The Biblical Inaccuracy of Tithing

God Wants You!

"What a weariness this is," you say, and you sniff at me, says the LORD of hosts. You bring what has been taken by violence or is lame or sick, and this you bring as your offering! Shall I accept that from your hand? says the LORD. (Malachi 1:13, NRSV)


Today’s is an often ignored verse in this widely quoted prophetic book. It’s a verse that colors the rest of what Malachi has to say to us even today. It is speaking to what we, as believers, offer to God. What do we offer to our Savior? Do we offer our best? Or do we offer something less than our best? Best what? The best of everything we have been given by our Lord, our gifts and talents, especially.

It’s interesting to me that offering to many, many Christians means money. Rarely do we see money being asked for by our Lord, however. Look for yourself; especially in Leviticus and Numbers (the citations that could be listed would probably fill this page). On the contrary, the Lord asks us to offer Him the means He has given us to make money. To a largely agrarian society like the Israelites, that meant livestock and produce. Money is only accepted if a person wished to “redeem” and offering to the Lord and when this occurred, an additional one-fifth of the offering’s value was required by God (c.f. Leviticus 27: 13, 15, 27, 31). When we do the math, we see that an acceptable monetary tithe is 12% and not 10% at all. The point is, however, that such an offering is not what God wants in the first place. God wants you!

I’ll repeat that because it is so very important. God wants you! He has bestowed upon you, various gifts and the circumstances to use these gifts. God has given you talents and provided you with ways to develop them. In short, God created you for a purpose and He wants you to fulfill that purpose. He wants you to become the person that… well…He wants you to be. He wants you to live your life to its utmost for Him. No matter where your life takes you, no matter what job and/or vocation you have, God wants you to offer that to Him by doing your very best there. You belong to Him. You represent Him everywhere you go and in everything you do.

Does this mean that you should not give to your church? Absolutely not. What it does mean is that you should first try your best to offer your gifts and your talents to your church community. That has to be your first priority in this matter. Remember God firstly wants you to serve Him with these gifts and talents. That’s why He gave them to you. Then, of course, do not ignore the offering plate. Your pastor needs to make a living too and there would be no place to meet without your financial support on top of your time and effort.

Lord, bless us and keep us. Lord, help us be the true people of God that You created us to be all the days of our lives. In Jesus’ Name we pray. AMEN.

Eternal Life

I tell you the solemn truth, the one who believes has eternal life. (John 6:47, NET Bible)



One might ask, “What else is there to a walk with Christ Jesus?” Well, friends, we have to unpack this statement a little bit or else our very belief becomes our undoing. Jesus is real. Of that much, I am sure. But I am also reminded of James’ words in James 2:19, “You believe that God is one; well and good. Even the demons believe that – and tremble with fear.” Do demons not have eternal life? Or are they mortal like you and I?

I don’t mean to scare anyone (or maybe I do) but knowing that Jesus is Lord does not guarantee one’s place in heaven. It only guarantees one’s place in eternity. The implications of truth are as dire as they get. That is why even Jesus spends so much time spelling things out to us in John’s sixth chapter. The language He uses is symbolic in nature but literal in meaning. I’m not going to use a lot of quotes in this brief devotion but I invite you to read that chapter in its entirety and prayerfully consider Jesus’ lesson as well as my words to you today.

It’s not enough, simply to believe that Christ is Lord. One needs to incorporate Him into the very fabric of one’s life. Every single thing one does or thinks or feels must be the result of Jesus being the foundation of one’s being. He must permeate all of one’s existence at even a cellular level. That is what He is telling us when He tells us that we must eat His flesh and drink His blood. We must faithfully devour His Word in careful and prayer-filled study. Spending the time to carefully chew and savor every single morsel as the delectable delicacy that it is. We need to spend time in prayer, drinking the holy blood of His Spirit and basking in its life giving flow of energy. They are true food and true drink that supply true and faithful believers with true life!

Imagine the worshipful implications when we cling to such a concept as we approach the communion altar (either actually or figuratively) and are handed the communion elements. The bread reminds us of all the faithful time we’ve spent with Christ in His Word just as the blood brings to mind all the time we have spent with our Lord in the essential conversation of prayer. We realize at that point, that everything Christ Jesus ever said he said to us. Everything that Jesus ever did and everything that was done to Him was done precisely for us at this exact moment. We are cut to the quick. Such undeserved love and sacrifice is unimaginable in this day and age. But it is exactly this upon which our faith must hang or else our belief is in vain. Or even worse it is a condemnation to our very souls.

Lord we believe! Help our unbelief! Be our everlasting Lord and fill us with your all pervading presence for ever and ever, AMEN.

Open your Bible today, and read John’s sixth chapter and let the words of Christ Jesus transform you existence. Be blessed.

Christopher C.Randolph

The Lesson of Communion

I've come to the conclusion that the Lord's Supper (aka Communion) is all about "the worship filled life". It's about integrating Jesus into the very essence/core of our beings. His life, which is true life, becomes our life, not through the elements of communion but by the studying of His Word, worshipping Him in spirit and truth, and by praying with Him on a regular basis. The Lord's Supper drives this lesson home in a truly concrete manner if we have ears to hear our Lord.

The only way to truly consume Christ our Savior is to devour His Word through diligent and faith-filled study and by drinking in His Spirit by praying with God on a regular basis. Worshiping in spirit and in truth brings these things all together. Humility and service then, become our right response and are empowered, not by us, but by our Lord within us.

Christopher Randolph