Covenant Theology: Blessings, Curses, and Sanctions: The Hallelujah of Confession

Biblical Wealth - Part 8 of 8

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: Covenant Theology

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2004-09-05

Synopsis: In this final message on biblical wealth, John Weaver examines Deuteronomy 26 to draw out the implications of God's taxation through tithing and offerings. He argues that tithing is a recognition of God's sovereignty, a realization of the sovereignty of grace, a reality of sacred worship, a reasonable test of obedience, a reliance on God's blessing, and a remembrance of the covenantal bond between God and His people. Conversely, failure to tithe is a denial of God's ownership and lordship. The sermon emphasizes that tithing is an act of worship and a confession of faith, not a means of salvation.

[John Weaver] Well, let's open our Bible today to Deuteronomy 26, and we're going to be bringing the eighth and the final message in this short series on biblical wealth. Deuteronomy 26. And we're going to be reading the entire chapter, all 19 verses. Deuteronomy 26, beginning there with verse 1. Deuteronomy 26, verse 1. The message is entitled, The Implications of God's Taxation. Implications of God's Taxation. Deuteronomy 26, verse 1, It shall be when thou art come into the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and possesses it, and dwellest therein, then thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit of the earth, which thou shalt bring of thy land that the Lord thy God giveth thee, and shall put it in a basket and shall go into the place which the Lord by God shall choose to place his name there. And thou shalt go unto the priest that shall be in those days and say unto him, I profess this day unto the Lord by God that I am coming to the country which the Lord sware unto our fathers for to give us.

[John Weaver] And the priest shall take the basket out of thine hand and set it down before the altar of the Lord by God. And thou shalt speak and say before the Lord by God, a Syrian, Ready to perish was my father. And he went down into Egypt and sojourned there with a few. And he came there a nation, great, mighty, and populous. And the Egyptians' evil entreated us and afflicted us and laid upon us hard bondage. And when we cried unto the Lord God of our fathers, the Lord heard our voice and looked on our affliction and our labor and our oppression. And the Lord brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm with great terribleness, with signs and with wonders.

[John Weaver] He hath brought us into this place, and given us this land, even the land that floweth with milk and honey. And now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land which thou, O Lord, hast given me. And thou shalt set it before the Lord thy God, and worship before the Lord thy God. And thou shalt rejoice in every good thing which the Lord thy God hath given thee, and in the divine house thou, and the Levite, and the stranger that is among you. When thou hast made an end of tithing, all the tithes of thine increase, the third year, which is the year of tithing, hast given unto the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within thy gates, and be filled, then thou shalt say before the Lord thy God, I have brought away the hallowed things out of my house, and also have given them unto the Levite, unto the stranger, unto the fatherless, unto the widow, according to all thy commandments which thou hast commanded me.

[John Weaver] I have not transgressed thy commandments, neither have I forgotten them. I have not eaten thereof in my morning, neither have I taken away thereof of any unclean use, nor given thereof for the dead. But I have hearkened unto the voice of the Lord my God, and have done according to all that thou hast commanded me. Look down from thy holy habitation from heaven, and bless thy people Israel and the land which thou hast given us, as thou swarest unto our fathers, a land that floweth with milk and with honey. This day the Lord thy God hath commanded thee to do these statutes and judgments, Thou shalt therefore keep and do them with all thy heart and with all thy soul. Thou hast avouched the Lord this day to be thou God, thy God, and to walk in his ways, and to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and to hearken unto his voice. And the Lord hath avouched thee this day to be his peculiar people, as he hath promised thee, and that thou shouldst keep all his commandments, and to make thee high above all the nations which he hath made, in praise, and in name, and in honor, and that thou mayest be in holy people

[John Weaver] unto the Lord thy God as He has spoken." Now, in Deuteronomy 26, the first 11 verses deal with what is known as the Law of the Firstfruits. The remainder of the chapter deals with the Law of the Tithes. And I've pointed out there are basically three, the Levitical, the Poor, and the Rejoicing Tithe. Now, there is a distinction between the Law of Firstfruits, the Law of the Firstborn, and the Law of the Tithes. The offering of the firstborn and the offering of the firstfruits are closely connected with the tithes and constitute a symbolic offering of the whole, yet they are not synonymous. The tithes were in addition to the two offerings. However, all were taxes placed upon man's increase by God himself. Now, it is not my intent today to delve into the law of the firstborn, nor into the law of the firstfruits. I'm certainly not going to delve into the law of the tithe since I've already done that. What I want to emphasize today are the implications of God's taxation. Let me ask a question, and I want you to think about this because I'm going to answer this question for you.

[John Weaver] What is the real implication of the tithe? I should say, what are the real implications, because there's more than one. What are you actually confessing and acknowledging when you tithe? You could ask that a different way. You could ask, what are you confessing and acknowledging when you do not tithe? I want you to see the plain implications that are taught in Deuteronomy chapter 26. First of all, let me tell you that tithing is indeed a recognition of the sovereignty of God. Look in the first four verses. He says it shall be when thou cometh to the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance and possesses it and dwelleth therein that thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit of the earth which thou shalt bring up by land unto the Lord thy God unto which thou shalt bring of thy land that the Lord thy God giveth thee, and thou shalt put it in a basket, and thou shalt go unto the place which the Lord thy God shall choose to place his name there, and thou shalt go unto the priest that shalt be in those days, and say

[John Weaver] unto him..." Now watch what you say. I profess this day unto the Lord thy God. I profess this day unto the Lord thy God. that I am coming to the country which the Lord swore in our fathers to give us." Note, I profess.

[John Weaver] Now, the interesting thing is the word profess is exactly the same as I confess. So when you brought the tithes, when you brought the offerings, you were actually making a profession or a confession. What were you confessing? What were you acknowledging? Well, the truth is you were acknowledging that God was a sovereign. Why? Sovereignty and taxation are inseparable because taxation is a claim to ownership. Do you realize that God's power to tax demonstrates that He is the true owner and the true controller of the world? In other words, the claim of ownership is the claim of sovereignty. That's why the Bible says in Psalm 24, the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and all they that dwell therein." That's why the Bible says in Hebrews 1 and verse 3 that Jesus Christ is the Maker and the Upholder of all things. So when God then claims the power to tax the world, He is at the same time claiming ownership and control of the world and is saying that I am indeed the Sovereign.

[John Weaver] So thus when we give to the Lord our tithes and offerings, We are confessing, we are professing that He is the true owner of this world, He is the true controller of this world, and He is the true sovereign of this world. Now, by implication, when you fail to tithe, you're confessing that God is not the true sovereign, He is not the true owner, and He is not the true controller of the world.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to listen carefully to what I'm about to say. Because I want you to see the implication of this truth. The issue that confronts every individual is the issue of sovereignty. Let me say that again. The issue that confronts every individual is the issue of what you and I would call lordship or sovereignty. So the question is, is God the true sovereign? Is the federal government the true sovereign? Is the state the true sovereign? Is man the true sovereign? Now, let me show you the implication of these questions. What in the world is a man confessing when he will render a deceaser the tax that Caesar demands, but he refuses to honor and to render unto God the taxes that God demands. Now think about that. Who is he confessing and acknowledging is the true sovereign and the true owner and the true controller? How in the world could a man in good conscience pay taxes to the federal government or pay taxes to the state government and not pay God's taxes.

[John Weaver] Because taxation and sovereignty are inseparable. You see, all claims to sovereignty and all claims to the power to tax are either legitimate and lawful or they are illegitimate and unlawful.

[John Weaver] Now listen to this statement. since all authority rests upon God and His Law Word. All claims of sovereignty and the power to tax that are over, above, and beyond God's Law Word are unbiblical, illegitimate, and unlawful. Doesn't that make sense? If God is the sovereign, anyone or anything that goes over and above and beyond God has to be unbiblical, illegitimate, and unlawful. You see, usurped, unbiblical, and ungodly taxation is nothing less than thievery and robbery.

[John Weaver] Look in your Bibles, if you would, to Psalm 50. I'm going to quote this verse just a little bit later. But look in Psalm 50 and verse 18. Look what God says about the wicked. I could quote this, but I want you to see it. Look at it. Psalm 50, verse 18. Look what God says. Psalm 50, verse 18. When thou sawest a thief, then thou consentest with him that has been partaker with adulterers. Now, when thou sawest a thief, thou consentest with him. That is, when you see someone doing what is wrong, and you do not stop him, or you do not try to stop him, or you just remain silent, thus is your consenting with him.

[John Weaver] That is, you're agreeing with him. If simply consenting to such makes one guilty, how much more guilt is added by framing and enforcing ungodly and unbiblical laws? Let me give you a quote from Rush Dooney of his Institutes of Biblical Law. Listen to this short paragraph. Listen to what he said. The issue of taxation rests squarely and absolutely upon the issue of sovereignty. Whoever is God is ruler, and whoever is the creature of God is his steward. Since man did not create himself, nor can he uphold the world by the word of his power, man is the created steward who is to serve the creator God of Scripture. God, not man, is the Lord. Therefore, any man, whether reprobate or Christian, who either supports taxation not authorized by Scripture, or who refuses to pay the taxes that are levied on man by Scripture, is a robber of God. He is a robber of God because he is either a partaker with thieves, Psalm 50 verse 18, who levy ungodly taxation, or he is a thief because he refuses to render to God that which is God's due.

[John Weaver] By so doing, he is denying that the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and they that dwell therein. He is denying that Christ is Lord. He is, in essence, committing the sin of Adam, for he is attempting to determine good and evil apart from the revealed law word of God." Did you hear that? Therefore, any man, whether reprobate or Christian, who either supports taxation not authorized by Scripture, or who refuses to pay the taxes that are levied by a man A man by scripture is a robber of God. Why? Because sovereignty and taxation are inseparable. If God is the sovereign, he has the right to tax. If God is the sovereign, no one has the right to go beyond God's law. And when an individual will pay a state tax or a county tax or a federal tax and refuse to pay God's tax, by implication he is saying that that state or federal or county government is God and not God. Thus when you and I bring our tithes and our offerings to God, what we're saying is God is the true sovereign.

[John Weaver] He is the true ruler. He is the one who is in absolute control. So first of all, bringing our tithes and offerings is indeed a recognition of the sovereignty of God. Secondly, bringing our tithes and offerings is a realization of the sovereignty of grace. Look what I mean in verse 4, verse 5, we'll start there. Verse 5, And thou shalt speak and say unto the Lord by God, Assyrian ready to perish was my father.

[John Weaver] And he went down into Egypt and sojourned there with a few and became there a nation great and mighty and populous. And the Egyptians evil and treated us and afflicted us and laid upon us hard bondage. And when we cried unto the Lord our God of our fathers, the Lord heard our voice and looked on our affliction and our labor and our oppression And the Lord brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with a great terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders. And he brought us into this place, and hath given us this land, a land that floweth with milk and honey."

[John Weaver] Now, tithing not only is an acknowledgment and recognition of God's sovereignty, it is also a realization of the sovereignty of grace. In other words, it is a realization that we are what we are only by the grace of God. I want you to go back to verse 5, because under this realization of the sovereignty of grace, I want you to note what he says in verse 5. He says, And thou shalt speak and say before the Lord thy God, A Syrian ready to perish was my father. Now, please remember, here were Hebrews, here were Israelites, bringing their offerings and their tithes, and when they presented them before the priest, they not only confessed that God was the sovereign, they are now realizing the sovereignty of grace in that they had no standing before God in and of themselves. They said a Syrian ready to perish was my father.

[John Weaver] That is, they were not depending upon their ancestry. They were not depending upon their lineage, upon their deeds, upon their merits. You see, the truth of the matter is this. Our fathers were just as helplessly and hopelessly lost as we. Do you realize that the ancestors of the Hebrews were nomadic shepherds, either Syrians by birth as Abraham or as by long residence there as Jacob. Jacob lived 20 years in Paddan Arim, which is in Syria. In fact, it was Pliny and also Strabo, the historians, that said that Chaldee and Mesopotamia at one time were part of Syria, and although Abraham came from Ur of the Chaldees along with Sarah, they said back at that time that country was part of Syria.

[John Weaver] So when you're saying a Syrian ready to perish was my father, what are you saying? When God found Abraham in Ur of the Chaldees, was Abraham Upright, godly, holy, a worshipper of God? No! He was a pagan! He was a heathen! He was an unbeliever! He did not find God. God found him. And God saved him, and God said, Get out of the land unto the land which I will show thee. Thus, even Abraham had no standing before God in and of himself. He was a heathen and an idolater. And what you're saying is this. When you're giving those tithes, you're saying a Syrian ready to perish was my father. I have no standing before you.

[John Weaver] There's nothing in my lineage that can save me. Nothing in my genealogy that can save me. Nothing in my deeds and my merits. I have absolutely nothing in and of myself. What I am, I am only by Your sovereign grace. You came to me, and in mercy, You brought me out of my sins and brought me to Yourself." Notice secondly under this, they also realize that God alone is the Savior and the Redeemer.

[John Weaver] What am I talking about? Well, look in verse 6. They said,"...the Egyptians evil and treated us and afflicted us, and laid upon us hard bondage." Now watch verse 7. And when we cried unto the Lord God of our fathers, the Lord heard our voice, the Lord looked upon our affliction, verse 8, and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders, and He hath brought us into this land. So it was the Lord who heard. It was the Lord who looked. It was the Lord who brought them out. It was the Lord who brought them in. What are you confessing? Everything is of God. You know what Jonah 2 verse 9 says? Salvation is of the Lord.

[John Weaver] Israel could not deliver herself. You could not save yourself. You could not help save yourself. Deliverance is of the Lord. You know what the Apostle Paul said in Galatians 1 verse 15? Let me just quote him. He said, when it pleased God, When it pleased God who separated me from my mother's womb and called me by His grace. Now, when was Paul converted? When it pleased God to convert him. When were you converted? When it pleased God to convert you.

[John Weaver] You see, the Bible teaches what is known as monergism. That is, that God alone works in salvation. It was God who smote Egypt. It was God who smote the false gods of Egypt. It was God who brought the Israelites out of Egypt. It was God who sustained them through the wilderness. It was God who brought them into the land. And here they are bringing their tithes and their offerings, and the first thing they do is recognize the sovereignty of God, and the second thing they do is they realize the sovereignty of His grace. In other words, we are what we are only by the grace of God.

[John Weaver] Tithing and offering our gifts demonstrates that we're acknowledging and confessing that simple truth. Or we could say it like the Apostle Paul said it in 1 Corinthians 15 and verse 10. By the grace of God, I am what I am. Let me ask you a question. Why are you converted? Why do you have the knowledge that you have? Why are you associated with people who believe the truth? I'll tell you why. Because by the grace of God, you are what you are. It was God who saved you. It was God who gave you the gifts. It was God who gave you the knowledge. It was God who gave you the understanding.

[John Weaver] Now I want you to understand something. Neither our ties Nor our obedience saves us. It is Christ who saves us. Our obedience and our tithing may be a manifestation and an acknowledgment and a confession that we realize that it is God who saves us. But our obedience does not save us, nor does it help save us. But I'll point out this. We are either redeemed by Christ, or we are left to destruction. It's just that simple. Have you ever wondered whatever happened to those other people that God left in Ur of the Chaldees? See what I'm saying? It's only by the grace of God we are what we are. So when we give our offerings, when we're tithing, we're acknowledging, first of all, and recognizing that God is sovereign. Secondly, it is a realization of the sovereignty of grace that it is God who heard us, God who saved us, God who brought us out, and God who brought us in.

[John Weaver] Thirdly, in giving our tithes and offerings, there is a reality of the sacredness of worship. Look in verses 10 and 11. A reality of the sacredness of worship. And now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land which thou, O Lord, hast given me. And thou shalt set it before the Lord thy God and worship before the Lord thy God. And thou shalt rejoice in every good thing which the Lord thy God hath given unto thee, and in thine house thou, and the Levite, and the stranger that is among you."

[John Weaver] I want you to note that tithing and offering gifts are intimately and vitally connected with, and I might also add, are also an integral part of worship. You go in some churches and they will say, Well, let us worship the Lord with our tithes and offerings. That's not just a saying. That is truth. What in the world were you doing? You were giving tithes and offerings, and he says in verse 10, and worship before the Lord thy God. Note verse 10 if you would, and thou shalt set it before the Lord thy God. First of all, I want you to note that worship is unto the Lord. He is the object of worship, and we are obligated to worship and adore Him who is the living God. So our worship, first and foremost, is unto the Lord. Secondly, it is before the Lord. Look in verse 10 again. He said, I have brought the firstfruits of the land which, O Lord, Thou hast given Me, and Thou shalt set it before the Lord Thy God, and worship before the Lord by God.

