History of Tithes in the Church

[good samaritan]

I am not against tithing and I personally believe it demonstrates good stewardship. Although, I have seen (wrongly motivated) people tithing because of fear, or as some sort of church dues. I personally believe the heart of the giver is more important than the amount yet the heart of the giver will affect the amount.. Some may easily tithe out of a plentiful income while there are others who may sacrificially give out of a small income like the widows mite. In a nutshell if we love God we are going to invest in his kingdom liberally.

[mfblume]

Originally Posted by good samaritan

I am not against tithing and I personally believe it demonstrates good stewardship. Although, I have seen (wrongly motivated) people tithing because of fear, or as some sort of church dues. I personally believe the heart of the giver is more important than the amount yet the heart of the giver will affect the amount.. Some may easily tithe out of a plentiful income while there are others who may sacrificially give out of a small income like the widows mite. In a nutshell if we love God we are going to invest in his kingdom liberally.

Amen!

[coksiw]

Originally Posted by good samaritan

Although, many think teaching tithing today is for greediness. I honestly think it has the opposite effect. If people gave as liberally as the Spirit led it would be far more sacrificial than 10%. Look how the early believers gave all

Originally Posted by mfblume

Despite all the reasoning everyone gives, tithes are blessed of God and I have personally proved it to be so as well as many others whom I know. And that in no way restricts someone from giving more than 10 %. I can't believe this is an issue to anyone, except for the mistaken notion that if someone tithes then they are following all the connected legalities from the Old Testament.

Originally Posted by good samaritan

I am not against tithing and I personally believe it demonstrates good stewardship. Although, I have seen (wrongly motivated) people tithing because of fear, or as some sort of church dues. I personally believe the heart of the giver is more important than the amount yet the heart of the giver will affect the amount.. Some may easily tithe out of a plentiful income while there are others who may sacrificially give out of a small income like the widows mite. In a nutshell if we love God we are going to invest in his kingdom liberally.

Originally Posted by mfblume

Amen!

So basically what the Bible actually teaches doesn't matter, and the demonstration with historical evidences of the post-apostolic development of that false doctrine doesn't matter either. The "heart" and the how you persuade your audience to believe the false doctrine is what matters at this point to you?

It takes a lot of courage, and faithfulness to the Word of God, to drop that false doctrine, because you know that when you do, you will be kicked out of the fellowship.

BTW, all false doctrines have negative consequences, and such is modern tithing, but you guys won't see it, no matter what.

[good samaritan]

It is not a sin to tithe or not tithe. It is a sin to not support the local church and other ministries that God has established. There is flexibility in how we give, but tithing for me has been a good place to start. It causes me to recognize Gods increase each week and to honor him for His provision. Just because we are not under the law doesn’t mean we are not allowed to learn from it. In my personal walk with God I have noticed the Spirit impresses me to give much farther than a 10% quota. For me personally it helps to have a starting point, but again that is not teaching it as a sin.

[good samaritan]

Originally Posted by coksiw

So basically what the Bible actually teaches doesn't matter, and the demonstration with historical evidences of the post-apostolic development of that false doctrine doesn't matter either. The "heart" and the how you persuade your audience to believe the false doctrine is what matters at this point to you?

It takes a lot of courage, and faithfulness to the Word of God, to drop that false doctrine, because you know that when you do, you will be kicked out of the fellowship.

BTW, all false doctrines have negative consequences, and such is modern tithing, but you guys won't see it, no matter what.

As long as the church has been there has been schisms in the body. It is not pleasing to God, but also wisdom must be employed. I don’t think turning your back on the rest of the body and labeling them a heretic is the solution. I have grown up in a very legalistic framework of Pentecostals. Although I see some things differently today, I still feel that I must use caution in how I deal with those differences. I personally don’t care about a persons stance on tithing, but what is our stance on Jesus?

[mfblume]

Originally Posted by good samaritan

It is not a sin to tithe or not tithe. It is a sin to not support the local church and other ministries that God has established. There is flexibility in how we give, but tithing for me has been a good place to start. It causes me to recognize Gods increase each week and to honor him for His provision. Just because we are not under the law doesn’t mean we are not allowed to learn from it. In my personal walk with God I have noticed the Spirit impresses me to give much farther than a 10% quota. For me personally it helps to have a starting point, but again that is not teaching it as a sin.

Amen. Good word. Says it all.

[coksiw]

Originally Posted by good samaritan

As long as the church has been there has been schisms in the body. It is not pleasing to God, but also wisdom must be employed. I don’t think turning your back on the rest of the body and labeling them a heretic is the solution. I have grown up in a very legalistic framework of Pentecostals. Although I see some things differently today, I still feel that I must use caution in how I deal with those differences. I personally don’t care about a persons stance on tithing, but what is our stance on Jesus?

Originally Posted by mfblume

Amen. Good word. Says it all.

Since you are learning from the law indiscriminately (or really picking and choosing?), do you practice animal sacrifice to worship God as well? See:

• It was practiced voluntarily as an act of worship even before the Law of Moses by Noah, Abraham, and others,
• it was also voluntary and mandatory in the Law of Moses,
• and it was also endorsed by Jesus (Mar 1:44, Mat 5:23-24).

The same criteria you use to conclude you "learned from the law that we must practice tithing" of the increase of the land to levites, ... oh, excuse me, of money to pastors.

I can't wait to see when you guys will start practicing animal sacrifices to worship.

[good samaritan]

Originally Posted by coksiw

Since you are learning from the law indiscriminately (or really picking and choosing?), do you practice animal sacrifice to worship God as well? See:

• It was practiced voluntarily as an act of worship even before the Law of Moses by Noah, Abraham, and others,
• it was also voluntary and mandatory in the Law of Moses,
• and it was also endorsed by Jesus (Mar 1:44, Mat 5:23-24).

The same criteria you use to conclude you "learned from the law that we must practice tithing" of the increase of the land to levites, ... oh, excuse me, of money to pastors.

I can't wait to see when you guys will start practicing animal sacrifices to worship.

I do actually. Last year I slaughtered a hog personally of mine and fed my church whole hog barbecue. We had a really good time. Lol

[coksiw]

Originally Posted by good samaritan

I do actually. Last year I slaughtered a hog personally of mine and fed my church whole hog barbecue. We had a really good time. Lol

[TGBTG]

Tithing and Giving are two different things.

It is LITERALLY IMPOSSIBLE to tithe today (if you follow the rules of tithing set forth in Deut 14, Deut 26)

The New Testament teaches all sorts of Giving:
Giving to support the work of the ministry (1 cor 9:13-15)
Giving to the less fortunate (James 2:16, Eph 4:28)
Giving to the needs of other believers (Rom 12:13)
Giving not of COMPULSION (2 Cor 9:7)
Giving cheerful (2 Cor 9:7)
Giving is better than receiving (Acts 20:35)
Giving to all that ask of you (Matt 5:42)
Giving in DEED and not just in words (James 2:15-17)

And many others…

If you purpose in your heart to set aside 10% of your wealth to giving, fine. If you want to give more or less, fine. Let everyone give according to their faith.

One thing though: he that soweth sparingly reaps sparingly and he that soweth bountifully reaps bountifully (2 Cor 9:6)