ARE CHRISTIANS COMMANDED TO TITHE?

I think this will help you in your quest for the truth ! https://hubpages.com/religion-philosophy/Where-do-...

I do not tithe because I am now under grace, New Testament. Heb 9:16 and 17 say that a New Testament has come in working, the law is dead with the death of Jesus Christ. Mat, Mark, Luke and John was written for the Jew, Old Testament because Jesus was under law when he walked the earth, the New Testament come into working after His death, so we can say with the book of acts. Yes I now give whatever the Holy Spirit tells me to give.

Wow! I'm not sure which I enjoyed more, the hub or the conversation that came after. In any case, it was a delight to read, and I greatly appreciate how well you responded to all who left comments.

I often ask the question why don't churches sacrafice animals in the churches as a form of worship to the Lord. Or how about burning incense. Why not sprinkle a lil blood on the altar. I think we are intelligent enough to understand that these are old testament practices commanded by GOD under the LAW given by Moses. Well I can't for the life of me understand why it's so hard for us to understand that tithing is not mentioned in the New Testament as a command for Christians. An offering or "Collections" for the saints is the only requirement for Christians when it comes to giving back to GOD monetarily. Surely we're told that it's more blessed to give than to receive, that we should lay by in store, to help the sick and the weak, to provide for our brothers and sisters in Christ, etc..But nowhere is the tithe commanded in New Testament scripture. Can someone please point me to the scripture that tells CHristians to tithe. I agree eerything we have is God's allready so we should'nt have a problem giving liberally. There are just a bunch of traditional things made up by men and then there's the truth instituted by GOD...I chose to follow GOD..............

Forgive me a simple minded person for saying this, But if God is God over all, and I know He is, then He is God over our finances as well. If we then yield ourselves to God, then we also must yield our money as not only symbolic, but in truth. "For where you treasure is there will your heart be also." if God is First in our lives, then it is that He is also First in our finances, so we Give Him what is His: for He gives us the Ability to gain wealth. Malachi was showing Gods point in Malachi 3:7 God wanted His people to return to Him, they had gone astray, but they answered Wherein shall We return? in other words, what have we done that is wrong, so Malachi 3:8 God expresses in tithe and offering. then adds that they were under a curse. The curse is for disobedience. Tithing was first mentioned with Cain and able as First Fruits. the First Part, or the Original First Tenth. I have found out in my own life that if I do not give God of the Tithe and offering, then I pay it in different ways. I challenge you to do this. If you do not pay tithe, sit down with your bills and see if what you would have paid for tithe is not eaten up in other ways.

For you will either pay tithe to God, or the Devourer will surely consume that which was to be your blessing. Let the figures speak for themselves

http://bible-truths.com/tithing.html

hey nice hub we tithe not becoz we have to but we tithe because we love Gos so much that we are privileged to tithe. check out my hub :https://hubpages.com/religion-philosophy/Revealed-...

Encouraging comments from all so no disrespect in what I'm about to say. I've heard that the most misunderstood page int he Bible is the blank page seperating the old and the New Testament. This is true because most people don't understand that tithing as well as other practices in churches today are old testament teachings. I encourage you all to look deeply and you'll find that we are'nt commanded to tithe in the church today but christ wants us to give a freewill offering to support the church (1cor 16:1-2) and to do it generously and bountifully 2 cor 9:6-7. I think most so-called Christians view tithing as a way of buying themselves a spot in heaven. They have the mindset that they can club, curse you out, commit fornication and all other sins and then drop a so-called tithe in the bucket and all is well. HMMMMMMMMMMMM.....Don't misconstue me as being negative. I prefer the term realist. But regaradless I have much respect for the conversation because at least we are all trying to make heaven our home.........Thanks for listening.