[John Weaver] So worship is not only unto the Lord, it is before the Lord. That is, it is to be done in His presence with His approval. Now watch. Worship is not only unto the Lord and before the Lord. Worship also involves rejoicing in the Lord. Verse 11, And thou shalt rejoice in every good thing which the Lord thy God hath given unto thee." Why? Because I'm going to show you that when we tithe, it's just a mere representation of every good thing which God has given unto us. So what we're doing, we are rejoicing in everything that God has given unto us. He said, And thou shalt rejoice in every good thing which the Lord thy God hath given unto thee, and in the divine house thou, and the Levite, and the stranger that is among you. So worship, then, involves rejoicing before the Lord for all that He has done for us, for our family, and for our friends as well. You see, since God is the object of worship, He alone is the author of worship, and it must be accomplished upon the terms which God has ordained.

[John Weaver] Now what does God say in John 4, verse 24? That God is Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.

[John Weaver] Now, I'm going to skip a lot of verses because I could show you the reality of worship in a lot of ways. First of all, if you want to look them up later, you can look in Isaiah 1, verses 11-15. You can also look in Amos 5, verses 21-23. where God says, I hate, I despise, I will not accept your worship. That is because the worship was not from the heart. But I want you to look in your Bibles to Malachi chapter 1 because I want you to see the offerings and the giving is intimately connected here with the worship of God. Now I want you to note what he says. The last book in the Old Testament, the book of Malachi. Malachi chapter 1. And let's look at verses 6 and 8 first of all. 6 and 8. Watch carefully. Malachi 1, verse 6, A son honoreth his father, and a servant his master. Now look at God's question. If I be a father, where is mine honor? If I be a master, where is my fear, saith the Lord of hosts, unto you, O priest, that despise my name?

[John Weaver] And you say, Wherein have we despised thy name? In other words, God, where have we mocked you? Where have we blasphemed you? Where have we despised your name? Here's how, verse 7, You offer polluted bread upon mine altar, and you say, Where did we pollute thee? In that you say, The table of the Lord is contemptible. Watch now. And if you offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? And if you offer the lame and the sick, is it not evil? Offer it now to thy governor. Will he be pleased with thee and accept thy person, saith the Lord of hosts?

[John Weaver] Now what were these people doing? They were giving to God the lame the sick, the worst. God said, do you think I'm going to take that at your hand? That's nothing more than a despising of me. I'm not going to receive that. He said, if you don't believe that, invite your governor over for a meal. Set before him a big piece of steak with a big green blob in the middle of it.

[John Weaver] See if he'll eat it. See if he'll appreciate the steak that you provided for him. No, said God. You're not going to give me that stuff. Skip down, if you would please, to verse 13. You said also, Behold, what a weariness is it? You have snuffed it, saith the Lord of hosts. You brought that which was torn, and the lame, and the sick. Thus you brought an offering. Should I accept this at your hands, saith the Lord? Now watch. but cursed be the deceiver which hath in his flock a male, and vowed and sacrificed unto the Lord a corrupt thing, for I am a great king, saith the Lord of hosts, and my name is dreadful among thee." God said, if you think you're going to run in fifteen minutes late with a quarter in one hand and a quarterly in the other hand and please me, you're mistaken.

[John Weaver] Now, when we offer our tithes and our offerings, we understand the reality of worship, because Malachi has direct reference as to what we bring before the Lord. Now, listen to this statement, folks. It is true. I'm sorry, but it's true. When one does not tithe and offer his gifts aright, he does not worship aright. And when one withholds God's taxes, he not only robs God, he mocks God.

[John Weaver] Wherein have we despised thy name? Because, I'll tell you, you despised me in giving me that which is poor and second-rate. You know, I've told you this in time past. But this really happened. It really happened to a friend of mine. He was a missionary in a foreign country. And he got a notice in his mailbox that he had a package there with customs due. So he went down to the post office and he did not recognize the name. He didn't know what was in the box. And so he had to pay something like 20 or 30 bucks postage and customs due to get the package. And when he got the package and opened it, some sweet little lady in the States had sent him a box of used tea bags. He could have bought Four or five boxes of good tea bags where he wants for the money that he spent on it.

[John Weaver] But what is the mentality of people? We're going to give the Lord that which is left over. We're going to give the Lord that which is sick. No, said God, I am a great king. And my name is dreadful among the heathen. God deserves the best. Not the worst. He deserves the most. not the least. So, when we tithe and offer our offerings, it's not only a recognition of God's sovereignty, a realization of the sovereignty of grace, it's God who saved us, there is also thirdly a reality of worship.

[John Weaver] Fourthly, tithing is a reasonable test of and testimony of our obedience. Tithing is a reasonable test of our obedience and also of our testimony. Look back in your Bibles, Deuteronomy 26, verses 13 and 14. Deuteronomy 26, verses 13 and 14. A reasonable test. Then thou shalt say before the Lord thy God. What are you going to say now? You've already been confessing some things. Here's something else you've got to say. I have brought away the hallowed things out of mine house, and also have given them unto the Levite, unto the stranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all thy commandments which thou hast commanded me. I have not transgressed thy commandments, neither have I forgotten them. I have not eaten thereof in my mourning, neither have I taken away aught thereof of any unclean use, nor given aught thereof for the dead. But I have hearkened unto the voice of the Lord my God, and have done according to all that thou hast commanded me."

[John Weaver] Now, I'm going to explain this in just a moment. But do you realize that God has the absolute right to test us? We do not have the right to test God. We are His creatures and He therefore may be pleased to issue or to give us a reasonable test of our obedience. Go back to the Garden of Eden. God created Adam and Eve and God put them in the garden and guess what God did? God graciously gave them every tree of the garden But one. God said, you can have everything, just this one. This one is mine.

[John Weaver] Please do not touch it. This is mine. Isn't that not reasonable? Look, God gave them everything. And He just reserved one thing to Himself. He said, this is mine. Don't touch it. Folks, let me tell you something. God has the absolute right to say to us, the tithes are mine. I reserve those to myself. Don't touch. You can do what you will with the rest of it.

[John Weaver] I've given it all to you. I just reserve this small amount for myself. It is a reasonable test of our obedience.

[John Weaver] Now, what do they have to confess? Lord, you told me to bring my hallowed things here. I've done it. Lord, You've told me not to eat anything in mourning or sorrow. Why? Because the law required joy and rejoicing. Lord, He said, I haven't done that. And Lord, You've told me not to give anything to the dead. Lord, I haven't done that. Lord, I have obeyed You. It is a reasonable test of obedience.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to look at verse 13. The latter part. Look what he says. When he brings the tithes and the offerings, I have not transgressed thy commandments. Neither have I forgotten them. You know what a transgression is? It's sin. 1 John 3 and verse 4, the Bible says sin is the transgression of the law. Whosoever transgresseth the law committeth sin. Why? For sin is the transgression of the law. And here failure to tithe and failure to use those tithes, the way God tells us, is called a transgression. It's called a sin. Why would failing to tithe be called a sin or transgression? I'll tell you why. Because of Leviticus 27, verse 30, when God says, the tithes are mine, saith the Lord.

[John Weaver] They don't belong to us. They don't belong to the church. They belong to God Himself. I want you to also note that we cannot use the tithes for an unclean use. He had to say, Lord, I haven't given anything for the dead. I haven't given anything in mourning. Neither can you and I take God's tithes and give them to apostate religions or apostate churches where the Word of God is not preached and taught. It is an unclean use of the tithe. That's why in 1 Kings 4, verses 42 and 44, which I've already covered in times past, the man came from Baal-Shelashi and brought his tithes to Elisha, the man of God. He was not going to use those tithes in an apostate Israel where the golden calves were set up in Dan and Bethel. Now, according to verses 13 and 14, We may use the tithes then as a reasonable test and a reasonable measure of our obedience.

[John Weaver] Why and how can that be? Well, let me just answer it like this. If a man is willing to be faithful and honest and honor God with his money, in all probability, He's going to be faithful and honest and honor God in other areas as well. Because that money is that which is the closest to our hearts. But a man who will be dishonest and dishonorable with God and fail to give God that which is His, he will also be dishonest and dishonorable in other areas of his life as well. You know, it seems to me our Lord said something like this in the New Testament. He that is faithful in the few will be faithful in that which is the greatest. But he that is unfaithful in that which is the least is also going to be unfaithful in that which is the greatest.

[John Weaver] So tithing and offering then is just simply a reasonable test of our obedience. God says, look, look at everything I've given you. And I'm just reserving this small little bit for myself. Don't touch it. Use it the way I tell you to use it. Same thing he told Adam. You can have everything but this one tree. It's a reasonable test of our obedience. Notice fifthly, and I'm hurrying, but notice fifthly, tithing and offering offerings is a reliance upon God and His readiness to bless us. In verse 15, he says, Look down from my holy habitation from heaven and bless thy people Israel of the land which thou hast given us, as thou swarest unto our fathers, a land that floweth with milk and honey." When we tithe, when we offer offerings, we are expressing a reliance upon God and His readiness to bless us. Let me just quote part of 1 Samuel 2 and verse 30. God says, he that honoreth me will I honor, saith the Lord.

[John Weaver] And he that despiseth me shall be lightly esteemed. Now what did God say? God said, if you honor me, I will honor you. Marker down, folks, God will be no man's debtor. You cannot outgive God. You cannot be more gracious than God. God says, them that honor Me will honor, saith the Lord. But if you despise Me, you will be lightly esteemed. Then in Psalm 101 verse 6, God says this, Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land. God is going to give particular attention to those who are faithful.

[John Weaver] Let me ask you a question. Suppose you have two sons. One was a drunkard, and a dopehead, and a whoremonger, and sorry as the day is long, wouldn't work, not fit for anything. And yet the other boy was loving, kind, obedient, a hard worker, honest, in every area tried to do what was right. Now if you were going to bless your sons, Which one would you be more inclined to bless? Be honest with yourself. You know as well as I do, you're not going to give to the one that you know is a drunkard and whoremonger. It's going to turn around and throw it away.

[John Weaver] You'd be foolish to do so. What does God say? I'm going to honor those that honor me. Mine eye shall be upon the faithful of the land. You know what the Bible says in Proverbs 28 and verse 20? A faithful man shall abound with blessings. Why shall a faithful man abound with blessings? Because God's eye are upon the faithful. And the fact is, if you honor God, God's going to honor you. Tithing is a reliance upon God. How can it be a reliance upon God?

[John Weaver] Because when we tithe, what we're saying in essence is this, Lord, you have blessed me in times past. You have blessed me here in the present. And Lord, in tithing, I'm trusting you to bless me in the future. I'm relying upon you. I'm trusting you. That's why Deuteronomy 28 verse 2, God said, if we obey Him, all these blessings shall overtake us. Remember, I told you the word means to chase down, to run down and to overtake. God said, if you obey me, you cannot outrun my blessings. They will chase you down and fall all over you. So when we faithfully tithe, we expect God's blessings. Now listen carefully, not because of our obedience, not because we've earned or merited those blessings, but because of God's promise. God has promised to honor those that honor Him in His grace, in His mercy. He's promised that His eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land and that the faithful man shall abound with blessings." See? It's not based upon our obedience. It's based upon the promise of God.

[John Weaver] Now, let me just try to rehash what I've given you because I've got one more point, and to me, it's one of the most important points in this message. I've already told you that in tithing, there's a recognition of God's sovereignty. There's a realization of God's sovereign grace. There's a reality of the sacredness of worship. There is indeed a seeking and a trusting of God to bless us. We realize that it is He who has blessed us in time past, so we're relying upon Him to bless us in the future.

[John Weaver] Moreover, it is a reasonable test of our obedience. I want you to watch this last point. Because in tithing, there is a remembrance of the covenantal bond that exists between God and His people. In tithing, there is a remembrance of the covenantal bond that exists between God and His people.

[John Weaver] Now look in your Bibles to verses 16-19. Deuteronomy 26 verse 16, This day the Lord thy God hath commanded thee to do all these statutes and judgments. Thou shalt therefore keep and do them with all thine heart and with all thine soul. Thou hast avouched the Lord this day to be thy God. and to walk in His ways, and to keep His statutes, and His commandments, and His judgments, and to hearken unto His voice. And the Lord hath avowed thee this day to be His peculiar people, as He hath promised thee, and that thou shouldest keep all His commandments, and to make thee high above all nations, which He hath made in praise, and in name, and in honor, and that thou mayest be in holy people unto the Lord thy God, as He hath spoken." Now, let's go to verse 16 first. Because I told you that sixly, in tithing, there is a remembrance of the covenantal bond that exists between God and His people.

[John Weaver] In verse 16, I want you to note that internal obedience is demanded as well as external obedience. In verse 16, He says, This day the Lord thy God hath commanded thee to do these statutes and judgments, and thou shalt therefore keep and do them, note, with all thine heart and with all thy soul. What is God saying? That our obedience must be heartfelt. There cannot be any worship with an empty, meaningless ceremony or ritual. Whatever we do must be heartfelt. It must embrace the totality of our being.

[John Weaver] You know, I've used this before. The Apostle Paul said, for God loveth a cheerful giver. And I told you the word cheerful is the word hilarion. It's where we get our English word hilarious. God loves a hilarious giver. So if we did pass an offering plate, which we don't do here, but if we did pass an offering plate, grudgingly threw in a $20 bill? Here's my question. Does God accept that as a sacrifice, as a gift on your part? No. Why?

[John Weaver] Because you did not give it with your heart. You did not give it cheerfully. You did not give it willingly. You gave. But you gave it grudgingly and hesitatingly. You see what I'm saying? When God says, Whatever we do in our worship, whether it's giving, whether it's singing, whether it's preaching, it is to be with the totality of our being.

[John Weaver] Now, here's the part that I want to dwell on. Look at this. Verse 17. I want to tithe for no other reason than this. This one is sufficient. Thou hast to vouch the Lord this day to be thy God. and to walk in His ways and His statutes and His commandments and His judgments and to hearken unto His voice."

[John Weaver] Now underline that word avouched. You know what that word means? It means to affirm positively. It means to affirm openly. To acknowledge. To substantiate. to guarantee. In other words, when we tithe unto the Lord, recognizing He is the sovereign God, recognizing what we are by His grace and by His mercy, recognizing the reality of the sacredness of worship, that it is a reasonable test of our obedience, and that there is a relation that exists between God and His people, we are avouching We are declaring positively. We are declaring openly. We are substantiating the fact that we are God's people. And that we will not just simply tithe in obedience to Him.

[John Weaver] We will obey Him in the totality of His commands. Isn't that wonderful? Think what it means when a man will not tithe. But it doesn't end there. Now watch. Verse 18, And the Lord hath avouched thee this day to be His peculiar people, as He hath promised thee, that thou shouldest keep all His commandments.

[John Weaver] Now wait just a minute. I understand how in giving to God, in obedience to Him, I'm avouching, I'm declaring that He's my God. But now, in verse Eighteen, the Lord avouches. He declares positively, openly, and is substantiating the fact that we're His people. How does God, receiving our tithes and our offerings, declare that we're His people? Well, I want you to look in your Bibles to the book of Deuteronomy 23, verses 17 and 18. Watch this carefully. Deuteronomy 23, verses 17 and 18. Verse 17, There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor sodomite of the sons of Israel. Thou shalt not bring the hire of a whore or the price of a dog into the house of the Lord by God for any vow, for even both of these are an abomination of the Lord by God.

[John Weaver] Now, all my life I have heard you're not supposed to sell dogs. The Bible forbids you to sell a dog. The Bible doesn't forbid you to sell a four-legged dog. It's the two-legged kinds the Bible condemns. And that's what God calls sodomites. He calls them dogs.

[John Weaver] Now, look what He said. There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor sodomite of the sons of Israel. Thou shalt not bring the hire of a whore or the price of a dog into the house of the Lord thy God for any vow, for even both of these are abomination of the Lord thy God. What is God saying? God said, I want no offerings from whores and sodomites.

[John Weaver] Now, are you listening to me? Why would God say that? Because they are living under what you and I would call an alien law system. They're not obeying God's law. God said, to receive their tithes and offerings would be to recognize their alien law system and their ungodly lifestyle. God said, I don't want it. I will not have it. I will not take it. So when we give God our tithes and offerings, and God receives them. What did He say?

[John Weaver] Look in verse 18 again of Deuteronomy 26. Watch it. And the Lord hath avowed thee this day to be his peculiar people, as he hath promised thee, and thou shouldst keep all his commandments. God said, I am receiving them, because you are in my law system, and I know that you are going to obey me in the rest of the areas that I command you. Nothing could be more beautiful than the closing section of this chapter. Thou hast this day accepted Jehovah to be thy God, and to walk in His ways, and to keep His statutes, and His commandments, and His ordinances, and hearken unto His voice. And Jehovah hath accepted thee this day to be a people of possession to Him, as He hath told thee that thou shouldest keep all His commandments, so that God will exalt thee high above all the other people." What does he say? His people. When we tithe, we recognize He's our God. And we're obligated to keep all of His law. And when we receive our tithes, He's saying, I'm acknowledging that you're My people and that you are going to obey Me.

[John Weaver] Now, let me just give you one closing thought. The Kingdom of God is not a beggar's agency. The Kingdom of God is not a goodwill industry receiving second-hand leftover and worn-out goods. The Kingdom of God is the realm and the majesty of the Sovereign God of Heaven and Earth. Do you realize if all of God's people faithfully I'm not talking about just all of this little group. I know this little group mostly does. But if all of God's people in this nation faithfully tithe to you, can you even conceive of how much money there would be to overthrow the powers of the wicked and to establish that which is right and holy and just?

[John Weaver] What God is saying is this, that tithing forces us to remember that we're covenantly engaged with God. We're covenantly bound to honor Him, His kingdom, keep His commandments. And in doing so, we're confessing that we're His people. When God receives our tithes and offerings, He too is acknowledging that we're His own, and His eyes are going to be upon us. And what did God say to the heathen? He that toucheth thee, that is, toucheth any of God's people. He that toucheth thee, toucheth the apple of my eye. If you want to avouch, confess, open Substantiate that God is your God. One of the ways is by obedience and tithing. And then obedience in keeping all of His commandments. Let's pray.

[John Weaver] Father, we thank You today for Jesus Christ, for the wonderful truth of Your Word. We thank Thee, Lord, that Thou hast indeed given us Thy Word And Lord, we acknowledge that we are of Thy people. We are Thy handiwork. We are the sheep of Thy pasture. And we want to be faithful unto Thee, and avouch that Thou art our God, so that in Your grace and mercy, You may indeed avouch that we are Thy people.

[John Weaver] Forgive us of our sins. and help us to serve Thee with reverence and godly fear. In Thy name we pray, Amen.

The Implications of God's Taxation

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	9904125752
Subject	Covenant Theology
Course	Covenant Theology: Blessings, Curses, and Sanctions: The Hallelujah of Confession
Genre	Sermon
Date	2004-09-05
Dictation Name
Book	Book 052: Biblical Wealth — Chapter 8
Source Timed Segments	68

Formatted Transcript

Introduction and Reading of Deuteronomy 26

Weaver introduces the final message on biblical wealth, reads Deuteronomy 26, and distinguishes between the law of firstfruits and the law of tithes, focusing on the implications of God's taxation.

Well, let's open our Bible today to Deuteronomy 26, and we're going to be bringing the eighth and the final message in this short series on biblical wealth. Deuteronomy 26. And we're going to be reading the entire chapter, all 19 verses. Deuteronomy 26, beginning there with verse 1. Deuteronomy 26, verse 1. The message is entitled, "The Implications of God's Taxation." Implications of God's Taxation. Deuteronomy 26, verse 1:

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 26:1-19

"It shall be when thou art come into the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and possesses it, and dwellest therein, then thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit of the earth, which thou shalt bring of thy land that the Lord thy God giveth thee, and shall put it in a basket and shall go into the place which the Lord thy God shall choose to place his name there. And thou shalt go unto the priest that shall be in those days and say unto him, I profess this day unto the Lord thy God that I am coming to the country which the Lord sware unto our fathers for to give us." "And the priest shall take the basket out of thine hand and set it down before the altar of the Lord thy God. And thou shalt speak and say before the Lord thy God, A Syrian ready to perish was my father. And he went down into Egypt and sojourned there with a few. And he became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous. And the Egyptians evil entreated us and afflicted us and laid upon us hard bondage. And when we cried unto the Lord God of our fathers, the Lord heard our voice and looked on our affliction and our labor and our oppression. And the Lord brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm with great terribleness, with signs and with wonders." "He hath brought us into this place, and given us this land, even the land that floweth with milk and honey. And now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land which thou, O Lord, hast given me. And thou shalt set it before the Lord thy God, and worship before the Lord thy God. And thou shalt rejoice in every good thing which the Lord thy God hath given thee, and in thine house thou, and the Levite, and the stranger that is among you. When thou hast made an end of tithing, all the tithes of thine increase, the third year, which is the year of tithing, hast given unto the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within thy gates, and be filled, then thou shalt say before the Lord thy God, I have brought away the hallowed things out of my house, and also have given them unto the Levite, unto the stranger, unto the fatherless, unto the widow, according to all thy commandments which thou hast commanded me." "I have not transgressed thy commandments, neither have I forgotten them. I have not eaten thereof in my mourning, neither have I taken away aught thereof for any unclean use, nor given aught thereof for the dead. But I have hearkened unto the voice of the Lord my God, and have done according to all that thou hast commanded me. Look down from thy holy habitation from heaven, and bless thy people Israel and the land which thou hast given us, as thou swarest unto our fathers, a land that floweth with milk and with honey. This day the Lord thy God hath commanded thee to do these statutes and judgments: Thou shalt therefore keep and do them with all thy heart and with all thy soul. Thou hast avouched the Lord this day to be thy God, and to walk in his ways, and to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and to hearken unto his voice. And the Lord hath avouched thee this day to be his peculiar people, as he hath promised thee, and that thou shouldest keep all his commandments, and to make thee high above all the nations which he hath made, in praise, and in name, and in honor, and that thou mayest be an holy people" "unto the Lord thy God as He has spoken."

Now, in Deuteronomy 26, the first 11 verses deal with what is known as the Law of the Firstfruits. The remainder of the chapter deals with the Law of the Tithes. And I've pointed out there are basically three, the Levitical, the Poor, and the Rejoicing Tithe. Now, there is a distinction between the Law of Firstfruits, the Law of the Firstborn, and the Law of the Tithes. The offering of the firstborn and the offering of the firstfruits are closely connected with the tithes and constitute a symbolic offering of the whole, yet they are not synonymous. The tithes were in addition to the two offerings. However, all were taxes placed upon man's increase by God himself. Now, it is not my intent today to delve into the law of the firstborn, nor into the law of the firstfruits. I'm certainly not going to delve into the law of the tithe since I've already done that. What I want to emphasize today are the implications of God's taxation. Let me ask a question, and I want you to think about this because I'm going to answer this question for you.

Tithing as a Recognition of God's Sovereignty

Tithing confesses that God is the true owner and controller of the world, as taxation implies sovereignty. Refusing to tithe while paying state taxes denies God's sovereignty.

What is the real implication of the tithe? I should say, what are the real implications, because there's more than one. What are you actually confessing and acknowledging when you tithe? You could ask that a different way. You could ask, what are you confessing and acknowledging when you do not tithe? I want you to see the plain implications that are taught in Deuteronomy chapter 26. First of all, let me tell you that tithing is indeed a recognition of the sovereignty of God. Look in the first four verses. He says, "It shall be when thou art come into the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance and possesses it and dwellest therein that thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit of the earth which thou shalt bring of thy land that the Lord thy God giveth thee, and thou shalt put it in a basket, and thou shalt go unto the place which the Lord thy God shall choose to place his name there, and thou shalt go unto the priest that shall be in those days, and say

unto him..." Now watch what you say. "I profess this day unto the Lord thy God. I profess this day unto the Lord thy God, that I am coming to the country which the Lord sware unto our fathers to give us." Note, "I profess." Now, the interesting thing is the word "profess" is exactly the same as "I confess." So when you brought the tithes, when you brought the offerings, you were actually making a profession or a confession. What were you confessing? What were you acknowledging? Well, the truth is you were acknowledging that God is sovereign. Why? Sovereignty and taxation are inseparable because taxation is a claim to ownership. Do you realize that God's power to tax demonstrates that He is the true owner and the true controller of the world? In other words, the claim of ownership is the claim of sovereignty. That's why the Bible says in Psalm 24, "The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and all they that dwell therein." That's why the Bible says in Hebrews 1 and verse 3 that Jesus Christ is the Maker and the Upholder of all things. So when God then claims the power to tax the world, He is at the same time claiming ownership and control of the world and is saying that I am indeed the Sovereign.

So thus when we give to the Lord our tithes and offerings, we are confessing, we are professing that He is the true owner of this world, He is the true controller of this world, and He is the true sovereign of this world. Now, by implication, when you fail to tithe, you're confessing that God is not the true sovereign, He is not the true owner, and He is not the true controller of the world. Now, I want you to listen carefully to what I'm about to say. Because I want you to see the implication of this truth. The issue that confronts every individual is the issue of sovereignty. Let me say that again. The issue that confronts every individual is the issue of what you and I would call lordship or sovereignty. So the question is, is God the true sovereign? Is the federal government the true sovereign? Is the state the true sovereign? Is man the true sovereign? Now, let me show you the implication of these questions. What in the world is a man confessing when he will render to Caesar the tax that Caesar demands, but he refuses to honor and to render unto God the taxes that God demands? Now think about that. Who is he confessing and acknowledging is the true sovereign and the true owner and the true controller? How in the world could a man in good conscience pay taxes to the federal government or pay taxes to the state government and not pay God's taxes?

Because taxation and sovereignty are inseparable. You see, all claims to sovereignty and all claims to the power to tax are either legitimate and lawful or they are illegitimate and unlawful. Now listen to this statement. Since all authority rests upon God and His Law Word, all claims of sovereignty and the power to tax that are over, above, and beyond God's Law Word are unbiblical, illegitimate, and unlawful. Doesn't that make sense? If God is the sovereign, anyone or anything that goes over and above and beyond God has to be unbiblical, illegitimate, and unlawful. You see, usurped, unbiblical, and ungodly taxation is nothing less than thievery and robbery.

Look in your Bibles, if you would, to Psalm 50. I'm going to quote this verse just a little bit later. But look in Psalm 50 and verse 18. Look what God says about the wicked. I could quote this, but I want you to see it. Look at it. Psalm 50, verse 18. Look what God says. Psalm 50, verse 18:

Scripture Reading — Psalm 50:18

"When thou sawest a thief, then thou consentest with him, and hast been partaker with adulterers."

Now,

Scripture Reading — Psalm 50:18

"when thou sawest a thief, thou consentest with him."

That is, when you see someone doing what is wrong, and you do not stop him, or you do not try to stop him, or you just remain silent, thus is your consenting with him.

That is, you're agreeing with him. If simply consenting to such makes one guilty, how much more guilt is added by framing and enforcing ungodly and unbiblical laws? Let me give you a quote from Rushdoony in his Institutes of Biblical Law. Listen to this short paragraph. Listen to what he said. "The issue of taxation rests squarely and absolutely upon the issue of sovereignty. Whoever is God is ruler, and whoever is the creature of God is his steward. Since man did not create himself, nor can he uphold the world by the word of his power, man is the created steward who is to serve the creator God of Scripture. God, not man, is the Lord. Therefore, any man, whether reprobate or Christian, who either supports taxation not authorized by Scripture, or who refuses to pay the taxes that are levied on man by Scripture, is a robber of God. He is a robber of God because he is either a partaker with thieves, Psalm 50 verse 18, who levy ungodly taxation, or he is a thief because he refuses to render to God that which is God's due.

By so doing, he is denying that the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and they that dwell therein. He is denying that Christ is Lord. He is, in essence, committing the sin of Adam, for he is attempting to determine good and evil apart from the revealed law word of God." Did you hear that? Therefore, any man, whether reprobate or Christian, who either supports taxation not authorized by Scripture, or who refuses to pay the taxes that are levied on man by Scripture, is a robber of God. Why? Because sovereignty and taxation are inseparable. If God is the sovereign, he has the right to tax. If God is the sovereign, no one has the right to go beyond God's law. And when an individual will pay a state tax or a county tax or a federal tax and refuse to pay God's tax, by implication he is saying that that state or federal or county government is God and not God. Thus when you and I bring our tithes and our offerings to God, what we're saying is God is the true sovereign.

He is the true ruler. He is the one who is in absolute control. So first of all, bringing our tithes and offerings is indeed a recognition of the sovereignty of God. Secondly, bringing our tithes and offerings is a realization of the sovereignty of grace. Look what I mean in verse 4, verse 5, we'll start there. Verse 5: "And thou shalt speak and say unto the Lord thy God, A Syrian ready to perish was my father.

Tithing as a Realization of the Sovereignty of Grace

Tithing acknowledges that we are saved only by God's grace, not by ancestry or merit, as illustrated by the confession 'A Syrian ready to perish was my father.'

And he went down into Egypt and sojourned there with a few and became there a nation great and mighty and populous. And the Egyptians evil entreated us and afflicted us and laid upon us hard bondage. And when we cried unto the Lord our God of our fathers, the Lord heard our voice and looked on our affliction and our labor and our oppression. And the Lord brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with a great terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders. And he brought us into this place, and hath given us this land, a land that floweth with milk and honey."

Now, tithing not only is an acknowledgment and recognition of God's sovereignty, it is also a realization of the sovereignty of grace. In other words, it is a realization that we are what we are only by the grace of God. I want you to go back to verse 5, because under this realization of the sovereignty of grace, I want you to note what he says in verse 5. He says, "And thou shalt speak and say before the Lord thy God, A Syrian ready to perish was my father." Now, please remember, here were Hebrews, here were Israelites, bringing their offerings and their tithes, and when they presented them before the priest, they not only confessed that God was the sovereign, they are now realizing the sovereignty of grace in that they had no standing before God in and of themselves. They said, "A Syrian ready to perish was my father."

That is, they were not depending upon their ancestry. They were not depending upon their lineage, upon their deeds, upon their merits. You see, the truth of the matter is this. Our fathers were just as helplessly and hopelessly lost as we. Do you realize that the ancestors of the Hebrews were nomadic shepherds, either Syrians by birth as Abraham or as by long residence there as Jacob. Jacob lived 20 years in Paddan Aram, which is in Syria. In fact, it was Pliny and also Strabo, the historians, that said that Chaldea and Mesopotamia at one time were part of Syria, and although Abraham came from Ur of the Chaldees along with Sarah, they said back at that time that country was part of Syria.

So when you're saying, "A Syrian ready to perish was my father," what are you saying? When God found Abraham in Ur of the Chaldees, was Abraham upright, godly, holy, a worshipper of God? No! He was a pagan! He was a heathen! He was an unbeliever! He did not find God. God found him. And God saved him, and God said, "Get out of the land unto the land which I will show thee." Thus, even Abraham had no standing before God in and of himself. He was a heathen and an idolater. And what you're saying is this. When you're giving those tithes, you're saying, "A Syrian ready to perish was my father. I have no standing before you.

There's nothing in my lineage that can save me. Nothing in my genealogy that can save me. Nothing in my deeds and my merits. I have absolutely nothing in and of myself. What I am, I am only by Your sovereign grace. You came to me, and in mercy, You brought me out of my sins and brought me to Yourself." Notice secondly under this, they also realize that God alone is the Savior and the Redeemer. What am I talking about? Well, look in verse 6. They said, "...the Egyptians evil entreated us and afflicted us, and laid upon us hard bondage." Now watch verse 7. "And when we cried unto the Lord God of our fathers, the Lord heard our voice, the Lord looked upon our affliction," verse 8, "and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders, and He hath brought us into this land." So it was the Lord who heard. It was the Lord who looked. It was the Lord who brought them out. It was the Lord who brought them in. What are you confessing? Everything is of God. You know what Jonah 2 verse 9 says? "Salvation is of the Lord."

Israel could not deliver herself. You could not save yourself. You could not help save yourself. Deliverance is of the Lord. You know what the Apostle Paul said in Galatians 1 verse 15? Let me just quote him. He said, "When it pleased God, when it pleased God who separated me from my mother's womb and called me by His grace." Now, when was Paul converted? When it pleased God to convert him. When were you converted? When it pleased God to convert you.

You see, the Bible teaches what is known as monergism. That is, that God alone works in salvation. It was God who smote Egypt. It was God who smote the false gods of Egypt. It was God who brought the Israelites out of Egypt. It was God who sustained them through the wilderness. It was God who brought them into the land. And here they are bringing their tithes and their offerings, and the first thing they do is recognize the sovereignty of God, and the second thing they do is they realize the sovereignty of His grace. In other words, we are what we are only by the grace of God.

