This sermon is from the Rev. Charles G. Dennison sermon archive, part of the “Considering the Church” series, and was preached at Grace Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Sewickley, PA, during a worship service on Sunday, February 20, 1994.

This morning we are beginning our scripture reading in the book of Genesis. We are at chapter 14, beginning with verse 1. I’ll give you attention to the word of God. In the days of Amrasel, king of Shinar, Eriach, king of Elassar, and Shadalamor, king of Elam, and Tidal, king of nations, that these made war with Berach, king of Sodom, and with Bershah, king of Gomorrah, Shinad, king of Abma, and Shumaber, king of Zebelim, and the king of Bela, which is Zohar.

All these were joined together in the Vale of Shadun, which is the Salt Sea. Twelve years they served Shaddamir, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled. And in the fourteenth year came Shaddamir and the kings that were with him, and smote the Raphaeans in Ashteroth Carnaim. and the Zuzines in Ham, and the Eemes in Shadda, Piriath the Eem, and the Horites in their Mount Seir, unto El-Koran, which is by the wilderness. And they returned and came to En-Mishpak, which is Kadish, and smote all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites, that dwell in Hazavon-Tamar. And there went out the king of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrah, and the king of Admah, and the king of Zeboim, and the king of Bela, the same as Zoar, and they joined battle with them in the Vale of Shaddim, with Chattel-Amor, the king of Elam, and with Tidal, king of Nations, and with Amrasel, king of Shinar, and Ariok, king of Elassah, four kings with five. The vale of Shadim was full of slime pits, and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and they fell there, and they that remained fled to the mountain.

And they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their vittles and went their way, and they took Lot, Abram’s brother’s son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed. and there came one that had escaped and told Abram the Hebrew, for he dwelt in the plain of Mamre, the Amorite, the brother of Eshcol, the brother of Aner, and these were confederate with Abram. And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, 318, and pursued them unto Dan, and he divided himself against them, he and his servants by night, and smote them, and pursued them unto Hobah which is on the left hand of Damascus. And he brought back all the goods, and also brought again his brother Lot and his goods, and the women also, and the people.

And the king of Sodom went out to meet him. After his return from the slaughter of Chattelammer and of the kings that were with him at the Valley of Sheba, which is the King’s Dale, Melchizedek, the King of Salem, brought forth bread and wine, and he was the priest of the Most High God. And he blessed him and said, Blessed be Abram, of the Most High God, possessor of heaven Blessed be the Most High God which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hands.’ And Abram gave him tithes of oil.”

Then, turning over to the letter to the Hebrews, chapter 7. Just a couple of verses here, verses 9 and 10 of Hebrews 7. And as I may say so, Levi also, who received tithes, paid tithes in Abraham. for he was yet in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him.” And then finally to 1 Corinthians 9 verses 13 and 14. This is sort of like a Bible drill for you this morning.

Do ye not know that they which minister about holy things live of the things of the temple, and they which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar? Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel.” Pray with me now. Father, we rejoice that you have given yourself to us even in the gift of your Word, even in the Scriptures which we have. And we are praying, Lord, that This grace to us would not be neglected. Help us with your word that we might receive it as it was given to us, that we might be instructed by it. And encourage us, Lord, even in those areas where we need to be corrected, that we might be corrected by your word. That for our good and your glory. Through Christ. Amen. We have come to our third and final message on the matter of the Church and money. This is our last message on that subject.

Dr. Leopard Coppice, a man known to many in this congregation and respected in this Church, a number of years ago argued very eloquently that the New Testament demanded the continuation of a form of the Old Testament tithe. A continuation of a form of the Old Testament tithe, that is, the offering of one-tenth of one’s income to the Lord for the Lord’s work. Dr. Coppice did this, as was his habit, in fine Biblical theological style, and in response to a very practical question. How will the Church of Jesus Christ be financed if not through the obligation laid upon the people of God in the tithe?

