Do you know your scripture?

[Nehemiah6]

So with or without the Law, the Tithe is still an act of faith that honors God.

It is significant that in all the instructions to Christians the tithe is not mentioned once, but the words "grace" and "liberality" are mentioned. These are spiritual gifts.

Which removes any numerical percentage for Christians. And the NT presents the poor widow who gave 100% as the almost supreme example, with Christ as the supreme example -- though He was rich yet He became poor for our sakes".

Also, even in the OT, the offerings were not actually 10% but a lot higher.
But unto the place which the LORD your God shall choose out of all your tribes to put his name there, even unto his habitation shall ye seek, and thither thou shalt come: And thither ye shall bring your [1] burnt offerings, and your [2] sacrifices, and your [3] tithes, and [4] heave offerings of your hand, and your [5] vows, and [6] your freewill offerings, and the [7] firstlings of your herds and of your flocks: (Deut 12:5,6)

This is closer to Christian giving than most churches teach. And those who harp on the tithe are NOT teaching Christian giving, and therefore violating New Testament truth and principles.

 

[Dino246]

The word tithe appears twice in the NT

Matthew 23:23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.

Luke 11:42 “But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.

Both say you ought to tithe, and not neglect mercy, justice, and faithfulness.

Can you post a single verse that states explicitly that we are not to tithe?

This is an argument from silence. If you can tithe according to the old covenant law, you go right ahead. That means one-tenth of your agricultural produce, and every tenth animal, to a Levite at the temple in Jerusalem.

In other words, you can't. The tithe is for Israel, not for the church. Freewill giving is how the church is supported.

 

[Dino246]

I'll say it again everyone...

Tithing is not an issue of Law, it is an issue of Faith.
It's not a sin to neglect to tithe....but if you love God, you will honor Him with your money. Because "Where your treasure is, there your heart will also be"

Tithing is not an issue of faith. If you want to contribute one-tenth of your income to support your local church, go ahead, but it isn't tithing. "Tithing" carries far too much baggage and leads people into bondage, not freedom.

If you think that "tithing" is freedom, then stop for three months and see how "free" you feel.

 

[obedienttogod]

I tithe in a different format. I do not support a local church, because no one preaches the absolute truth any more. They preach their opinion. Kind of like how people post around here.

Anyways, what I do, is follow what I feel the Holy Spirit directs me to do about tithing. 1 week I might give to several homeless people, another week maybe family members need financial help, another week, there might be a charity event for an actual worthy cause that I give to, whatever it may be, when I feel the Holy Spirit leading me, that is who I give to.

Ultimately, I have figured out it's typically around 15-20%

And I feel great, like I have not supported a false teacher/preacher!!

 

[Lanolin]

And at the same time, if you don't work...you don't eat. Right?

They were doing the work of the Lord.

 

[Dino246]

I tithe in a different format. I do not support a local church, because no one preaches the absolute truth any more. They preach their opinion. Kind of like how people post around here.

Anyways, what I do, is follow what I feel the Holy Spirit directs me to do about tithing. 1 week I might give to several homeless people, another week maybe family members need financial help, another week, there might be a charity event for an actual worthy cause that I give to, whatever it may be, when I feel the Holy Spirit leading me, that is who I give to.

Ultimately, I have figured out it's typically around 15-20%

And I feel great, like I have not supported a false teacher/preacher!!

It's great that you give as you do. However, nothing of what you give can be called a "tithe" in any biblically-based sense. It's simply the wrong word.

"Tithe", literally translated, means "tenth" - either fractional (1/10th) or ordinal (eighth, ninth, tenth). 15-20% is not a tithe. Giving to homeless people, family members, and charity events is not "tithing".

You are giving. That's it, that's all. It's good, and it's what we're supposed to do as Christians. However, lest you lead someone else (or yourself) back to legalism, please don't call it "tithing" because it simply isn't.

 

[obedienttogod]

It's great that you give as you do. However, nothing of what you give can be called a "tithe" in any biblically-based sense. It's simply the wrong word.

"Tithe", literally translated, means "tenth" - either fractional (1/10th) or ordinal (eighth, ninth, tenth). 15-20% is not a tithe. Giving to homeless people, family members, and charity events is not "tithing".

You are giving. That's it, that's all. It's good, and it's what we're supposed to do as Christians. However, lest you lead someone else (or yourself) back to legalism, please don't call it "tithing" because it simply isn't.

