Are We Really Robbing God or Just Getting Robbed?

All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness,  in order that the person of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 (LEB)

Having been raised in evangelical denominations in the United States, I became accustomed to hearing a sermon about giving to the church about twice a year. It was often joked about to lighten the atmosphere, but like any organization, there has to be an income source for funding salaries, building costs, and the like. These are just some thoughts I have had on this subject over the years.

The cornerstone scripture used in every money-raising sermon comes from Malachi. I am sure every person who has attended an evangelical church for any length of time has been introduced to these verses in the Old Testament:

Malachi 3:8–10 (LEB): ⁸ Will a human dare to rob God? Yet you are robbing me! And you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In the tithes and the contributions! ⁹ You are being cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you! ¹⁰ Bring the whole tithe to the storehouse, so that there will be food in my house, and test me please in this,” says Yahweh of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven, and pour forth for you an overflowing blessing.

These verses work well to compel congregants in the twenty-first century to give more money to the church, and that they have been “robbing God” by not maximizing their giving. The rest of the book of Malachi is completely ignored because it would not be applicable to a church that does not believe that the instructions of God are still relevant today. I encourage everyone to read the entire book of Malachi, but here is a summary of these “robbing God” verses.

The God of Israel was angry with the Israelites for bringing maimed and sick animals for their offerings. They were saying that they were choosing the best animals for God, but in the end, sneaking in the lame and diseased ones to the temple. The offerings were consumed by the priests for their food, so this was not only a disservice to God, but it could also have put the health of the priests at risk.

Malachi 1:13–2:2 (LEB): ¹³ And you say, ‘Look! This is a weariness,’ and you sniff with disdain at it,” says Yahweh of hosts. “And you bring the stolen, the lame, and the one that is sick—this you bring as the offering! Should I accept it from your hand?” says Yahweh. ¹⁴ “Cursed is the one who cheats, who has in his flock a male and vows it, but instead sacrifices a blemished one to the Lord! For I am a great king,” says Yahweh of hosts, “and my name is awesome among the nations.”

The validity of the Levite priesthood is described along with some Messianic prophecies about God’s messenger coming before Him. The whole theme of the book of Malachi discusses how both the priests and Israelites have gone astray and that Yahweh is going to come and destroy all the evildoers. This is hardly a book about the modern-day church and tithing that enables them to make the parking lot larger or the building fund bigger.

Malachi 4:1–4 (LEB): “For look! The day is about to come, burning like an oven, and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble. The coming day will consume them,” says Yahweh of hosts. “It will not leave behind for them root or branch. ² But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise, with healing in its wings, and you will go out and leap like fattened calves. ³ You will trample down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day that I am going to act,” says Yahweh of hosts.⁴ “Remember the instruction of my servant Moses, which I commanded him at Horeb to all Israel, the rules and regulations.

These verses are never discussed alongside the earlier verses talking about “robbing God.” We rob both God and ourselves when we ignore His instructions and treat them with disdain. The one reminder given here is to “remember the instruction of my servant Moses.” This is directed to a future generation, such as ours. We are still to remember the instructions of Moses in light of “the day about to come,” when the evildoers will become stubble.

The irony is that modern-day churches, which use these verses from Malachi, are using them incorrectly. It is impossible to bring a tithe to a Levitical priestly system that has no temple. However, we can remember the instructions of Moses, which emphasized resting on the Sabbath and eating only the animals intended for food. These are very unpopular ideas in the modern church, yet they are drawing their tithing logic from the same source.

We get a glimpse of giving in the early church from a church leader named Tertullian in one of his letters to the Roman emperor, explaining the Christian attributes of that period.

The tried men of our elders preside over us, obtaining that honour not by purchase, but by established character. There is no buying and selling of any sort in the things of God. Though we have our treasure-chest, it is not made up of purchase-money, as of a religion that has its price. On the monthly day, if he likes, each puts in a small donation; but only if it be his pleasure, and only if he be able: for there is no compulsion; all is voluntary. These gifts are, as it were, piety’s deposit fund. For they are not taken thence and spent on feasts, and drinking-bouts, and eating-houses, but to support and bury poor people, to supply the wants of boys and girls destitute of means and parents, and of old persons confined now to the house; such, too, as have suffered shipwreck; and if there happen to be any in the mines, or banished to the islands, or shut up in the prisons, for nothing but their fidelity to the cause of God’s Church, they become the nurslings of their confession. But it is mainly the deeds of a love so noble that lead many to put a brand upon us.

Tertullian describes the money collected, “to support and bury poor people, to supply the wants of boys and girls destitute of means and parents, and of old persons confined now to the house; such, too, as have suffered shipwreck; “.

