Tithe

[Anon]

Luke 21
1 And he looked up, and saw the rich men casting their gifts into the treasury.

2 And he saw also a certain poor widow casting in thither two mites.

3 And he said, Of a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all:

4 For all these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of God: but she of her penury hath cast in all the living that she had.

Someone on a fixed income who pays their rent, and utilities, and then gives what ever is left has also given "all they have." Even though it is less than what a wealthier person may give, she has given more - because she has less discretionary income than they have.

I can agree with that!

However I would caution that some would prefer to run up unnecessary bills and then claim they do not have the money to give to the Lord. Priorities and motives must be right when it comes to giving.

[IM4given]

Christ's Rules of the Kingdom:

26Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.

27But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you,

28Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.

29And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloak forbid not to take thy coat also.

30 Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again.

31 And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.

32 For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them.

33 And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same.

34 And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again.

35 But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.

36 Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.

37 Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:

38 Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.

God alone knows what is in our hearts when we give something. It may be money, it may be time, it may be sharing our material possessions with someone. Running up unessessary bills, and what have you - God knows all about that too. We should only concern ourselves with what WE are giving, contributing, and not worry about what the other person is giving or not giving - God knows and God will take care of it.

[Anon]

Right but that doesn't mean the pastor doesn't have the responsibility to teach his people to give. I don't believe in saying "Give or else God won't bless" but we have had testimonies MANY times of people who give sacrificially and God blesses. Pastors have to preach the whole counsel of God and sometimes this includes giving, as much as some feel he has no right to preach on it.

My husband has nothing to do with the offerings and has no idea who gives and who does not. We believe it should be that way. But he does believe in tithing and missions giving and if it comes up in a message, then God wants it said. We have definately seen God bless our church.

[Mountainview]

Hebrews 9:16 For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator.
Hebrews 9:17 For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth.

So, Madeline; do you believe Jesus Christ died yet?

Amen Brother :goodpost:

[John81]

However I would caution that some would prefer to run up unnecessary bills and then claim they do not have the money to give to the Lord. Priorities and motives must be right when it comes to giving.

Yes, and that's a sin issue, not an issue of whether Christians are commanded to tithe or not.

If our hearts are not right, it doesn't matter if we give 10% or 100%. What needs to, must be, dealt with is the heart issue. The pride or greed or whatever it is that causes one to not joyfully give unto the Lord.

This is one area some pastors/churches fail in. They pound away at their congregations about commands that must be kept but they fail to address the need for the congregation to get their hearts right with God so obedience to God comes from a right heart.

If our hearts are right before God, we will cheerfully give as best we can; we will volunteer our services to the pastor; we will attend services faithfully; we will assist those in need; etc.

[Anon]

This is one area some pastors/churches fail in. They pound away at their congregations about commands that must be kept but they fail to address the need for the congregation to get their hearts right with God so obedience to God comes from a right heart.

I haven't been associated with churches like this.

I wanted to point out that I can't think of any Christian in the entire Bible who has ever given less than 10%. In the OT it was 10%...in the NT it was whatever was necessary to get the job done, which was usually very sacrificial.

[John81]

Suzy,

I agree that pastors should make sure their congregations know they are expected to give liberally in order to fund the church, support the pastor, missionaries, etc. The New Testament is filled with examples of this and mentions of the need for this, that it's the godly thing to do, etc. Congregations should be taught that if their hearts are right with God this giving will be done cheerfully and plentifully. If someone has a problem with giving, then they should be guided to discover what sin in their lives is hampering their desire to give. Only when we purge hampering sins from our lives will we walk rightly and live and give for Christ as we should.

However, I see no Scriptural support for a pastor to proclaim that a tithe is something Christians must give or a starting point they must use.

Of course, a pastor could suggest a tithe is a good starting point. He could even point out that's how the Levitical priesthood was supported. Yet I don't believe he should put it forth as a command that is upon Christians because I see that nowhere in Scripture.

[John81]

I wanted to point out that I can't think of any Christian in the entire Bible who has ever given less than 10%. In the OT it was 10%...in the NT it was whatever was necessary to get the job done, which was usually very sacrificial.

Exactly. The OT did require the tithe. In the NT Christians are expected to give according to their fullest ability in order to supply what is needed for the church, pastor, missionaries and such.

This is what should be taught and preached. Exactly what Scripture says.

[dwayner79]

Exactly. The OT did require the tithe. In the NT Christians are expected to give according to their fullest ability in order to supply what is needed for the church, pastor, missionaries and such.

This is what should be taught and preached. Exactly what Scripture says.

OT after Gen at least. :

In Gen we see one person giving a one time gift of 10% and a few other examples (Able, for instance) that are vague as to "how much".

[Mountainview]

Oops Sorry :oops:

Not concentrating on the issue at hand.

[hermanj]

OT after Gen at least. :

In Gen we see one person giving a one time gift of 10% and a few other examples (Able, for instance) that are vague as to "how much".

I'm reading through Genesis right now. I don't see how Jacob's vow is a one-time gift. :?

[dwayner79]

I'm reading through Genesis right now. I don't see how Jacob's vow is a one-time gift. :?

Abraham gave the one-time gift to Melchizedek.

[hermanj]

Abraham gave the one-time gift to Melchizedek.

:oops: I missed that. I thought you were referring to the vow of Jacob to give the tenth of everything he receives (Gen. 28:22).

[Bakershalfdozen]

This thread has been split. Let's now stick to the topic at hand. There is a new thread titled, "Covenants" where you all can discuss that topic.

[John81]

Didn't we pretty much determine there is no clear case for Christians being commanded tithe but that we are to give liberally as the Lord leads us to meet the needs of the church, pastor, missionaries, etc?

I thought that's why the other topic took over, because the first topic was resolved.

Anyway, thank you for noticing! :mrgreen: