Tithing

Lik3 · #1 11th December 2011, 07:59 AM

I was watching a sermon about tithing and the preacher made a rather good case for tithing. I believe that everything belongs to the Lord and that includes money. But I don't remember the Israelites tithing with money but their firstfruits including food and such. What does the Bible say about tithing and money for New Testament believers?

tturt · #2 11th December 2011, 10:14 AM

Some things are established in the OT and continues. One example is musical instruments that aren't mentioned in the NT but we usually don't have discussions about whether to have musical instruments today.

Jesus, while on earth (yet still God), watched the offering plates and noted who gave and how much (Mark 12:39-44). That's sufficient enough for me. If He doesn't have our money, we're not surrendering that area of our lives to Him.

GaryArnold · #3 11th December 2011, 04:55 PM

The New Testament teaches generous, sacrificial giving, from the heart, according to our means. For some, $1 might be a sacrifice, while for others, even giving 50% of their income might not induce a sacrifice. In the Old Testament, ONLY the farmers tithed, and it was equal percentage (a tenth). The New Testament teaches the principle of equal sacrifice instead of equal percentage. Equal sacrifice is much harder to achieve, if not impossible, than giving ten percent.

According to Hebrews 7:5,12,18, tithing was disannulled.

When God gave the Israelites the promised land, he RESERVED, for Himself, a tenth of the crops and every tenth animal. They NEVER did belong to the Israelites. In other words, the tithe was from God's increase of FOOD, not from man's income. It was a way to distribute FOOD to the Levites and priests who did NOT inherit any land.

No one, not even the farmers, tithed on their income.

The farmers made their income by SELLING and/or barter-exchanging their crops and animals but did NOT tithe on that income.

Today, ALL born-again believers are priests. ALL of us are called to be deciples of the Lord. No one of us is higher than another. Our bodies are the Temple where the Spirit dwells. According to the scriptures, priests do not tithe.

docpotter · #4 15th December 2011, 07:22 AM

Paul makes a very interesting point about giving . He says :

" Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. "

I personally give around 10 % , but I don't think its absolutely mandatory . Like Paul says , give what you feel good giving . The church relies on our donations , and it is also an act of faith towards God , as the host mentioned , it is all His : )

PS - that's in 2nd Corinthians 9 : 7

Fred V B · #5 15th December 2011, 05:11 PM

Originally Posted by docpotter

Paul makes a very interesting point about giving . He says :

" Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. "

I personally give around 10 % , but I don't think its absolutely mandatory . Like Paul says , give what you feel good giving . The church relies on our donations , and it is also an act of faith towards God , as the host mentioned , it is all His : )

PS - that's in 2nd Corinthians 9 : 7

This is a good point. I hold that morality as shown in commandments which are included in the old testament still holds. But the defined amount by Law for people of Israel was specific to them, and basically has offering animals and crops from possessions to Yahweh, and sharing in some of the portions, spelled out. It is a type for the virtue of giving generously of what you can, which is from Yahweh. We are led in this as believers, so in this a numerical value is not binding on all, but with the principle that giving is generous, in things that are of the purposes of Yahweh.

TheProject · #6 16th December 2011, 03:25 PM

Our pastor touched a bit on this last Sunday (we are studying I Corinthians) and stated that you can tithe in 3 ways: your money, your time, and your service. Quite honestly, money is extremely tight for me and my wife right now, but we try to do everything we can to help with the Church. My feeling is that all too often tithing or donating is looked at as only giving money, which is important to allow the Church to run and do many outreach projects, and nothing else when it actually encompasses much more.

I do follow what is listed in a post above regarding being a cheerful giver. If you are giving something, and doing it in a begrudging way (maybe b/c you feel forced or something), I don't see that as honoring God in any way.

WinBySurrender · #7 27th December 2011, 04:58 PM

Originally Posted by Lik3

But I don't remember the Israelites tithing with money but their firstfruits including food and such.

There doesn't appear to be any kind of monetary base in Israel other than coins from the Greek or Roman governments in the last century BC and early 2nd AD. As someone else said, it was a bartering society.

Originally Posted by Lik3

What does the Bible say about tithing and money for New Testament believers?

Others have answered that more than adequately. I particularly liked the posts regarding Paul's comments in Gal. 6:7, 8 and the observation about Jesus watching the tithing plates to see who gave what (in Roman coinage, by the way).

GQ Chris · #8 13th January 2012, 02:05 PM

Tithing was never even an Old Testament practice. They gave 20-30% upwards and more.

BeforeThereWas · #9 26th January 2012, 04:42 PM

Can anyone show me any verse, anywhere in scripture, where the tithe is EVER defined as wage earners handing over a tenth of their wages to the Levites?

Why do people habitually ignore the vast gulf that swallows any comparison between an EXCHANGE of labor, time and skills for wages, and the INCREASE originating from a mechanism in nature over which mankind has no control?

Abraham tithed from property he knew wasn't his in the first place. His own personal wealth was still located in northern Canaan, so the false teaching that he established some sort of unwritten principle for us to follow is utterly false. Numbers 31 commands the spoils of war be handled in such a way that those who went to war handed over 1/500th to the priests, and those who didn't fight in the war handed over 1/50th to the priests. That included live people taken in the war.

Both figures are a FAR cry from 1/10th.

BTW

Niffer · #10 27th January 2012, 07:13 PM

Originally Posted by TheProject

Our pastor touched a bit on this last Sunday (we are studying I Corinthians) and stated that you can tithe in 3 ways: your money, your time, and your service. Quite honestly, money is extremely tight for me and my wife right now, but we try to do everything we can to help with the Church. My feeling is that all too often tithing or donating is looked at as only giving money, which is important to allow the Church to run and do many outreach projects, and nothing else when it actually encompasses much more.

I do follow what is listed in a post above regarding being a cheerful giver. If you are giving something, and doing it in a begrudging way (maybe b/c you feel forced or something), I don't see that as honoring God in any way.

I really like this. Like you and your wife, my husband and I are extremely tight money-wise, but I'm doing more for the church - though I know we need to tithe more.
Not out of guilt, but more that I know it's good for me to support the church.