I commend churches that still use their congregants’ money this way. I suspect they are few and far between. I believe most of the money given goes to heating buildings that are empty ninety-five percent of the time and plowing parking lots to be used by the staff throughout the week and the congregation only on Sunday mornings. This is hardly a good use of money that is supposed to help the widows, orphans, and those who have suffered shipwreck. I have not yet discussed the thousands of dollars that have gone to private jets, theme parks, and large mansions for television evangelists. I have all their books from my parents’ donations, and they were mostly wrong about all the predictions of the future, and wrong about the lawless gospel they preach. It seems the whole model of the church has gone astray many years ago. We ignore the instructions given to Moses by the God we supposedly worship and at the same time use these instructions to manipulate people to give a considerable amount of money to unbiblical things. We should be able to ask for a refund to redirect the money to the people God told us to help.

There are examples in the New Testament of giving and following the instructions given to Moses by God.

Mark 12:38–40 (LEB): ³⁸ And in his teaching he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like walking around in long robes and greetings in the marketplaces ³⁹ and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets, ⁴⁰ who devour the houses of widows and pray lengthy prayers for the sake of appearance. These will receive more severe condemnation!”

In the book of Revelation, we are given a similar warning. There were people in the churches putting a stumbling block in front of Christians, as Balaam did to the Israelites, causing them to worship false gods with the festivals of Balak. We still see the syncretism today. He also warned of the Nicolaitans, who were likely similar to the Pharisees lording over the people. I suspect we do not know much about the Nicolaitans because it would point a finger at the people controlling Christianity for hundreds of years.

Revelation 2:14–16 (LEB): ¹⁴ But I have a few things against you: that you have there those who hold fast to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat food sacrificed to idols and to commit sexual immorality. ¹⁵ So likewise you also have those who hold fast to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. ¹⁶ Therefore repent! But if you do not, I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war with them with the sword from my mouth.

In the two letters to the Corinthian Church, Paul is petitioning the congregation for a special collection he is gathering for those in Jerusalem who have fallen on hard times. The Macedonians gave generously toward this cause, as did the Corinthians. There was likely famine and persecution for the believers in Jerusalem.

2 Corinthians 9:6–15 (LEB): ⁶ Now the point is this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. ⁷ Each one should give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or from compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. ⁸ And God is able to cause all grace to abound to you, so that in everything at all times, because you have enough of everything, you may overflow in every good work. ⁹ Just as it is written,

“He scattered widely, he gave to the poor;

his righteousness remains forever.”

¹⁰ Now the one who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will provide and multiply your seed, and will cause the harvest of your righteousness to grow, ¹¹ being made rich in every way for all generosity, which is producing through us thanksgiving to God, ¹² because the service of this ministry is not only supplying the needs of the saints, but also is overflowing through many expressions of thanksgiving to God. ¹³ Through the proven character of this service they will glorify God because of the submission of your confession to the gospel of Christ and the generosity of your participation toward them and toward everyone, ¹⁴ and they are longing for you in their prayers for you, because of the surpassing grace of God to you. ¹⁵ Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

An indulgence became money donated to the church to help reduce the temporal punishment for sin. In Protestantism, this has turned into a lawless gospel where one comes with a ten-percent offering and is told they do not have to keep any of God’s instructions (except for the misused verses discussed earlier in Malachi). All their sins, past, present, and future are “nailed to the cross.”

Romans 6:15 (LEB): ¹⁵ What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be!

John tells us how to define sin. Sin is now a religiously charged word that is better defined as not following the instructions of God. These are the instructions that He promised would bring life to those who did them and curses to those who do not. Is that not apparent today?

1 John 3:4 (LEB): ⁴ Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.

The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology tells us the religious meaning of the Greek word translated “lawlessness”:

The legal, ethical and religious meanings of nomos are inseparable in antiquity, for all goods were believed to come from the gods, who upheld order in the universe and in relations between men. Hence, the universal conviction, found throughout history, that law is linked to the divine—an idea which has persisted subconsciously even in periods when the purely human aspects of law have been emphasized (see below). The close interrelationship between the worship of the gods, the customs of the time and one’s duty to the state was expressed in the charge levelled at Socrates, namely that he failed to reverence the gods officially worshipped (nomizein) by the city, or at least that he did not worship them as everyone else did.

There is no doubt that John was referring to “the law of the divine” when he uses the word lawlessness for the definition of sin. This was not the law of the gods of the Greek polytheistic religion, but the one true God, who created the universe and gave His divine law to Moses and the ancient Israelites. John is telling us that ignoring the instructions of God is sin.

I believe that the modern church, as a whole, is mostly beyond saving at this point. We need to go back to meeting house to house to develop a community of believers that sheds all the expenses of buildings, staff, gimmicks, and frivolous spending. Also, we need to look at the Word of God in its entirety and act upon it.