Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven

 

Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:  But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:  For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. (Matthew 6: 19-21)

In Luke 12: 33-34,『 Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. 』

With this title, you may hear that in some churches it is good to give a lot of offerings. However, this statement is different from the meaning of "Do a lot of donation." In the Old Testament, "to give something to God" has the meaning "to destroy oneself before God." It means that the beast is burned to death. In Romans 12: 1『 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.』 Offering a body means that the body is destroyed before God. What is presented before God is distinct. The distinction is to be sanctified before God.
In the Old Testament period, among all the things given to God, those that were not burned were stored in a warehouse called『Given Warehouse』to distinguish them. Dedicating to God is burning, or dying, and is the shadow of Jesus Christ coming.

Tithing also means looking at Jesus Christ. Those that have been given to God that have not been burned are returned to the people. The money was used for the Levites, such as priests, orphans, widows, etc. The word "dedicated" ended at the end of the Old Testament. Jesus Christ has accomplished all this. The concept of giving offerings to God is over.

Do not use the phrase "I give offerings before God." In the Old Testament, the people went to the temple to give to God and burned it. In the New Testament, Jesus accomplished all of this. If you believe that Jesus Christ has solved everything, giving it to God is wrong. Now, what you give to God is you give yourself, and you go in Jesus Christ. That is, to give the spirit within me to God. Therefore, paying money is not an act of giving to God, it is meant to be donated to the church and used to save the spirit.

In the Old Testament, God gave the Law to the Israelites, and the people offered offerings for 40 years in the wilderness. However, God said, "I have never received it," through the Prophet Amos. Because the Israelites believed in idolatry and misconduct, they claimed to have given a gift before God. Even today, Jesus Christ has done everything. If you say that you give it to God, you do not believe what Jesus Christ has done. It is also not giving to God truly, but giving a gift to a god who thinks in his own way regardless of Jesus Christ.

“Give to God” is myself and the Spirit. It is not a donation. Giving the Spirit means that the old man with Jesus dies on the cross. This is spiritual worship. Therefore, it is not to be given to God, but to be a donation for God's work (salvation of the spirit). Is it different from giving to God and giving for God's work? It is definitely different.

Giving to God has the meaning of burning yourself up to be just, and Jesus has done it. Doing God's work is a testimony of Jesus Christ. Now we have to believe in what Jesus has done, not to do anything else that is devoted to God and to destroy it, but to testify of what Jesus has done. However, we must realize that if people still speak of giving offerings to God, it will result in disbelief in what Jesus did.

What is God's work? It is God's work to believe in the one sent by God. In John 6: 38-40『 For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.』 God's work is to believe in the one sent by God, and if you donate for it, you do it right. This has a different meaning from giving to God. By the way, today's offering is linked to giving to God, and many believers make offerings to God. The treasures in heaven were found by Jesus in Matthew 19:21.『 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. 』

Offerings have different meanings from the Old and New Testaments. Some churches say that the tithes of the Old Testament have been changed to the collection for the saints. Jesus said it was a donation, but the church people say the collection for the saints. You must know the meaning of the collection for the saints and donations.

In the Old Testament times, all tithes and offerings to God were collected in a treasure chest. It was offered to God and used for those who were in charge of the temple of God (the tribe of Levi), orphans, and widows. Therefore, it was not used in the New Testament era. Jesus said it was a donation. The offering was used in Hebrew as Gorban and Minha. The Apostle Paul made a living with his money when he was preaching.

In the New Testament era, donations were used to pay the minister's living expenses or to help the poor and widows. The Greek word “Doron” used by Jesus is translated as an offering. The word donation has many meanings as a gift. You must have an understanding of the offerings Jesus said. In Acts 4: 32-37, all the people sold their property and placed it at the feet of the apostles.

 Why did they do it? The land of the Israelites belongs to God. In the jubilee year, they must return the land to the owner. At this time, the disciples of the Early Church said that Jesus would be “coming back soon,” but since they think the end is near, they can presume that they sold all the land and gave it to the apostles. In this situation, Ananias and Sapphira caused the problem. They said that they would sell all the property and give it (Hebrew: Gorban), but it was a sad feeling. So they hid some. What is hidden is embezzlement from God. Ananias and Sapphira have died. They are deceiving God.