Founded Upon Eternal Principles
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who ministered in the sanctuary. It was to be given from the first fruits
of all the increase, and, with gifts and offerings, it provided ample
means for supporting the ministry of the gospel for that time.
God requires no less of us than He required of His people anciently.
His gifts to us are not less, but greater, than they were to Israel of
old. His service requires, and ever will require, means. The great
missionary work for the salvation of souls is to be carried forward.
In the tithe, with gifts and offerings, God has made ample provision
for this work. He intends that the ministry of the gospel shall be
fully sustained. He claims the tithe as His own, and it should ever
be regarded as a sacred reserve, to be placed in His treasury for the
benefit of His cause, for the advancement of His work, for sending His
messengers into “regions beyond,” even to the uttermost parts of the
earth.
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God has laid His hand upon all things, both man and his posses-
sions; for all belong to Him. He says, I am the owner of the world;
the universe is Mine, and I require you to consecrate to My service
the first fruits of all that I, through My blessing, have caused to come
into your hands. God’s word declares, “Thou shalt not delay to offer
the first of thy ripe fruits.” “Honor the Lord with thy substance, and
with the first fruits of all thine increase.” This tribute He demands as a
token of our loyalty to Him.
We belong to God; we are His sons and daughters,—His by cre-
ation, and His by the gift of His only-begotten Son for our redemption.
“Ye are not your own; for ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify
God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” The mind,
the heart, the will, and the affections belong to God; the money that
we handle is the Lord’s. Every good that we receive and enjoy is the
result of divine benevolence. God is the bountiful giver of all good,
and He desires that there shall be an acknowledgment, on the part of
the receiver, of these gifts that provide for every necessity of the body
and the soul. God demands only His own. The primary portion is
the Lord’s, and must be used as His entrusted treasure. The heart that
is divested of selfishness will awaken to a sense of God’s goodness
and love, and be moved to a hearty acknowledgment of His righteous
requirements.—
The Review and Herald, December 8, 1896
.
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