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Tithing?

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By Roger Sapp

Take the following True or False quiz to see how much your really understand about tithing. We predict that many of you will be surprised. Record your answers.

True or False? 1. The Lord Jesus Christ would have tithed.

True or False? 2. Simon Peter, originally a fisherman, would have tithed of the fish that he caught.

True or False? 3. Everyone in the Old Testament seeking to obey the Law of Moses would have tithed.

True or False 4. Abraham tithed to Melchizedek in the same way that believers tithe to the Lord Jesus Christ.

True or False? 5. The Lord Jesus Christ taught His disciples that they should tithe.

True or False? 6. There are many examples of people tithing of their incomes in the Bible.

True or False? 7. The New Testament teaches that we should tithe to ministers in the same way that Jews tithed to the Priests.

True or False? 8. The Bible teaches that God’s standard for giving is ten-percent.

True or False? 9. The righteous poor tithed in the Old Testament.

True or False? 10. Since everyone is held to the same standard, tithing is fair to everyone.

True or False? Bonus Question. The Bible teaches that everyone should give ten-percent of their ongoing income.

Here are the answers.

True or False? 1. The Lord Jesus Christ would have tithed of His income. This one is false. The Lord Jesus Christ was a carpenter by profession and then after He became 30 years old He was a preacher and teacher. Neither of these professions was required by the Law of Moses to tithe anything.

True or False? 2. Simon Peter, originally a fisherman, would have tithed of the fish that he caught. This one is false also. Fishermen were not required to tithe anything either. There were only two kinds of professions in ancient Israel that were required to tithe. Farmers and husbandmen (shepherds and herders) were the only tithers in ancient Israel. They only tithed food.

True or False? 3. Everyone in the Old Testament seeking to obey the Law of Moses would have tithed. It should be evident by now that this one is false also. There were many people with other professions who were not required by the Law to tithe. For instance, the apostle Paul being a tent-maker was not required to tithe. In fact, none of the Twelve apostles would have been tithers because none of them came from the required professions.

True or False? 4. Abraham tithed to Melchizedek in the same way that believers tithe to the Lord Jesus Christ. This one is false also. Abraham’s tithe was very different than what the Church practices today. For instance, Abraham only tithed once. The Church tithes continually. Abraham tithed of the spoils of a war. The Church tithes of its income. Abraham had no increase because he gave the other 90% of the spoils of the war back to the original owner. The Church tithes of its increase. There is no commandment or any logic or indication in the New Testament that believers are to tithe anything to the Lord Jesus Christ. Believers are to give generously as God blesses them.

True or False? 5. The Lord Jesus Christ taught His disciples that they should tithe. False. Christ only makes two statements about tithing. Neither statement says that His disciples should tithe anything. Christ first statement is to the Pharisees not to His disciples. In that statement, Christ says that the Pharisees should continue to tithe food not money. He also says that this tithe of food is a part of the Law and says that it is not even an important part of the Law. His other statement is about a self-righteous Pharisee bragging that he tithes. Christ says that the other man who was not tithing who humbled himself was justified in the sight of God. The self-righteous tither was not justified in the sight of God.

True or False? 6. There are many examples of people tithing of their incomes in the Bible. False. In 4000 years of recorded biblical history there is not a single example of what the Church practices today in tithing money. There are two one-time acts of tithing recorded before the Law. Neither man, Abraham or Jacob, seems to think that they should continue this process beyond the one-time act. Neither man is tithing of their income since each is only involved in a one-time act. Abraham is tithing of the spoils of a war. All the other tithing recorded in the Bible is found in the Law of Moses. In the Law, money was never used to tithe only food. In fact, when someone wanted to use money rather than bring the produce to Jerusalem, God required a 20% penalty to be added. In other words, God discouraged the tithing of money.

True or False? 7. The New Testament teaches that we should tithe to ministers in the same way that Jews tithed to the Priests. False. The New Testament has nothing at all to say about this. This is extra-biblical logic that is not found in the New Testament. In fact, the Book of Hebrews makes it clear that believers are not of the Levitical order of priests. Believers are of a higher order, the order of Melchizedek.

True or False? 8. The Bible teaches that God’s standard for giving is ten-percent. False. Neither the Old Testament or the New Testament teaches this. This is extra-biblical logic again. First of all, the food tithe in the Old Testament was not ten-percent. It was actually more like 23% annually on average. There were three tithes in the Law of Moses. The first tithe was paid only by agrarian families three times yearly to the Priests in Jerusalem. The second tithe was saved by the agrarian families to support this annual trip. It was called the festival tithe. It was for a family vacation. The third tithe was given every three years to the local storehouse, so it amounted to about 3% annually. This was the poor tithe collected for those in need. This is the tithe that Malachi wrote about. None of these tithes were money. They were only food. Those who earned their livings by other occupations did not pay a tithe of anything. However, they did give offerings required by the Law some of which were in silver, gold, bronze and copper coins. Nowhere does the New Testament change this legal obligation of tithe food for some agrarian Israelites in the Law to money tithing for all Christians.

True or False? 9. The righteous poor tithed in the Old Testament. False. The poor had no harvest or flocks to tithe from. They were able to glean the corners of the field of those who were more prosperous.

True or False? 10. Since everyone is held to the same standard, tithing is fair to everyone. False. Tithing is incredibly unfair. Ten-percent of the income of a poor person is a great burden, while ten-percent of the income of a rich person may be no burden at all. If a person only has a $1000 a month income, then $100 of that income will affect their lifestyle and may even impact their ability to take care of their children’s basic needs and pay their bills. If a person has a $10,000 a month income then giving $1,000 per month should have little affect on their lifestyle since they should have a good amount of disposable income beyond their basic needs. If a person has a $100,000 a month income, then $10,000 a month has no appreciable affect on their lifestyle at all.

True or False? Bonus Question. The Bible teaches that everyone should give ten-percent of their ongoing income. False. The modern practice of tithing has five basic elements expressed as everyone gives 10% of ongoing income. How do Bible facts about tithing actually fit with this teaching? Lets compare and contrast the modern teaching of tithing with the Bible.

Everyone gives 10% of ongoing income. Considering the Everyone element. The two events before the Law do not support the idea that everyone should pay tithe. Only Abraham and Jacob in each situation are paying tithe. Genesis doesn’t record anyone else tithing. Abraham and Jacob don’t seem to teach their children to tithe. One of Jacob’s children, Joseph, is a particularly righteous man. In the more than ten detailed chapters devoted to Joseph, we don’t discover him tithing either. Not everyone tithed in Genesis before the Law.

In the Law of Moses, not everyone was required to tithe or give firstfruits. Only those who were actually growing food or raising sheep or cattle were required by the Law to tithe the food or present firstfruits. People from other occupations were not required to tithe since they had no harvest or growth of flocks to tithe or to present firstfruits from. Not everyone tithed food who lived under the Law. No one under the Law tithed money at all.

Christ has only a few words to say about tithing. In those words, Christ does not say that everyone should tithe. He says that unbelieving Jews living under the Law should tithe food if they are growing it. He mentions three food plants. Christ is not addressing His disciples. He is addressing unbelieving Pharisees.

The apostle Paul does not teach that everyone is obligated to tithe or to even to give. He teaches that giving is completely voluntary. The first apostolic council in Acts Chapter 15 does not say that Gentile believers should tithe either. There is absolutely no evidence that any Gentile Christian in the First Century ever tithed anything.