Hi Wehzo. Thanks for this hub. It's unusual to hear a pastor teach about the importance of being a giver as opposed to the "cursed with a curse" fear mongering tactic.. When I rededicated my life to the Lord 2 years ago, I told Him I heard what man has to say, now teach me Your ways. To my amazement He lead me on this journey concerning finance. I love to give, so stinginess is not a hidden problem in my life. I just follow the reality of what the scriptures state. Most churches in this country can't wait to infuse fear into the saints by quoting Malachi 3:8. I believe they just regurgitate what they have heard others say. They tell the people they're cursed when they don't tithe. What they fail to teach is that there were numerous laws concerning the tithe and penalties so exhaustive, who can keep up? I often say the book of Galatians has freed me from the bondage and fear of being "cursed with a curse" when the truth is simply what Paul stated, "give sparingly you'll reap sparingly give bountifully you'll reap bountifully." I have learned through studying the scriptures that God is concerned about all people! He is concerned about the poor and needy, those who can't help themselves. While on this earth, the servants of the Lord Jesus are His hands and feet, we are to do what we see our Savior doing. All through scripture we see Jesus as a compassionate, selfless, meek individual who put His life on the line for others. Religion says "I pay my tithes and fast x-amount of days". Those who are led by the Spirit obey the call to give and many times it's way beyond ten percent! Jesus wants us to simply be liberal givers. According to how God has blessed us we should give. There is simplicity in Christ. Be blessed.

Quite right Wehzo, Christians are not commanded to tithe and those who choose to shackle themselves to the Law bring themselves under its curse (Galatians 3:10).

Tithing because we imagine it is obligatory is like the groom at a wedding, when told by the pastor: 'You may now kiss the bride', then replying: 'Do I have to?'

The same answer applies. No. If you don't love your bride, give the kiss a miss. In fact, I suspect she'd prefer if you didn't.

To the Christian who doesn't want to tithe I would say, 'Please don't tithe.'

What Jesus did say in Luke 16:10-11 though was:

'He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?'

God looks at the heart and we cannot buy his love or earn his grace - but here we see that we can earn his trust. Look how Jesus committed that which he considered the least (money) to the disciple he trusted the least (Judas).

And in Matthew 6:23, Jesus said: 'But if your eye is evil, your whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!'

'Evil eye' is a Hebrew idiom still current in Israel and simply means 'mean' or 'stingy'. 10% - why give so little?

We are Commanded to give 10% of the Best that God has Given us. My question is, why do people think they deserve to be given more profit that than 10% God requires for Himself?!

This is an excellent hub, and something that everyone really needs to understand necessary to receive the blessings of the Lord. Yes, by grace and the death of Jesus we are saved, but to receive blessings we must tithe.

As far as the Old Testament, this is where the laws were made and will stand. It is though the Old Testament we gain knowledge to the future. In the Old Testament, everything which was to be was Written and has played out. People today devalue the Old and prefer the New...I am telling you, all the wars, hard times, every event which has happened or will happen is in the Old Testament, and if you do not believe me, try reading in Daniel.

If you have any clear understanding of the Bible, you will find our present situation written in there.

I pray for all to gain understanding and knowledge through reading this great Book. And if you do not give the Lord 1/10 of your money, to a church of your choice or a ministry I know for a fact that you will have a harder time in life, because you ARE commanded in the Bible to tithe.

Have a Blessed Day!!

There is nothing in the New Testament that indicates that tithing was ever taught or practiced by early Christians.

In Corinthians, Paul never mentions tithe, tithing or 10%. Jesus only spoke about tithes once in Luke 11:42 and we know that he was speaking directly to men who were required by the law to tithe.

Abraham was blessed before he tithed, not because he tithed but because he believed God. If we want to be like Abraham, we too should believe God.

If we read the New Testament we find that God has given us abundant instruction about giving, sharing what we have with others and helping those in need.

What we don't find in the New Testament is God telling us to tithe, give ten percent of our income to the local church, or that we must tithe to be blessed.

It's clear to me that Christians are NOT commanded by God to tithe.

What would Paul say about those who teach that Christians must tithe? Probably the same thing he said about those who taught that Christians must be circumcised.

Gal 5:1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

Excellent hub! To add to what you said, I believe it's impossible to devote yourself 100% to God if you aren't even willing to turn over 10% of your income.

God Bless!

If people would tithe to themselves the 10% they would have the abundance that is promised. The churches would have all they needed.

Teach this to our children now and they will be well rewarded in life.

In Yisrael, the government was the religion and thus, tithing was taxing. It kept the government, the body of law prosperous enough to function.

As individual Christians, we are the temple, we are the government, we are the religion.

Paul, for all his wonderful work and writing was still a man trying the best he could to follow the spirit. It does not make his words or writing law.