I disagree on the basis of knowing that generally tithes do go to building funds, pastors salaries, to the church bank account, etc. I am bypassing that by giving directly to what a tithe should go to, the needy.

 

[Dino246]

I disagree on the basis of knowing that generally tithes do go to building funds, pastors salaries, to the church bank account, etc. I am bypassing that by giving directly to what a tithe should go to, the needy.

That’s only part of what the tithe is for, according to Scripture. It was for the Levites and priests, and for an annual festival. You simply can’t make a biblically-sound case for tithing today, and you can’t practice tithing as it was required in Scripture.

Just give, and don’t claim that it’s tithing, because it isn’t.

 

[breno785au]

Yes the sowing and reaping thing is correct, but must be understood in the proper context.

It is often misused by some Churches and con artists to simply mean
'give me your money and God will reward you'.
It won't be said like that, obviously, but that's what their message boils down to.

That's where not giving under obligation comes in

 

[Adam4Eve]

That's where not giving under obligation comes in

Yes, but the point I was making is that one of the constituent elements of a tithe is that it is compulsory.
The other two are that a tithe means a tenth, and that it applies to Israelites who tithe to the Levitical priesthood.

Churches talk about tithing all the time, but the only thing they tell you about them is that "tithe means tenth" and forget about the other (more important) elements.

Consequently you have a congregation of people who swear that Mosaic law, which was a curse that Christ redeemed us from, still applies today.

Why do Churches teach this?

 

[obedienttogod]

That’s only part of what the tithe is for, according to Scripture. It was for the Levites and priests, and for an annual festival. You simply can’t make a biblically-sound case for tithing today, and you can’t practice tithing as it was required in Scripture.

Just give, and don’t claim that it’s tithing, because it isn’t.

If I attended church, I would tithe. Since I do not, I still tithe in my own way. You can disagree as much as you like, but either way, I am still giving my 10%+ one way or another.

 

[Dino246]

If I attended church, I would tithe. Since I do not, I still tithe in my own way. You can disagree as much as you like, but either way, I am still giving my 10%+ one way or another.

I don't have any issue with what you are doing. You are just using the wrong word for it.

 

[Adam4Eve]

I don't have any issue with what you are doing. You are just using the wrong word for it.

Yes, this is part of the problem.

I hear people say things like

"I tithe my time" - a tithe is, by definition, grain, animals, etc, and not time (Lev 27:32)

"I tithe less than 10% of my income" - a tithe is, by definition, exactly one tenth (Lev 27:32).

"I choose not to tithe" - a tithe is, by definition, compulsory (2 Chron 31:5)


These people talk about tithing in such a way that it is clear they don't even know what tithing is.
This is because they're listening to the word of man and not reading the word of God for themselves.

Tithing is defined under Mosaic law, which no longer applies to Christians
(Romans 6:14) (Romans 7:1-6) (Gal 2:19) (Gal 3:13)

What these people are talking about is an offering, which is not obligatory (2 Cor 9:7), and has no defined amount or currency (2 Cor 9:7).

 

[posthuman]

This thread IS about:
- whether COMPULSORY financial giving still effects Christians

and as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: ​

him they compelled to bear His cross. ​

(Matthew 27:32)​

 

[Diakonos]

Tithing is not an issue of faith. If you want to contribute one-tenth of your income to support your local church, go ahead, but it isn't tithing. "Tithing" carries far too much baggage and leads people into bondage, not freedom.

If you think that "tithing" is freedom, then stop for three months and see how "free" you feel.

The main purpose of tithing is to exercise trust in our God, as we watch Him be our provider.
He wants you to test Him in this, and see how faithful He really is. All of your money already belongs to Him.
When we tithe, the lesser is blessing the Greater, no dispute.
He knows that if we will trust him with our money, we will trust Him with anything and everything else.
He promises to respond to tithing with either overflowing blessing, or a supernatural sustaining of our current resources. Please don't misunderstand, i am not preaching a prosperity gospel, i'm just repeated what God has promised.

 

[Dino246]

The main purpose of tithing is to exercise trust in our God, as we watch Him be our provider.
He wants you to test Him in this, and see how faithful He really is. All of your money already belongs to Him.
When we tithe, the lesser is blessing the Greater, no dispute.
He knows that if we will trust him with our money, we will trust Him with anything and everything else.
He promises to respond to tithing with either overflowing blessing, or a supernatural sustaining of our current resources. Please don't misunderstand, i am not preaching a prosperity gospel, i'm just repeated what God has promised.

