Tithing…Is it a command?

[Originalist]

Originally Posted by UnTraditional

Rereading the anti-tithing posts on here makes me really cringe about how little people love God. I am serious. God can have everything but our money. Oh no! That's MY money, and heaven knows that church doesn't need My money. I mean, after all, why should I give MY money to a church...

Because tithing is giving unto the Lord. Folks, don't let these anti-tithing thieves rob you of the principle of tithing. It is a principle that was established before the Law, continued in the Law, and encouraged in the New Covenant as a work of Abraham. When these anti-tithers stand before God, they will stand with stained garments, because they held back from God and encouraged others to do so. God must be first in our lives, including in our finances. When we put anything before God, we become idolaters, plain and simple.

I don't care what people say, God should be first in the believers lives, in every area. Paying tithes is a blessed worshipful experience, and I promise you, those who do so by faith will not go without. Those who refuse to put God first, I question seriously their salvation. Every anti-tithing excuse I have read on here is purely carnal in nature, even when they manipulate scripture in order to do so. Discern it according to the Word and Spirit. Their entire reasoning for not tithing is because they do not want to give up their money, because they have the nerve to think it is their's. Straightforward, if we do not surrender all to Jesus, He is not truly Lord of our lives. Those who are anti-tithing do not have Jesus as Lord over all, and have Him, in their minds, sharing the throne with themselves.

IN one call, all those who are against tithing, they need to find a place of repentance for not putting God first. As a former anti-tither myself, I had to repent of many things, and this included not tithing. Those do not tithe are not putting God first. Jesus is worthy of the first and best, not leftovers of what you feel you should.

Such a post cannot go unchallenged.

HOW DARE YOU accuse people of not loving God or not putting him first for not accepting a mandate without scriptural verification? HOW DARE YOU condemn the Bride? It's NOT a question of GIVING. ALL who have challenged the tithing doctrine have clarified time and again that GIVING is Biblical. What is being questioned is do pastors have scriptural authority to tell God's people that God requires them to give 10% of their income to the church. THAT is the question that people like you will not answer but instead resort to slander. Brother, you are part of a HUGE problem in the church.

[Sean]

Originally Posted by Originalist

Such a post cannot go unchallenged.

HOW DARE YOU accuse people of not loving God or not putting him first for not accepting a mandate without scriptural verification? HOW DARE YOU condemn the Bride? It's NOT a question of GIVING. ALL who have challenged the tithing doctrine have clarified time and again that GIVING is Biblical. What is being questioned is do pastors have scriptural authority to tell God's people that God requires them to give 10% of their income to the church. THAT is the question that people like you will not answer but instead resort to slander. Brother, you are part of a HUGE problem in the church.

I wonder if he is in leadership in the church? I would like to find his pastor and forward his 2009 post to check him out. NOBODY flip flops in and out of a religion like that. That is HIGHLY unusual.

[Aquila]

Originally Posted by FlamingZword

You forgot about a third method: Love for God.

The implication of your statement is that those who do not tithe don't love God. That fits under coercion.

[Aquila]

Let's consider this, a true love for God will bring a love for the truth of His Word and truth in general (for example, historical facts). It's a historical fact that the early Gentile church didn't tithe. It's also a historical fact that the NT contains no didactic financial requirement beyond sustaining the needs of the ministry and the necessity of caring for the poor, orphans, and widows.

Truth is truth. Love it or leave it.

[Rudy]

Originally Posted by Roxanne Murphy

I don't think the tent would have been allowed because the vacant house is on the same property as the nice big church building and the tent would not fit the view this particular church likes to present to the hundreds of vehicles that drive past every week.

Exactly--I was being sarcastic. LOL

[good samaritan]

tithing is a good system of giving, but I wouldn't tell anyone they were being displeasing to God if they don't. I hope people strongly consider it when they give each week though. Being a weekly spiritual led giver as God prospers us is a heaven or hell issue, but God is the one deciding not us. I don't want to make people less fortunate feel like that it doesn't matter what they give, because God may be testing their faith in Him.
I don't think this subject is as black and white as many here make it. We must teach giving to our churches and we must show every biblical example of it presented in scripture(including tithing) and then teach people to let God lead them to give with a personal conviction. To the rich and the poor God desires our faith in Him. Those who are ministering for filthy lucre will one day be judged, but we still must be spirit led givers. That means 100% not just 10%.

[Esphes45]

Originally Posted by Aquila

UnTraditional...

