GOD S FINANCIAL PLAN FOR WORLDWIDE EVANGELIZATION

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1 INTRODUCTION According to church historians, the greatest spiritual awakening in America occurred in It was called the laymen s prayer revival. For months prior to the revival, thousands of laymen met daily in the major cities, especially New York City, to pray for revival. The spiritual breakthrough took place in February. The result was thousands of people were swept into the Kingdom of God. Over the next few months, hundreds of new churches were started and others grew to unprecedented size. Social changes took place all over the nation. It was truly a golden period spiritually for America, a period that would affect the nation for years. However, to understand fully what happened in 1858, we must go back to the California gold rush of During the decade following 1849, millions of dollars were poured into the American economy. Covetousness often follows newfound wealth. Simultaneously, stewardship surged to the forefront in many major denominations. Giving to the Lord s work furnished an antidote to covetousness and sparked substantial increases in missionary giving. During this time, church leaders offered prizes for the best essays written on stewardship, and the winning essays were widely published. Preachers spoke on the subject regularly. All this preceded the revival of 1858 and was part of the cause of this great awakening. There is a relationship between stewardship and revival in the Old Testament. Many of the great revivals in the Old Testament occurred during the remodeling or the rebuilding of the temple. These building programs called for sacrificial giving by the people. One example of revival and giving going together was in Judah during the reign of Josiah. Josiah collected a large amount of money from the people to repair the house of God. During this building program, the law of Moses was discovered. The reading of the law to the people produced repentance and spiritual reforms. Josiah himself led out in removing idolatry and in reemphasizing the Passover. Revival came to the people. Notice two things that stand out in this revival: one, the reading and obeying of the Word of God; and two, the giving of their money. In II Chronicles 24 there is another example of the close kinship between revival and giving. In this account we see a revival of spiritual worship. As a part of the revival, the idols of Baal were destroyed; and the temple was repaired. All this occurred during the first part of the reign of King Joash and under the faithful priestly ministry of Jehoiada. At the heart of the return to the worship of God and the repair of the temple was the giving of a large sum of money by the people. The giving of their money for the repair of the temple was one reason God blessed them with revival. A third example in the Old Testament of the relationship between giving and revival is the rebuilding of the temple under the leadership of Nehemiah and the priest Ezra. This happened when Israel returned from Babylonian captivity.

2 Again, it was necessary to give a great amount of money to accomplish the task. The result was not simply a revival, but one of the three great awakenings in the Old Testament. From historical and biblical examples we can see that giving and revival do go together. As strange as it may seem to some, the giving of money to the Lord by His people often is a part of producing revival. If genuine revival takes place, worldwide evangelization will follow. The biblical foundation for the truth that giving and revival go together is found in the third chapter of Malachi. One generally thinks of this chapter as the great tithing chapter of the Bible. It is a chapter where we find strong teaching on tithing. However, the main theme of the chapter is repentance. The people of Malachi s day needed to repent. God said to them, Return to me, and I will return to you" (Malachi 3:7). In response to their repentance God promised the blessings of His presence. God s presence is revival. One big sin of the people was robbing god of His tithes and their offerings. Therefore, God said to them, "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 you will not have room enough for it" (Malachi 3:10). Giving produces the blessings of God in the individual as well as in the church. Giving and revival go together. This fact is illustrated in church history, demonstrated by biblical examples, and taught by biblical truth. The great need of today is spiritual awakening. When awakening comes, stewardship/giving will be important and thrilling in the lives of Christians. However, until such a time comes, Southern Baptists must do their best to train and inspire their people to be good stewards. This begins with tithing. Tithing is biblical, pleasing to God, and the Father s way of financing His worldwide evangelization program. Therefore it would seem every Christian would want to be a tither. The Bible says, "A tithe of everything belongs to the Lord, it is holy unto the Lord" (Leviticus 27:30). A recent article stated that if every Christian in America would tithe, American churches would have 560 billion a year for the Lord s work, as compared to under $20 billion dollars given at the present time. Wouldn t that be great? But sadly, many Christians do not tithe. In face, not even a majority of Christians tithe. The percentage of tithers and givers in America has been going down steadily since the mid-1960 s. Many Christians do not know about tithing and the blessings that come from tithing. Therefore, look at some reasons why every Christian out to tithe. TITHING IS BIBLICAL If tithing is biblical, what other reason is needed? That should settle the matter for every Christian. If a Christian is serious about following the biblical blueprint for

