Will a man rob God? Yet YOU have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings.
Well my goodness! I certainly don’t want to be guilty of Robbing the Creator!
But What does the Bible say about Tithing?
There are those who are not religious and don’t tithe, and therefore may chose to sit this one out. But I do urge all to consider this material, because it shows how institutionalized ideologies can affect our way of life. Though we have all been told something all our lives, things are not always what they seem.
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13 Comments
23:21, 28.10.2009
Very well said. I had known about this subject for some time. It is sad that most believers don’t read for themselves and depend on misinterpretation of scriptures. Hopefully, more believers will realize the information in your article and practice the facts instead of the traditions of men.
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23:22, 28.10.2009
I sent this article to my small e-mail list before I even read it, because after reading “the 72 rule” and other of your oeuvre, I have confidence that what you’ll say will be informative as well as high in quality & integrity. It isn’t necessary for me to agree totally with a man to be able to just enjoy the privilege of his thoughts and how he arrived at them.I have been a student of Scripture for 41 years & 39 under the teaching of our late prophet, William Marrion Branham of Jeffersonville,IN & Tucson,AZ.(Just google his name and see how many violently disagree with him)!Worse even is giving to the likes of those mentioned by Paul:IICor11:20 and reproaching himself,too, later,chap12:13-18.GOD is in His Word!Heb13:8 Maranatha
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Free Your Mind Reply:
October 28th, 2009 at 11:43 pm
Thank you Robert. I really appreciate you doing that, and I hope you enjoyed the tithe article. I will have to check out William Branham and see what he and his violent opposition are talking about. Thanks for the added scriptures also! Now THAT…. is just truth!
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23:28, 28.10.2009
Ok Luke 6:38 tells us to give and it will be given unto you; good measured, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again. That sounds like not having enough room to recieve. (running over)So I guess you are going to say Jesus was talking about something else.
For those of you all that beleive that the Old Testament does not apply to us today really need to pray that God gives you wisdom and revelation. How can we allow a child of Satan (those who has not confessed Christ as there Lord and saviour) to give us financial advice concerning the church.
You have to understand that those people were an agraiain society they needed rain and also needed to their plants to grow. So that is where you get the analogy of farming.
You say that there are a lot of people giving donations to churches, and that may be true, but why should or why would unsaved people who cannot perceive or receive the things of God finance the Kingdom of God?
The writer of this article is like a theology teacher, all he know is history. He is not empowered by the Holy Spirit who reveals the mysteries and deep things of God. I am going to keep on tithing!!
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Free Your Mind Reply:
October 28th, 2009 at 11:31 pm
Larry,
Let me address your post point by point.
First, Luke 6:38 doesn’t have anything to do with telling people that they are “cursed” if they don’t tithe. If a preacher believes in this verse, then he should preach it. But telling a congregation that the Bible requires it’s members to give 10% of their money, or anything else (which it does not) is coercion.
Second. No one said that the Old Testament does not apply to us today. My commentary was on the Mosaic Law. But since you believe in the Old Testament so strongly, then let us look at what it says.
The Old Testament CLEARLY states (as I gave reference) that the nation consumed their own tithes! They SHARED their tithes with the priests. They only GAVE tithes in the THIRD year. This point stands, whether or not the society was agrarian (WHICH IS NOT EVEN TRUE) or not. So if you were going by the Old Testament (that you say applies to us), then you would share your tithe with the pastor/priest/preacher and would only GIVE your tithes in the third year.
If YOU want to give it every year, that is YOUR choice, but the Bible didn’t REQUIRE it (show me where I’m wrong). It is not a preachers place to pick and choose “certain” scriptures in the Bible to teach. So once again, to tell someone they are cursed for not doing so is dishonest. A Child of Satan is dishonest. A Child of God exposes dishonesty.
Third, I never said that unsaved people have to finance the church. Saved people can donate to a church, just as well as unsaved can. Also, if we look in the New Testament as I referenced in Acts… No one in the land lacked. Why? Because the people sold their possessions and divided the money up evenly amongst everyone. So therefore the people who were poor “received” money from those that had abundance. Is this the picture of the church today?
