Should Christians Tithe?

[WASR10]

Christ is the end of the law for all who believe. This speaks of a Christian's justification. But Christ is not the end of the law in Christian sanctification. A widespread and fundamental error across broader evangelicalism is an improper understanding of the Law of God and of the saints relation to it. Matthew 5:17-20 is clear and instructive.

In Matthew 5, Jesus states that His purpose was not to destroy the Law, but to fulfill it. He further states that nothing would pass from the Law until that time when all would be accomplished. That time came when He died on the cross. "Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, 'It is finished!' And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit." - John 19:30 At that time the purpose of the Old Covenant was fulfilled. Because it had served its purpose, it was, at that time, taken out of the way.

I agree that pastoral ministry is not a birthright. Israel was a tribal nation with certain duties given to certain individuals because of their heritage. The Kingdom of God is made of the elect from every tongue, tribe and nation. But the men who are called and ordained to preach perform the function of the Levites under the Old Covenant and therefore are to be supported through the tithe. That is the unescapable parallel that the apostle sets up.

While the functions of teachers and evangelists are similar in duty to the Levites, they are not subject to the same practices and laws, nor the same compensation. Nowhere do the scriptures say that is so.

Christians in the local church must provide their pastors a living.

If by Pastor we mean Minister(s), I agree.

The tithe is the means and the percentage faithfully paid by all of the members will ensure that the pastor is supported in a lifestyle that is reflective of the economic make up of that particular local church.

If by the support of the congregation, I would say 'True,' but not that a specific percentage is required.

Again, it's helpful to remember that tithing was the established practice of the patriarchs before the Old Covenant. So ultimately, the Mosaic Covenant did not establish the tithe, it merely codified what the faithful already practiced. This cannot be over emphasized.

While tithing is practiced for a long time before the Law, it did not become a command until the Law. Under the New Covenant howver, God mentioned no specific amount to the His Church.

Please consider:
“But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, by as much as He is also the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted on better promises.

For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion sought for a second. For finding fault with them, He says,

‘Behold, days are coming, says the Lord, When I will effect a new covenant With the house of Israel and with the house of Judah; Not like the covenant which I made with their fathers On the day when I took them by the hand To lead them out of the land of Egypt; For they did not continue in My covenant, And I did not care for them, says the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel After those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their minds, And I will write them on their hearts. And I will be their God, And they shall be My people. And they shall not teach everyone his fellow citizen, And everyone his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ For all will know Me, From the least to the greatest of them. For I will be merciful to their iniquities, And I will remember their sins no more.’

When He said, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear.” – Hebrews 8:6-13

Thanks for reading.

[Packy14]

This subject came up in another recent thread, and I thought it was worthy of it's own thread, so I started this one just to get some discussion going on it.

I suppose the first thing to do is to get an actual definition of the term, so we're all using it in the same way. Here is one that a Google search popped up:

From Dictionary.com

tithe
[tahyth]

noun
1.
Sometimes, tithes. the tenth part of agricultural produce or personal income set apart as an offering to God or for works of mercy, or the same amount regarded as an obligation or tax for the support of the church, priesthood, or the like.
2.
any tax, levy, or the like, especially of one-tenth.
3.
a tenth part or any indefinitely small part of anything.
verb (used with object), tithed, tithing.
4.
to give or pay a tithe or tenth of (produce, money, etc.).
5.
to give or pay tithes on (crops, income, etc.).
6.
to exact a tithe from (a person, community, parish, etc.).
7.
to levy a tithe on (crops, income, etc.).
verb (used without object), tithed, tithing.
8.
to give or pay a tithe.

Merriam-Webster takes an even more liberal position and includes: " a tenth part of something paid as a voluntary contribution or as a tax especially for the support of a religious establishment"

So my own personal interpretation of the word is more conservative. IMO a Tithe is a required payment that members of a Temple are required to make as part of their membership. A form of a tax. In Old Testament Israel, it was more than that, since Israel was a theocracy, just being a Jew meant you were expected to tithe, and so besides the social pressure and the scorn or shunning that would be shown to someone who didn't tithe there were probably also connections to forgiveness of sins tied to tithing. A person had to submit sin offerings at the Temple. This webpage lists all of the different types of sacrifices and offerings that were to be made. Unless a person tithed they were shut out from all of this.

http://www.agapebiblestudy.com/charts/levitical%20sacrifices%20and%20offerings%20of%20the%20old%20covenant.htm

Christians don't worship at a temple and don't make sacrifices to earn forgiveness of sins. Christians don't live under the Law, they live in Christian liberty and freedom. They do what they do because they want to, because they are forgiven sinners, not because they have to, or because it is required by the Law. Likewise, Christians don't tithe, they give thank offerings. They give freely of the things God has given to them.

