Tithing, Whats the Big Deal?

This is totally lacking in common sense. God does not call everyone to be a preacher to support their family. Trusting God has to do with following His plan for your life, and trusting Him to meet your needs.

What kind of a nut case would stop the vocation God has given, and go door to door with the Gospel? For that matter, you could do that on your time off, if that is what God directs you to do.

This has nothing to do with trusting God. It is called not using the brain God gave you. It also come close to testing the Lord.

 

Who or what says so, [okay, I'll play along and delete this one, too]?

 

deleted on second thought

 

Considering I am supported by a Church, I think I'm already depending on God for all my needs. I even voluntarily took a pay cut from an already low paying Church and I still have all I need. I'd much rather have a blessing than a dollar any day and yes, I put my wallet where my mouth is.

In what ever job you have, if you give God the Glory for blessing you with that job then you will realize it is not the job that provides, but the giver of the job that provides by giving you the job to begin with. The Lord giveth and the Lord can take away. Jobs come and go but God's Army keeps marching.

For the record, I don't teach tithing as a means to support the Church. I teach it as A way for you to be blessed. Give and it shall be given unto you. I believe God's Church will be there even if no one gave a dime. I pass the plate so you can be blessed and I am very vocal that if you don't give cheerfully then keep your bucks.

Sorry to vent but this thread is really getting under my skin. Christians putting their faith in a dollar, the day a dollar sustains my family is the day I no longer need my God! I'll just get a dollar.

Mt 6:19 (KJV) Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

I'll tell you where my treasure is, and ain't no moth or rust going to take it from me...

 

SFIC, I know you to well to believe you don't mean this in the way it reads. Where did God promise her a house? I bet she never slept one day on a park bench or under a street bridge. Seems to me she was blessed with a child who would let her move in. She also has a good son with a loving God fearing wife. I believe if you ask her, she'll tell you she got her increase.

Pr 3:9 (KJV) Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase:
10 So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.

Lastly, if tithe is only grain and herbs, why did God accept Abel's offering? He gave a firstling.

And what do you think Abraham tithed with? Gen 14:18 says bread and wine.

Heb 7:1 (KJV) For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him;
2 To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace;

 

I have a hunch you have read this before, but I am who has actually tested God in this-- as the Malachi 3 passage so often quoted on this topic says-- comparing the months I tithe against the months I do not, and the result i the correlation coefficient falls out, meaning there is less money when I tithe than when I don't. The test fails-- either it's not applicable to NT Christians and/or not applicable to a non-agrarian economy, or else it's just altogether false. I opt for the former.

Kept.

How long ago [minutes? days? weeks?] has it been since you spent one of those dollars you have no need of?

 

So you put God to the test;

Lk 4:12 (KJV) And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

Yours is a true testament of faith. My prayers are with you and yours.

 

Think, LeBuick, think...

Abel gave a sacrifice... an offering, not a tithe.

Abraham tithed with the spoils of war. Not of his own possessions.

 

"Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this," says the LORD of hosts, "if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows." (Malachi 3:10)

 

exactly right

 

I will let Christ be my example. He did not tithe. He was not required to tithe for He was a teacher and a preacher. They were not required to tithe.

 

Christ was a Jew. I believe he did tithe as did all the Levites. I say this because he was always obedient.

Ne 10:38 (KJV) And the priest the son of Aaron shall be with the Levites, when the Levites take tithes: and the Levites shall bring up the tithe of the tithes unto the house of our God, to the chambers, into the treasure house.

 

The only ones required to tithe were farmers (their crops) and the herdsmen (their livestock). Christ was neither. He did not have to tithe.

 

Here's one for you to chew on...

According to Nehemiah 12:44, tithes were not firstfruits.

 

Are you saying this because the translation says "tithes and firstfruits"? I am asking seriously because this is a subject I really struggle with. I manage our finances because I am just more talented at that than my wonderful hubby is. :laugh: I want to be obedient to God, but I don't want to not be able to buy groceries because I gave my grocery money to the church. I have a very hard time with all of this, especially since my church is a very poor church and it is often a struggle for them to pay all of the church's bills. raying: :BangHead:

 

youngmom4,

From my studies of tithes an firstfruits, and from Nehemiah 12:44, they are two different things. Firstfruits can be the first batch of ripe tomatoes or corn. They can even b th first calf or lamb if you raise such stock.

