Your first salary or first profit of the year belongs to God. It’s your first fruit offering. Give it and watch how favors will seek you from every corner of the earth. But how will you or your business survive through the next few months?
Is first fruit offering applicable to Christians in this present age? As an answer, it depends on your belief and knowledge of what first fruit offering is and what it symbolizes to you. Going by its practicality as it was in the Scriptures, it is no longer applicable.
The first fruit offering is now Jesus Christ!
Contrary to this, if you believe in the first fruit offering and would offer it by the end of January, guess what comes next? I’ll tell you, wait for it… A stark reality of Debt-So-Amazing. Well, unless you’d break your piggybank savings (if you have any left) to cover your expenses for February, March, April…
You could think of other survival options if you’re single. Let’s imagine you’re married and with kids to feed and you and your spouse are about to part with your first fruit offering. Don’t worry, you’ll reap in faith when you sow in faith. And I’ll lend you this quote to share with your kids whenever they ask for something of a necessity and you can’t afford it – “God will provide”.
My sincere apologies for the sarcasm. But think about this, who is really getting this first fruit offering of yours? God? I guess your god must have spent all his cash during Christmas or lost it in stocks and you’re the victim of his overindulgence.
No offense intended, I simply want us to discuss this matter as adults. Before we go any further, please see below what some pastors think about the first fruit offering and who it is meant for:
A fool (not you) and his money are soon parted and it is so because they believe anything. The prudent give thought to their steps and apply reason to their decision. Faith doesn’t always nullify reason. And if by now you still don’t believe the first fruit offering is a modern-day religious scam, please Wake Up!
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Here is a brief genesis of it all.
The concept of the first fruit offering could be traced to Old Testament biblical teachings. It involves presenting the first and best portion of one’s harvest or income as an offering to God, symbolizing gratitude and recognition of His providence.
The true essence of the doctrine lies in a heartfelt acknowledgment of God’s provision, but the emphasis is on the Old Testament teachings. And we know (I guess you should know too), that the Old Testament with all its rituals and laws was a shadow of the New Testament, which has been fulfilled by the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
When on the cross at Calvary Jesus Christ said it is finished, He meant all the requirements of the Old Testament’s laws, rituals, and prophecies have been fulfilled. Why would you want to carry on a doctrine that is no longer required? Old things have passed away…
The first fruit offering is now a person. Jesus Christ is our first fruit offering and He has been offered once and for all. It is finished!
What is called the first fruit offering in this time and age is the utter deception of the pulpits preying on the gullibility, ignorance, and devotion of the pews. Oh, how this reminds me of the bible verse in Hosea 4:6 (I bet you don’t know what this verse says). Winks!
Whenever you listen to any sermon inviting you to offer all your salary or profit made in the first month of the year as a first fruit offering, you want to clean your ears properly and change the channel (if listening on TV) or scroll to another timeline on your phone, so you don’t fall for the scam.
Devious church leaders often manipulate church members by compelling them to give exorbitant amounts of money under the guise of presenting their “first fruits” to God. This is at best a trick of the prosperity gospel that promises blessings in return for monetary offerings.
God is not a money doubler and no sacrifice outside Calvary will compel Him to do what is contrary to His will. God is God and He will be God, and His thoughts towards you are of good and peace and not of evil (Jeremiah 29:11). However, there are consequences to actions, and your first fruit offering doesn’t and won’t change this fact.
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The provisions of God are abundantly available to you, but you’ve got to skill up and offer value in the marketplace to earn and succeed. So, you can’t bribe God with a first fruit offering expecting the rest of your year to be blessed because of it. If it works this way, then Adebunmi A. should know better:
“I remember some years ago when I decided to have the first fruit blessing. After struggling through January, I offered my January salary as the first fruit offering with the hope that there would be a blessing on the way.
“The painful part is my pastor never preached first fruit. I suffered in February, March and maybe till June (the suffering was too much). Since that year, I only do the one God has called me to do”.
As a Christian, you can’t afford to be ignorant of what the Scripture says on several topics and themes. Read, study, and learn to discern the motives behind the actions and sermons of church leaders, ensuring that they align with the true teachings of the Bible.
A fool and his money are soon parted. Don’t be a fool. Guard your heart and mind with knowledge and wisdom. The first fruit offering is now a person. The first fruit offering is Jesus Christ, and anything contrary to this is simply a means to rob you of your money.
Don’t fall for the scam!
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