Tithing, Whats the Big Deal?

Amen Brother and again I say Amen. :applause:

 

I believe that a person should give what is purposed upon his or her heart. For this is a private matter that should be a decision that is between the individual and God. Pastors who become the determinant as to what a person should give has usurped the duty of the Holy Spirit and set himself to be the mediator between God and man or in effect has re instituted the Levitical priesthood.
I think that we have forgotten that we are the temple of the Holy Spirit and that we put to much focus on what we build with our hands and not what God would have us build. We put to much on Pastors who are not to worry about tables but should be devoted to the scriptures and the preaching of the gospel. Acts 6:3,4
We have forgotten that the deacon is to do the rest? Acts 6:5-7.

 

No doubt that many on this list have many assets aside for cash say Real estate, stocks and bonds, precious metals, IRAs or 401ks just to name a few. When you commit yourself to tithing are you not withholding the rest from God if you do not take these assets into account?
Read what happened to a certain couple that tried to withhold what they had commited to God in Acts 5:1-11.

 

:applause: Great Point :thumbsup:

 

I remember going to my Uncle Jakes farm outside of Americus, GA when I was just a child and he show me how his equipment planted corn. He took a dried ear of yellow corn and began to strip it into a bucket (I think that today you can buy it in a 50lb bag). He then poured the bucket into his plow with an automatic planter. It dawned on me then that just one kernel would sprout into a stalk and a stalk would yield several ears and one ear would yield a hundred kernels. And his field was 200+ acres. All from the one kernel that he gave back to the ground.
Wow!:godisgood:

 

Agreed but I would point you to the fact that the believers became fearful of their example. Acts 5:11 that is why I referred to this account when one commits a certain amount to God then he sure better follow through.

 

Kinda reminds you of a Mob enforcer doesn't it. :thumbs:

 

And you might just see God work and He will run a church that will praise Him and not one that will praise the works of our hands. Have our buildings become the modern Idol? Will these buildings be brought into heaven? As far as I know there is only on building that is built and it is not by the hands of man.

I am not doubting the gracious work that pastors do day onto day. I commend them but when they become concerned over money problems and put those problems on the pulpit then they have neglected their responsibilities and usurped the duty of his deacons. Please note that when it was brought to the apostles that widows were being neglected they told the church to choose more deacons. Acts 6:1-7

 

Could you just imagine a pastor approaching the pulpit and announcing that the title of his message that God has given is Tithing and starts with I---- and ---- the --- we --- have --- Amen, and then ending with Well God gave it all to me but I only need to share 10% of it with you? :laugh:

 

Dr. Mike Halsey, Pastor of County Line Christian Church, McDonaugh, Ga

My church taught me, “God wants a tenth of your money.” That’s what they said. It sounded so simple, and like most “Christian’ clichés it was bogus. Tithing wasn’t simple.



Go to Leviticus 27:30-33:



‘A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord; it is holy to the Lord. 31 If a man redeems any of his tithe, he must add a fifth of the value to it. 32 The entire tithe of the herd and flock—every tenth animal that passes under the shepherd’s rod—will be holy to the Lord. 33 He must not pick out the good from the bad or make any substitution. If he does make a substitution, both the animal and its substitute become holy and cannot be redeemed.’



Num. 18:21-29:



“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. . . 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.’ ”

25 The Lord said to Moses, 26 “Speak to the Levites and say to them: ‘When you receive from the Israelites the tithe I give you as your inheritance, you must present a tenth of that tithe as the Lord’s offering. 27 Your offering will be reckoned to you as grain from the threshing floor or juice from the winepress. 28 In this way you also will present an offering to the Lord from all the tithes you receive from the Israelites. From these tithes you must give the Lord’s portion to Aaron the priest. 29 You must present as the Lord’s portion the best and holiest part of everything given to you.’