Everyone gives 10% of ongoing income. Considering the gives element. The two events before the Law do seem like giving. They are both voluntary acts. God does not require either man, Abraham or Jacob, to give anything. While this does on the surface seem to support the tithing teaching, it actually contradicts some aspects of the Tithing Obligation teaching. While the proponents of tithing teach that tithing is giving, they also often teach that tithing is required, that a tithe must be paid. Of course, this is a contradiction in their teaching. Something can be only given if it is entirely voluntary. If it is required, then it is, in this case, a fee for spiritual services or a religious tax. If some teach that a believer comes under a curse if they do not tithe, then they are not teaching giving but teaching paying an obligated tithe. Of course, they are right in one sense because they are often spiritualizing the Law of Moses to teach tithing.

Tithing in the Law of Moses was never giving. It was much more like paying taxes. The Law of Moses required tithing by farmers and husbandmen. They would not have seen their tithing as giving. There was nothing voluntary in their paying tithe. They would have been in violation of the Law if they had not done it.

Again, Christ has very little to say about tithing. He did say that Jewish people living under the Law pay tithe. Christ does teach a great deal about finances and giving but never instructs His disciples to tithe money or anything else. He does not instruct them to receive tithes either.

Paul writes a great deal about finances and giving but never instructs anyone to tithe or to receive tithes. The first apostolic council in Acts Chapter 15 is silent on the subject of tithing but is clear that Gentiles are not to keep any aspects of the Law of Moses. That would include tithing of anything.

Everyone gives 10% of ongoing income. Considering the 10% element. The two events before the Law of Moses do seem to support the idea that ten percent of something should be given. The number ten is the same. However, the other four elements are significantly different. This makes tithing being practiced by the Church very different from what is happening in Genesis. The only similarity is the ten percent number.

Christ does validate the ten-percent number but only for Jews living under the Law of Moses. He tells the Pharisees that they should pay tithe, ten percent, of their produced food. He also tells them that paying ten-percent is not a weighty matter of the Law. In saying this, Christ does tell us that tithing is a matter of the Law.

The apostle Paul repeatedly warns believers about the curse of the Law. Gentile believers should not attempt to keep any aspects of the Law. Believers are not required to give ten-percent of food or anything else. The writings of the other apostles, James and Peter, are silent about Christians giving ten percent of food or anything else.

Everyone gives 10% of ongoing income. Considering the ongoing element. The two examples before the Law of Moses do not reveal the practice of on-going tithing. They both appear strongly to be one-time acts. In the case of Jacob, we don’t know exactly what he did but it does seem that he is promising to tithe once if God blesses him. The Church’s practice of ongoing, repetitious tithing simply cannot be validated by two one-time acts.

The only place in the Bible where ongoing, repetitious tithing can be found is in the Law of Moses. Those who were farming or practicing husbandry in Israel had a lifetime obligation to tithe the food that they produced. This ongoing food tithe to support the Mosaic Levitical ministry is often spiritualized to justify repetitious money tithing in support of Christian ministry. This justification is not found in the New Testament.

Christ’s statement about tithing reveals that the ongoing tithing of food is under the Law. Christ says nothing about His disciples practicing ongoing tithing of anything. While the writings of the apostles in the New Testament often speak of generous giving, they are silent about ongoing tithing of anything. The first apostolic council is also silent about ongoing tithing of anything but releases Gentile believers from any aspects of keeping the Law of Moses.

Everyone gives 10% of ongoing income. Considering the income element. Abraham tithes on the spoils of war, not his entire income. Abraham tithed the captured belongings of his defeated enemies. Additionally, Genesis reveals that Abraham didn’t even keep the ninety percent that was remaining. He returned those possessions to the King of Sodom. Abraham’s income, his possessions or any part of his own wealth wasn’t involved at all in his tithing. He had no increase to tithe on. In Jacobs case, we don’t know exactly what he did since all Genesis records is his promise to God. In other words, there is no support in the events before the Law that Christians should give ten percent of their ongoing income.

Nearly everyone that teaches tithing resorts to using the Law and prophets under the Law to teach it. Those that teach Christian tithing from the Law often neglect to reveal that only food produced was tithed on but never money. Only those who earned their livings by producing food tithed at all. Those Israelites who earned money by other means such as tent making, weaving, carpentry, money lending, fishing or many other occupations never tithed on their incomes since it was not commanded of them.

Christ does not change tithing food to tithing money. The writings of the apostles do not change tithing food to tithing money. The apostolic council releases the Gentile believers from any keeping of the Law. They certainly do not change tithing food to tithing money. The book of Hebrews does mention the Old Testament tithing of food but does not validate tithing money for believers today.

Finally, it should be obvious to the reader that this doctrine is pieced together from these various passages. Not a single passage in itself actually teaches what the Church practices today. Spiritualization of the Law is used to teach tithing. Reasoning that is not found in the Bible is used to justify Christians embracing a legalistic practice from the Old Testament. In more than 4000 years of recorded Biblical history, there is not a single recorded example of tithing that is similar to what the Church practices today. We recommend that every Christian renounce this unscriptural practice and reject any lingering fear, guilt or condemnation! God’s children have no debt to their Father to pay other than thanksgiving and praise. Their elder brother, the Lord Jesus Christ, has paid in full the debt. Christ will build His Church but only with the truth. He needs no help from a false doctrine that puts the Children of God under bondage and the curse of the Law. The children are free!
 
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I enjoying giving to my church as I see God working by the use of the money that we give. Call it a tithe, call it giving, I know God loves a cheerful giver. The more we give the more blessed we are as He promises to take care of our every need.
That was an interesting read jiggyfly, Thank you.
 
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I onced asked a question about the tithe and many people responded but one response stuck in my mind from Peeps.

I was asking about net or gross and peeps asked just how much percentage of blessing i wanted to receive!

Giving is fun and a blessing doesn't matter if it is money, time, self etc.

A cheerful giver is someone who is free to give, not bound to give, huge difference.

It all belongs to God anyway so to quote someone else i know "It's all good"
 
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"Christ will build His Church but only with the truth. He needs no help from a false doctrine that puts the Children of God under bondage and the curse of the Law. The children are free!" amen brother!




Tit 1:9 They must stick to the true message they were taught, so that their good teaching can help others and correct everyone who opposes it.
 
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Man has a problem with giving, me in particular.:confused:

Christ is my all in all. I find it easier to give money than my ''self'' time.:eek:mg:

It's not what you are able to give but where your hearts is at the time of giving. I can't out give God. Can you?

He has done every thing for me.
All that He allows me to be ''husbandman'' of is His. House, car, wife, Christian family & finances. :shade:

You can give time, skills, energy, love, sensitivity, & OBEDIENCE to Him who loves you. :love: Aren't these more difficult to give up - to Him, in His body.
 
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This, then, leads us to another question. First allow me to set things up before issuing the question:
  • The OT tithe, of produce and livestock, went for the meeting of needs for five classes of people - priests, Levites, orphans, widows and strangers, never for the upkeep of the temple
  • NT giving, once again, went for the meeting of needs, not for real estate and buildings (unless someone knows of a reference that shows otherwise)
Today, however, the primary portion of most believer's giving is handed over to organized religion for its own expenditures and ambitions for expansion. Some of them have benevolent programs intermixed with all their other programs, all of which compete for the same budgetary considerations.

If refusal to support needs with the largest portion of giving in Israel (the tithe) were tantamount to the robbery of God, then what do we call this historic tradition of funneling the primary portion of people's giving over into real estate, buildings, sound equipment, parking lots, carpeting, programs, staffing, et al, most of which helps to benefit the giver rather than the needy? Are we not witnessing the same type of robbery of God by way of our traditions, somewhat similar to what was happening in Malachi's time?

