). Undoubtedly we can say that Genesis 28 marks Jacob's conversion.  What is one of the first-fruits that a change has occurred in Jacob's life? How he views his possessions! It is in this text where we see the word "tenth" used, which is the exact meaning of the word "tithe" and of course is associated with the term "first-fruits".  All three of these early "tithers" are significant being that they establish God's pattern for giving hundreds of years before the giving of the law on Mount Sinai.

Following tithing throughout the Bible
As you read through scripture, the particular word "tithe" or "tithing" occurs more than forty times. The last time we find it mentioned in the Old Testament is in Malachi 3:10 "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says the Lord of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows." Now many well-meaning Christians assume that tithing was nothing more than an Old Testament regulation, given by God under the period of the Law. Often I have heard Christians say that since we are no longer under law but under grace, that means we can now give whatever we want, since tithing went away once Christ had died on the cross.

Is that true? Did Jesus' death, burial and resurrection do away with the standard of tithing? Whenever studying both the Old and New Testaments, unless God has either removed or replaced a given institution or command, we can assume that the command or institution carries forth from Old to New Testament.

For example, the Levitical priesthood was done away with when Christ came, since His priesthood is of a different order. (Hebrews 7-10) We also don't sacrifice animals due to the fact that Christ's subsitutionary death satisfied the wrath of God against the sins of those who receive His work by grace through faith. (1 Peter 3:18)

Now whenever we come to the New Testament, we discover not one prohibition against tithing. The standard of 10% was ordained by God some 400 or so years before the giving of the law. Abel, Abraham and Jacob were tithing millennia before Christ and centuries before the giving of the law. The law of God served to reinforce the standard, however when Christ came, the standard was never removed nor replaced.

In studying the over 100 passages that speak on the subject of stewardship and tithing, here is what we discover:

1. A person is free to give whatever they want (offering) only after they have been already tithing.

2. Tithing represents the most basic level of stewardship, the ground floor if you will. Whenever we begin to tithe is whenever we begin to hear God in the realm of giving.

3. Wherever the believer is told to give freely as to whatever amount He feels necessary to give, it can be assumed that the believer has already been tithing. (2 Corinthians 9:6-10)

The Bible's final mention of tithing
Remember where we first met the word tithing? Recall Abraham in Genesis 14 as the first recorded tither? In this blogger's mind, the main proof we have that tithing is still the basic standard undergirding the New Testament teaching of Biblical stewardship is found in Hebrews 7:5-10, the final mention of the concept in the Bible: "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."

Five times is the word "tenth" or "tithe" or "tithes" used in this New Testament text! Furthermore, the final mention of tithing in the Bible connects to the first mention! Thirdly, we who have believed on Jesus Christ are considered children of Abraham by faith (Romans 4:16). Fourthly, Christ, who lives today, received a tithe from Abraham. (Hebrews7:8) Fifthly, in a chapter like Hebrews 7, wherein the writer is showing how Christ is superior to all of the Old Testament Jewish institutions, he never once shows tithing to be abolished!

Conclusion
With the validity of tithing established throughout scripture, what can we conclude? Should Christians tithe? Yes, and here is why: First, tithing was instituted pre-law, hence it is a standard that was not abolished despite the doing way of the ceremonial aspects of the Mosaic Law. Second, the New Testament never one time shows tithing as being either prohibited, replaced or removed from the Christian's responsibility of stewardship. Thirdly, tithing is the standard established by God as the starting point for stewardship. Then finally, Hebrews 7 reveals that tithing is still mentioned in the New Testament, not abolished, and thus there is no reason to prohibit Christians from tithing.

Justified! Accepted by God! - Zechariah 3

Zechariah 3:1-2 "Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. 2 The Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! Indeed, the Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?”

Introduction:
What does it mean to be justified by faith? The Baptist Faith & Message 2000 offers this definition: "Justification is God's gracious and full acquittal upon principles of His righteousness of all sinners who repent and believe in Christ. Justification brings the believer unto a relationship of peace and favor with God." Justification is by nature a legal declaration made by God to the sinner at saving faith: "Not Guilty!" "Accepted by God!" In justification the sinner is credited with Christ's righteousness that was lived and paid for in His death on the cross.  Such an exchange of one's righteousness in place of another is what Bible teachers call "imputation".  On the cross there was not just one, but two exchanges made.  2 Corinthians 5:21 states: "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." 

Did Christ become a sinner on the cross? No. However God treated Christ as if He was the chief of sinners. Likewise at saving faith is a sinner made actually, perfectly righteous? No. Yet God deems such a person to be "just-as-if-I'd" never sinned or stated positively "just-as-if-I'd" always obeyed.  Such a declaration on God's part is not legal fiction or God saying something that is not true. We are the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ by position. Other realities that describe our relational standing (adoption) and connection to Christ (union) are connected to God's judicial declaration of justification.  This truth is taught from Genesis to Revelation and is truly, in the words of Martin Luther, the article upon which the church stands or falls. 

To ensure that the truth of justification by faith does not remain in the realm of the abstract, scripture assigns various people and events in the Old Testament in providing concrete illustrations for what is unfolded further in the New Testament.  Every doctrine taught in the New Testament has at least one Old Testament event or person that can be used to illustrate that teaching. In today's post we want to look particularly at a man by the name of Joshua the High Priest who was in desperate need of being declared accepted by God. To walk our way through Zechariah 3 we will employ the following headings in relation to the above discussion on justification:

1. Justification's basis  - Zechariah 3:1-2
2. Justification's reception - Haggai 1:12
3. Justification's declarations - Zech 3:3-10

The reader may note in the course of this post that we will be appealing to the Books of Haggai and Ezra.  Both of those books occurred at the same time as Zechariah's book, and so aid greatly in unfolding the rich truths found in Zechariah 3.