It seems as if you went through my entire article, and picked out 2 or 3 points you wanted to rebuttal and left the rest.
But with that being said, I am always open to learning. So if you are “empowered by the Holy Spirit” please shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
I asked the question “Are You Cursed If You Don’t Tithe?”
It doesn’t say so in the scripture (that I can find). Can you or someone else, reveal this “mystery” and “deep thing” of God to us?
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23:33, 28.10.2009
Hi. My church is an independent church and does not receive any support from other groups or organisations or outside individuals. It stands by faith believing that as long as the Word of God is preached, it will stand by God’s grace. Tithes and offerings has sustained our church simply because it was taught to its members. Taught, not coerced.
When tithing was preached, I was convicted to obey. Not only because of the curse or the blessing but more so because I love God. You can give without loving but you can not love without giving. How do then do we give? When we feel like giving only? God does not need our tithes and offerings because everything is His anyway. What He wants is our obedience to His words.
Old testament or New, they are God’s words. I don’t come with scriptures and history, but my words come from the heart. And so far, my obedience has kept me to Him. I’ve finally returned! God bless you!
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03:45, 16.12.2009
I DONT UNDERSTAND HOW SOME TEACHERS AND PASTORS, CAN CALL THEM SELVES THAT.IF THEY DONT STUDY THE TRUTH. THEY JUST KEEP TEACHING WHAT THEY HAVE BEEN TAUGHT.
THANKS MIKE ELLIOTT,
COULD YOU PLEASE RESPOND ?
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Free Your Mind Reply:
January 26th, 2010 at 5:31 pm
Well… they SHOULDN’T be calling themselves teachers, but unfortunately they do.
Some of them don’t study the truth… they just go along with what has been told (just like most of the congregation does).
But I’m sure a lot of them DO know the truth about tithing. But they don’t want to lose their money. A lot of Churches would go under if they didn’t have people giving them money for fear of being cursed.
So… they just keep it a secret and move on.
But….
What else could they be hiding? hmmmmmmmmmmmm
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04:49, 26.01.2010
You seem very smart. Got questions. If the priest are the robers as you suggest …. how? the priest didn’t work or farm..or did they? if they did not earn how could they rob?
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Free Your Mind Reply:
January 26th, 2010 at 5:26 pm
You are correct. The priests didn’t work or farm.
The farmers would bring their tithes (1/10th of the food set aside) to the priests. The priests would then take the tithe into the storehouse to be stored.
So the way the priests can rob God is to
#1. Not bring the FULL tithe into the storehouse… or
#2. Take tithes out of the storehouse… or allow other people to get the tithes that should have been reserved for just the Levites (as described in Neh. 10: 37-39)
When God made the statement “Yet ye have robbed me” He was talking to the priests, not the nation. That’s why he said, “bring ye ALL the tithes into the storehouse.” As opposed to just bringing some of them.
The priests are the only ones who could have been “robbing” God. Remember… Rob means to take something that is already there… it doesn’t mean not to pay back what is owed.
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05:24, 23.03.2010
Matt,
Thank you for posting the truth, Thank you Thank you!
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11:06, 18.05.2010
A couple of points to be noted:
1. Tithing did not begin with the mosaic law, but with Abram & Melchizedek 400 before the law.
2. Food was brought as the tithe because it was an agrarian society, live stock was of greater value and was actually a true measure of wealth.
3. The tithe was brought annually and on every third year because crops don’t grow weekly.
4. Malachi was not written solely to the priests, Malachi 1 begins with “The burden of the word of the Lord TO ISRAEL by Malachi”
• And if it were the priests who robbed God why would rain, care for their crops, and fruit be of any significance to the Levites, did they make their living through agriculture or was their inheritance the tithe?
5. What’s your interpretation of this scripture?
• 1 Corinthians 9:13-14 “13Don’t you know that those who work in the temple get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar? 14In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel.”
6. Lastly why is it fine for those who work in every other field to make money commensurate to the work they do to support their families and to live comfortably, but not for Pastors?
