I have spent much time on the internet in regards to researching tithing in regards to the new testament, my heart is very unsettled.....what is everyones thoughts? I have seen very decisive arguments from both camps. Personally I think the new testament makes it an issue of the heart, but I'm still unsettled about the issue...comments?

Personally, I am in agreement with you. Have gone back and forth over this through the years.
Came across this the other day and felt that I should have had my knuckles wrapped with a ruler,
"Bad Berean!"
Was suprised that I had never caught this before.

[url=http://www.acts17-11.com/dialogs_tithe.html]http://www.acts17-11.com/dialogs_tithe.html[/url]

By the way, good to hear from you brother!

Mike

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Mike Balog

Thankyou Mike.

In Christ
Jeff

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Jeff Marshalek

sdb,

The New Testament does not require that we give tithes and offerings. We are under the priesthood of Christ which is according to the order of Melchizedek. We are not under the Levitical order anymore, and paying tithes (which was always presented in the form of a food-stuff (animals/crops) at the temple, never in money) is no longer required... because the sacrifices have been fulfilled in Christ.

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Jimmy H

Thanks for bringing this up,I began a post recently and this moves it all on, great!
I think i'm with you guys on this
'that what a man has purposed in his heart out of that should he give.
personally we(my wife and kids)give to different things at different times people, church,or other things.We also seethat our giving is not only cash but our lives
I think its genuine to be un-settled as you put it and not a bad thing either.It shows that your heart is to give :-)

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derek Eyre

Come on brethren only 4 posts.......you must have some kind of opinion on this.......In Him scott

(warning: this post, aside from Scripture quotations, is my opinion, which probably means it's wrong)

Someone's already brought it up, but:

2 Corinthians 9:7
As every man purposeth in his heart, so let him give, not grudgingly or out of compulsion; for God loveth the cheerful giver.

I don't believe that Christians are commanded in Scripture to "tithe," or to give any particular percentage (thank you, Brother Mike, for that linking to that light-shedding article).

I believe Christians are commanded to be responsible with everything God gives them (money and other resources, time, relationships, talents, gifts, oppurtunities, their bodies, etc). Relating to money, this means we should have some kind of God-centered purpose for every dollar (or pound, or frank, whatever). We have a responsibility to provide for our immediate family:

1 Timothy 5:8
But if any provide not for his own, and especially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith and is worse than an infidel.

So, if we're responsible for our house's finances, we should save enough money to tend to our family's material needs, though of course we should closely examine the expenditures and make sure they are for a God-centered purpose.

If we have no one else under us (i.e. no 'house') I believe we should save enough to tend to our own (again, carefully examined) needs rather than have to ask another for support and thus become a burden.

Some things require long-term saving (houses, higher education for children, etc.), and if it's for a Godly purpose I don't see anything "covetous" (i.e. greedy) with saving for them. Again, prayerful examination...

(edit)
The government wants it's taxes, too, so estimate how much the legalized thieves (minor sarcasm) will demand and save enough so that you won't get put in jail. Give unto Caesar what is Caesar's is the principle, I suppose.

Once those needs are met, give the rest away. That's my opinion, at least. Certainly, don't be haphazard, pray God's guidance and wisdom in giving, and I think it's good to have a few people in the local church concentrate on finding genuine needs and directing charity towards them.

There, you asked my opinion, you got it :)

If you want something that's actually correct, I think Crown Financial Ministries has some pretty good teachings, though I haven't looked through them myself... I probably should though (mental to-do list ammended).

As I see it...part of tithing is to support God's ministers. See, I agree that we should give what we think God has led us to give, and that it is the motive behind the giving that is important, and we should give cheerfully. As I am familiar with tithes, a portion of goes to pay the salaries of the pastoral staff...I am sure that this doesn't affect too many of the posters here since it seems they are not attending any particular church. If my pastor were to have to get another job to financially support himself, because people in church decided to stop tithing, then he wouldn't be able to devote as much time to the ministry God has called him to. We should meet our families needs, and personal needs (within reason...like Keith said) but we should also support our fellow Christian brothers and sisters in times of need. If the CHURCH (as a whole) would take care to meet their fellow brothers and sisters needs...PERHAPS (this is a big perhaps) we wouldn't need so much in social programs(welfare, etc.) I have personally seen how Christians in other countries (Africa, Eastern Europe, Latin America) give out of their own to help their fellow Christians. It's not meant to be a continuous situation (i.e. the needy person never working, etc.) but to help out when necessary. We will have to give an account for all of God's money we have received. I am sure I haven't said everything as concisely as I would like to and perhaps will have to clarify in future posts...but here's my two cents. :-D

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Shelly

I think I failed to mention that the local ministers (particularly pastors of one's church and local missionaries/evangelists) should be high on the list of "charity" recipients. But I probably don't need to mention that (though I just did).