What is your motivation for tithing?
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Respectfully, no He did not. He commanded them; He did not "ask", and He did not command 10% of their annual "profits", but a tithe from the land: a tenth (fractional) of the harvest, and every tenth (ordinal) animal.
Leviticus 27:30 Every tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land of or the fruit of the trees, is the LORD's; it is holy to the LORD.
... 32 And every tithe of herds and flocks, every tenth animal of all that pass under the herdsman's staff, shall be holy to the LORD.
There is further instruction given in Deuteronomy 14 with regard to the handling of the tithe, but God doesn't require anything else be given as tithes.
I give more than just money. I have given material things and my personal time as well to help others out in need. Run people to the doctor, hospital, to get food, and many more things. I do this with a joyful heart and God has blessed me so much in return.
a few times actually in the ot it meant that God was always before their own desires in the ot outward observance to our Gods commands first .
Tithing is all based on this event before israel existed notice abram tithes before he does anything else with the spoils of his victory
“And he brought back all the goods, and also brought again his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people. ….And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.”
Genesis 14:16, 18-20 KJV
this is where tithing originated. And structures the law which came more than 400 years later. What I’m saying is the principle of tithing is meant to come before other things because God is who blessed us with things like he did Abraham there
we tithe first because we are recognizing God gave us all of it beforehand so we are honoring him by recognizing it first before our own desires or needs. It’s not about the money God can make a fish feed thousands it’s about the principle of honoring God above everything else even with money
Israel was taught the same principle that ten percent of all they made ( what I meant by first ) you pay the tithe of the total income we don’t spend first and pay ten Percent of what’s left it’s based on abram d his tithe to melchezidek
Based on what abram did with melchezidek there comes the idea of a “tenth “ of all
“To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace;”
Hebrews 7:2 KJV
And so the levites were a pattern of that it says they payed and also received tithes because they were in abrahams loins when he did it
“And verily they that are of the sons of Levi, who receive the office of the priesthood, have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law, that is, of their brethren, though they come out of the loins of Abraham:
…And as I may so say, Levi also, who receiveth tithes, payed tithes in Abraham. For he was yet in the loins of his father, when Melchisedec met him.”
Hebrews 7:5, 9-10 KJV
tithing all goes back to what Abraham did before the law and carried through. Important is that Christians are the priesthood so that’s how tithing would connect to Christians but it’s no longer a tenth it’s now based on what Jesus said and the ot methods were only a pattern for the priesthood of melchezidek
We now in Christ the high priest of melchezideks order , are of the priesthood of his priesthood who received a tenth from the first tithe of Abraham
“And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, And hath made us kings and priests ( like melchezidek priest and king of righteousness )unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.”
Revelation 1:5-6
Eventually we are to understand simply put God first in everything including ministry matters. In the ot ot was about flocks , moneys and sacrifices they have the best part of what they had or (were supposed to anyways )
what I was saying is Godnis meant to come first as the law called for the tithing after the manner of Abraham who gave tithe before anything else
So you see the tithe as a law of God that existed before the Law of Moses and we should still obey it?
lol no I’m saying tithing is based on what Abraham did before israel
Or the law existed and was only a pattern which is manifest in Christ to teach us to put God first in sll
Matters including money
as Christians we obey what Christ taught not what Abraham did or what the law taught . Christ and the gospel is our law and the fospem teaches us to put God above everything else . Tithing first of all they had was a foreshadow of that principle
now in Christ we simply give according to what we can afford to the needy.
all I meant with saying “ the first tenth “ was that they were to tithe of all thoer income not what was left over. This was a pattern for us and is shown on Christ to put Gods Will above everything else including monitary matters.
in Christ we’re taught to be generous with what we have but aren’t supposed to for example make a rule of a tenth percent it needs to be what Christ taught us expressing itself which is love first for God and secondly one another to honor him so we help the needy when we are able rattler than being selfish and putting our desires above others needs
we obey Christ not Moses or abrahams deeds those things are all what lead to Christ who expressed the unveiled truth of Gods Will to Mankind. As we believe the gospel oir hesrt is re shaped and part of that shape is to give freely and not begrudgingly .
If we’re paying tithes to our church it isn’t wrong or anything , but mostly now pastors make a steady paycheck so it’s better to give to the poor. Not a rule of ten percent but whatever we have and are able to share .
we need to do it willingly with joy though out of love and never begrudgingly that won’t benefit anyone if it hurts to give To others we need to recognize we have a greed and selfishness problem we should deal with
The only thing I'm curious about is why you tithe, if you do. No more complicated than that.
“The only thing I'm curious about is why you tithe”
well you first asked about the first ten percent where it came from , then asked if I believed it was a law that we are still
Meant to keep so I answered as best I could those two but as far as me and what I do
I give as I’m able to the needy who I cross paths with because God has
Made me to feel Compassion toward the needy which got into My heart from the gospel I believe in for salvation.