In 2 Corinthians 11:8, he admits to robbing some churches to help others. In 1 Corinthians 7:40 after making a judgment call - he says that he 'thinks' he was led to this decision by the spirit.

Men and women are building churches by forcing people to tithe. New little denominations are sprouting up all over, building themselves little communities of recreation. In other words, the people who are tithing are benefiting from the programs and services their churches are creating for them and their children. This is a very skewed idea of charity.

2 Corinthians 9:7 'Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity; For the Lord loves a cheerful giver.'

I think we all need to learn from the Good Samaritan. Just because we give at the office - doesn't make up for those people in need that we personally bypass each and every day. A cheerful giver sees a need and fills it - right there - right then. Routine ritual tithing can become a crutch and make a person proud in their giving.

Luke 18:11-12 'The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, Lord, I thank Thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in te week, I give tithes of all that I possess.'

Hi my beautiful fellow brothers and sisters. I did not read all comments, but I will tell you my experience. When I learned about tithing we started tithe. God blessed us very much. One insurance owned us 11.000 dollars. We wrote it off. Then our new church building needed money. Carol said we have untouched $10.000 on the savings account. why don't we give? I said: amen. We claimed 100 fold return according to Mark 10:30. After 5-7 years, suddenly the insurance released the money and we received the check 11.000 dollars. We glorified Lord.

When Carol passed I was somehow sloppy in giving. I did tight but I did not pay attention very much. Then I lost a lot of money from my pension. I learned the lesson. It was not God who punished me. It was devil who stole the money form me. We have to teach our church members to tithe. Otherwise they will become sloppy. The same time we have to teach them that God is "blesser" and not the thief. We should be lacking nothing and have abundant life (John 10:10c). If there is something opposite of it then we have to examine ourselves.

Second point is that we will come back to the earth and the heaven is not our permanent home.

I love you.

thanks wehzo, and all,..whezo from what i have read you are a blessing to your fellowship your maturity expressed through love does reveal christ, i would understand that through your good stewardship you have been blessed with more and he will ad even more to you, love to witness this kind of truth and spirit in the body, love to all

sorry a little more, these letters werent written in chapter and verse(we did that) its one long letter and should be read so for true context..a little more..mathew 16:13 not you are able to serve god and mammon, heard and these things all, also the pharasies money lovers being: and they derided him,../just for context, love you brothers

hello, love the site, tigths i agree that from the heart is the truth of the matter for in luke 16:18 in original torah bible..but it is easier the heaven and the earth to pass away than of the law one tittle to "FALL"(4098strongs)away,..jesus made this statement in frustration at the trap the pharasies were trying to set for him. now i know modern bibles have this word mistranslated,interlinear & strongs concordance "fall" not "fail" welcome you to check, love all

Peace...

Those of Israel who followed the Law of God -NEHEMIAH 10: 28-29, contributed YEARLY one half of a Pim. That is ONE THIRD OF A SHEKEL (0.13 oz; of silver or gold). Which is real money and not tithes of produce (crops, fruit, oil, wine, and livestock). That one third of a shekel (in real money, silver or gold) was for the service and all the work of the House of God -NEHEMIAH 10: 32-33.

1.) For the Showbread.

2.) For the Continual Grain Offering;

3.) For the Continual Burnt Offering.

4.) For the Sabbaths, New Moons, and Appointed Times.

5.) For the Sin Offering (to make atonement for Israel).

That one third of a shekel was the obligation under the Law, with the penalty of a curse -NEHEMIAH 10: 29. But however, Israel was not following through on their yearly obligations to the House of God. And so, God was being robbed -MALACHI 3: 8-10.

The Levitical priesthood evenually ended because of their harlotry -HOSEA 5: 1-5.

Please consider -HOSEA 4: 6 :

..."My people (Israel) are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you (the priesthood) have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you, and YOU SHALL BE NO PRIEST TO ME; seeing you have forgotten the Law of your God, I will also forget your children"... -HOSEA 4: 6

Please Take Note :

..."YOU SHALL BE NO PRIEST TO ME"...

Please Note what is said next :

..."Seeing you have forgotten the Law of your God, I will also forget your children"...

God ended the Levitical priesthood throughout all generations, even until this very day. Why? Because of the whoredom of the Levitical priests, Israelite kings, and people of ancient Israel.