Tithing and offering our gifts demonstrates that we're acknowledging and confessing that simple truth. Or we could say it like the Apostle Paul said it in 1 Corinthians 15 and verse 10.

Scripture Reading — 1 Corinthians 15:10

"By the grace of God, I am what I am."

Let me ask you a question. Why are you converted? Why do you have the knowledge that you have? Why are you associated with people who believe the truth? I'll tell you why. Because by the grace of God, you are what you are. It was God who saved you. It was God who gave you the gifts. It was God who gave you the knowledge. It was God who gave you the understanding.

Now I want you to understand something. Neither our tithes nor our obedience saves us. It is Christ who saves us. Our obedience and our tithing may be a manifestation and an acknowledgment and a confession that we realize that it is God who saves us. But our obedience does not save us, nor does it help save us. But I'll point out this. We are either redeemed by Christ, or we are left to destruction. It's just that simple. Have you ever wondered whatever happened to those other people that God left in Ur of the Chaldees? See what I'm saying? It's only by the grace of God we are what we are. So when we give our offerings, when we're tithing, we're acknowledging, first of all, and recognizing that God is sovereign. Secondly, it is a realization of the sovereignty of grace that it is God who heard us, God who saved us, God who brought us out, and God who brought us in.

Tithing as a Reality of the Sacredness of Worship

Tithing is an integral part of worship, done unto and before the Lord with rejoicing. Improper giving is a despising of God's name, as Malachi 1 shows.

Thirdly, in giving our tithes and offerings, there is a reality of the sacredness of worship. Look in verses 10 and 11. A reality of the sacredness of worship. "And now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land which thou, O Lord, hast given me. And thou shalt set it before the Lord thy God and worship before the Lord thy God. And thou shalt rejoice in every good thing which the Lord thy God hath given unto thee, and in thine house thou, and the Levite, and the stranger that is among you." I want you to note that tithing and offering gifts are intimately and vitally connected with, and I might also add, are also an integral part of worship. You go in some churches and they will say, "Well, let us worship the Lord with our tithes and offerings." That's not just a saying. That is truth. What in the world were you doing? You were giving tithes and offerings, and he says in verse 10, "and worship before the Lord thy God." Note verse 10 if you would, "and thou shalt set it before the Lord thy God." First of all, I want you to note that worship is unto the Lord. He is the object of worship, and we are obligated to worship and adore Him who is the living God. So our worship, first and foremost, is unto the Lord. Secondly, it is before the Lord. Look in verse 10 again. He said, "I have brought the firstfruits of the land which, O Lord, Thou hast given Me, and Thou shalt set it before the Lord Thy God, and worship before the Lord thy God."

So worship is not only unto the Lord, it is before the Lord. That is, it is to be done in His presence with His approval. Now watch. Worship is not only unto the Lord and before the Lord. Worship also involves rejoicing in the Lord. Verse 11, "And thou shalt rejoice in every good thing which the Lord thy God hath given unto thee." Why? Because I'm going to show you that when we tithe, it's just a mere representation of every good thing which God has given unto us. So what we're doing, we are rejoicing in everything that God has given unto us. He said, "And thou shalt rejoice in every good thing which the Lord thy God hath given unto thee, and in thine house thou, and the Levite, and the stranger that is among you." So worship, then, involves rejoicing before the Lord for all that He has done for us, for our family, and for our friends as well. You see, since God is the object of worship, He alone is the author of worship, and it must be accomplished upon the terms which God has ordained.

Now what does God say in John 4, verse 24? That

Scripture Reading — John 4:24

"God is Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth."

Now, I'm going to skip a lot of verses because I could show you the reality of worship in a lot of ways. First of all, if you want to look them up later, you can look in Isaiah 1, verses 11-15. You can also look in Amos 5, verses 21-23, where God says, "I hate, I despise, I will not accept your worship." That is because the worship was not from the heart. But I want you to look in your Bibles to Malachi chapter 1 because I want you to see the offerings and the giving is intimately connected here with the worship of God. Now I want you to note what he says. The last book in the Old Testament, the book of Malachi. Malachi chapter 1. And let's look at verses 6 and 8 first of all. 6 and 8. Watch carefully. Malachi 1, verse 6: "A son honoreth his father, and a servant his master." Now look at God's question. "If I be a father, where is mine honor? If I be a master, where is my fear, saith the Lord of hosts, unto you, O priest, that despise my name?

And you say, Wherein have we despised thy name?" In other words, "God, where have we mocked you? Where have we blasphemed you? Where have we despised your name?" Here's how, verse 7: "You offer polluted bread upon mine altar, and you say, Where did we pollute thee? In that you say, The table of the Lord is contemptible." Watch now. "And if you offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? And if you offer the lame and the sick, is it not evil? Offer it now to thy governor. Will he be pleased with thee and accept thy person, saith the Lord of hosts?"

Now what were these people doing? They were giving to God the lame, the sick, the worst. God said, "Do you think I'm going to take that at your hand? That's nothing more than a despising of me. I'm not going to receive that." He said, "If you don't believe that, invite your governor over for a meal. Set before him a big piece of steak with a big green blob in the middle of it. See if he'll eat it. See if he'll appreciate the steak that you provided for him. No," said God. "You're not going to give me that stuff." Skip down, if you would please, to verse 13. "You said also, Behold, what a weariness is it! You have snuffed at it, saith the Lord of hosts. You brought that which was torn, and the lame, and the sick. Thus you brought an offering. Should I accept this at your hands, saith the Lord?" Now watch. "But cursed be the deceiver which hath in his flock a male, and voweth and sacrificeth unto the Lord a corrupt thing, for I am a great king, saith the Lord of hosts, and my name is dreadful among the heathen." God said, "If you think you're going to run in fifteen minutes late with a quarter in one hand and a quarterly in the other hand and please me, you're mistaken."

Now, when we offer our tithes and our offerings, we understand the reality of worship, because Malachi has direct reference as to what we bring before the Lord. Now, listen to this statement, folks. It is true. I'm sorry, but it's true. When one does not tithe and offer his gifts aright, he does not worship aright. And when one withholds God's taxes, he not only robs God, he mocks God. "Wherein have we despised thy name?" Because, I'll tell you, you despised me in giving me that which is poor and second-rate. You know, I've told you this in time past. But this really happened. It really happened to a friend of mine. He was a missionary in a foreign country. And he got a notice in his mailbox that he had a package there with customs due. So he went down to the post office and he did not recognize the name. He didn't know what was in the box. And so he had to pay something like 20 or 30 bucks postage and customs due to get the package. And when he got the package and opened it, some sweet little lady in the States had sent him a box of used tea bags. He could have bought four or five boxes of good tea bags where he was for the money that he spent on it.

But what is the mentality of people? We're going to give the Lord that which is left over. We're going to give the Lord that which is sick. No, said God, "I am a great king. And my name is dreadful among the heathen." God deserves the best. Not the worst. He deserves the most, not the least. So, when we tithe and offer our offerings, it's not only a recognition of God's sovereignty, a realization of the sovereignty of grace, it's God who saved us, there is also thirdly a reality of worship.

Tithing as a Reasonable Test of Obedience

God reserves the tithe as a test, similar to the tree in Eden. Faithfulness in tithing indicates faithfulness in other areas; failure is a transgression.

Fourthly, tithing is a reasonable test of and testimony of our obedience. Tithing is a reasonable test of our obedience and also of our testimony. Look back in your Bibles, Deuteronomy 26, verses 13 and 14. Deuteronomy 26, verses 13 and 14. A reasonable test. "Then thou shalt say before the Lord thy God." What are you going to say now? You've already been confessing some things. Here's something else you've got to say. "I have brought away the hallowed things out of mine house, and also have given them unto the Levite, unto the stranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all thy commandments which thou hast commanded me. I have not transgressed thy commandments, neither have I forgotten them. I have not eaten thereof in my mourning, neither have I taken away aught thereof for any unclean use, nor given aught thereof for the dead. But I have hearkened unto the voice of the Lord my God, and have done according to all that thou hast commanded me."

Now, I'm going to explain this in just a moment. But do you realize that God has the absolute right to test us? We do not have the right to test God. We are His creatures and He therefore may be pleased to issue or to give us a reasonable test of our obedience. Go back to the Garden of Eden. God created Adam and Eve and God put them in the garden and guess what God did? God graciously gave them every tree of the garden but one. God said, "You can have everything, just this one. This one is mine.

Please do not touch it. This is mine." Isn't that not reasonable? Look, God gave them everything. And He just reserved one thing to Himself. He said, "This is mine. Don't touch it." Folks, let me tell you something. God has the absolute right to say to us, "The tithes are mine. I reserve those to myself. Don't touch. You can do what you will with the rest of it.

I've given it all to you. I just reserve this small amount for myself. It is a reasonable test of our obedience. Now, what do they have to confess? "Lord, you told me to bring my hallowed things here. I've done it. Lord, You've told me not to eat anything in mourning or sorrow." Why? Because the law required joy and rejoicing. "Lord," He said, "I haven't done that. And Lord, You've told me not to give anything to the dead. Lord, I haven't done that. Lord, I have obeyed You." It is a reasonable test of obedience.

Now, I want you to look at verse 13. The latter part. Look what he says. When he brings the tithes and the offerings, "I have not transgressed thy commandments. Neither have I forgotten them." You know what a transgression is? It's sin. 1 John 3 and verse 4, the Bible says "sin is the transgression of the law." "Whosoever transgresseth the law committeth sin. Why? For sin is the transgression of the law." And here failure to tithe and failure to use those tithes the way God tells us is called a transgression. It's called a sin. Why would failing to tithe be called a sin or transgression? I'll tell you why. Because of Leviticus 27, verse 30, when God says, "The tithes are mine, saith the Lord."

They don't belong to us. They don't belong to the church. They belong to God Himself. I want you to also note that we cannot use the tithes for an unclean use. He had to say, "Lord, I haven't given anything for the dead. I haven't given anything in mourning." Neither can you and I take God's tithes and give them to apostate religions or apostate churches where the Word of God is not preached and taught. It is an unclean use of the tithe. That's why in 1 Kings 4, verses 42 and 44, which I've already covered in times past, the man came from Baal-shalisha and brought his tithes to Elisha, the man of God. He was not going to use those tithes in an apostate Israel where the golden calves were set up in Dan and Bethel. Now, according to verses 13 and 14, we may use the tithes then as a reasonable test and a reasonable measure of our obedience.

Why and how can that be? Well, let me just answer it like this. If a man is willing to be faithful and honest and honor God with his money, in all probability, he's going to be faithful and honest and honor God in other areas as well. Because that money is that which is the closest to our hearts. But a man who will be dishonest and dishonorable with God and fail to give God that which is His, he will also be dishonest and dishonorable in other areas of his life as well. You know, it seems to me our Lord said something like this in the New Testament. "He that is faithful in the few will be faithful in that which is the greatest. But he that is unfaithful in that which is the least is also going to be unfaithful in that which is the greatest."

So tithing and offering then is just simply a reasonable test of our obedience. God says, "Look, look at everything I've given you. And I'm just reserving this small little bit for myself. Don't touch it. Use it the way I tell you to use it." Same thing he told Adam. "You can have everything but this one tree." It's a reasonable test of our obedience. Notice fifthly, and I'm hurrying, but notice fifthly, tithing and offering offerings is a reliance upon God and His readiness to bless us. In verse 15, he says, "Look down from thy holy habitation from heaven and bless thy people Israel and the land which thou hast given us, as thou swarest unto our fathers, a land that floweth with milk and honey." When we tithe, when we offer offerings, we are expressing a reliance upon God and His readiness to bless us. Let me just quote part of 1 Samuel 2 and verse 30. God says, "He that honoreth me will I honor, saith the Lord.

Tithing as a Reliance on God's Blessing

Tithing expresses trust in God's promise to bless the faithful, not based on merit but on His grace. God honors those who honor Him.

And he that despiseth me shall be lightly esteemed." Now what did God say? God said, "If you honor me, I will honor you." Mark it down, folks, God will be no man's debtor. You cannot outgive God. You cannot be more gracious than God. God says, "Them that honor Me will I honor, saith the Lord. But if you despise Me, you will be lightly esteemed." Then in Psalm 101 verse 6, God says this,

Scripture Reading — Psalm 101:6

"Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land."

God is going to give particular attention to those who are faithful. Let me ask you a question. Suppose you have two sons. One was a drunkard, and a dopehead, and a whoremonger, and sorry as the day is long, wouldn't work, not fit for anything. And yet the other boy was loving, kind, obedient, a hard worker, honest, in every area tried to do what was right. Now if you were going to bless your sons, which one would you be more inclined to bless? Be honest with yourself. You know as well as I do, you're not going to give to the one that you know is a drunkard and whoremonger. It's going to turn around and throw it away.

You'd be foolish to do so. What does God say? "I'm going to honor those that honor me. Mine eye shall be upon the faithful of the land." You know what the Bible says in Proverbs 28 and verse 20?

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 28:20

"A faithful man shall abound with blessings."

Why shall a faithful man abound with blessings? Because God's eye are upon the faithful. And the fact is, if you honor God, God's going to honor you. Tithing is a reliance upon God. How can it be a reliance upon God?

Because when we tithe, what we're saying in essence is this, "Lord, you have blessed me in times past. You have blessed me here in the present. And Lord, in tithing, I'm trusting you to bless me in the future. I'm relying upon you. I'm trusting you." That's why Deuteronomy 28 verse 2, God said, if we obey Him,

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 28:2

"all these blessings shall overtake us."

Remember, I told you the word means to chase down, to run down and to overtake. God said, "If you obey me, you cannot outrun my blessings. They will chase you down and fall all over you." So when we faithfully tithe, we expect God's blessings. Now listen carefully, not because of our obedience, not because we've earned or merited those blessings, but because of God's promise. God has promised to honor those that honor Him in His grace, in His mercy. He's promised that His eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land and that "the faithful man shall abound with blessings." See? It's not based upon our obedience. It's based upon the promise of God.

Now, let me just try to rehash what I've given you because I've got one more point, and to me, it's one of the most important points in this message. I've already told you that in tithing, there's a recognition of God's sovereignty. There's a realization of God's sovereign grace. There's a reality of the sacredness of worship. There is indeed a seeking and a trusting of God to bless us. We realize that it is He who has blessed us in time past, so we're relying upon Him to bless us in the future.

Tithing as a Remembrance of the Covenantal Bond

Tithing avouches that God is our God and we are His people. God's acceptance of our tithes confirms His covenant with us, unlike offerings from the ungodly.

Moreover, it is a reasonable test of our obedience. I want you to watch this last point. Because in tithing, there is a remembrance of the covenantal bond that exists between God and His people. In tithing, there is a remembrance of the covenantal bond that exists between God and His people.

Now look in your Bibles to verses 16-19. Deuteronomy 26 verse 16: "This day the Lord thy God hath commanded thee to do all these statutes and judgments. Thou shalt therefore keep and do them with all thine heart and with all thine soul. Thou hast avouched the Lord this day to be thy God, and to walk in His ways, and to keep His statutes, and His commandments, and His judgments, and to hearken unto His voice. And the Lord hath avouched thee this day to be His peculiar people, as He hath promised thee, and that thou shouldest keep all His commandments, and to make thee high above all nations, which He hath made in praise, and in name, and in honor, and that thou mayest be an holy people unto the Lord thy God, as He hath spoken." Now, let's go to verse 16 first. Because I told you that sixthly, in tithing, there is a remembrance of the covenantal bond that exists between God and His people.

In verse 16, I want you to note that internal obedience is demanded as well as external obedience. In verse 16, He says, "This day the Lord thy God hath commanded thee to do these statutes and judgments, and thou shalt therefore keep and do them," note, "with all thine heart and with all thy soul." What is God saying? That our obedience must be heartfelt. There cannot be any worship with an empty, meaningless ceremony or ritual. Whatever we do must be heartfelt. It must embrace the totality of our being. You know, I've used this before. The Apostle Paul said, "for God loveth a cheerful giver." And I told you the word "cheerful" is the word hilaron. It's where we get our English word "hilarious." God loves a hilarious giver. So if we did pass an offering plate, which we don't do here, but if we did pass an offering plate, grudgingly threw in a $20 bill? Here's my question. Does God accept that as a sacrifice, as a gift on your part? No. Why?

Because you did not give it with your heart. You did not give it cheerfully. You did not give it willingly. You gave. But you gave it grudgingly and hesitatingly. You see what I'm saying? When God says, whatever we do in our worship, whether it's giving, whether it's singing, whether it's preaching, it is to be with the totality of our being.

