The doctrine of sowing and reaping is a principle of the Old Testament Law, which the Church is not under. In the Old Covenant you had to do something in order to receive something.
In order to be healed, you had to walk in all God's statutes and commandments.
Ex 15:26...If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee.
To prosper, you had to walk in all the commandments.
Josh 1:8...This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
To be blessed financially, you had to pay a tithe.
Mal 3:10...Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
Under the Law, you had to pay a tithe for God to open the windows of heaven and bless you and to rebuke the devourer. The devourer is not the Devil or demons. The devourer is insect's that destroy the crops. If man pays a tithe just to be blessed by God, he is a selfish person. He is giving to God's work just because he wants to receive something back. There is a big difference between giving simply out of the love you have for God and giving because you expect God to pay you something in return. In reality you are only worshipping God when you give out of an unselfish love for Him.
The same tithe system teaches a doctrine of fear-that you will have devourers attacking your crops unless you pay the tithe. You should never give out of fear of the consequences if you don't give. It is said by some that Abraham "paid" a tithe, but the Scripture says he "gave" a tithe. Abraham gave the tithe out of love. Jacob gave the tithe out of love.
Heb 7:2-4...To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace; Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually. Now consider how great this man was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils.
Under the economy of the Old Testament Law, you paid a tithe because you had to. Under the New Covenant, God blesses you so much that you give more than a tithe. Teach the believer to legalistically pay the tithe and he will limit his giving to the tithe. Teach him the limitless sacrifice of Christ and he will cheerfully and willingly give more than a tithe. The early church did not teach the tithe system, yet there is no record of the early Church ever being in want of anything. They had so much left over; they took care of the poor saints at Jerusalem. If those that name the name of Christ today did what they should, we could do away with Social Security in this country!
The first-century Jewish Christians sold all their possessions and laid them at the Apostles' feet. They could trust the Apostles with all their money.
Acts 4:35...And laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.
The Church today can no longer trust the minister with all their money because preachers are always begging "pay, pay, pay; money, money, money."
At this point you're probably asking, "What about Luke 6:38?"
Luke 6:38...Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom.
If you apply the above verse to giving money to the Church so that this giving will be multiplied; you are misapplying a Law from Genesis. You are also saying that the seed you've sown has within itself the ability to multiply. Luke 6:38 does no talk about tithing or giving to the Church. It is under the Covenant of Law, and it deals with the prophetic message concerning the restoration of the Kingdom to Israel.
The first portion of Luke 6:38 addresses's the moral condition of Israel at that time. *
Luke 6:38...Give, and it shall be given unto you;
*They were to have been so liberal that they would freely give to any Israelite on need. By becoming liberal in giving to each other, they would begin to recognize that the Kingdom was at hand. This would create a climactic condition proving that the Kingdom Age would soon begin. Christ would rule on the throne of His father David. The wheat fields would flourish and the vine and fig tree would give forth their strength. The wolf would lie down with the lamb and the lion would eat straw like an ox. The glory of the Lord would cover the earth, and all the Hebrew nation would be gathered out of the nations where they had been scattered.
This portion of Luke 6:38 deals with the prophetic truth of the Gentiles giving their wealth to Israel in the Kingdom of Heaven. *
Luke 6:38...good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom.
*The Gentiles would take notice of Israel's giving and liberality to one another. They would give their wealth and money to the Jewish people. This part of the verse points out how Gentiles will give unto the bosom of Israel, their wealth and riches. This is prophetically spoken.
Zech 14:14...And Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the heathen round about shall be gathered together, gold, and silver, and apparel, in great abundance.
Many Scriptures such as Luke 6:38 have been taken out of context, twisted, and perverted. This has caused many people to fall from the faith.
Imagine a man who is running a factory. He has been taught prosperity based upon what he does and gives. As a result, he gives away all of his necessary capital for running his business, and his company begins to fail. He is so nervous and torn up that he quarrels with his wife. Because his business is a failure, he begins to take things out on the godly Christian woman who has brought his children into the world and gone through the trials of life with him. Discouraged, he takes off with his secretary and divorces his wife. His home is broken up and he no longer attends church. He is no longer interested in the things of God. He has departed from the faith.
Now picture a widow who has husband's savings in a bank to supplement the Social Security she receives. Because of false teaching, she believes she is going to prosper according to what she gives and does. Hoping for a "100-fold return," she gives all of her husband's savings to the Church. When the money does not come in, when her "seed" is not multiplied, she drops out of the Church. Now she spends her time looking at the television set every night without God. She has lost her faith.
When I hear the "seed faith" teachings across this country, I feel like saying with Paul,
2 Tim 2:17-18...And their word will eat as doth a canker, who concerning the truth have erred, and overthrow the faith of some.
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