According to Dr. Coppice, Jesus Christ possesses an eternal priesthood, a priesthood that predates and postdates the Old Testament Levitical priests. Therefore, when Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek, as we read this morning from Genesis 14, both Abraham and the Levitical who were as yet in Abraham’s loins, were acknowledging the prerogatives of the eternal priesthood of the Son of God. This then being the conclusion that Dr. Coppice drew from his analysis of the seventh chapter of Hebrews, and particularly that ninth and tenth verse which we also have read. Christ’s eternal priesthood then posits for us a perpetually binding ordinance, command, which the Old Testament figures of Abraham and the Levitical priests were obliged to honor, as was also all Israel. But we also, in the New Testament era, are much obliged, even more obliged, to honor this perpetually binding ordinance mediated to us and for us through Christ’s eternal priesthood. Dr. Coppice then would appeal to 1 Corinthians 9 verses 13 and 14, which we have also read this morning.

He would say that this passage, while not mentioning the tithes directly, relies upon the truth of the tithes and the practice of the tithes in the early church. It assumes that the New Testament Church was operating according to the pattern found in the Old Testament, and in keeping with the perpetually binding obligation imposed by Christ’s eternal priesthood. As the Old Testament ministers of the Word, namely the priests and Levites, received their living through the tithes of God’s people Israel, so the New Testament Ministers of the Word receive their living through the tithes of God’s people, the Church.

Adding weight to the argument, continued Dr. Coppice, is the Reformed principle of the unity of the Scriptures, the unity of the Covenants, the unity of the Testaments. On the basis of that principle of unity, Reformed and Presbyterian folk have maintained their convictions about the baptism of children, for instance. We recognize a line of continuity moving from Old Testament to New. There is the Old Testament sacrament by which the children of the covenant are included within the covenant, namely the sacrament of circumcision, and that is matched by the New Testament sacrament of baptism. by which also children are included in the covenant.

He would go on to make the same point with regard to the Sabbath and the New Testament Sabbath. Of course, there is the difference. The day has been changed, but Christians, so say Reformed and Presbyterian folk, oblige with respect to the Sabbath commandment. Not the last day of the week, but the first day, marking the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Dr. Coppice then would say, we defend the tithes on similar grounds. Therefore, we must expect Church members to tithe, to give a tenth, a tenth of their income to the Church for the support of the Church’s ministry. But it is precisely at this point that Dr. Coppice’s argument seems to run aground. Do we really see the tithe along the same lines as baptism and the Sabbath? Do we see the tithe as setting before us an obligation that is on the order baptism and the Christian Sabbath.

Now please don’t misunderstand me here, and with all respect to my friend, Dr. Thomas. My purpose here is not to raise objections to Dr. Coppice’s position generally, and the way in which he maps out for us the relationship between the Old and New Testaments. Nor is it to raise objections to the tithes in such a way that those who give little but should be giving more might feel even more comfortable and complacent in their negligence. Let me say, as we progress in this message, there should be no question about it in any of our minds. The biblical pattern from beginning to end, the practice of godly people in every age, has been the presentation of their offerings as part and parcel of that devotion that they owe to God. In fact, what God expects of his people. Yes, we are to give. No, even more strongly, we must give. We must give.

If you would allow me a bit of a parenthesis here. Let me speak to you who are parents. especially those of you looking for practical advice in the rearing of your children, and particularly with regard to this dimension of piety which you dare not overlook. Which you dare not overlook.

Many of the Church’s children simply are not being taught to give. Now, I’m speaking of the Church generally, not of this particular congregation. But this is a truth. Many of the Church’s children, generally speaking, are not being taught to give, and this is especially lethal in our time because you see, selfishness abounds. Out and out miserliness, cold-hearted tight-fistedness abounds.

There is a squandering of money by a generation of youth that is the wealthiest generation of youth that the world has ever known. It’s not that they aren’t spending money, they are spending money, but on themselves, and as never before. Young people raised within the church, children of good Christian homes, are now confessing, having graduated from their education years, finding themselves in the workaday world, they are confessing that they don’t give a dime for the Lord’s work. They sought not to be.

