Back to the topic for the day: "TITHING"...
I am sure everybody is going to say..here comes the preacher again....loll... Well, today will be talking about tithing from the circular world's point of view..(if there is anything like that..loll).
Still taking extracts from Jack Canfield's book, I was surprised when I stumbled on Principle 61 " Give more to get More"......
Principle 61, PAGE 415
"Bring the full tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house; and thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you an overflowing blessing", Malachi 3:10"
Tithing-that is giving 10% of your earnings to the work of God-is one of the best guarantees of prosperity ever known. Many of the worlds richest individuals and most successful people have been devout tithers. By tithing regularly, you, too can put into motion God's universal force, bringing you continual abundance.
Not only does it serve others but it serves you as a giver, too. The benefits cross all religious boundaries and serves those of every faith-because the simple act of giving both creates a spiritual alliance with the God of abundance, and fosters the mind-set of love for others. Tithing proves in a compelling way that abundant wealth is something God wants for His children. In fact, He created a world where the more successful you are, there more wealth there is for everyone to share. An increase in wealth for an individual almost always represents an increase in wealth for society at large.
"Robert Allen, best-selling author of NOTHING DOWN & THE ONE MINUTE MILLIONAIRE, didn't always tithe. But after he'd lost everything and was down to zero, he said to himself, Wait a second. I've had so much money in my life. I'm suppose to be the guru who teaches people how to become rich. Where's it all gone? I must have done something wrong.
Eventually Bob worked his way back to prosperity. But along the way he learnt a valuable lesson: Either I believe in tithing, he said to himself, or I don't. If I believe it, I'm going to tithe every week. I'm going to figure out what our income is that week and write my check that week.
As he became a dedicated tither, suddenly a whole new world opened up for him. Though his debts were almost insurmountable, he became more grateful for what he had. Soon, new opportunities started flowing to him. Today, Bob says, he has so much opportunity it will take him 10 lifetimes to tap into it. He believes it's that way for all dedicated tithers.
Red light: time to stop: more stories later.......
Before I leave, I will like to confess one of my "sins"... I haven't been a regular tither, why I can not say. Sometimes I will tithe and sometimes I don't..."kinda eat my tithe"... but as I read this book it struck me, that if I claim I am a child of God and I don't tithe, why then do I expect the blessings of God.. The principles in the Bible are there for everyone to follow: "Buddhist, Muslim, Christian, etc if you follow the law of tithing the rewards will come to you......
I am taking Bob/Robert Allen's strategy I will tithe every week...
This one is drastic tithing oh, please God help me..loll...tears....but I am sure I can do it.
Do take care of yourself and have a great day.
Ciao.
It is true that giving back is a way to success, but don't feel bad for missing the opportunity at times. I think giving back can be done in many ways: giving your time, a smile, advice to a sad friend, or even helping someone who is sick. You are such a good person, don't ever forget that, because God knows you:)
ReplyDeleteNO ONE, absolutely NO ONE pays the Biblical tithe today.
ReplyDeleteLeviticus 27:30-33, Numbers 18: The First Tithe - a tenth of crops and animals and commanded to take the tithe to the Levites.
Deuteronomy 14:22-27: The Second Tithe aka The Festival Tithe - a tenth of crops, plus add to that the firstborn animals, and take for the yearly feast.
Deuteronomy 14:28-29: The Third Tithe aka The Three-Year Tithe aka The Poor Tithe - a tenth of crops, kept at home, and invite the Levites, widows, orphans, stranger to eat.
Now, tell me. Which of the above three tithes commanded by God does anyone follow today?
The ONLY people in the Old Testament that were commanded to tithe were those who INHERITED THE PROMISED LAND WITH EVERYTHING ON IT. They got the land, house, animals, crops, etc. ALL FREE AND CLEAR. No mortgage payment or rent to pay. And THEY were commanded to tithe on the crops and animals and take it to the Levites who INHERITED the tithe INSTEAD OF the promised land with everything on it. No one else tithed. Wage earners did not tithe. Jesus didn’t tithe. Paul didn’t tithe. Peter didn’t tithe.
