The Doctrine of Firstfruits

We are fast approaching the end of January, the first month of the year. As usual many believers will be expected to give a special offering, known as Firstfruits. This concept of Firstfruits is used by preachers today to encourage their members to give an offering above and beyond tithing. Such Firstfruits usually include but not limited to:

o The first salary earned in a new year
o First paycheque of a new job
o Portion earned from the sale of something
o First month’s salary increase

The reasons given for giving a Firstfruits offering are:
o To thank God for His provisions
o To show that God will keep providing as we continually give sacrificially in faith
o By such sacrificial giving, God will make the giver richer. That is the more you give, the more you get from God.
o To make God bless the giver's plans for the New Year

In this message we shall look at the what Firstfruits meant in the Old Testament, the reasons for the Firstfruits offerings and what it means to believers in the New Testament.

1. Background
Before the Lord Jesus Christ went to the cross, humanity was divided into two: Israelites (Jews) and the Gentiles (people of other nations). A Jew is a descendant of Israel and everyone else was a Gentile. After the death and resurrection of Christ, the church built by Jesus Christ Himself as promised in Matthew 16:18 was established. As a result of the establishment of the church, humanity now comprises of three nations: Israel (Jews); Gentiles and the Church of God (1 Corinthians 10:32).

The church comprises of people (both Jews and Gentiles) who have been saved from sin and are now living in union with Christ Jesus The Lord (John 1:12; Romans 3:22; Romans 6:3-5; 2 Corinthians 5:21: Galatians 2:20). Through Christ's death on the cross God has "broken down the middle wall of partition between [Jew and Gentile]; having abolished in his flesh the [Mosaic] law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in Himself of twain [Jew and Gentile] one new man" (Eph:2:11-22). In abolishing the law of commandments, contained in ordinances (Ephesians 2:15) such as the ceremonial laws or customs of the nation of Israel, the believer is not bound to the feasts, festivals and other statutes of the nation of Israel.


2. Firstfruits in the Old Testament
Firstfruits were the first portion of the Israelites' harvest to The Lord to acknowledge that He was the Owner of the land. It was a time of thanksgiving specially dedicated to God for His provision, with a hope of the greater harvest to follow. A firstfruits ceremony is described in detail in Deuteronomy 26:1-11. God told the Israelites that the firstfruits offering was to be given in thanks for "cities that you did not build, and houses full of all good things that you did not fill, and cisterns that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant…" (Deuteronomy 6:10-11; Deuteronomy 26:1-5, 8-11). The offering was brought to the temple where it was displayed before God, and then given to the priests for their sustenance (Numbers 18:11-12). In the majority of appearances, except in Proverbs 3:9-10, firstfruits are associated with thanks to God for bringing the Israelites from Egypt to Canaan.

Aside fruits, the "first born" whether human or beast, was also considered as God's special possession and can be considered a type of first fruit. (Exodus 22:29, Exodus 34:19).

Firstfruits were therefore designed to acknowledge and thank God for providing the Israelites with the land flowing with milk and honey after their captivity in Egypt. It was a ceremonial act for the nation of Israel. It was an act of obedience, and while that obedience was part of God's promise to Israel that He would bless them, it was the faithfulness of obedience that ensured His blessing, not the offering itself.

It is very important to note that Firstfruits also have a metaphorical dimension in the Old Testament. Israel was described in Jeremiah 2:3 as "the firstfruits of God's harvest".

3. Firstfruits in the New Testament
We will in this section examine Firstfruits as applied in the New Testament. We shall check all the New Testament passages on Firstfruits.

Romans 8:23 "Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body."

Here Paul the apostle is using "firstfruits" as a metaphor for the first appearance of a promised blessing of the Holy Spirit in believers (John 14:26). It signifies that the measure of the Holy Spirit that we now have is but a foretaste of the greater measure there will be in the age to come (Ephesians 1:13-14), or that the gift of the Spirit now is a foretaste of the many other blessings we will have in due course.

Romans 16:5 "Likewise greet the church that is in their house. Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who is the firstfruits of Achaia to Christ."