Then, in addition to the tithe, they had Deut. 12:6- 14: 14:22 -29:



“There bring your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts, what you have vowed to give and your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks. 7 There, in the presence of the Lord your God, you and your families shall eat and shall rejoice in everything you have put your hand to, because the Lord your God has blessed you. . . . .there you are to bring everything I command you: your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts, and all the choice possessions you have vowed to the Lord.



“Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year. 23 Eat the tithe of your grain, new wine and oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks in the presence of the Lord your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name, so that you may learn to revere the Lord your God always. 24 But if that place is too distant and you have been blessed by the Lord your God and cannot carry your tithe (because the place where the Lord will choose to put his Name is so far away), 25 then exchange your tithe for silver, and take the silver with you and go to the place the Lord your God will choose. 26 Use the silver to buy whatever you like: catt le, sheep, wine or other fermented drink, or anything you wish. Then you and your household shall eat there in the presence of the Lord your God and rejoice. 27 And do not neglect the Levites living in your towns, for they have no allotment or inheritance of their own.

28 At the end of every three years, bring all the tithes of that year’s produce and store it in your towns, 29 so that the Levites (who have no allotment or inheritance of their own) and the aliens, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied, and so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.



It gets wearisome just reading it, doesn’t it? The last tithe was for the poor in Israel . So the Mosaic Law was the giving of the tithe as well as free-will giving in addition. The money went to support worship (Tabernacle/Temple), priests and Levites and to the care of the widows and the orphans.



But when we come to the church age, the New Testament epistles, things change. (If you don’t believe things change, then next Sunday, bring a lamb to church so we can slit its throat. Also, once a year live in a hut made of palm branches to properly celebrate the Feast of the Tabernacles.) Things have changed.



One thing that’s changed for sure is the Christian’s code of living. He’s no longer under the Mosaic Law, as Paul says in Romans 6:14 and 10:4:



“For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.”



“Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.”



Remembering the Mosaic Law’s complex statements on tithing, look at the New Testament way of giving II Cor. 9:7:



“Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”



To put this in the framework of Gal. 4, it’s like God is saying, “I placed you as an adult son in My family. I’m not setting a percentage from you, so forget the “1/10th of your money” cliché. In the context of II Cor., Paul points out that Christ became poverty-stricken for us, so that we might become spiritually rich in Him with all the rights and privileges we enjoy.



The end of the matter is this: Get out of the 10% syndrome. In grace giving, there is no set percentage, but recognize that the tithe, 10%, is part of the childishness of the Mosaic Law (Gal. 4); importing what Paul said in Gal. 4:1-11, it’s childish for full adult sons to give the tithe in view of the Cross (II Cor. 8:9). Odd, isn’t it, how Paul roots giving back to the Cross?



Did you read II Cor. 9:7? Look at the adult in love. You can’t keep him from spending money on his finance. He won’t do it. Never. Why? Love. Flowers, jewelry, perfume—stand out of his way, he’s on a mission for his beloved. You don’t have to pressure him to do it; love motivates him. He gives to her “without compulsion.”



Adult sons don’t have to be pressed to give generously to the Savior they love. You can’t stop them. In grace, we’re freed from pressure. That’s why Paul says what he does in this II Cor. 8 giving context: “I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love.”



Underlying the whole thing on giving is a Person. It’s no fun to give to “the budget.” “The budget” is an impersonal thing. But it’s “fun” (I use the word advisedly) to give to Christ, the One who loved us and gave Himself for us. We give as to Him and His ministry.



Knowing that we’re not giving to “the budget” personalizes our giving. And how did Paul personalize our giving? By writing, “I want to test the sincerity of your love.” As someone has asked, “It’s easy to say, ‘I’d give my life for the free grace message,’ . . . but would you give a thousand dollars?”



II Cor. 8-9 are stump-clearing chapters. They’re God’s machete to get the believer civilized and out of Law-giving and into grace giving. That’s what Paul called this kind of giving, “an act of grace” (II Cor. 8:6-7).