But they are not to be confused with tithes. Tithes meant a tenth. Ten percent of that crop, or of the stock, was considered tithes. Money was never tithes... Never.

Now, I am not trying to discourage you from contributing to your local Church monetary-wise. God loves a cheerful giver. But your contribution in money should be what you purpose in your own heart. Pray about it. God may want you to give 10%, He may want you to give more or less.

But, whatever you purpose to give to your church, make sure it does not take away from feeding the family and meeting the family bills. For Paul warned Timothy:

1 Timothy 5:8 But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.

If you are giving so much to the church that you are denying the family food, or medical, or essentials (not luxuries, mind you), then the Word of God declares you to be worse than an infidel (worse than an unbeliever). Pretty harsh, wouldn't you say?

Especially since the unbeliever is said will be one who will have his part in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone (Rev. 21:8).

 

As I stated earlier in one of these tithe threads,

Jesus didn't tithe. Here is proof.
Lev 19:9 'Now when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest.
Lev 19:10 'Nor shall you glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the needy and for the stranger. I am the LORD your God.
The gleaning incident is recorded three times (Mat 12:1-12, Mark 2:23-24, and Luke 6:1-2
The Pharisees never got on to them for gleaning the crops as the poor were allowed to do under the law, also they never made him tithe of the gleanings he was getting either. They were trying to nail him for doing it on the Sabbath. Only the poor and strangers(travelers) were allowed to glean. Jesus never tithed. He was poor so that allowed the gleaning incident. Otherwise He was a thief. We know better than to say he was thieving. Even the Pharisees didn't accuse him of that when they confronted Him. Craftsmen and the poor didn't tithe, Jesus was both. Only farmers and herdsmen.

If you want to learn about tithing, how it was done and all the other things associated with the tithe, go to www.shouldthechurchteachtithing.com He did his doctoral dissertation on this very subject. BTW, Russell reads and has responded here on the BB on previous threads.

 

The tithe was part of the covenant God made with Israel through Moses.

Only landowners who received benefit from the land were required to participate in the tithe(s).

It was income tax owed to the State by the landowners for the increase of wealth from the land.

The wage earner did not have to tithe.

As for the Church:

2 Corinthians 9

6 But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.
7 Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.

If your purpose is to give 10% of your income and you can do it without a grudge and are not coerced to do so, God bless you.

In fact, God bless you no matter what you give (or don't give).

HankD​

 

Hank, this part of what you said is what I've been trying to say. I don't care what you call it. You can call it tithe, offering or fiddle sticks. Give! The verse you mention further says if you give spairingly you shall reap sparingly. One then might ask how to measure a word like sparingly. The only real example we have from God is the OT formula of 10%. God is who gave this figure, not man. Who cares what you call it?

As for NT example of giving;

Ac 4:34 (KJV) Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold,
35 And laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.
36 And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus,
37 Having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles' feet.

The early Church sold ALL and laid it at the Apostles feet. The Apostles then gave back to every man according to his needs. If you have heartburn about 10% then I am sure we don't need to discuss the NT formula any further. Interesting thing to note, of the thousands of Christians who were in the NT Church at this time, scripture pauses to point out that Joses who was a Levite gave just as the others (v36,37). One of those things that makes you go, "HHHhhhmmm".

As I read back over this thread I can see no one really disagree's with giving, just giving it the title tithe. I can live with that because I don't care what you call what you give, just give.

This is what made my blood boil;

I consider this a careless statement for a Christian to use on a public forum. I define the word firstfruit as off the top, the "first", which is before you buy food or pay any bills so how can it be careless? You don't bring God your left overs. That was the moral of the story from Cane and Abel. You bring God His first and he will bless the rest as sufficient or will otherwise cover your needs (may not be with money, that belonged to Caesar and is not God's tool of choice).

Joshua, I think you nailed it here.

 

God does desire our firstfruits. I explained what the firstfruits were to youngmom4. But tithes are not firstfruits. Firstfruits are firstfruits.

God wanted the firstfruits from the 11 tribes of Israel, and tithes of all produce and herds.