tithe or not

[ai3theanswer]

Tithing was not first instituted under the law. Abraham tithe to Melchizedek.
Hebrew 7 is in the NT and they talk about tithing because Abraham was under grace when he tithed and we are under grace. We don't tithe because we have to, we get to tithe. God has a lot to say about the tithe because it testifies the He's (Jesus) alive. If you don't have a revelation on tithing then I suggest don't tithe. Know that you have promises in tithing. During all this world financial turmoil everything may fail but Tithing and offereing will not be affected, because God instituted it and this is how I believe that transfer of wealth is going to take place.
So its true by not tithing it will not keep you from heaven...its just God's way of doing things. He tithed Jesus and when we receive Jesus we receives God riches. So if you dont want to tithe then don't, if you want to be blessed then learn about the tithe. Learn from the churches that are prospering. Great resources are Joseph Prince, Kenneth Copeland. Stay away from the cons that try to get money from you without giving you a revelation on tithing. Also Gal 6:6-10 talks about giving money to those who teach you. Its not talking about sin or anything else its talking about money.

 

[Migdala]

Do you take 10% of your crops, sell them, go to Jerusalem, and use the proceeds to buy food, wine, and strong drink-- whatever your soul lusts for, and eat them before the Lord?

Do you pay 10% of your crops and heards to support Hebrew priests and Levites?

Do you take 10% of your crops and give them to the Levites, widows, fatherless, and foreigners in the cities of Jerusalem?

Do you pay 10%, occassionally, from the spoils of war that you take from the villages and towns you attack?

This is what I see as examples of tithing in the Bible. I can't find 10% of cash income given to the local church.

Not that I am against giving that much, or more. It is good to have disciplined giving, and 10% of cash income may be a good number for a lot of people to start with. But I do not agree with twisting and allegoricalizing Old Testament laws about paying crops and herds from the land of Israel to Levites to fill up a certain fund in one's church, and telling people they are under the curse of the law if they do not do so, like many preachers have done. Pentecostals don't stand for that kind of allegorical interpretation when it comes to eschatology or other issues, but a lot sure do allegoricalize scripture when it comes to tithing.

AMEN! Great answer! I also do not believe we are under a 10% tithe either. I do believe we are to give to our church, to support it, but I have also gone to churches that demand a 10% tithe, threatening Malachia 3:10 to the congregation....yet when the pastor was asked exactly where the money went to, he stuttered and was unable to answer. There was no overseas missionaries, no food pantry, no band, nothing. Yet this pastor had 5 services a night, and demanded money each time, quoting Malachia. I have no problem giving to the church, but do not see where there is a set amount of MONEY we are to give in the NT. Oh, and don't forget about the firstborn son as a tithe too!

Personally, my income is not enough to tithe....although when I had more money, I was very strict about giving my 10% tithe....and I was unable to pay my bills as a result.

I have a choice of giving to a church, or giving to beggers I see on the street, or friends who are in need. I choose to help them, and many times it does equal up to what I would be tithing to the church.

 

[ai3theanswer]

I would encourage you to study this out for yourself so you know the truth. I could write something on here, someone would disagree and write something else. But let the word of God have final say.

Here is a good start of understanding:

• Tithing is under the grace of GOD - i.e. we tithe knowing that we are loved and blessed; not because GOD's law said so, or to obtain His love and blessing, or be a righteous Christian.
• GOD loves to prosper us. One of His ways is through the tithe. The tithe (1/10) represents the whole. When we set apart this 1/10 unto Him, He sanctifies our entire income - and the whole becomes blessed.
• In Hebrew, rich is "aaser" and tithe is "maaser". You can see that the root word "aaser (rich)" is in the "maaser (tithe)". We tithe (maaser) because we already have His prosperity (aaser) in us.
• There is a divine parallel to the "aaser" and the "maaser". Our our ABBA Father is a GOD of all prosperities. You can say in a way, among one of the many glorious attributes of GOD, that GOD is Aaser (GOD is The Prosperity). He tithed His only beloved Son JESUS for you and I. JESUS is The Maaser (The Tithe).
• Because our ABBA Father is The Aaser, He blessed us with The Maaser. When we opened our hearts to receive JESUS as our Savior, we received not only The Maaser - but also The Aaser (because The Aaser is in The Maaser). That is to say, because of JESUS, we have received all the fullness of GOD's riches. And in turn, we tithe because we are rich in Him.