This giving to get back is false teaching. If it really worked, we would all be rich today.
Wow, Gary such a strong opinion on this issue. To remark on your last statement "This giving to get back is false teaching. If it really worked, we would all be rich today", You don't give with the "intent" to get back. You give because its the right thing to do. You give because Jesus gave and after all we are striving to be Christlike. I don't want to give God only because i want Him to give me back. I want to give and feel happy doing it because i touched someone's life.
ReplyDeleteAs for tithing, i believe strongly that Malachi 3:10 says it all. I cannot lie that i did not struggle with the idea of tithing when i came to understand that word from a different church (coming from the catholic church that hardly if at all talks about tithing), however i do understand it now and i do try to pay my tithes. The people of those times had a different lifestyle than now and vice versa, hence your conclusion that no one is following that pattern of tithing does not hold water. Peter and Paul were evangelists and had no jobs nor possessions, so what were they to tithe with? Same applies to people without jobs today, they are not expected to tithe and i don't believe God or anyone holds that against them.
In concluding i do however believe though that people need to be convicted on do's and dont's of the teachings of God in their own time and through their own search of the truth as stated in Acts 17:11. The church should not enforce tithe but should pray that people come to understanding of the importance of tithing in accordance to a spiritual wisdom that can only come from above.
Let’s look at Malachi 3. First, who is God speaking to – the priests or the people?
ReplyDeleteWe need to study the entire Book of Malachi rather than take a few verses out of context.
By the time we get to verse 6 in chapter 1, we see it is the priests that are being addressed at that point.
In both chapters 1 and 2 of Malachi there is a conversation going on between God and the priests. Every time the word "you" is used, it is referring to the priests. Chapter 3 continues with this conversation. In verse 5 God says "And I will come near to you to judgment….." In the Old Testament, during this period of time and generally speaking, only the priests could get near to God. It is only in the New Testament that born again believers, you and I, can get close to God. So up to chapter 3 verse 5, God is speaking to the priests. The word "you" is still referring to the priests. There is nothing in the scripture to indicate this changes when you get to verse 8. But that's not all.
Read Numbers 18:29-30 and then read Malachi 1:14. Those verses explain robbing God of the offerings. The PRIESTS, not the people, robbed God of the offering by giving to God the worst instead of the best.
In Nehemiah 13 we are told that the priests stole the Levites portion of the tithe; therefore, they had no food to eat at the temple, and they went back to their own fields.
Therefore, taking the Levites portion of the tithe is the robbing God of the tithe. Or to put it another way, THE LEVITES WERE ROBBED. God said He was robbed because the tithe was not taken where God directed.
Next, in Malachi 3:10 God says to bring all the tithes to the storehouse. The people took the tithes to the Levites who lived in the Levitical cities, not to the temple. The Levites took the required tithe of the tithe to the temple. (See Nehemiah 10:37-38) Only those tithes ever made it to the temple. The priests then took those tithes to the storehouse. It only makes sense if God is speaking to the priests in this verse.
Since in Numbers 18 God makes it perfectly clear that the tithe belongs to Him, and He gave it to the Levites, anyone who takes God’s tithe to their local church must also be robbing God since the Levites are not the ones getting it.
I see no way around this. Either the tithe ended per Hebrews 7:18, OR those who take God’s tithe to their local church must be robbing God since God gave clear instructions where to take His tithe. There is nothing in God’s Word to show that God ever changed those instructions. Therefore, the only conclusion I can reach is that taking a tithe to your local church is NOT paying the tithe to God. It is giving it to man. Nowhere in God’s Word does He give permission for the Christian Church to receive His tithe.
Many say that in Biblical times they didn’t have money and that the economy was based on bartering of goods and services. That is not so. The Bible shows they not only had money, but that money was used as a common way of doing business.
