Should Christians Tithe?

[WASR10]

Not required, but we should voluntarily do it.

Fair enough. I must be confused by your earlier posts. Rock on.

Sent from my tappy device thingy

[Wordupmybrotha]

Word up

[Decoligny]

The main issue is that people take Malachi 3 out of fontext and use it as a pretext to do one of either two things:

1. They use it as an ax hanging over the people to insinuate that God will curse them if they don't pay his 10% to the pastor of whatever local church.

2. They use it as a guaranteed promise that blessing will flow only if you give the 10% to the pastor of whatever local church.

Malachi 3 was a specific warning to disobedient Levitical Priest to quit stealing from the pantry that was supposed to be used to feed the temple workers.

Too many people "proof text" with the scriptures. They take a small portion of scripture and ignore the context in order to make it bolster their position.

[North Bay Guy]

God has been very generous to my family, he always gives us what we need and sometimes what we want. In the times when my family can hardly pay the bills I'm thinking about how we can help the people who have even less then us, give away some of our jackets/clothes to the homeless and pack some food up to give them. My family is very blessed just to have what we need, food, water, clothes, shelter and the Holy Spirit.

Proverbs 15:16 (NIV)
16 Better a little with the fear of the Lord
than great wealth with turmoil.

Luke 3:11 (NIV)
John answered, "Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same."

There's months we're left with almost nothing after paying bills and buying food and I always thank God for blessing us with those things we really need. I've never felt obligated to give to my church. I do give offerings when I can, sometimes more and sometimes less. I don't feel any guilt if I don't have any money to give. For example in the beginning of last month I didn't have any money to give on the first two Sunday's. Then on Sunday the 22 I had some money on me so I gave it to the church. It was at that time someone tapped me on the shoulder and I turned around. She said, God is calling me to bless your family right now, she gave me a $20 and a big hug.

Proverbs 11:24-25 (NIV)
24 One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. 25 A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.

My church's youth ministry does a lot of free activities for kids including mine. My kids attend during the Sunday sermon, bible study once a week after school and the church provides a snack, kids night out once a month with a kid friendly dinner included, etc. My church also gives new Christians some reading material and a Bible or study Bible. The church also provides coffee and pastries before the sermon sometimes and a free lunch after the second sermon on occasion. Of course all this is on top of the utilities and everything else it takes to run the church. So I always repay them when I can.

[psssniper]

Decoligny correctly nails it across the board. /thread
And I always liked the tithe of the feast

Matthew 25:31 and James 1:27 have always been a guide for me. Since I don't go to a church in a building, I feel no compulsion to support them. In my warped mind I'd rather bypass the middleman (and their overhead) and go straight to the heart of the matter, whether it be paying someones rent, fixing their car, buying them a car, paying their bills, buying them food, clothing etc, covering medical bills, paying their expenses while they're staying far from home in a hotel dealing with medical issues, letting them live with us while they recover from issues in their lives. I do this as quietly as possible, dealing with the person or families that God has brought into my life. Amazing stuff happens on both sides of the equation.

The American "church" debt is approx $33,000,000,000 Thats a lot of fiscal mismanagement and well meaning BS that's keeping us from meeting the needs of others. Instead we have let the .Gov take over and we've all seen the results of that. Wake up church

James 1:27 New International Version (NIV)

27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Matthew 25:31-46 New International Version (NIV)
The Sheep and the Goats

31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

[American Samurai]

I hadn't heard that, where is there some evidence that this was the case?

Does God require me to give a tithe of all I earn?

Pastor John Macarthur explains it well.

[American Samurai]

Also, the Word of Faith Christian counterfeit cult loves to use this teaching to bilk their followers out of all their money. Ala Benny Hinn, Kenneth Copeland,Fred Price,Creflo Dollar,Joyce Meyer...

[hasserl]

and have neglected the weightier matters of the lawand neglect justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.

