Tithing

If you want to tithe, do it out of a cheerful heart motivated by the Love of God, and not out of obligation.

musicalpilgrim said:

Hi Albion, can you give me a reference or two from the New Testament please...it sounds interesting. I know here in th UK the government looks after the poor, widows and orphans to a certain extent, which used to be the job of the Church. Admittedly there are plenty of homeless and destitute, always.

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And in the Roman empire, the government provided bread and grain for poor Roman citizens.

That did not diminish the responsibility of Christian congregations to make sure the needs of their members were being met.

This is as much an attitude as it is a particular action, not merely to presume, "The government has welfare, so everyone's okay," but actually to know one another enough to know that everyone is okay. And particularly for widows and fatherless children, to be systematic about making sure those vulnerable populations are okay.

But here is a NT reference on Christian giving that is so specific that most American Christians run away from it.

It is not that there may be relief for others and hardship for you, but it is a question of equality at the present time your surplus is available for their need, so their abundance may also become available for our need, so there may be equality. As it has been written:
The person who gathered much
did not have too much,
and the person who gathered little
did not have too little. -- 2 Corinthians 8

Stringfellow_Hawke said:

Malachi 3:10 comes to mind each time its brought up. I have failed in this regard.

Could anyone share testimonies on tithing with me? We're not doing so well financially, my wife and I. Its hard to wrap my head around making it and not having to duck bills by paying out more money. Just being honest as a human who is slow to learn.

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You say you owe debts? Here is where Jesus speaks of that:

Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. -- Matthew 5

You are not reconciled with God if you are not reconciled with others. That's why "Love thy neighbor as thyself" is inexorably tied with "Love the Lord Thy God with all thine heart."

You can't sit in offense to others and yet be okay with God. You have to be reconciled with others, insofar as it is possible for you, to give to God with clean hands.

Stringfellow_Hawke said:

I want to please God. Plus, He said to test Him and expect a blessing. So thats it.

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I think God is more concerned with what we do with the 90% He has given us than the 10% tithe offering we give Him back. C.S Lewis was known for only living on 10% of his income while giving the remaining 90% to charities. Neither the extent nor the recipients of his charity are fully known. Indeed, he made valiant efforts to conceal this information. The Bible encourages us to give in secret so that our Lord who sees it all may bless us. You might not see your rewards on this side of heaven, but I promise you that you will be surely blessed on the other side in ways I certainly do not know.

“No one has ever become poor by giving.”– Anne Frank

Have a read through the following links if you have time too. God bless.

https://femiroyalblog.com/2017/09/03/generosity-make-it-a-habit/

https://femiroyalblog.com/2018/06/02/keep-your-eyes-on-the-road-part-ii/

Chinchilla said:

People say tithe was for priest of OT Levi priesthood that is aswell not true because Abraham prior to that priesthood alredy tithe to Melchizidek .

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Abraham tithed according to the Law of Hammurabi, which was the law of the land of his day. That is why he tithed only of what he gained while in the territory of Melchizidek, which is what the Law of Hammurabi specified.

God defined the meaning of "tithe" for the first time for His purposed in the Mosaic Law. Once God redefined it, that is what it became, regardless of anyone else's previous actions. The patriarchs did a number of things that became illegal under the Mosaic Law, such as Jacob marrying rival sisters.

Once God has defined something, we can't reach back to an earlier "version" and claim its authority.

God explicitly defined the tithe in detail in the Mosaic Law, and God never redefined the tithe. There is only one way to tithe, and that is exactly as given in the Mosaic Law. There is no other legal or valid way to tithe because God did not provide any new way. If you don't do it exactly the Mosaic Law ay, you're presenting "strange incense" to the Lord.

That's why Jews do not tithe today--because they can't do it exactly as God specified.

Remember that during the writings of the apostles, Jews were still tithing according to the Mosaic Law in Jerusalem. If the apostles had intended Christians to obey Malachi 3, they would have been sending them to Jerusalem to tithe according to the Law.

But they clearly did not. Tithing was not a Christian practice then, and it is not now.

Stringfellow_Hawke said:

What I'm asking for has nothing to do with having wronged anyone.

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If someone doesn't pay a debt that is owed in order to tithe, then he will have wronged someone.