Today there is no temple or Levitical priesthood (according to the order of Aaron). So, no Tithes and Offerings can be paid for priestly services and temple up-keep! God's priesthood has now changed, and so has the Law -HEBREWS 7: 11-12.

The priests of God today are to be themselves living stones (a holy priesthood), built up as a Spiritual House (temple of God), offering up Spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God -1 PETER 2: 4-5.

IN LOVE AND RESPECT

Come You Out!

Richard speaks,

Tithing has nothing to do with money my brother. Tithing, in the Torah, was given to the Levite Priests, and it was the agricultural produce of the land. It is nothing wrong with giving money, or course, but biblical tithing is produce, and not money.

Shalom

Thanks Wehzo, I enjoyed this. I look forward to future discussions as well.

In Christ

ABR

Wehzo, good work on this thread. The subject of tithing is a difficult one to deal with and I commend you for your diligence in using scripture to support your view. For those of us who see all scripture from the Holy Bible as God's living word it yields authority to your position.

While I am sad that Richardspeaks does not share our faith in the Bible, I respect his views. However, as you have already stated, arguing with someone who is unwilling to be persuaded is a waste of time for both sides. For I am as convinced that all scripture from Gen-revaluations is God breathed, inspired by the Holy Spirit, as he is that its not.

On the topic of tithing I think the subject has been thoroughly discussed and I applaud everyone's contributions. I have only one thought that I would like to add.

Galatians 3:2-3

This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?

I agree with you that tithing is not commanded. I believe it was Carrie that pointed out that Jesus paid our tithes. That is, Jesus paid the legal requirement of the Law when it comes to righteousness and tithing. He fulfilled that Law for me.

Matthew 5:17

Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.

I would like to speak to the problem of "giving-to-get". I realize that scripture clearly teaches us that we can not "out give" God, I believe this is true. However, if our motivation for "giving" is to receive, then I am afraid that we are not truly giving to God we are paying for his blessing. Which is more a kin to tithing. When we Give we should give freely not expecting anything in return.

Yes I know God said in Malachi 3:8-10 that we should test Him in this. But I am here to tell you that I did, and He did not. Why, because I was giving to recieve. Just as my works of righteousness availed me nothing before I knew Christ. My legalistic tithing returned me nothing when it was used to gain me God's material blessing. It was a type of works.

As we all know, old testament law is works based. Moses commanded the children of Isreal that they Had to love the Lord thy God with all their heart,soul, and strength

Deuteronomy 6:5

You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.

But Jesus said it this way:

John 14:15

If you love Me, keep My commandments.

I obey Christ's commands not out of obligation, but out of Love for him. I give and support my church for the exact same reason. I consider myself a Giver not a Tither.

For me, legalistic tithing is no different then circumcision. For the Jews tithing and Circumcision was apart of their works performed to gain God's Favor.

Am I to support my Church absolutely, Am I to be willing give of my finances to the poor and needy, absolutely. But I do it not to impress God, or to give my magic lamp a rub. I do it because, when I do it for the least of these, I do it unto Him.

In Christ

ABR

Wehzo: Please refer to Matt. 5:17-18, "not one jot or tittle..." Jesus is clear that he has no intention of doing away with Jewish law. He is a Jew. Paul, on the other hand, was a converted Christian seeking to convert the Gentiles. He made the decision on his own to tell the Gentiles they did not have to comply with Jewish law i.e. tithing, circumcision, food laws, etc. If he hadn't, the Gentiles would not have converted. Paul had an agenda. It wasn't a good one. To this day, the Jews are still mistrusted around the world. And it's Paul's fault.

He also told the Gentiles to continue to serve the Emperor, not to cause dissent or disruption. To do so, he declared, would be the same as rebelling against God. So much for the American Revolution. Had we listened to Paul and the inevitable "Divine Right of Kings," we would still be ruled by Britain.

Sorry to disagree with you but Paul didn't do us any favors. The teachings of Jesus and the rantings of Paul are quite different, meant for different audiences. I prefer Jesus.

Here's the clincher: one can be a follower of the Christ without paying any attention to the letters of Paul. In fact, if Paul had known that later generations would turn his writings into the literal Word of God, he would have been appalled. He would not have written them down. He would be wise enough to know that all ideas filtering through the mind and hand of a human are necessarily flawed. But unfortunately, we can't see that.