ReplyDeleteAccording to the International Bible Encyclopedia, the days of mere bartering ended before the days of Abraham.
Here are just a few examples from The Word to show they did, in fact, use money in Biblical times.
The tithing law itself proves they had both money and a marketing system for buying and selling their crops and animals (Deuteronomy 14:24-26).
THE PURCHASE OF LAND WITH MONEY BY ABRAHAM - Genesis 23:15-16
THE PURCHASE OF LAND WITH MONEY BY JACOB - Genesis 33:19
JOSEPH WAS SOLD TO THE ISHMEELITES FOR MONEY - Genesis 37:28
A MONEY OFFERING TO BE USED FOR THE SERVICE OF THE TABERNACLE - Exodus 30:14-16,
USING SHEKEL OF SILVER TO VALUE A RAM - Leviticus 5:15
THE FOLLOWING VERSES REFER TO WAGES: Genesis 29:15, Genesis 30:28, Genesis 31:7-8, Genesis 31:41, Exodus 2:9, Leviticus 19:13, Malachi 3:5, etc.
THEY HAD A MONEY STANDARD
There are several places in Scripture indicating that scales were used to weigh metals and other items. The Law of Moses, for example, commands Jews not to use dishonest standards, but instead, to use honest scales and honest weights. (See also Deut. 25:13-15; Job 6:2-3; 31:6; Psa. 62:9; Prov. 11:1; 16:11; 20:10, 23; Isa. 40:12; 46:6; and Jer. 32:10).
Leviticus 19:35-36 – Do not use dishonest standards when measuring length, weight or quantity. Use honest scales and honest weights, an honest ephah and an honest hin. I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt.
In order for money to be an exchangeable equivalent for other commodities in today’s society, there must be a standard in place. Likewise, the Old Testament also had a set standard both prior to the law and during the law. A reference to a pre-law standard is in Genesis 23:16.
Merchants in biblical times traveled from place to place conducting business. According to the written law, the standard weight for metals was set according to the sanctuary shekel (See also Ex 30:13, 24; 38:24-26; Lev. 5:15; Num. 7:13-86; 18:16).
Leviticus 27:25 – Every value is to be set according to the sanctuary shekel, …
In addition, 2 Samuel 14:26 shows that the weight standard for the shekel was set by the royal standard. No matter which era in history is studied, there existed a standard for the weight of precious metals.
Money was also used throughout the law. For example, God’s people gave money to support the tabernacle (Ex. 30:14-16; 38:24-31). There are many other examples that illustrate money’s place within the written law and indicate that money was indeed a part of everyday life. Exodus 35 provides such an example.
Exodus 35:5, 21-22 – From what you have, take an offering for the LORD. Everyone who is willing is to bring to the LORD an offering of gold, silver and bronze;
And there are many more examples to show that money was used for everyday transactions well before the Levitical tithe.
Hmmm, I pay my tithe and give as I can. No apologies. It's a sensitive issue I agree, we may not agree about everything (which i'm not sure makes plenty sense) but the fundamentals are important.
ReplyDeleteI agree you shouldn't give just to get. God is not a slot machine. But when you do give in sincerity and with the right motives, the heavens are open baby!
P.S. I have an e-book on my blog i'll want you to check out.
www.royremi.blogspot.com
Thanks!
Wow. I must say I do love a good old tithing debate. Now whilst I hate posting (and reading) long comments on people's blogs, I really must comment on this one, because like most Christians, I too at one time struggled with the idea of tithing. So Gary, thanks for all those scriptures you pointed us to; I went and read them ALL and even some more, and to be honest, I must say I don't know how you could come up with a different conclusion other than 'tithing is biblical'. Also, before I continue, I have to point out that it is a universal principle that the more you give, the more you receive. But we sometimes forget that receiving may not be in the same avenue through which we gave! (I.e. just because you're giving out your money doesn't necessarily mean you'll become a millionaire! Rewards come in different ways.)
