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Th e K e y o f D av i d R e p r i n t S e r i e s

A rt ic l e n u m be r R536

How God’s Financial


Laws Can Help You Prosper
From t h e Ja n ua ry/ Fe brua ry 2 0 07 Roya l Vision
Eric Anderson

God cannot bless you unless you are keeping this we cannot afford, for example, then we will be far likelier
fundamental financial law. to overspend and go into debt. If we are putting material
goods before God, then God, in order to correct this, may

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inancial prosperity can be elusive. Money curse us by withholding the prosperity He would much
problems burden many of us—debt, lack of savings, rather give us!
unemployment or underemployment—and as a result, The late Herbert W. Armstrong taught for more
we’re robbed of real happiness and joy. Yet, our Creator than 50 years that the Holy Bible is the foundation of all
God wants everyone to truly prosper in the area of personal knowledge—including the knowledge of how to manage
finances. money properly. Through much meticulous Bible study and
Notice the prosperity He gave to Joseph anciently: “And research, Mr. Armstrong learned that the key to financial
the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man success is to realize an important biblical fact: your income
…. [T]he Lord made all that [Joseph] did to prosper in his is not yours!
hand” (Genesis 39:2-3). “You probably never realized this fact before—but it is
Years later, God promised the children of Israel the a fact,” he wrote in his 1959 booklet Ending Your Financial
greatest prosperity and abundance of material wealth—con- Worries. “God Almighty the living Creator-Ruler of the
ditional, of course, on their faithful adherence to His way of universe claims it all—every dollar—every pound—every
life (Leviticus 26:3-5). Just before Israel entered the Promised franc—every mark. Your Maker who gives you the very air
Land, Moses reminded the Israelites that “it is [God] that you breathe tells you it all belongs to Him, not to you!”
giveth thee power to get wealth” (Deuteronomy 8:18). Scripture is replete with proof of this vital understand-
Another example of God’s generosity can be found in ing. Let’s notice several important verses.
the book of Job. In his day, Job was the richest man in the In Exodus 19:5, God Almighty says: “[A]ll the earth is
East. Once he repented of his sin, God gave Job double his mine.”
original wealth (Job 42:10). Through the inspired pen of Moses, we read, “Behold,
Solomon, another exceedingly wealthy ruler, noted in the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the Lord’s thy God,
Ecclesiastes 5:19, “Every man also to whom God hath given the earth also, with all that therein is” (Deuteronomy 10:14).
riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, Yes, God Almighty owns this Earth and everything that
and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labour; this is exists or lives upon it!
the gift of God.” “For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon
Jesus, the Son of God, said that one of the main purposes a thousand hills. … [T]he world is mine, and the fulness
for His being sent to Earth was that we “might have life” and thereof,” claims our Maker (Psalm 50:10, 12).
that we “might have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). The According to the Bible, “your” money—“your” income—
Apostle John concurred: “Beloved, I wish above all things rightfully belongs to God. “The silver is mine, and the gold
that thou mayest prosper and be in health …” (3 John 2). is mine, saith the LORD of hosts” (Haggai 2:8).
Prosperity is not a sin. It is a blessing. God is the greatest This biblical principle is important to remember when
giver of abundance and prosperity. It is His will that we considering how we ought to manage our finances. What
prosper and enjoy the “good things” in life. we may earn in wages or receive as a return on investments
If God wants everyone to prosper and live abundantly, is not really ours—that is, not until two prior claims on our
then why are many of us wracked by debt and weighed down income are satisfied.
with financial worries today? One claim is taxes. Jesus said that Christians should
There are reasons! “Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s
…” (Matthew 22:21). But the first claim is God’s claim. Christ
Wh at Most Don ’t K now concluded that verse, “and [pay] unto God the things
that are God’s.”
God will not bless anyone who is breaking His laws. If we With this statement, Christ pointed to another funda-
are breaking the Tenth Commandment by coveting goods mental financial law that we must keep if God is to be able

