Tithe With Out A Cheerful Heart?

[The Glory Land]

I was told that a Christian must tithe, with or without a cheerful heart. I cannot see this, that a person tithe when he is not right with God or with the church he is a member of. Can a person receive a blessing with anger in his heart?

[Bro K]

The bills must be paid; whether with a cheerful heart or not!!!

[The Glory Land]

The bills must be paid; whether with a cheerful heart or not!!!

That doesn't sound like faith in god, but faith in man.

[swathdiver]

Nope.  Don't the scriptures themselves teach otherwise?

[Standing Firm In Christ]

Well, the door has been opened.  I have no problem walking through an open door at all.

Since the Word of God clearly states that the commandments written in the ordinances have been abolished, I can boldly and without reserve, proclaim that the notion that anyone today is required by the God I serve to tithe is preposterous and the product of a vain imagination. 

God's Word is supposed to be our final authority, yet so many have no problem going against what is clearly written in it.  There is no command in the Bible requiring us to tithe today... no instruction, not even a suggestion.

The Apostle Peter stood before a crowd in Acts chapter 5 and stated, "We ought to obey God rather than men." 

God says He abolished the commandments written in the ordinances.  God says we are to choose in our own hearts what we give and that our giving should not be such as that it causes others to prosper and us to lack.  Tithe teachers teach just the opposite.  They oppress the poor and needy and put a greater stress on them financially while they prosper.

But their prosperity is only temporary...

Proverbs 22:16 He that oppresseth the poor to increase his riches, and he that giveth to the rich, shall surely come to want.

[LindaR]

The biblical tithe was never money. Today, what most churches call "tithes" are not tithes, but simply an offering of 10% of your income.  You can call that a tithe until the cows come home....but calling that 10% offering a biblical tithe will not make it a biblical tithe.

 

Bills get paid with the sacrificial free will offerings of church members, given with a cheerful heart. (2 Cor. 9:6-7)

 

The temple was never financed with tithes.  Church bills are not paid with tithes, just as your household bills are not paid with tithes.

[ASongOfDegrees]

I don't recall the scripture saying you should not give unless you do it with a cheerful heart. Yes, God loves a cheerful giver  but that doesn't mean you don't give until you fell happy about it.

[ASongOfDegrees]

The biblical tithe was never money. 

 

Bills get paid with the sacrificial free will offerings of church members, given with a cheerful heart. (2 Cor. 9:6-7)

 

The temple was never financed with tithes.

The tithes went to feed to priests and the poor.

[Standing Firm In Christ]

God loves a cheerful giver.  Why would He accept money from someone who didn't want to give that money away in the first place?  Why would He accept money that was coerced? 

[Standing Firm In Christ]

The tithes went to feed to priests and the poor.

To feed... exactly!  They were not money, they were food.

[The Glory Land]

To feed... exactly! They were not money, they were food.

You're going to get them mad my friend. How would you pay the bills today, at your church, just checking.

[LindaR]

You're going to get them mad my friend. How would you pay the bills today, at your church, just checking.

Bills at your church get paid by the sacrificial free will offerings of the church members, given with a cheerful heart (2 Cor. 9:6-7).  Church members cannot give with a cheerful heart if they are coerced into giving a "mandatory" 10% of their gross income.

 

If people get mad, they will be getting mad at God.  This is what God says in His Word.

 

Giving is not tithing.

[Guest]

I've said it before and I'll say it again. If you're going to give the preacher food then give it properly prepared. If you give him a bull quarter then you better have given it to him in the proper wrapping prepared for freezing; if its given prepared for freezing you better buy him a freezer to keep it in.

 

The principle applies across all forms of offerings for the preacher's sustaining. You want him to visit the sick in the hospital in a city 200 miles away, prepare the sermon God laid on his heart for you, and be at your beck and call during any myriad of circumstances. Then, you be at his beck and call to provide transportation, or provide his vehicle, gasoline, maintenance of the vehicle, and pens, paper, etc. for the message; OR, you give financially and make it enough he can take care of this himself.

 

Otherwise give double honor (MONEY) and stop complaining. I don't care if you call it tithe, freewill offering, love offering, gift, whatever. You have a responsibility to care for God's man and permit him "to minister the word."

 

Acts 6:2   Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables. 
Acts 6:3   Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. 
Acts 6:4   But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.

[Standing Firm In Christ]

You're going to get them mad my friend. How would you pay the bills today, at your church, just checking.

As my wife said, through freewill offerings.

Tithes were never meant to pay for the upkeep of the Temple. They were meant to sustain those who were working at the Temple.

And who was required to tithe to the Temple according to the Word of God? Not the 11 tribes of Israel, but the 1 Tribe... the Levites. No one else tithed to the Temple according to the Mosaic Law. 1 Tribe out of 12... that's 8% of Israel that was responsible for tithing to the Temple storehouse, not 100%.

If God never abolished His tithe, then it would be the ministerial staff under the rule of the Pastor who would be required to tithe to the Church, not the congregation. The pianist, the organist, the Deacons, The Teachers, The Sunday School Superintendent... these would be the ones who would be responsible for bringing the tithe into the Church.

Of course, since God's Word says that the commandments written in the ordinances were abolished, then one who insists on his congregation tithing today is in effect telling God they don't care if He abolished the tithe, they are going to do things their way. They are in rebellion against God when they do things their own way.

Oh, according to God's Word, those receiving the tithes of the congregation were not to own their the land the were living on. How many "tithe" receivers today would be willing to trade in their possessions in exchange for tithes? I bet none would. They expect the congregation to live by the tithe law, but fail themselves to submit to that same law.

Hypocritical, if you ask me.

[Standing Firm In Christ]

Double honor is not money.  If honor is money, then when are you going to start paying your boss for making you work?  A servant is to honor his master.