Monday, April 20, 2009

Jesus is the fulfillment of the Law (Tithing)

Jesus is the fulfillment of the Law



What makes our faith great is not how strong our faith is, but what we believe. What we believe is very important, for the power that drives our lives derives from what we believe. What we believe is a direct result of what we hear. I believe that correct doctrine is of utmost importance in having a stable relationship with God. Stability in our emotions can only be attained from stability in what we hear. Let’s have a look at a scripture that explains this truth.

Pro 4:20 My son, attend to my words; incline your ear unto my word.

Pro 4:21 Let them not depart from your eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart.

Pro 4:22 For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.

Pro 4:23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the power of life.

Pro 4:24 Put away from thee a forward (twisted) mouth, and perverse (deviating) lips put far from thee.



Let us see this as God speaking to us from a New Testament perspective. He states that we should incline our ears to HIS Word and stick to it without deviation. He also states that the power of life manifested in our lives is from the heart. I think it’s important to define the “heart of man” at this point. The heart of man is the belief system established in man, from where he functions. The belief system of man is powerfully influenced by what we hear and see. As believers we put a high regard on what is preached from the pulpit and what we read in the Bible. If what we hear from the pulpit is twisted and deviating from the basics of the Gospel (which I will explain) it will influence our hearts in a bad way and it will cause us to be driven by deadly and destructive emotions.

The basics of the Gospel: Jesus and what He has done on behalf of man, as the foundation of everything in our lives.

One of the most powerful deviations that I've seen in modern day churches, especially in Pentecostal and Charismatic circles, is robbing many people from the peace that Jesus came to give us, and is manifesting its deadly nature to the disadvantage of many..

We need to understand that Jesus is the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets. He is the substance of every type and shadow that is in the Old Covenant.

1. Col 2:16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the Sabbath days:

Col 2:17 Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.



2. Mat 5:17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.

Mat 5:18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one title shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.



Let’s have a look at how Jesus was the tithe and brought a blessing to all of man by what He did. For many years we have tried to apply the tithe principle outside the fact that it is also merely a type and a shadow of the true substance - which is the manifestation of Jesus and what He has done for and on behalf of us all.

I have found revelation in the type and shadow of the tithe.

MSG Translation



Deu 14:23 Bring your tithe into the Presence of GOD, your God, at the place he designates for worship and there eat the tithe from your grain, wine, and oil and the firstborn from your herds and flocks. In this way you will learn to live in deep reverence before GOD, your God, as long as you live.

Deu 14:24 But if the place GOD, your God, designates for worship is too far away and you can't carry your tithe that far, GOD, your God, will still bless you:

Deu 14:25 exchange your tithe for money and take the money to the place GOD, your God, has chosen to be worshiped.

Deu 14:26 Use the money to buy anything you want: cattle, sheep, wine, or beer--anything that looks good to you. You and your family can then feast in the Presence of GOD, your God, and have a good time.



KJV Translation



Deu 14:26 And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there before the LORD thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household,



We can see that the tithe was taken to the place of worship and then eaten by the person that brought it. It was not consumed by the priests, the tithe was eaten, a significant point. Remember, the person who tithed could not do with the tithe as he wished – he had to EAT it. Should he not use the tithe as commanded, it would be a sin, for he would be messing up the truth it represented.

Mal 3:1 Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.

Mal 3:3 And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness.

Mal 3:10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be MEAT in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.



Mal 3:10 Bring935 ye (853) all3605 the tithes4643 into413 the storehouse,1004, 214 that there may be1961 meat2964 in mine



The Word “ye”

את

'e^th

Brown-Driver-Briggs HebrewDefinition:

1) sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative



This wonderful word is a sign of the definite direct object, which in the case of Mal 3:10 is the tithe. So this word directly refers to the tithe which is the object in this sentence.

According to BDB it is not suppose to be translated into English for there is no English word for this. Even in the Hebrew and Greek there is no definition for this word. This word is a sign consisting of two Hebrew characters א (the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet) and ת (The last letter of the Hebrew alphabet). This is awesome when we see it in the Greek, for there it is translated as the alpha and the omega. We know that scripture clearly states that Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega.

If we translate Mal 3:10 into this truth it should read as follows “Bring Jesus Christ, (who is) the tithe, into the storehouse that there might be meat in my house...”.

When we read Mal. three from verse one to ten we see that he is speaking prophetically about the restoration of priesthood in order that the curse that they were under should be removed from them. What God was concerned about is that there will be meat in His house so that His people can eat and be delivered from the curse pronounced in verse nine. The only thing that manifests a curse is the LAW. It is clearly stated in Gal 3:10 and 13 that any person who is under the LAW is cursed.

Gal 3:10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.

Gal 3:13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:



In verse thirteen we see how the curse is removed: by the death of Jesus. In Mal it states that it is removed by the tithe. By this we can conclude that Jesus is the tithe that brought meat into the house of God, and as people partake of it the curse is broken for His body is the meat we need to eat. When God was talking about the tithe that will come to the storehouse he wanted his people to eat it. Jesus is our lamb, He is our offering and He is our tithe, to be eaten before God.