We parents must ask ourselves if our children have picked up something in us, if they are merely playing out what they see in us—a lack of generosity, a lack of magnanimity on our part, a selfishness in ourselves that breeds selfishness in them. They don’t give because we don’t give. Or is it that our children have failed to pick up something quite attractive and commendable, something quite appropriate, good, and biblical from us? And that’s simply because we have never taken the time to sit down and talk to them about what they ought to do. Our example, worthy as it might be, may be reinforced, may not be reinforced, by the instruction that our children should receive from us.

What is it that we are to believe about this matter of giving, about this important area of biblical devotion? What should we be teaching our children? What must the Church of Jesus Christ teach? Surely, we must teach charity, generosity. We must teach the obligation that we have to give our offerings in service to our God.

But are we obliged to teach the command, the obligation of the tithe? the tenth as a binding obligation, as a command laid upon us as members of the Church of Jesus Christ. Let me go further along this line and ask another question. What if the Church were to teach the tithe as a binding obligation?

Would not such a position demand of the Church that she make this obligation clear in her Now, I’ve gone looking for the word tithe in the documents of the Westminster Assembly, and I can’t find it. Now, this is the case. I recognize the history of the situation.

This is the case, not necessarily because the Westminster Divines had no commitment to an imposed and percentage-type contribution from the Church membership for the support of the Church. that because that percentage type contribution came through taxation at the hands of the state, not the church. However, you will note that the word tithe is not mentioned in the OPC standards either, even though those standards were produced in circumstances in which the church no longer depended upon taxation for its income. Nor might I point out, were you asked, when you became a member of this congregation, whether you would tithe, nor were you compelled to promise to tithe when you united with this congregation. It seems clear, then, that the OTC does not believe that it can lay this obligation upon the people of God.

If it did, it would say so. And if it said so, that would mean that this obligation would be within the standards of the Church, and be there as a rule for membership, a rule that could in fact be held over our heads, in terms of which we could be disciplined. If we failed to tithe, we could be brought to trial for not doing what our obligation was to do. It seems to me, then, that Dr. Coppice’s argument fails at this most practical level.

No changes to the OP standards mandating tithing have been proposed. No changes have been proposed that would mean that the tithe was a spiritual and moral obligation upon the membership of the Church. Why does the OPC, while insisting adamantly upon the giving of offerings, not promote the tithe as obligation, as command, as duty?

Is it because of cowardice? Because the subject is unpopular? Would it cause riots in the peers? This is not to boast, but I don’t think that the OPC historically has been known as a coward. Is it because of an inherent inconsistency? The OPC just doesn’t get it, just doesn’t get the point. Or is it because the OPC fails to be impressed with the proper biblical theology, in the way in which Dr. Coppice has been impressed. My conclusion is that we answer these questions in the negative, every one of them. In fact, it is precisely because of the OPC’s biblical theological commitment that she doesn’t mandate the pie.

Our offerings are prescribed from the Old Testament to the New Testament, specifically and most importantly because of the revelation of the Lord’s kinship. And here we join in with that biblical theological argument that has been presented. Our offerings are prescribed specifically. Whether we are in the Old Testament or the New Testament, because of a revelation of the Lord’s kingship. Look at that Genesis 14 passage.

When Abram returns from the slaughter of the kings, he gives a tithe to Melchizedek, because the Lord has revealed himself as king to Abram and in Abram’s triumph. Abram’s offering is the payment of homage. It honors his king, it honors the Lord. That is what is going on when we offer our gifts to God. We are presenting our gifts to God in light of the Lord’s kingship over us.

