to prove Him regardin the rewards of tithing.He wil give you blessings beyond anything.Blessings unparalleled.Why would'nt you want to give back to The One who gave us the ultimate, He gave His life so we may be free. He hung,ble and died on a cross,He became sin so that we may be His righteousness.If our faith is in the right place we will not have to worry about having enough He wil make sure that we do.He will take care of His own,and we are His He bought us with a heavy price.

We as christians should give back to The Lord,for He gave it to us.Only by His Grace and Mercy do we have what we have. Paying tithes was practiced long before the law,in Genesis 14:20 the first time tithes are mentioned in the bible Abraham paid Mechizedek tithes who was a type of Christ,consequentlyAbrahams children which make up the church presently are to continue paying tithes to those carrying out the Work Of God.Genesis 28:22 tels of how Jacob gave a tenth of his vast herds of sheep and cattle to The Lord as a sacrifice,Jacob offered up a sacrifice to the degree of no one else.If the tithe we propose to give to The Lord does not advance the grand message of Jesus Crist and Him Crucified [1 Cor 1:23,2:2] then we actually really are not paying tithes.As I said stated earlier first occassion of tithing was Abraham paying a tenth to Melchizedek who was a type of Christ as our Great High Priest,Jesus would and did become this by dying on the cross as a sacrifice,spboth occassions of

I have to agree that there is a very big difference between cheerful giving and tithing. Although I also agree that tithing is a critical part of the word of God. I do have to comment on the fact that pastors do tell their congregations that the tithing to church comes first, and I do not believe that to be what God word tells us. He first and foremost tells us in many scripture the importance of providing for our families.

The BIBLE also clearly states what tithing is and to whom it should go. And at no time does it say that it is to go to a specific church or person. My tithing goes where God tells me to put it. There are some organizations mainly Christian churches that have turned God's house into a place for them to get their personal expenses paid. The churches that where the leaders serve God are not the ones that pay their leaders.It is sad to see that Christian churches are this way.

wordhigh - You are the one changing God's word, not me.

In Leviticus 27:30-34 God says tithe "on the land" (crops) and animals in herds and flocks. NOT income.

In Numbers 18:24 God gave the tithe to the Levites, as their inheritance.

Show me scripture that says God changed his command to include income. Show me scripture where God authorizes anyone to take the tithe to anyone other than a Levite. Show me scripture to show where God ever gave the Christian Church permission to receive His tithe.

Without scripture to backup your words, your words are meaningless.

Research the history of tithing in the Christian Church and you will find that at no time did the Christian Church receive tithes of income until around 1870. And the research will show that the motive for teaching and collecting the tithe was to get more money, NOT because of scripture accuracy.

The law ended at the cross. Abraham's tithe was a free-will gift. To teach otherwise is not following God's Word.

To wordhigh - It would be nice if you would give scripture to back up your comments.

My book, Tithing Today, available as a download at www.TithingToday.com/book.htm proves that:
1 - tithing was NEVER on income but rather on the miraculous increase from God
2 - Abraham's tithe was a free-will gift
3 - tithing ended at the cross

I prove the above by scripture, not by man's words.

I believe in sacrificial giving as taught in the New Testament. I gave way more than just ten percent, but I have friends that cannot afford to give anywhere near ten percent.

The Word tells us to take care of ourselves and our family first, before we give:

1 Timothy 5:8 (KJV): But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.

Yet in every church I have attended, the pastor says we are to give to the church, first. Show me one scripture where giving to the church is giving to God.

Cheerful giving is NT, NOT tithing.

Tithing is right, has always been right. As a Pastor I have come to understand that there are member who do not have their hearts set to follow God's word without wanting to make some kind of change of it.
Tithing was put in place to keep God's house open, and to bless his work at soul's can be reach. As well as to bless every person who is willing to obey God's word.

How can a belever overlook this it is all in God's word from the OT, to the NT.

I was "raised" on tithing and the prosperity gospel and several years ago now I decided to find out for myself exactly what the Bible teaches on the subject so I undertook a very in-depth study, getting rid of any preconceived ideas I had either way. I concluded that tithing as a law or regulation or something that is _required_ is not in keeping with the NT. However, God still wants us to give and to give a regular portion of our income in order to support the ministry, feed the poor, etc. in just the same way that the OT tithe was to support the Levites and provide for the poor, widows, etc. The Matthew scripture in no way tells Christians they should tithe, Jesus was addressing religious Jews at the time. Similarly, the Malachi scripture should be treated with caution.

To really get God's heart on the subject, read Deut 14:23-26 - a scripture you rarely hear pro-tithers mention!

To cdotlewis79,

Your comments are politically correct and biblically incorrect.

Christians are supposed to correct those who are teaching false doctrines. See Galatians 2:11-21.

Correction is helpful when someone is compromising. Sometimes sincere Christians, even Christian leaders, make mistakes. And it may take other sincere Christians to get them back on track.

See 1 Corinthians 4:14-21.

Hebrews 12:7 (TLB): Let God train you, for he is doing what any loving father does for his children. Whoever heard of a son who was never corrected?

As a preacher, myself, I welcome correction. That's how I learn and get deeper into the subject.

There are many verses in the Word that teache New Testament giving, and warnings against greed. It's not necessary or wise to change God's Word to make people believe God wants Christians to tithe.

1 Timothy 6:10 (NIV): For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith.....

This is not in response to the article, but in response to the people who are always given to "vain disputations" every time a man of God has something to say. Let's check our hearts.... This site is for upbuilding, uplifting, and encouragement. It's these types of disputations that are the reason we have so many denominations in the faith now (which is not truly of God because we are all ONE). If you know or believe something differently, that's fine. Keep it to yourself for the sake of peace in the body. It just looks bad when you get on a Christian site like this and there's always bickering or someone always has to come behind the writer and undermind what he has said. Even if it's just a minor detail, pray about it, leave POSITIVE feedback and keep it moving in love, and stop exhibiting this contentious spirit that's plagues the body. Thanks

Tithing is probably the most misunderstood concept in Christianity today. If you really want to learn what the scriptures teach about tithing you can't just read Malachi 3:10 and listen to your pastor claim that it means God demands 10% of you income. The following article is an indepth study of tithing, it includes EVERY reference to tithing in the scriptures.

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

The NT offers two other perspectives on giving besides tithing. Both of these require giving well beyond 10%. Paul's proportional giving according to your to your means and the disciples who gave up everything to follow Jesus. Certainly the widow who gave away everything she had is held up as the model of the NT ethic on kingdom giving. The vow of poverty has been the most commonly accepted interpretation of NT giving for the majority of the history of the Christian church. From a practical standpoint, a church that does not have a significant numbers of people tithing or giving beyond a tithe normally is not a missional church and struggles to do anything beyond just paying it's bills.

Yes I am one of those evil heretical believers :) who do not believe in the tithe. We don't observe circumcision, we don't offer sacrifices, we don't worship God through a priestly order of men, we don't observe Sabbaths and holy days of the old covenant, we don't worship only in the Temple in Jerusalem....my point is the old covenant is old and has passed away and we have a New Covenant

Hebrews 8;
13 In that he said, A new covenant, he has made the first old. Now that which decays and waxes old is ready to vanish away.

So then why do you rush to put yourselves under bondage of the ordinance of tithing!

No I do not go to any church because I find that what is taught is not scriptural. Nor do I see the importance of giving money to yet another building when there are churches upon churches that sit empty most of the time.
I do not agree with the unholy importance given to the pastor and do not agree with how most of the so called "tithes" are used,so I stay away.