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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Why give 10 percent in tithe after Jesus | Gen 14:20 | godsavs | 196441 | ||
A friend of mine asks the question - "if most pastors (christian faith) state that when Jesus came His coming in affect makes the old testament laws and rituals no longer valid - why do we still have to tithe 10 percent as stated in the old testatment?" | ||||||
2 | Why give 10 percent in tithe after Jesus | Gen 14:20 | TCfromCoventry | 196442 | ||
Best as I understand it, tithing was established long before the law. It is not a part of the law. Tithe was given to the King of Salem (Melchisedek) who was also a priest (before the Law established the Levites. The Levites (priests) then had to live off the tithe, as they had no direct income of their own) Numbers 18:21. Melchizedek, being King and Priest, is a 'type' of Jesus Himself. Therefore Jesus' fulfillment of the Law, did not abolish the tithe, which is established for three purposes: 1) Finance for ministry - God's work in the world must be financed somehow, this is the practice established by God for that purpose. 2) An act of trust, that God can trust you with income that is not your own, and 3) As a covenant agreement (such as we have with God) is a two-way thing, faithfulness on our part in paying the tithe, can them be responded to by God being faithful to His promises for provision, guidance, protection etc. a covenant says "If you do 'a' I will do 'b', but if you don't do 'a', I CAN'T do 'b'". That's how our relationship with God works. (CAN'T of course does NOT mean "not able to" but means "not allowed to under a binding agreement"). Can you imagine how much God's kingdom on Earth would have if every born again Christian tithed? How much could be done! How blessed those Christians would be! To my knowledge, only about 20 percent of born again Christians tithe; amongst the denominations, its LESS! And here I confess that I'm not consistent with my paying!! Lord, help us to be more honourable with Kingdom Finance!! By the way, what is there in GOD'S WORD to say that Jesus' coming makes laws and rituals no longer valid?? Was Jesus a Jew? Were the disciples Jewish? Were the first followers of Christ Jews? Did the Christians in Acts still keep the Sabbath? Go to the synagogue? Keep the Holidays in the Jewish Calendar? Yes they did! in Western culture we've all but lost the Jewishness of Christianity, a loss which I believe is on God's heart to restore! There's a wonderful guy called Michael Rood with a TV show called 'A Rood Awakening' all about that. But that's another thing, and I've gone on too much already! |
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3 | Why give 10 percent in tithe after Jesus | Gen 14:20 | BradK | 196443 | ||
Hello TC, Possibly you could clarify a few statements you made? How is the tithe not a part of the law?; You said, "As a covenant agreement (such as we have with God) is a two-way thing, faithfulness on our part in paying the tithe, can them be responded to by God being faithful to His promises for provision, guidance, protection etc." Is not God the One Who is faithful? (2 Tim. 2:13) How would this line up with the initial Abrahamic Covenant in Gen. 12:1-3? Was it not unconditional, depending soley upon God who obligates Himself in grace? Note also the unilateral covenant in Gen. 15:18! I'm not at all certain "That's how our relationship with God works". If that were the case, God would be limited or obligated by my action- or inaction! Clearly God is Sovereign (Ps. 115:3) I believe Galatians has some answers to the Jewish question: Gal 3:23-24 "But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed. Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith." (NASB) Gal. 3:28 - "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus." (NASB) Speaking the Truth in Love, BradK |
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4 | Why give 10 percent in tithe after Jesus | Gen 14:20 | TCfromCoventry | 196458 | ||
You raise some good points Brad, and I didn't promise that my answer was comprehensive! Perhaps someone else can clarify them better than me, but I'll do what I can - I'm still learning too you know! 1) Tithing as a principle was not part of the Law because is was an established custom long before the Law was given to Moses. The principle of 1/10th was then incorporated into the Law in various ways. 2) This next bit - I've heard teachings about grace, faithfulness and Covenant etc. I can't recall all the relevant scriptures right now (I'm still not good at remembering chapter and verse references!) But YES, God is always faithful! There's an on-going principle in His dealings with us that because He loves us so much despite our faults and weaknesses, He deliberately LIMITS HIMSELF in His dealings with us. If it wasn't for love, how easily He could have wiped us out to try again! At the same time, Jesus paying the penalty for our sin doesn't mean that God as a loving father has stopped disciplining us (Deut 8:5) 1 Cor11:32 and a running theme through Hebrews 12 (where would I be without BibleGateway,com?!). Gen12:1-3; Abram could have said "No!" Gen 15:18 yes, unilateral, but 500 years later, the Hebrews still had to TAKE the land. They never completely did; that's part of the trouble today. God is faithful to keep the Covenant; if we break our end of the agreement, He will NOT manifest His promises! He holds His WORD above His NAME (Psalms I think?). Imagine a kid screaming for a toy. Dad says,"If you scream about that again, I'll NEVER get it for you!" So the kid screams again, and dad gives him the toy!! What kind of a spoilt brat will that kid become? I'm sometimes overawed at how patient and merciful God is to our selfishness and stupidity. Where would we be if God DIDN'T choose to limit Himself! 3)Gal.3 is all true of course, and Galatians 2 is all about not letting hypocritical reliance on the Law (such as circumcision) sabotage reliance on the Gospel of grace through faith. What I'm talking about is more general lifestyle issues. Part of the purpose of the Law (beyond the 10 commandments)is to paint a picture of how God wants us to live, NOT by forcing ourselves to obey the Law (legalism), but by HIM perfecting us (sometimes painfully!) through the operation of Holy Spirit, so that the "law" is written on our hearts of flesh (I think that combines about three references). Part of that picture is the Jewish customs and lifestyle preserved over millennia, such as feast days and holidays ordained by God Himself. I believe many of those customs reflect the lifestyle of Heaven, just as the tabernacle reflects God's throne-room in Heaven. So I've been asking myself a two part question: a) are there aspects of Jewish lifestyle that could better reflect and enhance my relationship with God, and b) are there parts of my lifestyle that I've adopted without questioning, that could be dropped, in order to enhance my relationship with God? Take just one (little) example. When Jesus was in the flesh 2000 years ago, what would those around him have called him? not Jesus, but Yashua! Refering to a) above, would it be better if we addressed him as Yashua in our prayers? Refering to b) above, why do we call him Jesus? That's a mis-pronunciation (should be Yei-zus) of a poor Latinization of Yashua, which comes from the Roman (heathen/pagan)Empire. Now, I know that I know who I mean when I say 'Jesus', and I'm sure HE knows who I mean - but wouldn't it be nicer to address Him properly? This is the tip of a very big iceberg, that questions, names, habits, holidays, all kinds of things. Why have we inherited a (modified) Roman calendar? Why do we honour Roman and pagan gods in our weekday names? When you start to look at it, our lifestyle seems a million lightyears away from God's plan for how we should operate! If you want to give yourself a 'seasonal' scare, investigate why we celebrate Christ's birth on Dec. 25th! WE are all one in Christ regardless of status or origin. But there are ways WE can choose to do things. I'm one of a growing number who wonder if dropping some things in our lifestyle and looking to the Jewish life style might make honouring God a more natural part of our lives. Revelation TV recently broadcast live a domestic Friday evening 'Shabbat' meal, prior to a Sabbath day of rest 'til Saturday evening. A beautiful, God-honouring lifestyle which reflected the fourth commandment. "Well, as my friend Maxine would say "I've gone off on one!!", so I'd better leave it there... "JESUS IS LORD - But don't take my word for it!" |
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