3 his life, he will gladly do what the Bible says. What then does the Bible say? "A tithe of everything belongs to the Lord; it is holy to the Lord" (Leviticus 27:30). Also, the Bible says, "Bring the wh ole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house" (Malachi 3:10a). Jesus said to the teachers of the law and to the Pharisees, "You should have practiced (tithing)" (Matthew 23:23). Therefore, we are told in scripture, both in the Old and New Testaments, that as children of God, we should tithe. Strange as it might seem to the serious Bible student, tithing is being questioned by some within the Christian community. There are some sincere Bible scholars who teach that tithing is an Old Testament principle with little value for New Testament Christians. It would seem that their reasons for such a position are threefold. Therefore, let s ask three questions to determine if there is a valid reason for tithing being considered an Old Testament principle with little value for New Testament Christians. The first question: Is tithing legalistic? Those who say tithing is legalistic see the Old Testament Jew tithing only because the law required tithing. They would further say that the New Testament Christian lives under grace and not law. Therefore, giving is determined in the heart under the leadership of the Holy Spirit and prompted by a love for God. One supporting verse for this position is what Paul said to encourage the Christians in Corinth to participate in the offering for the poor in Jerusalem. He said, I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others (II Corinthians 8:8). This is found in the larger context of what Paul is teaching on the subject of grace-giving. He goes on to show that the greatest act of grace-giving is the Lord Jesus Christ who gave His all for us on the cross. To be sure, Christians ought to give as the Holy Spirit leads and because of their deep love for God. We should never give less than a tithe, but neither should we stop with the tithe when it is possible for us to go on to greater giving. A New Testament Christian ought to give more out of grace than an Old Testament believer gave because of the law. Do not take II Corinthians 8:8 out of its larger context. Paul is teaching a kind of giving in II Corinthians 8:1-9 that would be over-and-above the tithe. It is giving which occurs because we do love God. The offering Paul was promoting in II Corinthians 8 is an offering most Southern Baptists would consider to be overand-above the regular church budget offering. Paul was taking a special offering for the poor in Jerusalem, and the comparison today would be the World Hunger Offering or the special missions offerings Southern Baptist churches promote annually. Christians who truly love God will consider giving above the tithe to worthy causes promoted by their church or denomination or to worthy things God has

4 put into their hearts. However, most Southern Baptist churchmen would see the tithe as going to the church budget for the ongoing ministry of the church, including the Cooperative Program and associational missions. What is legalism? Legalism means to require certain works as prescribed in the law as requirements for salvation. It is to teach that specific laws must be kept in order to be acceptable to God. Defending against legalism should never be used as an excuse to take away responsibilities, duties, commitments, or opportunities of the New Testament Christian. The law is a mirror to help us see the responsibilities of the Christian life. If we can do away with tithing as the minimum amount a Christian is to give because it is in the law, what must we do with such matters as lying, adultery, murder, stealing, etc.? Let us not use legalism as an excuse to do less than we should. Because of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, we should not allow the law of tithing to keep us from going on to over-and-above-the-tithe giving. Certainly the New Testament Christian ought to give more under grace than the Old Testament Jew gave under the law. However, the Bible gives the standard of the tithe as the minimum a Christian is to give. The second question: Why did Jesus place little value on tithing? Jesus only mentioned tithing two times in scripture (Matthew 23:23 and Luke 18:12). It would seem that two statements on tithing by Jesus is not much emphasis. However, one needs to remember tithing was so deeply embedded in the Jewish conscience that it needed little mention by Jesus. In fact, tithing had become so abused by the religious leaders of the day that their approach to tithing had become a hindrance. Both times that Jesus used tithing in his teachings he was speaking from such a position. Look at what Jesus said in Matthew 23:23: "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth (tithe) of your spices mint, dill, and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law justice, mercy, and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former." Jesus is not saying stop tithing and start exercising such things as justice, mercy, and faithfulness. He is saying that tithing is to be practiced within the context of justice, mercy, and faithfulness. The main reason for the giving of our tithes and offerings is to carry out the Great Commission, never for selfish reasons. The church is here to evangelize the lost and to minister to the saved. To do so effectively takes a lot of money. That money is to come from the tithes and offerings of God s people. Yes, Jesus spoke only twice of the tithe; but He also said just once, "You must be born again" (John 3:7). Would anyone say that Jesus lack of repeated emphasis on the new birth devalues the subject? The question answers itself. Also, in the original language of the Bible, the statement, "You must be born again" is a very strong statement. However, the statement "You should have practiced (tithing)" is equally as strong. The truth is, Jesus did place value on tithing. He simply did not need to mention tithing often because of the circumstances of the day.

