We are continuing to answer the question—what function do individual church members serve in the church and the community? In week one, we found that the first step in facilitating worship to God is obedience to Him. Therefore, because God both desires and deserves our worship, we must strongly desire to understand the requirements of God for His worship. From this desire, we must endeavor to learn from the Scriptures the proper way to worship Him. “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15).

Today, we are going to dive into the Word of God to see the next step in facilitating proper worship to God—”the collection for the saints” (1 Cor. 16:1). If we are going to facilitate proper worship to God, this is an area that must be considered, because it takes money to sustain the work of a congregation of the Lord’s people, being that we are to always abound in the work of the Lord (1 Cor. 15:58). Under the law, the Israelites were required to offer a tithe, which is generally believed to be ten percent of all the Israelites owned, but because there was more than one tithe offered at different times of the year, that number was probably closer to 22 to 24 percent of the Israelites’ income.

There was the tithe that was purposed for the Levites’ livelihood. “Behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tithes in Israel as an inheritance in return for the work which they perform, the work of the tabernacle of meeting” (Numbers 18:21). The next tithe was that of the “festival tithe,” which was given to facilitate the different festivals and partaken of by the one who offered it and shared with the Levites (Deut. 14:22-27). Then, there was the “poor tithe,” which was offered every third year and was designed to provide for the poor. It was given to the Levites, foreigners, orphans, and the widows (Deut. 14:28-29). These tithes were not of volition, but they were required by God and when they were not willingly offered, the Israelites were said to have robbed God. “Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings” (Mal. 3:8).

Under the Christian law today, we are not commanded to tithe but to give as we have purposed in our hearts. “So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor. 9:7). Under the Mosaic law, it did not matter if their giving was purposed in their hearts or they gave grudgingly out of necessity, because they were simply commanded to give a certain percentage of their income. The Christian is not commanded to give a certain percentage but to love giving, not because we must, but because God loves a cheerful giver.

Just because we are to give as we purpose in our hearts does not mean that we cannot rob God today! If we are not laying aside as we have been prospered for the work of the Lord, then we can still rob God today! “On the fi rst day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come” (1 Cor. 16:2). This means if we have been well prospered (have a good paying job), God requires more in return. “But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more” (Luke 12:48). Christians live under a better covenant, which was established on better promises (Heb. 8:6). Therefore, our giving for the work of the Lord should be better and if it is not, then we run the risk of robbing God by not properly facilitating His worship.

Just something to consider.