What do you think?
 
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I brought that same realization to a pastor once, & got crashed about it. I just pray for their eyes to be opened to the truth, & give what I can. You would be suprised @ the people whose denomonations oppose the truth of God's word when tithing is mentioned. Jiggyfly, I appreciate & commend you for voicing what is clearly obvious, if we take the time to study & search the word of God. Be blessed, & keep doin' what 'cha doin'.
 
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  • The OT tithe, of produce and livestock, went for the meeting of needs for five classes of people - priests, Levites, orphans, widows and strangers, never for the upkeep of the temple
  • NT giving, once again, went for the meeting of needs, not for real estate and buildings (unless someone knows of a reference that shows otherwise)
Today, however, the primary portion of most believer's giving is handed over to organized religion for its own expenditures and ambitions for expansion. Some of them have benevolent programs intermixed with all their other programs, all of which compete for the same budgetary considerations.

What do you think?

I think tithing is very important, because the scriptures clearly states, we are robbing God, if we don't. These scripture was inspired by God, so we can't ignore it.

Mal 3:8 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.
Mal 3:9 Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.
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.
Mal 3:11 And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts.

We must listen to God when He tells us what to do with our 10th. As Blademan stated above, you can give your 10th to widows, orphans or other believers that are in need of anything.

Mat 6:4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.

God will see what you are doing.

I think most people out there, wonder what the churches do with the money, this in turn puts doubts into peoples minds, (which is from the devil of course), then we end up not giving nothing.

I enjoy giving now. I need to do more, it's on my heart, and I am being disobediant to God.

Before being born again, I hated giving. God has changed my heart in that respect. I do it for Him, not for man. :love:
 
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Here is another write up on the issue of tithing from bibletruth. Its rather lengthy but i think its worth reading too. This is just the first part.


PART I

"Will a man ROB God?" How many untold tens of thousands of men will give account one day for teaching this verse in Malachi 3:8 totally out of context for their own sordid gain. I couldn’t count the times I have heard self-appointed ministers of the gospel berate their congregations and listeners for "robbing God" in tithes and offerings. This verse in Malachi certainly means what it says. Someone was defrauding God of tithes and offerings, but wait until you find out who it is that God blames for this act.

On any given Sunday morning there will be numerous men-of-the-cloth who will be bellowing out over the air waves that people are being "cursed with a curse" because they have failed to pay God ten percent of their paychecks. And should such a gullible listener decide to repent and give God ten percent of his salary, just how would he do that? Just keep reading. These men of the cloth who often have unquenchable worldly desires of the flesh, will be sure to give you an address where you can send them (or, ah, rather God) your tithe. And do they have a right to quote these Scriptures in this manner? No they do not, and furthermore they themselves know better.

SOME SHOCKING TRUTHS ABOUT THE CHRISTIAN TITHING DOCTRINE

Abraham never tithed on his own personal property or livestock.

Jacob wouldn’t tithe until God blessed him first.

Only Levite priests could collect tithes, and there are no Levite priests today.

Only food products from the land were tithable.

Money was never a titheable commodity.

Christian converts were never asked to tithe anything to the Church.

Tithing in the Church first appears centuries after completion of the Bible.
ALL SCRIPTURAL REFERENCES TO TITHING

We will now go through all the Scriptural references in the Bible on tithe, tithes, and tithing:

[1] Gen. 14:20, "And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he [Abram] gave him [Melchizedek king of Salem, the priest of the most high God, Ver. 18] TITHES of all [all the goods of war, Ver. 16]."

We read again of this same event in the book of Hebrews:

[2] Heb. 7:1-10, "For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of God Most High, who meets with Abraham returning from the combat with the kings and blesses him, to whom Abraham parts a TITHE also, from all... Now, behold how eminent this one is to whom the patriarch Abraham gives a TITHE also of the best of the booty. And, indeed, those of the sons of Levi who obtain the priestly office have a direction to take TITHES from the people according to the law... And here, indeed, dying men are obtaining TITHES... And so, to say, through Abraham, Levi also, who is obtaining the TITHES, has been TITHED, for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek meets with him."

There are a number of things we can learn concerning tithing from this section of Scriptures. In this, the first mention of tithing in the Bible, Abram gives to Melchizedek (a priest of God who was also the king of the city of Salem) a tithe of the best of the booty taken in war. Notice that this was not wheat, corn, wine, oil, or cattle from Abram’s personal possessions, but rather booty taken from conquered nations.

There is nothing stated here that would cause us to conclude that Abram (later changed to Abraham) ever tithed on a regular basis on his own person possessions. Although Abraham gave Melchizedek a tithe of the booty of war, he told the king of Sodom that he would take none of it for himself.

In this same account recorded in the seventh chapter of Hebrews, we learn that the priests of Levi, from the family of Aaron (although far inferior to the priestly order of Melchizedek) also receive tithes from the people according to the law. This tells us little more about the actual tithes other than they received tithes.

Christian scholars claim that Abraham’s tithing of the spoils of war predated the Law of Moses, and therefore even if the Law of Moses is done away with, tithing is still binding on Christians because Abraham predated the Law of Moses. Is this true?

And Christendom teaches that this Scripture is the first proof from the Word of God that Christians are to tithe ten percent of their salaries to the church. But what have we really learned from these Scriptures?:

Abraham went to war on behalf of Sodom (SODOM, mind you), to rescue his nephew, Lot. He then gave 10% of these spoils of war to Melchizedek, and allowed Sodom to keep 90%, while he himself kept NOTHING!

Now then, is there a Scholar alive anywhere on earth that can explain to us how this one single unparalleled and never-again-to-be-duplicated event, is Scriptural proof that Christians should give 10% of their annual salaries (not the spoils of war, but their money, their salaries), not once, but year after year after year, not to Melchizedek, but to Clergymen who claim to be ministers of Jesus Christ? If anyone can see a similarity here, I will show him the similarity between an elephant and a fruit fly.

Next we will observe a Scripture that you will probably never hear a sermon on. No tithe-preaching clergyman would use the example of how Jacob tithed. Remember, Jacob is the grandson of Abraham, the father of the faithful, whom God also blessed tremendously. Not only did God approve of Jacob’s tithing proposal, but, He made it the foundational principle upon which all future tithing would be based. Here it is.

[3] Gen. 28:20-22, "And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, IF God will be with me, and [if God] will keep me in this way that I go, and [if God] will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, So that I come again to my father’s house in peace; THEN shall the Lord be my God: And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God’s house: and of all that thou shall GIVE ME I will surely give the TENTH unto thee."

Wow! This one Scripture pretty much contradicts 99% of all sermons I have ever heard on the subject of tithing! This is the very first Scripture in the Bible that gives an account of someone giving a tenth or tithe of his personal possessions back to God. But, oh how different it is from the teachings of most Christian Churches.

First Jacob truly recognizes God as God. He then begins to proposition God. He states that "IF" God will do this and "IF’ God will do the other things, "THEN" Jacob says, "shall the Lord be my God." Jacob concludes his proposition to God, should God meet all of his requirements, by saying that of all the things that God will first give to Jacob, Jacob will give God back a tenth. Now don’t laugh. God honored Jacob’s proposition, and furthermore, God continued to honor this same principle of tithing all through Israel’s history. As Paul said, "Now what have you which you did not obtain?" (I Cor. 4:7) All that we possess comes from God.

