Tithing, A requirement?

[josephearl]

That the Bible does not support tithing is truth. That we as Christians are encouraged to give is also truth. It seems the scripture has as a focus giving in three different areas.
1. We give to the poor. 2. We give to Israel as the Lord leads. 3. We give to support those who teach and preach the Word in truth. Widows is another catagory however that sems to be under the authoirty of the church. I may be wrong there but my memory is showing that to me and this is just a quick litle list.
Walking away from pastors who teach the tithe is easier to support Biblically then staying in bondage with them. I tend to lose interest in what they are teaching when they focus on the tithing concept and then further ensnare God's people with their argument that alms need to be considered as over and above the tithe. If they can't get this simple doctrine right then only the Lord knows where they are in error elsewhere. I also do not see much need to invest any money in churches who doctrinally deny the gifs of the Spirit as being operational today. This is even worse then the false teaching of the tithe because these 'leaders' are denying the Holy Ghost opportunity to save the lost and love on the church.

love ya, great points. Keep it up, JE

 

[Blueforest]

If tithing is for today, so is war with the Amalekites, stoning your neighbor, burning witches and animal sacrifices.

 

[bbbbbbb]

If tithing is for today, so is war with the Amalekites, stoning your neighbor, burning witches and animal sacrifices.

Yep. And we can also toss in the entirety of the Law, which Christ nailed to the cross.

 

[Hismessenger]

Using money to take care of the church is not biblical unless you are providing for the saints, the real church. The true church doesn't need a dime to operate other than for you to open your mouth to the praise of God before men. We are a living sacrifice whom God is seeking to do his will. His will is to love your fellow man but do you believe that the church who has a auto teller in it's building will take care of the indigent and down trodden with the money it takes in or only those whom it deems members in their body. What is done is a sin which most never even consider. partiality! It is done every day even though Christ warned us against it. Keep your tithe and follow down the wide path to destruction which you are now forewarned.

hismessenger

 

[Frogster]

A local church already has a credit card machine for those who want to use their credit cards to pay their tithes and offerings. And they call it going to the next level.

 

[Frogster]

If ever i meet a preacher, or a pastor, who teach how paul worked, not to burden the church, in the middle of being stoned etc, i will freak out!

They hate that teaching.

 

[Tavita]

If ever i meet a preacher, or a pastor, who teach how paul worked, not to burden the church, in the middle of being stoned etc, i will freak out!

They hate that teaching.

I know a Pastor in the States who has his own business apart from the church and because the Pastor GIVES everything to the church (meaning Gods people) God has turned him into a millionaire. The church lacks for NOTHING, and he is a blessed man.

 

[bbbbbbb]

I know a Pastor in the States who has his own business apart from the church and because the Pastor GIVES everything to the church (meaning Gods people) God has turned him into a millionaire. The church lacks for NOTHING, and he is a blessed man.

To balance things a bit here I also know very godly men who have regular employment and who give everything to God's people and are yet as poor as church mice in terms of monetary wealth. I fully believe that God is richly blessing them and will reward them at the judgment seat of Christ.

 

[Tavita]

To balance things a bit here I also know very godly men who have regular employment and who give everything to God's people and are yet as poor as church mice in terms of monetary wealth. I fully believe that God is richly blessing them and will reward them at the judgment seat of Christ.

I totally agree with you!

 

[Goinheix]

Tithe is not a matter of the pastor being honest or greede. Tithe is not a matter of the pastor being poor or rich. Tithe is a matter of doctrine. The christian doctrine of tithe is false; and have nil support in the Bible (NT and OT). Whoever pretend to be a pastor shall know that; he has not excuses. Teaching tithe is to teach false doctrine. Even honets and poor pastors are in sin if they teach to tithe.

 

[Super Kal]

no it's not a requirement... but God does ask and call us to give, and give cheerfully

 

[Goinheix]

no it's not a requirement... but God does ask and call us to give, and give cheerfully

Yes He do. And He is telliong us never to give by tithing. God is telling us to give when it is necessary, not to give every month. God is not pleased in thithe givers. The only time christians are suppose to give, the only time the christians are allowed to give, is in those exceptional situations in wich a special need arouse.

 

[BeforeThereWas]

Some good comments were posted.

I've asked many a minister to show me one instance in the Law where wage earners were commanded to hand over anything to the Levites.

.....I fell asleep waiting for a reference.....

Some brave souls dared to point at Abraham and Jacob as a pre-Law principle for all time.

In response, I pointed at Number 31 where the people of Israel were commanded to hand over to the priests 1/50th and 1/500th of the spoils.....both percentages are a FAR cry from 1/10th.

I then asked if it were right for their congregant members to hand over a tenth on the basis of preconditions, such as was the case with Jacob:

"Lord, IF you will do this...that...and the other for me, THEN I will plop a full tenth into the passing plate each month."

Interestingly, their anger was tangible.

Many ministers seem to hate God's word for what it actually says...

The remaining souls pointed as Jesus' and Paul's mention of tithing in the NT.