The origin of the word Tithe is old English, for the word Ten, or tenth, as in a percentage. in OT Israel the Israelites were to give a tenth of their harvest or flock or income. Some Christians like this as a target or goal for their own giving, and that is perfectly good, right and salutary. So, some people may still like to use the word Tithe for their giving, but to me that carries with it improper theological baggage. It harkens back to OT Israel and turns something that should be done freely with an open and loving heart into something that must be done to alleviate guilt.

So that's my perspective on it. What say you?

Yes and cheerfully. 10% is not set in stone so feel free to give more. God knows your heart.. But remember that all you have is His.

[LBC1689guy]

Thanks WASR10. First let me say that I agree 100% that the Old Covenant has passed away. All that it pointed to finds its yes and Amen in Christ Jesus. I am not arguing for the continuing of God's covenantal dealing with Israel. Christ has fulfilled the righteous requirement of the law for all who believe. Christians are justified by faith and not by our works of the law.

With that said, I think that we must be very careful when we want to throw away of the Law because not all of the law was positive, that is to say, unique to Jews, under the Old Covenant. You may argue that the tithe was law only under the Old Covenant but I have shown from the lives of Abram and Jacob that this was the regular practice of the faithful before the Old Covenant was established. That can't simply be dismissed as insignificant...especially when Romans 4 calls Abraham the father of all who believe and Jesus said in John 8 that Abraham's children do his work.

You said: "While the functions of teachers and evangelists are similar in duty to the Levites, they are not subject to the same practices and laws, nor the same compensation. Nowhere do the scriptures say that is so."

I believe that 1 Corinthians 9:6-14, especially Vv 13-14 would counter your assertion. Paul writes, "Do you not know that those who are employed in the temple service get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in the sacrificial offerings? In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel." Paul makes a 1:1 between the Levitical service under the OC and gospel ministry under the NC. Numbers 18:24 says specifically that the tithe is is for the Levites. "For the tithe of the people of Israel, which they present as a contribution to the LORD, I have given to the Levites for an inheritance..." How else can Paul's command to support those who rule well and especially those who labor in preaching and teaching (1 Timothy 5:17-18) be understood? God provides for His appointed and ordained men in the local church through the faithful tithes of His people. The ideal is that those who fill the pulpit would not themselves be entangled in secular affairs.

WASR10 said: "While tithing is practiced for a long time before the Law, it did not become a command until the Law. Under the New Covenant howver, God mentioned no specific amount to the His Church."

I say that this is the word concept fallacy. Just because the exact word is not used, does not mean that the concept is not taught. If we followed your logic than the prohibitions against beastiality under the Old Covenant would not carry into the New Covenant because we do not find the command repeated. Of course we both know that this is not the case...it's covered in the many New Testament warnings against sexual immorality...but the word or the specific command is not repeated.

Christ's work of atonement on behalf of the elect is finished! Nothing must be added to or taken away from His penal substitutionary atonement and His justifying resurrection. This discussion is a matter of sanctification and the duties incumbent upon Christians to build up the kingdom of God including the local church by faithfully providing for the material support of whom God has appointed to preach the word. Tithing is not about salvation but it is about obedience and growth in holiness. Jesus said in John 14:15, If you love Me, you will keep My commandments." and again in verse 21, "Whoever has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me."

[Not a Cook]

This has turned into a pretty interesting discussion, brothers. A good example of "iron sharpening iron". Thank you all for sharing.