HIS FLESH IS MEAT INDEED

Joh 6:54 Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.

Joh 6:55 For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.

Joh 6:56 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.

Joh 6:57 As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.



Jesus is the perfection of tithing. To think that we need to give ten percent of our money to a church so that God will bless us is just as ignorant as thinking that by circumcision we will become part of God’s people and be saved.



IN CONCLUSION

Let’s look at our tithe and eat His flesh and drink His blood for in doing so we are fulfilling the Law. The truth of the LAW is that it points to Jesus, and as we believe on Him we are partaking of Him i, without there being any accusation against us. Never again do we have to think that we come short in any area of life, especially when it comes to money. When we believe in Jesus, all is done concerning our redemption from the curse and we don’t have to add a thing.

I have seen that not even God brings any accusation against His people, but many are willing to condemn the priceless CHURCH OF GOD when it comes to giving.

WORD FROM GOD: “Be free from the condemnation that is destroying you, it does not come from Me”

Bertie Brits

6 comments:

The Righteousness of God said...

Thank you Jul's for being bold enough to post such profound yet controversial messages such as you have. Ok Mr.Bertie Britz, listen to me carefully, I have a big mouth when it comes to my heart being opened unto Jesus and I just wanted to let you & all the readers know that I have been set free from the way the modern church has taught the tithe. I have been set free in my heart and I praise God for it through you Bertie ans Im gonna big mouth it in love. I go to sleep atnight and wake up & throughout the day meditate on the word 'ye' you have taught us, revealing Jesus, the Alpha & Omega. If I visit a church that introduces the time of tithes & offerings, I want to just scream in joy, "Wait, STOP, LISTEN!!!!!!" I just praise God in the spirit and in my known tongue over this Bertie, just wanted to know that my heart is full of seeing Jesus and my mouth is loaded with Jesus in Malachi 3!

Seed of Abraham said...

Thank you very much Sir for this elaborate research that you have presented to us. i had the same problem and paying tithes became a nighmare, but i cried unto God and here i have something contrary to what you have. Lets look at
Heb 7:1- End

Abraham paid a tenth to Melkizedek Heb 7:4. This was not under any LAW

Now the LAW requires that decendents of Levi who are priest should collect a tenth from the tribes of Israel.

In the case of Abraham, his act of paying tithes to Melkizedek was not a LAW. The act of paying tithes to the Levis was a law.

Abraham gave his tithes to the one who lives for ever, but in the case of Levi which was a LAW, the tithes are collected by men who died.

The Bible says that Levi paid tithes to Melkizedek when he was still in the body of his ancestor (Abraham).

If Abraham paid a tenth to Melkizedek and Levi also paid a tenth to Melkizedek, then we can pay our Tenth to the one who is declared to be living (Melkizedek)which is no law. thanks

Unknown said...

Yes, Abraham tithe not under the law. But tithe came under the law. Then Jesus came to fulfill the law of tithe therefore it is set aside. If you argue that you can tithe to Melchizedek, well where can you find that guy? Is he your pastor? Surely, you can find someone who will claim to be Melchizedek if you look hard enough. Why? Because the flesh or old sinful nature desires to be enslaved. It's your choice to choose your master - tithing or Jesus.

Jesus is our great High Priest who offered Himself to fulfill all the requirements of the law including tithes. Tithe was administered by Levites in the Old Covenant but in the New Covenant, we have Christ who is a priest of the order of Melchizedek who offered the perfect sacrifice. If Christ's sacrifice was incomplete to you then you have rejected Jesus.

Unknown said...

Hi my brother, it is clear that at least you know that your tithing is not done from the point of the law. 2 things.. 1, Melkizedek was a king of Salem, and only a shadow of Christ by "interpretation" Heb 7v2. He was "like" the son of God (vrs3) .. Jesus IS the Son of God. He was a priest of the Most High (vrs1)Jesus Christ Is the MOST HIGH PRIEST(Heb 8v1). Those two people are not the same person, the only link they have is the "order" (Heb 7v17). Secondly, tithe before the law was a king's share(1Samuel 8v15). Whilst I'm here, let me also add that Abraham did not tithe according to the law("paying tenth" from one's increase) but he gave a tenth from the best SPOILS and gave 90% to the king of Sodom.. He was left with nothing because it was not HIS increase(Genesis 14v21-24). Tithing under the law for a blessing is a complete rejection of Jesus Christ (Anti-Christ)[Ephesians 1v3] just as my brother indicated. Stay blessed.

Unknown said...

Thank God for giving you the boldness to post such truth, it's always a sad case that pure hearted Christians are always pointed to the law or their self righteousness when it comes to blessings.. You always here the words, "you are robbing God by not tithing" others even go as far as saying the "robbing" part is, you robbing God an opportunity to bless you.. but actually not realising that God used that opportunity to bless anyone who comes to Jesus, and it's not only in the area of blessing but in other areas as well like love,forgiveness, giving etc.. they always point to the law when it comes to such issues. I always ask this question about any teaching.. "what vers is that, and which Covenant is that?"

Bill said...

Wow.
This is a message all Ugandans should listen to. I am blessed