I have nothing against "tithing". In fact, I believe that a Christian is free to give any amount or percentage that they feel the Spirit leading them to give. I also believe that Christians should give sacrificially. However, what is a sacrifice for one, isn't a sacrifice for another. I also believe that if one doesn't provide for their own family, they are worse than an infidel. So, the needs of the family come first. Stable families make stable churches. I also believe in "vows" wherein a Christian vows (pledges) to give a specific amount or percentage over time. Those who make these vows are key sustaining members of a body.

What I'm troubled by is when a pastor takes the Christian and places them under the law of the OT, teaching that they must tithe or be cursed... or worse... they will go to Hell. Pastors can't pick and choose out of the law. If the law of cursing and damnation still stands... so do the other laws regarding the tithe (tithe being only produce and livestock... religious officials, widows, aliens, the poor, and trades exempt from tithing... every third years tithe dedicated to the storehouse to benefit the poor, widows, and aliens). And preachers don't dare mention those. Most don't realize this but threatening someone with harm in order to acquire money from them is extortion. I've known pastors to require elderly women on Social Security to give tithes... with the threat that they'll go to Hell if they don't. I have two problems with this.

1.) Threatening a person to gain money from them is extortion.
2.) Any life long member of God's people who has tithed their entire life has already tithed on Social Security benefits.

Now, if a pastor wishes to encourage members to commit to a 10% (tithe) commitment of their own free will (without threat of cursing or Hell), I see nothing wrong with it. Again, I see these as being vows to sustain the ministry.

I do believe that there is a spiritual principle to Christian giving. Paul wrote...

2 Corinthians 9:6-7 (ESV)
6 The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

So, sacrificial giving is encouraged as long as it doesn't cause one to fail in their provision for their family.

Then there is the history of the tithe. And this we can discuss at length if you wish.

Wow. This was probably the best post I have ever read on this site so far. I might just print this and file this away somewhere for later reference. How can you argue against this? Somebody will though, let me catch up.

[Praxeas]

Originally Posted by Aquila

Let's consider this, a true love for God will bring a love for the truth of His Word and truth in general (for example, historical facts). It's a historical fact that the early Gentile church didn't tithe. It's also a historical fact that the NT contains no didactic financial requirement beyond sustaining the needs of the ministry and the necessity of caring for the poor, orphans, and widows.

Truth is truth. Love it or leave it.

Won't it also bring a true love of the brothers too?

[FlamingZword]

Originally Posted by Aquila

The implication of your statement is that those who do not tithe don't love God. That fits under coercion.

It is your assumption that that is the implication of my statement.
that fits under misinterpretation of what I wrote.
correct interpretation of my statement does not have such implication.

[Esphes45]

Originally Posted by UnTraditional

Rereading the anti-tithing posts on here makes me really cringe about how little people love God. I am serious. God can have everything but our money. Oh no! That's MY money, and heaven knows that church doesn't need My money. I mean, after all, why should I give MY money to a church...

Because tithing is giving unto the Lord. Folks, don't let these anti-tithing thieves rob you of the principle of tithing. It is a principle that was established before the Law, continued in the Law, and encouraged in the New Covenant as a work of Abraham. When these anti-tithers stand before God, they will stand with stained garments, because they held back from God and encouraged others to do so. God must be first in our lives, including in our finances. When we put anything before God, we become idolaters, plain and simple.

I don't care what people say, God should be first in the believers lives, in every area. Paying tithes is a blessed worshipful experience, and I promise you, those who do so by faith will not go without. Those who refuse to put God first, I question seriously their salvation. Every anti-tithing excuse I have read on here is purely carnal in nature, even when they manipulate scripture in order to do so. Discern it according to the Word and Spirit. Their entire reasoning for not tithing is because they do not want to give up their money, because they have the nerve to think it is their's. Straightforward, if we do not surrender all to Jesus, He is not truly Lord of our lives. Those who are anti-tithing do not have Jesus as Lord over all, and have Him, in their minds, sharing the throne with themselves.

IN one call, all those who are against tithing, they need to find a place of repentance for not putting God first. As a former anti-tither myself, I had to repent of many things, and this included not tithing. Those do not tithe are not putting God first. Jesus is worthy of the first and best, not leftovers of what you feel you should.

This is what I used to hear in my church. Basically...

If you don't tithe then you do not have faith in God.
If you don't tithe you are not putting God first.
If you don't tithe you love yourself more than God.

They say all of this and only quote 1 scripture (Malachi 3). I'm sorry don't do me like that. In all this brother said above he did not supply 1 scripture to substantiate anything

Please for future reference if you are going to call people out PLEASE supply chapter and verse. I believe a vast majority of people on this forum desire truth. My spirit does not accept anything else. No opinions please.

Please don't drop that and run. If you believe that it truth it will set us all free.