Copyright © 2008 Philadelphia church of God


H o w G o d ’s F i n a n c i a l L aw s C a n H e l p Yo u P r o s p e r

to bless us with the prosperity He promises—that is, the workers who believe in the cause and gladly give of their
law of tithing. incomes to support it.
Each week, our headquarters office in Edmond, Okla.,
G o d’s L aw R e g u l at e s You r I n c o m e receives letters, e-mails and telephone calls from our co-
workers telling us how they have been blessed for supporting
Throughout the Bible, God makes it a law that the first this Work. Those who pay God’s tenth are prosperous—not
tenth—or “tithe”—of every individual’s income is to be paid necessarily wealthy, but their needs are always supplied.
to Him through His chosen servants.
God is a God of love (1 John 4:8,16). He knows our … E v e n i n H a r d Ti m e s
needs and wants. Indeed, He has your well-being in mind.
He is concerned for you; that is why He has made this law Have you ever wondered why so many are experiencing
regulating your income. financial difficulties nowadays, even in this economically
God’s law concerning what you earn is, in fact, a deal advanced age? Today’s problems were foretold centuries ago
He has made with you. Consider it: God allows you to work in a remarkable prophecy!
on His Earth, to use its resources, its forces and energies—to Notice what God asks through the Prophet Malachi:
use what others have extracted from this planet, in manu- “Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye
facturing, distributing, selling, buying, investing. Whatever say, Wherein have we robbed thee?” And God answers,
your occupation or profession, you are actually working in “In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse:
partnership with God! for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation [world]”
When we stop and analyze this, we are forced to admit (Malachi 3:8-9).
that God truly supplies about 90 percent of everything we There is a definite cause for every effect. The United
make or produce—and our own thinking, planning and States has been the wealthiest nation on Earth for many
working supplies, at best, only about 10 percent. Yet God years. Tragically, it is starting to slip into a second-rate status.
doesn’t claim 90 percent of the proceeds, or the income. Nor The U.S. economy has already been eclipsed by that of the
does He claim 50 percent, or even 30 percent or 20 percent. European Union. Bankruptcy is becoming an even greater
God is exceptionally generous. He has reserved for His scourge to this nation. Personal and collective debt is at an
use only 10 percent of your income. And after you have been all-time high, and financial troubles are wrecking families.
honest in paying God’s claim—HIS 10 percent—to His cho- Families that should have a minimum of three to six months’
sen representative (by the way, it is very important to prove income in savings in case of emergency instead have virtually
where God’s Work is, and tithe to the correct church), only no savings—and are plunging even deeper into debt.
then does God declare that the other 90 percent becomes If you are suffering from a lack of abundance or bless-
legally yours. Our nine-tenths actually does not belong to ings, how can you turn things around and begin to prosper
us until we have paid God His tenth. That’s God’s law! in these increasingly difficult times?
The Bible gives us the answer. Continuing in Malachi 3:
H o w Yo u C a n P r o s p e r … “Bring ye all the tithes [i.e. the whole tenth of your gross
income] into the storehouse, that there may be meat in
Although the Creator God has unlimited resources, He has mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord
always conducted His Work among and through human of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and
beings. Tithing (or “tenthing”) has been God’s financial pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough
system for millennia and continues to be a binding obliga- to receive it” (verse 10).
tion upon New Testament Christians. That is God’s promise!
Long ago, even during the time of Abraham, God used Why not put God to that test? Why not prove Him to see
the tithing system to underwrite His Work. In Genesis 14:18- if He doesn’t increase the value of your income in this period
20, we see that Abraham (who was not a Jew, but who was of looming recession so that your own 90 percent God gives
the human “father of the faithful”; one who feared God and you will be worth more than your whole in-come now?
kept His commandments) tithed 400 years before Israel was
commanded to do so. “ B u t I C a n ’ t A f f or d t o Ti t h e ! ”
Leviticus 27:30 and Numbers 18:20-21 spell out the
details of tithing and show how the people of Israel were to Unfortunately, some have lacked the faith to obey God’s posi-
tithe in support of God’s religious system. Even after Christ’s tive command to tithe. They have used carnal reasoning to
death, the Apostle Paul called tithing, which was confirmed attempt to justify their failure to pay God His rightful tenth,
by Christ, a law (Matthew 23:23; Hebrews 7:4-14). saying, I’m just behind in paying my tithe. I can’t afford to
Today, God’s Church uses the same tithing method tithe until I pay down some of my debts.
to finance its commission to deliver a warning message This type of thinking is deadly. “There is a way that
and preach the gospel of the soon-coming Kingdom of seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways
God—the very message Christ preached—to this unhappy, of death” (Proverbs 16:25). We can, and must, pay the first
debt-ridden world. 10 percent of all our income to God’s Work—even if we are
The organization that sponsors this magazine is the very in debt!
Work of God (John 6:28-29)—and it is sponsored, financed Do you realize that if you have not been honest in your
and conducted God’s way, as God directs in His Word. This tithing that you have been stealing from God? Do you
Work is funded and supported by a growing number of co- recognize the fact that you are guilty of sin and you are