I believe I shared my understanding of the subject earlier, so I won't belabor the point by repeating myself. That said, I do have a couple questions for LBC1689guy based on what he has written:

• Can you please clarify which "tithe" you are referring to, since the Mosaically-prescribed "tithe" actually consisted of three separate tithes that added up to 23 1/3%.
• I'm not sure if I understood one of your previous comments. It appeared to me that you inferred that you keep the Sabbath day. Is that correct? If so, would you please mind sharing how you keep it?

I also have a comment (and I believe that this will be repeating myself): Christ "raised the bar" on the requirements of the law (e.g. whoever looks at a woman to lust after has committed adultery with her in his heart). Accordingly, it seems that He also "raised the bar" on giving to the Lord. That said, it would seem more likely that those who follow Christ would be more concerned with how MUCH they can be giving to the Lord rather than what the minimum requirement is. Even under the Mosaic system the tithes were just a starting point - a bare minimum - and the Israelites offered free will offerings beyond that minimum starting point. How much greater have we who are in Christ received of God's blessings than had the Israelites of Moses' day! Regardless of whether a tithe is mandated for the Christian, it seems apparent that a tithe should only be a minimum starting point for us. That, of course, raises the point on where each Christian ought to be directing his giving, but that's part of this bigger issue. The local congregation is not the only "vehicle" to which a Christian may direct the giving that the Lord has laid on his heart to do.

[LBC1689guy]

I too appreciate the good interaction on the subject. I'm in my car with my kids at their youth study. I can't respond this evening and maybe not until Friday as I have a full day tomorrow and then teach a class tomorrow evening.

To answer the question, yes I am a practicing Sabbatarian. The Lord's Day is characterized by resting from our labors, worshipping publically and privately and refraining from those things that are lawful on other days except for the sake of necessity or mercy.

I also agree that the tenth represents the floor and not the ceiling of Christian giving but belongs to the local church. If Christians want to give and support other charitable ministries they of course are free to do so but the tenth belongs to God in the local church.

[WASR10]

Thanks WASR10. First let me say that I agree 100% that the Old Covenant has passed away. All that it pointed to finds its yes and Amen in Christ Jesus. I am not arguing for the continuing of God's covenantal dealing with Israel. Christ has fulfilled the righteous requirement of the law for all who believe. Christians are justified by faith and not by our works of the law.

With that said, I think that we must be very careful when we want to throw away of the Law because not all of the law was positive, that is to say, unique to Jews, under the Old Covenant. You may argue that the tithe was law only under the Old Covenant but I have shown from the lives of Abram and Jacob that this was the regular practice of the faithful before the Old Covenant was established. That can't simply be dismissed as insignificant...especially when Romans 4 calls Abraham the father of all who believe and Jesus said in John 8 that Abraham's children do his work.

You said: "While the functions of teachers and evangelists are similar in duty to the Levites, they are not subject to the same practices and laws, nor the same compensation. Nowhere do the scriptures say that is so."

I believe that 1 Corinthians 9:6-14, especially Vv 13-14 would counter your assertion. Paul writes, "Do you not know that those who are employed in the temple service get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in the sacrificial offerings? In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel." Paul makes a 1:1 between the Levitical service under the OC and gospel ministry under the NC. Numbers 18:24 says specifically that the tithe is is for the Levites. "For the tithe of the people of Israel, which they present as a contribution to the LORD, I have given to the Levites for an inheritance..." How else can Paul's command to support those who rule well and especially those who labor in preaching and teaching (1 Timothy 5:17-18) be understood? God provides for His appointed and ordained men in the local church through the faithful tithes of His people. The ideal is that those who fill the pulpit would not themselves be entangled in secular affairs.

WASR10 said: "While tithing is practiced for a long time before the Law, it did not become a command until the Law. Under the New Covenant howver, God mentioned no specific amount to the His Church."

I say that this is the word concept fallacy. Just because the exact word is not used, does not mean that the concept is not taught. If we followed your logic than the prohibitions against beastiality under the Old Covenant would not carry into the New Covenant because we do not find the command repeated. Of course we both know that this is not the case...it's covered in the many New Testament warnings against sexual immorality...but the word or the specific command is not repeated.