By way of the offering in Genesis 14, Abram supports the king’s ambassador, in this case he is Melchizedek, and contributes to the king’s visible domain, specifically Salem, the city of Salem, where Melchizedek serves as the Lord’s vice-regent and priest. And we observe the very same pattern when the Lord triumphs over Pharaoh and all of his hosts, the Egyptians, and also when he triumphs over the tribes of the Canaanites. He is acknowledged as king. Homage is paid to him by his people by way of tithes and offerings to support the Lord’s ambassador, the priests of God, to maintain the king’s sanctuary throne, first the tabernacle and then the temple, and also in the circumstances of Israel to relieve the poor among the king’s people.

But what happens when we arrive at the New Testament? Yes, we still have our offerings. presented in light of that revelation of the Lord as King, in light of his triumph in Jesus Christ, our Savior. Yes, our offerings are given in thanksgiving for God’s victory in Christ over sin and death, and those offerings are directed to the support of Christ’s ambassadors, those ministers of the Word properly ordained, who spread the Word and declare the meaning of that Word. at the center of which is the testimony concerning the King’s triumph on behalf of his people. Our offerings also are directed to the relief of the poor among the King’s people within the Church and beyond, as we have opportunity.

But where there are these similarities, there are also gaping dissimilarities. One dissimilarity is the lack of an earthly, sanctuary throne for our Lord the King. The true sanctuary is above, and regardless of what we may wish to say about our building here, it is not anything on the order of the Old Testament tabernacle or temple, nor can it be. Our building is at best a convenience.

It is not a necessity for the administration of God’s dealings in this age. that the more important dissimilarity is that we who belong to Jesus Christ dare not place a percentage on our demonstration of devotion to him. The most important dissimilarity as we move from Old Testament to New is that we who belong to Jesus Christ cannot place a percentage on our demonstration of devotion to our Savior. The absence of the mandate for the tithe in the New Testament does not mean that we are free to get off with giving less than the tenth. The absence of the mandate means that we are being scrutinized by the One who gave Himself totally, 100% for us.

Thank God, Christ’s offering of Himself was not an offering of a mere tithe. The cross of Christ means that we cannot hide behind a pin, behind our measured allotment, our fair share, our part, our token, when paying homage to our King. Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all. Practically speaking, many of us here at Grace Church have chosen voluntarily to give the tithe as the minimum for our offerings to the Church. And I rejoice that there are many such in this congregation. But I rejoice exceedingly because I know that for many of you, you will not hide behind the tent, the tithe, as if when faced with need you were under no further obligation. You see, the obligation laid upon all of us is that of Christ, who gave his all. How marvelous the cross shines. How wonderful, in the totality of that offering. It was a hot summer’s afternoon, July 1978.

After the morning worship service, what was left of Grace Church congregated in this back room. There were 12 giving families left. In the discussions that were held in that meeting on that Sunday afternoon, those who were gathered committed themselves and said, we will do what we have to do to make sure that this church continues and that the gospel is proclaimed in this pulpit. We who were present walked out of that meeting convinced that a mere 10% would not be enough.

Our Father, the matter of giving is oftentimes a very sensitive issue. And Father, we pray that we ourselves may be sensitive to the very depths of our souls with respect to this matter of our giving. If we have been trained wrong, we pray our God that we might be correct. If we have not been doing what we ought to do, we ask, Lord, that we might be turned around. If in fact, Lord, we have contented ourselves, even with the spirit of self-righteousness that we have given after all percentage, and you should be content with that, O God, may we be forgiven of such an attitude Instead, our Lord, may we look to the cross for the glory that we see there, the expenditure that you have made for us totally. Father, help us in our giving to give what we vow, but also, Lord, to give gladly, thankfully, in light of the revelation of your kingship over us. we your subjects, truly in thankful acknowledgment of what you have accomplished. And may it please you, Lord, to use our gifts, even our tenth and beyond, even to the fullness of what we are, for your kingdom, to the glory of your name, to the honor of Christ who gave himself completely for us.

The sermon text provided above is derived from the sermon audio recording making use of generative tools. It has not been manually edited. While transcription tools have a high degree of accuracy, the output may include generative textual, punctuation, and/or formatting errors.