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H o w G o d ’s F i n a n c i a l L aw s C a n H e l p Yo u P r o s p e r

under a curse—and that your sin negatively impacts God’s There is no way we can ever out-give God. Truly it is “more
Church and His Work? blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). When we honor
Here’s what Mr. Armstrong wrote in response to those God with our substance, our own material needs—and even
who have used the excuse, “I can’t afford to tithe”: “But many of our wants and desires—will be supplied. In addition,
listen and heed! It is not your tithe—it is God’s—holy God will shower tremendous spiritual blessings upon us.
to Him! It is the first tenth of your income—before all
else—before paying bills. You have no right to it! If you Th e S e c r e t of S uc c e s s
work for a bank, and you take some of the bank’s money,
that is embezzlement! But stealing from the God who Yes, God wants us to prosper spiritually most of all. But
gives you your breath of life, the food you eat, the clothes He wants His people to prosper in the area of personal
you wear—that is far worse in His eyes! Pay up God’s tithes finances too.
first—and assure yourself of God’s special financial bless- Here’s the key: We must learn to put God FIRST in
ing, so you can pay off your debts to humans” (Good News, everything. Backing and supporting God and His Work,
January 1979). which includes faithfully paying our tithes, must take pre-
cedence in our lives.
A Spir itua l Blessing Notice the “secret” to success and prosperity, as
explained by our editor in chief, Gerald Flurry: “If you want
God’s system of tithing is a financial law. It is sure to bring the ultimate prosperity … give your life to this Work
financial blessings. More importantly, though, it is guaran- …” (The Last Hour, emphasis mine throughout; request a
teed to yield tremendous spiritual dividends! free copy of this book).
Jesus said, “For where your treasure is, there will your This advice might sound like an oversimplification—but
heart be also” (Matthew 6:21). That, too, is a law. If your it is not! After all, doing God’s Work was Jesus Christ’s life
treasure is in this world’s entertainments and pleasures—if (John 4:34)—and it still is!
“your” money—God’s money—is being spent only on yourself Continuing, Mr. Flurry wrote, “If you want to help God’s
and your own needs and selfish desires—then your whole Work with all your being, do you think that, as a general rule,
heart and interest is in this world and not in the Kingdom God would take away your prosperity and health? Or will He
of God. say, Bless that individual, because I know he will put my Work
Jesus also said, “But seek ye first [i.e. aim and actively first with his energy and his money! … If you want to use your
strive after] the kingdom of God, and his righteousness” prosperity and health for God’s Work, you are going to have
(verse 33), and then all these material needs will be added to more prosperity and health! That doesn’t mean you will always
you besides. Seek God first, and He will see that your needs be prosperous … but you will have more … blessings.”
are met—even in hard times. Seek His Kingdom with all If your life is filled with little or no prosperity, Mr. Flurry
your heart, and your financial troubles will begin to melt wrote, “then you should closely examine yourself for sin.
away; your life will become happy, full with assurance of God wishes ‘above all’ that we prosper …. Like Christ, our
eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. first priority must be invest our… prosperity in
Yes, tithing is a law that produces manifold blessings. God’s Work.”
Why? Because it reinforces God’s way of give and actually When we invest our prosperity in God’s Work—and
helps us to develop holy and righteous character. when we support the Work of God by faithfully obeying the
Jesus taught, in Luke 6:38, “Give, and it shall be given law of tithing—we express our recognition of God’s rulership
unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, over the entire Earth and over us individually. We show
and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with our cheerful adherence to the first great commandment—
the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured worshiping the one true God and Him only. And the man or
to you again.” woman who keeps God’s financial law will reap the physical
Notice this beautiful cycle! See how the principle also and spiritual blessings promised in His Word.
applies to tithing: God gives to us—and we give back to God will open the windows of heaven and pour out
Him on a return circuit that which is rightfully His—and blessings so great there will not be room enough to receive
He gives us more! them—guaranteed!

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