Thanks for your insight on a difficult topic, I decided to tithe when I got out of debt three years ago; however, I do not feel we are commanded to tithe 10%, rather I feel that we should give whatever we are able to give with a cheerful heart.'

GreatContent: Still, didn't Jesus say that not one bit of the Law would be eliminated? Oh, yeah, I forgot. "Until all has been fulfilled..." which means his death and resurrection is the final tithe, right? So, why did Paul insist that the church members collect money to support the new congregations and himself? How should the church today approach the issue of monies for their support? Beg? Plead? Threaten? Oh, yeah, I forgot. They've done all that. What next?

The church is not commanded to tithe. The tithe was for the levite priest, because they were not given land coming out of Egypt. When Paul was around, the temple still stood, and thus he was commanded to set aside the first fruits of produce for the levite priesthood. Now, there's no temple, and no priests, thus, no need to tithe.

So, Paul says he has this vision of Jesus on the road to Damascus. I wasn't there. If I had been, I doubt I would have believed him. Still don't. He never told me I had to believe him. Later Christians told me that. If he knew that the letters he had written for him (probably by Luke and maybe Timothy) would be turned into Holy Writ, he would have called it blasphemy. He never considered his letters the Ultimate Truth, or the Word of God. You all do, I gather that, but not me. Paul's words in other places teach things that none of you follow now, such as the subjugation of women, adhering to the central government without complaint, spitting on non-believers, etc. Why do you pay so much attention to what he says about money or property?

Remember again: Paul was a mere human, like you and me. His letters were just that--letters. Not literal truth. The early Church made that decision for you. In fact, some of his letters were ultimately rejected because they didn't fit their agenda.

In the mean time, refer to Luke 17:22 where Jesus tells us that the Kingdom of God is within us, not over there or up here, or down there. Right here in your own heart, in your own spirit. You and the Father are One. Get that and all the dogma will eventually fall away. And giving will come automatically, not out of duty.

Support your local church. Tithe or not, the reality is, they need it. They'll close if you don't support them. You don't want that, do you?

Tithing is for Old Covenant laws, God gave man a permanent Tithe, Jesus Christ...

God does love a cheerful giver and never holds man to a commitment like tithing because it places bondage on those he set free. Not to say if you dont give God will stop loving you, but give as you purpose in your heart, as God moves you.

Very well written hub. I don't think the scriptures could be any more clear on the subject. I don't understand why sooo many people have a problem with this simple principle. I guess people just refuse to give to their Lord.

Good point about old and new covenants. In the old, tithing was required for righteousness. In the new, giving is a RESPONSE to the grace that we've received.

Christians are not commanded to do anything. Only The Law had to be obeyed of which tithing was a part. There is no obedience necessary under Grace.

Hi Guys

Tithe is the First Fruits, it was a system God gave to the Israelites, and not Gentiles.

Jesus Christ became the First fruits for the world, so God has taken our sins in Christ.

GB

Tithes were only to be given to Levite priests. And money was never acceptable form of a tithe, and tithing did not begin until after the completition of the bible. The last 4 verses in Genesis 28. goes against what the church preaches on tithing. AMAZING how much false doctrine there really is in the churches.

Thank you, Wehzo! Same to you, my brother in the Lord!

Hi!  Just me!  I was reading a hub by WHOOWANTSTONO and came across an outsanding portion I will share with all here regarding tithing!  This is merely confirmation of your hub and comments, dear Whezo!

The lineage of 'Judah' was not part of the Old Testament Levitical Priesthood. In the New Testament Judah is representative of Jesus Christ and the New Covenant because Jesus is called, "The Lion that is from the tribe of Judah". Revelation 5:5

We know that know one was authorized to collect and distribute tithes except those from the Levitical Priesthood, from the tribe of Levi. Jesus lineage is from the tribe of Judah not Levi.

Galatians 3:9 says: "And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise".

The promise given to Abraham by the Spirit came 400 years before the Law was given to Moses, therefore the LAW CANNOT INVALIDATE A PREVIOUS PROMISE. The reason why this is important is because ABRAHAM GAVE A TENTH PART of spoils without having to receive a command of the Law to do so. In other words, he gave to Melchizedek out of the gratitude of his heart to God, not out of compulsion to obey a written commandment in stone. In this, Abraham becomes our New Testament example in motivation.

