d. That not to keep the ordinances of God, is to rob Him.
The Prophet Malachi exhorts the people to return to God, and teaches that their first sign of true repentance ought to be the payment of an honest tithing. The Whole nation, he says, is under a curse, because the people have been robbing God. Now bring all the tithes into the storehouse...prove Me herewith, saith the Lord of Hosts, if I will not open you the windows of Heaven, and pour out a blessing...and all nations shall call you blessed. (See, vv. 10-12)
This is reasonable. If a man repents to the extent that love of God prompts him to return an honest tithe to his Maker, he is not likely to break, wittingly, any other commandment. To pay an honest tithe to his Maker is not all. But the paying of this tribute is a good indication, generally speaking, of the spiritual condition of a Church member.