Tithe: Salvation is Not by Math
By J. Grant Swank Jr. (05/13/08)
His salvation was wrapped up in his faithful tithing. His salvation, basically, was math. If he tithed consistently, he kept his math sheet an A+.
So he did.
But fundamentally he was materialistic to the nth degree. He was miserly, except for his tithing faithfully. Money was in reality his god, though he would not admit it for by tithing he believed he kept the God of the Bible.
However, “the love of money is the root of all evil,” per the Bible.
And this fellow’s inordinate wedding to the dollar was his trap door for failure.
Along came house construction, that is, this and that done to his abode. Sadly, that project consumed his life, then his soul. He became so enamored with nails and wood, tile and paint color that he slipped from whatever spiritual quality was his into a totally materialistic life frame.
That otherwise innocent house project worked so deeply into his religion that whatever he had on the God side slipped away - gradually - but surely.
The believers looking on saw it all, which is the case when a person starts the backsliding process. Those keeping true to the God of the Bible witness it but cannot say anything about it. If anyone had warned him of his spiritual slippage, he would have gone into the predictable, self-effacing protest.
In time, the house project took over completely, the math started getting mangled and, when that happened, whatever was his witness to Christian faith slid into the black hole.
I watched this whole proceeding with tears in my soul. I could do nothing. He would not listen if I had cautioned him about the end result.
Finally, the end did come, as it is want to do.
So I sat there after the fall. I sat there in my chair contemplating how floor tile, wood, nails, and window frames could so sit upon the divine throne as to rob a soul of saving grace.
For those who believe in the false teaching of eternal security, I don’t buy it. So figure that into this scenario.
The man gave his soul to the material for all along - for years - he had given his soul to the material. He just lived with the spiritual front with the tithe consistency.
In other words, he lived for religion-in-math. But there is no such authenticity in that according to divine revelation.
Yes, both the Old and New Testament records underline that God expects His grace children to tithe. That is stated in Malachi 3:8-10 and Matthew 23: 23 and Matthew 5:20. There are fuller tithing passages but these three are basic.
In Malachi the Old Testament closes with God punishing the Hebrews for robbing Him of His tithes and offerings. Therefore, God placed a curse on them. If they repented and changed to obedience, God would bless them. But they had to put their obedience on the line for that to happen.
Christ brought the tithe into the Church Age in the Matthew accounts. He said that a Christian is to tithe, thus being at least as faithful as the hypocrites who did tithe while living a farce. In other words, Christ stated that His grace children were to live lives more exemplary than the hypocrites.
The bottom line: One is saved only by faith in Christ’s sacrificial death on Calvary. Then follows the Christian life. That includes tithing God’s tithe to the local “storehouse.” One adds to God’s tithe - not our tithe, but God’s tithe - love offerings.
The fellow mentioned above knew all that. But his spirituality was really based upon tithing, a math base to his soul. That doesn’t work. In that, he lost his moorings and so to this day is one lost soul.
(Printer friendly version) Email: J. Grant Swank Jr.