5 The third question: Why did Paul not mention tithing at all? Provided Paul did not write Hebrews, it is true that scripture does not record a statement by Paul on the subject of tithing. Another important word Paul did not use is "hell." He made such statements as The wrath of God. (Romans 1:18); God s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth (Romans 2:2); But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed (Romans 2:5); But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger (Romans 2:8). Paul used strong language that had to do with eternal damnation, but he did not use the word "hell" or literally say that persons who reject Jesus Christ will go to hell. However, we know beyond any doubt that Paul believed in hell. For one thing, Paul was a disciple of Jesus Christ, and it was Jesus who gave us the strong teachings about hell and made hell a vivid reality. No serious Bible student would say there was any kind of disagreement between Paul and Jesus on the subject of hell. Paul, by his teachings, confirmed his belief in eternal damnation. There, his silence in using the word "hell" does not in any way take away from his belief in hell. One does not have to use a certain word in order to verify belief in a particular truth. The same can be said about the absence of Paul use of the word "tithe." The fact that scripture does not record the word in Paul s writings does not prove that Paul did not believe in tithing. No doubt he did preach and teach on the subject. Paul expected Christians to be tithers. Generally, when he wrote about giving, he was dealing with special offerings to be given above the tithe. Paul believed in tithing. He said, All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work (II Timothy 3:16). Since the New Testament had not been written yet, the scripture referred to by Paul was the Old Testament. The Old Testament says, "A tithe of everything belongs to the Lord: it is holy to the Lord" (Leviticus 27:30). Paul practiced tithing. He referred to himself as a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee (Acts 23:6). He also said, " according to the strictest sect of our religion, I lived as a Pharisee" (Acts 26:5). Tithing was a strict requirement of a Pharisee. Therefore, we can say with certainty that Paul was a tither. No doubt because of his teachings on grace-giving he was more than a tither, but surely not less than a tither. Therefore, Paul in his teachings would have expected the people to use the standard of the tithe as a beginning place in their giving, but not an ending place. Because of God s grace as seen and understood in Jesus, a New Testament