Jesus had something to say about people failing to meet their human-to-human responsibilities by claiming that they owed their money first to God:

For God said, 'Honor your father and mother' and 'Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.' But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is 'devoted to God,'they are not to 'honor their father or mother' with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition.You hypocrites! -- Matthew 15

RDKirk said:

Abraham tithed according to the Law of Hammurabi, which was the law of the land of his day. That is why he tithed only of what he gained while in the territory of Melchizidek, which is what the Law of Hammurabi specified.

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That would mean Christ is priest after Hammurabi...
I have never heared such explanation have dubts about it .
Writer of Hebrews compares the superiority of the order of Melchizidek to the Levi Priesthood with the tithe argument tho .

AvilaSurfer said:

I had to laugh at “Your family comes first.” It does not. God comes first. Always.

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"But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever." 1 Timothy 5:8

Stringfellow_Hawke said:

We all have bills. Car payments, mortgages, student loans (a lot of us). That is what I'm talking about.

I'm sorry I don't know where you're going with this.

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You had said:

We're not doing so well financially, my wife and I. Its hard to wrap my head around making it and not having to duck bills by paying out more money.

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That sounded like paying your bills and tithing was an either/or proposition for you.

Stringfellow_Hawke said:

We all have bills. Car payments, mortgages, student loans (a lot of us). That is what I'm talking about.

I'm sorry I don't know where you're going with this.

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The thread seems to be getting tangled.
I remember when we had a young family counting out the money to pay the bills, sometimes we all went to my parents for tea at the end of the month...run out of food and cash. Those were the days. I prayed and the Lord provided...miracles abound.

Stringfellow_Hawke said:

Malachi 3:10 comes to mind each time its brought up. I have failed in this regard.

Could anyone share testimonies on tithing with me? We're not doing so well financially, my wife and I. Its hard to wrap my head around making it and not having to duck bills by paying out more money. Just being honest as a human who is slow to learn.

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Tithing served a purpose and understanding that purpose helps us understand how our money should be used today.

Tithes went to the priests among whose jobs were administrating the law, keeping records and looking after the sick. For many of us these things are now covered by taxes, or insurance or other services provided by our governments.

As such they are no longer necessary; as is often pointed out the Levitical law does not apply to Christians and that also applies to this verse from Malachi.

Christians are to give as the situation allows and the need arises.

Give as you are able but don’t feel compelled, but neither should you withhold when you are able. God is as blessed by any sacrifice you make whether money, time or effort.

Silly Uncle Wayne said:

Tithing served a purpose and understanding that purpose helps us understand how our money should be used today.

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Prior to the Mosaic Law, tithing according to the laws of men were that tithes were always "paid upward." That is, lesser people paid tithers to wealthier people. Under man's laws, tithes always went from the poorer to the richer.

When God defined the tithe for Israel, He turned that around. The poor did not tithe to the wealthy under the Mosaic Law. Tithes went from those with resources to those without resources.

Some churches name a specific percentage of income, which really is not a fair way of doing it. 10%, or even 5% may be no big deal to someone who makes several thousand a month. But they same percentage can be impossible for someone who barely has enough income to pay their rent and feed their family. The fairest way - It's between you and God. Give what you can honestly afford to give, even if it's only a dollar.

RC1970 said:

"But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever." 1 Timothy 5:8

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I'm a firm believer that anyone anywhere can take bits and pieces of the Bible and twist it into what they want, to make a point. The fact is......God comes first.

AvilaSurfer said:

I'm a firm believer that anyone anywhere can take bits and pieces of the Bible and twist it into what they want, to make a point. The fact is......God comes first.

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And how do we make God first? By obeying His commandments, perhaps?

AvilaSurfer said:

I'm a firm believer that anyone anywhere can take bits and pieces of the Bible and twist it into what they want, to make a point. The fact is......God comes first.

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You sound like a Pharisee... or a goat (see the parable of the sheep and the goats). God is rich enough that he doesn't need our money. We however may be in debt, or needing to feed our family or even ourselves. We are of no use to God if we cannot function properly and he tells us not to worry, but I guess he didn't anticipate the stupidity of Christians who give everything to a church that has abundantly and then starve.

Even the Jews understood that wealth impacted our giving: Give a sheep, but if you couldn't afford to, give a dove instead. The Jews also had a law about redistributing wealth every seven years (even if they didn't apply it).