• To consecrate is to set apart; to sanctify, to dedicate something as sacred and holy to GOD.
• Rm 11:16 gives the key to consecrate our income. Why would one want to consecrate one's income? - you ask. Remember that our income is tainted by the curse of this fallen world:
  • The food that we eat, as well as the money that we receive, are all directly and indirectly derived from the earth - such as vegetation, plants, and trees.
  • JESUS Himself declared money as "unrighteous mammon" (Lk 16, 9,11).
  • When we consecrate our income, we 'un-taint' it and make it holy unto GOD.
• Rm 11:16 says: For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy. You can see how gracious GOD is. He does not require us to give Him all our income for Him to make it holy. His principle is that we only need to give Him the 'firstfruit' tithe (the one tenth) of our total income, and He is able to bless the rest of the nine tenths as holy.
• Hence, by giving Him only one tenth, our total income (the lump) becomes consecrated to Him. And when our income is set apart unto Him - no curse, no devil or his demons can touch it!
• 90% of consecrated income far, far exceeds 100% of income that is vulnerable to the curse of the earth and the schemes of the evil one.
• Isn't it wonderful to know that by tithing 1/10 of your income, you are 'securing' all your income from the curse of the fallen world and from the clutches of the evil one?

GOD created and owns everything in the universe. He is The One who gave you life and He is The One who blessed you with a job and income. Surely The GOD of all the universe does not need your tithe. The reason for the tithe is His 'Esc button' for you to permanently shake loose the grip of the curse on your income, all your life!

• Our tithe is for our gain - great gain, I should say. I am tempted to add here that - in the same principle, when you tithe one day of the week (setting aside Sunday to celebrate and worship Him and to rest from worldly labour) - the entire week is then set apart unto GOD. When you tithe a segment of the day (having quiet moments to be with Him) - your day is consecrated unto GOD. When we tithe a portion of our mind (spending moments to meditate on His Word, to worship Him, to thank and praise Him) - the rest of our mind and brain is sanctified.
• It had been said that when GOD created Adam and Eve (only two of them) and gave them the vastness of the riches of the Garden of Eden - GOD required them to tithe only one thing - only one tree - unto Him: the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
• However, GOD's Word about His tithe is about our tangible gained substance. Hence, I shall refrain from going off in a tangent to generalize tithing to other concepts, although I believe it is a scriptural and sound principle.
• Solomon, in Pro 3:9, says that honouring GOD means honouring Him with "our substance" (another version says 'wealth') and with the firstfruits of all our increase. It is clear that the tithe that honours GOD refers to monetary terms.
• I believe that GOD chose our income to concretize tithing because it is one of the things close to our heart and desires; and therefore when one, by volition tithe to Him, it reflects the person's priority to put GOD above this precious thing called 'money'.

Tithing is under Grace - do not turn it into a law.

• It is easy to come to a conclusion that in order to receive GOD's blessing, I'd better tithe.
• No, it doesn't work this way. Instead, we tithe FROM blessing - we do not tithe FOR blessing.
• If we tithe to get GOD's blessing, it is tantamount to twisting GOD's arm and say: Father, I've tithed to You - now, bless me. It would like keeping a law based on our own merits in order to obtain GOD's blessings.
• The truth is that by the Finished Work of CHRIST JESUS at the cross for you and I - GOD has already and will always love and bless us. Our tithe arises from this love and blessing that we already have. This is what tithing under Grace means.
• The Grace of GOD is freely and abundantly given to you and I without conditions of what we ought to do, or what we ought not do. We cannot earn GOD's love and blessings. It is by His Grace, through the Perfect Work of CHRIST JESUS at Calvary for each and every one of us who believes. We are already blessed.
• One of the many promises of GOD that we are already standing on blessed ground is found in Deu 8:18: In CHRIST JESUS He has given us the power to get wealth. It is a blessing already bestowed to us through the death of our LORD JESUS at the cross. You can see that we do not need to tithe to obtain this blessing. We tithe because we already have this blessing in CHRIST JESUS.
• One of GOD's blessings is His prosperity. It is not a vulgar word. Otherwise GOD would't have blessed Abraham, David, Solomon and many, many of His children with His prosperity.

 

[SirKenny85]

I've always gone the 10% route, but would never look down upon someone who gave less, nor would I treat someone who gave more with special treatment. We tithe because we believe in the word, believe in helping the church grow, and to reach out and spread the word. So I guess to answer your question.."yes" : )

 

[GarrickBrewer]

I beleive tithing, at least the way my church does is it very good. The money from our tithes not only help maintain the church and all that but also goes to our Missionary orginization for our district, Speed The Light. My freind who is a seventh day adventist can testify that the lord will bless those who tithe, his family was is dire finacial straights, then they started to go to church and give tithes, and now they are prospering. God is good.

 

[tturt]

They say there's more Scriptures about money than any other subject in the Bible.

Like most of you - definitely agree with tithes and offerings. To me - He is our accountant because he knew how much money was given by whom. Jesus sat opposite the treasury and watched the money "bucket" seeing who gave and how much they gave. It states that some that had more gave more. Of course, He also knew if it was a sacrifice or not.

 

[GarrickBrewer]

It states that some that had more gave more. Of course, He also knew if it was a sacrifice or not.

Thats right, a millionare who gives a thousand dollars is not sacrificing as much as a single parent with barely enough to get by giving twent dollars.