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Pastor's view on tithing
keys2heaven:
I renounced my membership in the Nazarene church a little over a month ago. One of those reasons is that I don't agree with the doctrine of tithing that is a staple of many, if not all, of today's big denominations. Our family still attends and, as of yet, have not felt the need to physically leave. The church has a website that includes discussion boards. One of the members started talking about tithing and soon the pastor gave his views on tithing. I know this has been covered extensively and please don't flame me for posting this. I'm posting what the pastor stated in reference to tithing below. He does mention some things that I don't think Ray covered in his series and wanted feedback on this. I'll highlight these areas in red to make it easier to see and save space in this post.
<<BEGIN>>
I want to share with all of you a little more background about giving/tithing etc.
Both Old and New Testament contains numerous teachings about tithing, sacrificial giving and offerings. On more than one occasion, Israel neglected to tithe and the Levites left the sanctuary for the fields in order to support themselves by tilling the soil as a result the sanctuary fell in disrepair.
Reforms took place under Hezekiah ( 2 Chronicales 31:5, Nememiah (Neh. 13:12 and Malachi (Mal. 3:8, 10) so that the people gave their proper tithe, the sanctuary was restored and the priests and Levites were able to give themselves wholly to the Law of the Lord once again.
At the heart of tithing is the idea that the earth is the Lord and all that is in it. (Ps. 24:1) By giving a tithe we acknowledge the Lord's ownership of the land and produce. Thus Judah was robbing God (Mal. 3:8-10) not of material things since they already belonged to God but of the recognition that indeed these things were His exclusively. in that thought - when one does not give what God has already given them - - - it is failure on our part to give God credit, praise and honor for providing for us. Our job, our health, our home, etc. all come not from ourselves but from God. Tithing is seen as a means of saying thanks to God for His generosity (Gen. 28:20-22)
In reality the giving of tithe helps involves all of us in God's redemptive work.
Some conclude that because the word tithe is not found in the New Testament - - that this means one does not have to give. What is interesting is that as Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount examined the Law - he raised the bar or standard if you will - in each circumstance. He often said - you have heard it said - but I say to you - - - and then He shared the kingdom principle. This certainly seems to me to be a strong indication that Jesus woudl not advocate a reduction in one's acknowledgement of our thanks to God or our need of being a part of God's redemptive work in the universe.
Today we give
Because we are aware that we are God's slave or servant (Romans 6:16, I Cor. 7:22, Eph. 6:6, I Peter 2:16.
Because our possessions are not our own or to be used as we may like. ( I Cor. 6:20)
Because as a good steward we are charged with handling the master's goods and that we will have to give an account for what we have done with what we have been given.
We also give because of the model of Jesus ( 2 Cor. 8:9) and the power of God's Spirit within us.
As a result the giving that comes today is not to be done with reluctance - - or by feeling forced to give - - -nor is it limited to one's tithe - - Rather, it is to be done cheerfully, voluntarily, systematically and with open-ended generosity (I Cor. 16:1; 2 Cor. 9:6-9)
<<END>>
rrammfcitktturjsp:
keys2heaven,
Thanks for sharing this with us. I really enjoyed reading it. I am confused at the end of it though and wanted some clarification. I have no problems with offerings, but is this advocating tithes or not?
Thanks.
Sincerely,
Anne C. McGuire
keys2heaven:
I can't and won't post all of the discussion here. But, yes, the posts leading up to this were all on the topic of how "tithing" allowed God to bless them and wa a test of their faith. I read the pastor's post as reinforcement for the doctrine of "tithing". I am bothered by his statement of tithes being in effect before the Levites started taking tithes. Can someone explain what he is saying in this?
There also seems to be a lot of assumptions in his post. He mentions this "What is interesting is that as Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount examined the Law - he raised the bar or standard if you will - in each circumstance. He often said - you have heard it said -but I say to you - - - and then He shared the kingdom principle". O.K., but how does this relate to tithing? I see no supporting scripture to back up this statement as it relates to tithing. Is this just his opinion?
So, is this the philosophy of most pastors; to use scripture out of context and then give generalized opinions in order to reinforce unscriptural concepts?
rrammfcitktturjsp:
keys2heaven,
Thanks for that clarification. That really helped. Thanks for the promptness that you showed in posting this post.
Sincerely,
Anne C. McGuire
hillsbororiver:
--- Quote from: keys2heaven on March 14, 2007, 06:02:15 PM ---
So, is this the philosophy of most pastors; to use scripture out of context and then give generalized opinions in order to reinforce unscriptural concepts?
--- End quote ---
Yep.
Everything "Christianity" teaches is out of context with;
Joh 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they
are life.
The following is from 'Tithing Is Unscriptural Under The New Covenant'
Objections to my paper range from simply quoting the prophet Malachi sent to the priests and nation of Israel: "Wherein have we robbed Thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse…." While others who can find absolutely no Scriptural authority for Christians to tithe, invent clever little doctrines like this:
"Tithing was a form of worship to God, and since we still worship God, we must still tithe."
I will answer this one in one sentence: Since burnt offerings were a form of worshiping God, and since we still worship God, must we still offer burnt offerings to God? ... Ridiculous.
Part II of this paper covers the Malachi prophecy more thoroughly as it concerns the subject of tithing.
http://www.bible-truths.com/tithing.html
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