You are making the common mistake of confusing a "descriptive" passage with those that are "prescriptive". This happens when we take things out of context. In the above who was Christ talking to? There you go. It was "descriptive" of what was required of them to do, and they were doing it. The purpose of the passage though was to lay out a list of offenses committed by the so called "religious", practicing their religion but missing the point entirely (see the bold type). This is not a prescriptive passage where he is speaking to you. You are not an old testament Jew living in OT Israel, let alone a Pharisee or scribe. This is not a support of the "Tithe".

[hasserl]

The main issue is that people take Malachi 3 out of fontext and use it as a pretext to do one of either two things:

1. They use it as an ax hanging over the people to insinuate that God will curse them if they don't pay his 10% to the pastor of whatever local church.

2. They use it as a guaranteed promise that blessing will flow only if you give the 10% to the pastor of whatever local church.

Malachi 3 was a specific warning to disobedient Levitical Priest to quit stealing from the pantry that was supposed to be used to feed the temple workers.

Too many people "proof text" with the scriptures. They take a small portion of scripture and ignore the context in order to make it bolster their position.

Bingo, you got it.

[Wordupmybrotha]

You are making the common mistake of confusing a "descriptive" passage with those that are "prescriptive". This happens when we take things out of context. In the above who was Christ talking to? There you go. It was "descriptive" of what was required of them to do, and they were doing it. The purpose of the passage though was to lay out a list of offenses committed by the so called "religious", practicing their religion but missing the point entirely (see the bold type). This is not a prescriptive passage where he is speaking to you. You are not an old testament Jew living in OT Israel, let alone a Pharisee or scribe. This is not a support of the "Tithe".

Let's take a quick break from the theological discussion and talk about the practical application of giving. How did you decide how much to give every week? Did you budget out an amount that's a certain percentage of your income or does the amount vary week to week on a whim?

[hasserl]

I've already posted long ago, that if using 10% as a guide for what you want to give works for you, that is good, right and salutary. Go with it. The percentage is not what's important to the discussion, as far as I'm concerned. The word "tithe" has certain theological baggage that I think makes it improper to use. Giving 10% is still an offering, it isn't a tithe.

But to your question, I'm not sure using a percentage of income is the best way to approach this. It does make it simple, in a way. But that may be a stretch for some, and too little for others. I think prayerful consideration of what you can give in consideration of what your congregation's needs are is a good way to go. (Does Dollar Creflow really need 10% of a poor widow's income?) Also, your congregation is not the only way to give offerings. There are lot's of places to spread the blessings around, food banks, shelters, hospitals, people on the street, etc. I would encourage you to give to as many as you can.

[cbr9290318]

Remember that it all belongs to God anyway. We as Americans tend to place our security in our money (and ammo stashes), just check out the ammohaulics forum [emoji6] The point being in material items, not in Him. It can all be taken away at any time.

[Darto]

Back to the OT in the passages where the tithe was first proclaimed. The passage says the Levis cannot hire out for wages. And there will be a tithe paid to the Levis and the Priests in the temple (the priests had no other source of income either).

Today there is no tribe prohibited from working. No need for tithes. Not in the New Testament age.

Numbers 1: "“Only the tribe of Levi you shall not number, nor take a census of them among the children of Israel; 50 but you shall appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of the Testimony, over all its furnishings, and over all things that belong to it;

Numbers 18 (parts):
18 The Lord said to Aaron, “You, your sons and your family are to bear the responsibility for offenses connected with the sanctuary, and you and your sons alone are to bear the responsibility for offenses connected with the priesthood. 2 Bring your fellow Levites from your ancestral tribe to join you and assist you when you and your sons minister before the tent of the covenant law. 3 They are to be responsible to you and are to perform all the duties of the tent, but they must not go near the furnishings of the sanctuary or the altar. Otherwise both they and you will die. 4 They are to join you and be responsible for the care of the tent of meeting—all the work at the tent—and no one else may come near where you are.

20 The Lord said to Aaron, “You will have no inheritance in their land, nor will you have any share among them; I am your share and your inheritance among the Israelites.