Now, here's the part that I want to dwell on. Look at this. Verse 17. I want to tithe for no other reason than this. This one is sufficient. "Thou hast avouched the Lord this day to be thy God, and to walk in His ways and His statutes and His commandments and His judgments and to hearken unto His voice."

Now underline that word "avouched." You know what that word means? It means to affirm positively. It means to affirm openly. To acknowledge. To substantiate. To guarantee. In other words, when we tithe unto the Lord, recognizing He is the sovereign God, recognizing what we are by His grace and by His mercy, recognizing the reality of the sacredness of worship, that it is a reasonable test of our obedience, and that there is a relation that exists between God and His people, we are avouching. We are declaring positively. We are declaring openly. We are substantiating the fact that we are God's people. And that we will not just simply tithe in obedience to Him.

We will obey Him in the totality of His commands. Isn't that wonderful? Think what it means when a man will not tithe. But it doesn't end there. Now watch. Verse 18: "And the Lord hath avouched thee this day to be His peculiar people, as He hath promised thee, that thou shouldest keep all His commandments."

Now wait just a minute. I understand how in giving to God, in obedience to Him, I'm avouching, I'm declaring that He's my God. But now, in verse 18, the Lord avouches. He declares positively, openly, and is substantiating the fact that we're His people. How does God, receiving our tithes and our offerings, declare that we're His people? Well, I want you to look in your Bibles to the book of Deuteronomy 23, verses 17 and 18. Watch this carefully. Deuteronomy 23, verses 17 and 18. Verse 17: "There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor sodomite of the sons of Israel. Thou shalt not bring the hire of a whore or the price of a dog into the house of the Lord thy God for any vow, for even both of these are an abomination of the Lord thy God."

Now, all my life I have heard you're not supposed to sell dogs. The Bible forbids you to sell a dog. The Bible doesn't forbid you to sell a four-legged dog. It's the two-legged kinds the Bible condemns. And that's what God calls sodomites. He calls them dogs.

Now, look what He said. "There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor sodomite of the sons of Israel. Thou shalt not bring the hire of a whore or the price of a dog into the house of the Lord thy God for any vow, for even both of these are abomination of the Lord thy God." What is God saying? God said, "I want no offerings from whores and sodomites."

Now, are you listening to me? Why would God say that? Because they are living under what you and I would call an alien law system. They're not obeying God's law. God said, "To receive their tithes and offerings would be to recognize their alien law system and their ungodly lifestyle." God said, "I don't want it. I will not have it. I will not take it." So when we give God our tithes and offerings, and God receives them. What did He say?

Look in verse 18 again of Deuteronomy 26. Watch it. "And the Lord hath avouched thee this day to be his peculiar people, as he hath promised thee, and that thou shouldest keep all his commandments." God said, "I am receiving them, because you are in my law system, and I know that you are going to obey me in the rest of the areas that I command you." Nothing could be more beautiful than the closing section of this chapter. "Thou hast this day accepted Jehovah to be thy God, and to walk in His ways, and to keep His statutes, and His commandments, and His ordinances, and hearken unto His voice. And Jehovah hath accepted thee this day to be a people of possession to Him, as He hath told thee that thou shouldest keep all His commandments, so that God will exalt thee high above all the other people." What does he say? His people. When we tithe, we recognize He's our God. And we're obligated to keep all of His law. And when we receive our tithes, He's saying, "I'm acknowledging that you're My people and that you are going to obey Me."

Now, let me just give you one closing thought. The Kingdom of God is not a beggar's agency. The Kingdom of God is not a goodwill industry receiving second-hand leftover and worn-out goods. The Kingdom of God is the realm and the majesty of the Sovereign God of Heaven and Earth. Do you realize if all of God's people faithfully—I'm not talking about just all of this little group. I know this little group mostly does. But if all of God's people in this nation faithfully tithe to you, can you even conceive of how much money there would be to overthrow the powers of the wicked and to establish that which is right and holy and just?

Conclusion and Prayer

Weaver concludes that faithful tithing by all God's people would resource the kingdom, and he prays for faithfulness and forgiveness.

What God is saying is this, that tithing forces us to remember that we're covenantly engaged with God. We're covenantly bound to honor Him, His kingdom, keep His commandments. And in doing so, we're confessing that we're His people. When God receives our tithes and offerings, He too is acknowledging that we're His own, and His eyes are going to be upon us. And what did God say to the heathen? "He that toucheth thee, that is, toucheth any of God's people. He that toucheth thee, toucheth the apple of my eye." If you want to avouch, confess, openly substantiate that God is your God, one of the ways is by obedience and tithing. And then obedience in keeping all of His commandments. Let's pray.

Father, we thank You today for Jesus Christ, for the wonderful truth of Your Word. We thank Thee, Lord, that Thou hast indeed given us Thy Word. And Lord, we acknowledge that we are of Thy people. We are Thy handiwork. We are the sheep of Thy pasture. And we want to be faithful unto Thee, and avouch that Thou art our God, so that in Your grace and mercy, You may indeed avouch that we are Thy people. Forgive us of our sins, and help us to serve Thee with reverence and godly fear. In Thy name we pray, Amen.

Study Guide

Major Themes

Sovereignty of God

Summary: Tithing is a confession that God is the true owner and sovereign of the world, as taxation implies ownership and control.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'Sovereignty and taxation are inseparable because taxation is a claim to ownership... when God then claims the power to tax the world, He is at the same time claiming ownership and control of the world and is saying that I am indeed the Sovereign.'

Sovereignty of Grace

Summary: Tithing acknowledges that salvation is entirely by God's grace, not by human merit or lineage.

Evidence: Weaver explains, 'tithing not only is an acknowledgment and recognition of God's sovereignty, it is also a realization of the sovereignty of grace... we are what we are only by the grace of God.'

Worship and Giving

Summary: Tithing is an integral act of worship that must be done with a right heart; improper giving is a form of despising God.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'tithing and offering gifts are intimately and vitally connected with... worship... when one does not tithe and offer his gifts aright, he does not worship aright.'

Obedience as a Test

Summary: Tithing is a reasonable test of obedience, similar to the forbidden tree in Eden; faithfulness in money reflects overall faithfulness.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'God has the absolute right to say to us, "The tithes are mine. I reserve those to myself. Don't touch."... It is a reasonable test of our obedience.'

Covenantal Relationship

Summary: Tithing is a mutual avouching: we declare God is our God, and God declares we are His people, reinforcing the covenant bond.

Evidence: Weaver explains, 'when we tithe unto the Lord... we are avouching. We are declaring positively... that we are God's people... And the Lord hath avouched thee this day to be his peculiar people.'

God's Blessing on the Faithful

Summary: Tithing expresses reliance on God's promise to bless those who honor Him, not as a merited reward but as a gracious response.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'when we faithfully tithe, we expect God's blessings... not because of our obedience, not because we've earned or merited those blessings, but because of God's promise.'

Key Arguments

Taxation and Sovereignty

Summary: Since taxation is a claim to ownership, paying taxes to human governments while refusing God's tithe is a confession that those governments are sovereign over God.

Evidence: Weaver argues, 'How in the world could a man in good conscience pay taxes to the federal government or pay taxes to the state government and not pay God's taxes? Because taxation and sovereignty are inseparable.'

Ungodly Taxation as Theft

Summary: Taxation beyond God's law is illegitimate and constitutes robbery; supporting such taxation makes one a partaker with thieves.

Evidence: Weaver quotes Rushdoony: 'any man... who either supports taxation not authorized by Scripture, or who refuses to pay the taxes that are levied on man by Scripture, is a robber of God.'

Tithing as Confession of Grace

Summary: The confession 'A Syrian ready to perish was my father' shows that tithing is a declaration of total dependence on God's saving grace, not on ancestry.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'when you're giving those tithes, you're saying, "A Syrian ready to perish was my father. I have no standing before you."'

Worship Requires Proper Giving

Summary: Malachi 1 shows that offering the lame and sick is despising God; true worship demands giving God the best, not leftovers.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'God said, "If you think you're going to run in fifteen minutes late with a quarter in one hand and a quarterly in the other hand and please me, you're mistaken."'

Tithing as a Test of Faithfulness

Summary: God reserves the tithe as a test of obedience; faithfulness in tithing is a reliable indicator of faithfulness in other areas of life.

Evidence: Weaver argues, 'If a man is willing to be faithful and honest and honor God with his money, in all probability, he's going to be faithful and honest and honor God in other areas as well.'

Covenantal Avouching

Summary: Tithing is a mutual declaration: we avouch God as our God, and God avouches us as His people, confirming the covenant relationship.

Evidence: Weaver explains, 'when we tithe, we recognize He's our God... And when we receive our tithes, He's saying, "I'm acknowledging that you're My people."'

Scripture References

Deuteronomy 26:1-19

Context: The entire chapter is read and forms the basis for the sermon on the implications of tithing and firstfruits.

Psalm 24:1

Context: Cited to support God's ownership of the earth: 'The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof.'

Hebrews 1:3

Context: Mentioned to affirm Christ as the Maker and Upholder of all things, reinforcing God's sovereignty.

Psalm 50:18

Context: Quoted to show that consenting with thieves makes one guilty, applied to supporting ungodly taxation.

Jonah 2:9

Context: Quoted: 'Salvation is of the Lord,' to emphasize that deliverance is entirely God's work.

Galatians 1:15

Context: Paraphrased to illustrate that conversion happens when it pleases God, underscoring sovereign grace.

1 Corinthians 15:10

Context: Quoted: 'By the grace of God, I am what I am,' to summarize the realization of grace in tithing.

John 4:24

Context: Cited: 'God is Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth,' to define proper worship.

Malachi 1:6-8, 13-14

Context: Read to show that offering blemished sacrifices is despising God's name and that God deserves the best.

1 John 3:4

Context: Quoted: 'sin is the transgression of the law,' to define failure to tithe as sin.

Leviticus 27:30

Context: Cited: 'The tithes are mine, saith the Lord,' to establish God's ownership of the tithe.

1 Kings 4:42-44

Context: Referenced as an example of bringing tithes to a man of God rather than to apostate worship.

1 Samuel 2:30

Context: Quoted: 'He that honoreth me will I honor... and he that despiseth me shall be lightly esteemed,' to show God's response to faithfulness.

Psalm 101:6

Context: Quoted: 'Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land,' to indicate God's special attention to the faithful.

Proverbs 28:20

Context: Quoted: 'A faithful man shall abound with blessings,' to support the promise of blessing for tithers.

Deuteronomy 28:2

Context: Referenced to show that blessings will overtake those who obey, reinforcing reliance on God.

Deuteronomy 23:17-18

Context: Read to show that God rejects offerings from whores and sodomites because they live under an alien law system.

Zechariah 2:8

Context: Alluded to: 'He that toucheth thee toucheth the apple of my eye,' to show God's protection of His people.

Historical References

Rushdoony's Institutes of Biblical Law

Context: Weaver quotes a paragraph from Rushdoony on taxation and sovereignty, emphasizing that supporting unbiblical taxation makes one a robber of God.

Pliny and Strabo (historians)

Context: Mentioned to support the claim that Chaldea and Mesopotamia were once part of Syria, explaining the phrase 'A Syrian ready to perish.'

Important Quotes

Sovereignty and taxation are inseparable because taxation is a claim to ownership.

Significance: This is the foundational principle of the sermon, linking tithing to the confession of God's ownership and rule.

Therefore, any man, whether reprobate or Christian, who either supports taxation not authorized by Scripture, or who refuses to pay the taxes that are levied on man by Scripture, is a robber of God.

Significance: A strong statement from Rushdoony that Weaver uses to argue that tithing is a matter of acknowledging God's law over human taxation.

A Syrian ready to perish was my father.

Significance: The confession from Deuteronomy 26:5 that Weaver highlights as a realization of total dependence on God's grace, not on ancestry.

When one does not tithe and offer his gifts aright, he does not worship aright.

Significance: Connects tithing directly to the validity of worship, emphasizing that improper giving is a form of despising God.

God has the absolute right to say to us, 'The tithes are mine. I reserve those to myself. Don't touch.'

Significance: Frames tithing as a test of obedience similar to the forbidden tree in Eden, highlighting God's rightful claim.

Discussion Questions

How does the connection between taxation and sovereignty challenge the way we view paying taxes to human governments versus tithing to God?

Context: Weaver argues that paying taxes to the state while refusing God's tithe is a confession that the state is sovereign over God.

In what ways does the confession 'A Syrian ready to perish was my father' shape our understanding of grace in our giving?

Context: Weaver explains that this confession acknowledges we have no standing before God apart from His sovereign grace.

According to Malachi 1, what does offering God our 'leftovers' communicate about our view of Him, and how can we ensure our giving reflects His worth?

Context: Weaver uses Malachi to show that giving the lame and sick is despising God's name; God deserves the best.

Why is tithing described as a 'reasonable test' of obedience, and how does this test compare to the test in the Garden of Eden?

Context: Weaver compares the tithe to the forbidden tree, arguing that God reserves a small portion to test our faithfulness.

How does the concept of 'avouching' in Deuteronomy 26:17-18 deepen our understanding of the covenant relationship expressed through tithing?

Context: Weaver explains that tithing is a mutual declaration: we avouch God as our God, and He avouches us as His people.

What does it mean to rely on God's promise of blessing when we tithe, and how do we avoid viewing tithing as a transactional means to gain wealth?

Context: Weaver emphasizes that blessings come not because of our obedience but because of God's gracious promise.

Applications

Examine Your Confession of Sovereignty

Summary: Evaluate whether your tithing (or lack thereof) confesses that God is the true owner and sovereign, or whether your financial priorities acknowledge other authorities.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'when you fail to tithe, you're confessing that God is not the true sovereign, He is not the true owner, and He is not the true controller of the world.'

Give as an Act of Grace-Rooted Worship

Summary: Approach tithing not as a legalistic duty but as a joyful, heartfelt act of worship that recognizes you are saved by grace alone.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'tithing and offering our gifts demonstrates that we're acknowledging and confessing that simple truth... By the grace of God, I am what I am.'

Offer God Your Best, Not Leftovers

Summary: Ensure that your giving reflects the honor due to God as the great King, not giving Him what is second-rate or convenient.

Evidence: Weaver warns, 'God said, "If you think you're going to run in fifteen minutes late with a quarter in one hand and a quarterly in the other hand and please me, you're mistaken."'

Use Tithing as a Test of Overall Faithfulness

Summary: View your faithfulness in tithing as a barometer of your obedience in other areas, and repent where you have been unfaithful.

Trust God's Promise of Blessing

Summary: Tithe in reliance on God's promise to bless, not as a way to earn favor, but as an expression of trust in His gracious character.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'when we faithfully tithe, we expect God's blessings... not because of our obedience... but because of God's promise.'

Avouch Your Covenant Relationship

Summary: Through tithing and full obedience, openly declare that God is your God, and live in the confidence that He acknowledges you as His own.

Evidence: Weaver explains, 'when we tithe, we recognize He's our God... And when we receive our tithes, He's saying, "I'm acknowledging that you're My people."'

