I am writing this message out of a sad heart. Sad because of the way I see people, especially the poor, how they are being robbed of their God given money by the so called “men of god”. Sad because I see the poor giving away their last cent to these “men of god” thinking that it is what God wants. I see this happening time and time again. Wherever you go, look, people are being robbed. These “men of god” are not armed with dangerous weapons as we know them but, they are armed with the word of God. They are using the word of God by twisting it, to extort money form unsuspecting people. One of the scriptures that most of them uses and the most famous scripture that they use is Malachi 3:6-10.
Malachi 3:6-10 (ESVST)
6 “For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. 7 From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. But you say, ‘How shall we return? ’ 8 Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you? ’ In your tithes and contributions. 9 You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. 10 Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.
These so called “men of god” have taken this scripture and have twisted it so much that they now use it to threaten people into paying tithe. They use especially verses 8-10 which, speaks of robbing God by not bringing tithe and contributions to the store house. Verse 9 says that you are cursed for bringing the tithe and contributions into the store house so that the house of God can have food. These “men of god” have taken this scripture and go around telling everyone that failure to pay tithe in the church will bring a curse on them because they rob God. So, to avoid this curse, they must pay tithe all the time and regularly. They tell people that when they do pay the tithe regularly, God will open windows for them and bless them. At this stage they also refer to 2 Cor 9:6 which says that the more you give, the more you will be blessed.
2 Corinthians 9:6 (ESVST)
6 The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.
So using these verses together, they form a formidable weapon against those that do not know the word of God. They put an unsuspecting person in a position where he realizes that he owes God tithe and must pay this tithe to the church and failure to pay tithe, God will curse them but, if they pay tithe, God will bless them. The more they give the more God will bless them. If they give and are not seeing the blessings, it is because they give too little. So, the poor person finds himself or herself in a corner he/she cannot escape form.
In summary, this is what these “men of god” tell you 1) You owe God tithe and you must pay 2) Failure to pay is robbing God 3) God will curse you if you don’t pay 4) God will bless you if you pay 5) The more you give, the more you will be blessed and lastly 6) If you don’t see the blessings, you are giving too little. This is their weapon and it is working.
One of the trademarks of false pastors and false teachers is that they never read the whole scripture. They always pluck out one or two verses out of context, twist them and use them against people. Looking at Malachi 6-10 above, verses 6-7 , which is conveniently not quoted by these so called “men of god” indicates clearly that God here is speaking to the descendants of Jacob who are Israelites. God has sent Malachi who is a prophet to speak to the Jews. God is saying to the descendants of Jacob that since from the days of their fathers, they have turned aside form God’s commandments and have not kept them.
Malachi 1:1 (ESVST)
1 The oracle of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi.
The very first verse of Malachi sates very clearly that this is for Israel. This prophesy by Malachi was for Israel not anyone else. They are the ones whom God gave the commandments and they are the ones who have broken these commandments. Verses 6-7 clearly indicate as well that indeed God is speaking to Israel. God is not speaking to Gentiles. God was not speaking to Gentiles then and he is not speaking to Gentiles now. God was not speaking to you and me then and God is still not speaking to you and me in this scripture because we are not Jews, he is speaking to Israel. So, these “men of god” conveniently skips verse 6-7 because if they did not, people will see that God was actually only speaking to the Israelites.
These “men of god” also quote 2 Cor 9:6 as I have indicated above but, once more, they conveniently skip the very next verse which says
2 Corinthians 9:7 (ESVST)
Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
You see this verse completely destroys their weapon so, they have to skip it. My brother and sister, do not allow yourself to be deceived by these so called “men of god”. They don’t represent God at all but themselves. This is a scheme to extort money from you. God indeed will like you to give but, God wants you to give because you want to. God does not want you to give because you have to. God loves a cheerful giver and God will bless you. This is what God wants you to do:
2 Corinthians 9:6-8 (NLTse)
Remember this—a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop. 7 You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.” 8 And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others.
I hope this message will set you free from the bondage of these “men of god”. I pray to God that he may open your eyes so that you may see the true God and the true word of God. The only way to defeat the devil, it is through scripture just like Jesus did in the desert. Jesus said
John 8:31-32 (ESVST)
31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “ If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
So make time and read the bible and the more you understand, the more you will set yourself free.
Acts 17:11 (NLTse)
And the people of Berea were more open- minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth.
I beg of you my brother and sister, do the same thing. Search the scriptures to see if your pastor is preaching the truth. Don’t just take what they say. Don’t just take my word for it. Read and study the bible yourself and God will reveal the truth to you and you will be free. Amen.