i had a few questions. I myself have wondered about tithing, i myself is in debt and only makes a small amount of money, i have my wife, should i still give what i can. I have a very godly friend who does not go to any particular church because of the lack of the spirit and other reasons but he has told me that he believes we should still believes in tithing and he tells me it is biblical, he also has told me that the Lord has always supplied him in everyway even though at first it was hard to tithe for him with his wife pressuring him and just the doubts at first, but he went ahead and still did it and the Lord has supplied him with all his needs. He also say that their should be our regular tithe in which goes to the spreading of the gospel either for ministries or missionaries or a local church and then their is a free will offering which you give out of your own will. What is your opinion on this in also relating to the 50 things that make you a pharisee. Also my other question was when do we draw the line as christians in being around ungodly people, i saw the one that spoke on being around unbelievers like Jesus, i agree that greeting them and being generous and helping them with their needs is great thing to do but do you think that we can sit at tables with people who openly mock God and who just speak about things that our so sinful, i have found myself having to separate, when an ungodly moving was being watched at my wifes parents house this past week, i went upstairs and separated completely, is not this go according to psalm 1 and other scriptures? This is all relating to what i read in what Greg posted, i would like it clarified to me if that be possible.

Hi bible4life.

I know a lot of believers think tithing is right, but I believe it is not 'law' for the New Covenant believer. No where do you see tithing for believers in the NT. It is now giving with a thankful and joyful heart. It seems strange to me that the only OT law people want to keep in the church is tithing. Could it be because it pays the salary of the 'proffesional' clergy!
Those who hold to tithing try and convince us that it was pre-law using Hebrews 7:9-10 about Melchizedek, but this is not there to teach us tithing, but about Jesus' preisthood being greater than the Levitical.

We should be giving freely (not under compulsion) to those in need and missions as the Lord puts it on our heart. If we do not have much money, we should make it our first aim to do all we can to provide for our families and not be a burden on others and then as we get more to bless others with our surplus.

Regarding mixing with unbelievers, we need wisdom. I think Zac Poonen's point is that we should not seperate ourselves in a superior way thinking we are 'holier than thou'. But the bible clearly teaches us:

Blessed is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
Psalm 1:1

God Bless you.

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Dave

Good answer, Bible4life! I agree.

Those who want to hold to the OT law of the tithe must also keep the rest of the law. We can not pick and choose.

Either the LAW was fulfilled in Christ, or it wasn't. It was not partially fulfilled.

Krispy

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Jeff Marshalek

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Dave

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Jeff Marshalek

If the NT believer was to tithe... the NT would not absolutely silent on it. The only place where tithing is mentioned in the NT was during Jesus' ministry BEFORE He died and rose again. The Law was not fulfilled yet.

Once He accomplished His work of redemption... there is never again a mention of tithing, along with many other things. Things we would never consider to be commands for us now. But some want to hold onto tithing.

We have not tithed in almost 10 years. We give... joyfully. Sometimes we give 10%... sometimes less... sometimes more. Depends on what the Holy Spirit tells us to do.

And tithe keepers always say that they have never heard testimonies from those who do not "tithe" about God blessing. Thats a lie... I can not begin to tell you of all the amazing ways God has provided for my family financially. Especially in this last year, God has increased my faith 100 fold.

So take all this "will a man rob God?" and "God will get His 10% one way or another" junk about tithing and put it where it belongs. It's men misusing scripture to manipulate other people.

It hasn't proven to be the case in my life... and the lives of many others.

It's called freedom! Freedom from trying to do things out of compulsion, and freedom to listen and do what the Holy Spirit wants.

:-)

Krispy

I'm with Krispy on this one.

rookie wrote:

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Dave

if we don't tithe how will the gospel be spread through, only when our hearts free willingly do it. I think that placing our faith that God will take care of us even when things get hard is better to do. I would say that Christ said the law was established when he came, that all those old testament laws and commands would be written our heart after being born again, that we would want to perform them and we should. I heard christians tell me that it is o.k to have tatoos today because we our no longer under the law, where does it say that the new testament writers throughout the law and obeying, but no it was established in their inward beings to obey it in love. You our not saved by works or the law but it is not something that is done away with, you can't just break it now because we our in grace, we should want to follow God.

Just as paying the tithe was emphasised under the old covenant, presenting our bodies to God is what is emphasised in the new covenant. Tithing was meant to be a type, just like the Passover lamb and the Sabbath day. The lamb was a type of Christ, and the Sabbath was a type of the inward rest that Christ gives us. These Old Testament rituals were all shadows of what was finally fulfilled in Christ (as Colossians 2:16,17 makes crystal clear).

Concerning tithing, God had said, "The purpose of tithing is to teach you always to put God first in your lives" (Deut.14:23-Living Bible). Under the old covenant, they offered their tithes to prove that God was first in their lives. In the new covenant, we present our bodies to God and thus prove that He is first in our lives.

What does it mean to offer our bodies? It means giving our eyes to God so that we never use them for ourselves again. Is that easier or is it easier to give 10% of your income to God? You know that it is far easier to give 10% of our income each month to God than to keep our eyes pure each day of that month. That is why preachers teach tithing more than keeping our eyes pure. Many pastors are lovers of money and they want their congregation to tithe so that they can become rich from those tithes. Since there is no justification at all for tithing in the new covenant, they use this verse in Malachi to frighten ignorant believers into paying their tithes every month.

Then how much money should we to give for God's work? Only what we can give cheerfully – for God does not love those who give money under pressure, or who give in order to get something from Him (See 2 Cor.9:8). First give your body to the Lord and then give whatever money you want to give cheerfully, but never as an obligation and certainly not out of fear. I hope this understanding of God's Word liberates you from false teaching.

Reference:http://www.cfcindia.com/web/mainpages/word_for_the_week.php?display=12_01&year=08