Should I Tithe or Pay My Bills? Part 2
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Pay your bills. Christians aren't required to "tithe".
Many people confuse "tithing" which is the old covenant means for support of the religious, judicial and social-support system with new covenant "giving" to support your local church. They aren't the same thing. Under the OT, tithes were payable on farm produce including animals. In the NT church, contributions are to be given as you feel in your heart, for the work of the church and the support of the needy, generously, according to your means, and occasionally, sacrificially.
Many people confuse "tithing" which is the old covenant means for support of the religious, judicial and social-support system with new covenant "giving" to support your local church. They aren't the same thing. Under the OT, tithes were payable on farm produce including animals. In the NT church, contributions are to be given as you feel in your heart, for the work of the church and the support of the needy, generously, according to your means, and occasionally, sacrificially.
Part 2? Where's part 1? 
Anyhoo, if you have outstanding bills or debt, I'd pay those instead of tithing. Tithing is not necessary..
Anyhoo, if you have outstanding bills or debt, I'd pay those instead of tithing. Tithing is not necessary..
Pay your bills and show love to other people.
Our Lord's yoke is lighter and that yoke is LOVE- Now love includes materially helping those in need (including the church if possible) according to the burden put in your heart.
In judgement day, the scenario will be like:
Matt 25:34“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’37“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’40“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
The situation won't be:
"..hellooo there, come hither because you faithfully tithed..blah blah blah..."
Our Lord's yoke is lighter and that yoke is LOVE- Now love includes materially helping those in need (including the church if possible) according to the burden put in your heart.
In judgement day, the scenario will be like:
Matt 25:34“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’37“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’40“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
The situation won't be:
"..hellooo there, come hither because you faithfully tithed..blah blah blah..."
hmm, seems obvious...
the "tithe" is a requirement of the Law of the Sinai covenant -- which, unless you are an Israelite under the authority of Moses' seat, is not required of you.
but in terms of bills/debt:
the "tithe" is a requirement of the Law of the Sinai covenant -- which, unless you are an Israelite under the authority of Moses' seat, is not required of you.
but in terms of bills/debt:
Owe no man any thing, but to love one another
(Romans 13:8)
(Romans 13:8)
interesting thing about that is that if you were poor, you didn't own livestock or fields. so did you pay tithe?
imagine an Israelite in debt -- he was probably an indentured servant to the person he was indebted to. the livestock he tended and the fields he worked didn't belong to him, but to the person he was indebted to. did he pay tithe from what wasn't even his own? when 'tithe' wasn't even commanded in terms of 'money' ??
So we should seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness second and all these things will be added (Matthew 6:33)? I thought the bible said that we are not to have no other god before Him! (Exodus 20:3)
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The idea that we have ag new religion called the new covenant is not right.
When the gentiles took over leadership of the church from the Jews they added lots of pagan ways. They had been trained in idol worship before they became Christians so they Christianized what they knew of worship. They had learned from mythology that a God had gotten old and cranky so his son kicked him out and took over.
The real God is eternal and what scripture tells us is true. In fact, God used the Hebrew language to tell us so it is explained on many levels at once from historical to spiritual.
If you explore the achievements and wealth of the Jews as a whole you will find that by working to live by God's laws instead of "what is in our hearts" they are supplied with the means to pay their bills. Besides, God teaches how we are to spend the money that He supples us with when we listen.
Pay your bills. He that doesn't take care of his own is worse than an unbeliever. Tithing doesn't exist in the new covenant apart from a man-made doctrine.
How can I take care of my own if the devourer has taken the money? What must I do to prevent this from happening, over and over again? Help!
by implication equating "paying tithe" with the kingdom of God and paying your bills "having other gods before Him" ?
i see some issues with that:
(1) as other replies have intimated, "tithe" is a purely Sinai-covenant institution. giving, in terms of Christianity, is never in the Bible referred to as "tithe" and is never commanded to believers under the new covenant. the word, which means "tenth," has been (mis)appropriated into use by the modern church ((idk the history of when it started getting used among Christians)) and generation after generation has grown up being taught to give 10% of their money to the control of a local congregation's bureaucracy. however easy it may be to see how the custom could have come to be, this is a practice that really doesn't a precedent in the new testament. it's quite clear that when Paul was taking up collections for the poor in Jerusalem, his message was that it should not be under compulsion ((in directly conflict with OT "tithe" which was definitely compulsory)) and Paul never instructed anyone about an amount or percentage, instead saying very clearly gifts should be according to how each person decides in their heart ((again directly contradicting the modern use of the word "tithe" in the church to mean regular 10% remittance)). furthermore, Paul was taking up money to give 100% to poor believers in especially dire situation in a certain place, and quite famously refused to be supported in his ministry by taking up any kind of similar collection of money. Biblically however, tithes went to the Levites ((who are the priests in the new covenant?)) and together with what they could eat from sacrifices was their entire source of income. this is a 3rd direct contradiction between the Biblical descriptions of giving and of the word "tithe" and the modern use of the word in the church.