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T19:15:57Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T12:21:28Z

Clean Transcript

The Implications of God's Taxation

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

Well, let's open our Bible today to Deuteronomy 26, and we're going to be bringing the eighth and the final message in this short series on biblical wealth. Deuteronomy 26. And we're going to be reading the entire chapter, all 19 verses. Deuteronomy 26, beginning there with verse 1. Deuteronomy 26, verse 1. The message is entitled, "The Implications of God's Taxation." Implications of God's Taxation. Deuteronomy 26, verse 1: "It shall be when thou art come into the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and possesses it, and dwellest therein, then thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit of the earth, which thou shalt bring of thy land that the Lord thy God giveth thee, and shall put it in a basket and shall go into the place which the Lord thy God shall choose to place his name there. And thou shalt go unto the priest that shall be in those days and say unto him, I profess this day unto the Lord thy God that I am coming to the country which the Lord sware unto our fathers for to give us."
#1 | 0:00 to 1:16 | cleaned
"And the priest shall take the basket out of thine hand and set it down before the altar of the Lord thy God. And thou shalt speak and say before the Lord thy God, A Syrian ready to perish was my father. And he went down into Egypt and sojourned there with a few. And he became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous. And the Egyptians evil entreated us and afflicted us and laid upon us hard bondage. And when we cried unto the Lord God of our fathers, the Lord heard our voice and looked on our affliction and our labor and our oppression. And the Lord brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm with great terribleness, with signs and with wonders."
#2 | 1:17 to 1:56 | cleaned
"He hath brought us into this place, and given us this land, even the land that floweth with milk and honey. And now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land which thou, O Lord, hast given me. And thou shalt set it before the Lord thy God, and worship before the Lord thy God. And thou shalt rejoice in every good thing which the Lord thy God hath given thee, and in thine house thou, and the Levite, and the stranger that is among you. When thou hast made an end of tithing, all the tithes of thine increase, the third year, which is the year of tithing, hast given unto the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within thy gates, and be filled, then thou shalt say before the Lord thy God, I have brought away the hallowed things out of my house, and also have given them unto the Levite, unto the stranger, unto the fatherless, unto the widow, according to all thy commandments which thou hast commanded me."
#3 | 1:57 to 2:46 | cleaned
"I have not transgressed thy commandments, neither have I forgotten them. I have not eaten thereof in my mourning, neither have I taken away aught thereof for any unclean use, nor given aught thereof for the dead. But I have hearkened unto the voice of the Lord my God, and have done according to all that thou hast commanded me. Look down from thy holy habitation from heaven, and bless thy people Israel and the land which thou hast given us, as thou swarest unto our fathers, a land that floweth with milk and with honey. This day the Lord thy God hath commanded thee to do these statutes and judgments: Thou shalt therefore keep and do them with all thy heart and with all thy soul. Thou hast avouched the Lord this day to be thy God, and to walk in his ways, and to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and to hearken unto his voice. And the Lord hath avouched thee this day to be his peculiar people, as he hath promised thee, and that thou shouldest keep all his commandments, and to make thee high above all the nations which he hath made, in praise, and in name, and in honor, and that thou mayest be an holy people"
#4 | 2:47 to 3:51 | cleaned
"unto the Lord thy God as He has spoken." Now, in Deuteronomy 26, the first 11 verses deal with what is known as the Law of the Firstfruits. The remainder of the chapter deals with the Law of the Tithes. And I've pointed out there are basically three, the Levitical, the Poor, and the Rejoicing Tithe. Now, there is a distinction between the Law of Firstfruits, the Law of the Firstborn, and the Law of the Tithes. The offering of the firstborn and the offering of the firstfruits are closely connected with the tithes and constitute a symbolic offering of the whole, yet they are not synonymous. The tithes were in addition to the two offerings. However, all were taxes placed upon man's increase by God himself. Now, it is not my intent today to delve into the law of the firstborn, nor into the law of the firstfruits. I'm certainly not going to delve into the law of the tithe since I've already done that. What I want to emphasize today are the implications of God's taxation. Let me ask a question, and I want you to think about this because I'm going to answer this question for you.
#5 | 3:51 to 5:09 | cleaned
What is the real implication of the tithe? I should say, what are the real implications, because there's more than one. What are you actually confessing and acknowledging when you tithe? You could ask that a different way. You could ask, what are you confessing and acknowledging when you do not tithe? I want you to see the plain implications that are taught in Deuteronomy chapter 26. First of all, let me tell you that tithing is indeed a recognition of the sovereignty of God. Look in the first four verses. He says, "It shall be when thou art come into the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance and possesses it and dwellest therein that thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit of the earth which thou shalt bring of thy land that the Lord thy God giveth thee, and thou shalt put it in a basket, and thou shalt go unto the place which the Lord thy God shall choose to place his name there, and thou shalt go unto the priest that shall be in those days, and say
#6 | 5:10 to 6:19 | cleaned
unto him..." Now watch what you say. "I profess this day unto the Lord thy God. I profess this day unto the Lord thy God, that I am coming to the country which the Lord sware unto our fathers to give us." Note, "I profess."
#7 | 6:19 to 6:37 | cleaned
Now, the interesting thing is the word "profess" is exactly the same as "I confess." So when you brought the tithes, when you brought the offerings, you were actually making a profession or a confession. What were you confessing? What were you acknowledging? Well, the truth is you were acknowledging that God is sovereign. Why? Sovereignty and taxation are inseparable because taxation is a claim to ownership. Do you realize that God's power to tax demonstrates that He is the true owner and the true controller of the world? In other words, the claim of ownership is the claim of sovereignty. That's why the Bible says in Psalm 24, "The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and all they that dwell therein." That's why the Bible says in Hebrews 1 and verse 3 that Jesus Christ is the Maker and the Upholder of all things. So when God then claims the power to tax the world, He is at the same time claiming ownership and control of the world and is saying that I am indeed the Sovereign.
#8 | 6:37 to 7:55 | cleaned
So thus when we give to the Lord our tithes and offerings, we are confessing, we are professing that He is the true owner of this world, He is the true controller of this world, and He is the true sovereign of this world. Now, by implication, when you fail to tithe, you're confessing that God is not the true sovereign, He is not the true owner, and He is not the true controller of the world.
#9 | 7:56 to 8:27 | cleaned
Now, I want you to listen carefully to what I'm about to say. Because I want you to see the implication of this truth. The issue that confronts every individual is the issue of sovereignty. Let me say that again. The issue that confronts every individual is the issue of what you and I would call lordship or sovereignty. So the question is, is God the true sovereign? Is the federal government the true sovereign? Is the state the true sovereign? Is man the true sovereign? Now, let me show you the implication of these questions. What in the world is a man confessing when he will render to Caesar the tax that Caesar demands, but he refuses to honor and to render unto God the taxes that God demands? Now think about that. Who is he confessing and acknowledging is the true sovereign and the true owner and the true controller? How in the world could a man in good conscience pay taxes to the federal government or pay taxes to the state government and not pay God's taxes?
#10 | 8:28 to 9:55 | cleaned
Because taxation and sovereignty are inseparable. You see, all claims to sovereignty and all claims to the power to tax are either legitimate and lawful or they are illegitimate and unlawful.
#11 | 9:59 to 10:15 | cleaned
Now listen to this statement. Since all authority rests upon God and His Law Word, all claims of sovereignty and the power to tax that are over, above, and beyond God's Law Word are unbiblical, illegitimate, and unlawful. Doesn't that make sense? If God is the sovereign, anyone or anything that goes over and above and beyond God has to be unbiblical, illegitimate, and unlawful. You see, usurped, unbiblical, and ungodly taxation is nothing less than thievery and robbery.
#12 | 10:17 to 11:00 | cleaned
Look in your Bibles, if you would, to Psalm 50. I'm going to quote this verse just a little bit later. But look in Psalm 50 and verse 18. Look what God says about the wicked. I could quote this, but I want you to see it. Look at it. Psalm 50, verse 18. Look what God says. Psalm 50, verse 18: "When thou sawest a thief, then thou consentest with him, and hast been partaker with adulterers." Now, "when thou sawest a thief, thou consentest with him." That is, when you see someone doing what is wrong, and you do not stop him, or you do not try to stop him, or you just remain silent, thus is your consenting with him.
#13 | 11:02 to 11:44 | cleaned
That is, you're agreeing with him. If simply consenting to such makes one guilty, how much more guilt is added by framing and enforcing ungodly and unbiblical laws? Let me give you a quote from Rushdoony in his Institutes of Biblical Law. Listen to this short paragraph. Listen to what he said. "The issue of taxation rests squarely and absolutely upon the issue of sovereignty. Whoever is God is ruler, and whoever is the creature of God is his steward. Since man did not create himself, nor can he uphold the world by the word of his power, man is the created steward who is to serve the creator God of Scripture. God, not man, is the Lord. Therefore, any man, whether reprobate or Christian, who either supports taxation not authorized by Scripture, or who refuses to pay the taxes that are levied on man by Scripture, is a robber of God. He is a robber of God because he is either a partaker with thieves, Psalm 50 verse 18, who levy ungodly taxation, or he is a thief because he refuses to render to God that which is God's due.
#14 | 11:44 to 13:04 | cleaned
By so doing, he is denying that the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and they that dwell therein. He is denying that Christ is Lord. He is, in essence, committing the sin of Adam, for he is attempting to determine good and evil apart from the revealed law word of God." Did you hear that? Therefore, any man, whether reprobate or Christian, who either supports taxation not authorized by Scripture, or who refuses to pay the taxes that are levied on man by Scripture, is a robber of God. Why? Because sovereignty and taxation are inseparable. If God is the sovereign, he has the right to tax. If God is the sovereign, no one has the right to go beyond God's law. And when an individual will pay a state tax or a county tax or a federal tax and refuse to pay God's tax, by implication he is saying that that state or federal or county government is God and not God. Thus when you and I bring our tithes and our offerings to God, what we're saying is God is the true sovereign.
#15 | 13:04 to 14:38 | cleaned
He is the true ruler. He is the one who is in absolute control. So first of all, bringing our tithes and offerings is indeed a recognition of the sovereignty of God. Secondly, bringing our tithes and offerings is a realization of the sovereignty of grace. Look what I mean in verse 4, verse 5, we'll start there. Verse 5: "And thou shalt speak and say unto the Lord thy God, A Syrian ready to perish was my father.
#16 | 14:39 to 15:14 | cleaned
And he went down into Egypt and sojourned there with a few and became there a nation great and mighty and populous. And the Egyptians evil entreated us and afflicted us and laid upon us hard bondage. And when we cried unto the Lord our God of our fathers, the Lord heard our voice and looked on our affliction and our labor and our oppression. And the Lord brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with a great terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders. And he brought us into this place, and hath given us this land, a land that floweth with milk and honey."
#17 | 15:15 to 15:48 | cleaned
Now, tithing not only is an acknowledgment and recognition of God's sovereignty, it is also a realization of the sovereignty of grace. In other words, it is a realization that we are what we are only by the grace of God. I want you to go back to verse 5, because under this realization of the sovereignty of grace, I want you to note what he says in verse 5. He says, "And thou shalt speak and say before the Lord thy God, A Syrian ready to perish was my father." Now, please remember, here were Hebrews, here were Israelites, bringing their offerings and their tithes, and when they presented them before the priest, they not only confessed that God was the sovereign, they are now realizing the sovereignty of grace in that they had no standing before God in and of themselves. They said, "A Syrian ready to perish was my father."
#18 | 15:49 to 16:49 | cleaned
That is, they were not depending upon their ancestry. They were not depending upon their lineage, upon their deeds, upon their merits. You see, the truth of the matter is this. Our fathers were just as helplessly and hopelessly lost as we. Do you realize that the ancestors of the Hebrews were nomadic shepherds, either Syrians by birth as Abraham or as by long residence there as Jacob. Jacob lived 20 years in Paddan Aram, which is in Syria. In fact, it was Pliny and also Strabo, the historians, that said that Chaldea and Mesopotamia at one time were part of Syria, and although Abraham came from Ur of the Chaldees along with Sarah, they said back at that time that country was part of Syria.
#19 | 16:50 to 17:45 | cleaned
So when you're saying, "A Syrian ready to perish was my father," what are you saying? When God found Abraham in Ur of the Chaldees, was Abraham upright, godly, holy, a worshipper of God? No! He was a pagan! He was a heathen! He was an unbeliever! He did not find God. God found him. And God saved him, and God said, "Get out of the land unto the land which I will show thee." Thus, even Abraham had no standing before God in and of himself. He was a heathen and an idolater. And what you're saying is this. When you're giving those tithes, you're saying, "A Syrian ready to perish was my father. I have no standing before you.
#20 | 17:46 to 18:40 | cleaned
There's nothing in my lineage that can save me. Nothing in my genealogy that can save me. Nothing in my deeds and my merits. I have absolutely nothing in and of myself. What I am, I am only by Your sovereign grace. You came to me, and in mercy, You brought me out of my sins and brought me to Yourself." Notice secondly under this, they also realize that God alone is the Savior and the Redeemer.
#21 | 18:41 to 19:10 | cleaned
What am I talking about? Well, look in verse 6. They said, "...the Egyptians evil entreated us and afflicted us, and laid upon us hard bondage." Now watch verse 7. "And when we cried unto the Lord God of our fathers, the Lord heard our voice, the Lord looked upon our affliction," verse 8, "and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders, and He hath brought us into this land." So it was the Lord who heard. It was the Lord who looked. It was the Lord who brought them out. It was the Lord who brought them in. What are you confessing? Everything is of God. You know what Jonah 2 verse 9 says? "Salvation is of the Lord."
#22 | 19:11 to 20:01 | cleaned
Israel could not deliver herself. You could not save yourself. You could not help save yourself. Deliverance is of the Lord. You know what the Apostle Paul said in Galatians 1 verse 15? Let me just quote him. He said, "When it pleased God, when it pleased God who separated me from my mother's womb and called me by His grace." Now, when was Paul converted? When it pleased God to convert him. When were you converted? When it pleased God to convert you.
#23 | 20:03 to 20:39 | cleaned
You see, the Bible teaches what is known as monergism. That is, that God alone works in salvation. It was God who smote Egypt. It was God who smote the false gods of Egypt. It was God who brought the Israelites out of Egypt. It was God who sustained them through the wilderness. It was God who brought them into the land. And here they are bringing their tithes and their offerings, and the first thing they do is recognize the sovereignty of God, and the second thing they do is they realize the sovereignty of His grace. In other words, we are what we are only by the grace of God.
#24 | 20:40 to 21:17 | cleaned
Tithing and offering our gifts demonstrates that we're acknowledging and confessing that simple truth. Or we could say it like the Apostle Paul said it in 1 Corinthians 15 and verse 10. "By the grace of God, I am what I am." Let me ask you a question. Why are you converted? Why do you have the knowledge that you have? Why are you associated with people who believe the truth? I'll tell you why. Because by the grace of God, you are what you are. It was God who saved you. It was God who gave you the gifts. It was God who gave you the knowledge. It was God who gave you the understanding.
#25 | 21:19 to 22:10 | cleaned
Now I want you to understand something. Neither our tithes nor our obedience saves us. It is Christ who saves us. Our obedience and our tithing may be a manifestation and an acknowledgment and a confession that we realize that it is God who saves us. But our obedience does not save us, nor does it help save us. But I'll point out this. We are either redeemed by Christ, or we are left to destruction. It's just that simple. Have you ever wondered whatever happened to those other people that God left in Ur of the Chaldees? See what I'm saying? It's only by the grace of God we are what we are. So when we give our offerings, when we're tithing, we're acknowledging, first of all, and recognizing that God is sovereign. Secondly, it is a realization of the sovereignty of grace that it is God who heard us, God who saved us, God who brought us out, and God who brought us in.
#26 | 22:11 to 23:44 | cleaned
Thirdly, in giving our tithes and offerings, there is a reality of the sacredness of worship. Look in verses 10 and 11. A reality of the sacredness of worship. "And now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land which thou, O Lord, hast given me. And thou shalt set it before the Lord thy God and worship before the Lord thy God. And thou shalt rejoice in every good thing which the Lord thy God hath given unto thee, and in thine house thou, and the Levite, and the stranger that is among you."
#27 | 23:45 to 24:27 | cleaned
I want you to note that tithing and offering gifts are intimately and vitally connected with, and I might also add, are also an integral part of worship. You go in some churches and they will say, "Well, let us worship the Lord with our tithes and offerings." That's not just a saying. That is truth. What in the world were you doing? You were giving tithes and offerings, and he says in verse 10, "and worship before the Lord thy God." Note verse 10 if you would, "and thou shalt set it before the Lord thy God." First of all, I want you to note that worship is unto the Lord. He is the object of worship, and we are obligated to worship and adore Him who is the living God. So our worship, first and foremost, is unto the Lord. Secondly, it is before the Lord. Look in verse 10 again. He said, "I have brought the firstfruits of the land which, O Lord, Thou hast given Me, and Thou shalt set it before the Lord Thy God, and worship before the Lord thy God."
#28 | 24:28 to 25:40 | cleaned
So worship is not only unto the Lord, it is before the Lord. That is, it is to be done in His presence with His approval. Now watch. Worship is not only unto the Lord and before the Lord. Worship also involves rejoicing in the Lord. Verse 11, "And thou shalt rejoice in every good thing which the Lord thy God hath given unto thee." Why? Because I'm going to show you that when we tithe, it's just a mere representation of every good thing which God has given unto us. So what we're doing, we are rejoicing in everything that God has given unto us. He said, "And thou shalt rejoice in every good thing which the Lord thy God hath given unto thee, and in thine house thou, and the Levite, and the stranger that is among you." So worship, then, involves rejoicing before the Lord for all that He has done for us, for our family, and for our friends as well. You see, since God is the object of worship, He alone is the author of worship, and it must be accomplished upon the terms which God has ordained.
#29 | 25:40 to 26:58 | cleaned
Now what does God say in John 4, verse 24? That "God is Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth."
#30 | 26:58 to 27:08 | cleaned