Christ's work of atonement on behalf of the elect is finished! Nothing must be added to or taken away from His penal substitutionary atonement and His justifying resurrection. This discussion is a matter of sanctification and the duties incumbent upon Christians to build up the kingdom of God including the local church by faithfully providing for the material support of whom God has appointed to preach the word. Tithing is not about salvation but it is about obedience and growth in holiness. Jesus said in John 14:15, If you love Me, you will keep My commandments." and again in verse 21, "Whoever has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me."

Thank you for taking the time to respond, but I think I addressed it all in my previous post. Refer to that post if you wish to know what I have to say regarding Romans 4 and Abraham as the father, John 8 and doing the work of Abraham, 1 Corinthians 9:6-14 and its relation to the Levites, and the presence of the concept of tithing within the New Covenant.

"After saying above, 'Sacrifices and offerings and whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You have not desired, nor have You taken pleasure in them' (which are offered according to the Law), then He aid, 'Behold, I have come to do Your will.' He takes away the first in order to establish the second. By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." - Hebrews 10:8-10

[Sailormilan2]

There was an article on Facebook today about 10 Reasons why Christians should accept "homosexuality". One of the reasons given was that the laws regarding homosexuality were done away with at the Cross. So, we as Christians, have no reason to be against it, and therefore should be accepting of it.
When people here say the laws were done away with, what do we start accepting? When does Mal. 3:6 come in?

[WASR10]

There was an article on Facebook today about 10 Reasons why Christians should accept "homosexuality". One of the reasons given was that the laws regarding homosexuality were done away with at the Cross. So, we as Christians, have no reason to be against it, and therefore should be accepting of it.
When people here say the laws were done away with, what do we start accepting? When does Mal. 3:6 come in?

“For I, the LORD, do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed.” - Malachi 3:6

This verse, and several others in the scriptures, tells us that God does not change. The Bible shows, however, that the way God has communicated and dealt with man has changed. At one time God spoke through patriarchs. Then He spoke through prophets and judges. Then through Christ, and then through the writers via the Holy Spirit. The Bible also reveals that it had been God’s plan from the beginning to have the Law and replace it with grace.

So if the Old Law does not apply, then that would mean the Old Testament commands regarding homosexuality would not apply. Yet the New Testament, from which a Christian receives the practices of his religion, also addresses homosexuality. Therefore the argument that - because the Old Law is fulfilled Christians have no reason to be against it - would be inaccurate.

[Sailormilan2]

I do agree with this, I was just pointing out what I consider "flaws" in the "Laws done away with at the Cross" ideology.

[The War Wagon]

It is NOT required, as in the Old Testament sense. Rather, with grateful hearts for ALL that Christ has done, we are now FREED to give as we have been blessed. There's no need to LIMIT ourselves to 10% - we're free to give even MORE, if we are so blessed!

[LBC1689guy]

Well it's a little later than Friday, but here I am. I think that many of the issues stem from an improper understanding of things like justification (a legal term), sanctification (used in two senses but most commonly to refer to a progressive work of the Spirit in reforming the life of a true believer), and biblical concepts of law, sin, repentance, Christian liberty, the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. In addition to these issues there is also the question of hermeneutics (how we interpret the Scriptures...or better, how the Scriptures interpret themselves.) It would be a herculean task to attempt to address all of these issues in this format.

Q. What is justification?
A. Justification is an act of God's free grace, wherein He pardons all our sins, and accepts us as righteous in His sight, only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us, and received by faith alone.

Q. What is Sanctification?
A. Sanctification in the work of God's free grace, whereby we are renewed in the whole man after the image of God, and are enabled more and more to die unto sin, and live unto righteousness.

Q. What is the duty that God requires of man?
A. The duty which God requires of man, is obedience to His revealed will.

Q. What did God at first reveal to man for his obedience?
A. The rule which God at first revealed to man for his obedience, was the moral law.

Q. Where is the moral law summarily comprehended?
A. The moral law is summarily comprehended in the Ten Commandments.

Q.What is sin?
A. Sin is any want of conformity unto, or transgression of the law of God.

OK. Those are basic definitions summarized from the Scriptures.