ReplyDeleteSo, to comment on a few points you raised...
First of all, 'if it really worked, we'd all be rich today'? Of course we're not all rich. That's because we obviously don't all give, let alone tithe!
About the Peter and Paul argument, I believe Paul spent most of his post-conversion years in prison so I'm not sure how he'd have been expected to tithe. But even at that, in 2 Corinthians 8 and 9, he talks a lot about giving, and I don't believe he'd harp on about something if he wasn't living by example. Peter on the other hand, was involved with building the church, and the people brought their offerings to him (Acts 5- scary story!) His job was shepherding the people, so they were responsible for his upkeep so to speak. How would our pastors and co get paid if we didn't give tithes and offerings? We obviously can't take our tithes directly to God. 'A workman is deserving of his wages'- this is why we tithe- apart from obeying God's word, it is a practical way of showing appreciation to the people that feed us spiritually. And just because the Bible does not mention that Jesus tithed doesn't mean that He didn't. In Matthew 22 v 21, Jesus says 'Give to God what is God's' What do you think He is referring to?...to be continued...
A few things from the passages you mentioned;
ReplyDeleteNumbers 8- the Levites were set apart to work at the temple.
Numbers 18 v 8-14: all the offerings came to the priests; the holy offerings were theirs to enjoy. They offered the first born of the holy offering to God (v17); this was kind of their own tithe I guess.
Numbers 18 v 21-32: The tithes were for the Levites in return for their work, but they were also required to pay tithes to Aaron, the priest (v25-29).
The beginning of the book of Malachi makes it clear that it is a prophecy for ISRAEL. God is sometimes speaking to the priests specifically and other times, speaking to Israel as a whole.
Malachi 1 v 6-14: Yes, God is speaking to the priests, but v14 also applies to the people because they were expected to give God their best (Numbers 18 v 12)
You mentioned that in Malachi, up to chapter 3v5 God is speaking to the priests, but you didn't say who He was speaking to after that?
In Malachi 3 v 10-12: God is obviously not talking to just the priests, because He mentions their crops, vines and fields. I believe the people were the ones that toiled; the priest offered to God from what the people brought. In v12, God says 'all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land.' 'You' obviously refers to the people.
Nehemiah 13 v10-13: In this passage, those responsible for distributing the tithes were not doing their job; yes you could say that robbing the Levites in this case was equivalent to robbing God but I believe the point here was that everything belongs to God and Nehemiah was more displeased with the Levites for abandoning their duties rather than with the fact that they didn't get their wages (v11)! So I would go even further to say that not carrying out your duties properly is robbing God.
You can't discount tithing based on Hebrew chapter 7v18; if you do, you're saying we might as well discount the whole of the Old Testament. That passage is talking about the difference between the role of the Levitical priest and that of Jesus as our New Testament priest- a whole new topic altogether!
Yes it is true that majority of the passages in the Bible that mention tithing are to be found in the Old Testament, but I would have you know that other kinds of offerings such as freewill offerings (2 Corinthians 8:11-13), prophet offerings (1 Corinthians 9:11, Matthew 10:41-42), welfare offerings (Galatians 6:10) also exist. Do you think we should give these?
If you're not tithing, you're not only robbing God, you're robbing yourself too. But this is just my personal opinion. One of the many scriptures outlining the benefits of tithing is Proverbs 3 v 9-10. I'm no theology expert, I'm just commenting based on what I've read and been taught, so I may not have been able to convince you to tithe. But I believe that the greatest evidence that tithing works is the experience of dedicated tithers. There are way too many good reviews; you just can't argue with that.
Lastly, I would like to apologise to secretlilies for such a long comment. I couldn't help it. Is it obvious from my comment that tithing was something I wanted to blog about? :)
@Renny,
ReplyDeleteYou are confusing tithing with giving.
