Almost all tithing teachers rely on and abuse the Book of Malachi to promote their false doctrine of "tithing for Christians." They will routinely quote Malachi 3:8-10...
"Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein
have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a
curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. Bring ye all the
tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat
in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I
will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing,
that there shall not be room enough to receive it."
...and, by quoting Malachi 3:8-10, convince and deceive their
followers into believing that this passage of scripture is "absolute
proof" that as Christians they are commanded to tithe.
Sadly, as with all false teachers, they are cherry picking
scripture, that is to say, quoting bits and pieces of scripture out of
context, or quoting scripture in isolation from other scriptures which
would render their interpretation of the isolated scripture
in error. As Malachi continued in writing, placing Malachi 3:8-10 back
in proper context, Malachi makes this statement...
"Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto
him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments." - Malachi
4:4
That statement by Malachi, Malachi 4:4, firmly identifies Malachi's
commandment to "Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse" as a
commandment of the Law of Moses; that fact could not be clearer. When
Malachi wrote Malachi 4:4, the Nation of Israel,
descendants of Abraham and Sarah, had the Law of Moses as their
national law, it was, so to speak, their "Federal Law."
The Nation of Israel being under Law of Moses when Malachi was
writing (or sometimes called "The Law," or "The Torah") leads to several
facts tithing teachers tend to avoid when quoting Malachi in their
teachings on tithing, and they are these...
>> 1. Christians, Believers under the New Testament, are NOT
under the Law. Malachi 3:8-10 does NOT apply to New Testament
Christians, and is NOT a commandment to Christians to be involved in any
form of tithing.
"For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace." - Romans 6:14
"But now we are DELIVERED FROM THE LAW, that being dead wherein we
were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the
oldness of the letter." - Romans 7:6
"Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ,
that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we
are no longer under a schoolmaster." - Galatians 3:24-25
"Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us
have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be
circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave NO such commandment:" -
Acts 15:24
>> 2. If Christians were under The Law, in order to keep from
being cursed, they would have to perfectly obey ALL of the Law at all
times never once failing to do so. Failing in one point one time results
in curses and damnation...
"For whosoever shall keep the whole law and yet offend on one point, he is guilty of all." - James 2:10
Also, Deuteronomy tells us...
"Cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words of this law to do them. And all the people shall say, Amen." - Deuteronomy 27:26
>> 3. God has never held Gentile nations or Gentile people to live under the Law of Moses...
"He sheweth his word unto Jacob, his statutes and his judgments
unto Israel. He hath not dealt so with any nation: and as for his
judgments, they have not known them. Praise ye the LORD." - Psalm
147:19-20
>> 4. If a Christian, or anyone, is attempting to "tithe"
pursuant to Malachi 3:8-10, they are placing themselves back under the
Law, subject to the curse of the Law, and are involved in works of the
Law and are NOT of faith...
"However, the Law is not of faith; on the contrary, "HE WHO PRACTICES THEM SHALL LIVE BY THEM." - Galatians 3:12
"For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of
yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no
one may boast." - Ephesians 2:8-9
"because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His
sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin." - Romans 3:20
>> 5. Malachi 4:4 is CLEARLY a game changer for tithing
teachers who lie, abuse scripture, and deceive their followers. It
changes the game, or the situation, from lies to the truth.
We as Believers, under grace, are NOT under the Law, and Malachi's
call to tithe, being a commandment of the Law, does NOT apply to
Christians. To claim that Malachi 3:8-10 is instructions for a Christian
to tithe IS A LIE and a DOCTRINE OF DEVILS taught
by men and women who are deceivers. Text taken out of context is a
pre-text to deceptive text. The word of God is not deceptive, but can be
quoted and used in a deceptive manner.
We are to be free will givers, NOT tithers, giving as we are encouraged by God's Spirit to do so.
>>> Final thought; we are warned...
"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine;
but after their own lusts shall they draw to themselves teachers, having
itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and
shall be turned unto myths." - 2 Timothy 4:3
And...
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