Moral law (summarized in the Ten Commandments) are eternal because they are a reflection of God's holy character. Because they are a reflection of God's holy character, and God is infinite, eternal, and unchangeable...so to is His moral law. There will never be a time when the moral law is not binding on all people. Moral law is not subject to cultural preferences or norms...because moral law is a reflection of God's righteousness and God does not change.
This law has been written on the hearts (immaterial nature) of all people in creation. Romans 2 is helpful in understanding this.
For when Gentiles (those who do not have the moral law written on tablets of stone as Israel did under the Old Covenant), by nature do what the law requires, thay are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law (written on tablets of stone as Israel did under the Old Covenant). They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them..."

So Paul says the fact that even gentiles refrain from breaking the law and suffer guilty consciences when they do testifies that the moral law is internal (written on the heart), universal (Jews and Gentiles) and I would add eternal...because it is the reflection of God's holiness...what the Scriptures attribute most to God. This is part of what it is to be made in the image of God.

So why do unbelievers know that it's wrong to rebel against lawful authority, take life unlawfully, commit adultery, steel, lie, and covet? Because they are made in the image of God and they have the moral law written upon their hearts.

1 John 3:4 concisely defines sin: "Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; [B]sin is lawlessness"[B]

1 John 1:10 testifies that all sin (break the moral law). If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.

This is the apostle talking about the ongoing sins of genuine Christians. If John says that all sin...and do so even after they've been justified by grace...then the inescapable conclusion is that the moral law continues, even though Christ has lived, suffered, died, been raised, and has ascended for the justification and adoption of His people.

Was there sin before the Old Covenant? Yes. Adam coveted, stole, and lied, not to mention he violated commandments 1 and 3. How? Because the moral law was written upon his heart.

Did Cain sin? Yes. He murdered His brother Abel. Sin is only sin where there is moral law and because God has written His moral law on the hearts of all men from creation, the law has always been present...25 centuries before mount Sinai.

This moral law is not simply outward and literal; it's inward and spiritual. It goes to the thoughts and intentions of a man's heart. This was Christ's teaching in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:21-48). He didn't give a new law...He reminded people of what they had forgotten (suppressed in unrighteousness Romans 1:18-32): that the law is spiritual (Romans 7:14) Paul Goes on to say...now get this, we're talking about a regenerated Christian living on this side of the cross and empty tomb who is writing to fully justified Christians...Paul says of this moral law, "So the (moral) law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.

Jesus said of this moral law (summarized in the Ten Commandments): "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass away from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven."

Christ's work of atonement is finished. Nothing can be added to it or taken away from it. But heaven and earth have not yet passed away. That does not occur until His second coming. So until Christ comes again, the moral law continues, and defines what is holy and what is sinful. It's objective, unchanging, and binding.

Now to the Old Covenant. The Old Covenant does not equal the Old Testament. The Old Covenant is God's covenantal dealings with the nation of Israel which began when He took them by the hand out of the house of slavery in Egypt (Exodus) and was formalized at Mount Sinai with the giving of the law. God gave to Israel moral law 10 commandments written in stone which is the same law written on the heart of all men. In addition to these He gave them laws (positive laws) were only ever unique to them in the context of the Old Covenant. These are known as the ceremonial law which related to the sacrificial system, dietary laws, and feasts and festivals all of which pointed to, and foreshadowed Christ and His relation to His New Covenant People. In addition to the ceremonial laws, God gave the nation of Israel civil laws which were the penal enforcements for violations of the moral law. All of this was to make Israel uniques from the pagan nations around them so that the people could be preserved until the Messiah was born according to the flesh and identified (by John the Baptist).
When Christ came, lived, obeyed, died, rose and ascended, the Old Covenant served it's purpose. The last vestiges of it were wiped away in 70ad when Jerusalem was sacked by General Titus and the temple was destroyed. With the end of the Old Covenant, the positive laws were done away with. What remained was the moral law and the principles and precepts that flow from it.

But when we look at the key promises of the New Covenat (Ezekiel 36:25-27 and Jeremiah 31:31-34 we see that amongst the born again members of Christ's New Covenant that there is a law and the grace to walk in those statutes.

I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.

The same moral law that was given in creation, is given by God in regeneration. Think of how many sets of the 10 commandments there were. The first set (Exodus 20) Moses destroyed when he saw Israel worshipping the golden calf. Then second set was given and recoded in Deuteronomy 5. This foreshadowed the need to be born again.

Jeremiah 31:31-34: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts.