And so, once more, we learn that Israel was not to tithe on what they did not first possess, unlike those today who teach that it is required to tithe on that which one does not already possess.

God is not partial and God is not a hypocrite. This example of Jacob proves that God doesn’t expect a tithe until He blessed the tithe payer first. Everyone should put down this paper, call his minister, and tell him you want to hear a sermon Sunday morning on how Jacob paid tithes to God. Now hold your breath.

Let’s ask ourselves a reasonable question: Just how did Jacob actually give a tithe to God? Did he personally hand it to God? No, no one has ever even seen God. Did Jacob tithe to an angel? No, angels do not need and can’t use tithes. Did Jacob send his tithe to Heaven by Celestial Express? No. Did he take it to the local church? No, there was no local church. Did he take it to the Temple? No, there was no temple. Did he give it directly to one of the Levitic priests? No, there were no Levites as yet. Well how then did Jacob tithe to God? Was it even possible? Yes, there were actually two different ways that Jacob could tithe to God:

"And thither ye shall bring your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, and your TITHES, and heave offerings of your hand, and your vows, and your freewill offerings, and the firstlings of your herds and of your flocks: And there ye shall eat before the Lord your God, and ye shall rejoice in all that ye put your hand unto, YE and YOUR HOUSEHOLDS, wherein the Lord thy God hath blessed thee" (Deut. 12:6-7).

"And even though there were no Levites in Jacob’s day, nonetheless, there were "...the STRANGER, and the FATHERLESS, and the WIDOW, which are within thy gates, shall come, and SHALL EAT AND BE SATISFIED; that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all the work of thin hand which thou doest" (Deut. 14:29).

That’s how God acknowledged a tithe from Jacob: By partaking of a portion himself and his family in communion and thanksgiving to God, and by sharing his fortune with those who were unfortunate, poor, strangers, etc.

[4] Leviticus 27:30-33, "And all the TITHE of the LAND, whether of the SEED of the land, or of the FRUIT, of the tree, is the Lord’s: it is holy unto the Lord. And if a man will at all redeem ought of his tithes, he shall add thereto the fifth part thereof. And concerning the TITHE of the HERD, or of the FLOCK, even of whatsoever passes under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the Lord. He shall not search whether it be good or bad, neither shall he change it..."

We learn a great deal about tithing in this section of Scripture:

The tithe comes from the "land," not the air or the sea. Fishermen were not required to tithe fish.
It was the "seed" or agricultural products from the fields that was holy to God and tithable.
Products from "trees" were to be tithed. This not only included the fruit, but oils, etc.
Of "herds or flocks" it was the "tenth" that passed under the rod that was holy and dedicated to God.
Here is exposed another lie of modern clergymen. It was not the first tenth, but rather the tenth tenth that belonged to God, contrary to every minister I have ever heard, who insists that the first tenth always belongs to God. Unscriptural. Untrue. Read your bible--it’s the tenth one of a herd that belongs to God.

Another interesting point is this. If a herdsman had but nine cattle, he didn’t tithe his cattle at all! Also notice that God did not even require the best of the cattle, just the tenth one to pass under the rod even if it was the runtiest of them all. Remember, we are talking about tithing and not sacrificing (animals for sacrifice always had to be without blemish).

Did you notice that this summary at the very end of the book of Leviticus does not mention the tithing of money? Interesting. But just maybe we will find the tithing of money in some other Scripture?

[5] Numbers 18:24-28, "But the TITHES of the children of Israel, which they offer as an heave offering unto the Lord, I have given to the Levites to inherit: therefore I have said unto them, Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.

And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying, Thus speak unto the Levites, and say unto them, When ye take of the children of Israel the TITHES which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then ye shall offer up an heave offering of it for the Lord, even a TENTH part of the TITHE. And this your heave offering shall be reckoned unto you, as though it were the corn of the threshing floor, and as the fullness of the winepress. Thus ye also shall offer an heave offering unto the Lord of all your TITHES, which ye receive of the children of Israel; and ye shall give thereof the Lord’s heave offering to Aaron the priest."

According to the above Scriptures, could just anyone claim to be a representative of God and therefore have Israel pay tithes to him? Let’s read it again, "But the TITHES of the children of Israel ... I have given to the Levites to inherit." Now in order to be a priest one not only had to be of the tribe of Levi, but he also had to be of the family of Aaron. In fact, if one could not trace his genealogy back to the family of Aaron, he could not be a priest of God. This is the whole point of Hebrews seven. Jesus Christ is a priest for the eons of the rank of Melchizedek because Melchizedek predated the law which stated that only sons of Aaron could be priests. Therefore Melchizedek’s genealogy is not given in the Scriptures, and Christ, who according to the flesh is of the line of Judah, can and will be God’s High Priest in the Kingdom of God.

A warning to all charlatans and would-be tithe extractors and collectors: There is NO temple of God being officiated in Jerusalem today. There is NO Levitic priesthood to officiate at such a temple. There is NO NEED for such a temple or priesthood at this time. Only Levites could collect tithes at the temple. Therefore, EVERYONE collecting tithes today is a charlatan and a fake. If one cannot historically trace back his genealogy generation by generation with no lapses to the family of Aaron, he IS NOT and CANNOT be a priest authorized of God at this time to collect tithes for the temple services and sacrifices. (Of course Jesus IS our Sacrifice, and therefore that whole system funded by the tithes of the law is no longer applicable).

Yet today we have tithe collecting preachers like James Kennedy and John Hagee, with whom I am a little familiar, collecting tithe monies by the millions and millions of dollars annually. Yet by years end I heard them begging for more multiple millions of dollars to get them out of all the financial debt they had accumulated during the year. And then, (so help me, if I’m lying, I’m dying), John Hagee has the unmitigated gall to offer his followers (excuse me, sell to his followers--three video tapes, $60 US/$87 CAN) entitled The POWER to get WEALTH, by which Mr. Hagee assures us that we can learn to "STAY OUT OF DEBT"! Can you believe it? Would the word "hypocrite" be too strong or out of place here?

The whole system changed under the New Covenant. Notice what happened:

Jesus said the temple would be utterly destroyed

"And, coming out, Jesus sent from the sanctuary. And His disciples approached to exhibit to Him the buildings of the sanctuary. Yet He, answering, said to them, 'Are you not observing all these? Verily, I am saying to you, Under no circumstances may a stone here be left on a stone, which shall not be DEMOLISHED.’" (Matt. 24:1-2).

Under the New Covenant, God does not dwell in temples made with hands,

"The God Who makes the world and all that is in it, He, the Lord inherent of heaven and earth, is NOT dwelling in temples made by hands..." (Acts 17:24).

The true believers under the New Covenant are now God’s temple,

"For YOU ARE THE TEMPLE OF THE LIVING GOD, according as God said, that I will be making My home and will be walking in them, and I will be their God, and they shall be My people" (II Cor. 6:16).

See also, (I Cor. 3:15 and I Cor. 1:19).

All theologians know that when the temple ceased, the priesthood officiating at the temple CEASED!

Each individual believer under the New Covenant forms a NEW priesthood,

"Yet you are a chosen race, a ‘ROYAL PRIESTHOOD’..." (I Peter 2:9).
How then, under the New Covenant, does a believer give a tenth, when he is supposed to give his all (Rom. 12:1), to a priesthood that does not exist, but now he himself is part of a priesthood (I Peter 2:9), at a temple that does not exist (Mat. 24:1-2), but rather he himself is the temple wherein God dwells. No longer do we have priests with spiritual infirmities interceding for us, but rather we have Christ Jesus as our perfect intercessor and High Priest seated at the right hand of the Majesty in the heavens (Heb. 7:28-8:1).