I would just like to add Galatians 2:16 (NIV) here: "Know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified." AMEN.

I'm going to save your teaching as it is more in-depth to the history of the subject, and with my calling to apologetics, this is extremely important. Tithing is GOOD! We should desire to give God as much as we can! So many people need services from God's children and through the church and by giving, at least, we can help accomplish this! God bless you!

Thank you for the further education in the matter of tithing. We can never learn enough in the Word of God!

Hi there, "some-body"!  Praise God!  The Tithe is a 10% payment according to the Old Testament Law.  In my comment way above here, I show the tithe, the alms and the giving.  This promise falls under GIVING:

GIVING yields a promise of also receiving: Proverbs 11:25 "The generous man will be prosperous, And he who waters will himself be watered.  And Proverbs 22:9 "He who is generous will be blessed, For he gives some of his food to the poor."

I remember giving the last $20 I had to a ministry, and out of the blue, my grandparents sent me a check for $200 that very same week!  Yes, when we are MOVED by God to give, even if it's all we have, when we are obedient, HE IS NOT OUTDONE!  We can't OUTGIVE GOD!  AMEN!

I don't believe that Carrie ever called herself a "pastor" but anyone can see that she has the gift of teaching and a burden for teaching. Tithing is an active principle that is operating in God's people. I was burdened by my not being able to see how I could do such a thing and my wife was not convinced at all that it should be done. God says that to not do so is like stealing (Mal. 3:8) but I'm convinced that, that is in reference to after one is convicted of it and is shown by God in their heart to do it.

I said to my wife, "Honey I know that you can not see how we can afford to tithe so this is what I would like to do. God said "And try me now on this...

(test or put on trial- the only place where God says to test Him)

...says the LORD of hosts, "If I will not open the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it." Malachi 3:8-10

Since God said to test Him, honey, let's do that. I propose to give God $5.00, every week, without fail, and see what happens. But if we start the $5 we don't ever stop the $5."

That sounded harmless to my very frugal wife (that does the bills because I stink at it). After 2 weeks I said, "Do you think we can do 10?" That didn't sound too bad, either. So without fail, every week we laid aside 10 before anything. You know what? Little by little God gave us the ability and will and faith to give Him more and more freely, happily. We pay tithes now and still have money for gifts and things we need. By the way we started out with $20,000.00 of debt. I don't know how it happened, (Yes I do), but numbers-wise I don't. We have none of that debt left!

I don't believe God burdens us with tithes but gives us the principle of free giving that sometimes comes out to even more from our heart and not painfully. He grew us, showed us how, and changed us forever.

Great hub bro. Luvya

Marie, tithing is commanded in the Old Testament and the church demanded it even from the very poor.  If the very poor couldn't pay it, it was taken from them forcefully.  If you read the following passages (2 Corinthians 8:10-12; Mark 12:41-44), you will see that Jesus is more concerned with our being of Him, the "first-fruit" as I've written earlier, and though some could give their 10% out of their wealth (which they prided themselves in keeping the law), Jesus told them the widow indeed gave more even with just two mites.  Jesus came to fulfill the LAW and states in the Word that the "letter of the law killeth" (2 Cor 3:6).

Tithing is great and is pleasing to God, and Christians certainly are not saying people shouldn't tithe.  It's wonderful to tithe because it gives the money needed to the church to do God's work!  But it isn't considered a COMMAND throughout the New Testament churches.

Tithing is absolutely a principle the God has commanded in the past and is commanding today. No if, ands or buts about it. You are are false prophet and the bible advises his sheep to be aware of such. The bible also says my sheep know my voice. I don't recognize your voice at all "Pastor". The is going to say to many "depart from me ye workers of iniquity I never knew you.

Back in April I watched several hours of a historical documentary of Jesus' time ~ the condition of the world in which He lived.  Jesus was born in poverty and saw the wealth of the church leaders, as well as others not in the church.  The church at that time demanded the tithe from even the very poor, causing oppression.  The church had plenty and the poor were oppressed because of this "law".  Jesus was among the oppressed, and I'm certain He wants our hearts more than He needs our portion of material/financial things in the organized church. Because Jesus says in His Word that when we feed and clothe the poor, we do it unto Him, this is where our focus should be ~ but first and foremost, to give hope to the spiritually hungry and naked by sharing His plan of salvation while in and beyond this world of hurt.  God bless you all, as well!