6 Christian should want to give more than an Old Testament believer gave under the law. TITHING IS PLEASING TO GOD There are three ways in which tithing is pleasing to God. First, the Christian pleases God in tithing by being obedient to His Word. The Bible says, "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house" (Malachi 3:10a). It does not say tithe if you can afford it or if money is left over at the end of the month. It says, "Bring the whole TITHE into the storehouse." There is no exception clause in the statement. Being obedient to God means tithing. Failure to tithe is disobedient to the Word of God. Notice, the scripture says, "Bring the WHOLE tithe into the storehouse." Some would teach today that, if people cannot start with the full ten percent, they ought to start with perhaps two percent, and try to grow to where they ought to be. That sounds good and even reasonable. However, it is not scriptural. We are to bring the WHOLE tithe the full ten percent to God. Not to do so, according to Malachi 3:8, is to be guilty of robbing God. When scripture says the tithe is holy unto God, that means it is never ours to use in any way. It belongs to God. For Christians to use it for themselves, no matter the circumstance, i9s to rob God or to take that which belongs to Him. The tithe is holy unto God, and we please Him when we give the tithe. Second, the Christian pleases God in tithing by giving Him His portion first. Scripture says, "Honor the Lord with your wealth with the firstfruits of all your crops" (Proverbs 3:9). All through the Old Testament the people of God were taught to give the first and best of all they had. They were never to give God the leftovers. Listen also to Moses: "Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the Lord your God" (Exodus 34:26a). When we consider how to spend the money God places under our stewardship, we need to recognize that God is our first obligation. Remember, all the money under our control belongs to God. He is owner, and we are managers. In thinking about the firstfruits, consider the following. When planning the family budget, consider necessities and luxuries. When deciding the necessities in the family budget, start with the tithe, for it is the necessary or required amount in giving to God. Next, list all the essentials for the family: taxes, food, shelter, clothing, education, transportation, medical, savings. After the family budget has been set as to the necessities, then look to see whether luxuries can be afforded out of the family income. What are luxuries? They are such things as bigger and more luxurious homes, more expensive cars, travel, boats, recreation vehicles, and additional savings. However, if God is first in our lives, should we not consider how much above the tithe we want to give to God before we plan the other luxuries in life? God certainly should be first when we consider the

7 necessities of life, but He should also be first when we consider the luxuries of life. He is our first priority. Third, the Christian pleases God in tithing because in doing so he is trusting God to supply all his needs. "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 you will not have room enough for it" (Malachi 3:10b). To be sure, the greatest blessings of tithing are spiritual. However, the promise does include material blessings. God promises in Malachi 3:11 to protect their crops if they tithe. God does not promise to make people rich, but He does promise to meet the needs of His people. He will provide "daily bread" for His people, and for most, material blessings are in bigger portions. The truth of the matter is we cannot out-give God. Paul says, And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19). The larger context indicates that the Philippian Christians had given to meet Paul s needs, and god in turn had given to meet their needs. God did not make them wealthy because they gave, but He did meet their needs. Look at the testimonies of three faithful stewards, one from the past and two from the present, whom God blessed. First, look at Henry P. Crowell This man, affectionately called "The autocrat of the Breakfast Table," contracted tuberculosis as a boy and couldn t go to school. After hearing a sermon by Dwight L. Moody, young Crowell prayed. "I can t be a preacher, but I can be a good businessman. God, if You will let me make money, I will use it in Your service." Under the doctor s advice, Crowell worked outdoors for seven years and regained his health. He then bought the small run-down Quaker Mill at Ravanna, Ohio. Within ten years Quaker Oats was a household word to millions. Crowell also operated the huge Perfection Stove Company. For over forty years Henry P. Crowell faithfully gave percent of his income to God s causes, having advanced from an initial ten percent. Second, look at William R. Myers "I became a Christian during my teenage years, but did not live as a Christian, attend church, or trust the Lord for daily guidance. The giving of any of my

8 money to the Lord was the farthest thought from my mind. In 1973, I started attending the First Baptist Church of Hurst, Texas, a church that my family was already attending. I recommitted my life to the Lord, but did not realize this recommitment should include my money. I heard tithing preached by my pastor, but I reasoned: "I have four children, a big house payment, two car payments there is no way I can tithe." Therefore, I gave a dollar a Sunday to the Lord. "In 1976 our pastor taught a course during the Discipleship Training hour on how to manage God s money. I was taught biblical principles of money management that literally changed my life and effected my attitude in a most positive way. I learned that I was to establish priorities in life that would effect the way I spent my money. God was to be first and family second. I leaned that at least a tithe of my income, and more if possible, was to be given to God. I also discovered a way to protect my family s financial future, as well as meet their immediate needs. To do this it would be best for me to get out of debt and remain as debt free as possible. I was taught the best way to do this was to discipline myself to save ten percent, apply twenty percent to paying off my debts, and live on the rest. I made a commitment to run my finances as I was taught. At first it was not easy! "We sold our house and bought a lesser-priced house. We made a commitment to start tithing. We also made a commitment to apply future pay increases to additional debt retirement in order to escalate the day when we would be debt free. Pay raises began to come in bigger amounts than before, and more frequently. The more I stayed with the priorities I was taught, the more God did to help us with our finances. Today, my earnings have increased over one hundred percent. We have discovered the joy of being much more than a tither. I can say in all honesty, that if we had not followed the money management principles we were taught, we would not have the financial security we have today, nor would we have grown in our Christian faith as we have." Third, look at Fred and Gloria Roach

