One of the important parts of our gathering is giving to God from our material resources. It is the most neglected part of worship by many Christians, and many do not have a proper perspective towards it based on the Bible. God gave us the greatest gift, Jesus Christ, as an atoning sacrifice for our sin and for our eternal redemption. Proverbs 3:9 says, “Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce.” One of the common doubts is how much one should give to God. The Bible teaches that one should give to God a minimum of ten percent (tithe) of the total income (Genesis 14:20, Malachi 3:6-12). Malachi 3:8-10: “Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, 'How have we robbed you?' In your tithes and contributions. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. Bring the full tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.” If we do not give our tithe to God, we are robbing God, and it will be a curse for us. However, if we give, God will bless us greatly and protect us from every loss.
Another common doubt is where we should give the tithe. Often, people like to give to the poor. However, it is not according to the teaching of the Bible. The Bible clearly talks about giving to the poor and needy. It is very clear that the accumulation of wealth without sharing with the poor and needy is sin before God. However, the tithe should not be paid to the poor, but to the temple of God (Malachi 3:6-12) because there should be food in the temple of God. In the New Testament, the temple of God is the church; thus, the tithe should be paid to the church. Moreover, 1 Corinthians 9:14 says, “In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel”; and 1 Timothy 5:17-18 says, “Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, 'You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,' and, 'The laborer deserves his wages.'” Therefore, the tithe should be paid to the church where it can be used to pay the rewards/wages of those who teach, preach, and minister in the church. It gives another insight that the tithe should be paid to the church where you get ministry from God-appointed ministers. The principle is that the tithe should be paid to the particular church where you regularly attend and benefit from the church and its officers.
Attitude Towards Church Leadership
The church mainly has five officers: apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers (Ephesians 4:11-13). The purpose of their ministries is “to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12-13).
The basic attitude towards church leadership is described in Hebrews 13:17: “Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you”; and Hebrews 13:7: “Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.” These verses point out five essential attitudes that we all need towards church leadership. They are: obey them, submit to their authority, remember them, consider the outcome of their life, and imitate their faith.
Moreover, in a church setting, it is very important to understand the vision of pastors, the concerns of the pastors, and the dilemmas that pastors undergo with respect to various decisions and issues. Also, we need to understand that the pastor should hear and obey God’s voice more than any human voice over any matters in the church. It is very important to allow them to do their ministry with joy, not with burden.