I think the topic of tithing is often misunderstood. I don't believe the term tithe is ever used in the new testament, it's more of an old testement practice. Even then, our modern impression of tithing is giving 10% of our income because 10% was the number used in the old testament. But they didn't just give 10% of their income, they gave 10% of everything they had.

Obviously, as you supported very well, the topic of giving is mentioned throughout the new testament and is no doubt a part of worship. Personally, I don't think we are "commended" to tithe. It think God wants us to want to give, not give out of a feeling of having no choice.

Great hub and excellent use of Scripture throughout.

Let me know if you need a backup, should you end up in the Legions of swine ~~ SirDent came and stood with me when I needed him most (let it be 'interpreted' by two or by three). Thank God we have our Lord and Savior first of all, but also His FAMILY to stand with us in love when our flesh tires.  I know my flesh gets weak, but my spirit keeps on...by the power of the Spirit of God in me.  Praise Jesus!

I believe there is absolutely a balance to studying.  I believe God judges us by our motives.  Being a pastor, I'm certain you know the scripture reference to "study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth", and that "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge", and yet "knowledge puffeth up".  My motive is truly to care for those who are innocently being devoured up by false doctrine and will take on the challenge of others ~ to a point.  There does come a point we must "shake the dust from our feet".  I know we're not "battling against flesh and blood"; it is truly a spiritual warfare with a cause.  AMEN.

I can't get enough of it! There's always always so so much to learn!

You certainly describe me to a "t" lol. The very reason I learned inductive study ~ after hearing some quite ridiculous things from the pulpit (i.e. we'll be part of a doorknob in heaven; inter-racial marriages are wrong, etc. etc. etc.) Praise God He inspired those who took the lengthy and loving labor to create study tools (i.e. the Strongs Comprehensive Condordance!) God bless you!

Amen.  Luke 21:1-4:

"And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury.  And He saw a certain poor widow putting in two small copper coins.  And He said, 'Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the them; for they all out of their surplus put into the offering; but she out of her poverty put in all that she had to live on."

TITHE is a payment of 10% based on the Strongs Comprehensive Concordance. In Nehamiah 12:44, the "first fruits" are mentioned with the "tithe" as follows: "... the first fruits and the tithes...required by the law..."  Jesus is called the "first of the First Fruits" in 1 Corinthians 15:23 and also it's interesting to note that in James 1:18 the Bible states, "In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we might be, as it were, the first fruits among His creatures."  Revelation 14:4 states "These have been purchased from among men as first fruits to God and to the Lamb."  I see Jesus as a "payment" (for our sins), or a "tithe" (however, first fruit and tithe only have one Greek definition in common and that is #575 meaning 'off, separation, departure, cessation, completion, reversal, etc.'  I can certainly see how God would be the "share" unto Aaron.

ALMS is giving to the poor (Luke 12:33) "Sell your possessions and give "alms" (to charity); make yourselves purses which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near, nor moth destroys."

GIVING yields a promise of also receiving: Proverbs 11:25 "The generous man will be prosperous, And he who waters will himself be watered.  And Proverbs 22:9 "He who is generous will be blessed, For he gives some of his food to the poor."

Where money is concerned, we should know that God is Jehovah-Jireh (provides) and He owns the cattle on a thousand hills.  Everything we have is from Him and we need to be willing to use a portion of it as shown in the Word.  No man can serve two masters (God and mammon [money]) Matthew 6:24.

Great hub - love the focus on the movement from the 'law' to 'grace'. Maybe where we're lacking today is teaching our children to tithe from the heart - in every way - money, time, talents. What a wonderful world we could unlock!

An excellent hub page; real truth pierces the soul in those searching for God; wonderfully constructed; please feel free to check out my poem on the subject:

https://hubpages.com/religion-philosophy/Poem-Givi

--Joe Breunig

https://hubpages.com/literature/book-isbn-14196505

Thank you Cristina327, for your, always, insightful comment.

Indeed another excellent hub from you. Thanks for sharing this lesson. In addition, Jesus emphasized more on giving to the poor.

Thank you Rob for your thoughtful comment. This is a subject that is still very controversial in many local Churches. As you probably have noticed through my other hubs, I am not one to shy away from controversy, especially if I can defend my position. Thank you again. God bless.