9 "Recently, I was making a presentation at a Financial Freedom Seminar where I indicated that I had always maintained very detailed records. I showed them the little black notebook I ve kept my records of giving in for almost 50 years. In this book, I recorded my first 35 cents earnings and my tithe of five cents the following Sunday. As a teenager I kept track of my earnings (75 cents an hour) and tips as a grocery store bag boy. The book showed how I tithed through my church each dollar earned. "I have always tithed! Since 1971 I have more than double tithed through my church. In 1961 Dr. John H. Haldeman, my pastor, challenged me to move from simply tithing to a double tithe over a ten year period of time by increasing my giving by one percent per year. In the next ten years, my wife Gloria and I moved to more than a double tithe. By the end of a decade of stewardship growth in our lives, we were giving 30 percent of our income through our church and an additional 10 percent to other godly causes. "I knew the joy of giving a long time before I recognized that God had granted me the gift of giving. I came to understand that biblical stewardship taught that my financial giving was an issue that related to life itself! Therefore, I made a commitment that is paraphrased in The Living Bible, Give yourselves completely to God, every part of you (Romans 6:13B). All of this brought a renewed sense of commitment into my life. "I believe in storehouse giving. That is, I believe God s Word challenges us to bring our gifts to His church. I give to a number of organizations. These organizations include Southern Baptist institutions, the United Way, Boy Scouts, and other religious and social causes. However, the foundation of my giving is through my church. If 20 percent of my income was all I could give, all of it would go to my church. In 1961 I made a commitment to reach the place where I could at least give a double tithe through by church. That is the foundation of my giving. I am grateful God has allowed me to give beyond that to my church, as well as to other causes.

10 "One reason I enjoy the giving of my money is I can measure my financial accountability. As a certified public accountant, I enjoy knowing that I ve done what God wants me to do. I can visually and spiritually evaluate what God has challenged me to do. It gives me an opportunity to be a part of the greatest investment program in the world the ministries of our Lord, Jesus Christ "Let me reemphasize the importance of going beyond the tithe when possible. One example of when there is such an opportunity in the church is during capital fund-raising programs. They require sacrificial giving by the members, over-and-above their budget giving, for the purpose of meeting the building needs of the church. It has been a fantastic joy to me to be able to contribute to these programs with an extra 10 percent per year that is always given above our basic tithe to the church. Our basic tithe always goes to the church budget. This involvement with the church the Body of Christ is a means for God s people to come together in the fulfillment of a God-given vision. It makes me a partner with both God and God s people! "I particularly enjoyed working with the Baptist General Convention of Texas in the Mission Texas effort to start 2,000 new missions and churches. I saw demonstrated first hand the idea of a faith pledge. Gloria and I agreed to be part of what was called God s Two Hundred (200 people or families or groups who would agree to give or raise annually $15,000 each for five years to help provide the seed money to start a new mission). The first two years went fine. We paid our faith pledge out of our income, which included a generous company bonus. Then with the 1986 downturn in the Texas real estate market, such bonuses were dramatically cut. However, God continued to provide the means to meet the pledge. We did not miss giving the $15,000 a single year during the five years. "In the hardest of the down years, I pledged $25,000 to our church s building program as well as the $15,000 to the Baptist General Convention of Texas to start a new church. Where was the money coming from? I forgot that I had entered into a real estate joint venture in which I had made a commitment to fund a