Now, I'm going to skip a lot of verses because I could show you the reality of worship in a lot of ways. First of all, if you want to look them up later, you can look in Isaiah 1, verses 11-15. You can also look in Amos 5, verses 21-23, where God says, "I hate, I despise, I will not accept your worship." That is because the worship was not from the heart. But I want you to look in your Bibles to Malachi chapter 1 because I want you to see the offerings and the giving is intimately connected here with the worship of God. Now I want you to note what he says. The last book in the Old Testament, the book of Malachi. Malachi chapter 1. And let's look at verses 6 and 8 first of all. 6 and 8. Watch carefully. Malachi 1, verse 6: "A son honoreth his father, and a servant his master." Now look at God's question. "If I be a father, where is mine honor? If I be a master, where is my fear, saith the Lord of hosts, unto you, O priest, that despise my name?
#31 | 27:09 to 28:18 | cleaned
And you say, Wherein have we despised thy name?" In other words, "God, where have we mocked you? Where have we blasphemed you? Where have we despised your name?" Here's how, verse 7: "You offer polluted bread upon mine altar, and you say, Where did we pollute thee? In that you say, The table of the Lord is contemptible." Watch now. "And if you offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? And if you offer the lame and the sick, is it not evil? Offer it now to thy governor. Will he be pleased with thee and accept thy person, saith the Lord of hosts?"
#32 | 28:19 to 28:52 | cleaned
Now what were these people doing? They were giving to God the lame, the sick, the worst. God said, "Do you think I'm going to take that at your hand? That's nothing more than a despising of me. I'm not going to receive that." He said, "If you don't believe that, invite your governor over for a meal. Set before him a big piece of steak with a big green blob in the middle of it.
#33 | 28:53 to 29:21 | cleaned
See if he'll eat it. See if he'll appreciate the steak that you provided for him. No," said God. "You're not going to give me that stuff." Skip down, if you would please, to verse 13. "You said also, Behold, what a weariness is it! You have snuffed at it, saith the Lord of hosts. You brought that which was torn, and the lame, and the sick. Thus you brought an offering. Should I accept this at your hands, saith the Lord?" Now watch. "But cursed be the deceiver which hath in his flock a male, and voweth and sacrificeth unto the Lord a corrupt thing, for I am a great king, saith the Lord of hosts, and my name is dreadful among the heathen." God said, "If you think you're going to run in fifteen minutes late with a quarter in one hand and a quarterly in the other hand and please me, you're mistaken."
#34 | 29:21 to 30:15 | cleaned
Now, when we offer our tithes and our offerings, we understand the reality of worship, because Malachi has direct reference as to what we bring before the Lord. Now, listen to this statement, folks. It is true. I'm sorry, but it's true. When one does not tithe and offer his gifts aright, he does not worship aright. And when one withholds God's taxes, he not only robs God, he mocks God.
#35 | 30:17 to 30:49 | cleaned
"Wherein have we despised thy name?" Because, I'll tell you, you despised me in giving me that which is poor and second-rate. You know, I've told you this in time past. But this really happened. It really happened to a friend of mine. He was a missionary in a foreign country. And he got a notice in his mailbox that he had a package there with customs due. So he went down to the post office and he did not recognize the name. He didn't know what was in the box. And so he had to pay something like 20 or 30 bucks postage and customs due to get the package. And when he got the package and opened it, some sweet little lady in the States had sent him a box of used tea bags. He could have bought four or five boxes of good tea bags where he was for the money that he spent on it.
#36 | 30:54 to 32:18 | cleaned
But what is the mentality of people? We're going to give the Lord that which is left over. We're going to give the Lord that which is sick. No, said God, "I am a great king. And my name is dreadful among the heathen." God deserves the best. Not the worst. He deserves the most, not the least. So, when we tithe and offer our offerings, it's not only a recognition of God's sovereignty, a realization of the sovereignty of grace, it's God who saved us, there is also thirdly a reality of worship.
#37 | 32:20 to 33:00 | cleaned
Fourthly, tithing is a reasonable test of and testimony of our obedience. Tithing is a reasonable test of our obedience and also of our testimony. Look back in your Bibles, Deuteronomy 26, verses 13 and 14. Deuteronomy 26, verses 13 and 14. A reasonable test. "Then thou shalt say before the Lord thy God." What are you going to say now? You've already been confessing some things. Here's something else you've got to say. "I have brought away the hallowed things out of mine house, and also have given them unto the Levite, unto the stranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all thy commandments which thou hast commanded me. I have not transgressed thy commandments, neither have I forgotten them. I have not eaten thereof in my mourning, neither have I taken away aught thereof for any unclean use, nor given aught thereof for the dead. But I have hearkened unto the voice of the Lord my God, and have done according to all that thou hast commanded me."
#38 | 33:01 to 34:11 | cleaned
Now, I'm going to explain this in just a moment. But do you realize that God has the absolute right to test us? We do not have the right to test God. We are His creatures and He therefore may be pleased to issue or to give us a reasonable test of our obedience. Go back to the Garden of Eden. God created Adam and Eve and God put them in the garden and guess what God did? God graciously gave them every tree of the garden but one. God said, "You can have everything, just this one. This one is mine.
#39 | 34:12 to 34:52 | cleaned
Please do not touch it. This is mine." Isn't that not reasonable? Look, God gave them everything. And He just reserved one thing to Himself. He said, "This is mine. Don't touch it." Folks, let me tell you something. God has the absolute right to say to us, "The tithes are mine. I reserve those to myself. Don't touch. You can do what you will with the rest of it.
#40 | 34:53 to 35:30 | cleaned
I've given it all to you. I just reserve this small amount for myself. It is a reasonable test of our obedience.
#41 | 35:30 to 35:40 | cleaned
Now, what do they have to confess? "Lord, you told me to bring my hallowed things here. I've done it. Lord, You've told me not to eat anything in mourning or sorrow." Why? Because the law required joy and rejoicing. "Lord," He said, "I haven't done that. And Lord, You've told me not to give anything to the dead. Lord, I haven't done that. Lord, I have obeyed You." It is a reasonable test of obedience.
#42 | 35:40 to 36:07 | cleaned
Now, I want you to look at verse 13. The latter part. Look what he says. When he brings the tithes and the offerings, "I have not transgressed thy commandments. Neither have I forgotten them." You know what a transgression is? It's sin. 1 John 3 and verse 4, the Bible says "sin is the transgression of the law." "Whosoever transgresseth the law committeth sin. Why? For sin is the transgression of the law." And here failure to tithe and failure to use those tithes the way God tells us is called a transgression. It's called a sin. Why would failing to tithe be called a sin or transgression? I'll tell you why. Because of Leviticus 27, verse 30, when God says, "The tithes are mine, saith the Lord."
#43 | 36:07 to 37:00 | cleaned
They don't belong to us. They don't belong to the church. They belong to God Himself. I want you to also note that we cannot use the tithes for an unclean use. He had to say, "Lord, I haven't given anything for the dead. I haven't given anything in mourning." Neither can you and I take God's tithes and give them to apostate religions or apostate churches where the Word of God is not preached and taught. It is an unclean use of the tithe. That's why in 1 Kings 4, verses 42 and 44, which I've already covered in times past, the man came from Baal-shalisha and brought his tithes to Elisha, the man of God. He was not going to use those tithes in an apostate Israel where the golden calves were set up in Dan and Bethel. Now, according to verses 13 and 14, we may use the tithes then as a reasonable test and a reasonable measure of our obedience.
#44 | 37:01 to 38:14 | cleaned
Why and how can that be? Well, let me just answer it like this. If a man is willing to be faithful and honest and honor God with his money, in all probability, he's going to be faithful and honest and honor God in other areas as well. Because that money is that which is the closest to our hearts. But a man who will be dishonest and dishonorable with God and fail to give God that which is His, he will also be dishonest and dishonorable in other areas of his life as well. You know, it seems to me our Lord said something like this in the New Testament. "He that is faithful in the few will be faithful in that which is the greatest. But he that is unfaithful in that which is the least is also going to be unfaithful in that which is the greatest."
#45 | 38:17 to 39:19 | cleaned
So tithing and offering then is just simply a reasonable test of our obedience. God says, "Look, look at everything I've given you. And I'm just reserving this small little bit for myself. Don't touch it. Use it the way I tell you to use it." Same thing he told Adam. "You can have everything but this one tree." It's a reasonable test of our obedience. Notice fifthly, and I'm hurrying, but notice fifthly, tithing and offering offerings is a reliance upon God and His readiness to bless us. In verse 15, he says, "Look down from thy holy habitation from heaven and bless thy people Israel and the land which thou hast given us, as thou swarest unto our fathers, a land that floweth with milk and honey." When we tithe, when we offer offerings, we are expressing a reliance upon God and His readiness to bless us. Let me just quote part of 1 Samuel 2 and verse 30. God says, "He that honoreth me will I honor, saith the Lord.
#46 | 39:19 to 40:44 | cleaned
And he that despiseth me shall be lightly esteemed." Now what did God say? God said, "If you honor me, I will honor you." Mark it down, folks, God will be no man's debtor. You cannot outgive God. You cannot be more gracious than God. God says, "Them that honor Me will I honor, saith the Lord. But if you despise Me, you will be lightly esteemed." Then in Psalm 101 verse 6, God says this, "Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land." God is going to give particular attention to those who are faithful.
#47 | 40:46 to 41:29 | cleaned
Let me ask you a question. Suppose you have two sons. One was a drunkard, and a dopehead, and a whoremonger, and sorry as the day is long, wouldn't work, not fit for anything. And yet the other boy was loving, kind, obedient, a hard worker, honest, in every area tried to do what was right. Now if you were going to bless your sons, which one would you be more inclined to bless? Be honest with yourself. You know as well as I do, you're not going to give to the one that you know is a drunkard and whoremonger. It's going to turn around and throw it away.
#48 | 41:29 to 42:19 | cleaned
You'd be foolish to do so. What does God say? "I'm going to honor those that honor me. Mine eye shall be upon the faithful of the land." You know what the Bible says in Proverbs 28 and verse 20? "A faithful man shall abound with blessings." Why shall a faithful man abound with blessings? Because God's eye are upon the faithful. And the fact is, if you honor God, God's going to honor you. Tithing is a reliance upon God. How can it be a reliance upon God?
#49 | 42:20 to 42:54 | cleaned
Because when we tithe, what we're saying in essence is this, "Lord, you have blessed me in times past. You have blessed me here in the present. And Lord, in tithing, I'm trusting you to bless me in the future. I'm relying upon you. I'm trusting you." That's why Deuteronomy 28 verse 2, God said, if we obey Him, "all these blessings shall overtake us." Remember, I told you the word means to chase down, to run down and to overtake. God said, "If you obey me, you cannot outrun my blessings. They will chase you down and fall all over you." So when we faithfully tithe, we expect God's blessings. Now listen carefully, not because of our obedience, not because we've earned or merited those blessings, but because of God's promise. God has promised to honor those that honor Him in His grace, in His mercy. He's promised that His eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land and that "the faithful man shall abound with blessings." See? It's not based upon our obedience. It's based upon the promise of God.
#50 | 42:54 to 44:12 | cleaned
Now, let me just try to rehash what I've given you because I've got one more point, and to me, it's one of the most important points in this message. I've already told you that in tithing, there's a recognition of God's sovereignty. There's a realization of God's sovereign grace. There's a reality of the sacredness of worship. There is indeed a seeking and a trusting of God to bless us. We realize that it is He who has blessed us in time past, so we're relying upon Him to bless us in the future.
#51 | 44:13 to 44:55 | cleaned
Moreover, it is a reasonable test of our obedience. I want you to watch this last point. Because in tithing, there is a remembrance of the covenantal bond that exists between God and His people. In tithing, there is a remembrance of the covenantal bond that exists between God and His people.
#52 | 44:55 to 45:30 | cleaned
Now look in your Bibles to verses 16-19. Deuteronomy 26 verse 16: "This day the Lord thy God hath commanded thee to do all these statutes and judgments. Thou shalt therefore keep and do them with all thine heart and with all thine soul. Thou hast avouched the Lord this day to be thy God, and to walk in His ways, and to keep His statutes, and His commandments, and His judgments, and to hearken unto His voice. And the Lord hath avouched thee this day to be His peculiar people, as He hath promised thee, and that thou shouldest keep all His commandments, and to make thee high above all nations, which He hath made in praise, and in name, and in honor, and that thou mayest be an holy people unto the Lord thy God, as He hath spoken." Now, let's go to verse 16 first. Because I told you that sixthly, in tithing, there is a remembrance of the covenantal bond that exists between God and His people.
#53 | 45:34 to 46:37 | cleaned
In verse 16, I want you to note that internal obedience is demanded as well as external obedience. In verse 16, He says, "This day the Lord thy God hath commanded thee to do these statutes and judgments, and thou shalt therefore keep and do them," note, "with all thine heart and with all thy soul." What is God saying? That our obedience must be heartfelt. There cannot be any worship with an empty, meaningless ceremony or ritual. Whatever we do must be heartfelt. It must embrace the totality of our being.
#54 | 46:37 to 47:23 | cleaned
You know, I've used this before. The Apostle Paul said, "for God loveth a cheerful giver." And I told you the word "cheerful" is the word hilaron. It's where we get our English word "hilarious." God loves a hilarious giver. So if we did pass an offering plate, which we don't do here, but if we did pass an offering plate, grudgingly threw in a $20 bill? Here's my question. Does God accept that as a sacrifice, as a gift on your part? No. Why?
#55 | 47:25 to 47:56 | cleaned
Because you did not give it with your heart. You did not give it cheerfully. You did not give it willingly. You gave. But you gave it grudgingly and hesitatingly. You see what I'm saying? When God says, whatever we do in our worship, whether it's giving, whether it's singing, whether it's preaching, it is to be with the totality of our being.
#56 | 47:56 to 48:23 | cleaned
Now, here's the part that I want to dwell on. Look at this. Verse 17. I want to tithe for no other reason than this. This one is sufficient. "Thou hast avouched the Lord this day to be thy God, and to walk in His ways and His statutes and His commandments and His judgments and to hearken unto His voice."
#57 | 48:23 to 48:50 | cleaned
Now underline that word "avouched." You know what that word means? It means to affirm positively. It means to affirm openly. To acknowledge. To substantiate. To guarantee. In other words, when we tithe unto the Lord, recognizing He is the sovereign God, recognizing what we are by His grace and by His mercy, recognizing the reality of the sacredness of worship, that it is a reasonable test of our obedience, and that there is a relation that exists between God and His people, we are avouching. We are declaring positively. We are declaring openly. We are substantiating the fact that we are God's people. And that we will not just simply tithe in obedience to Him.
#58 | 48:51 to 49:49 | cleaned
We will obey Him in the totality of His commands. Isn't that wonderful? Think what it means when a man will not tithe. But it doesn't end there. Now watch. Verse 18: "And the Lord hath avouched thee this day to be His peculiar people, as He hath promised thee, that thou shouldest keep all His commandments."
#59 | 49:51 to 50:21 | cleaned
Now wait just a minute. I understand how in giving to God, in obedience to Him, I'm avouching, I'm declaring that He's my God. But now, in verse 18, the Lord avouches. He declares positively, openly, and is substantiating the fact that we're His people. How does God, receiving our tithes and our offerings, declare that we're His people? Well, I want you to look in your Bibles to the book of Deuteronomy 23, verses 17 and 18. Watch this carefully. Deuteronomy 23, verses 17 and 18. Verse 17: "There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor sodomite of the sons of Israel. Thou shalt not bring the hire of a whore or the price of a dog into the house of the Lord thy God for any vow, for even both of these are an abomination of the Lord thy God."
#60 | 50:21 to 51:44 | cleaned
Now, all my life I have heard you're not supposed to sell dogs. The Bible forbids you to sell a dog. The Bible doesn't forbid you to sell a four-legged dog. It's the two-legged kinds the Bible condemns. And that's what God calls sodomites. He calls them dogs.
#61 | 51:46 to 52:05 | cleaned
Now, look what He said. "There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor sodomite of the sons of Israel. Thou shalt not bring the hire of a whore or the price of a dog into the house of the Lord thy God for any vow, for even both of these are abomination of the Lord thy God." What is God saying? God said, "I want no offerings from whores and sodomites."
#62 | 52:06 to 52:31 | cleaned
Now, are you listening to me? Why would God say that? Because they are living under what you and I would call an alien law system. They're not obeying God's law. God said, "To receive their tithes and offerings would be to recognize their alien law system and their ungodly lifestyle." God said, "I don't want it. I will not have it. I will not take it." So when we give God our tithes and offerings, and God receives them. What did He say?
#63 | 52:36 to 53:21 | cleaned
Look in verse 18 again of Deuteronomy 26. Watch it. "And the Lord hath avouched thee this day to be his peculiar people, as he hath promised thee, and that thou shouldest keep all his commandments." God said, "I am receiving them, because you are in my law system, and I know that you are going to obey me in the rest of the areas that I command you." Nothing could be more beautiful than the closing section of this chapter. "Thou hast this day accepted Jehovah to be thy God, and to walk in His ways, and to keep His statutes, and His commandments, and His ordinances, and hearken unto His voice. And Jehovah hath accepted thee this day to be a people of possession to Him, as He hath told thee that thou shouldest keep all His commandments, so that God will exalt thee high above all the other people." What does he say? His people. When we tithe, we recognize He's our God. And we're obligated to keep all of His law. And when we receive our tithes, He's saying, "I'm acknowledging that you're My people and that you are going to obey Me."
#64 | 53:22 to 54:42 | cleaned
Now, let me just give you one closing thought. The Kingdom of God is not a beggar's agency. The Kingdom of God is not a goodwill industry receiving second-hand leftover and worn-out goods. The Kingdom of God is the realm and the majesty of the Sovereign God of Heaven and Earth. Do you realize if all of God's people faithfully—I'm not talking about just all of this little group. I know this little group mostly does. But if all of God's people in this nation faithfully tithe to you, can you even conceive of how much money there would be to overthrow the powers of the wicked and to establish that which is right and holy and just?
#65 | 54:43 to 55:52 | cleaned
What God is saying is this, that tithing forces us to remember that we're covenantly engaged with God. We're covenantly bound to honor Him, His kingdom, keep His commandments. And in doing so, we're confessing that we're His people. When God receives our tithes and offerings, He too is acknowledging that we're His own, and His eyes are going to be upon us. And what did God say to the heathen? "He that toucheth thee, that is, toucheth any of God's people. He that toucheth thee, toucheth the apple of my eye." If you want to avouch, confess, openly substantiate that God is your God, one of the ways is by obedience and tithing. And then obedience in keeping all of His commandments. Let's pray.
#66 | 55:56 to 57:10 | cleaned
Father, we thank You today for Jesus Christ, for the wonderful truth of Your Word. We thank Thee, Lord, that Thou hast indeed given us Thy Word. And Lord, we acknowledge that we are of Thy people. We are Thy handiwork. We are the sheep of Thy pasture. And we want to be faithful unto Thee, and avouch that Thou art our God, so that in Your grace and mercy, You may indeed avouch that we are Thy people.
#67 | 57:11 to 57:48 | cleaned
Forgive us of our sins, and help us to serve Thee with reverence and godly fear. In Thy name we pray, Amen.
#68 | 57:49 to 57:58 | cleaned