1 Corinthians 16:15 "I urge you, brethren you know the household of Stephanas, that it is the firstfruits of Achaia, and that they have devoted themselves to the ministry of the saints"

In the above passages, Paul's reference to Epaenetus and household of Stephanas as the firstfruits of Achaia means they were the first converts of that region.

1 Corinthians 15:20 "But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep."

1 Corinthians 15:23 "But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming”.

The above two passages speak of Christ's resurrection as the first of a great harvest of God's people who will be resurrected (Colossians 1:18).

James 1:18 "Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures."

This passage means that all Christians are especially dedicated to God in the manner of firstfruits. We therefore need to be mindful, just as God wanted Israel to be mindful, that we and all we have belong to God.

Revelation 14:4 "These are the ones who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These were redeemed from among men, being firstfruits to God and to the Lamb."

This passage refers to the 144,000 overcomers who remained faithful by refusing to conform to the pagan world system or to become part of the apostate church of the last days. These faithful people are the firstfruits (special offerings) who have been purchased for God.

Conclusion
From the foregoing, there is nowhere in the New Testament where the church is required or even encouraged to give a "firstfruits offering". Although the term "firstfruits" is used in the New Testament, it never referred to monetary offerings, whether to the Temple or the church. In the Old Testament, the firstfruits offering were for the Jews for a specific purpose (Deuteronomy 26:1-11): to give thanks to God for their redemption and deliverance from bondage in Egypt into the Promised Land. Being a Jewish feast, and a part of Israel's ceremonial law, it does not apply to believers in the New Testament.

It is very important to note that there is no blanket policy for giving in the New Testament. Giving in the church of the New Testament is left up to the personal convictions of the individual believer (2 Corinthians 8:11-15; 2 Corinthians 9:7). Not being under the Old Testament Law, the Christian is under no further obligation than to give cheerfully and liberally. Giving in the New Testament therefore are more in accord with a covenant of the Spirit than with a covenant of the letter (2 Corinthians 3:6).

Brethren we are not against believers giving offerings in thanksgiving to God. There is also nothing wrong in somebody giving above and beyond what is regularly budgeted for. But there is everything wrong when this is done by the giver based on pressure by pastors and church leaders. In which case the giving is no longer from a cheerful heart but from compulsion (2 Corinthians 9:7).

To say that "laying down a seed" so that God will make someone rich, or that you can pay off God to bless future plans, is an abusive lie from adherents of the prosperity gospel. The New Testament says we are to give in faith, but it doesn't say that we are to give to the point of destitution so that our faith can grow (1 Corinthians 16:2). There is a difference between faithful sacrifice and bad resource management. To give sacrificially is to follow in the example of the widow of Mark 12:41-44, and is commendable as long as it isn't coerced. To give an offering in thanks for God's provision is perfectly acceptable. But if a church wants to have a period of fund-raising, it would be better to have a specific purpose and not just try to spiritualize the desire to have more capital in the bank.

We emphasise again that as far as the Firstfruits offering as described in the Old Testament is concerned, the church is exempt. Jesus did not come to abolish the law, but to fulfil (Matthew 5:17). If the usage of the term "first fruit" in the New Testament is to be considered, the manifestation of first fruit in the church age means that those who were saved in the early church were a promise that more would follow. And Jesus' resurrection is a promise that we, too, will be resurrected (1 Corinthians 15:23). Any other use of "Firstfruits" is either abusive or careless. There are better terms to use when a church collects a special offering, and there are more biblical ways to do so than to insist, cajole, and threaten people to give.

Finally, we should note that giving in the New Testament is more extreme. God wants all of us (Romans 12:1; 2 Corinthians 8:5). Based on this, every monetary blessing we have is His, and we should do with it as He leads—whether to use on ourselves or to use for others. Matthew 25:14-30 tells us that we should be responsible with His blessings. We are to give based on the leading of the bible and leading of the Holy Spirit for the purpose of spreading the Gospel, assisting the poor and for the upkeep of ministers who desire such assistance.

“Who hath ears to hear, let him hear” (Matthew 13:9).

God Bless you.

#FraudAlert
Christians are not required to give first fruits or even tithes. They are both anti christ doctrines as they deny the grace Christ brought to us.