To Give or Not to Give

I'm not that sure, but for what I know the giving instructions should come from holy spirit, not by laws as time has changed and also the tradition, the synagogue and the churches are two different things so holy spirit should take his place

Christfollower7 said:

There are some who would propagate that it is not right to tithe (give) to the Christian church, because it is not stated in the New Testament.

Does a Christian have an obligation to tithe to his or her home church?

Should a Christian take complete ownership with where and how they give or is there a structure, commandment, direction in the New Testament on how to give?

The word tithe comes from the Hebrew word, "tenth," which means a 10% portion of your earnings/first fruits you made.

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Well for me, I give to a tree planting organization to help remove CO2 from the air and serve people in Africa (One Tree Planted, $1/tree, established in 2013) and more importantly, an organization that keeps the lights, heat and A/C on for those who can not afford energy (KWW/CF - Keep Wisconsin Warm/Cool Fund, established in 1996). While I do not give 10%, I do give an hour or two's wage per month to these organizations. In the coldest months, and hottest months, my money goes to the KWW/CF (December, January, February and June, July, August). All I have to do is find an organization to donate to during the mild months. So, for March, the tree organization made sense. Now, I need to find some org. to donate to in April and May and has ethical practices.

Why can one give to an NGO such as a foodbank or energy fund? This is why: The New Testament encourages Christians to use one's own resources to help those in need, and giving to a food bank or energy fund for the benefit of the poor is an excellent way to do that. In fact, Jesus himself commended those who gave to the needy and taught that true faith involves caring for others (Matthew 25:31-46). So, while attending church and supporting its ministries can be an important part of Christian life, giving to help those in need directly is also a valid expression of faith and obedience to God's call.

The New Testament does not specifically command Christians to tithe by giving a fixed percentage of their income, such as 10%. However, it does teach the importance of giving and generosity. In the New Testament, giving is presented as a voluntary act of worship and an expression of faith, rather than a legal obligation (2 Corinthians 9:6-7).

Jesus and the early Christian leaders commended giving and emphasized the importance of a generous heart. They encouraged believers to give cheerfully, sacrificially, and generously to support the needs of the church and help those in need (Matthew 6:2-4, Acts 2:42-47, Galatians 2:10).

So, while the New Testament does not mandate tithing as a requirement for Christians, it does emphasize the importance of giving and generosity. Each Christian is free to prayerfully consider how much, where, and to whom they will give based on their personal circumstances, convictions, and opportunities for service. Ultimately, the goal should be to support the work of the church and help those in need with a cheerful heart and a generous spirit. And for me, the church means the people who I serve in a Christian way.

The tithe was never a monetary offering, and was specific in what was to be given. New testament giving, actually new testament living in general, is not a matter of following clearly defined guidelines, because those things only lead to a bare minimum effort and often with resentment.. New testament giving and living is about an entire life investment, if it's not given joyfully it may as well not be given at all.

Fervent said:

The tithe was never a monetary offering, and was specific in what was to be given. New testament giving, actually new testament living in general, is not a matter of following clearly defined guidelines, because those things only lead to a bare minimum effort and often with resentment.. New testament giving and living is about an entire life investment, if it's not given joyfully it may as well not be given at all.

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So, one can give time as well, such as volunteering at a homeless shelter? Would that count as a tithe?

AlexB23 said:

So, one can give time as well, such as volunteering at a homeless shelter? Would that count as a tithe?

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In the OT, where the tithe comes from, it was only the fruits of the ground that could be given as a tithe. It was done for a number of reasons, and giving time at a homeless shelter would be in the spirit of many of those. But what Christ revealed, in elevating the law, is that obedience is not a matter of meticulously keeping dictated rules but more about our heart's disposition towards such things. So regarding giving, what would be important is being willing to give where a need is seen and doing so graciously rather than out of a sense of obligation which inevitably leads to minimum compliance.

Fervent said:

In the OT, where the tithe comes from, it was only the fruits of the ground that could be given as a tithe. It was done for a number of reasons, and giving time at a homeless shelter would be in the spirit of many of those. But what Christ revealed, in elevating the law, is that obedience is not a matter of meticulously keeping dictated rules but more about our heart's disposition towards such things. So regarding giving, what would be important is being willing to give where a need is seen and doing so graciously rather than out of a sense of obligation which inevitably leads to minimum compliance.

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Yeah, we must be willing to give, which is what I mentioned in my post (give cheerfully). Yeah, farmers donating produce counts as a tithe, from what you are telling me.

"'You may not eat within your gates the tithe of your grain or your new wine or your oil, of the firstborn of your herd or your flock, of any of your offerings which you vow, of your freewill offerings, or of the heave offering of your hand. But you must eat them before the LORD your God in the place which the LORD your God chooses, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, and the Levite who is within your gates; and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God in all to which you put your hands.'"(Deuteronomy 12:17)

So, from this I see how the Jews were ordered to take their tithe to the place where they would rejoice before the LORD. It was meant for a big family gathering with God. Our Father is about family! So, it was not for only individual benefit, but for sharing as family, eating the tithe, themselves with one another.