At this time in history, Israel owes no tithe to anyone. And, of course, we Gentiles (who are a new creation and the true Israel of God--Gal. 6:16) were never instructed to tithe in the first place. Read all thirteen books of the apostle Paul to the gentiles and find one verse where he instructed Gentiles to pay one cent of tithe money to anyone.

[6] Deut. 12:6, 7, 11, 12, 17, 18, "And thither ye shall bring your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, and your TITHES, and heave offerings of your hand, and your vows, and your freewill offerings, and the firstlings of your herds and of your flock.

And there, ye shall eat before the Lord your God, and ye shall rejoice in all that ye put your hand unto, ye and your households, wherein the Lord thy God hath blessed thee.

Then there shall be a place which the Lord your God shall choose to cause his name to dwell there; thither shall ye bring all that I command you; your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, your TITHES, and the heave offering of your hand, and all your choice vows which ye vow unto the Lord.

And ye shall rejoice before the Lord your God, YE, and your SONS and your DAUGHTERS, and your MENSERVANTS, and your MAIDSERVANTS, and the LEVITE that is within your gates; forasmuch as he hath no part nor inheritance with you.

You may not eat within thy gates the TITHE of thy corn, or of thy wine, or of thy oil, or the firstlings of thy herds or of the flocks, nor any of thy vows which thou vow, nor thy freewill offerings, or heave offering of your hand: But YOU MUST EAT THEM before the Lord thy God in the place which the Lord thy God shall choose..."

Let us learn. Who was to partake of all these tithes and good things of the herd and of the land and of the trees? Everyone (yes, the Levite was also included) was to rejoice before the Lord. Did anyone see "money" in the list of things they were to bring before the Lord to rejoice? Was it just the ministers (the Levites) who were the recipients of these tithes and offerings, or was not everyone to partake of these things? Rejoicing and eating one’s own tithe before the Lord, was a very personal and reverend act of worship and communion with God. Not unlike prayer. Others may share and profit from our prayers, but we offer them to God, not to men.

The following verses deal with a practice initiated by God Himself to accommodate those traveling long distances to the Festival Sites where they were to eat and rejoice before the Lord to learn to fear Him. They could sell their tithes of the land for MONEY, and carry that amount of money rather than the bulky and heavy tithes themselves, to the Festival Site. There they were to purchase whatever their hearts desired and to share it with the Levites and the less fortunate. These verses will be further explained in Part II of this paper

[7] Deut. 14:22-29, "Thou shall truly TITHE all the INCREASE of thy SEED, that the field brings forth year by year."

"And you shall eat before the lord your God, in the place which He shall choose to place His name there, the TITHE of thy CORN, of thy WINE, and of your OIL, and the FIRSTLINGS OF THY HERDS and of thy FLOCKS: that thou may learn to fear the Lord thy God always.

And if the way be too long for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it; or if the place be too far from thee, which the Lord thy God shall choose to set His name there, when the Lord thy God hath blessed thee:

Then shall thou turn it into MONEY, and bind up the MONEY in your hand, and shall go unto the place which the Lord thy God shall choose:

And thou shall BESTOW THAT MONEY FOR WHATSOEVER YOUR SOUL LUSTETH AFTER, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for WHATSOEVER YOUR SOUL DESIRES: and YOU shall eat there before the Lord thy God, and THOU shall rejoice, THOU, AND THINE HOUSEHOLD.

And the Levite that is within thy gates, thou shall not forsake him; for he has no part, nor inheritance with thee.

At the end of three years thou shall bring forth all the TITHE of thine INCREASE the same year, and shall lay it up within thy gates:

And the Levite, (because he hath no part nor inheritance with thee,) and the STRANGER, and the FATHERLESS, and the WIDOW, which are within thy gates, shall come, and SHALL EAT AND BE SATISFIED; that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all the work of your hand which thou doest."

This third year of tithing is mentioned again:

[8] Deut. 26:12, "When thou hast made an end of TITHING all the TITHES of your INCREASE the third year, which is the year of TITHING, and has given it unto the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within thy gates, and be filled."

Again we notice that Israel never tithed from their poverty, but on their INCREASE. Contrary to all the deceiving "Shambachs" in the world, God never intended for people to tithe on what they didn’t have, but only on the increase of what God gave them.

For those who don’t know, Mr. Shambach is a character on TBN who told everyone on international television, via 25 communication satellites and reaching about 50,000 major cities around the world, that God personally told him to tell everyone that in order for them to get out of debt and be blessed of God, everyone needed to send Paul Crouch $2000 each, even if they didn’t have the money! He said God would bless them even if they had to pay the $2000 in smaller monthly increments. Unbelievable!

TBN's teaching on tithing are totally unscriptural even if Christians were to tithe. Time and again God told Israel that they were to tithe on their increase from their abundance, not on their decrease or their lack.

Paul never taught the Gentiles to tithe, but he did teach them to give freely from what they had, not from what they didn’t have:

"I want to suggest that you finish what you started to do a year ago, for you were not only the first to propose this idea, but the first to begin doing something about it. Having started the ball rolling so enthusiastically, you should carry this project through to completion just as gladly, GIVING WHATEVER YOU CAN OUT OF WHATEVER YOU HAVE. Let your enthusiastic idea at the start be equaled by your realistic action now. If you are really EAGER TO GIVE, then it isn't important HOW MUCH YOU HAVE TO GIVE. God wants you to give WHAT YOU HAVE, NOT WHAT YOU HAVEN'T" (II Cor. 8:10-12, The Living Bible).

Oh, let met give you one more prosperity example while I’m at it. Some time ago I critiqued two sermons by Dr. Kennedy and Dr. Hagee. As I sent for one of Hagee’s cassette tapes so as to quote him correctly, I got put on his mailing list. In August of 1999 I got a magazine in which he announced a proposed celebration. It appears that he needed seven or eight million dollars in new video equipment and facilities of which he still owed 3.5 million on this debt. Anyway, to commemorate this huge debt and a proposal to get someone else to pay it off for him, he announced "Millennium Miracle 2000 by 2000"! "What in the world is that?" you ask. Well, since you asked, I’ll tell you.

To commemorate this huge debt and Mr. Hagee’s plan to get other people to pay it off for him, he came up with a plan to mint a one ounce sterling silver coin which would then have printed on one side: "Millennium Miracle 2000 by 2000," and on the other side: Your Name!

The plan was for 2000 people to send John Hagee $2000 dollars each for the next few months so that by the year 2000 Mr. Hagee would be DEBT FREE! Why it’s a "Millennium Miracle"! (Wait a minute, isn’t 2000 people times $2000 each $4,000,000, not $3.5 million dollars? Oh well, a $500,000 error in John’s favor should come in handy for something).

Each contributor of $2000 would then get a coin commemorating his contribution: "What a precious heirloom that can be passed from one generation to the next honoring your commitment to the Lord" (Emphasis mine). WHAT A PRECIOUS CROCK...! Do you think the word "hypocrite" would be appropriate one more time?

How stupid do they think the American people are? These are full-grown men. Some of them highly educated people. And yet they shamelessly hawk and huckster their ridiculous religious doctrines, trinkets, and wares over the air waves, like PEDDLERS, in the name of God!