21 “I give to the Levites all the tithes in Israel as their inheritance in return for the work they do while serving at the tent of meeting. 22 From now on the Israelites must not go near the tent of meeting, or they will bear the consequences of their sin and will die. 23 It is the Levites who are to do the work at the tent of meeting and bear the responsibility for any offenses they commit against it. This is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. They will receive no inheritance among the Israelites. 24 Instead, I give to the Levites as their inheritance the tithes that the Israelites present as an offering to the Lord. That is why I said concerning them: ‘They will have no inheritance among the Israelites.’”

The whole idea is the Levites have no inheritance, no land, no property, no wages no income. They get ALL the tithes for that reason. This is the basis for tithing: to allow the Levites some way to live, eat, buy clothes, etc.

[LBC1689guy]

Abraham tithed (gave a tenth Genesis 14:17-20) to Melchizedek, who was a type of Christ (Hebrews 7). "And Abram gave Him (Melchizedek) a tenth (tithe) of everything.". This was before the Abrahamic Covenant (Genesis 15) and centuries before the Mosaic (Old Covenant.) Therefore the principle of tithing to Christ (in the church) is trans-covenantal.

Romans 4:1-12 teaches that Abraham is the (spiritual) father of all who believe whether they are circumcised (Jews) or not (Gentiles). Therefore, if you possess the faith of Abraham (and you must in order to be justified), then you will follow by faith the practices of your spiritual father and tithe (a tenth).

"They (the Jewish Pharisees) answered Him, 'Abraham is our father (according to physical descent).' Jesus said to them, 'If you were Abraham's children (spiritually), you would be doing the work Abraham did.'" (John 8:39)

So Christian, is Abraham your spiritual daddy? Your checkbook ledger will indicate how closely you emulate the one whom the Scriptures describe as the father of all who believe.

Failing to tithe is not the unpardonable sin, but it is a (not the only) mark of spiritual immaturity. The Christian that demands a NT verse to establish what clearly has been established even before the practice was codified under the Old Covenant has failed to understand that the Bible is a cohesive book. The burden is not upon the one who upholds the continuing moral duty to tithe in the church age; the burden is upon the one who dismisses the tithe to provide biblical evidence that Christ or His apostles abolished the duty.

A.W. Pink is very helpful and clear on the subject.

http://www.davidcox.com.mx/library/P/Pink%20-%20Tithing.pdf

[eb47]

Abraham tithed (gave a tenth Genesis 14:17-20) to Melchizedek, who was a type of Christ (Hebrews 7). "And Abram gave Him (Melchizedek) a tenth (tithe) of everything.". This was before the Abrahamic Covenant (Genesis 15) and centuries before the Mosaic (Old Covenant.) Therefore the principle of tithing to Christ (in the church) is trans-covenantal.

Romans 4:1-12 teaches that Abraham is the (spiritual) father of all who believe whether they are circumcised (Jews) or not (Gentiles). Therefore, if you possess the faith of Abraham (and you must in order to be justified), then you will follow by faith the practices of your spiritual father and tithe (a tenth).

"They (the Jewish Pharisees) answered Him, 'Abraham is our father (according to physical descent).' Jesus said to them, 'If you were Abraham's children (spiritually), you would be doing the work Abraham did.'" (John 8:39)

So Christian, is Abraham your spiritual daddy? Your checkbook ledger will indicate how closely you emulate the one whom the Scriptures describe as the father of all who believe.

Failing to tithe is not the unpardonable sin, but it is a (not only) mark of spiritual immaturity. The Christian that demands a NT verse to establish what clearly has been established even before the practice was codified under the Old Covenant has failed to understand that the Bible is a cohesive book. The burden is not upon the one who upholds the continuing moral duty to tithe in the church age; the burden is upon the one who dismisses the tithe to provide biblical evidence that Christ or His apostles abolished the duty.

A.W. Pink is very helpful and clear on the subject.
http://www.davidcox.com.mx/library/P...%20Tithing.pdf

Agreed +1
I'm sure you'll get bashed here soon because Jesus paid everything on the cross and there's nothing we can do to earn anything and you're taking scripture out of context. No covenants before Christ's crucifixion apply because that was for the Jews and the New Testament wasn't written specifically to us so neither do those letters apply to us either. Yeah, that pretty much covers it.