tithing

[smellycat]

when peter started the church,he never kept any wealth ,they shared all.

so how do modern preachers explain what they do.?

also it seems the message is mainly prosperity.when to be saved is far more important.

[IChThUS]

Mr Cat, what do modern preachers do?

Until you tell me what I am supposed to be doing I can not explain.

[streetsinger]

when peter started the church,he never kept any wealth ,they shared all.

so how do modern preachers explain what they do.?

also it seems the message is mainly prosperity.when to be saved is far more important.

This subject has always proved to be contentious, but it is a most important issue, for it carries a promise from God of extreme blessing and to deny its importance is to make light of the blessings God promises. The problem, I find, is the way the subject is taught. In the deal, God asks that there is provision in his store house and I'm led to believe that this provision is for those in need. I tithe ten percent of my income and keep it in a box in my house. This enables God to bless those in need, it might be in a financial gift or it could be used to fill up with petrol to run somebody somewhere who can't afford to cover the cost. The blessings I receive are not financial, they are far more valuable than that. My blessings come as love, My house is always filled with laughter and joy, I have been freed from many things that had me bound and now I am free indeed. I would counsel all my brothers and sisters to tithe, as God said; Malachi 3:10 (ANIV)
Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the Lord Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. How can anybody turn down an offer like that?

[Steveg]

The suggestion that Christians must tithe 10% of their income has no basis in Scripture.

Tithing in Scripture is part of the Jewish Law and was never universal. Tithing was 10% of produce of the land and was meant to support the Levites who looked after the Temple and who were given no land allocation of their own. It was never 10% of income. Eventually the King took over the running of the Temple and tithes became subsumed into general taxation.

There is no mention of Tithing in the New Testament. There is only the suggestion that we should give freely.

Some people find tithing income a useful guideline but should not be seen as an obligation.

[streetsinger]

The suggestion that Christians must tithe 10% of their income has no basis in Scripture.

Tithing in Scripture is part of the Jewish Law and was never universal. Tithing was 10% of produce of the land and was meant to support the Levites who looked after the Temple and who were given no land allocation of their own. It was never 10% of income. Eventually the King took over the running of the Temple and tithes became subsumed into general taxation.

There is no mention of Tithing in the New Testament. There is only the suggestion that we should give freely.

Some people find tithing income a useful guideline but should not be seen as an obligation.

Steveg, I never said that one has to tithe, I said that, in my experience the promise is a reality. If you choose not to put God to the test, that's your prerogative. As to separating the old and new testaments;
2 Tim. 3:16 (ANIV)
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,
I did say at the outset that the issue of tithing is a controversial subject, but I will put my point and maybe someone will head it. I have noticed, in debate that the one subject that causes consternation, is the subject that calls us to part with our money.
Matthew 6:24 (ANIV)
"No-one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.

[Onesiphorus]

Dear Streetsinger ,how do you see what it says in Malachi3:4,6,7,12and chapter 4

[streetsinger]

Dear Streetsinger ,how do you see what it says in Malachi3:4,6,7,12and chapter 4

Actually schooner, if you start at the first verse; Malachi 3:1-4 (ANIV)
"See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come," says the Lord Almighty.
[2] But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiners fire or a launderer's soap. [3] He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the Lord will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, [4] and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the Lord, as in days gone by, as in former years. These verses appear to be referring to John the Baptist preparing the way for Jesus and stating that when he comes he will find men who will bring offerings in righteousness. The Lord then goes on to firstly state that he does not change and accuses man of robbing him. That's when he calls for the full tithe, makes the promise and calls for man to test him. So to say that this is unrelated to the new testament has to be wrong because the whole passage opens with the coming of Christ and continues in to the end time promise of Elijah. There is also another factor in this debate and that is; Christians are Jews; Romans 11:17 (ANIV)
If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, This is a reference to Christians being accepted into the nation of God under the King of the promise, Jesus King of the Jews.

[Jay Dub]

There is also another factor in this debate and that is; Christians are Jews; Romans 11:17 (ANIV)
If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, This is a reference to Christians being accepted into the nation of God under the King of the promise, Jesus King of the Jews.

Yes, we are his chosen people. We have been grafted in. We are brothers in Christ, but this does not mean we are under the laws that our unsaved Jewish brothers follow.

I give freely, I give because I love my brothers and most of all because I love Christ.
I don't always give with money, I give with my time and my skills, I don't stop to calculate if in my time helping others that it was equivalent 10%.

I give because that is who I am, I give because I want to and because I feel I am giving to the Lord. To put a dollar sign on it, to me, puts me back under the law. God wants a cheerful giver. If I was to stop and calculate my time,to make sure I gave a 10th that would make it a job.

My heart is open, my wallet is open and my calender is open
I think it is better to give out of love, then fear that we did not give enough

[smellycat]

the old man was under instruction,the new man does because of rightesness.Christ says we will worship God in spirit,ie because we think it,s correct and honour God.

[streetsinger]

Yes, we are his chosen people. We have been grafted in. We are brothers in Christ, but this does not mean we are under the laws that our unsaved Jewish brothers follow.

I give freely, I give because I love my brothers and most of all because I love Christ.
I don't always give with money, I give with my time and my skills, I don't stop to calculate if in my time helping others that it was equivalent 10%.

I give because that is who I am, I give because I want to and because I feel I am giving to the Lord. To put a dollar sign on it, to me, puts me back under the law. God wants a cheerful giver. If I was to stop and calculate my time,to make sure I gave a 10th that would make it a job.

My heart is open, my wallet is open and my calender is open
I think it is better to give out of love, then fear that we did not give enough

The Lord said he would write the law on our hearts Jay Dub and, by what you say, they are written on yours. in Malachi there was no percentage demanded, only that the Lord had a full storeroom to enable him to bless. We all have our own method of fulfilling his requirements. I am a pensioner and have no excess funding, I have no savings or investments, we live week to week on the pension provided by the state, enhanced from time to time by a spot of busking. The reason I specifically give ten percent is because I heard at some point, that this was the amount mentioned in scripture and I found this amount affordable and fair. If someone had need and I didn't give my ten percent, I would have nothing to meet their need with because living on a state pension is not easy at the best of times, however, I find that ten pence in the pound still leaves me ninety and those ten pence's mount up and enable me to be a blessing. I don't do it through fear of repercussion, I do it because he asked me to and I can see the value of it and I know that if everybody did it, there would be no poverty. Matthew 25:41-46 (ANIV)
"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. [42] For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, [43] I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'
[44] "They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'
[45] "He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'
[46] "Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life." I find this another good reason, one can't meet these needs without the funds to do so.