Now don’t think I take credit for coming up with that word "peddler." The apostle Paul told the Corinthians (and now it’s in our Bibles for the whole world to see) that:

"For we are not as the MAJORITY, who are PEDDLING THE WORD GOD..." (II Cor. 2:17, Concordant Version).

The word translated here "peddling" in the Concordant New Testament comes from the word "kapeleuo" which the spirit of God inspired to be used in the original Greek text of this verse of Scripture.

Here is the meaning of the Greek word "kapeleuo" translated "peddler." "To sell at retail, with the insinuation of improper profit, either by overcharging or adulterating" (Greek-English Keyword Concordance, page 220).

And notice please that it is not just a few who "peddle" the Word of God, but Paul says, "...the MAJORITY..." are peddling the word of God! Contrast this insincere merchandising of the word of God with Paul’s motive:

"For we ARE NOT as the majority, who are peddling the word of God, but as OF SINCERITY, but as OF GOD, in the sight of God IN CHRIST, are we speaking."

Just a few chapters later Paul informs us that one day we all will stand before the judgment seat of Christ and give an account of our lives, (II Cor. 5:10).

This next section in Chronicles tells us the same things we have already learned concerning what products were to be tithed.

[9] II Chronicles 31:5, 6, 12, "And as soon as the commandment came abroad, the children of Israel brought in ABUNDANCE the firstfruits of CORN, WINE, and OIL, and HONEY, and of all the INCREASE of the field; and the TITHE of all things brought they in abundantly.

And concerning the children of Israel and Judah, that dwelt in the cities of Judah, they also brought in the TITHE of OXEN and SHEEP, and the TITHE of holy things which were consecrated unto the Lord their God, and laid them by heaps.

And brought in the offerings and the TITHES ..."

This next section of Scriptures deals with a special tithe and offering given to NEW priests and Levites set up by Hezekiah after cleaning house in the cities of Judah by destroying the idols and altars to pagan gods.

[10] Nehemiah 10:37-38, "And that we should bring the firstfruits of our dough, and our offerings, and the fruit of all manner of trees, of wine and of oil, unto the priests, to the chambers of the house of our God and the TITHES of our ground unto the Levites, that the same Levites might have the TITHES in all the cities of our tillage.

And the priest the son of Aaron shall be the Levites, when the Levites take TITHES: and the Levites shall bring up the TITHE of the TITHES unto the house of our God, to the chambers into the treasure house."

Again, no mention of money, only agricultural products of the fields, and only the Levites and priests could have access to these tithes and offerings in the house of God.

[11] Nehemiah 12:44, "And at that time were some appointed over the chambers for the treasures, for the offerings, for the fruitfruits, and for the TITHES, to gather into them out of the fields of the cities the portions of the law for the priests and Levites: for Judah rejoiced for the priests and for the Levites that waited."

Nothing new in this verse that, we have not already discussed.

[12] Nehemiah 13:5, 12 "And he had prepared for him a great chamber, where aforetime they laid the meat offerings, the frankincense, and the vessels, and the TITHES of the corn, the new wine, and the oil, which was commanded to be given to the Levites, and the singers, and the porters; and the offerings of the priests."

"Then brought all Judah the TITHE of the corn and the new wine and the oil unto the treasuries."

Same story: ONLY agricultural products, and ONLY to the Levites and priests.

[13] Amos 4:4, "Come to Bethel, and transgress; at Gilgal multiply transgression; and bring your sacrifices every morning, and your TITHES after three years."

[14] Malachi 3:8-10, "Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings…"

This Malachi Prophecy is covered in much greater detail in Part II of this paper, and so I will give just one more Scripture to help us understand how the priests of Malachi’s prophecy may have been living so as to bring upon them the condemnation of God’s judgments:

"And the priest’s custom with the people was, that, when any man offered sacrifice, the PRIEST’S servant came, while the flesh was in seething, with a flesh hook of three teeth in the hand;

And he struck it into the pan, or kettle, or caldron, or pot; all that the flesh hook brought up the priest took for himself. So they did in Shiloh unto all the Israelites that came thither.

Also before they burnt the fat, the priest’s servant came, and said to the man that sacrificed, Give flesh to roast for the PRIEST; for he will not have sodden flesh of thee, but raw.

And if any man said unto him, Let them not fail to burn the fat presently, and then take as much as thy soul desires; then he would answer him, Nay, but thou shall give it me now: and if not, I will take it by force.

Wherefore the sin of the young men was very great before the Lord: for MEN ABHORRED the offering of the Lord." (I Sam. 2:13:17).

Don’t these verses sound as if they came right out of the book of Malachi?

[15] Matt. 23:23 and Luke 11:42 are discussed in greater detail in Part II of this paper.

CONCLUSION

Now I’m going to preach at you for just a few minutes, and then I’ll let you go. Turn to Gal. 6:14-16:

"Now may it not be mine to be boasting, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is anything, but a NEW CREATION. And whoever shall observe the elements by this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, also on the Israel of God."

What is "...this rule...?" We are no longer doing things according to the flesh. Circumcision was the single most important ritual for a man in Israel to do. Yet circumcision is physical (of the letter and of the flesh), even water baptism is physical (of the letter and of the flesh), sacrificing animals is physical (of the letter and of the flesh), tithing is physical (of the letter and of the flesh), etc., etc., etc.

"...God, Who also makes us competent dispensers of a NEW covenant, not of the letter, but of the spirit, for the letter is killing, yet the spirit is vivifying [giving life]" (II Cor. 3:6).

The physical is but a tiny microcosm of the spiritual macrocosm. Cutting a few centimeters of skin from a boy’s ***** does not make him a spiritual man! But all of these rituals and ceremonies of the Old Covenant pointed to a future SPIRITUAL reality. True circumcision is not of the flesh, but of the heart, mind, soul, and spirit—it virtually has nothing to do with a few centimeters of physical skin.

"For not that which is apparent is the Jew, nor yet that which is apparent in flesh is circumcision; but that which is hidden IS the Jew, and circumcision is of the heart, in spirit, not in letter, whose applause is not of men, but of God" (Rom. 2:29).

Jesus Christ is not interested in the letter, in the physical, in the flesh.

"Now those who are in the flesh are not able to please God" (Rom. 8:8).

Even baptism is of the heart. The thief on the cross was not baptized in water, yet Jesus said he would be with Him when He comes in His kingdom. "...whoever are baptized into Christ Jesus, are baptized into His DEATH" "His death," not water.

"We, then, were entombed together with Him through baptism into death, that, even as Christ was roused from among the dead through the glory of the Father, thus we also should be walking in newness of life" (Rom. 6:3-4).

It’s all about the SPIRIT--not water, foreskins, and money!

God doesn’t need or want ten percent of anything we have. God wants one hundred percent. Christ died for ALL OF YOU, and He wants ALL OF YOU, not just a percentage! God doesn’t want your money; He wants YOU!

You are already bought and paid for in full by Christ Jesus -- don’t try to add your two cents. We are now to live on a standard far above what we ever knew before Christ called us to become new creatures in the spirit. This can only be done through the power of God’s spirit. Our flesh is profiting NOTHING.

"Yet you are not in flesh, but IN SPIRIT, if so be that God’s spirit is making its home in you" (Rom. 8:9).

One living in the spirit is not all concerned about physical things of the letter and of the flesh. The apostle Paul wasn’t called to "baptize," "circumcise," or "collect tithes." The kingdom of God is not food and drink. Paul’s whole ministry was proof of that--see my paper, "Paul’s Splinter in the Flesh."

