Malachi 3:8

"Will a man rob God? yet ye rob me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings."

A proper appreciation and understanding of what Malachi taught here would prostrate many a Christian upon his knees in repentance. If God considered the non-payment of tithes, or the mere partial payment of them as "robbing God," what about millions of professed Christians who do not give as much to the work of God as they spend for soft drinks and tobacco? Any candid appraisal of what men are doing today must reach the conclusion that they have certainly not stopped robbing God!

CONCERNING THE TITHE

The tithe means "a tenth," that part of the year's harvest which was due to be paid for the support of the worship of God. It was holy unto the Lord (Leviticus 27:30-33). God had commanded it to be given, not because God needed to receive it, but because men needed to pay it. As for the question of whether or not a Christian is obligated to tithe his income, it appears to this writer that nothing less than this should be expected of every true child of God.

Yes, there are liberties in Christ that did not apply in the Law of Moses; yes, it's true that no specific regulation regarding the tithe is to be found in the New Testament; yes, it's true that many Christians boldly affirm that the old laws on tithing do not apply in the church. However, we are commanded to give "freely," and to give "liberally," and to give "as God has prospered us," etc. Therefore, we emphatically deny that giving less than a tenth can, by any stretch of imagination, be designated as giving freely and liberally, or as God has prospered us. The arrogant selfishness of God's redeemed people, as demonstrated by what they give, must be put alongside the example of those ancient Jews, and must be classified by the same words of Malachi. It is robbing God! (See further discussion of this subject in my commentary on Hebrews, pp. 144-146.)

It has already been noted that ethical and social morality flow downward and receive their motivation from a proper relation to God. Malachi had just enumerated some of the gross immoralities of the people; but in this passage he blasted the pinnacle of their sins. They were robbing God! When one deliberately robs his God and Creator, will he then be faithful to his wife? When one has already violated the highest obligation that the soul knows, will he then avoid swearing a lie, defrauding a neighbor, or swindling a sojourner out of his rights? Let a man honor his duties to God first, for only God is able to convince him of the sanctity of any lesser duty.

An illustration: This writer once performed the wedding ceremony for a lovely couple. The groom was a devoted Christian, faithful in every way. His bride was not religious, and she deliberately set out to change his religious life. Seven years afterward, and a number of years after her husband had drifted completely away from the church, that worldly little woman came desperately seeking help for the preservation of her marriage. Her husband had taken up with one of the girls at the office! She was patiently listened to and then told as tenderly as possible:

"Look, dear, when you took him away from his God and Saviour, you cut the bud out of his moral and spiritual life. Why should he be faithful to you, when he is not faithful to his God? Bring him back to Jesus; and then, but not before then, something might be done to save your home."

It is not a light thing when one of the Christian partners stops attending church. The wreck of the top of the structure of man's moral life will, in the process of time, usually be communicated downward, ultimately destroying all honor, virtue, and morality.