I then pointed at Matt. 8:4, Mark 1:44, and Luke 5:14. According to their system of interpretation, we all should also be offering up burnt sacrifices.

As for Paul's statements, I told them that plopping a tenth of my income into the passing plate would demonstrate their priesthood in the Church as being higher than that of Christ Himself, therefore my refusal...

Ahh, but if only I had a doughnut for every degree of anger and temper, I would own the Crispy Creme empire right now...

BTW

 

[Hismessenger]

News Flash

The building is not the church. It matters not that there are mortgages, and light bills. Does the body of Christ have those things. The body of Christ is made up of living souls, not wood and stone and they are the ones we are to take care of. Does the building do that for other buildings? Answer no. Does it matter that there is no heat or lights in another building? Answer No

If you belong to the body of Christ and I belong to the body of Christ and You come to me in need and I help with your need, whether it be money or something else, I have given as God has ordained it to be. In essence I have given to the church of which we are members in Christ. In the end, the building will be torn down or fall down but the true church will live on eternally.

It has been said that Jesus taught a lot in the open as did many of the other disciples after him and no where were they begging money. On the contrary, Jesus fed the masses on a couple of occasions, so who supplied the need. The peoples money or the living word.

hismessenger

 

[BeforeThereWas]

Ah, but the pro-required-tithing gang will demand that it makes biblical sense to hand over their primary, largest giving to their religious institution they call "the church" because it can allegedly do more good than one individual.

That's a very common escape for the mathematically challenged, and intellectually dishonest.

100 people each have $1000 to give, totaling $100,000:

Scenario #1: They each give to meet the needs of 100 different families, adding up to a grand total of $100,000 toward the meeting of needs.

Scenario #2: They each hand over the $1000 to their institutional church oragnization of which they are members. After expenses, the institution helps the needy with the remaining $25,000.

When I asked them which scenario was more effective at meeting needs, they suddenly had to leave on vacation, or their hard drives crashed, never to return to the dicussion.

BTW

 

[josephearl]

Ah, but the pro-required-tithing gang will demand that it makes biblical sense to hand over their primary, largest giving to their religious institution they call "the church" because it can allegedly do more good than one individual.

That's a very common escape for the mathematically challenged, and intellectually dishonest.

100 people each have $1000 to give, totaling $100,000:

Scenario #1: They each give to meet the needs of 100 different families, adding up to a grand total of $100,000 toward the meeting of needs.

Scenario #2: They each hand over the $1000 to their institutional church oragnization of which they are members. After expenses, the institution helps the needy with the remaining $25,000.

When I asked them which scenario was more effective at meeting needs, they suddenly had to leave on vacation, or their hard drives crashed, never to return to the dicussion.

BTW

Good answer, except it seems there is a spot in the Scripture that reminds us we are to share all things with the ones who instruct us. How do you work that into your theological view?

 

[BeforeThereWas]

Good answer, except it seems there is a spot in the Scripture that reminds us we are to share all things with the ones who instruct us. How do you work that into your theological view?

My theological view is meaningless in and of itself. Those who are teachers of biblical caliber are indeed important elements to bring others to the point of spiritual maturity.

However, we find ourselves today surrounded by pseudo-teachers who prefer to hold all others in spiritual stasis rather than to help them rise up to the heights and fly on their own.

Spiritual slaves are what most of them want...perpetual sheep they can sheer on a continual basis in order to secure their own lives of ease as religious leaders, just as in ancient times under the religious sanhedron and pharasees.

BTW

 

[josephearl]

I tend to agree with you just wanted to insert a reminder that not as a 'tithe' but as an act of love and honoring the scripture we are encouraged to give to those who labor in the gospel. There are good, even great ministers of the gospel out there just as there are scoundrels and poorly taught ones who do not qualify in the above catagory. Some are gold and silver, some wood, hay and stubble. Discern where you are and act accordingly.
love ya, JE

 

[ViaCrucis]

I have a hard time understanding why people take issue with giving a token amount to their church community. The electric and heating bills aren't going to pay for themselves.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[BeforeThereWas]

I tend to agree with you just wanted to insert a reminder that not as a 'tithe' but as an act of love and honoring the scripture we are encouraged to give to those who labor in the gospel.

Question: What do you say about those of us who are not a part of institutionalized religion?

We teach (disciple) those who are in need of instruction in the Gospel, and fellowship along with enjoying each others gifts the rest of the time we are together. We have no communal building because we have no need of one...and all the outrageous trappings that accompany the possession of one.

Also, in relation to institutionalized religion, what one hands over to such things most generally is used to support the facility and the staffing rather than meeting genuine needs.

Granted; religionists always see their communal building as a necessity rather than a luxury, which is exactly reflected in the priorites they exercise with what's handed over to them under the false assumption that they're "given to God."

Many assume that just because a man acquires the job of an institutional pastor, that he's automatically entitled to receive from others...so far as the Bible is concerned?

There are good, even great ministers of the gospel out there just as there are scoundrels and poorly taught ones who do not qualify in the above catagory.

Which describes a great many of them...far more than most people are willing to admit.

BTW