If people feel they need to give something to God, something physical, something they can see and feel good about, then try this:

"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

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove that is that good and acceptable and perfect, will of God" (Rom. 12:1-2).

The Apostle Paul said:

"Every man according as he purposes in his heart, so let him give, not grudgingly, or of NECESSITY: for GOD LOVETH A CHEERFUL GIVER." (II Cor.. 9:7).

I would not give another penny to televangelists who peddle the word of God like some cheap merchandise for money. And the amount of money they extort from the public is colossal. What in the world do they do with all that money?

Never have SO MANY… accomplished SO LITTLE … with SO MUCH!

The real missionaries of the Gospel of Jesus Christ have not flown first class to cushy hotels in exotic lands to teach the natives while dressed in their $3000 suits! The real missionaries were often down in the trenches with few if any luxuries. And there are still to be found such dedicated dispensers of God’s Word. These are the ones that are in need of financial support, for sure. These are those who truly are "worthy of their hire."

HELP THE NEEDY, NOT THE GREEDY

Give to the fatherless, the orphans, the strangers, the widows, the poor, and the needy, the homeless, and the beggar on the street, as God gives to you, the wherewithal. Give to reputable charities if you have extra. Give to your family members and relatives in need—don’t humiliate them by making them ask you first. Give to a neighbor in financial distress. Even when tipping someone, let it be a reflection of the One that you are representing in your Christian walk. Our God is a generous God—may you become generous also. Develop a "love for giving." Paul tells us in Acts 20:35b to:

Remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how He said, IT IS MORE BLESSED TO GIVE THAN TO RECEIVE
 
Member
I don't know how God does it, but he blesses my husband and me when we tithe. Sure, He would love us whether we tithed or not. But it makes us happy to give, and I firmly believe that our church uses the tithes and offerings for God's work.

Our church has a heart for poor people and people down in the dumps. We give stoves, refrigerators, cribs, and there is a lady who organizes it to make sure that people in the community receive what they need. This is Scriptural and it blesses so many.
 
Member
Mat 17:24 And when they were come to Capernaum, they that received tribute money came to Peter, and said, Doth not your master pay tribute?
Mat 17:25 He saith, Yes. And when he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying, What thinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? of their own children, or of strangers?
Mat 17:26 Peter saith unto him, Of strangers. Jesus saith unto him, Then are the children free.
Mat 17:27 Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast a hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee. KJV


Jesus paid trubute(tithes or taxes) who are we do deny paying?
Just a question.
 
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I brought that same realization to a pastor once, & got crashed about it.

So, that pastor had already determined that it was ok for his organization to rob God by redirecting the primary portion of believer's money over into the institution for its own disposal? I've heard many pastors talk about their (c)hurch organization being a storehouse, which is completely untrue of the vast majority of them.

Actually, the main thrust of my understanding is that it's fine for folks to support their local (c)hurch organization secondarily to our primary responsibility toward one another.

I can't reiterate enough the fact that, although many people talk much about tithing, and our need to do so, most of them overlook the fact that the OT tithe went for the meeting of needs, never for the upkeep of the temple, synagogues, or anything else having to do with real estate and/or buildings. This gives us a very good indication that the Lord's priority in our giving must always be focused FIRST upon meeting needs. No other model exists anywhere in the word of God demonstrating any other order in priorities. (Bold print for emphasis only, not yelling.)

I just pray for their eyes to be opened to the truth,

Tradition is a powerful force. Much of the time, it's the most powerful and authoritative motivator, moreso than God's word, for how (c)hurch organizations handle the primary portion of the people's giving. As I had stated before, this clearly is robbery of God, as was stated in Malachi 3. That prohpet was addressing a people who were sill under the Lawful requirement to tithe.

Pro-required-tithing defenders also seem to always overlook the fact that a tithe was never required from the monetary wages of wage-earners. The false teaching that the Lord allegedly expects a tithe from yours and my wages is a false teaching when it's declared to originate from the word of God. The Lord gave no man the authority to redefine what His inspired word clearly teaches. As the original post to this thread stated, not even the fishermen were required to hand over a tenth of the fish they caught. If someone thinks this does originate from God's word, then I'd very much like to see it, and I would appreciate such correction. All I ask is that any and all references provided remain consistent with the context within which they exist. For example, remembering that Malachi was addressing a people who were still under the Law, we can't pull his words up out of the soil of their entire context and enslave modern believers to the Law. That's not only dishonest, but it's also a grave disservice to the purity of God's word.

I'd also like to discourage any attempt at creating a principle out of thin air. What Abraham did had nothing to do with a principle we can follow. He gave Melchizedek a tenth of the spoils, which was property he knew was never his in the first place. I've asked staunch pro-required-tithing defenders if they'd ever feel comfrotable, as followers of Christ Jesus, keeping property, with a clear conscience, they found, which they knew belonged to someone else. This caused them to squirm, and some even tried to get away from the obvious with very poor attemtps at turning the table to their favor. It simply doesn't work. Abraham deliberately returned that property, apart from the tenth to Melchizedek and the portion for his men. Abraham's property was still located up in northern Canaan. Nobody with half their brain tied behind their back would attempt to take all their cattle, sheep, grains, tents, servents, children, et al, on a mission of war, and successfully catch up with an enemy on the move.

Creating principles out of thin air, which are nowhere upheld in scripture, for one's self is all fine and dandy, so long as we don't place a demand for adherence upon others to such principles that we ourselves created. I doubt the Lord looks favorably upon any one of us attempting to enslave others to principles of our own making that don't have the Lord's stamp of approval.

I promise to give a tenth of your property that I recover from a thief to Melchizedek, before returning it to you...if I ever happen upon Melchizedek that is.:wink:
 
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Member
I think tithing is very important, because the scriptures clearly states, we are robbing God, if we don't. These scripture was inspired by God, so we can't ignore it.

Um, I think that if you read those passages again in Malachi 3, you'll glean the fact that Malachi was addressing a requirement from the Law of God to a people who were still under obligation to obey that Law. Is there something in the NT that authorizes us to pull from God's Law a demand for adherence to something that was tied directly to the temple, which no longer exists?

I agree with you that the tithe was indeed very important. It met the needs of the priests, Levites, orphans, widows and strangers in the land. It was never required of the wage-earners of that time, like you amd me (unless you were a farmer, rancher, shepherd, and/or had orchards and/or vineyards. Those are the people Malachi was addressing. He wasn't talking to the craftsmen, fishermen, or laborers who had no lands, herds or flocks. I'd encourage you to read God's Law governing the tithe to verify what I'm saying.

I think most people out there, wonder what the churches do with the money, this in turn puts doubts into peoples minds, (which is from the devil of course), then we end up not giving nothing.

This may be true of some, but most I've met simply redirect the primary portion of their monthly giving over to the meeting of genuine needs of fellow believers, and give secondarily to their (c)hurch organization. The pastors of their (c)hurches tend to not like this, but they simply don't have a theological leg upon which to stand so far as I can see.
 
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Staff Member
Question: "What does the Bible say about Christian tithing?”

Answer: Tithing is an issue that many Christians struggle with. In many churches tithing is over-emphasized. At the same time, many Christians refuse to submit to the Biblical exhortation in regards to making offerings to the Lord. Tithing / giving is intended to be a joy, a blessing. Sadly, that is rarely the case in the church today.