The New Testament teaches generous, sacrificial giving, from the heart, according to our means. For some, $1 might be a sacrifice, while for others, even giving 50% of their income might not induce a sacrifice. In the Old Testament, ONLY the farmers tithed, and it was equal percentage (a tenth). The New Testament teaches the principle of equal sacrifice instead of equal percentage. Equal sacrifice is much harder to achieve, if not impossible, than giving ten percent.
Proverbs 3:9 (KJV) “Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase:”
The verse reads HONOUR the Lord with thy substance (wealth), not give to the Lord your wealth. The verse does not say honour the Lord with a tenth of your wealth, or give to the Lord a tenth of your wealth.
How does one honor the Lord with their wealth? I believe the best way I can honor the Lord with my wealth is to be a good steward of that wealth and use it to glorify the Lord the best I can.
The verse reads AND with the firstfruits of all thine increase. In other words, HONOUR the Lord with the firstfruits of all your produce, or crops (Hebrew word definition). Doesn’t say give to the Lord the firstfruits of your produce, or crops. That comes later in the Word.
For those who say that all thine increase can also mean all your income, read the next verse:
Proverbs 3:10 (KJV) “So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.”
Verse 10 makes it clear that increase in verse 9 is referring to the crops and not income.
Leviticus 23:10 (KJV) “Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest:”
The above verse tells us that the Children of Israel were commanded to take the firstfruits of their harvest to the priests.
Numbers 18:21 (KJV) “And, behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tenth in Israel for an inheritance, for their service which they serve, even the service of the tabernacle of the congregation.”
The above verse tells us that the Children of Israel were commanded to take the tithe to the Levites.
Nehemiah 10:37 (KJV) “And that we should bring the firstfruits of our dough, and our offerings, and the fruit of all manner of trees, of wine and of oil, unto the priests, to the chambers of the house of our God; and the tithes of our ground unto the Levites, that the same Levites might have the tithes in all the cities of our tillage.”
Nehemiah 10:37 confirms that the firstfruits were taken to the Temple for the priests, and the tithe was taken to the Levites who lived in the Levitical cities.
This is controversial as you can see from the comments. I do my bit and leave the rest.
ReplyDeleteBTW, I need your support for my second book, launching soon. Please check my blog, thanks!
@Gary, I am not confusing tithing with giving; I know that there are different types of offerings, and tithes are separate. But tithing is a form of giving. And I found at least in my experience that my willingness to tithe also reflected in the amount I gave in offerings.
ReplyDeleteA passage that supports tithing in the New Testament is Luke 11v42: Jesus is speaking; 'Woe to you pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter WITHOUT LEAVING THE FORMER UNDONE' (TNIV). So Jesus supports tithing. Therefore, if tithing is supported in the New Testament, it applies to us right? If this is true, it follows that although the pharisees were giving crops as well, tithing could not only have applied to farmers because if it did, then majority of the world would not have to tithe. And this obviously does not make sense. This passage also makes it clear that tithing is not a ticket to salvation or being in right standing with God; some people tithe but other areas of their lives are not right with God. The amazing thing is that for some reason known only to God, He still honours their tithing (I’m not just saying this; I have seen it at work). This makes me believe it is a principle that God has decided to stand by as suggested in Malachi 3v10.
The principle I decided to go by when it comes to tithing/giving is in 2 Corinthians 9v6. It basically says if you sow generously, you reap generously. Forget the percentage; 10% is the minimum. I heard of a guy that decided to tithe 90% and live on 10% and he still had more than enough. And no, he didn't start out rich.
Honouring the Lord with your substance does mean being a good steward, but being a good steward can also reflect in our giving back to God's work through tithing.
Yes Proverbs 3 v9-10 is talking about crops. Many of us obviously don't have crops, but this does not mean that we don't have produce. If you have a job, what you get paid is the equivalent of your produce and this is what you tithe. It makes sense that when tithing is mentioned in the Bible, it talks about crops. I believe this is because farming and caring for livestock were the main occupations in those days.
