The stock market is a form of gambling. Why doesn’t anyone ever address that?
I became a Christian 41 years ago. I was as faithful in tithing as one can be. In fact, in my heart, I use to look down on Christians who were not faithful in their tithing to the Church. I use to believe and teach that Christians who were not faithful in their tithing were guilty of robbing God. The truth of the matter is that it is actually the Church who is guilty of robbing people through the teaching of the false doctrine of New Testament tithing, which is not Biblical.
Thank the Lord for opening up the truth of His Scriptures to me, to see and understand the real truth concerning New Testament tithing.
Below, are some wonderful and eye-opening articles on the Biblical truth of New Testament tithing.
Re-examining the Institutional Church’s “Doctrine of Tithing”
To find out the Biblical Truth about tithing, simply go to the internet and key in any one of the titles listed below: Having a good Biblical understanding about the tithe in relationship to the Church is of “GREAT” importance to the Body of Christ. By understanding that the New Testament Church is not required to tithe, and is not “Scriptural,” it then becomes quite clear that the Institutional Church “System” is not a God ordained system, but a man-made system.
The tithe – is it still applicable today? – Lee Underwood (Below are some excerpts from this article)
In these last days, many traditions of the Christian Institutional Church are being revealed to be nothing more than just that: man-made customs. So, in regards to these tithes, are they Biblical or are they just tradition also? Did Yahweh actually command that they be collected for use by a local assembly for its daily operating expenses? The only way to understand any of this is to take a look at “Scripture” and discern what it says regarding this practice.
“Scripturally,” we can see that the tithe was never meant to support pastors, elders, boards of directors, traveling ministers, local assembly buildings, or other things of the sort.
The Origin of the “Christian” Tithe
The first person to mention paying for the full-time support of certain members of local congregations is Cyprian (200-258 CE). The idea did not go over real big at the time. Congregation leaders were given salaries when Constantine came into office, 200 years after the beginning of the Christian religion. Tithing did not become a commonly accepted practice until the eighth century – 700 years after the beginning of Christianity. By the eleventh century it had become a legal requirement in order to fund the State-run church.
The tithe – Vision Of The Church (Below are some excerpts from this article)
“THE TITHE” SAYS THAT ONE PERSON HAS THE RULE OVER OTHERS WITHIN THE CHURCH. THE TITHE LIMITS MINISTRY. THE TITHE UNDOES SPIRIT LEAD GIVING AND GIVING TO THE POOR WITHIN THE CHURCH. THE TITHE, BIBLICALLY, WAS THE AMOUNT OF THE SIN OFFERING THAT GOD COMMANDED ISRAEL TO MAKE IN THE OLD COVENANT. BIBLICALLY A TITHE WAS ONLY PAID TO THE HIGH PRIEST OF JERUSALEM, AND ALWAYS CONSISTED OF ANIMALS OR GRAIN (BREAD AND MEAT)–THE SIN OFFERING. THE CHURCH IN THE BIBLE DID NOT PAY TITHE. HEBREWS 10:18 SAYS IN THE NEW COVENANT THERE IS NO MORE SIN OFFERING — JESUS IS OUR SIN OFFERING. HE OFFERED HIS BODY–AS MEAT AND BREAD–THE TITHE.
The Opposite System…..In the Bible, the money was NOT given to leadership to build and operate a church building. It was Spirit-lead giving–to the poor in the church–so that no one had lack. All the houses of God were cared for, they did not exalt one man’s house over another. No “Office” of priest–No tithe…..In the Bible only a priest collected a tithe. The “Old Covenant” had a specific priesthood–this priesthood is specifically done away with in the “New Covenant” and we are all made priests unto God–therefore there is no Christian who has the Biblical right to collect a tithe.
Exposing the tithe lie – Jack Helser (Below are some excerpts from this article)
Burdening the Body of Christ with the Tithe requires several twists and re-interpretations of “Scripture.”
1) The tithe must be imported from the OT law of Moses to the new covenant of grace by Christ’s blood.
2) The tithe must be re-defined from “flocks, herds, fruit and grain” to “money” and often “time”.
3) The storehouse must be re-defined from the temple in Jerusalem to the local church building.
4) The Body of Christ must buy into the ordained clergy as the new priesthood, thereby replacing the Levite priesthood as the rightful recipient of the tithe.
5) The Body of Christ must forfeit their own priesthood and buy into the notion that they are the “laity”.