One of the questions that I have been asked to deal with is tithing. It's been greatly confused in the church today. The tithe was part of the law. It was part of God's instructions to Israel in the promised land. The question that many ask is whether the tithe is for the church today. One of the verses in the bible that helps us understand this is Galatians 3:19. In this brief verse is a question- "Why the law then?" This verse and chapter teaches 3 things about the law and tithing (which is part of the law)- 1. the law had a purpose, 2. the law had a people, the nation of Israel, and 3. the law had a term which is clearly over. We now find that we, the church, are in what Paul describes as a time of giving as each one feels led. Some will give more than 10%, others will give less. It's now based on the heart of the giver. Paul gives us the guidelines for giving in the church today-.
2Co 9:6 Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.
2Co 9:7 Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
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Under the law- 10%. Under grace- liberty to give as you purpose in your heart. It's no longer based on law, now it's grace giving....as the Lord leads.
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(This has been a very brief discussion on the topic. There is much more to say on this topic. I hope you will understand I'm simply giving a quick overview.)
5 comments:
This is a good topic for discussion and total confusion for so many.
I have a question...I had a recent discussion with someone who was outraged about the 10 Commandments not being posted somewhere. She said that it's taking away our Christian rights to have it and she was offended. She was very surprised that I was not bothered. I told her that the 10 Commandments were only a very small part of the Law and that they were written for Israel. They do have a purpose - to lead us to Christ and for us to see the Holiness of God (just to be brief here), but they don't CAUSE people to be on their best behavior. Seeing "Thou shalt not kill" will NOT make someone not kill.
Of course, the answer that I got was, "Still, I'm offended that they can't be posted."
What do you think?
"Christian rights"
"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me." (Gal 2:20)
There, I found your problem. Dead people don't have rights.
A lot of people these days seem to want Socialized Christianity. They want our government to approve and sanction Jesus. The apostles didn't try to make their government approve of them before they began their mission. They preached Christ to the people in spite of the government and were thrown in prison because of it, which is exactly where God wanted them at that time, unless He didn't want them in prison, in which case He broke them out.
If she really feels like the ten commandments should be displayed publicly, she shouldn't expect the government to do it. The government can barely govern itself; I don't want it anywhere near the Bible. You ought to tell her to go and read the ten commandments to passersby herself.
Mike, just to be clear, it's highly likely that 10% was the start. By the time you figured out the varieties of offerings on a daily basis and other requirements of the system (feasts & those offerings, et al) it's widely understood that a family under the law could easily be giving 35% or more of their income. This could increase or decrease depending on the level of income.
Oddly, this little piece of information seems to be kept from the current teaching on "biblical tithing" in American culture. Hmmm.
Yeah, but some of that offering was spent on big parties with lots of food and wine, which is awesome.
Although I call myself "Reformed," I strangely agree with you here ... :)
That's how I see it!
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