I do not wish to argue on the topic of tithing because like RemiRoy said, it's a sensitive issue and I'm a strong believer in the saying that as Christians, 'what unites us is greater than what divides us', so if you don't believe in tithing, that's cool. As for me, God has never let me or my family down in that area so I think I'll stick with it. I'm out.
@Renny,
ReplyDeleteThe quote from Luke, which is same as Matthew 23:23, in which Jesus is speaking to the Scribes and Pharisees who were still under the Old Testament law, so of course Jesus supported tithing as he did all the other 600 plus laws. But Jesus was born, lived, and died under the OLD Testament. The New Testament doesn't begin until Calvary.
Whao wonderful comments I was just giggling as I read through.. should put up more stuffs that will bring passionate debates..loll... Anyways thank you once again for your opinions and post without you guys I will not be encouraged to write...
ReplyDeleteAbout tithing I believe in it and giving also. It gives me joy to be able to give and tithe even though I don't do it regularly( and will start doing it asap).....
Anyways in life we all learn, from all your comments I have learnt a lot..
You don't have to feel bad about giving, give what you can...God know the heart of everyone including whether tithing or not!
ReplyDeletenice post!
xoxo
Stella
http://www.jadore-fashion.com/
I don't care if it's Biblical or not - I've given 10% of all my income - since I was a wee one. The 10% was a good ball park figure because if it was a good enough percentage in Biblical times - it was good enough for me.
ReplyDeleteCall it whatever you want to call it. I call it giving back to God a portion of what He has given to me. It's all His anyway - He gives me means to share in His abundance. I give with a grateful - thankful heart - to those whom I feel God telling me to give to. So I give above my 10% when occasion arises to do so. No one tells me where to give my gifts - but the Lord.
I have to tell you that I have never been in debt - except for a loan for a car or a mortgage on a house. I've been divorced for 13 years and still never been in debt. I've been homeless and jobless more times than I care to count - and still never been in debt.
Why? Because I have chosen to put my trust in the Lord and honor Him with a good portion of the income that He has given me. The Lord is my provision. He gives me everything I need.
When I began caring for my 84 year old father 2 years ago - that took me out of the job market and the ability to bring in income was removed. I was not allowed to use dad's income to give back to God - even though he was a pastor for 40 years and tithed as I do. My sibling in charge of his finances would not allow me to give from dad's money. So, I told the Lord that if He would give me money - He knows I will give back to Him. I was that serious about giving to the Lord.
He did a miraculous thing. More than I could have ever imagined. He dropped a monthly income in my lap and put me back in the job market as a viable wage earner.
How? Through a pilot program that had just begun 2 months after I moved here to care for dad. They award dad a monetary amount to pay me for his care. His Dr refereed us to the program because dad was poor. Just like that!
God answered - He loved the desires of my heart. My heart motive was focused on Him - not what I could get. I had no idea how or where He was going to give me money - so that I could give back to Him.
I'm telling you that it is a principle that gets the attention of God - giving to get is wrong motive - giving from a deep genuine love for God out of thankfulness for all that He has done for you - is a transforming way of life. He amazes me over and over how he provides for me and blesses me with favor - and income - regardless of how much - so that I can give to God for His purposes....His choosing...His way.
I'm not saying that I have favor with God because of my giving alone. But I can share my testimony as to what He has done for me on this subject. If He blessed me with income when I had no way of receiving income - in this 24/7 position with dad - then it must please Him that I have honored Him with my gifts since I was old enough to earn a nickle for my chores.
I would encourage everyone who was serious about honoring God in all their ways - to try it. I taught my children to do the same. It's up to them to continue it or not. I believe it's a personal thing between you and God.
You can't out give GOD! It all belongs to Him anyway.
Thanks for the opportunity to share from my heart..
Blessings to you TMK
Patrina <")>><