Tithing is an Old Testament concept. The tithe was a requirement of the law in which all Israelites were give 10% of everything they earned and grew to the Tabernacle / Temple (Leviticus 27:30; Numbers 18:26; Deuteronomy 14:24; 2 Chronicles 31:5). Some understand the Old Testament tithe as a method of taxation to provide for the needs of the priests and Levites of the sacrificial system. The New Testament nowhere commands, or even recommends that Christians submit to a legalistic tithe system. Paul states that believers should set aside a portion of their income in order to support the church (1 Corinthians 16:1-2).

The New Testament nowhere assigns a certain percentage of income to set aside, but only says it is to be “in keeping with his income” (1 Corinthians 16:2). The Christian church has essentially taken the 10% figure from the Old Testament tithe and applied it as a “recommended minimum” for Christians in their giving. Although the New Testament does not identify a specific amount or percentage to give, it does talk about the importance and benefits of giving. They should give as they are able, “in keeping with his income.” Sometimes that means giving more than a tithe, sometime that may mean giving less than a tithe. It all depends on the ability of the Christian and the needs of the church. Each and every Christian should diligently pray and seek God’s wisdom as to whether to participate in tithing and/or for how much he or she should give (James 1:5). “Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7).

Recommended Resource: Giving and Tithing by Larry Burkett.
 
Member
That's a good post.

One thing that I'd like to reiterate is that the direction of our giving is equally important to giving at all. If we hand over the primary portion of our giving to organized religion, which in turn uses some or most of that portion for its own expenditures and ambitions for expansion, then the giver is a partaker of that institution's robbery of God.

The defense of organized religion usually comes in the form of, "Well, my (c)hurch has an outreach program to the needy, and it also does the work of the Lord."

Well, this utterly fails the acid test of authoritative scripture. I'd like to throw something out for all reader's consideration:

The communal purse, carried by Judas, is understood to have been the monies donated to the ministry of Christ when He walked this earth. The contents of that purse was routinely given to the poor, rather than lavishing the latest travel gear upon themselves. If you recall (in Matthew 26), the disciples were incensed that the woman wasted the costly ointment by pouring it over Jesus as he was eating, which they said could have been sold and the money given to the poor.

This gives us a fantastic insight as to Jesus' own priorites with even the money given to His earthly ministry. He saw to it that it was given to the poor, not to purchase the best money could buy, or even to finance His ministry. It was given to the poor. After all, there were times when they didn't have anything to purchase food, thus their having to pick and eat raw grain while trecking through a field (Mark 2:23) just to have something to eat.

Today, we see massive wealth, from believer's primary giving, being poured into real estate and buildings. This is completely antithetical to the examples given to us by the Lord Himself as He walked through this world.

How have we arrived to this tradition of diverting from the poor what is rightfully theirs, according to God's commands and examples? Is tradition so strong that most believers today are that deceived? Luke 18:8 asks a valid question: If it can be asked as to if the Lord will find faith on this earth at His return, it naturally follows that a lack of faith also results in a severe lack of obedience.

"If ye love me, keep my commandments." (John 14:15)

Where's the love in all those (c)hurch organizations out there that rob from God even one red cent from that which should be going to the poor?

Doing the Lord's work also involves obedience. If they aren't obedient, then whose work are they really doing?
 
Member
Question: "What does the Bible say about Christian tithing?”

Answer: Tithing is an issue that many Christians struggle with. In many churches tithing is over-emphasized. At the same time, many Christians refuse to submit to the Biblical exhortation in regards to making offerings to the Lord. Tithing / giving is intended to be a joy, a blessing. Sadly, that is rarely the case in the church today.

Tithing is an Old Testament concept. The tithe was a requirement of the law in which all Israelites were give 10% of everything they earned and grew to the Tabernacle / Temple (Leviticus 27:30; Numbers 18:26; Deuteronomy 14:24; 2 Chronicles 31:5). Some understand the Old Testament tithe as a method of taxation to provide for the needs of the priests and Levites of the sacrificial system. The New Testament nowhere commands, or even recommends that Christians submit to a legalistic tithe system. Paul states that believers should set aside a portion of their income in order to support the church (1 Corinthians 16:1-2).

The New Testament nowhere assigns a certain percentage of income to set aside, but only says it is to be “in keeping with his income” (1 Corinthians 16:2). The Christian church has essentially taken the 10% figure from the Old Testament tithe and applied it as a “recommended minimum” for Christians in their giving. Although the New Testament does not identify a specific amount or percentage to give, it does talk about the importance and benefits of giving. They should give as they are able, “in keeping with his income.” Sometimes that means giving more than a tithe, sometime that may mean giving less than a tithe. It all depends on the ability of the Christian and the needs of the church. Each and every Christian should diligently pray and seek God’s wisdom as to whether to participate in tithing and/or for how much he or she should give (James 1:5). “Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7).

Recommended Resource: Giving and Tithing by Larry Burkett.

I like this post !!! Thank you
 
Member
Continueing with giving

I am all for tithing to the church, but I would like to know, along with that what do you think about giving to the poor, homeless, deprived, helping to feed hungry children (and adults), helping out in Israel with help in the way of money(to assist the Jews that have not made it home yet, Wings of Eagles).

As I stated I'm all for giving, because Jesus gave his all I am attempting to give my all, but when I see these huge churches (buildings) that do nothing for people and all the belongings that some self proclaimed Christians adorn, I sometimes wonder, just what would Jesus think?

My Lord said to help your fellow brethren, give to the orphans and widows. Would Jesus turn his back on the above mentioned for a building? What about those who have gone off to the jungles and far off places to help bring the word of salvation and our Lord Jesus to those who haven't heard, there not rich, they have to have help also.

I remember reading in my Bible where this young man ask Jesus about following him and Jesus said, that he didn't even have a place to lay his head, meaning there was no church to preach out of, nor home to lay when he was tired.

Tithing is good if it does good, but if it does not do good then something is wrong. I feel if the churches/Christians were to walk the walk more than talk the talk we could eliminate a lot of suffering that our fellow brothers and sisters are having, if ever church in our nation(it doesn't matter what denomination) could and would , lets say help feed the hungry of this country what a glorious thing that would be.

Can you imagine going to bed on any given night listening to your children crying from hunger? Watch the homeless in your areas, how would you feel if tomorrow you lost your jobs, homes, cars, families or maybe your families are involved along with you, and you were standing on the side of a street not knowing what to do, Yes I'm all for tithing, But only for good. Yes, I used to belong to a church and I gave every Sunday morning, Sunday evening and on Wednesday evening and I saw nothing being done with the money except it being spent on the building, one day I asked myself why?

Did Jesus worry about a building to preach in or a fine car or cars to drive? I don't think so. His mission was to deliver Gods message to the lost, can you imagine how many miles He and His followers traveled during His three years of preaching and healing? It just makes me angry when I watch TBN on TV and I see (especially at Christmas) all the decorations and all the bells, lights and whistles that are put on, not just TBN but also others, but I see no one thinking of the needy.

Please pardon me for spouting off, but I sometimes have to get things off my mind and chest.

Capt.Mac:love:
 
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Member
Tithing

Quite a lot of information about the subject of tithing. Jesus loved the woman that put in all that she had. That is it!
If you believe that you should tithe, I am sure that tithing to Talk Jesus, would be a very worthwhile investment. Just look under info and it will direct you to donations.

This forum is free, because we are free in Christ. What a blessing we have to unite with the Holy Spirit and fellowship with the Lord. I think a tithe or two given to Chad is a really wise choice.

God bless you and I pray that you enjoy giving to the Lord, through Chad. Do any of you notice that Chad does not make requests for tithes, money?

Amen:pixie:love: :sun: :rainbow:
 
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