11 specific amount in the future. Before they asked me for any of my investment, they sold the project and send me a check for $50,000. After paying my income tax, I had exactly the amount needed to meet my pledges. "My personal stewardship has been a constant reminder of God s faithfulness. I am particularly grateful that God is the ultimate giver. He has given me a full and abundant life, both now and eternally. I know that I can depend on His Spirit to lead me, not only in my giving, but in every area of my life. "I have learned that I need to give to the point where it feels good. Knowing that there is within me a personal striving to follow His direction, God has given me a sense of peace and freedom in my life. I truly experience joy on the journey. I can celebrate the words of Jesus: You shall know the truth (Jesus, Himself) and the truth shall set you free (John 8:32). Do not get the idea from these illustrations that God promises to make us wealthy because we give. However, He does promise to bless us and to take care of our needs. God will make some of His people wealthy, but never is it His will for anyone to use selfishly the money He allows people to control. TITHING IS GOD S WAY OF FINANCING HIS WORK Malachi says, "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse." - WHY? "that there may be food in my house" (Malachi 3:10a). The Old Testament Jew was to bring his tithe to a special room in the temple in order to meet the needs of the priests and the expenses of the temple. This was God s plan to finance His temple and take care of the needs of His priests. How do we apply this to the 20 th century? Start by bringing the tithe to the local church. It would not be right to say that the Old Testament storehouse and the New Testament local church are one and the same. However, the practice of the early church, as recorded in the New Testament, shows that offerings were brought to the church just as the tithe was brought to the storehouse (temple) in the Old Testament. In Acts 4:34-35 we are told that all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales, and lay them at the apostles feet. Also, when Barnabas sold his land, he brought the receipts and laid them at the apostles feet (v. 37). Even in the case of the misguided Ananias and Sapphira, the money was laid at the apostles feet (Acts 5:2). Later when Paul furnished instructions for giving (although it was not the tithe), he directed the money be brought to the gathering of the church on the Lord s Day. He said, Now about the

12 collection for God s people. Do what I told the Galatian churches to do. On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made (I Corinthians 16:1-2). The New Testament pattern seems to be that the church is more of a conduit than a storehouse. The local church is the giver s primary spiritual community. For example, the New Testament believer gave his money to the church in order to fulfill the injunctions found in the following passages: Anyone who receives instruction in the word must share all good things with his instructor (Galatians 6:6). This is my defense to those who sit in judgment on me. Don t we have the right to food and drink? Don t we have the right to take a believing wife along with us, as do the other apostles and the Lord s brothers and Cephas? Or is it only I and Barnabas who must work for a living? Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat of its grapes? Who tends a flock and does not drink of the milk? Do I say this merely from a human point of view? Doesn t the Law say the same thing? For it is written in the Law of Moses: "Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain." Is it about oxen that God is concerned? Surely he says this for us, doesn t he? Yes, this was written for us, because when the plowman plows and the thresher threshes, they ought to do so in the hope of sharing in the harvest. If we have sown spiritual sees among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you? If others have this right of support from you, shouldn t we have it all the more? But we did not use this right. On the contrary, we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ. In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel (I Corinthians 9:3-12, 14). The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, "Do not muzzle the ox while it is treading out the