And Deuteronomy 14:24-26 says you can sell your tithe for money, and bring the money and buy "whatever your heart desires".

And we have an order, in Deuteronomy 14:28-29 to save a tithe every third year to store so Levites, "the stranger", "the fatherless", and widows "may come and eat and be satisfied".

So, the tithe is for people, not for a building and ministerial expenses, according to what I read here. After all, our God and Father is about family and His children, first of all. So, what about how it says people have robbed God "In tithes and offerings"? We see this in Malachi 3:8.

This does not say we have robbed "by not tithing", but "in" tithes. So, could this mean we have robbed God "in" how we have managed the tithes?

After all, the tithes are for widows and orphans and strangers and Levites so they can eat and be "satisfied" (Deuteronomy 14:29). So, if they are not given the food, but instead the tithes are used for other things, possibly God rules that we are robbing these needy people. And what does Jesus say, about what we do to the least of His brethren? What we do to His least is what we do to Jesus Himself, right? So, if we rob the needy of the tithed food which they need, by robbing the least of Christ's brethren, we are robbing Jesus > we are robbing God . . . "in tithes" . . . meaning in how we handle the matter of tithing.

And we have read, possibly, how ones of God are to meet and eat all together. So, tithing is not for only individual benefit, but so we can share as family in Jesus.

So, ethics and philosophy need to be about family, not only individual isolating stuff. What God does and commands is meant so we develop in our ability to share and care as family.

com7fy8 said:

And Deuteronomy 14:24-26 says you can sell your tithe for money, and bring the money and buy "whatever your heart desires".

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This is one of the more interesting points in OT guidelines for the tithe, since it makes it clear that it wasn't a sacrifice in the way sacrifice tends to mean to moderns but was at least in part a matter of worship through celebration. Especially because the "whatever your heart desires" is exampled by what are more or less indulgences like good meat and strong drink. Your conclusion that the tithe is about caring for others is definitely true, but the tithe was about joining together in worshiping God in communal meals which is easily missed with a modern focus on tithing income.

Tithes and offerings..

The redemption plan for the families was so important to God that he required each family to give a memorial offering of half a shekel every year so they wouldn't forget. Exodus 30:12-16 and 38:25-28.

Also, Jesus, while on earth, watched the offering plate and noticed who gave including a poor widow and how much. Then He remarked - "For they all put in from their abundance, but she from her need has put in everything she had - all she had to live on.” (Mark 12:41-44).

He could then bless her according to "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 3:10

Or do we think He let the poor widow put in everything she had without blessing her as promised in the OT - Mal 3:10

Christfollower7 said:

There are some who would propagate that it is not right to tithe (give) to the Christian church, because it is not stated in the New Testament.

Does a Christian have an obligation to tithe to his or her home church?

Should a Christian take complete ownership with where and how they give or is there a structure, commandment, direction in the New Testament on how to give?

The word tithe comes from the Hebrew word, "tenth," which means a 10% portion of your earnings/first fruits you made.

Click to expand...

Tithing for the Christian should not be an obligatory obedience to a law (for fear of loss or not being blessed). God loves a cheerful giver. Yet, Deu 8:18 says, "But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth..." Tithing regularly is a way to be reminded that God is the source of all good things, including our ability to obtain financial success. Some people are so successful, they give 90% of what they earn. So "tithing" is not a hard rule, but is used as a "rule of thumb" (good advice) for a good reason. The local church needs support, and well-run charities need support.

Christfollower7 said:

There are some who would propagate that it is not right to tithe (give) to the Christian church, because it is not stated in the New Testament.

Does a Christian have an obligation to tithe to his or her home church?

Should a Christian take complete ownership with where and how they give or is there a structure, commandment, direction in the New Testament on how to give?

The word tithe comes from the Hebrew word, "tenth," which means a 10% portion of your earnings/first fruits you made.

Click to expand...

Tithes and/or gifts to the earthly ministry should not be done out of obligation ... if one chooses to do so they should have a cheerful attitude about it and not see it as an obligation.

tturt said:

Tithes and offerings..

The redemption plan for the families was so important to God that he required each family to give a memorial offering of half a shekel every year so they wouldn't forget. Exodus 30:12-16 and 38:25-28.

Also, Jesus, while on earth, watched the offering plate and noticed who gave including a poor widow and how much. Then He remarked - "For they all put in from their abundance, but she from her need has put in everything she had - all she had to live on.” (Mark 12:41-44).

He could then bless her according to "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 3:10

Or do we think He let the poor widow put in everything she had without blessing her as promised in the OT - Mal 3:10

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There's something often missed regarding the poor widow, which is that right before calling attention to her putting all she had into the coffers Jesus talked about the scribes and pharisee's devouring widow's houses. So it seems to me there's something else going on there than simply praising the widow's gift.

There's accepting/surrendering what His Word says about every area of our lives - thoughts, values, relationships, time, priorities, money, and every other topic.