May I suggest you read Romans, Galatians and Hebrews so that you understand the relationship between Christians and the Mosaic Law. Malachi, which you reference here, was written to Israel under the old covenant, not to the Church under the new.

 

[Adam4Eve]

The main purpose of tithing is to exercise trust in our God, as we watch Him be our provider.
He wants you to test Him in this, and see how faithful He really is. All of your money already belongs to Him.
When we tithe, the lesser is blessing the Greater, no dispute.
He knows that if we will trust him with our money, we will trust Him with anything and everything else.
He promises to respond to tithing with either overflowing blessing, or a supernatural sustaining of our current resources. Please don't misunderstand, i am not preaching a prosperity gospel, i'm just repeated what God has promised.

See post #133

 

[obedienttogod]

Let's put it this way:

A true believer outside of blind faith, will put the word of God to a test (like He instructed us to do). I just turned 50 this past December. When I went to college and obtained my degree, like many of us, I found a job and thought I would be here for awhile. I was there for 15 years. But in everything I thought I was accomplishing, I ended up living paycheck to paycheck and never getting ahead. I never was big on giving because (like many of you in this thread) I understood/or thought I understood (tithing was a thing in the past. So, after struggling and working my butt off to get nowhere fast, I broke down and said, I am going to tithe.

Since then, I had a better job offer that literally paid me double what I was making, I purchased a farm and put up greenhouses that created more income than I could have ever imagined, and I keep getting raises when the majority of fellow employees have not had raises in at least 10 years. My bills are paid, my credit shot through the roof, and people come to me offering me business adventures all of the time... that the few I joined in with, did incredibly well.

So, I thought to myself, instead of trying to claim this is what the Bible is actually saying, I believe it is just the opposite. And I believe, if people got over their legalism concerning where tithing falls and what guidelines it should be labeled under, they probably would have to post whenever there is spare time like me. Because clearly and obviously, whatever I am doing and have been doing, God has not only honored it, but has blessed me beyond my own capabilities!!

 

[Adam4Eve]

Let's put it this way:

A true believer outside of blind faith, will put the word of God to a test (like He instructed us to do). I just turned 50 this past December. When I went to college and obtained my degree, like many of us, I found a job and thought I would be here for awhile. I was there for 15 years. But in everything I thought I was accomplishing, I ended up living paycheck to paycheck and never getting ahead. I never was big on giving because (like many of you in this thread) I understood/or thought I understood (tithing was a thing in the past. So, after struggling and working my butt off to get nowhere fast, I broke down and said, I am going to tithe.

Since then, I had a better job offer that literally paid me double what I was making, I purchased a farm and put up greenhouses that created more income than I could have ever imagined, and I keep getting raises when the majority of fellow employees have not had raises in at least 10 years. My bills are paid, my credit shot through the roof, and people come to me offering me business adventures all of the time... that the few I joined in with, did incredibly well.

So, I thought to myself, instead of trying to claim this is what the Bible is actually saying, I believe it is just the opposite. And I believe, if people got over their legalism concerning where tithing falls and what guidelines it should be labeled under, they probably would have to post whenever there is spare time like me. Because clearly and obviously, whatever I am doing and have been doing, God has not only honored it, but has blessed me beyond my own capabilities!!

That's a great testimony.
But in saying what you've said, you have basically sought to disrespect those of us who see the importance of not only using the correct terminology, but ensuring that people have an accurate view of what giving means under the new covenant.

This isn't just a matter of linguistic inexactitude either, it is a very serious affair.

Many Churches will have you believe that giving them money, under the title of "tithing" is an obligation given by God himself.
That's not true, as demonstrated above in post #133

In addition, trying to emulate those who were under Mosaic law and to whom tithing applied may place modern Christians under a curse.
(Gal 3:10) (Gal 3:13) (Rom 4:15)

The law also adds nothing to faith.
(Gal 3:11-12) (2 Cor 3:10) (Gal 2:16)

This thread isn't about whether Christians should consider making an offering to their Church (note not tithe), or whether they should use that money to go out and feed the homeless.
This is about the false but widespread teaching of man that says
"give me your money, God told you to"

 

[Adam4Eve]

That's where not giving under obligation comes in

Then it's not a tithe, but an offering.
See post #133 and the one above this.