IOW the word "tithe" is grossly abused and contrarily re-defined, and there are serious doctrinal problems with equating it to "seeking the kingdom of God"
(2) there are a ridiculously large number of passages i could draw from to show that it is God's own will that we faithfully give whatever we owe to anyone we owe it to. i already mentioned one. if it's not clear enough, consider that if i were to refuse to pay my electric bill and car loan, because someone standing at a pulpit or microphone had convinced me that i was commanded by God to give him my money instead, i would be guilty of stealing from the utility board and the bank, and in the eyes of the authorities ((which God has set in place)) i would be righteously judged as a criminal lawbreaker. now what does the Bible say about those things?
so being unfaithful with our finances is sin: it is theft, it is defrauding, it is breaking vows, it is lawlessness. are these things 'having other gods' ? by equating paying bills with idolatry you're equating stewardship, respect for authority, faithfulness, honesty & trustworthiness with sin.
IOW what i get from your post?
you're calling lies "kingdom of God" and calling righteousness "idolatry"
Get a better job? Stop spending so much on liquor? Stop smoking? Manage your money better?
Maybe you could explain to us, who "the devourer" is. 
If you owe money to someone, then you need to pay the debt.
If you owe money to someone, then you need to pay the debt.
7
7seasrekeyed
Guest
well, you know
follow your own advice and apply the cross
pick it up and say no to yourself
Getting a better job is easier said than done. You can't get a better job if an employer won't hire you. Not everyone has the ability to create their own business, either.
Jesus said in Matthew 6:21 these words, "For where your treasure is, there will be your heart also." So my question to you is, how do you know if Jesus has your heart?by implication equating "paying tithe" with the kingdom of God and paying your bills "having other gods before Him" ?
i see some issues with that:
(1) as other replies have intimated, "tithe" is a purely Sinai-covenant institution. giving, in terms of Christianity, is never in the Bible referred to as "tithe" and is never commanded to believers under the new covenant. the word, which means "tenth," has been (mis)appropriated into use by the modern church ((idk the history of when it started getting used among Christians)) and generation after generation has grown up being taught to give 10% of their money to the control of a local congregation's bureaucracy. however easy it may be to see how the custom could have come to be, this is a practice that really doesn't a precedent in the new testament. it's quite clear that when Paul was taking up collections for the poor in Jerusalem, his message was that it should not be under compulsion ((in directly conflict with OT "tithe" which was definitely compulsory)) and Paul never instructed anyone about an amount or percentage, instead saying very clearly gifts should be according to how each person decides in their heart ((again directly contradicting the modern use of the word "tithe" in the church to mean regular 10% remittance)). furthermore, Paul was taking up money to give 100% to poor believers in especially dire situation in a certain place, and quite famously refused to be supported in his ministry by taking up any kind of similar collection of money. Biblically however, tithes went to the Levites ((who are the priests in the new covenant?)) and together with what they could eat from sacrifices was their entire source of income. this is a 3rd direct contradiction between the Biblical descriptions of giving and of the word "tithe" and the modern use of the word in the church.
IOW the word "tithe" is grossly abused and contrarily re-defined, and there are serious doctrinal problems with equating it to "seeking the kingdom of God"
(2) there are a ridiculously large number of passages i could draw from to show that it is God's own will that we faithfully give whatever we owe to anyone we owe it to. i already mentioned one. if it's not clear enough, consider that if i were to refuse to pay my electric bill and car loan, because someone standing at a pulpit or microphone had convinced me that i was commanded by God to give him my money instead, i would be guilty of stealing from the utility board and the bank, and in the eyes of the authorities ((which God has set in place)) i would be righteously judged as a criminal lawbreaker. now what does the Bible say about those things?
so being unfaithful with our finances is sin: it is theft, it is defrauding, it is breaking vows, it is lawlessness. are these things 'having other gods' ? by equating paying bills with idolatry you're equating stewardship, respect for authority, faithfulness, honesty & trustworthiness with sin.
IOW what i get from your post?
you're calling lies "kingdom of God" and calling righteousness "idolatry"