13 grain," and "The worker deserves his wages" (I Timothy 5:17-18). Also, Paul taught in I Corinthians 16 and II Corinthians 8 that freewill gifts were to be brought to the church. If such were true, then apparently the church was also the place for the tithe. God has given churches the task of accomplishing His work in the world. The rise of so many "parachurch" organizations is testimony to the failure of churches to do all that God has commanded. However, past failure is not evidence that God has changed His plan. If a church is to be effective in ministry, it will require the tithes and offerings of God s people. When God s people bring the whole tithe, then churches will have ample financial resources to fulfill their ministries. Why bring our tithes and offerings to the church? Because the work of God takes money. A great amount of money is needed for the carrying out of the Great Commission. It is expensive to advance the message and mission of the most High God. Here is the paradox. God owns all the cattle on a thousand hills and all the gold and silver, but He asks His people to give His tithes and their offerings in order to advance His worldwide cause. He uses our money and resources in order to spread the gospel. Why is this true? Because God chose to do it that way. If God had chosen to do so, He could have spread the gospel all by Himself. God did not have to use people. However, He honors people by involving them in His eternal plan and purpose. God made them a vital part of worldwide evangelism and missions. Therefore, if God is to impact the world with the gospel, He must have an army of His people stationed worldwide. Paul said, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe (I Corinthians 1:21). Also, Paul said, "Don t you know that those who work in the temple get their food from the temple? In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel (I Corinthians 9:13-14). God calls a small minority of His people to go worldwide to preach the gospel. He calls all His people to give in order that those whom He calls to preach can go. What, then, should be the Christian s main purpose for tithing? Listen again to Malachi, "that there may be food in my house" (Malachi 3:10). The main reason for any Christian tithing should never be personal blessings. If we give to God in order to get from God, our motive in giving is wrong. God does promise to bless us when we give. God s blessings become the by-product of being obedient to Him and His Word. And praise God for His blessings. However, our main purpose for giving must be on a higher plane than a personal one. We are to be zealous for God s work. We are to give because we care about a world in need of Jesus. We are to give because we know that God uses men to advance

14 His work. We are to give because it is God s way of financing His worldwide program of evangelism and missions. When we do not give, God s worldwide program of evangelism and missions suffers. It is tragic when a church building is allowed to deteriorate, or a pastor is not paid enough to meet his family s needs, or a denomination has more people called to go than they have money to send. We are to give in order that there will be food in the house of God. CONCLUSION Southern Baptists have been blessed by God because of their emphasis on carrying out the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20). Southern Baptists have trained and expected their people to give God s tithes and offerings for the financing of God s worldwide program of evangelism and missions. Some evangelical Christian leaders say Southern Baptists are the leaders among all denominations in carrying out God s worldwide program because of their commitment to the Great Commission. Read what two Christian leaders say: Randy Alcorn, pastor of Good Shepherd Community Church in Gresham, Oregon "Many churches have demonstrated the spiritual power of tithing. The Southern Baptist denomination began in Now it has the largest missionary organization in the world, with well over 3,000 missionaries. Southern Baptists don t only emphasize missions; they emphasize tithing as the means to underwrite missions and to meet the needs of the local church. Church members understand they are expected to tithe. I am not a Southern Baptist myself, but without their strong teaching and expectations concerning tithing, it is apparent they would have a far less significant role in both their own communities and in world evangelization." R. T. Kendall, pastor of Westminster Chapel in London, England According to R. T. Kendall, God honors the denomination who takes seriously His mandate to carry out the Great Commission and leaves destitute of life and blessings those who don t. "Southern Baptists have become the world s leader in carrying out the Great Commission. In the past, Southern Baptists, more than any other group in the world,

15 have taken the mandate seriously. God has honored Southern Baptists worldwide for two reasons: their emphasis on missions and their teaching of tithing as God s way of financing His worldwide program. It is these things that explain the phenomenal success of Southern Baptists since their inception in Because of this, Southern Baptists now have the largest Christian colleges, universities, and seminaries in the world where they train the largest number of preachers of any denomination worldwide. Southern Baptists have developed the largest worldwide missionary organization of any denomination." Kendall goes on to say, "A theologically articulate friend, who had long been a champion of independent missions, made a worldwide tour of missions he had personally supported. He came home fully convinced that Southern Baptists had the best missionaries in the world. For one thing, he said to me, Southern Baptist missionaries were the only ones I ran across that didn t have their hands out for more money because Southern Baptists, through their Cooperative Program, take care of their missionaries better than any missionaries on the field. " To Southern Baptists, it is thrilling and encouraging for two well-respected evangelical leaders to say what Alcom and Kendall have said. But the question is: Will the same thing be said about Southern Baptists 25 years from now? Southern Baptists must continue to take seriously God s mandate to fulfill the Great Commission. They must continue to cooperate together to accomplish their mandate from God. They must continue to teach strongly that tithing is God s financial plan for worldwide evangelization.