• Pastors work beyond 40hrs, 5 days a week
• They are always at the beck & call of congregants
• They spend countless hours with countless people
7. Those spoken of as “robbing God” are those who benefit from God and the work of the priests yet don’t bring anything into the temple – comparable to a congregant who wants to come to church and be lead in worship with music, sit in chairs, feel the a/c or heat, be able to see because of lights, call the pastor when they want their house blessed, kids prayed for, visited while in the hospital, marriage officiated, funeral officiated, marriage counseled, spiritual teaching, spiritual advice, baptized, baby dedicated, and biblical classes taught to them, yet don’t give anything because of bad interpretations and taking scriptures out of context to suit their own continued selfishness. There are a lot of Pastors who abuse finances and have made many look bad and have hurt people. But you can’t twist scripture to mean what you want it to mean and lead people astray.
Bless you bro.
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Free Your Mind Reply:
May 18th, 2010 at 7:42 pm
I will address your comment point by point
1. I am aware of this. But the first time tithing was made a LAW was the mosaic LAW. So that is what I addressed in my article. Abram giving a tithe to Melchizedek does not require people today to do so under penalty of being cursed. Keep in mind Ron, that what Abram gave Melchizedek was Not Even From His Own Goods! They were the goods recovered from Sodom. So that doesn’t even apply to a person giving from their own income.
2. A. No it wasn’t. Check the link that I provided earlier in my response to Larry. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pm6PG-K_l7Q
B. Even it it was, the tithe (food or money) was shared with the priests. (as outlined in my article) So when you tithe… do you share your tithe with the preacher as clearly outlined in the Bible?
3. If the tithe was brought annually, don’t you think it would be a little redundant to also say that it was brought every third year? Please allow me.
The tithe was “set aside” every year annually by the people in the nation and was eaten (and shared with the priests) in a place chosen by God. In the THIRD year (the year of tithing) the tithe (food set aside) was given to the priests. This is clearly outlined in Deut. 14:22-29. and Deuteronomy 26:11-13. You can’t escape that fact. If tithe was given every year, why would the scripture explicitly state that the tithe is to be given in the 3rd year?
4.
The scripture says the BURDEN OF THE WORD OF THE LORD to Israel. The scripture does not say THE WORD OF THE LORD TO ISRAEL. Those 2 don’t mean the same. And if you read the rest of Malachi, you will see that because of the Priests actions of disobeying the Lord’s Words, those very words became a burden to the Nation.
Once again, you can’t escape this. You can’t take Malachi 1:1 and try to juxtapose it over the whole book and “cancel out” the other chapters and verses. Malachi 1:6-7 and Malachi 2:1, which came AFTER Malachi 1:1 CLEARLY show that God was talking to the priests. Can you show me where in the book that it indicates that God stopped talking to the priests and started talking to the nation?
You asked the question about the Levites, “did they make their living through agriculture or was their inheritance the tithe?” The tithe WAS agriculture so I’m not sure how to answer that.
Now rain, care for their crops, and fruit should have be a concern for everybody. Because without crops everyone starves (whether the society is agrarian or not).
5. My interpretation is that a anyone (including a preacher) should make a living in the field that they work in. This is why I don’t have a problem with wealthy preachers who make an abundant living selling tapes, CD’s, DVD and whatever else. However… I do have a problem with preachers “bearing false witness” to their congregation by telling them to give 10 percent of their money to a church to keep from being cursed and getting rich from it.
6. This question should be addressed to someone who claims that it is wrong for preachers to make money commensurate to the work they do to support their families and to live comfortably.
7. Ron… what Biblical documentation do you have that, “Those spoken of as “robbing God” are those who benefit from God and the work of the priests yet don’t bring anything into the temple”???
As for all of the rest of the stuff that you are talking about, it is pretty bad. But I don’t see how it applies to my article, nor do I see how it applies to a person who actually reads the scriptures and “Studies to shew themselves approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, Rightly Dividing The Word of Truth” as opposed to just going along with what they are being told out of ignorance and fear.
I hope that I have answered all of your points. Please let me know if I have missed anything and I look forward to your answer to my questions.
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