So there you go. The classic texts on the New Covenant both include law for the members. Which law? The moral law summarized in the 10 commandments. How do we differentiate between the moral law, the civil law, and the ceremonial law? Simple. God only spoke the moral law (Exodus 20:1, 18-19). The moral law was written on stone and not on paper...skin. The moral law was written by the finger of God (Exodus 31:18; Deuteronomy 9:10). And the moral law was the only of Israel's law to be kept in the ark of the covenant (Exodus 25:16). What is moral flows from the 10 commandments, which is the summary, not the totality, of the moral law.

So what about the tithe. The tithe is moral law not ceremonial law. It was given by Abram (before the Old Covenant) in response to grace, and later by Jacob. This shows a pattern of giving for those who have been justified by faith. Abram tithed to the type of Christ. Jacob tithed to God. The author of Hebrews makes it clear that the Levites tithed to Christ through Abraham. "One might even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, for he was still in the loins of his ancestor when Melchizedek met him. If the tithe was mandated for the lesser covenant with lesser priests, with lesser promises, the how much more is it mandated for the New and Eternal Covenant that has a better priest, with better promises.

[LBC1689guy]

The tithe was codified under the Old Covenant moral law for the wellbeing of the priests and levites who were set apart for the ministry of the temple. It was their source of income. If a man performs a service for you and you refuse to pay him you have violated the 8th and 9th commandments. This is a moral failure...sin. In the case of the tithe, Leviticus 27:30 makes it clear that the tithe is holy to the Lord. Fail to give at least 10% to God in the local church and you have robbed God of what is his (8th commandment) and defrauded the ministers, the poor and the needy within the congregation of the provision that God has appointed for them.

Paul quotes from Old Covenant moral law and binds the consciences of Christians under the New Covenant. "You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out grain (Deuteronomy 25:4) Is it for oxen that God is concerned?" Here the New Testament is placing a moral obligation upon those for whom Christ died. It's part of the unchanging moral law of God.

He makes a one to one parallel between support for the Levites under the Old and support for the ministers of the word in the New. "Do you not know (this is an apostolic rebuke BTW) that those who are employed in the temple service get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in the sacrificial offerings? In the same way,the Lord commandedthat those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel. The priests were supported by the tithe. Paul says in the same way those who proclaim the gospel must be supported by the tithe.

For those that argue against a fixed percentage. First let me reiterate that the tithe is the minimum required of all believers in the local church. But the Christians is free and encouraged to give more, not less, in gratitude for the grace that he has received.

Second, Paul says in 1 Corinthians 16:1-2 "Now concerning the collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do. On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come." The phrase "as he may prosper" is a proportionate giving. It's not subjective...how you feel led. The giving is objective, as the Lord has prospered. If you make 30k a year you give the tithe. If you make 3MM/year you give the tithe. Each has given their fair share.

The tithe is moral. The Sabbath is moral (as opposed to the feasts and festivals in Leviticus under the ceremonial law that have expired with the old covenant. See Colossians 2:16-17). And homosexuality is immoral not because it is stated in the New Testament, but because marriage is defined in Genesis 2 before sin entered the world (thus an unchanging creation ordinance like the Sabbath) and because all sexual sin (heterosexual or homosexual) is a violation of the 7th commandment, written onto the heart of all men in creation and written by the finger of God on tablets of stone.

Christ fulfilled the law for His elect for their justification. He has not done away with the unchanging moral law under the New (Ezekiel 36:25-27; Jeremiah 31:31-34.) Those passages that have been so many times improperly been cited throughout this thread confuse justification and sanctification. By grace we are saved. And by grace we are enabled to obey Christ's commandments (and they're all His) so that we might grow in holiness to testify of Christ's saving work on our behalf. To deny the necessity of Christian obedience to the objective standards of the moral law is antinomian and decidedly unbiblical.

[WASR10]

There is so much to address, to correct, and to refute from these last two posts that I will have to wait until after the holiday weekend. Remember memorial day weekend everyone

Sent from my tappy device thingy

[LBC1689guy]

Remember the Sabbath Day everyone and keep it holy.

[Sailormilan2]

Remember the Sabbath Day everyone and keep it holy.

Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:

But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: