Tithing?
Well, I'm just going to throw this question out for others to comment on; I'd be interested to hear your take on this. The topic is: tithing.In the last couple weeks two different people have made very similar comments about tithing, along the lines of, when you tithe, God blesses you and returns to you more than you give, and people need to start obeying this commandment.
Is the tithe a commandment which the church is expected to hold to? Or is it, like many of the dietary laws and ritual laws of Moses in the Old Testament, one of the burdens which is not placed on the backs of the gentile believers?
I remember, as a child, hearing a pastor preach on tithing, and using I Corinthians 16:1-2 as a reference when preaching about tithing. It wasn't until many years later that I looked at those verses and said: "Wait a minute...is that really talking about tithing?"
I Corinthians 16:1-2
Now about the collection for God's people: Do what I told the Galatian churches to do. On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made.
This sounds to me much more like a special collection for those in need (someone from a relief agency says: "I'm coming to your church, and I'd like you to have already done your collections for Hurricane Katrina victims so when I get there I don't have to beg and plead.")
Thoughts? Comments?
Posted On Oct 2, 2005 at 4:45 AM
On Oct 2, 2005 Mr. T wrote: I, too, have heard people say "When you tithe, God blesses you with more than you gave." I would really like to find the scripture verse that tells us that! Statements like this encourage people to give out of selfish motivations - and it smacks pretty heavily of the "health and wealth" doctrine (that God wants us to be rich and healthy). You know, it's interesting, but the health and wealth doctrine does not exist in places like Haiti, or other third world countries.
But I digress - your question really was whether tithing is a commandment expected to be followed by the church. I find no place in the New Testament where we are required to tithe. I think it is an issue that churches have created, because we have so many "expenses" that we need to pay. It sometimes makes me wonder if lack of money is the issue, or if it excess of expenditures. Perhaps we should look at that, before we get to dogmatic on the issue of tithing.
We are commanded to give cheerfully, and as you pointed out there is a place for giving help those in need. So I am not at all saying we shouldn't give.
If someone is going to say that Christians need to tithe, because it is an Old Testament commandment, then I hope that they are willing to obey ALL of the Old Testament commandments. I think you would find that very few people believe we should follow all the Old Testament Law - especially, those surrounding the dietary guidelines.
I think there are far more important things that we SHOULD be doing, that are clearly commanded of the church in the NT, that we don't do. You know - "Love one another deeply, from the heart", and things of that nature. I think we need to spend more time teaching these things, and less time on trying to make OT commandments "fit" into the NT.
Just my 2 cents worth. . .
Doug Replied: Quote:
| We are commanded to give cheerfully, and as you pointed out there is a place for giving help those in need. So I am not at all saying we shouldn't give. |
And I certainly don't want anyone to think I was suggesting that we shouldn't give!
Thanks for your two cents. Let's see...two cents is one tenth of...
On Oct 3, 2005 Mr. Physics wrote: If we really believe that all we have belongs to God, than the question becomes, not "How much shall I give?", but "How much do I keep for myself?"
We used to have a Pastor who was strong on tithing and often would ask the rhetorical question "Should I tithe my net income or my gross income?" His answer was "Do you want a net blessing or a gross blessing?" I always cringed because I never thought my giving was part of an exchange with God, but an expression of love.
Doug Replied: Yes, I suppose that kind of thinking results in giving becoming an expression of greed, and not love!
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