8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9) If you were like many people these days, you might be struggling with what to do about tithing. That’s understandable… because many churches fail to teach the Biblical truth about the issue. As a result, many Christians have unanswered questions…
To answer these questions, we must first define what tithing is and what it is not… Tithing is the practice of giving one-tenth of one's income or goods to God, a principle deeply rooted in biblical tradition. The concept of tithing was first introduced in the Old Testament and became part of Mosaic Law as a means of supporting the Levitical priesthood and the work of the Tabernacle and later the Temple. All Israelites were required to give 10% of everything they earned or crops they grew An explanation of this is found in Leviticus…
However, the New Testament nowhere commands that Christians submit to such a legalistic system of tithing, nor is tithing one of the Ten Commandments. God does not need our money…
But does that mean we should be content to do nothing? The Apostle Paul wrote in his first letter to the Corinthians that believers should set aside a certain portion of their income, not as a tithe, but rather as an offering.
In his second letter to the Corinthians, Paul exhorted them to give generously from their hearts. He did not ask for 10 percent, rather he wrote that each person is to decide what to give…
An offering is something freely given to the work of the Lord, first to one's local church and then to other legitimate ministries or missions. As Christians, we should diligently pray and seek God's direction about how much we should give. The book of James gives us more insight…
So is it ever acceptable before God not to give anything? In Paul's first letter to Timothy, he makes it clear that believers have a responsibility to provide for their families...
Clearly, there are situations where it may not be appropriate for a believer to give. If a Christian is not working, or behind on rent and car payments, or needs to support children or elderly/infirm parents, it would be proper to temporarily stop their giving as it would be poor witness to do otherwise... This post would not be complete without addressing one other thing... The prosperity gospel… The prosperity gospel, (sometimes called “Word of Faith”) falsely claims the Holy Spirit is a power to be put to use for whatever the believer speaks or wills. The exact opposite is true… Scripture teaches that the Holy Spirit enables the believer to do God’s will. The prosperity gospel adheres claim that words have spiritual power, and if one speaks aloud the right words with the right amount of faith, he or she can gain health or wealth or both. It is a deceptive doctrine of demons… Almost always false teachers seem to be the only ones who prosper from such unbiblical teachings. When people put tithes and offerings, which sometimes they can ill afford, into the deceiver’s collection plates, all they are likely doing is contributing to the false teacher’s extravagant lifestyle. Finally, is tithing or even giving required to be saved? The answer is a flat-out NO! Faith in Jesus Christ as the Savior is the only way to salvation. Nothing we can do, including donating large sums of money to any church will save us. We are saved by His grace, and not by anything we do…
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