If I haven’t ran into anyone or became aware of someone in need ( which usually doesn’t happen ) then yeah I give what I’m able to the church I attend. But I prefer to honor God as Jesus taught and help with others needs as I’m able
So, on the occasions that our goods and relatives have been taken by force, we chase down and kill the offenders, retrieve that which is ours, and are on our way back, we should give 10% of the goods to the Lord?
I'll get right on that....
The passage says nothing about money, Christ, or putting God "first".
So, on the occasions that our goods and relatives have been taken by force, we chase down and kill the offenders, retrieve that which is ours, and are on our way back, we should give 10% of the goods to the Lord?
I'll get right on that....
The passage says nothing about money, Christ, or putting God "first".
lol …. Sounds good
T
TheIndianGirl
Guest
Many people who say we are not commanded to tithe use it as an opportunity to not give at all or give very minimum amounts. I understand why many church leadership and pastors continue to promote tithing, otherwise no one would give or no one would have a guide post on how much to give. Money is the god of this world, we need to remember. So, it is hard to part with money. To me, tithing evokes contradictory feelings (negative feelings, feelings of obligation, "checking the box" first Sunday of the month, etc.) to how giving is described in the New Testament (giving out of a cheerful heart, giving to the poor/needy, etc.). I certainly think people need to give to the church, the poor, other Christian causes, but I don't think it has to be as scheduled as the tithe (first Sunday of the month) or be exactly 10 percent to the dollar and cent specifically to the local church. Some people may give more and some people a bit less. People who are not giving at all or very minimal amounts to the church need to reevaluate why they are not giving, as I do not believe anyone should be excused from giving financially (remember the story of the poor old lady who gave everything).
Many, perhaps, but certainly not all.
There is plenty of instruction in the New Testament regarding giving. There is no need to dredge up Old Covenant laws to manipulate people into doing so.
Exactly.
So do you also stone the adulterers in your congregation? Do you exclude those with skin diseases and women during their monthly flow? Do you go to Jerusalem three times a year?
I doubt it.
You have three options:
1. The entire Law as given through Moses is binding upon Christians (in contradiction to Paul and Hebrews);
2. Bits and pieces of the Law are binding (but, oddly, no Scripture says which pieces); or
3. Christians aren't under the Law at all, but rather we are free in Christ and led by His Spirit in all things.
One of those things that some study I did showed me something.
I am God's slave because of the debt I owed that I could not pay but He did.
Therefore ALL that I earn is His. All that I will earn is His. And all that I once owed is also His.
God bought me.
And that's all He really wanted to begin with. My heart.
Of course He can have "my" money...but I really don't have any...I earn on his behalf. My wages are his. I'm that bad investment that never really pays off.
And here in America we build cathedrals for every pastor who tells us what we want to hear. While the other churches in the world are in something that we would claim is not good enough for a barn.
God has a savings account we fund regularly with first fruits and gifts. We write checks and wire transfers for various things all the time. (When we can find a worthy outlet to dump some of it)
I get what I need, sometimes what I just want. But the schlock I want anymore grows less and less. The stuff I do want doesn't have a price tag.
Maybe one day....
But I do understand that people love money and power and prestige. The things I want most have nothing to do with those things. If God wanted me to be rich I would be. No one could do anything about it either. Besides....God is my friend...He creates money. It's not really worth anything. It used to be gold. Then it was printed paper. Now it's computer digits.
Pfft....
Money can't buy love but it can attract greed.
I am God's slave because of the debt I owed that I could not pay but He did.
Therefore ALL that I earn is His. All that I will earn is His. And all that I once owed is also His.
God bought me.
And that's all He really wanted to begin with. My heart.
Of course He can have "my" money...but I really don't have any...I earn on his behalf. My wages are his. I'm that bad investment that never really pays off.
And here in America we build cathedrals for every pastor who tells us what we want to hear. While the other churches in the world are in something that we would claim is not good enough for a barn.
God has a savings account we fund regularly with first fruits and gifts. We write checks and wire transfers for various things all the time. (When we can find a worthy outlet to dump some of it)
I get what I need, sometimes what I just want. But the schlock I want anymore grows less and less. The stuff I do want doesn't have a price tag.
Maybe one day....
But I do understand that people love money and power and prestige. The things I want most have nothing to do with those things. If God wanted me to be rich I would be. No one could do anything about it either. Besides....God is my friend...He creates money. It's not really worth anything. It used to be gold. Then it was printed paper. Now it's computer digits.
Pfft....
Money can't buy love but it can attract greed.
The tithe is first found here:
Genesis 28:
"Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on, so that I come back to my father’s house in peace, then the LORD shall be my God. And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You.”
He returned to his father's house and gave a tenth of all he had.
There was no Levitical Law, Mt. Sinai was generations in the future.
Genesis 28:
"Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on, so that I come back to my father’s house in peace, then the LORD shall be my God. And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You.”
He returned to his father's house and gave a tenth of all he had.
There was no Levitical Law, Mt. Sinai was generations in the future.
Actually, the concept first appears in Genesis 14, and there is absolutely no record in Scripture that Jacob personally fulfilled that vow.