Justification's basis: God.
In Zechariah 3:1-2 we see two possible references to the two Persons of the Godhead - the Father and the Son.  We know that scripture declares that God is One in essence and three in identity. Two of the three Persons are being alluded to here in Zechariah 3:1-2. In Zechariah 3:1 we see the Angel of the Lord in Whose presence Joshua the High Priest is standing.  Over 15 occasions in the Old Testament mention the Angel of the Lord.  Without engaging in lengthy discourse, we will simply say that the Angel of the Lord in Zechariah is a Pre-incarnate appearance of the Son.  He is defending Joshua before the prosecuting Satan.  The Eternal Son is always at work defending His people.  Without a doubt the Son in Zechariah 3 knew that He would become incarnate once walking across the bridge of time through the virgin birth.  His then future work on the cross, and Joshua's trust and reliance upon the Old Testament promises predicting such are applied by the Son even in this text.  So we can see the first basis or ground of justification - the Son's saving work.

However notice a second basis - the Father's Sovereign choice.  We read in Zechariah 3:2 that Jerusalem was His "chosen" city, and Joshua the High Priest was the "brand plucked from the fire". Joshua had done nothing to merit the Father's choosing.  He was no more useful than a burnt, charred wooden stirring stick used to stir a fire. The Father's Sovereign choice, rooted totally in His loving prerogatives, snatched Joshua from the flames of judgment. Truly the eternal character of salvation is rooted in what the Baptist Faith & Message calls "God's elective purpose of grace". Romans 9:14-15 reminds us that God has mercy upon whom He was mercy and compassion upon whom He has compassion. God's Sovereign choice is to be credited as to why anyone believes and man's sinful unbelief and freedom to reject is why anyone fails to respond to the Gospel. Only God could design a salvation wherein there is no conflict between His Sovereign choice and man's freely given choice of Jesus Christ. It is plain here that this dual ground for justification is necessary, since salvation has to be planned and paid for before it can be applied.  All in all, we can say then that justification's basis is God, however notice secondly...

Justification's reception is by faith alone
Haggai, a prophet contemporary with Zechariah, describes Joshua and others in Haggai 1:12 "Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people,obeyed the voice of the Lord their God and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the Lord their God had sent him. And the people showed reverence for the Lord." Let the reader note the underlined words: "obeyed the voice of the Lord". This obedience upon Joshua's part signals the presence of true saving faith already operating in his life.  Such faith is described in Romans 1:5 as the "obedience of faith" or "the obedience that comes from faith". Lest the reader think we are dispensing away with the necessity of human responsibility in salvation, nothing could be further from the truth.  The gifting of faith from Christ is what becomes the believer's faith and trust in Christ at salvation.  A person who is justified by faith has truly, genuinely and freely trusted in Jesus Christ.  Faith is the means of receiving justification, while God of course is the basis. Only when that person has trusted, believed on the Lord Jesus Christ will justification be applied. Romans 4:3 plainly says about Abraham: "Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness".  

No doubt, what follows through the remainder of Zechariah 3 is due to the fact that Joshua had trusted by grace through faith in the redemptive promises of God, like Abraham.  The reception of justification is faith alone. The basis of justification is the Father's Sovereign choice and the Son's saving work. But notice thirdly...

Justification's declarations. Zechariah 3:3-10
As we peer briefly into Joshua's life, we discover how much he was in need of being accepted by God or justified.  We know that his father and family had went into exile.  We also know that upon their return to Jerusalem, some of Joshua's relatives had to be released from their priesthood due to lack of evidence for their lineage and fitness to serve.  In the book of Ezra, we read of the fear and threats Joshua had to endure from outside enemies and inside his heart. (Ezra 3:3; 4:4; 5:2) Joshua served as a representative before the people and his own life and righteousness was found wanting.  

However notice his posture in this heavenly vision: he is "standing before the Angel of the Lord." In other words, because of justification, Joshua is accepted before God for the sake of the Son.  The following declarations issued by God to Joshua are echoed in the New Testament regarding what takes place in justification:

1. Right standing. Zechariah 3:3-4; Romans 5:1-2
We see the Angel of the Lord Divinely declaring that Joshua's filthy garments be removed and exchanged for clean robes.  Romans 5:1-2 states - "Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God."

2. Right relationship. Zechariah 3:5-7; Galatians 3:24-26
Next we see a second declaration wherein the prophet himself is echoing what is undoubtedly a Divine declaration to put a clean turban on Joshua's head.  That turban stood for Joshua's office, thus he not only had right standing, but right relationship with God.  A High priest under the law could only enter into the most holy place once a year.  However in this context, the heavenly temple grants in grace unlimited access and relationship.  Galatians 3:24-26 states - "Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. 26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus."

3. Right representation. Zechariah 3:8-10; 1 John 2:1
Then Zechariah closes out this chapter by noting how in front of Joshua sits a mysterious stone that we know from other scriptures symbolizes the Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 2:9ff; Revelation 5:6) 1 John 2:1 tells us - "My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.'

Conclusion:
We have walked our way through Zechariah 3 in an attempt to understand the idea of justification or acceptance with God.  We noted first of all that justification's basis is God.  The Father's Sovereign choice and the Son's saving work operate as the basis.  Then secondly, the means of receiving justification is faith alone.  Joshua evidenced saving faith by virtue of the obedience that issues forth from such faith.  Abraham and every believer justified in Old and New Testament is credited with Christ's righteousness apart from their good works at saving faith. Then finally, justification's declarations include right standing, relationship and representation.