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T19:15:57Z

The Implications of God's Taxation

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

In this final message on biblical wealth, John Weaver examines Deuteronomy 26 to draw out the implications of God's taxation through tithing and offerings. He argues that tithing is a recognition of God's sovereignty, a realization of the sovereignty of grace, a reality of sacred worship, a reasonable test of obedience, a reliance on God's blessing, and a remembrance of the covenantal bond between God and His people. Conversely, failure to tithe is a denial of God's ownership and lordship. The sermon emphasizes that tithing is an act of worship and a confession of faith, not a means of salvation.

Introduction and Reading of Deuteronomy 26

Weaver introduces the final message on biblical wealth, reads Deuteronomy 26, and distinguishes between the law of firstfruits and the law of tithes, focusing on the implications of God's taxation.

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 26:1-19

"It shall be when thou art come into the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and possesses it, and dwellest therein, then thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit of the earth, which thou shalt bring of thy land that the Lord thy God giveth thee, and shall put it in a basket and shall go into the place which the Lord thy God shall choose to place his name there. And thou shalt go unto the priest that shall be in those days and say unto him, I profess this day unto the Lord thy God that I am coming to the country which the Lord sware unto our fathers for to give us." "And the priest shall take the basket out of thine hand and set it down before the altar of the Lord thy God. And thou shalt speak and say before the Lord thy God, A Syrian ready to perish was my father. And he went down into Egypt and sojourned there with a few. And he became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous. And the Egyptians evil entreated us and afflicted us and laid upon us hard bondage. And when we cried unto the Lord God of our fathers, the Lord heard our voice and looked on our affliction and our labor and our oppression. And the Lord brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm with great terribleness, with signs and with wonders." "He hath brought us into this place, and given us this land, even the land that floweth with milk and honey. And now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land which thou, O Lord, hast given me. And thou shalt set it before the Lord thy God, and worship before the Lord thy God. And thou shalt rejoice in every good thing which the Lord thy God hath given thee, and in thine house thou, and the Levite, and the stranger that is among you. When thou hast made an end of tithing, all the tithes of thine increase, the third year, which is the year of tithing, hast given unto the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within thy gates, and be filled, then thou shalt say before the Lord thy God, I have brought away the hallowed things out of my house, and also have given them unto the Levite, unto the stranger, unto the fatherless, unto the widow, according to all thy commandments which thou hast commanded me." "I have not transgressed thy commandments, neither have I forgotten them. I have not eaten thereof in my mourning, neither have I taken away aught thereof for any unclean use, nor given aught thereof for the dead. But I have hearkened unto the voice of the Lord my God, and have done according to all that thou hast commanded me. Look down from thy holy habitation from heaven, and bless thy people Israel and the land which thou hast given us, as thou swarest unto our fathers, a land that floweth with milk and with honey. This day the Lord thy God hath commanded thee to do these statutes and judgments: Thou shalt therefore keep and do them with all thy heart and with all thy soul. Thou hast avouched the Lord this day to be thy God, and to walk in his ways, and to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and to hearken unto his voice. And the Lord hath avouched thee this day to be his peculiar people, as he hath promised thee, and that thou shouldest keep all his commandments, and to make thee high above all the nations which he hath made, in praise, and in name, and in honor, and that thou mayest be an holy people" "unto the Lord thy God as He has spoken."

Tithing as a Recognition of God's Sovereignty

Tithing confesses that God is the true owner and controller of the world, as taxation implies sovereignty. Refusing to tithe while paying state taxes denies God's sovereignty.

Scripture Reading — Psalm 50:18

"When thou sawest a thief, then thou consentest with him, and hast been partaker with adulterers."

Now,

Scripture Reading — Psalm 50:18

"when thou sawest a thief, thou consentest with him."

That is, when you see someone doing what is wrong, and you do not stop him, or you do not try to stop him, or you just remain silent, thus is your consenting with him.

Tithing as a Realization of the Sovereignty of Grace

Tithing acknowledges that we are saved only by God's grace, not by ancestry or merit, as illustrated by the confession 'A Syrian ready to perish was my father.'

Tithing and offering our gifts demonstrates that we're acknowledging and confessing that simple truth. Or we could say it like the Apostle Paul said it in 1 Corinthians 15 and verse 10.

Scripture Reading — 1 Corinthians 15:10

"By the grace of God, I am what I am."

Tithing as a Reality of the Sacredness of Worship

Tithing is an integral part of worship, done unto and before the Lord with rejoicing. Improper giving is a despising of God's name, as Malachi 1 shows.

Now what does God say in John 4, verse 24? That

Scripture Reading — John 4:24

"God is Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth."

Tithing as a Reasonable Test of Obedience

God reserves the tithe as a test, similar to the tree in Eden. Faithfulness in tithing indicates faithfulness in other areas; failure is a transgression.

Tithing as a Reliance on God's Blessing

Tithing expresses trust in God's promise to bless the faithful, not based on merit but on His grace. God honors those who honor Him.

Scripture Reading — Psalm 101:6

"Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land."

You'd be foolish to do so. What does God say? "I'm going to honor those that honor me. Mine eye shall be upon the faithful of the land." You know what the Bible says in Proverbs 28 and verse 20?

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 28:20

"A faithful man shall abound with blessings."

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 28:2

"all these blessings shall overtake us."

Tithing as a Remembrance of the Covenantal Bond

Tithing avouches that God is our God and we are His people. God's acceptance of our tithes confirms His covenant with us, unlike offerings from the ungodly.

Conclusion and Prayer

Weaver concludes that faithful tithing by all God's people would resource the kingdom, and he prays for faithfulness and forgiveness.

The Implications of God's Taxation

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	9904125752
Subject	Covenant Theology
Course	Covenant Theology: Blessings, Curses, and Sanctions: The Hallelujah of Confession
Genre	Sermon
Date	2004-09-05
Dictation Name
Book	Book 052: Biblical Wealth — Chapter 8
Source Timed Segments	68

Lecture Guide

Outline

Introduction and Reading of Deuteronomy 26: Weaver introduces the final message on biblical wealth, reads Deuteronomy 26, and distinguishes between the law of firstfruits and the law of tithes, focusing on the implications of God's taxation.
Tithing as a Recognition of God's Sovereignty: Tithing confesses that God is the true owner and controller of the world, as taxation implies sovereignty. Refusing to tithe while paying state taxes denies God's sovereignty.
Tithing as a Realization of the Sovereignty of Grace: Tithing acknowledges that we are saved only by God's grace, not by ancestry or merit, as illustrated by the confession 'A Syrian ready to perish was my father.'
Tithing as a Reality of the Sacredness of Worship: Tithing is an integral part of worship, done unto and before the Lord with rejoicing. Improper giving is a despising of God's name, as Malachi 1 shows.
Tithing as a Reasonable Test of Obedience: God reserves the tithe as a test, similar to the tree in Eden. Faithfulness in tithing indicates faithfulness in other areas; failure is a transgression.
Tithing as a Reliance on God's Blessing: Tithing expresses trust in God's promise to bless the faithful, not based on merit but on His grace. God honors those who honor Him.
Tithing as a Remembrance of the Covenantal Bond: Tithing avouches that God is our God and we are His people. God's acceptance of our tithes confirms His covenant with us, unlike offerings from the ungodly.
Conclusion and Prayer: Weaver concludes that faithful tithing by all God's people would resource the kingdom, and he prays for faithfulness and forgiveness.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

Taxation and Sovereignty

Since taxation is a claim to ownership, paying taxes to human governments while refusing God's tithe is a confession that those governments are sovereign over God.

Weaver argues, 'How in the world could a man in good conscience pay taxes to the federal government or pay taxes to the state government and not pay God's taxes? Because taxation and sovereignty are inseparable.'

Ungodly Taxation as Theft

Taxation beyond God's law is illegitimate and constitutes robbery; supporting such taxation makes one a partaker with thieves.

Weaver quotes Rushdoony: 'any man... who either supports taxation not authorized by Scripture, or who refuses to pay the taxes that are levied on man by Scripture, is a robber of God.'

Tithing as Confession of Grace

The confession 'A Syrian ready to perish was my father' shows that tithing is a declaration of total dependence on God's saving grace, not on ancestry.

Weaver states, 'when you're giving those tithes, you're saying, "A Syrian ready to perish was my father. I have no standing before you."'

Worship Requires Proper Giving

Malachi 1 shows that offering the lame and sick is despising God; true worship demands giving God the best, not leftovers.

Weaver says, 'God said, "If you think you're going to run in fifteen minutes late with a quarter in one hand and a quarterly in the other hand and please me, you're mistaken."'

Tithing as a Test of Faithfulness

God reserves the tithe as a test of obedience; faithfulness in tithing is a reliable indicator of faithfulness in other areas of life.

Weaver argues, 'If a man is willing to be faithful and honest and honor God with his money, in all probability, he's going to be faithful and honest and honor God in other areas as well.'

Covenantal Avouching

Tithing is a mutual declaration: we avouch God as our God, and God avouches us as His people, confirming the covenant relationship.

Weaver explains, 'when we tithe, we recognize He's our God... And when we receive our tithes, He's saying, "I'm acknowledging that you're My people."'

Scripture References

Deuteronomy 26:1-19: The entire chapter is read and forms the basis for the sermon on the implications of tithing and firstfruits.
Psalm 24:1: Cited to support God's ownership of the earth: 'The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof.'
Hebrews 1:3: Mentioned to affirm Christ as the Maker and Upholder of all things, reinforcing God's sovereignty.
Psalm 50:18: Quoted to show that consenting with thieves makes one guilty, applied to supporting ungodly taxation.
Jonah 2:9: Quoted: 'Salvation is of the Lord,' to emphasize that deliverance is entirely God's work.
Galatians 1:15: Paraphrased to illustrate that conversion happens when it pleases God, underscoring sovereign grace.
1 Corinthians 15:10: Quoted: 'By the grace of God, I am what I am,' to summarize the realization of grace in tithing.
John 4:24: Cited: 'God is Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth,' to define proper worship.
Malachi 1:6-8, 13-14: Read to show that offering blemished sacrifices is despising God's name and that God deserves the best.
1 John 3:4: Quoted: 'sin is the transgression of the law,' to define failure to tithe as sin.
Leviticus 27:30: Cited: 'The tithes are mine, saith the Lord,' to establish God's ownership of the tithe.
1 Kings 4:42-44: Referenced as an example of bringing tithes to a man of God rather than to apostate worship.
1 Samuel 2:30: Quoted: 'He that honoreth me will I honor... and he that despiseth me shall be lightly esteemed,' to show God's response to faithfulness.
Psalm 101:6: Quoted: 'Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land,' to indicate God's special attention to the faithful.
Proverbs 28:20: Quoted: 'A faithful man shall abound with blessings,' to support the promise of blessing for tithers.
Deuteronomy 28:2: Referenced to show that blessings will overtake those who obey, reinforcing reliance on God.
Deuteronomy 23:17-18: Read to show that God rejects offerings from whores and sodomites because they live under an alien law system.
Zechariah 2:8: Alluded to: 'He that toucheth thee toucheth the apple of my eye,' to show God's protection of His people.

Historical References

Rushdoony's Institutes of Biblical Law: Weaver quotes a paragraph from Rushdoony on taxation and sovereignty, emphasizing that supporting unbiblical taxation makes one a robber of God.
Pliny and Strabo (historians): Mentioned to support the claim that Chaldea and Mesopotamia were once part of Syria, explaining the phrase 'A Syrian ready to perish.'

Important Quotes

Sovereignty and taxation are inseparable because taxation is a claim to ownership.

This is the foundational principle of the sermon, linking tithing to the confession of God's ownership and rule.

Therefore, any man, whether reprobate or Christian, who either supports taxation not authorized by Scripture, or who refuses to pay the taxes that are levied on man by Scripture, is a robber of God.

A strong statement from Rushdoony that Weaver uses to argue that tithing is a matter of acknowledging God's law over human taxation.

A Syrian ready to perish was my father.

The confession from Deuteronomy 26:5 that Weaver highlights as a realization of total dependence on God's grace, not on ancestry.

When one does not tithe and offer his gifts aright, he does not worship aright.

Connects tithing directly to the validity of worship, emphasizing that improper giving is a form of despising God.

God has the absolute right to say to us, 'The tithes are mine. I reserve those to myself. Don't touch.'

Frames tithing as a test of obedience similar to the forbidden tree in Eden, highlighting God's rightful claim.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

How does the connection between taxation and sovereignty challenge the way we view paying taxes to human governments versus tithing to God?

[Context]

Weaver argues that paying taxes to the state while refusing God's tithe is a confession that the state is sovereign over God.

[Question]

In what ways does the confession 'A Syrian ready to perish was my father' shape our understanding of grace in our giving?

[Context]

Weaver explains that this confession acknowledges we have no standing before God apart from His sovereign grace.

[Question]

According to Malachi 1, what does offering God our 'leftovers' communicate about our view of Him, and how can we ensure our giving reflects His worth?

[Context]

Weaver uses Malachi to show that giving the lame and sick is despising God's name; God deserves the best.

[Question]

Why is tithing described as a 'reasonable test' of obedience, and how does this test compare to the test in the Garden of Eden?

[Context]

Weaver compares the tithe to the forbidden tree, arguing that God reserves a small portion to test our faithfulness.

[Question]

How does the concept of 'avouching' in Deuteronomy 26:17-18 deepen our understanding of the covenant relationship expressed through tithing?

[Context]

Weaver explains that tithing is a mutual declaration: we avouch God as our God, and He avouches us as His people.

[Question]

What does it mean to rely on God's promise of blessing when we tithe, and how do we avoid viewing tithing as a transactional means to gain wealth?

[Context]

Weaver emphasizes that blessings come not because of our obedience but because of God's gracious promise.

Applications

Format deepseek deepseek-v4-pro structured study JSON | Source Commentary.net transcript enrichment

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T12:21:28Z