What the Bible says about the Christian Family and Tithing
What the Bible says about Family
1. The Family is a Key Christian Social Unit.
A. God made families.
Genesis 2:18 The LORD
God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper
suitable for him."
B. Marriage is different from other relationships by 2 things:
Genesis 2:24 A man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.
1. An acceptable PUBLIC announcement of the covenant. (wedding)
"therefore shall a man his father and mother and..."
2. Sex. "and the two shall become one ."
3. The difference between adultery and marriage is ceremony
announcement!
2. Sex in Marriage is a good thing.
A. Sex is NOT to be used as weapon in marriage.
1 Corinthians 7:3-5 The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. The wife's body does not belong to her alone but also to her husband. In the same way, the husband's body does not belong to him alone but also to his wife. Do not deprive each other except by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you...
1. The owns the wife's body.
2. The wife owns the husband's .
3. Refusal to have sex except
by consent is forbidden.
B. is forbidden.
Hebrews 13:4 Honor your
marriage and its vows, and be pure; for God will surely punish all those who are
immoral or commit adultery.
C. Marriage is also for having .
Genesis 9:1 God blessed Noah and his sons and told them to have many children and to repopulate the earth.
Children are not the most important thing about marriage, the blending of two personalities is most important.
3. Polygamy and were tolerated by God but He doesn't like it.
Mark 10:2-9 Some Pharisees came to Jesus and tried to trick him. They asked, "Is it right for a man to divorce his wife?" Jesus answered, "What did Moses command you to do?" They said, "Moses allowed a man to write out divorce papers and send her away." Jesus said, "Moses wrote that command for you because you were stubborn. But when God made the world, 'he made them male and female.' 'So a man will leave his father and mother and be united with his wife, and the two will become one body.' So there are not two, but one. God has joined the two together, so no one should separate them."
Matthew 5:32 (Jesus) I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife forces her to be guilty of adultery. The only reason for a man to divorce his wife is if she has sexual relations with another man. And anyone who marries that divorced woman is guilty of adultery.
A. Keep attention on the GOALS of the marriage: personality blending.
B. Do not dwell on problems or divorce, concentration on problems works against the goals
4. A person is free to remarry if the partner . 1 Corinthians 7:39 A woman is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, but he must belong to the Lord.
5. is more important than being married.
1 Corinthians 7:25-33 Now I write about people who are not married. I have no command from the Lord about this; I give my opinion. ...The present time is a time of trouble, so I think it is good for you to stay the way you are. If you have a wife, do not try to become free from her. If you are not married, do not try to find a wife. But if you decide to marry, you have not sinned. And if a girl who has never married decides to marry, she has not sinned. But those who marry will have trouble in this life, and I want you to be free from trouble.... A man who is not married is busy with the Lord's work, trying to please the Lord. But a man who is married is busy with things of the world, trying to please his wife.
6. There is no such thing as marriage in
Mark 12:25 When people rise from the dead, they will not marry, nor will they be given to someone to marry. They will be like the angels in heaven.
7. Duties of Christian Fathers.
A. "Love your "
Ephesians 5:25 Husbands,
love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself for it.
B. Bring children up in the training and of the Lord.
Ephesians 6:4 Fathers,
do not make your children angry, but raise them with the training and
teaching of the Lord.
C. Don't your children, or they'll become
Colossians 3:21 Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged.
Ephesians 5:21-22 Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ...Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord.
A. " " does not mean "obey every command" but to work for the best interests of the husband and the children.
9. Duty of Christian Children.
A. As a child : in the Lord.
Ephesians 6:1-2
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. "Honor your
father and mother"--which is the first commandment with a promise--
B. As an adult for elderly parents: their needs.
1 Timothy 5:8 If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
10. The chief duty of each family member is the SUCCESS of the other.
A. As a Christlike person.
B. As a member of the church.
C. As a Christian citizen--to be God's witness in society.
Philippians 2:12,13 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed--not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence--continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
The final test of each is when the other behaves as Christ would in the (presence or absence?) of the parent or wife or child.
What the Bible Says about Tithing
1. God has given the church a commission. Matthew 28:18-20 Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
A. List the three verbs which tell HOW to do this commission.
1. .
2. ing .
3. ing .
B. Now write the basic command
The ministry of ."
2 Corinthians 5:18 All this is from God, who ... gave us the ministry of reconciliation.
2. The Church is God's agent in Reconciliation.
A. By command
Matthew 16:18 (Jesus) “On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not be able to defeat it.”
B. By example
Acts 13:1-3 "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them."
C. By leadership demand
Titus 1:5 I left you there on the island of Crete so that you could do whatever was needed to help strengthen each of its churches, and I asked you to appoint pastors in every city who would follow the instructions I gave you.
3. God that they who preach the Gospel should receive . 1 Corinthians 9:4-14 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 seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you? ...Don't you know that those who work in the temple get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar? In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel.
4. Tithing or giving was Commanded in the Law of Moses.
Deuteronomy 12:11 God will choose a place where he is to be worshiped. To that place you must bring... a tenth of what you gain...
Leviticus 27:30 A tithe of everything ... belongs to the LORD; it is holy to the LORD.
Malachi 3:8-10 Bring to the storehouse a full tenth of what you earn ...
5. Jesus supported giving - of everything you earn.
Matthew 23:23 You give to God one-tenth of everything you earn--.... But you don't obey the really important teachings of the law--justice, mercy, and being loyal. These are the things you should do, as well as those other things.
6. Christians are to do more by love than the Jew did by Law.
A. Matthew 5:20 (Jesus) For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.
The REASON for the tithe is more important to Christians than the fact we are to give back to God.
7. Tithing puts money matters into good perspective. ("It's good for us.")
A. We give according to our .
1 Corinthians 16:1-2 Now I will write about the collection of money for God's people. On the first day of every week, each one of you should put aside a sum of money in keeping with his income.
B. Tithing causes us to control spending.
C. Tithing aids the mission.
1. "...not to put their hope in but to be rich in good ."
1 Timothy 6:6-10, 17,18 People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.
2. Giving for the mission is a sweet smelling offering to . Philippians 4:18 "Your gift...is like a sweet-smelling sacrifice offered to God..."
8. Tithing helps us learn to be with what we have.
Philippians 4:12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.
9. The purpose of the tithe (giving 10%) is to learn to put in our life.
Deuteronomy 14:23 The purpose of tithing is to teach you always to put God first in your lives.
Conclusion: A Christian should start with a tenth and work up. A Christian tries to live on what is appropriate, giving the rest, rather than gaining as much as possible.
A Christlike lifestyle is a GENEROUS lifestyle